Third trimester here I come!

Hello. I just wanted to check in and let you know how we are doing going into the third trimester.

We are doing good...the baby is GROWING and so am I.

It's starting to get harder and harder to get a good night sleep thanks to BABY boy and BABY GIRL, who has suddenly decided to revert back to her mid-night sleep walking to our room and squeezing in the bed with Momme and Dadd.

As for the rest of the family...everyone is doing well. We picked up the baby crib today and are almost done shopping and preparing for him.

swimming lessons and update on girls hair routine

so, the girls are taking swimming lessons(YAY!!!)

and this has sparked a new hair routine for them...swim day is also hair wash/condition day...
(writing this out helps me to keep track of what works or doesn't)

...now I pre-poo and wrap (looking for right size(sm)caps) before swim
neutralizer shampoo following swim
reconstructive conditioner
moisturizing shampoo
moisture deep condition
style with moisturizer or leave in and seal with oil
...I also moisturize(daily/every other day) and re-style on sunday
the girls are natural and have thier hair straighten once a month or on special days with a flat iron...

It's a.....

BABY!!!!!

...a Baby BOY!!

In charge.

Mr. Man is officially in charge now that the girls are in school and he flexes his in charge muscle by choosing what playgroud we play at and what cartoon to watch after quiet time...

OH BOY!

my new thing...

...is prenatal/postnatal water aerobics...and it is awesome. I love it.

GrandDaddy comes to visit.

My Dad...

(taken on last years trip...)

came to visit this past weekend and everyone was super excited. He tries to come out here once or twice a year and when he does we celebrate. The kids and I went shopping the day he drove out...

we wanted to make him a yummy and light dinner....

PacMan was so excited...

we made taco salad and strawberry shortcake for desert.

the next day he took us to the movies to see the smurfs...

I was happy to see him and Thankful for a beautiful gift that once belonged to my Grandma...

after a couple more days of playgroud trips and dinners with the family my dad and his date decided to hit the road and head back home to the CHI. We love you GrandDaddy and can't wait til your next visit.

a million little pieces...

puzzle pieces, crayon pieces, game pieces like bingo chips and dice
princess checkers, toy story chess, legos(hurt bare feet)
hotwheels, hotwheel car wheels....
tokens, dominos, jacks, balls...
barbie shoes, barbie head?, beads and string for beads...
barrettes, wrap arounds, rubber bands, beads, balls, bubbles
earings, earing posts...
grains of rice that missed babys' mouth(insert phony smile here)...
fruit loops, fruit rounds, cheerios, corn pops, cocoa puffs...
peanuts, marshmellows,cookie crumbs...
gum balls, q-tips, cotton balls, lint balls, tissue balls(don't ask)...
army men, bat men, marker tops, box tops(remind me to send those in)...
piece of cake, piece of pie, piece of pizza...
my piece, his piece, her piece, your piece...
"can I have a piece?", "I got the last piece"(insert child crying here)...
"I want the big piece", "I DIDN"T GET A PIECE!...
there are a million little pieces to being a momme.

We Are PREGNANT!!!!!

I know, I know...you know already. Most of my readers are people who know our family...but just in case you didn't already know....WE ARE PREGNANT! ALL OF US!

ZOO!

We did it. We took our summer trip to the zoo.

boy was it HOT...

so the kids got cooled off by an 'elephant'...

we saw all the usual zoo animals...lions, tigers, eagles...

and a few we didn't expect...

we walked and walked...


til we worked up an appetite....

then we watched the penguins swim...

we even learned about 'animals' of long ago...

the kids wore themselves out...

...can you believe people were asking if Ya-Ya and Pac-Man were twins? They used to ask us if the oldest girls were twins now it's the middle two...PacMan must really be growing up.

anyway, even DADDY enjoyed himself...

at the end of the day...they were eating out the palm of our hands...

AC called it "the best day ever"!

Please Cross the Street at the CROSSWALK

LOL!.....just kidding I don't mind the little ducks...I mean 'geese'(A.C. always corrects me).

The Impossible Word

AC has decided that she nor her sisters can say any words related to 'bowel movements'. She is "allergic" to them she says. So whenever the baby needs diaper attention...she says "Momme Baby Girl did the 'immpossible word'".

Now this might not be worth blogging about if our son hadn't just taught her a new knock knock joke. "Knock-Knock", "who's there?", "Boo-Boo", "WHO?", "Boo-Boo".

Yes this is the joke. The joke that my one year old LITTLE GIRL will not stop saying....and her brother thinks it is hilarious.

But wait let's not forget that AC and Ya our two oldest daughters are still allergic to all words related to 'b.m.'s'....so while baby is knock knock, boo-boo'ing...brother is cracking up laughing and they are running and screaming.

...and I have an attitude

Pepper Steak and Rice

One of hubby's favorite dishes is 'pepper steak and rice'. I love to make this dish because it reminds me of when my momma used to make it for Pop and me.
To start I slice and saute red, orange, yellow and sometimes a few green(unrippened reds) bell peppers with white onion in olive oil.
I used to use strips of steak from Pete's Fresh Produce but now I use sandwich sliced steaks. Some times I will still slice them into strips or ask my meat guy to do it...most times he doesn't.
I make my gravy homemade from the seasoning drippings of the steaks with flour, butter and milk/water. Sometimes I add couple spoons of pancake mix to sweeten the gravy(when I don't use milk)or depending on how I feel.
A little rice, a few biscuts...bam! you got man lovin'

meal.

WHAT TEACHERS MAKE

...the story goes...

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. "To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?"
Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make?"

(She paused for a second, and then began...) "Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor. I make kids sit through 40 minutes of classtime when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an IPod, Game Cube or movie rental."
"You want to know what I make ?" (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.) ''I make kids wonder. I make them question. I make them apologize and mean it. I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions. I teach them to write and then I make them write."
"Keyboarding isn't everything. I make them read, read, read. I make them show all their work in math. They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator."
"I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know in English while preserving their unique cultural identity. I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe. I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the United States of America.
"Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life."(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)
"Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant.. You want to know what I make? I MAKE A DIFFERENCE" "What do you make Mr. CEO?" His jaw dropped and he went silent.

I thought I would share this from one of my online professors, I read this often when people ask me why I am going through so much trouble "just to be a teacher". Have a good day!

should have been posted...kids bath(finished)

...so here are the final pictures, finished almost a year ago...I ended up using the floating fish from Uppercase Living. The towels and shower curtains, soapdishes

and rugs are from Target.

the art is from art.com...I put the girls potty picture on the front facing view from the toilet and this is what pac-man see's as he uses the potty.

Hair Everywhere.

SO with three daughters and my own hair journey as you can imagine life gets pretty hairy. It is a job keeping up with thier hair, especially because I chose to keep their hair natural until further notice. I love the natural texture of their hair. I do straighten their hair on the regular basis(every two weeks) just not chemically.

So with that being said I am on a quadriple hair journey....the search for the perfect balance of beauty and healthy hair.