Smorgasbord

There is a reason why I shouldn't wait two weeks in between blog postings. Everything gets jumbled together and I really can't remember anything we've done! Plus, all those funny little kid moments that I want to remember as they happen get totally forgotten. I'm going to try and do better, because it really is a lot of fun around here and I want to remember those times and not just what we did. Nancy finished out her visit with a bang... and we're so grateful for her help. Among the things I was able to get done while she was here include organizing the attic and my craft closet, sewing curtains, and Eric and I organized the entire garage.

During her last weekend we went to the beach:

Also, if anyone has lost their head, we found an extra one... maybe I'll keep it to use when I loose mine... which, you might decide I already have when you read the end of this post!

Here is my maternity picture for all of you who have been wondering what my expanding belly looks like... thanks to Eric for the artistry and modestly placed shells. I wouldn't want to reveal too much :)

We visited some relatives along the way. Their bunnies were a big hit with the kids:

Ethan was so tired on the way home he fell asleep mid-carrot:

It's getting hotter and we've started swimming. It's so much fun to go with friends... It reminds me of AZ days.We celebrated Memorial Day with a small backyard BBQ with friends. Of course, we had to eat watermelon...
And wash off after... I also wanted to include these pictures that I completely forgot on the last post! I took them on Mother's Day and forgot to post them because of all the San Antonio activities!

A note about Elia's picture on the motorcycle. It is completely not posed... She had climbed on the motorcycle while I was finishing taking pictures of Ethan and was in this pose when I walked in the garage. I thought it was a pretty creative pose, called her name and took the picture. What a funny girl. Also, you may be wondering why Elia got a rose on Mother's Day too. Well, Eric wanted to make sure that Elia received her first red rose from him. (I'm a little worried about what he'll be like when she can actually leave the house by herself with a .... Boy; I picture a lengthy interview process.)

So, I saved some exciting news for all of you who made it to the end... Some of you know that I've been writing articles and doing photography for a quarterly magazine (http://www.sugarlandmagazine.com/sugarland%20news.html). I wrote one article for the current issue and just finished two others for the next issue. Well, the editor just had her first baby and decided to step down. I (insanely perhaps) thought I would apply for it. Everything seems to have just fallen into place and after a very involved application and interview process I found out Friday that I'll be taking over as the new editor! My mom is probably shaking her head right now (because she already thinks I do too much), but it's only 10-15 hours a week (which in August when we have #3 might seem like 40) and I get to work from home. I'll cut back on my photography but there will be some slow weeks in the production process that I'll still have time to do a little of that. I'm really excited because, as it happened when I worked for the newspaper, I'll get to know the community really well and be able to combine my writing and photography interests more. I am really excited. For all of my Sugar Land friends, the magazine is always interested in freelance writers, so let me know if you are interested!

In just two weeks we head off to New Hampshire to visit my dad.

Seeing the Sites... San Antonio and Sea World

Another whirlwind week (gotta love those)! It started with a wonderful Mother's Day last Sunday. Eric made his mom and I crepes with a choice of eggs, jam and powdered sugar or fruit with whipped cream (or any combination) for breakfast. He also bought three roses (one for Elia too) and a box of petit fours that the young women were selling as a fundraiser. I learned in church that the woman who fought to establish Mother's Day then fought against it because it had become so commercialized. I'd like it to never get that way for us. I did get a "Mother's Day present"... getting my sewing machine fixed, but I hope my kids in the future just do something nice for me... or better yet, just give me a day off. :) The longer I'm a mother the more I appreciate just taking a break! :) Here is a picture of our roses and breakfast...

So in around-the-house news, a friend came over last week and helped me sew some curtains for my windows downstairs. I was very excited to get them done. Eric and I will hopefully get the rods up tomorrow morning before he leaves for his trip to Atlanta. Eric's mom has been very helpful in helping with the kids while I get some of my "projects" done. She watched the kids, plus one when my friend came over to help sew. I'm hoping to put pictures up very soon.

Speaking of pictures, I was looking through the pictures of the week and came across 89 pictures that Elia had taken with our camera one day when we weren't watching her. She took pictures of the computer screen, her toys, the clothes in our closet, the playroom, etc. Actually, most of them are pretty in focused. I thought this one of Ethan was cute to post. It's of him getting ready to slide down the temporary "slide" (a cardboard box) in the playroom.

While Eric's mom has been here we've also been out to see our cousin Abby's horse riding lessons and visit the children's museum. Here's a picture I took of Elia as we were going to the museum.

The highlight of the week was definitely our trip to San Antonio. Eric took off work early on Thursday and we drove to San Antonio. Using the Marriott points Eric has built up from his work travel we were able to stay for free. We hung out at the pool on Thursday night. Ethan loves using the cooler lid as a "boat" even when we're at home, and finally he was able to really use it as a boat...

I know... frogs keep turning up in our blog. Here is Eric's recent find...

We went to Sea World all day Friday. Here are our picture highlights as well as video clips from some of the shows we saw. We wore ourselves out and had a great time, but still managed to not get sunburned! What a deal!

This walrus was HUGE! The picture doesn't do him justice...

We enjoyed the sites of San Antonio on Saturday including a boat ride along the River Walk... ...and the Alamo (which is the most visited site in Texas). It rained all day Saturday, so we didn't see as much as we might have, but it was a nice break from the jam packed Friday at Sea World.

I wasn't kidding when I said whirlwind! Part of the reason our life is always a whirlwind is this...

Yep, that's usually all we see of Elia! Have a great week!

Fun in the sun

After such a huge post two weeks ago, I guess I've finally recovered enough to do another post today. Two weekends ago, we went to Galveston to listen to a time-share presentation... in exchange for a short cruise. We talked the whole time to the kids about the beach and ocean and all Ethan did when he got there is try to get back into the car. I'm not sure what this face was, but I thought the expression combined with the beach hair was pretty fun.Elia on the other hand loved the ocean and ran through the waves. The water wasn't actually that cold and if the sun had been out the whole time, it would have been really nice.

Elia got particular joy from feeding our french fries to the seagulls. I honestly don't know why we even order french fries (and actually, we usually don't). They are only really good 15% of the time and most of the time we eat a couple each and then throw the rest away.

I've been trying to keep track of the funny things Elia and Ethan say and do. Here are a few that I can remember...
The other day, after biting off half of her pink marshmallow (one of her Easter basket treats), Elia stuck the other half to her eye and said, "Look mom, I have pink-eye." Now, I'm pretty sure she has no idea what pink eye really is, which made the whole thing funnier.
Some of our other funny Elia moments are:
Moment 1:
Elia in bathtub: "Papa I peed!"
Papa (from other room, kind of wondering why she's telling him): You're not supposed to pee in the tub.
Elia: Papa come here. I peed in a cup.
She had peed in a cup that the kids play with while they are taking a bath and wanted him to come dump it in the toilet.
Moment 2:
Elia: What are you doing?
Mama: Putting this empty vinegar bottle in the recycle bin.
Elia: The opossums gave Jesus vinegar to drink...
I then explained that it was the soldiers that gave him vinegar and the apostles were Jesus's friends. It made me wonder what else my children think is reality.

To close, I'm including a short video from our backyard pool. After trying to decide what to do one afternoon and thinking of our friend who practically has the beach as her backyard, we filled up the kiddy pool. The thing that is so funny about this is Ethan's screams. He is clearly enjoying the water, but if you were to just listen to the audio you would think he was in pain!