take a peek....

here is a sneak peek of how the new nursery is shaping up! hard to believe there will be a little one to fill it in less than three months!

when we moved the girls to the same room, we decided (for our own sanity!) to keep kate in her crib and simply borrow a second crib for a bit. we also decided to put the girls in the curious george room...which had formerly functioned as our nursery. i initially planned to simply use the crib bumpers, skirt, and curtains from the "old" nursery...as the bright primary colors would work just fine with the bright yellow walls in the new nursery...and, i figured kate's crib could go skirtless without a problem. until this morning...i had a wee bit of time to kill before heading to a baby shower....and i stumbled across this....

...it was marked at the low price of $10...and i thought that just included the "bedding" portion...but the lady quickly informed me that it also included the lamp, bookends, mobile, etc. i stood for a few minutes, looking through it, checking for damage, contemplating how it would look with the yellow walls, and whether it was gender neutral enough. apparently the lady thought i was contemplating the price...because she quickly said, "i'll tell you what...$5 and its yours." at which point, i replied..."SOLD!"

as i gathered up the "goods" i quickly realized that it also include the quilted wall-hanging, window valance, cutey clips for hanging the valance, and on an on....in one fell swoop of $5 i decorated the entire nursery! not only that, but we had decided to go with an elephant theme of sorts for this baby. (if you've been around long you probably realize elizabeth is our monkey...kate is our alligator...and so baby 3 was to be inundated with elephants....so i simply adore that elephants are one of the prominent animals in the set (which is from the carters john lennon line from a few years back).

...and i just adore these sweet little bookends...and i am envisioning them sitting next to the lamp on the baby's dresser...kind of makes me want to set it up right now...except for the minor detail of the small disaster we need to organize in the nursery and office before continually on the nursery set-up. :)

once the baby arrives, i am thinking i would like to do some cute letters for his/her name on the wall over the crib (we do have names picked out...we're just keeping them a secret until the baby shows up...just call us old fashioned...we don't find out gender AND we don't give away names...we're the kind of people that drive me nuts!)...and then have the wall hanging on another wall. since we have become quite fond of having our glider rocker downstairs (it used to be in the nursery), i will be stripping down and painting my parent's old boston rocker (i'm thinking of using a light sage green color like the crib skirt). the only thing left to take care of is a dresser....and voila, we will have a nursery up and ready! :)

and friends...while i simply adored the curious george murals (painted by my sister) and nursery...i am quite excited about having something new (to us) and different for this baby. it is quite satisfying for my nesting instinct, since we really don't need much of anything...no registering...no showers...no big to-do....so this has really gotten me excited and planning, thinking, and dreaming about this wee one. well, and it was exciting that this (in the chocolate brown color) arrived in the mail yesterday...compliments of a great sale price at babies-r-us, a gift card, and free shipping!

i do have some little sewing projects and little "wants" for the baby...mostly handmade things...but not much else that really needs to be done....except digging into the organizing and rearranging. and that will have to wait a couple more weeks, as right now we are in the midst of another couple of projects...as i type mike is working to get our new water softener installed (hopefully making cleaning easier...our hard water is a KILLER on sinks and toilets and showers...ugh!)...we're putting some finishing touches on the gardens...and mike has a few more projects up his sleeve. i'm thinking getting as many projects done as possible before becoming a family of 5 is a great thing....since our project-ing time is prone to be a bit limited next year. :)

one man's junk.....

....is another man's treasure. it was gray and gloomy this morning, so what better than to hit the neighborhood garage sale up the street...especially since it is the same neighborhood where i've scored many a bargain in years past. needless to say, we were not disappointed! i've had a mental list of a few items i hoped to snag throughout the course of garage sale season...if the price was right, that is!

well, last week i knocked one of those items off my list when i was driving through my neighborhood and noticed a Step 2 Easel for Two sitting on the driveway, calling out my name....for just $5! elizabeth was with me, but i didn't want her to see the easel, since we will save it for a special occasion gift for both girls...perhaps new entertainment for when the baby arrives and i am occupied with nursing, etc....so i stealthily paid the lady and promised to return in a moment once i could get elizabeth dropped off at home and sneak back around the corner to pick it up. elizabeth was also quite delighted by the strawberry shortcake nightgowns i was able to pick up for $.25 a piece...gotta love garage sale PJs!

anyway...today i was able to knock two more items off the list. kate has been enchanted by elizabeth's shiny tricycle...the one she received from GG and big bapa for her second birthday...but, alas, kate's little feet just don't come close to reaching the pedals yet. so i was hoping to find something more her size for riding outside. and in the back of my mind, i was also thinking that perhaps now that elizabeth has mastered the art of pedaling AND steering her tricycle she just might be getting close to having her very first two-wheeler...well, four when you count the training wheels...cause this mama is not crazy!

here they are on their new wheels...elizabeth's very first "big bike"...princess themed, with streamers and a matching princess helmet! i have a feeling we'll be removing the push handle from kate's bike, as she seems to do the pedals fine by herself.

elizabeth hopped right on...no fear!

not only that...but i found this box of four wooden puzzles for $1...and kate has already put them together and taken them apart at least 20 times. let me tell you...kate LOVES puzzles...and i never cease to be amazed by her puzzling abilities. elizabeth, too, is enjoying one puzzle in particular. can you guess which one?

if you guessed dinosaurs...you are right! she is particularly fond of the "poppy-saurus-rex" piece right in the middle of the puzzle...although she's had fun having me name each of the dinos and then repeating them.


we also picked up this super fun "movin' monkeys" gear constructing set for $1...which elizabeth and i broke out during "school time" once kate was down for her nap. what a blast...and a great combo for elizabeth....building, concentrating, and MONKEYS! :)


my mental garage saling list also contains a select list of more "classic" books...and today i was able to check this one off the list for just a dime...and enjoy reading it with the girls after lunchtime.


elizabeth also scored a pair of PJs...and then, i couldn't resist these sweet baby boy bibs that were in the "free" bin at one sale...no stains and they look like they've never been used...because, after all, who knows, perhaps this little one just could be a boy...i must admit that i perused several tables of adorable little boy clothing....clothing that made me kind of wish we'd found out the gender of this wee one. and i spent just as much time gazing at little pink sleepers and onesies...laughing all the while, because heaven knows, we have boxes and totes and drawers FULL of little pink clothes. but really, its always fun to look...right!?


my grand total expenditure for today's hunting was $16.60!

ten (or fourteen!) smile tuesday

err...maybe i should have titled this "lotsa picture tuesday"...either way, here are some smiles from the past week at our house! and you'll notice...i went a bit overboard and included not ten but fouteen smiles...

1. "sprinkles"....i busted out the sprinkler late wednesday afternoon...and, oh my, was elizabeth THRILLED! kate wasn't as sure about it (which surprised me, considering her "charge headfirst into ANYTHING" personality)...but, nonetheless, she too had fun and was drenched by the end.

is there anything more classic than the catching sprinkles on your tongue pose!

as for kate...she LOVED the nemo goggles that came with the sprinkler...

one day soon, we'll have to break out the slip-n-slide that came with the sprinkler and goggles!

2. a fabulous "finale" MOPS meeting for the year. i'll miss thursday morning meetings, but i'm also looking forward to a break from the prep and responsibilities i had as the "hospitality" person...next year i will be taking a break and simply sitting to enjoy meetings as i do some "stepping back" and slowing down with baby #3!

3. having our little buddy brennan hang with us all day friday...

4. ...not only was brennan with us friday, but we also had daddy home for the second straight friday in a row! mike typically only works half days on friday, but he took a few hours of time off so he could take advantage of the gorgeous weather and get the topsoil taken care of for our garden! and that, too, is a smile...the garden that we are in the process of planting...bring on the fresh veggies!

5. chocolate milk+coffee+ice=scrumptious! i mean seriously, some good quiet time, a tasty drink...what more could a mama ask for!? (as a side note...a great coupon, combined with a great sale scored us some "dean's over the moon" chocolate milk...and oh my, it is the best chocolate milk i've ever tasted!...i don't make a habit of buying chocolate milk...but it is helping me actually drink at least a bit of milk each day throughout this pregnancy since i'm totally not a milk drinker usually).

6. elizabeth's first ever "drop her off and leave her" birthday party...for her buddy aidan. she had a blast...and, quite frankly, so did i. mike insisted that i drop her off and then just go somewhere, by myself (but NOT running errands!) and simply relax and have some "me" time. how delightful! i dropped libs off and then headed to one of our favorite little mexican restaurants nearby...where i enjoyed chips and salsa, diet coke, and some good time in the Word. what better combo is there!?

7. my two sweet girls in their matching "cherry" swimsuits...what's not to love!

8. listening to libs giggles of delight and happiness...as she once again enjoyed some sprinkler time. she was so not into the sprinkler last year...so i am loving watching her discover the joy of the sprinkler...and hoping this perhaps means she will be a bit "braver" when it comes to the lake as well....(can't wait to make it up that way in less than two weeks!--build poppy, build...we're comin' soon!)

9. ...and this little lovey...who was quite overjoyed by her red popsicle...i mean, really, check out that grin!

10. our makeshift swimming "pool"....getting the pool out and inflating it seemed like a lot of trouble at the last minute...so we made a rubbermaid tub work for us! i filled it up, and the girls spend some good time emptying it out, cup by cup...dumping cupfuls over their heads...over each others heads....onto the trees....onto mugho....and, of course, onto mommy's feet (which felt fabulous in the humidity and heat!)

11. we also enjoyed having a few fabulous families/friends over for a cook-out yesterday evening....plentiful amounts of tasty food, great fellowship, and after a mostly gray day the sun even peeked out just in time for some swingset and bubble fun!

12. sometimes it's the little things...like discovering a new tasty little treat...chocolate covered sunflower seeds from trader joes.

13. moments of happy, laughter filled play between the girls...let's face it, this doesn't happen all the time...but since moving them into the same room a couple weeks back, i truly am starting to see more "love" between them. i think it is also partially due to kate getting old enough to really "play" with elizabeth. in the past couple of weeks kate has started to say elizabeth's name...well, it sounds more like "liii-beth"...and that, my friends, is a huge milestone since kate seems quite resistent to the whole talking thing in general!

14. hearing the belly laughter that often comes from their bedroom after we've tucked them into bed...there's typically not a lot of sleeping going on right away...but really, is there any better sound than my precious daughters giggling and enjoying each other!? i think not!

ten-ish smile tuesday

since i only manage to post once a week these days, i figured i should be sure to get my post up. but i must admit that i'm exhausted and REALLY ready for a nap while the girlies nap...so this may be more "bullet-point tuesday" than ten smile tuesday! :)

-having daddy off for five...yep, five!...incredible days in a row!

-a fabulous-o date with my hubby thursday night...thanks to our date swap for free childcare and to ted's montana grill for the B1G1 bison burger coupon. i mean, a night out with my favorite guy would have been fabulous, regardless, but its nice when there's a bargain involved as well!

-a fairly successful garage sale...despite the lack of advertising on our neighborhood's part and the cool and semi-rainy weather saturday. i still made $100 for stuff i'd have been getting rid of anyway (and some things i would have considered j-u-n-k!)...plus it was fun to spend two mornings hanging with a friend.

-this sweet girl!

-and this one, who did a FANTASTIC job at her first ever dental appointment...she passed with flying colors and was proclaimed one of the most cooperative and calm little patients they'd ever had...which made mommy's heart happy...i wasn't sure how she would react...hence the fact that daddy went along instead of mommy....he seems to have a calming effect! we celebrated with homemade chocolate malts to share...yumm-o!

-celebrating daddy's happy birthday...it was a day-long affair...

donuts from our favorite local bakery for breakfast before church

elizabeth and kate loved their cinnamon "squiggle" donuts...

elizabeth even gave daddy a push on the swing as a present...i mean, really, what more could a daddy want on his special day

then the girls gave daddy the gift of letting him push...elizabeth loves flying HIGH IN THE SKY! and she loves to sing, "high in the sky, and the world wonders why...i'll just tell them i'm loving my KING..ooohhh ohhh ohhhhhhhh!" LOVE IT!


mommy gave daddy a german chocolate cake...and he appreciated that as well!

and finally, we invited some friends over to enjoy the cake and sunshine with us...gotta love that of the four kids, the youngest of all, kate, is the one standing at the top of the slide platform!

-sunshine...these shots all came from this morning. the girlies and i have been soaking in the beautiful day...and looking forward to what looks to be a string of fabulous may days to come!

elizabeth talked kate into "pushing" her on the swing...kate was so proud of the inches she was making her sissy move

and after watching sissy do this...

kate figured it out as well...

and then they paused for a rare "together and both sitting still and mostly smiling" picture...these girlies are a joy to my heart! and i can't wait to meet their little brother or sister...who surely will expand the joy and blessings infinitely! only 15 more weeks, folks!

ten smile tuesday

ten smile tuesday again...and once again, i find myself with very little photographic proof of our smiles....but still, plenty of smiles, nonetheless. i suppose i cheated a little sharing two smiles last week on tuesday evening...smiles that i could have carried over until this week. but you will just have to go here to check out that post (including pictures of smiley kate) if you haven't already. and without further ado....

1. a surprise party...my dearest husband managed to take me completely by surprise. arranging for a group of friends to meet us at a restaurant downtown on friday evening. afterwards the group of us that didn't need to head right home to baby-sitters (which included mike and i because of smile #2) played some skee-ball, air hockey, and other games on the second floor of the restaurant...and that too, proved quite fun! ironically when our original baby-sitting plan for friday fell through i made a few back-up calls and ended up snagging one of the "would-be party-goers" for baby-sitting job...so thanks for making my attendance at the surprise party possible, will and jamie! :)

2. an overnight stay at a gorgeous hotel downtown, the conrad, after previous mentioned surprise party. how nice to simply have some time to relax and kick back without thinking about the myriad of things that i could/should be doing around the house! this was a joint celebration of my birthday, hubby's birthday (which is coming up this week), our anniversary (less than a month away), and i suppose you could even tack mother's day on as well, since it was right in the same time frame. we capped our time off with a tasty breakfast at le peep in the morning...it was SO refreshing.

3. pretzel bread...oh my goodness...this is definitely in my top 10 favorite recipes now. YUM! it is even good enough to keep 5 kiddos under the age of 4 seated in a row for a picture...now that is most definitely a measure of success in my book!

4. and how cute are those 5 kiddos munching away on their pretzel bread. we had a great evening thursday...it was our turn to watch all the kids for our date-swap group....and can i just say that this particular group of seven kids under the age of four (the youngest two...a two month old and 11 month old didn't make the couch photo) could almost make me want 7 of my own in this age range. seriously...no tears, no arguments...just lots of playing, giggling, and otherwise enjoying themselves.

5. antibiotics...elizabeth decided to pick up some nasty germs somewhere and came down with strep...leading to a laying low kind of tuesday and wednesday...i'm so thankful the antibiotics helped to quickly restore her to her normal self. secretly, i'm also a bit thankful that the sickies took her back to actually napping in the afternoon...a trend that seems to be sticking even after she's regained her health!

6. a lovely morning at MOPS...a nice break after a few long days with a sick libbers and cooped up kate. i've so enjoyed the gals at my table this year...and in our group in general...and will be sad to see the MOPS year end after our meeting next week. in the meantime i am looking forward to our last steering meeting of the year tonight...a celebration of sorts...appetizers and dessert...for dinner...because, really, who needs the entree! :) i just finished whipping up my contribution, a double mocha brownie trifle....

7. peanut butter and jelly....we love PB&J around our house...especially if its closed inside two pieces of fresh home-baked wheat bread. i just had to share these pictures of kate. after scarfing down her own sandwich, she frantically "pleased" and "more"-d her way into snagging half of daddy's sandwich while he was away on the phone for a minute. no fear, we made another half for daddy. she typically likes her sandwich cubed into bite-sized pieces without crust, but she was pretty darn proud of herself for eating daddy's half like a big girl....and coating her arms and legs and mouth in peanut butter and jelly as well! :)

8. moving bedrooms...we moved elizabeth into kate's room saturday evening, and with three nights in the books, its going well so far. though we have four bedrooms, meaning everyone could have their own room, we ideally would like to keep one room as a guest/playroom...so we've been contemplating this move for awhile. i had my reservation, as lately elizabeth's sleep has been a bit unpredictable...but we figured we would at least give it a whirl, especially after they did a great job in the same room friday night when they stayed with friends. though it definitely takes them longer to fall asleep and i'm hearing kate's voice a bit earlier in the morning (but really, she was probably up this early all along...she is just content to lay in her crib silently until i come get her), it is well worth all the giggles, chattering, and love we are hearing between the two of them. and even though i hear them up earlier in the morning, they are content to simply chatter and play in their beds until their turtle comes on (which is elizabeth's sign she can come out of her bed).

9. some good restful sleep. i am feeling good pregnancy-wise, but sleeping has been my biggest issue this time around. i have no trouble falling asleep but am often waking up as many as 6 times a night...meaning, not much restful sleep and one exhausted mama. in the past week, though, i've had two or three nights where i've only been up once...and that has been FABULOUS! on top of that, after seeing a bit of an increase in my blood pressure my doctor ordered me to put my feet up and try to nap in the afternoon...and that is what i've been doing for the past week...and oh my, a nice solid nap is a great thing. but my goodness, i have such a hard time putting my feet up and taking a break...especially when it feels like it would be such a great time to actually accomplish something cleaning-wise!

10. though it doesn't seem to mesh with #9's comments about putting my feet up...i have been productive in little ways. is it stooping to a new low when you post a smile regarding something as little as getting the laundry folded...and then admit that it was actually both this week and last weeks laundry...and then you go so far as to post a picture of the accomplishment!? that was this morning's accomplishment! but with moving the girls to the same room i've also made some good headway in getting elizabeth's old room organized and a bit more ready to become the nursery...and mike and i together did some major purging in the guest/playroom/currently should be called the junkroom! as long as it doesn't rain we'll be trying to get rid of some stuff at a garage sale saturday...and i can't wait!

11. ...and finally, i am smiling in anticipation of having mike home the rest of the week. after a couple of LONG weeks with LONG hours all that time will pay off in three full days at home with us...well, actually five days when you count the weekend! bring it on! :)

the little things...

just a couple more smiles...pertaining to the little things in life...the little moments in a day.

....like the joy of a back porch popsicle party....the delight and exuberance as a 21 month old over a drippy, sticky and sweet yellow popsicle....her giggles and laughter as she licked and ran around the backyard....and, of course, the same kind of delight for a 3 1/2 year old as well...a 3 1/2 year old who is absolutely enthralled by the idea that she will be a 4 year old on her next birthday...a birthday that she talks about endlessly, not quite grasping that 5 months is quite a ways away! the joy of that 3 1/2 year old's innocence...asking questions like, "when i'm a big girl can i use the plunger for the potty then!?"--yes, the dear girl is fascinated by the miniature sized plunger we use for unclogging the sink...more than a few times i've found that sink plunger sequestered away in her bedroom...a treasure. funny, sweet, dear girl. oh how i love my girlies.

...and then there are other smiles...like k-mart tripling coupons up to $.75 this week...turning my huggies wipes coupon into $2.25 off...and making a tub of wipes cost just a quarter! the smile that came when i realized those diapers i stockpiled a month or two ago were filled with those $.75 off coupons...meaning i was able to add a whole bunch of wipes to my massive diaper stockpile for next to nothing. it truly is the little things, my friends...and, by the way, if you have a k-mart nearby, you really should check to see if they are running the same sweet deal...not only are they tripling coupons 75 cents and under, but they are also doubling coupons from 76 cents to $2....wipes weren't the only bargain we scored!