Easter 2012!

Saturday morning we went over to Mom and Dad's church for an easter egg hunt. My mom was helping out with the kids' activities and had told us about it. The big kids were in one room with mom and some other helpers, and I went with Rachel to the little kids' class. They did a few crafts and played some games. Rachel walked right in, sat down beside another little girl, and started coloring. I think she is going to do just fine when it comes to preschool (even if I won't!) Then they let the kids loose on the playground to find eggs. Rachel is still a little slow at it, so she only ended up with 4 eggs. But thankfully they took up all the eggs and gave the kids treat bags with candy and toys inside instead, to make it fair for everyone. Thought that was a good idea. The kids ended up with Reese's eggs, which Arnold and I stole from them ;) After the egg hunt they got to play on the playground for awhile and run out some energy. I ran into a lot of people I knew growing up, and it was great to see everyone and get to talk a little bit. I always feel so strange when I get around people I used to know, I feel like I am not "ready" to be this mom of 3 kids. It feels like just a character I am playing.. although I know it is very, very real! After all the egg hunts we went to the family life center and they had made lunch for everyone-- chicken nuggets, fries, applesauce, and cupcakes. The kids had invited their cousin Bekah to come to the egg hunt too, so we all sat at the table together during lunch. It was a fun morning!

That afternoon we went over to Arnold's parents house, along with Jenn and Bekah, for some more Easter fun. The grandparents had all the kids their own Easter baskets full of goodies. They all got a few toys, juice bottles, cotton candy, and chocolate bunnies. Brooke is my WEIRD child who doesn't really care for chocolate (I know, right?!) so I got to eat her's (not that I'm complaining at all!) The inlaws had also gotten Arnold and I our own bunnies-- cookies and cream flavored (we are still big kids after all!) So we ate those too. Brooke also fished all the reese's cups out of her basket and gave them to us, too. Needless to say before I left there, I was feeling sick on my stomach!! The kids then took turns dying easter eggs. A little later they were all wanting to eat them, so we ended up eating all of the eggs, too. We actually got my neice to try her very first hard-boiled egg, and she liked it!!!! (yay) Easter is one of my favorite holidays, of course for the obvious reasons, but also-- I love any holiday that is about eggs and chocolate-- two of my favorites things to eat! ;) Then the kids went outside to hunt eggs in the yard. All the eggs were filled with jelly beans and M&M's. The kids came back inside, dumped all their loot out, and started eating again. I usually restrict how much candy they are eating, but we are a lot more "laid back" on holidays. I can't get over how much sweets they had though.. probably not the best thing to do after what we went through at the dentist lately with Brooke!!! (just give me a "Worst Mama Award!!") But they all had a great time, and that's what mattered. Arnold's dad and I ended up falling asleep on the couch (we are the sleep-loving people of the bunch I guess).

That afternoon Jennifer and I went to the movies together, while Arnold and his parents took charge of the kids for awhile (thank you guys!!!) We went to see "October Baby." I don't know how I was so behind and hadn't even heard of this movie at all.. so thankfully Jennifer told me about it. When I looked it up online I knew it was something I wanted to see. When we first got there we were the only ones in the small theatre (everyone else was there to see Hunger Games or the new American Pie movie, which I will get to eventually!!!) We had taken our 2012 popcorn buckets and gotten our buttery popcorn and big cokes (yes, even AFTER all the junk we had eaten over the course of the day.) But you can't go to the movies and not get the heart-clogging goodness.. seriously. Anyway, the movie was about a girl who had been the product of a failed abortion. She had survived, and her mom didn't want her, so she was adopted. She didn't know she was adopted until she was a teen though, and found out due to some medical problems she had. Then she went on a roadtrip with her childhood best friend to try to find her biological mother. I won't ruin all the details/surprises in case anyone wants to see it, but it was really, really good. Especially coming from someone who was adopted, and who is also so pro-life-- it really hit home with me and struck a nerve several times. I think I cried the entire last 30 minutes of the movie. But oh, it was so good. A movie of surprises, love, loss, forgiveness, God's grace.. and everything in between. The adoptive dad was played by John Snyder, who was in the old Dukes of Hazzard. Arnold's grandmother used to say he looked a lot like him.. I guess I can see it now. I only hope Arnold looks that good as he ages ;) (haha love you honey!!)

Sunday morning the kids got up at 5:45!!!! I couldn't believe it, I heard them talking and running around and I thought I was dreaming. But no.. they were wide awake, excited about seeing what the Easter Bunny had brought them. So I got up (while Arnold stayed in the bed mumbling about how it was an ungodly hour to be up) and took them into the living room. They were so excited over everything they got in their baskets. Caleb and Brooke got new Wii games (Wii Fit Kids and Star Wars), new Eric Carle books to finish up their collections, change in their easter eggs (they are really into having their own money these days), and some other various things. Rachel got a new sipcup, stuffed sheep, little owl family (owls!!) and a few other things. Arnold said the Dora head easter eggs were really creepy... just floating heads in her basket.. but I thought they were really cute!!! Anyway, the kids played their new games while I made some cinnamon buns for breakfast. Arnold eventually got up and joined us (can't believe he missed them opening their baskets though!!) Then we all got them dressed in their Easter outfits. Rachel finally got the dress I had been saving since way back on our Anniversary trip when I bought it. I also put her own little white sandals, a matching bow, fake pearls, and she carried a little purse with her that she had gotten in her basket. She.was.ADORABLE. Oh my goodness... I can't get over how much my little girl has grown!!! We wanted to leave the house by 7:30, and we ended up pulling out of the driveway around 7:35, so not so bad. Definately not bad considering we had to get 3 little kids ready that early in the morning, when Arnold and I are NOT morning people at all!!!

We got to church and dropped the kids off in their classroom. Arnold had to meet up with a lady and talk to her about some responsibilities he is taking on in the church, so I sat in the "lobby area" and waited on him (while eating more of the little reese cups that I found in my purse, thanks to Brooke!) Then we went downstairs to the 8am service. There was actually a lot of people there, I was happy to see that! I heard there had been a good turnout for the sunrise service, too (which we never would have been able to make, even if the kids did get up at a crazy hour!) After service we went back to the kids' area, because I was supposed to work at the 9:30 service, since it was the 2nd Sunday of the month. Since we had only driven one vehicle that morning, they let Arnold stay in there with me as a "volunteer of the day" :) He wasn't too sure of it at first, but kids always seem to like him (and dogs-- which I never get, because he isn't too fond of either!! Haha.. I joke..) There is a little boy in there that is usually very clingy and wants to be held. He held out his arms for Arnold right away. Arnold actually ended up getting him down and got him to color, and play with some toys. When his parents came back to pick him up they were so surprised. I guess Arnold is amazing with kids after all, who would have thought?! ;) Maybe he should become a regular in there with us ;) Also, while we were in there, one of the other workers took the kids to the bathroom. Rachel wanted to go, but I didn't think anything of it, since she always likes to go at church but never does anything. Well guess what? She PEED IN THE POTTY!!!! For the very first time!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness... didn't think i'd be that mom that shared all the intimate details of her kids life that no one really cares about, but if you were me, you'd understand. That kid is so stubborn, you can tell she is the baby of the family. But she finally did it, and I am elated, even if it WAS for another person. Like my friend Jess said-- it was an Easter miracle!! :)

After church, we went over to my parents house. They were having us over for lunch and yet even more Easter fun. They had easter baskets for the kids too (told you they were really spoiled!!) And one for Arnold and I too.. our's had some new kitchen gadgets in it, and some snacks. One of the things the kids got was a new board game, so we played that until they got bored of it. Then my dad hid eggs in the backyard and we went outside for another egg hunt. Thankfully my dad was nice enough to get a family picture of us on their front steps (because we all know I have to have my memories!) For lunch we had ham, roasted asparagus, mashed potatoes, squash casserole, deviled eggs, rolls, sweet tea, and brussel sprouts (ewwww.. which my mom MADE me try one. Still at 26 years old she is trying to get her kids to not be picky eaters). The lunch was so good, my mom is still an amazing cook! Anyway, after lunch we played outside in the yard some more. Mom had gotten everyone squirt guns, and so we had a squirt gun fight. It took Rachel awhile to figure out how to shoot the water out of it, but once she did she went after people.. it was so cute. Caleb is sneaky.. he came up behind me and soaked me.. not the sweet boy I thought he was, after all! ;) Then we finished off the afternoon with my mom reading the kids their new books out on the back deck. Couldn't have asked for a more beautiful Easter day.. it was sooo nice outside!!

I hope everyone else had an awesome Easter, also! :)

Bumble Bee Party!

For Rachel's 3rd birthday party, I have decided on a BumbleBee theme! We have done animals for all her parties thus far, so I am going on with this, since she still doesn't seem to care one way or the other ;) So these are some ideas I've found so far, and please let me know if anyone has any more! I love planning parties! :)

These are the paper products that inspired me. I found them online. I love the color combo and how good it looks together! I hope to buy all of this stuff at the end of the month. They also have a lot of yellow things I found at Hobby Lobby that would go great with the theme.

I'll be having Mandy (Sain Custom Creations) make Rachel's shirt. I'm not sure what it is going to look like, but I found this online, it is cute with the Bee and the number on it too! Rachel has a yellow/pink tutu that I might be able to match with it, we will see.

My friend Mindy made me the bee bow for Rachel to wear. She was trying to teach ME to make hairbows but I got frustrated :P I don't have a pic of the actual bow, but it looks like this (although her's is neater/cuter ;) She did 2 bows together and put a little bee button on there too!

One of my ideas for the actual party is to do an icecream social/icecream bar. Have icecream set out, along with several different toppings. I am trying to find an indoor place to have the party so the icecream doesn't melt. It is usually pretty hot here in June!

To go along with the colors-- yellow and black balloons! Love the polka dots too!

Found lots of ideas for sunflowers used as decorations and centerpieces, so I think that is a great idea! Even found some fake sunflowers at Hobby Lobby yesterday.

These tissue pom poms are supposedly easy to make... not sure, but it might be worth a try! Could do them in yellows and blacks.

This would be cute to do as a craft for the kids or some decorations! they are made using toilet paper rolls! What a great idea!

As for a cute drink idea, lemondae! Everyone loves it, and its yellow!

This is just an idea, but I love candy bars. Can find lots of different candies that are yellow and have them sitting out in pretty jars, to go along with the color theme, and so guests can take some treats home with them.

Lemonheads are just one of the ideas for yellow candies! I really love them. I even used to like them when I was pregnant with Rachel (helped with nausea!)

I love cakepops! I think they are the cutest things ever. I would definately have to get someone to make these for me if I went this route. Too many little details!

And of course- last but not least- we need a bee cake. There is one like this that can be made using a ladybug pan.. Arnold says he doesn't like it. He likes pictures of 3D beehive cakes... so.. we will see if someone can make that I guess!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

~I'm loving that Brooke did SO well at her dentist appointment this morning. She was so brave. They didn't let anyone back there with her, so I basically paced the waiting room floor while waiting on her, or read up on the latest People magazines. (Now have my fill of celebrity news for awhile.) They let her take her "Sally" doll back to sit with her, so I know that helped. She is feeling ok, just numb and a little sore. They sent the tooth home with her (that is HUGE by the way) so that she can get another visit from the tooth fairy :)

~I'm loving how loved our kiddos are. Especially by the men of the family, who are big suckers! ;) Brooke got her daddy to stay home from work today, got icecream, lunch out, and picked a toy out after her appt. She also got to pick out several prizes at the dentist, and the dentist even said she could pick out one for Sally (how sweet!)

~I'm loving that Kmart is doing their "Additional 50% off Clearance" Toy Sale right now. I wish we had a lot of extra $$$ right now so that I could pick some extra toys for birthday parties, etc. Everyone should go check it out, they had a lot there!

~I'm loving that the cookie dough we bought from someone Arnold works with came in. And Arnold finally remembered to bring it home for me ;)

~I'm loving that we have "dessert duty" for Lifegroup tonight. So I am going to bake some cookies and make some Easter cupcakes, too. Maybe I should look up some cute ideas on Pinterest? At least then I could say it truly came to good use to me!

~I'm loving that the book I just finished reading, "Barefoot," ended on a good note last night. I was really waiting for a sad ending, the way the story was going! It was nice after so many sad Nicholas Sparks books I have read lately.

~I'm loving that I am taking a trip to Hobby Lobby tomorrow morning with a friend. Hope to get some good ideas for Rachel's bee party, and look around at cute ribbons, too. Maybe I can get more inspired to try again at making hairbows for the girls ;)

~I'm loving last night's episode of "Raising Hope." That show is just plain hilarious. Especially Maw Maw. Did anyone see last night's episode? Loved Sabrina's "Mr Magoo glasses" ;)

~I'm loving that the van is cleaned out. I vaccumed out the backseat the other day while the kids were playing outside. It needed it BADLY.

~I'm loving that there are only 4 more days until Easter! Yep I'm still excited and counting down. I'm still a kid at heart ;)

~I'm loving that I have lots of fun plans for this weekend. An egg hunt at my parents' church to take the kids to, celebrating one of my best friends' bdays with a Girls Night Out, going to the movies with my Sister-in-law, church, and visiting with family. It should be a lot of fun!

~I'm loving that God has blessed us with so many wonderful family members and friends. We have had so much support as we've gone through a lot of weird, tough, and downright hard times over the past few years. We have some of the best people in our lives! Be jealous! haha ;)

~I'm loving this article that talks about the Hunger Games books and movies, and how there are actually a lot of Gospel themes present. Interesting stuff.
http://www.faithvillage.com/article/fb79fbe277904c18b53cd69556d19bcd/the_hunger_games_and_the_gospel?return=%2Fculturelab

April Goals

1. Get through Brooke's dentist appointment, where she has to have a tooth pulled and a cap put on another one. Do.not.lose.my.cool! I have a tendency to freak out easily. Be brave for Brooke! Take care of her the rest of the day and make sure she is comfortable. Make plan of attack to pay for huge dentist bill, eeek!

2. Have a fun, meaningful, stress-free Easter with the family. Enjoy the many egg hunts planned. Dress the kids up very cute for church. Take a family picture (I love last year's, I have it framed!) Visit with family.

3. Celebrate two of my best friend's birthdays! Erika just turned the big 2-7! :) And Jess has a birthday later in the month as well.

4. Enjoy a much-needed and well-deserved girls' night out with friends.

5. Plan a date night for Arnold and I to go see "The Hunger Games." No, we still haven't seen it. It is HARD to find time to get out when you have 3 kids!

6. Plan, organize, and go crazy over Rachel's 3rd Birthday party. I have decided on a bee theme. I hope to have most of the stuff bought for it by the end of the month. I am finding lots of cute ideas on Pinterest. I wish I was more crafty!

7. Have fun (but not too much fun) with Arnold's bonus check that comes at the end of this month. There is a lot we need to pay for and get done first. Pay a few bills, buy new beds for the kids, etc. There are a few things we are planning if we have enough left over-- a new recliner for the living room (ours is comfortable but OLD!), maybe replace my Kindle (but I doubt it), buy DMB tickets (but they are so expensive, even for lawn seats!) Those are just some ideas.

8. Find the perfect Mother's Day presents for my mom and mother-in-law. I know its not until next month, but I like to get the present-buying done when I can.

9. Take the kids on a day-trip to the Greensboro Children's Museum. I've heard its great, and I know our kids would love something like that.

10. Read several books (this is nothing new!) I am working on "Barefoot" right now, it is really hard to put down! I also want to read the 2nd (and maybe 3rd) in the Hunger Games Trilogy. Then work more down on the pile of books I've bought but haven't gotten a chance to read yet.

11. Clean out and organize Caleb's room. His room is the hardest to keep neat. They like to go in there and destroy it often. He has SO many small toys/action figures that are always all over the place. It's frustrating. We need a system!

12. Hopefully reach lots of un-churched people in the area. Our church is doing an awesome program right now, involving easter eggs, church information, candy.... Oh the eggs, there are So many eggs! But it will be worth it if we can lead even a few people to church on Easter morning! :)

13. Get professional pictures of the family done. Its been almost a year since we had our last ones done. I like to get them done every year so we can see the changes in all of us. Makes me sad, but will be great to look back on.

14. Plan for and enjoy a fun Spring Break with the kids. They will be off for a whole week, the week after Easter. That is going to be 3 kids home with me all day, so we eed to find lots of fun things to do to keep us busy. Hopefully the weather will be nice. I also have some crafts to do, and some other ideas.

15. Create memories at the Mother/Daughter Tea Party that the Girl Scouts are throwing. What a sweet idea! They said Grandmas could come along too, so I asked my mom, and of course she jumped at the idea. I can't wait to dress Brooke up for this, and I know she will have a great time :)



Ok so wish me luck, that I get all of these accomplished this month!!!! :)

Weekend Review!

This weekend was crazy busy. It flew by before I could blink twice. Anyway, Friday we had to take the kids in for their first dentist appointments. I know Brooke and Caleb should have already gone, but at our dentist they don't file insurance, so it would have been over $400 for all 3 of the kids to go-- insane. So we looked around and listened to friends' recommendations. We decided to take them to Smile Starters. I am so glad we chose that place, they were so great. They were able to get us in next day, we got in the actual office really quickly, and all the people working were really kind to the kids and made them very comfortable. Since Rachel is under 3 they put her in a room by herself. I went with her and Arnold stayed outside in the hallway and got to watch the big kids through the glass windows. Rachel was very nervous at first, started crying and trying to jump out of the chair. But at the girl kept talking and talking to her, she eventually calmed down and even laughed a little bit. At the end of her visit they gave her a stuffed whale, glittery bracelet, and sticker. Rachel ended up with a great report and they said her teeth looked great. Caleb and Brooke both did really well with their appointments too. Caleb also ended up with a great report. Unfortunately Brooke had a lot of bad things going on in her mouth. She ended up with 6 cavities, and 2 were pretty bad. I have never had a cavity before and didn't really know what I was looking at. We only thought she had 1 or 2! And had NO idea that 2 were that bad. One has to have a cap put on, and one tooth actually has to be PULLED. Oh goodness, I felt like such a bad mom. I know its not really my fault, but I don't want my baby to have to go through that pain that's coming to her. The dentist took us into his office and explained everything to us, and showed us the kids' charts. By then the kids were so restless and Rachel actually ended up in the hallway unraveling the huge roll of stickers, which I had to go roll back up. But overall, the visit went really well. We take Brooke back Wednesday to get her teeth worked on.

Friday night we took the kids to Bojangles to eat dinner. They love to go inside, even if its fast food. We were eating and Arnold found some pink in his chicken. He was a little freaked out. Him and the manager ended up deciding it was probably just the look of it since it was close to the bone, but he was still worried he might get sick. Thankfully, he didnt! I am glad I didn't have to put up with a puking husband that night, haha! :P Then we went to Wendy's to get frostys. I know that sounds bad, considering we had just gone to the dentist earlier in the day, but they would have eaten sweets again sometime, right?? Plus, I remember my mom always taking me to get icecream after dr/dentist/orthodontist appts, so I wanted to do the same things with my kids ;) When we got home and put the kids to bed we watched "Horrible Bosses" that I had rented. I thought it was going to be bad, since I had heard mixed reviews on it. But it ended up actually being really funny, and entertaining! It had a lot of good celebs in it. It was pretty crude humor, but that was to be expected. It was SO weird seeing Jenn Aniston in a character like that though, that just messed with my head!

Saturday morning we got up early and got ready, because we were walking in the local Juvenile Diabetes walk. We have some good friends who's daughter was diagnosed with it this past year, at only age 6. So of course we wanted to help out if we could. Over the past few weeks we have been trying to raise money for our team, and we did pretty well. Along with EVERYONE on the team, I think I heard we raised over $700 so that is awesome!! We woke up to rain that morning, so I was really bummed out. I just knew it was going to put me in a bad mood, and we even had to take jackets for the kids, even though it has been in the 80s the past few days. Well I was praying for the weather to clear up, and wouldn't you know it?? It had stopped raining AND the sun was coming out by the time we got to the walk. God is so good! We registered and got a tshirt. Brooke begged to wear my shirt, which was huge on her and ended up looking like a dress :P We went in the walk with Erika's family, Karla, and her kids. With all the kids with us we ended up almost being the very last ones in the walk, but I'm used to that, haha. I was so worried about Caleb complaining the whole time, because he usually doesn't like to walk long distances. But all the kids did wonderful! We completed the walk in just under an hour. When we got done, they had all kinds of stuff set up, bounce houses for the kids to play in, and lunch for everyone who did the walk. I thought that was really cool. We ate Subway sandwiches and chips while watching the kids play a little longer :) Needless to say my legs have been hurting for the past 2 days. The first day I could really feel it in my thighs, and today the fronts of my legs have been hurting. I guess I need to get in better shape! I am not used to walking 3 miles at a time! Anyway, I am so proud of all of us, that we participated and finished!

That afternoon we went home after the walk and the kids played games on the Wii while Arnold and I passed out in the living room, on the couch. Haha, you can tell we are old now ;) Then we went to a big festival that my Sister-in-law told me about. It was put on by a church, and it was really cool! They had pony rides, hot air balloon rides, an egg hunt, petting zoo, paint ball, and food. We let the kids see the animals, and they loved that. I think Rachel ended up feeding a sheep a skittle though... she was eating some at the time and then Arnold said he saw her do that. Never a dull day with us, that would happen with my kid, wouldn't it?! While we were there we ran into a family from my old church. I used to baby sit their daughter! I saw her with some friends, and she was so big! I think she was 9 now? That makes me feel so incredibly old! Ah! Anyway, the kids found a lot of eggs in the egg hunt, got bunnies painted on their hands (they didn't want FACE painting :P and then we all had hotdogs to eat. Aside from it being really hot and me still feeling the pain in my legs from the walk earlier, it was a pretty fun evening. We did get out of there early though, didn't feel like waiting in the really long line for balloon animals.

After we left the festival we went to Rita's!!! It's so funny because there is a young girl that works in there alot and I know she is shaking her head at me because I am in there so much! But I am seriously addicted to that stuff! This time I had Strawberry Colada, oh my goodness it was sooo good! Then we went home, and thankfully we got the kids to bed early that night. They were exhausted, too! I had rented a few movies, and that night Arnold and I watched "Alvin and the Chipmunks:Chip Wrecked." Yes, we sometimes still watch "kid movies" without the kids! Its all good. It was really a cute movie!

Sunday morning I went to church early to work in the baby classroom. We ended up with 2 "little kids" and 2 babies. So it was pretty full for our usual classroom that early. I sat on the floor most of the time and played with the babies. They sat together and gummed teethers and rattles most of the time. Occasionally they would reach out and touch each other's faces or sit in my lap. Ahhh, contentment. I would be happy to sit and hold/play with babies all day long! But this is not "new news" to anyone ;) So of course I had a great time that morning! Then Arnold and the kids got there and we went to the later church service. Our pastor came out holding a guitar, acting like it was no big deal. I was standing there wondering what in the heck was going on... I didnt think he played guitar! He said that the music leader wasn't going to be there, and he was going to play instead. He then played a couple of notes, burst out laughing, and said "APRIL FOOLS." Haha, that was a good one. That would have been.... interesting... to say the least! :) I love April Fools and usually play jokes on people, but couldn't think of any good ones this year.

Later that afternoon, we went to a local gymnastics place, for a BIRTHDAY PARTY for the mom's group I am in. We are celebrating 6 years of being a group, isnt that great?! Anyway, there were a lot of my good friends there, so it was really fun. They had it set up like a carnival, and had pizza, popcorn, cotton candy, cupcakes, and all sorts of drinks. Then the kids got to run around and play in the gym part. My kids have been there before and it is pretty awesome, they love it! They have trampolines and a huge pit full of foam blocks you can jump in. Arnold and I have actually been in there before, and its fun, but its so hard to get out of! Also, last time I found a kids' old bandaid in there, so I was pretty grossed out and don't care to go back in there again! And Arnold is pretty sure he lost a pair of socks in there one time, too.... Anyway, then the kids had an egg hunt. All the parents hid the eggs all over the gym, and then we let the kids loose to find them. They let the kids go out earlier, and Rachel got a ton of eggs! They also had some cardboard things decorated like a clown, and monkeys, and they kids could stick their heads out and take pictures. Everyone who was involved in the planning of this did a great job! It was one of the most fun events we had been to! I think even Arnold had fun ;)

Last night I was really tired, and sad to see the weekend go :( Hope everyone else had a great one, too! Only one more week until Easter!!! :)

It's Ok Thursday

~It's ok that Rachel and I spent the whole day yesterday with new friends of our's. We even stayed for a picnic lunch in their backyard, and I pretended like I really didn't NEED to get to the grocery store and do my weekly shopping.

~It's ok that I let Rachel run around without pants after she soaked the ones she had on. I didn't have an extra outfit with me. Yeah, I forgot to pack one.

~It's ok that I'm a complete and utter nerd. I mean bigtime. I have shelves and shelves of books. I still like to go to the library. I laugh at stupid things. I get so excited about things sometimes I shake. I dance around and sing really loudly when I think no one's watching. I care way too much what people think. I am not "good" at being fashionable and just "knowing" what looks good together. I crunch my icea after every drink. I get way too attached to people I care about. Its all OK.

~It's ok that the other night I was totally belting out an old Shania Twain song in the living room. I was even using a Pringles can as a microphone. Arnold was a little embarassed of me, I think.

~It's ok that I am not very crafty. Most moms I know are. Friends have tried to teach me to make hairbows for the girls and I just get frustrated. A friend made me like 6 bows for Rachel while I was attempting just to make one look "right." I guess I will either keep buying them or relying on generous friends to make them!

~It's ok that I sometimes go back and "correct" a little on Brooke's homework after she's done. Just erasing stray marks and letters that went a little above the line, etc. I am a teeny bit scared of her teacher. She is oldschool like you wouldn't believe. But I am glad Brooke has that structure in her daily life.

~It's ok that I had an extra piece of cake last night at a church thing. It was chocolate. Enough said!

~It's ok that I like watching reality shows like "Biggest Loser," "Teen Mom," "19 Kids and Counting," and the like. I like seeing people in their everyday lives. I think I touched on this in another blog. I am nosy!

~It's ok that I am not very good at math. Don't ask me to do any in my head. If I am trying to figure out sales or "percent off," I whip out my calculator. Every time.

~It's ok that I don't like coffee! Everyone and their brother say I am weird for this. I still get my caffeine fix. I just drink Dr Pepper or Sun Drop instead ;)

~It's ok that I am wrapped up in the "Hunger Games" hype just like everyone else. I want to go see the movie with Arnold. I am afraid I will get upset/sad/nauseous and all that, but I still want to go. Just to say I did.

~It's ok that I'd rather do exercise videos and Wii Fit than go to an actual gym. I don't like people watching me work out.

~It's ok that I think I'm even more excited about Easter than the kids are.

~It's ok that Arnold went in with others at work to try to win the lottery. Have I ever played? Nope. Do i think its silly to try? Yep. But I am a teeny bit excited this time.

~It's ok that the girls have way more clothes than me. It's way more fun to buy stuff for them than it is me. Everything looks good on them! ;)

~It's ok that I am very jealous whenever we visit friends' houses who don't have kids. Their houses are not cluttered with toys! No crayon marks on the wall! Or spills on their carpet! It's heavenly.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

~I'm loving that I re-decorated my blog for Spring, and reached 12,000 views

~I'm loving that I got a good night's sleep last night (for once)

~I'm loving that we got to go visit Makenzie in the hospital last night. She had her tonsils and adenoids removed yesterday morning. She did really well! Rachel made her a card and took it to her. I think she was happy to have some company :)

~I'm loving the memories that flood back to me when I'm at the hospital. I always think back to when I had the kids. Caleb even said to me "this is where I was when I was a baby!!" And I told him that yes, he was born there. Can't believe it was almost 6 years ago that we pulled out of that parking lot with baby Brooke in the backseat, and became a family. I peeked into the nursery when we walked by it, but didn't see any babies in there.. darn. Something about new life that makes me happy.

~I'm loving that I had not one, but two conversations with Ray last night (even if they were quick!) It has been a weird, long week, and it was good to talk to him. He is a really good friend.

~I'm loving that the other night while we were having "Circle Time" and helping the kids say their prayers, Brooke said "Thank you God for my Uncle Alex." That was just precious! Usually they call out their names and mine and Arnold's, but it was sweet to hear them add more family members in the mix this time. The kids love their uncle :)

~I'm loving that the most recent Nicholas Sparks book I read had a way better ending than the last one. I just finished reading "The Choice" and before that I read "At First Sight." That one ended very sadly. I always cuss Nicholas Sparks for making me cry, but I'm always sucked into this stories.

~I'm loving that a story I wrote was featured in Christ Church's newsletter this month. We got it in the mail this past week and I was really surprised. They had told me awhile back that it might be in there, but I had forgotten all about it. I wrote about how awesome Lifegroups are, and how everyone should join one. The newsletter went out to people from all the campuses, and although I know a lot of people didn't even bother to read it, it makes me feel special ;) It was neat to see my name under it. I am definately saving that for the future :)

~I'm loving that this Sunday it starts April. This year seems to be flying by already. And while I am not wishing the time away at all, I am really looking forward to Easter. Love that time of year. The kids ask me many mornings if it is time yet. Their Easter baskets are already full and hiding in the hall closet on the shelf.

~I'm loving that we have raised a decent amount of money for the Diabetes walk this Saturday. Arnold and I have gotten some donations from his work friends, and from family. We are walking the 3 mile walk this weekend, with some good friends of ours. We are walking for their daughter, who was diagnosed at only 6 years old! I hope they can find a cure!

~I'm loving finding other people's blogs to read online. The only thing I love more than writing a blog is reading other people's. Many people will tell you I am nosy (ask my Mother and husband!) Not in a bad way, I am just fascinated with other people's lives. I don't know why.. I just always have been. I like to see what other people do, buy, how they live, etc. I hope I don't come across as creepy now, haha! I also am envious of how "together" some other moms seem to be, but I know I don't get to see the whole story, so I shouldn't compare myself to them.

~I'm loving that we got the proofs back from the kids' spring pictures yesterday. They used an ugly background this time (don't like to be negative, but they did!) Brooke's picture was pretty good, except she forgot to take her necklace OUT of her shirt, so it would show. And Caleb totally had a fake smile, but he was cute, too. He looks so much older compared to last year's pic.

~I'm loving that "Secret Life" came back on last night. That show has got to be the biggest train-wreck I have ever seen. It has some horrible acting and the show has turned into a big soap opera. With that being said, I can't look away. I find myself still watching to see what happens.

~I'm loving that tomorrow is payday. Enough said :)

**I know half of this is green and half regular text, but I can't seem to fix it!**