for adult eyes only

I realize that I have a million and one things I should rather be doing right now(after all, we are moving in 2 weeks) but instead I have been wasting time looking through old photos. This pic has always been one of my favorites not just because it proves that boys of any age are the same, but it also has a moral to it too.

This was the first time that I ever lost Darren (I wish I could say it was the only time but if you know Darren you understand). I think I was shopping with my sister in GAP baby. GAP baby, theGAP and GAP body are all connected. I got distracted for "just a moment" and turned and Little D was no where to be seen. Panicked I rushed around GAP baby. Nothing. I rushed around the GAP found my sis and we rushed into GAP body to find my baby boy had lost a precious little bit of his innocence. A mall really is no place for a little boy anyway. They hate going there. So that is why i need a girl, simply a reason to go back to the mall!

Introducing....

...Baby #4

So I know I haven't posted much about being preggo, but I really try hard to forget that I am, thinking that maybe it will make the time go faster partly because I've been sick and partly because I am so dang excited to 1)find out that it is my girl and 2)get this baby here and see what possible personality will be added to our mix.

It is still way too soon to find out the gender but yes, I have already painted the baby's room pink. I figure either way I have to get it out of my system and we already have plenty of blues and greens and browns. Lance still hopes for a boy. (I never knew just how much he was traumatized by having only sisters) Darren says he wants another boy. Cordon says he wants a boy but he refers to himself as a girl so not really sure what he means by that. Cameron I think will detest the baby either way since he can't stand me giving anyone attention besides him.

Either way we will obviously welcome this final baby with open arms.

So far this pregnancy has been way better than the others. I am still sick but thanks to modern medicine it has been much more bearable. My parents came out for a week while Lance was in Mexico and helped out tons with the boys and yard work and catching me up on a billion (at least) loads of laundry. So with three months down I just have to survive, moving, three birthday parties, my first born entering, as he says, Kingigarten and a trip to Disneyland!

Cancun

Lance just got back from Cancun a couple of weeks ago. He went for a Sports Medicine Conference. Go ahead, ask him what he learned. Really, who goes to Cancun to learn anything?

Am I just bitter? kinda but not really. I didn't really feel like going because I have been so sick lately. But I was secretly happy when I heard it was raining down there. Was I jealous? yeah. I love traveling and I used to travel a lot, you know, before kids. I would never trade my kids for all the traveling in the world but sometimes I just crave a little adventure.

So when I feel a little sorry for myself I just get out my shot glasses and drown my sorrows in the memories of past journeys.

When I was a kid and my dad was traveling a lot for work. He started bringing me home Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts from the major cities he had visited. As I grew older and started my own traveling I kept this tradition alive by collecting my own HRC souvenirs. I chose the shot glass because, hey, those never go out of style and well they were also the cheapest thing they sell.

So when Lance went down to cancun I asked him to bring me back a shot glass. I know this sounds like cheating since I wasn't with him but I have actually been there before. It just was before my drinking days and I didn't get my beloved HRC cancun shot glass. So now I had to break out the collection in order to add this one to it.

So even though my passport expires this month, I dream of distant places and far off lands and the day when I can actually fit into my bikini again. I am going to have a long time to plan my next destination so I hope my sister finds away to stay in Dublin for a while or does anyone know if there is a HRC in Tahiti?

Best buds

As a mom, there is not much that makes me happier than seeing my boys all get along.

Darren and Cordon are getting to the age where they are understanding manners and being kind to one another. It is so fun to hear them say please and thank you to one another and hear them calling each other their best friend. I hope this friendship lasts throughout their lives.

This is not to say that they are perfect. In fact boys will be boys and that comes out much more often. But now that Cordon is catching up to Darren and is perfecting the "take down" I actually enjoy watching them "work things out" for themselves. The thing about these boys that I love is that they are never mad for long. I always have a tendency to jump in right away when things get heated but I am learning to stand back and more often than not they are best buds again quicker if I just stay out of it.

I am so glad that my boys have a great love for each other and have protective instincts for each other. In fact if I get one of them in trouble the other gets mad at me for getting them in trouble saying, "Don't be mean to my brother!"

What a lucky mom I am and what lucky boys I have!

Valentines Day

Watching a cartoon before church

Playing with my old school Little People

Road trip

I debated back and forth for a while whether I actually wanted to make the 12 hour drive with the boys for my cousin's wedding. But then I decided that family comes first and we don't get together very often and I wanted to see everyone. Besides the boys would not stop talking about going to Oregon. I searched for any reason not to make the drive but in the end I was antsy to get out of the house and take a trip.

The boys were actually a dream on the trip there. (well compared to worst case scenario which I expected). We did have 1 1/2 bathroom accidents and a juice spillage but things could have been a LOT worse. We left about 4:30 thursday morning and rolled in around 3:30 pm.

My Dad had made lots of preparations for our arrival which you will see from the pictures:

Story time with Grammy before bed

Elevator chair my dad rigged up to a winch
It is hard to tell but it actually goes up pretty high
the baby swing fashioned to the zip line from the house to the tree house



View of MT. Hood from my parents house
Kite flying in the pasture
Darren's turn on the zip line

Great Grandpa with his boys
My sweet blue eyed boy
Cordon giving out flowers. What a sweetie
Perfect day for a kite




Loving being outside and playing in the dirt.

So I never actually got to see my cousin get married. right as the ceremony was beginning Cordon announced that he needed to pee pee. so I rushed him out and opted to stay outside rather than come back in and be a distraction. Oh well, I got to wish them well and we didn't disrupt the wedding so I think it was a success. It was a great trip and the boys had a blast!

The trip home did not go as well and the 12 hour trip turned into 16 with a major poop incident but now we are home and the car is thoroughly cleaned and detailed so all I have are good memories! Thanks mom and dad for letting the tornado rip apart your house......again.

kids say the darndest things

In Cordon's preschool class his teacher, Ms. Cathy, does creative thinking pages where she interviews the kids and then writes down their answers. Usually, they are cute answers and I brim over with pride but today they were questioned about the heart and heart health and well you will see why today that pride was put on the shelf:

Well even if his ideas of physical health are a little off at least his spiritual side is right on:

Mmmmm!

Salmon Pasta

This is one of the easiest most scrumptious meals I have made lately and

I am already craving it again. It took less than 20 min. to prepare and was a hit

with the kiddos also. They gobbled it down!

Ingredients:

1 TBS fennel seeds

3/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1 TBS brown sugar

salt & pepper

1 lb salmon fillet

1 lb corkscrew or other short pasta

10 ounces of spinach

1/2 cup sour cream

2 to 3 TBS fresh lemon juice

Step 1. Heat broiler. Crush fennel seeds and put in a small plastic bag, add parsley, brown sugar, salt and pepper and shake to mix.

2. Press mixture onto the skinless side of the salmon. Broil salmon about 8 min.

3. Flake salmon with a fork. Meanwhile cook pasta until al dente, about 13 min. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

Drain pasta return it to the warm pot and add spinach and toss.

4.In a small bowl mix together the sour cream, lemon juice to taste, 1/2 tsp. salt and 2 TBS pasta water.

5. Put pasta on plate, top with salmon, drizzle with sour cream mixture.

P.S. so any one that knows me knows that I don't follow recipes. and this recipe can be easily adjusted.