Good News!!!

So we got two bits of good news this week...well one was more news that we got and one is more news that we can report....

The news we got is that Joe passed the Audit section of the CPA exam with flying colors! A 75 is passing and he got a 91 so he was thrilled. So, that's two down and two to go, he's already well into studying for the next one which he'll take near the end of the summer. Good job, Honey!

As for our news to report, I'm still pregnant! I went in this week for the cerclage procedure/surgery and all went well. The baby is becoming notorious for hiding from the nurses and does not like to have his/her heartrate recorded. That has caused me to go into panic mode more than once over the last several weeks, but all is well. The cerclage (basically a drawstring type stitch that they place around my cervix to keep me from dilating prematurely) is in place, baby looks great and I am doing fine after the procedure (although I'm not a fan of the anesthegiolist that gave me the spinal, I could barely move yesterday I was so sore!). Thanks to those who watched my kiddos and brought us dinner that night. It was all greatly appreciated! This is a huge step in a pregnancy for me and I'm so glad to be at this point and finally feel comfortable in looking forward to having a new baby. Two more weeks until the ultrasound!

We'll keep you posted!

Why not laugh now?

One of my Mom's favorite sayings is that "if we are going to look back on this and laugh, why not laugh about it now?" She likes to remind me of that when my boys are doing naughty things or otherwise causing me grief.



Well, here's an example from Andrew...he loves my makeup and apparently watches what I'm doing pretty closely...he actually got some of the mascara on his lashes!


How can get mad at a face like that?

One SUPER Birthday!

Sam turned 4 over Memorial Day weekend and we had his first real "friend" birthday party. It was a SuperHero theme and it was a blast! I made capes for each of the kids, Joe set up an obstacle course and we had a few other little games. It all involved training the kids to be SuperHeroes. The most note-worthy part was when a bad guy (my brother Danny dressed in a black cape) came in and tried to steal the presents. The kids chased him down and got to use the new skills they'd just learned - they attacked him their fun noodles and then tied him up with toilet paper. It was hilarious, I think that we got most of that on video. Sam had a great time at the party and was talking about it for days!

Here I am at 11:00 the night before frosting cupcakes...and I forgot to take a picture of the finished product! This was before the kids arrived and we were still setting up. Andrew was so excited about all the decorations.We started off with Joe leading us in some stretches to get us ready for all of the SuperHero training...the kids mostly looked at up like we were crazy!Then he showed us some basic moves......and Sam was at least getting into this part!The batteries on my camera died so I didn't get pictures of them doing the obstacle course or capturing the bad guy. After the games we just turned them loose to play in the backyard and my battery was recharged by then!
Then it was lunchtime...Sam's choice for the menu was PB&J sandwiches, apples and "spicy chips" (AKA nacho doritos)Andrew was apparently more interested in the sucker he'd snatched from the candy bowl! Sam enjoying his cupcake. They each had a little spiderman figure on the top, I thought they turned out pretty cute!After lunch we broke a pinata which was very difficult and very scary! The kids would not stay back and were wondering everywhere...and the thing wouldn't break! Next time I decide to do a pinata, it's definately going to be homemade (so it breaks easier) and the kids need to be a little older!

I tried to get pictures with all of his guests before the left, but I forgot with a few of them. But here he is with his cousin Ela... Sam and Callie The boys...Sam, Dan and Jared...Cameron must have already snuck off!

And the awesome helpers! Danny and Jessi came just to help out I appreciated it so much! It meant that I was able to more a part of the activities instead of doing all of the behind-the-scenes stuff. Thanks guys, you're the best!

Later that day...

...after Andrew had taken a nap and Sam had opened his presents from G&G Lodge, we went out to Couer' d Alene with the familyfor a picnic. It was Memorial Day weekend, after all!

Andrew looks so pooped! It was a very full and hot day!But the water was icy cold!Sam loves this camera that he got from G&G, except he deleted all of the pictures from his birthday...just because. I was a little peeved...they were supposed to go on here!We had a great weekend and Sam couldn't stop talking about his "wonderful party" and "great friends". That night when we were getting in bed he just let out a big sigh and said, "Wow, Mom, I had a wonderful birthday!" What more could you ask for than that! I'm glad it was fun and all came off well. Happy Birthday to my big 4-year-old!

Up and Running...

The computer, that is, certainly not me these days!

After several months of our laptop being in the process of dying, it finally bit it a couple of weeks ago. (Sigh...) After hours of attempting to revive it by Joe and his Dad, we finally decided to save our files and get a new one. A desktop, which I'm very happy about (I hate typing on laptops!)

So, now I have tons of catch up to do on this blog! We've been very busy and have lots of fun pictures to show, so I'll do my best to catch up!

Oh, and for those who are curious, because I've gotten this question a lot, apparently I'm not very good at making announcements...I am due at the end of November and we should find out July 2nd what it is. We're crossing our fingers for a girl, otherwise I'm going to need lots of help coming up with another boys name!