Our Hatchlings

Girls and Tutus

A few weeks ago I got an email from a friend telling me about a new business venture she and her sister were doing.  They had started a shop selling tutus and accessories for little girls, but they needed some models for their products.  She asked if I'd be willing to take some pictures of my girls for them to post on their website.  They would send me a few of their tutus and bows, and all I needed to do was get my little ballerinas to cooperate.

How could I say no to that?!

About a week later the tutus arrived and they were BEAUTIFUL!

I was so impressed by the quality of them and my girls were in heaven when I finally let them slip the tutus on.

Here are a few sample pictures of my girls....

I was so happy with how the pictures turned out!

To see these beautiful tutus, and for more pictures of my girls modeling them, head over to Happy Bubkin on Etsy.

24 Weeks

I've officially arrived at my favorite stage of pregnancy.

For me  24 weeks is like the "honeymoon phase" of pregnancy.  All the hard "work", which reared its ugly head through morning sickness, is gone.  It's obvious I really am pregnant, and no one has to guess and wonder if I've just gained a few extra pounds.  I can feel little kicks and rolls and elbows throughout the day.  I'm still relatively comfortable.  The third trimester aches and pains (and lovely swelling, I might add) haven't set in quite yet.  And for the most part I just enjoy this time in my pregnancies.

But let's be honest.....being on the downward slide is always the most fun!

I'm already anticipating the chance we get to meet this little boy.  I don't know what it is about those first moments when your baby is born, but there is something so special, so amazing, and it burns into your memory forever.  I can still remember all the little details about the birth of all 3 of my girls, but most of all was the moment they were laid right on my chest and in my arms.  I love that moment, and I'm sure this one will be no different.

So much excitement to look forward to in less than 4 months, and yet right now all I can think about are my feet that are quickly disappearing underneath my protruding belly, and how badly I need a pedicure....

The Easter Wrap-Up

This is what Easter morning looks like when you are rushing around trying to get out the door for 8:00am church.  But, I have to admit the girls did pretty good getting themselves up and ready (with a little help from yours truly in the hair department), and they were rather patient waiting to go see the goods the Easter Bunny had left them the night before.

We let the girls grab one quick candy before forcing them to eat something "healthy" to counter-balance the sugar high, left the Easter spoils in our wake, and headed out the door to church.

Seeing as how we were pressed for time before church, I opted to get some shots of the girls after.  However, photo shoots with this brood requires entertainment behind the camera woman....which I didn't have.  Ryan was helping the Easter Bunny hide some eggs.  Which meant my photo shoot quickly went from the above picture, to this....

to this....

Good thing Ryan helped with those eggs, because a certain little toddler was not in the mood for picture taking.

Easter egg hunting was more up her alley....

Ryan was able to squeeze in an hour or two of the Master's (or as he likes to call it - The Super Bowl of Golf) before we headed off to have Easter dinner with his cousins.

After we got home I made one more failed attempt at an Easter picture....

But they sure are cute, and Easter wouldn't have been nearly as fun without them!

HAPPY EASTER!

Conference and Scones

This was my view during the morning session of Conference on Sunday....

Her big sisters were no where to be found.  Most likely causing mass choas and clutter in their bedroom.

It's their Sunday ritual.

But Lily was content to show us her books.

And the cat and dog....or "Me-lau" and "Woof Woof" as Lily calls them.

Those are her two favorites.

I am honestly blown away by how fast this kid is growing up.  Makes me a little sad that she's already heading out of the baby stage and is about to be upgraded to big sister.

Where does the time go?!

On another note, we enjoyed our bi-annual scones and honey butter between conference sessions!

These things are delicious!

But I learned something about these scones that I had never known before....

These are considered "Utah" or "Mormon" scones.  They aren't the typical dry scones served with tea.  

As my good friend Courtney put it: "If honey butter and deep fryers aren't involved - it's not a scone!"

I couldn't agree more!

I had several friends ask for the recipe I use, so for those wanting to make their own deep fried scones....here you go!

Buttermilk Scones

 

2 cups buttermilk

1 pkg. (1 Tablespoon) dry yeast

1/4 cup lukewarm water

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 Tablespoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

4-6 cups flour

cooking oil or shortening for frying

Heat buttermilk until warm. Soften yeast in lukewarm water. In a large bowl combine buttermilk, sugar, eggs, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and 4 cups of the flour. Add yeast. Beat until smooth. Add remaining flour to make soft dough or until it starts to pull away from the sides. Allow to rise, covered, until double in bulk. Punch down and place in refrigerator overnight.

When ready to fry, heat oil or shortening to 375 degrees. Roll dough out on a floured board. Cut into squares about 2 x 2 inches. Stretch out each piece a little and drop into hot fat. Fry on one side until golden; turn and fry other side. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot with honey butter.

This recipe makes approximately 50-60 scones, depending on the size. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Keep punching down and cover tightly.

Enjoy!

 

 

Growing Into Motherhood

Back when Ryan was in law school and I just had Brooklyn and Emma in tow, I was at a lunch with a bunch of friends and we were talking about which child it was that threw us for a loop.

Was it the first kid?  Maybe the 2nd?  What about numbers 3 and 4?

At the time, two was about doing me in.  So, that was my answer.

Two was definitely harder than just one.

One of the girls there had three kids, all under the age of 4, and she adamantly declared that the first kid was by far the hardest.

I laughed, thinking, yeah right.  Having one kid is a piece of cake.

Now, looking back on that day I'm beginning to see the truth in my friend's answer.

All growing up I always knew I wanted to be a mom.  I just assumed that was the roll I was going to take on.  I planned on going to college and getting my degree, but motherhood was the path for me.  No doubts about it.

Time marched on, I met and married Ryan, and soon we had Brooklyn on the way.

There was so much anticipation as we got closer to her arrival.  I knew I was going to be the best mom in the world.  I had been waiting for this day for years, I even had a degree in Early Childhood Education.  I was set!

When she arrived I couldn't believe she was mine.  She was so tiny, and so perfect.  I was in that newborn trance, that honeymoon phase where you just want to sit all day soaking in that new baby smell as they lay on your shoulder and sleep for hours and hours.

I love those moments.

But....eventually reality set in and having that baby ROCKED MY WORLD.

In a great way, yes.

But it turned me upside down.

Everything I thought I knew about babies went right out the window.

My days of sleeping in on the weekends, laying in bed reading all day, running a quick errand to the store by myself....

GONE.

It was a HUGE adjustment.  Suddenly I had this tiny little human that depended on me day and night.  Sometimes moreso at night, which turned me into a zombie during the day.

And it was HARD.  No one told me how hard motherhood was going to be.  No one mentioned the lovely side effects of nursing, or the long long nights, or the early mornings, or the non-stop feedings.  Don't even get me started on the diapers.

I honestly felt like I was so high strung in those days.  I worried about this and that.  I called the pediatrician the second her fever went over 99 degrees, I worked with her daily on rolling over, made sure she got plenty of tummy time, and my life revolved around her very set schedule.

The other day I ran across this book that my friend gave me for my birthday this past October, and the title struck me.

I feel, after almost 8 years, that I am finally growing into this roll that I always wanted.

Because motherhood is NOT easy.

Wonderful, amazing, like nothing else in this world - YES!

But, easy.  Definitely not.

So as I sat on the floor Sunday, surrounded by a mess of toys, and a half-naked toddler playing with her sisters' toys, I was able to marvel at how amazingly lucky I am.  Gone are the days of new motherhood, gone are my clean shirts, tidy house 24/7, and those precious days I got to actually read a book.  Now, I roll with the punches, clean up after they're in bed, but most importantly I try and sit back and laugh with the funny things Lily does that otherwise would have sent me over the edge 7 years ago.

Sure, having each of my girls rocked my world a little, and adding one more just adds to the chaos.  But I will admit, my friend was right.  That first kid IS the hardest.

This isn't to say that life with three and another on the way is all sunshine and roses.  I'd be fooling you and myself if that were the case.  Motherhood is different for the different stages of life these little ones happen to be in at the time.  I just wish I could go back in time and tell the me in 2004 to just relax because one day I'll grow into this thing called Motherhood.  Step by step I'm getting it, and with each new baby it gets a little bit easier, and a lot more enjoyable.

My Little Spelling Bee

After a lot of deliberation, we decided to put Emma in preschool this year.  And boy am I glad we did!

With Brooklyn, I, personally, was ready for her to be gone a few hours a day.  She was such a challenge for me, and getting a much needed break from each other was just what the doctor ordered.

But, Emma.  That's a whole different story.

I dragged my feet when she was four, and eventually ended up keeping her home.  Which worked out just fine.  However, as the new school year was drawing close and I realized that she was almost 5 I figured it was time for her to branch out a little.  After all, Brooklyn had been in almost 2 full year of preschool by the time she was 5.

I called around to a few friends for recommendations, because I wanted a preschool that was not only affordable, but one that had students her same age.  My biggest concern was that she would be one of the oldest in her class and I wanted her to be learning academics, rather than just playing.

From Day 1 she has loved it!

Now, 7 months into her preschool they have finally reached the letter Z.  And along with learning letters they've been learning the sounds that go with each letter as well.

A new game she likes to play is the spelling game.  She'll ask us to give her a word, and then she uses her newly acquired skills to spell out the word.  She is spelling words like cat, hat, lip, map, tad, bag, and so on.  Yesterday I tried to trick her by throwing in words like zap and trip, but she got those too.  These are words I was teaching my 1st graders to spell back in the day, so it warms my heart a little to know that Emma has learned so much in preschool.  I think she's ready to move on to kindergarten in August!

Organize Report

2012 was a rocky start for my one word.

It's hard to motivate yourself to "organize" when all you are focused on is finding food and not throwing up.

Now that I'm well into my 2nd trimester and officially out of that early pregnancy fog, I'm beginning to notice all the things I neglected during December and January, and most of February.

To keep myself accountable, I needed to document the progress I'm making.

That's where my pantry comes in.

BEFORE

Everytime I open these doors I cringe.

Usually I'll go through the pantry and get things straight, then two weeks later its a mess again.

This, however, is 6 months worth of disorganization.

Just keeping it real.

It needed to be tackled in a BIG WAY.

AFTER

Now that I've got that finished I need to move on to the rest of the kitchen. Thankfully those cupboards aren't nearly as bad, but it's still an undertaking.

Wish me luck!

Halfway There

As of tomorrow I will officially be 20 weeks and on the downhill slope of this pregnancy.

That means I'm halfway there. 

Just saying "halfway there" takes me back to my Body Firm days in Provo where we worked out to Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer".  I know you're singing it to yourself right now.  As I've inched closer and closer to the halfway point in this pregnancy, I've been singing it too.

Halfway to sleepless nights.

Halfway to mountains of tiny diapers.

Halfway to soaking in that yummy newborn smell again.

Halfway to finally holding my first little BOY!

For the longest time it didn't seem real, or possible.  I'm a mom to little girls.  We live in pink and princesses around here.

In my mind I kept thinking, "what do I do with a boy?!"

But the more I think about it, the more excited I become.  I've always wondered what it would be like to have a little buddy around the house.  And the smile on Ryan's face hasn't faded in the two weeks since we found out.  He had such a good relationship with his dad, and I think part of him is excited to share that with his little boy.

And let's not forget that its kind of fun to shop on the other side of the store for a change.  Even though little boys clothes aren't nearly as cute, and I still find myself gravitating towards the dresses.  It's safe to say having a boy will be much easier on the clothing budget.  Ryan's dream come true!

Some things about this pregnancy so far.....

• I've been feeling little movements for about 6 weeks now, but just recently I've been feeling him from the outside too.

• I feel him the most when I lay down to go to bed at night and when I wake in the morning.  (This has to be one of my most favorite parts of pregnancy!)

• I'm am carrying much higher than I did with my girls, and I can hardly breathe these days.  Looks like I'm in for a long 4.5 months!

• And carrying high has let me squeeze into my jeans for much longer than I've ever been able to in past pregnancies.  At 19 weeks I could still button them....but sitting in them was another story.

• The stretchy clothes and elastic skirts are beginning to make an appearance once again - thanks in part to the 88 degree weather we've had recently.

• In an effort to end my Coke/Mountain Dew addiction, I've taken up drinking carbonated water with lemon.  It is so good, and can most likely be chalked up to a pregnancy craving.

• As for other cravings, I think those are all but gone.  Although I did send Ryan out on a late night Krispy Kreme run last week.  I may or may not have eaten three doughnuts when he got back....

• Despite our bad timing in having yet another late summer baby, I'm actually looking forward to floating in the pool now that the weather is warming up (quickly!).

All in all, things are going smoothly.  I remember vividly telling someone during my pregnancy with Lily that it had to be the Longest. Pregnancy. Ever.  And really, it felt like it.

Right now I'm in shock that I'm already halfway done with this one!

Week Off

Spring Break is upon us this week and we decided to do a whole lot of....

nothing.

Ryan tried to get me to go out of town, but our last road trip to Utah about did this pregnant lady in.  There was no more climbing back in the car and sleeping in hotels for me!

I've actually enjoyed our low key "vacation" from life.

All activities for the girls were cancelled....no dance, piano, soccer, preschool.  And it's been really nice.

We've all slept in....well, Ryan, Lily, and I have slept in - Brooklyn and Emma get up at the crack of dawn to play the Wii.  I made a deal with them that they could play in the mornings while I was sleeping and getting ready....then they were mine for the rest of the day {inserst evil laugh here!}

We've hit up Costco for food.

We've lunched at Chick-fil-A.

We've shopped at Old Navy for new clothes.

We've dipped our toes in the freezing cold pool.

And best of all, the girls have spent hours and hours and hours outside.  Mostly to build "lizard homes" for our friendly backyard dwellers.

We have also done a *little* bit of traveling up to see Ryan's family on Sunday, but we made sure we were home that evening to put our master escape artist asleep in her own crib.

I must admit, that the simplicity in this Spring Break has been SO nice!  Now that we are towards the end we are all getting a little stir crazy and ready to head back to a routine, but it's been a fun peek at what's to come this summer....with a lot more floating in the pool!

The Verdict Is In....

We are happy to report that we have a....

strong,

perfect,

healthy,

little,

BABY!

And really, what parent could ask for more?!

The ultrasound went really well.  The tech was fast, which I was super thankful for because I had to drink 4 cups of water before the scan and then hold it for over an hour.  Lots of fun for a pregnant woman.  Towards the end the tech says, "Your doctor said you have 3 girls and she said we have to make sure we see 'something' this time!"  She joked with Ryan a little about it being another girl, because the little stinker would not stop moving.  We didn't even get a good profile shot, baby was that active.  In the end she finally got a good shot between the legs and she said....

"Alright you can have your.....BOY!"