more finger painting below. this was a fun project and the kids had fun. once the frames are dried, we will take a photo of that, so all the world can see.

blowing blowing mania... scroll down for more pics and description.

it got too cold

So, of course, the wind starting blowing, which makes bubble blowing a little difficult, not to mention the wind was freezing, so we packed it up and went inside. Last year for my birthday, Noelle gave me these wooden framed mirrors, and I hadn't painted them yet. So, that was the next project would be a messy one. When we first bought this house, I was really stressed about messes, but I have relaxed and realized it all cleans up in the end. I laid down a plastic table cloth, put aprons on the kids and we went to work. They had an awesome time painting, and it was real enjoyable for me as their mom to watch them create their "masterpieces." I was short on colors, but they didn't mind. And yes, they cleaned up nicely, as did my kitchen. It was a fun day.

Spring Break Festivities.

So, this being spring break, I wanted to do at least one day of something. The weather in the northwest, does not do what I want, so you just have to buck up and improvise. So that is what we did today. Even though the sun was barely shining, the rain was not pouring, so we took this opportunity to get outside. The other day at WalMart, we bought this huge thing of bubble blowers and bubbles, so that was the first task of the day.

Annoying appts.

So, today, I had my second to last appt with this pregnancy. Can I just say hallelujah. I am so done with these pointless, annoying appointments. It takes me longer to drive there, than I am actually there. So here is what happened today.
I am 36 weeks, so any mom knows that today was the lovely strep b test. If you don't know, I won't tell you, but I think it is ridiculous for me. I have had three c-sections, so I am doomed, and I can not have a baby any other way, so why do this test. Anyway, we did that... blood pressure was fine, and weight was good. So far, I have only gained 14 pounds. I am the heaviest I have ever been, but oh well, I am pregnant with baby number four. We did a small ultrasound to make sure she was head down. (again pointless, they just pull the baby out) and finally, finally, we have an official date.
Drum roll please.......... APRIL 16th at 2 pm. I was bummed that it is not happening until later in the day, just interferes with discharge and junk, but I was just glad that they finally scheduled it, and we have a for sure date and time that we will meet our little lady. I can not wait. 22 more days
Saturday, I went with my mom in law to get fabric for her blessing dress. I am just glad that Robin is so talented and willing to do this for us. She has made all of our children's blessing outfits, and this will be the last. She will look so darling, and I am so excited to see how it turns out. So, she is moving just fine, her heartbeat is strong and steady. She is an active little one.
Anyway, that is the update on the pregnancy.....

Date night

We just got back from yet another date night. I am getting really spoiled. We went to Claim Jumpers in Clackamas for Nick's dads 30 year anniversary dinner with Chevron. The food was really yummy. I had the steak and lobster which cost $49.95. I was the winner, but hey we didn't pay for it. Nick had some yummy ribs that he brought most home, (huge portions) and we got to bring home some really good desserts. The resturant is pricey, but the food was great, the service excellent, and overall, we had a great time. I took a picture of my food on my phone, so if I ever figure out how to transfer from phone to computer, I will post that. If not, you will just have to go and spend the $50 and see for yourself......

This is only the beginning

So, again, I was hunting for Emmah's clothes, that will soon be Lucy's. WE FOUND THEM. It is funny, while I was going through them, I was thinking to myself, she has nothing to wear. We need to buy her some clothes. Well, this morning, I was going to wash, hang and start organizing. THREE loads of baby girl size 0-6 mos later, I am done. I know ridiculous. She has what is shown in the picture (the stuff I don't put in the dryer) and a whole laundry basket waiting to be folded. What is a girl to do? I was getting so giddy just remembering how beautiful Emmah looked in all of these clothes, that I just can not wait to play dress up with Lucy. The funny thing is, we still have two huge totes full of stuff that is 9 mos +. I am going to have to build a whole new closet just for my girls' clothes.

I did say to Nick, "wouldn't it be funny, if Lucy turns out to be a boy?" Don't laugh too hard, it happened to us once already. You may have heard the story, that Emmah changed her mind right before they pulled her out. Anyway, only a few weeks to go...........

TEN YEAR

Okay, so yes, I am a dork. My ten year high school reunion is this June, and unlike some people, I AM GOING!! Nick and I and the baby are flying out June 18 to Waynesville, MO. Where, you ask? Get a map and find Ft. Leonard Wood. Anyway, yesterday, I came across my senior book while hunting for Lucy's clothes. I was so excited. I have looked at it a couple of times, and Emmah thinks its fun to look at also. Anyway, I wouldn't necessarily say I was super popular, but I had a lot of friends, and we had great times. I was just happy to read all the comments from my friends, and to find out that I was a great person. Ten years is a long time, and I am happy that even ten years later, I am still a great person. Okay, it is just fun to read that I made people smile, laugh and enjoy high school. I am not one of those people that wants to go back to high school, or one that still goes to the games blah blah, but I am really looking forward to seeing some of my friends that I have recently reconnected with. Anyway, this is my senior book.....

Happy Green Day to all

So, today is St. Pat's Day. I still wear green as to not get pinched and made sure that all three kids at least had a green shirt to wear. Dasher thought he had to wear all green, so he was nervous about getting pinched because he only had a green shirt. Anyway, he did not get pinched. I also told me that he shouldn't pinch anybody as to not get in trouble. I mean who knows what lawsuit could've come from that.
The other day I was at the grocery store, and noticed that they had corned beefs on sale. I have never tried this, and I thought it would be fun to do some sort authentic Irish meal. Well, my family is not a huge a fan of cabbage( I am, just no one else) so we did mashed potatoes that I colored green, to go along with the beef. Well, the meat was not that great. I just slow cooked it all day like it said, and it is really greasy and has a "pickling spice" taste to it. If anyone has suggestions on how else to cook it, please let me know. If not, we will just stick to roast.
Dasher made a leprachaun face at school. When I first saw him wear it, it was dark, so I couldn't see the colors. All I could see was a top hat and beard, I thought Abe Lincoln. Nick quickly corrected me. Above are some pictures of the kids with their green on.
ps this am I thought it would be fun to have green syrup with our french toast.... well, the kids did not even try it. It was just green color to karo syrup. Where is their sense of adventure?

Bosston loves babies

Lately, a lot of people have been asking us, how we think Bosston will do once Lucy is here. Honestly, I am not worried at all. Yes, he is very spoiled, and attached to both of us, but he also really loves babies. We have some friends that both just had babies late last year, and Bosston just loves to hold these little guys, and play with them. Jonathan, the Stotts new little guy was hanging out on the stage and Bosston was in heaven. He laid down on his tummy, and was helping him play with his toy, and even gave him a small kiss on the head. He has never poked at their eyes, or pulled their hair, or anything like that. He is very gentle, and we know he will make a great big brother. We have like only 30 days to go......

Toshia... hope you don't mind I put these pics of your guy up. He is just so cute, it is hard to keep him hidden. He really is one of the cutest babies ever. ( I say this all the time to her)

Pinewood Derby

Well, we probably should not have gone, because Dasher was still coughing like crazy, but Nick had worked so hard on his car, that we just went. So, we get there and ate a not so great breakfast, but oh well, you don't go for the food. Let the race begin. I don't really remember my brothers doing the whole derby thing, so this was all new to me. If you've seen the movie, Down and Derby, then you know what I am talking about. Of course, the movie is a little far fetched, but it does a pretty good job. Overall, Nick's car took third. The funny thing is once we got home, Dasher was just playing with the car at the counter, and totally broke the spoiler off. Oh well, just a piece of wood with wheels.... Until next race day.

Oh what a week

So, this week, has been the yuckiest week for the Durant fam in a long time. I applaud myself, and my family for being healthy. We don't get boggled with the flu, or other random illnesses, like some families do. I was getting annoyed from cancellations, people not showing up, blah blah, and their excuse was "we are sick." This is true, under my breath, I would say, "BUCK UP" well, karma has gotten a hold of our family
Tuesday, Nick left work early, and ended up taking the rest of the week off. Yeah, family vaca? No, for the past couple of days, our family has been quarantined to our house. The cold bug got the better of us. All of us have either been freezing under our snuggies because of fevers, or sweating to death because the fever is just to much to take. I have taken out a stock in the pharmaceutical dept, to no avail. The cruddy thing is Dasher wants to go to school, sorry kid, not letting you go, and I am pregnant, so that narrows down what I can take as far as medicine goes.
The last time our entire family was sick with something like this was four years ago. I know crazy, but we just don't get sick, but when we do, we are KNOCKED OUT. It is cruddy also, because tomorrow is our ward activity and our neice Kate's 3rd birthday party. BUMMER man.,
Anyway, random blog, but the Durant family is slowly on the path to recovery only to have missed out on three gorgeous days, and to feel better just in time for the rain to start. Where is spring and summer, I want them now. Being sick is no fun.

craft crafty anyone?!?!?

Craft It Forward
Craft It Forward Exchange is based on the concept of the movie "Pay it forward."
Here's how it works... I will send a hand made gift to the first three people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join the CIF exchange. All the gifts will be made and sent out 'sometime within the next year'. How exciting to not know when your surprise package will arrive! What you need to do in return, is craft it forward by making the same promise on your blog. This exchange is only open to those with active websites or blogs. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PROMISE TO POST THIS SAME 'CRAFT IT FORWARD' MESSAGE ONTO YOUR BLOG, WHICH MUST BE ACTIVE IN ORDER TO PLAY. YOU WILL CRAFT IT FORWARD TO THREE PEOPLE WHO COMMENT ON YOUR BLOG.
I'd love for you to join me! Will you? Other comments are welcome, but only the first three will be my Craft It Forward recipients. Come and join me who doesn't love a gift or giving gifts???This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be or when.
5- The catch is that you must post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who do the same on your blog.
Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!
Who's in? (If you are one of the first three to comment, leave me your email so I can get your mailing address.)

A LITTLE SHOPPING SPREE

So, Nick and I have been looking at this tent for weeks now at Target, and today we just did it. We have a good size tent, but it is old, and we have outgrown it. I know, hard to believe. So, we bought this tent, and I desperately want to open it and set it up. Don't worry, I can control myself, but I am so looking forward to camping trips this summer. It is awesome. You can't see very much detail from the picture, but it a huge tent, with porch added too. It is 14ft x 15ft and 7ft tall. That is an added bonus, since Nick is 6ft4. Anyway, it is awesome.

Also, Noelle, gave us their carseat. Chloe is now one and in a bigger carseat, and to save us $100, she gave us this to use. I am excited, it is practically brand new, and really girlie. Let's just hope it really is Lucy...... We had a fun day shopping, and then celebrating Chloe's birthday. I forgot my camera, so no pictures of that, but a great day.

Bummer Day

So, today, is the last day of Read Across America Week. For the most part, I was impressed with Dasher and his willingness to participate. He humored my craziness and went along with all the days, except for today. Today was Sneetches at the Beaches day. I wanted him to wear his swim shorts over a pair of pants, hat, sunglasses and beach towel, but he declined. He told me he was done, and just wanted to wear normal clothes. I let him, of course, but I knew he would've looked great in his get up. Oh well, always next year. Now, we are just waiting to hear from the school to see if we made it all the way across America........

Crazy sock day

I forgot to post this before the hat post. Oh well... Tuesday was crazy sock day, and well Wal Mart failed us. I thought I could just go and find a fun pair of toe socks in normal colors for Dasher to wear. WRONG!!! The only pink and purple, and NO I won't let my six year old wear pink and purple socks. Call me crazy, but I'm the mom. Well, luckily, Nick had the great idea of just wearing two different colors. So we bought him yet another pair of soccer socks, and he wore one blue, and one white. I let him wear shorts too so you could actually see the socks. He thought it was cool.
I am just glad the my son is going along with this whole spirit week. Some of you know, and some of you might not know, but I was voted most spirited out of my senior class, and I feel that one needs to always be willing to show support and spirit. GO ME!!! SPIRIT !!! I know, I am a dork.

Read Across America continues

Tuesday.... Crazy Sock Day... How many of you have actually read, Fox in Socks. I know I have before, but did not remember what a tongue twister of a book it is. I found myself cracking up and needing some water while reading it. Dasher and Emmah found it pretty hilarious that mom was messing up while reading. So, with each day of this spirit week, there is a book that goes along with the theme. Day one, was The Cat in the Hat. The kids were pretty stoked that we even had that book. Umm Hello, I love books, so of course our library has this one. After reading about the destruction of Thing One and Thing Two, the kids were starting to look a little mischevious. Our weather around here lately, could spark some destructive curiousity. Anyway, again, Day Two was Fox in Socks... go ahead and try reading that one without messing up a time or tow. Day Three was the Funny Hat Day, as seen in the above photo, Dasher picked to wear his hat from the zoo. He says it is a dinosaur, I think a crocodile, either way, it was a fun hat to wear. The book chosen for this day was The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. They were also encouraged to wear a t-shirt with words on it. He chose to wear his Lean and Mean Just Like Grandpa shirt. He likes this shirt because of his sight words.... and & like. I forgot to charge my battery to my camera, so I don't have a picture of him with the shirt, but the hat really was the show.

It is fun to read all of these Dr. Seuss books. He truly was amazing. Onto Day Four and Five To be continued.... Are you reading?

Blast from the Past

The other day, I saw in the fisher price catalog, the Farm Set. Now, some of you may remember the classic fisher price little people, and some may not. Well, I do. I remember the airplane, the house that folded up, the school and the farm set that opened up also. The little people have come a long ways since then, they have arms for one thing, and if one was to collect all the pieces you would have to dedicate an entire room for the stuff. I would love to be able to do that, but, space is limited around here. Anyway, this year marks the 50th anniversary of FP, and to celebrate, they are bring back some of the classics with a little face lift. I jumped on this opportunity, and ordered the farm set. I was surprised, shipping and everything, only cost me $20. That is good!!!

I think that it is great that they are bringing back some toys from our childhood. Now, if only I can get my hands on Peaches and Cream Barbie, and HeMan toys, we will be good to go.

A sad day

I just read an email from a dear friend, about another friend. Through blurry eyes, I read that our friend, Ethan, passed away on Monday evening. He battled cancer for a short time, but it was too advanced, and he just couldn't keep going. I pray for his family, his wife, and his little girl. Happier days are soon to come, but it does go back to that saying, "life is short" You lose touch with friends from high school over the years, but the memories don't fade. He was an awesome person. I have a picture of us together in the wonderful play of Antigone. Our first high school performance. He was a great person, and will be missed. Cherish your days......

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

I actually spelled his name right, because in the previous posts, I did not. Anyway, today was the first day of spirit week for Dasher and he got his striped hat. They also wore black, white, and red. He said they had a good time reading books........ Emmah wanted to wear the hat and Dasher agreed.

How cute is this.

A friend of ours from church gave us this darling hat for Lucy. I am so excited for her to wear it. It is just the cutest thing, I only wish I had one in my size. Totally worth blogging about.

here are some pictures.

so there is a description if you need one below. enjoy......

ha ha some funny pictures

So, I just realized I had taken pictures in Feb. Silly me, I guess if one is to look at the memory card, one would realize that. Anyway, just to describe what is going on. Nick needs a new bike helmet. He doesn't like the one he has right now, so he tried some on the other weekend. No success though. While he was doing that, the kids test drove some bikes around the area. Even though they got new bikes from Santa, they constantly ask if they can look at bikes. Whatever. Also, we ordered snuggies. Yes, that annoying infomercial, took our money. I am telling you they are totally worth it. We all love them. They are great. Little did we know that Walgreens sells them, so we could've saved some money on shipping, but oh well. If you love blankets, you should get a snuggie. We haven't turned our heat on in the Family room since they came. Seriously, they are that awesome. Okay.... enjoy the pictures above.

It has been way too long

I apologize to any of you who read our blog. I know I get frustrated and say, "hey update your blog!" Well, I am making March the blogging month and have set a goal to keep our family blog updated. February was just uneventful for our family past the first of the month. So here goes. March is the kick off.
This week at school they are celebrating Dr. Suess with READ ACROSS AMERICA. Today is his birthday, so we are all decked out in black white and red. Well, as much as we can. Dasher is really excited for spirit week, and so are we. We are challenging ourselves to read more books this week too, so we can reach the other side of the country. hypothetically of course. So, each day, I will post pictures of spirit week so we all can be involved. Read at home with your kids, and start your own events too. I am hoping to have green eggs and ham at some point in the week, but when I suggested that to the kids, they turned their noses up to the idea. We'll see if they will come around.
Anyway, here's to a great month, week and of course birthday to a fabulous author who has made children laugh, smile and think for years!!!!!
Oh, yeah, we totally only have like 6 weeks left before Miss Lucy Edith Durant joins our family. Can not wait.