Today is my birthday. The big 30. I really haven’t thought that much about it. It’s just another day except that now it will be even more shocking when people ask me my age. Yes, I know, I have a baby face. Maybe I’ll grow into myself someday.

The day wasn’t much to write about it. It was full of basic mommy stuff. I spent a bit of time editing photos and trying to get my last beach post up. Leah wasn’t very accommodating with her naps and so it seemed to take me all day to do it. By 5:00 it was finally done.

Jeremy had arranged a babysitter for 5:30 and asked me where I wanted to go for dinner. He thought it would be nice to leave Leah with the babysitter so we planned on being quick and just go dinner.

When I got off the computer at 5:00, I looked around myself and realized the house was a complete disaster. I started rallying the kiddos to help me clean up which took more effort than just doing it myself. I figured I could get straightened up and dressed by the time the babysitter came. I started in the basement.

Isaac started wiggling around like he had to go to the bathroom so I hustled him into the basement bathroom and to my disgust I was greeted with poop smeared all over the place. The toilet seat was covered. There was a poor attempt at some sort of wiping. Drops of feces had plopped on the floor and some of it had been stepped on and smeared into the tile. I couldn’t quite figure out who was the culprit and when I asked Isaac he mumbled something about the neighbor boy. Gross! Whoever it belonged to, I figured it didn’t matter… I had to clean it up either way.

While I was scrubbing, Emma came and mentioned something about popcorn kernels on the stairs. I knew Isaac has asked for some popcorn earlier and I had ignored him so he must have tried to help himself. I told him to clean it up and he brought back a small handful and asked for help. I was a bit busy and told him I’d help him in a min.

While all this was going on Leah was on the floor screaming for me to pick her up. She had to wait.

At this point, I peaked around the corner to the stairs and saw popcorn kernels everywhere. Oh boy! had he helped himself or what!! Imagine this… I had bought a big huge gallon of popcorn kernels from Costco. A bulk year supply. There are probably thousands of kernels in that container. Well, it looked like Isaac had dropped the container at the top of the stairs and as it toppled on down it dropped hundreds of kernels on each stair, landing upside down emptying all of its contents into the carpet.

As I analysed the mess and how I was going to clean it up, my mom and dad showed up to wish me a happy birthday. Yea, but I had a mess on my hands, a screaming baby and very few minutes to get ready for my date. We had a good laugh about how I had to clean up poop and popcorn on my birthday but then I realized that the babysitter was just about to show up. My dad and I got started on the kernels while my mom held unhappy Leah. I went up stairs for a second and realized that a bomb had gone off up there too. The kitchen was a huge mess but there was nothing to do about it.

I asked Jer if we could call the babysitter and tell her to come a half hour late but he said she had some family thing and needed to be home at 7:00 so we’d better just hurray, clean up as much as we could and leave.

The stress kicked up a notch and all my efforts became unproductive. I was running around the house like a chicken. I realized Leah needed to be fed and put to sleep before we could go to on our date so I sat down to feed her feeling quite hopeless. I had to just shrug of the craziness and laugh about it. Oh well if the babysitter and to sit for a minute while I fed by baby and then live with my messy house.

She showed up while I finished feeding and Jer and my dad tried to vacuum up the kernels. It wasn’t working… my vacuum deserves two major thumbs down! We left in a big rush as my mom was trying to sweep my kitchen counter clean. I told her just to leave it and that I was paying my babysitter to be here but she said she couldn’t help it.

Oh well, I thought and left her to it.

We had a nice dinner at Outback and then headed back home. We talked about getting a redbox and grabbing some ice cream with the kids. I figured it was a nice enough birthday. As we walked in the house I looked up and there in my family room stood 20 or so people all of which were faces I knew well. I dropped my leftovers and practically fell to the floor in shock.

JEREMY PLANNED A SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR ME!!

I had no idea. My mom was in on it. The babysitter was in on it. Everyone knew but me and Emma. (She would have blown it, of course.) There stood a lot of my dear friends and I couldn’t believe it. It was so nice and we all just laughed at how shocked I was.

We had a lovely evening chatting and eating my favorite ice cream cake. After everyone left I felt so happy and it made up for all the of the poop and popcorn mess. It really made it all so much more memorable. I wont forget my 30th.

Happy Birthday ME!

We had an awesome trip to the East Coast. It was so much fun hanging out with Jer’s family and soaking up the sun rays on the beach. I have some more fun photos to share with you.

Here are some more of us the night we had a little photo shoot on the beach. I think beach pictures always turn out awesome. The back drop can’t be beat.

We set up a camera and used the timer to capture all of us. It was so funny trying to get all the kids to cooperate but we managed to get a couple good shots. Jeremy’s clan is really growing.

Leah is the 13th grandkid on this side of the family. Count them… That is a lot of little people! There are even 2 more on the way. Emma had so much fun with all of her cousins, especially the girls. We need more girls around.

While we were trying to capture the grandkid photo the tide came up high enough to wash grandma and grandpa away. It was such a hoot and I love their smiles and the way they are kicking up their feet.

Here is what Leah did for me most the time. The waves make perfect white noise for lulling her to sleep. What a dear little thing she is.

For some reason, the sand provides hours of entertainment for the little tikes. When they aren’t digging holes and looking for sea shell treasures, they like to go “jump the waves.”

I just love this photo of Jer and Isaac. Isaac is going through a stage where he just loves to play with his dad. I guess it’s because I’m always so occupied with Leah.

We did spend a day seeing some sites. Kitty Hawk is there on the island and we also drove down to Roanoke Island where the Lost Colony… was, well, lost. Isaac was a major grouch that day and wanted nothing but his mommy to hold him. In all that heat and humidity I had a hard time being patient but managed.

We had such a great time! There is nothing quite like the beach but it is always nice to return home. I missed my bed so much. I even missed the kids beds. It’s nice to have everyone back in their places.

On to the next adventure.

We are in the midst of our Outer Banks trip and we are having so much fun. Today the waves were perfect for boogie boarding. Leah has taken lovely naps on the beach allowing me to enjoy the sun and waves. Isaac has repeatedly gotten sand in his eyes and I’ve barely seen Emma because she is just too busy playing with her cousins. More pictures will be coming but we did go out one evening for family photos. Thought I’d share.

I’m so happy that yesterday is over. I can’t complain to much because Leah continues to amaze me with her pleasant baby ways. On our way to the Outter Banks, Leah and I flew alone. On our first leg, we flew from SLC to Chicago Midway and she slept the whole way. The cute ladies that I sat next to were surprised and called me a super mom but really she is the super baby.

After that flight I only had a hour layover but as I sat there I watched some thunder clouds roll in. Along with them came lightning and 70 miles per hour wind gust. The rain storm put a stop to all flights. We all waited patiently while the storm blew over. A rainbow appeared and the planes started moving again. The only problem was that my plane never showed up. The delay kept getting pushed back more and more.

Two hours went by. Then three hours. I went for a walk. My bum was tired of sitting. My arms were tired of holding. Four hours past by. Finally we heard word that there was a plane coming from Minneapolis. Another hour and we were finally boarded.

When I landed at Dulles I had been holding Leah for 12 hours straight and Leah had finally reached her point of crankiness. I’ve never been so happy for an air matress.

Today we have a 5 hour drive ahead of us until we are relaxing at the beach. Unfortunatly Leah is stuck in a car seat between her two siblings constantly getting poked. Poor girl! I think she would prefer my arms.

I have a million and one things I should be doing (like packing) but instead I’ve scrapped the day a way. I was just loving the way this template was coming together so I just couldn’t stop.

Tomorrow we are taking off on a trip to the Outer Banks, NC!! Woo hoo! I’m looking forward to lounging around on the beach and taking cute pictures of my kids building sand castles. I’m super excited.

So go ahead and enjoy this template. Download here.

Here is what I did with it.

My goodness! I’ve spent the whole afternoon on the computer and I think I’m about to loose my mind. Leah has taken a lovely nap but as soon as she woke up my photoshop crashed before I had a chance to save anything… I had to redue everything with her in my arms and now I’m grouchy as can be. Arggg!

Well, last weeks template was a hit so I made another in the same style. Perhaps you will like it just as much. Download here.

Here is what I did with it.

It’s been a wee bit busy around here. My little sis was married on Thursday. Are they just a gorgeous couple? She had a back yard wedding at my parents place so we had a bunch of weeding and flower planting to do in order to get ready for it. There was a lot of stress leading up to the big day but it turned out to be one of the most perfect weddings I’ve ever been to. It was fun for me to see a bunch of old family friends and all the faces I’d grown up with whether they remembered my name or not. The weather was gorgeous and everyone loved the horse drawn carriage available for guests to shuttle back and forth from the parking lot. There was also a live band and dancing. Cool huh!

I’m such a looser though and didn’t even bring a camera. I figure I’ll have to get copies from family. Emma was a flower girl and was in heaven with the whole idea. I had to bribe Issac to wear his tie. He was such a stinker and he would never cooperate for wedding party pictures. Can’t wait to see them- him laying on the ground in front of the bride because he wouldn’t stand, his famous unhappy pouty lips with a sucker poking out. I had to resort to bribing him.

Being so involved in a wedding makes me reminiscent of the day Jer and I got married. It’s so much fun to be the one in the spotlight for a whole day. Everyone ooing and awing, a million hugs and smiles from everyone. It was such a whirlwind of a day but I have nothing but the best memories.

Sigh.

If only we could do it all over again.

Jer and I love hiking. We have reach a point where Emma and Isaac are pretty good at holding their own but they still get distracted with all the wonderful sticks and rocks to pick up. Isaac wants to throw rocks in the river all the live long day and Emma seems to escape to some sort of make believe land. Each little mossy patch or grouping of trees becomes a perfect fairy land. We find ourselves saying constantly “Come on! Get moving!”

We’ve accepted that fact that we are never going to get very far with the kids. We may hike for hours and still only get a mile or so. We still manage to have fun and enjoy the beautiful mountains.

(Did you notice the climbers behind Jer? Wish it was me. Did you notice the war wound on Isaac’s head? The other day we counted about 20 scratches and cuts on that little body. What a boy!!)

This time we went hiking I tried out my new homemade baby wrap. I got the directions to make it from my sister’s blog. It’s a lot cheaper than buying one, easy to make, and super comfy. I like it way better than a Baby Bijorn especially for a tiny new baby. Leah felt more cozy and better supported. I could hike a long way and my shoulders didn’t get tired either.

My sister suggests buying 6 yards of fabric. That is oodles and you can make 3 seamless wraps from it. Instead I bought only 3 yards and cut the 18 in strips she suggested. I then took the second 18 in strip, cut it in half, tapered the ends and sewed them onto the ends of the first 18 inch strip. Ta da! The perfect baby wrap.

My metabolism is slowing down and I can feel it. I feel like it is taking longer this time around to get back to pre-pregnancy weight. Yes, it’s my third wee one and yes, I’m hitting my thirties so I understand why… but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I have taken for granted the easy recovery from my other two children. This time around I might actually have to do something about it… like diet and exercise. Drats.

I don’t have much to wear these days. I feel so super wide up in the top area that my buttoned shirts look like they’ll pop. My pants wont fit around my muffin top.  So I went to the mall in hopes of finding some cheap fat pants to get me by until some of this baby fat melts away. I had assumed that I was only a size up from my normal size so I grab a whole bunch of pants and bermuda shorts from the clearance racks and headed to the dressing room.

I was soon totally devastated when the first pair of shorts I tried on were reminiscent of faux leather 80’s rocker pants the way they hugged my thunderous thighs. The next pair formed a wide V at the zipper and I didn’t even try to get the button closed. After the third pair wouldn’t even pull up over my thighs and tooshy, I gave up all together and walked straight out of the store and went home.

I figure I need to wait a bit more time before tying on any other pants and I couldn’t even bear the thought of going up another size. It would be a waist of money, right? I’m determined to be back to normal soon.

The state of mind that the experience put me in was utterly depressing. It made me think about banning all sugary sweets and chicken nuggets from the house and waking up at the crack of dawn for a jog. While I was mulled over these ideas, I helped myself to a massive bowl of ice cream. Delish!

Well, here you go. I had fun with it so hopefully you will to. I actually made it and scrapped it all in one morning. Wowzers… You see it’s amazing to accomplish that much with my new little babe. Lately it has been taking me a week to get something scrapped. She’s been napping great for me. Yea!

Download here.

Here is what I did with it.