it's all fun and games: August 2012

usness

sunday the church threw a beautiful shower for us. it was exactly what i wanted. thank you all so much for the love and support!

i wasn't in photo taking mode and took 1 pic. sorry. the decorations were awesome, the food! SO good, the ppl? there is no better church than mine...we love you all!!

above our little princess. notice the dress? k, funny story. a friend gave me the dress and i loved it. so ellie wore it to the shower (reduce! reuse and recycle! i have NO issues with 'used' clothing!)

story- friend gave me the dress, her daughter wore it and foster child. i get to the shower and another friend noticed the dress and how her daughters wore one like it....turn out the dress was worn by her daughters as well. haha. love it. it's a great 'used' dress!

trying the bumbo out. in her new outfit which i LOVE it's so soft and has a zebra print on her bum. it's a keeper!

my sis is here for work and dropped by last night with a goft for nate from quinn. he loves it nate it's on the fridge (i posted this for quinn so he can see that nate got the gift)

i only took 1 pic of my sis and its not post worthy (you can thank me cry by buying me a coffee later)

my sis is coming over in a bit and i am OUTTA here for a few hrs that is. hanging with my sis today, gonna get our shopping on!

have a great wed everyone!

0 comments

Posted by mel at 12:59 PM

another sunday?!

ellie girl in her finery. thanks v for the dress!

this shall be called "more food please"

nate was helping his sister calm down. he is such a great brother

the other day. i love my snuggle bug. i love that i take the time to snuggle and enjoy!

nate was fixing the swing

no, it's not broken but he wanted to fix in to make sure it's safe for her. haha

she has the same look on her face tht i get on mine when chris is fixing or explaining or doing into details...haha

i can not believe it's been another sunday! but it's not just any old sunday. it's my OLDER (mawahhhh) sister's 28th b-day!!! happy wonderful birthday sis and enjoy your mini get away vacation!

1 comments

Posted by mel at 2:14 PM

us in pics

we took n to the park yesterday for some him time. ellie spent some time praying

then we had a picnic, inside. it was too hot for nate. haha

sleepy, cuddly, adorableness

i found her like this. sook in hand. ha!

waking up. doing some stretching. life is bliss

seriously focused on nate

bath girl

i have a pic of n somewhere looking very much like this

i think they are twins. 5 yrs a part

she's smiling!!!! its the best pic i could get

i was ticked

nate is the front

then i found out why and i forgave
ha
chris is keeping himself busy with that 3 yr old to do list. he finally has the time to get things done. ha
he's now working on some shelves for me, for the basement for home school storage. i plan on keeping n and e's school work in a banker's box, 1 box per yr per kid. then let them down size them once they get older

on an amazing note. ellie is sleeping 5 hrs at night now. sleep training is a gift from god 2 comments

Posted by mel at 11:14 AM

how cool is this?

that's my pastor, 3rd one in! how redic cool is this?! 0 comments

Posted by mel at 8:12 PM

i'm here!

while getting her bottle ready yesterday morning, chris and i knew ellie was in good hands.

haha! 1 comments

Posted by mel at 8:02 PM

yule love it!

friends! can you all do me a fav and like this young entrepreneur facebook page? he's a fellow home school scholar under 18! who just started his own bizness! seriously, a huge shout out for this. another reason why i love home school. nothing is impossible and possibles are endless!

https://www.facebook.com/yuleloveitchristmasandgifts 0 comments

Posted by mel at 3:19 PM

life

this is me right about now

it's hard to put into words how i am feeling. i know you don't go by how you feel. good thing cause i would have changed my mind

what all the fuss you ask?

next week sometime, i think, all the cute little girls will wear their cute little dresses, all the boys will have their boyish clothing on and all of them will be wearing a back pack

school starts

and along with it, a massive tornado of feelings, emotions and fears. making me a mess. not like the hormones aren't bad enough!

this is the hard part

i know in my heart that nate will be home schooled. public school is not an option for us. for many reasons, most are prob not the reasons why you may guess

it's the unknown of how it will work?

and more pressing, and shocking...

i feel left out

that everyone else is sending their kids off to school

but me

i am alone

scared

overwhelmed

fearful

questioning

and lost

but putting nate on the bus with everyone else will not solve this problem or make me feel better

change is never easy

nor facing the unknown

will i regret this?

will nate miss out on everything that everyone else is doing?

how will my days work?

how in the world will i not want to hurt him?

how will i teach him?

what will i teach him?

how can i do it all? the house work? the cooking? cleaning? laundry?church stuff? friends? be social? find me time? chris time? ellie time?

how will i battle the boredom, the mundane day in and day out?

why am i giving up my freedom?

my heart shouts the answer and i will follow it

but my mind is a race track bringing nothing but negative talk

how will this journey unfold?

who knows?

but

i thing i do know, is the same god who held my hand during life's worst days is still holding my hand right now

you are my hiding place. you protect me. you surround me with joyous songs.

2 comments

Posted by mel at 11:39 AM

more ellie

i was stoked to try out the sling to see if she likes it. surprise! she LOVES it. me too!

(ignore the zero make- up, raw natural beauty)

having yet another chat. look at how big she is getting!!! sob sob!

having some stretches before another feed. the life of a baby! 1 comments

Posted by mel at 3:19 PM

giggles

this is me

this is the truth

yep, me again but i make chris or nate answer the door

truthy truth truth!

found these funnys while having a work break and though i'd share and maybe you'd have a giggle too 0 comments

Posted by mel at 4:59 PM

my 29th b-day!

i forgot it was my b-day yesterday. ha. chris and nate woke me up with flowers and cake!

so we had it for breakfast. the perfect start to a perfect day!

nate went to the shop to help chris build his new bed frame but came in for an ellie break

he loves her so much. it's funny how upset her gets when she cries. i'm like "dude! it's ok! babies cry! they cry to communicate to us, lets figure out why she cries"

then j&j surprised me by coming over and making me the most FAB dinner. ever. seriously. this meal was AWESOME. greek to boot.

jess got her snuggle on while

jon cooked. yep, he did cook the meal. i was highly impressed! great job! and i am SO glad there's left overs for today!

more snuggles
it was a great b-day. i felt loved, content and blessed.

AND chris got me the best, rock on gift ever! i've been longing for a laser fax/copier/printer/scanner all in 1 but they are way out of the budget. c got me one! for a great price (that's my boy, i taught him well) i can't wait to get it! it's going to make home school SO much easier for me! no more trips to the basement! thanks you c!!!

AND jess gave me a pic she took and framed. i love it! i love that she made it. now to find the perfect spot for it! thank you!!!

a great day it was! 0 comments

Posted by mel at 11:36 AM

kid pics

love it

we took them yesterday to have their pics taken. they turned out awesome! can't wait to pick them up

big feet, little girl. still trying to find out where so got the feet and hands from

daddy and daughter

sleeping daddy and daughter!
0 comments

Posted by mel at 5:21 PM

homemadeness!

wed night a friend took pity on me and brought me some of her extra bounty from her garden. this to me, seriously, rocks! i was so excited. which lead me to think about things that have been given to me with having ellie girl. i quickly realised that the homemade gifts topped my list. i hesitated in even doing a post bec my last intention was to leave anyone out or cause hurt feelings. which is not my heart. i just want to show the wicked talents of some friends! all gifts are great and i am grateful beyond words!!! (esp the dinners and treats. haha)

this AMAZING diaper bag!!! if you need a bag made i know the girl! she nailed it, i love the fabric and pattern, it fits my arms perfect (no sliding!)

it has a change pad, a middle divider for my stuff and ellie's, 2 side pockets and 2 inside pockets. i love this bag!!

she even made this card. talented girl!

my sis in law knits and fill our sock drawers with socks. she also made a baby blanket for each of our kids. nate has 2, his baby blanket is getting rather ragged and hoping to fix the one day ineverable blanket falling a part issue...i begged her to make another one to replace it. well, nate put that blanket on the chair in the corner and will only sleep with his baby blanket, he has slept with that blanket every night since he was born! ben has one too, his is for now in his box, with his baby things, it's too painful to have it out. someday i will open that box. and now ellie has one too! love this!

thank you for the time and energy these gifts took to make 2 comments

Posted by mel at 5:12 PM

seeds!

i discovered this today, while trying to find some music for the kids(kids! i have kids! not just 1 but plural. haha) to listen to while they sleep. this company creates music to scripture! so it's music bible on cd. it's cute, catchy, fun and a great way to get the word into them as they sleep. love it!

the web site is http://www.seedsmusicstore.com/

i am so getting it, happy b-day to me! (chris i now want the printer/copier for christmas or anni) 0 comments

Posted by mel at 4:35 PM

4 weeks!!

ellie-belly. i was trying to wake her up to change her bum but man she would not wake! isn't she a doll? haha

i turned around and there was nate. seriously, he loves her

helping me change her

love how gentle he is with her!

can you believe that 4 WEEKS! ago from right about now, eliana joined us! how fast has that gone by??? sob sob sob

i am still shocked by how content i am to simply be home. the days are all blending together. very repetitive and i don't mind

she is a great little sleeper. goes 4+ hrs at night, which is so nice. she naps 3 times a day most days
we love her so much!

it was funny yesterday i looked at the calender and yelled "crap! school starts in 2 wks!" i have don nothing to set it up. then i realised that muetti and vati will be here, so we are going to start school a little late this year. haha
i almost talked myself out of home schooling last week. but chris and a friend talked me back into it. haha. it would be so nice (ok easy) to send him on the bus...but then the thought of that makes me want to puke...so i am back on the wagon. i can do this. i can. i can. i can......as i go log off to sort through the school books

happy wed everyone! i am SO glad the church is doing these awesome meals on wed night. wed night is now the "no cook night" at the eig household! if you haven't come to gateway COME! i'll sit with you!
1 comments

Posted by mel at 11:02 AM

charles carroll

i found this pic on my cousin's facebook today. i have never seen it. then i realized that i have only seen 1 or 2 pics of my dad's dad. this made me sad. i am a total picture girl, pictures mean a lot to me. so i am doing a shout out to all the carroll's out there who read...if you have anymore or any at all please in box me!!! i would love to scan, copy, keep, what ever all the old pics that are still around!!!

after i saw the pic, i wondered who the guys were esp bec my cousin posted it, then i realised that it's my GRANDFATHER (i never met him) i can see a lot of my own dad in him and it made me wonder about it, what was he like? what did he like to do for fun? was he funny? did he have long toes ( still trying to find out where ellie got her's from!) who was this man who created my dad?

deep thoughts for another busy day!

ellie dr's update! it went smashing! she is up a POUND in 10 days and grew an inch! the dr was very happy! we go back next month for her big appointment. we are going to keep doing what i'm doing, nurse and top her up when she needs it. i have been able to pump extra most days, sure not a whole lot an ounce or two but what ever. i take each day 1 by 1! 0 comments

Posted by mel at 4:53 PM

ellie update

this morning, in her church attire. looking at her brother. sigh. she is such a GREAT baby, c and i still pinch our selves to make sure this is real. she is here and she's such an easy going baby. nothing like her brother. ha

what a blessing!

we go tomorrow for her official weigh in at the dr's. i am not concerned. we weighted her the other day and she was 1 ounce over her birth weight! yeah!

she has put herself on a routine. eats ever 3-4 hrs during the day, i top her up at night around 10 and she sleeps till 2-3ish then again around 6-7ish. this morning i had to wake her p at 7:30. not so bad for just shy of 4 wks!

can you believe that???? almost a MONTH. crazy!

i am still nursing. ha. i top her up when she needs it but some how my milk is still there. i can tell by her poops how much formula/milk she is getting and from the last few days it's breast milk poop. i am taking it day by day and feel total peace to do what i want, when i want and how i want with no guilt or fears of judgement. yeah for growth in this area! ha