a few fun things.....

So for many that kindly ask, yes, the house is very, very quiet! I've almost reached the point where I can talk about the kids without crying. Almost. It's been 2 weeks today since they left, but in many ways almost seems like it was much longer. It has been nice to get back into our normal routine, when the kiddos came, most of life came to a standstill and our regular activities weren't an option. I managed to keep the Pgh Momtourage running, but it was definitely the bare minimum. :) Through some marketing events for the Momtourage, we recently got to preview some fun things happening in Pittsburgh!

Enter: Sky Zone. Sky Zone is the original trampoline park and the one place where it is totally acceptable to have bouncing-off-the-walls fun! Our trampoline park offers open jump, a Foam Zone, 3-D Dodgeball (when available) and the SkySlam basketball court. My kids loved it and I'm telling ya, it was a serious work-out! I played a game of dodgeball with some cameramen & reporters who were there as well, and we were all dying after about 10 minutes. :)

The foam pit was fun, it's actually best for little kids. It was quite funny to see a reporter get stuck in there and seriously couldn't get out for about 10 minutes. At least I thought it was funny. :) It also produced some awesome hair for G!

 Dodgeball/Basketball

And for local friends, there are a few more days to enter my giveaway for free jumping passes! Go here to enter.

 We also have the Pittsburgh International Children's Festival happening here this week. The week includes an incredible line-up of Petting Zoo, Crafts, Face Painting, Al Mazing Magic show, Children's Theatre, Live Music, Weird Eric Magic show, Interactive Musical, Roving Art Cart + so much more. But a big attraction will be the exciting interactive Art Exhibit ~ Exxopolis ~ lit only by the sun! We got to walk through it before it was open to the public and G & E loved it. See more info about the Children's Festival here.

 We took a little walk after to a favorite dinosaur (whose neck gear randomly changes, it was pink tuille today!). They decided to "clean" him with dandelions, hope he enjoyed his bath!

 I love the University of Pitt campus/Schenley Plaza (where the Festival will be held), and such a beautiful time of year with fresh leaves! The kids also enjoyed a noisemaker booth, that should be fun for hundreds of kids all week. :)  

Fun places + tireless Grandmas

Never fear....the super grandmas are here! Seriously, they were amazing. My grandma did dishes non-stop, they folded laundry, fed babies, chased kiddos at all sorts of activities, bought us groceries, dinner, lunches & entertainment, and played for hours. What a blessing it was to have them here, I know they left exhausted! But they claimed they loved it, so I will choose to believe them. :) So thankful we had a few days of warm weather.

Walking on the North Shore.

 I happen to be doing a promo for the Barry Manilow concert and had tickets for a night they were here. We had a fun girls night out! And super daddy managed to put all 5 down for bed, extra ice cream for him. :)

 I was also doing a promo for a local place, Jump!Zone, which has tons of amazing bounce things & slides. Let's just say Eden was doing the tall slides before Graham was. :)

 And then it was on to the Grandmas treat, a favorite (especially of my mom) - the Zoo! It was cheaper to buy a one year membership than to pay for a day's admission for all of us. Lucky day for us, and some future happy kiddos as well!

Anyone who knows Eden, knows getting one of these backpacks was inevitable. (i.e. losing her at church last Sunday with the back door open. We should really keep it on at all times. :) She was thankfully found in a bathroom, happily washing her hands. Crazy girl.) N wanted to keep track of her for a while. This was right before she fell and got a fat lip on a rock. She makes it her goal to bleed once a day, I think.

  My grandma spent hours pushing the stroller! And can I just say...our baby girl spent about 5 hours riding in the stroller without a single peep. She is seriously the best baby ever. The plan was for her to nap. Which she did not. But smile & coo & ride contentedly? I'll take it. :)

  Typical of Eden....walking up to something and immediately poking it in the eye. Glad he was made of metal. :) And the slides....she watches what kids twice her size are doing and then imitates. They had so much fun on these slides, went down on their bellies again & again!

Finishing the day with some dippin' dots. What a beautiful day we had!

Our last night we celebrated my mom's birthday coming up in a few days...which is not 38 (wink, wink.) My mom was worried about her hair for the pic, but I said I'm already in my pj's anyways! Grandma decided we were going for the "we just chased 5 kids around all day" look.

We packed a lot into a few days, but so thankful for the respite this was for me during a busy season.

Happy Easter & a visit

We had a great (if not slightly chaotic) Easter. These little ones have just gobbled up hearing the story of Good Friday & Easter. We have been reading from this book (if your Jesus Story Book Bible has been given a workout, I recommend this one!) Andrew's parents had already been planning to come for Easter, so we're thankful they still braved the crazyness. :) It was great to have some extra hands around!

K & E LOVED getting dressed up for Easter.  (little one was sleeping.)

Target Dollar Spot Rocks.

 K loved wearing the red one and now asks to wear it every day.

G wasn't quite as excited about it. :)

 I wish I could  capture the excitement of getting Easter baskets brought by Mama & Papa. It was also a huge blessing for our visiting little ones to have some things to call their "own".

Some Outlet finds by mommy made this little girl quite happy for new shades & jewelry!

On Monday, our extra littles had a court hearing and it was a nice little break & outing to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

 They love all the dinosaurs!

Saying goodbye to Mama & Papa on Wednesday

I know many of you are wondering about our little visitors and hopefully I will have some time to write about our little life change soon. They are 5, almost 3, and 8.5 months. It looks like they will be with us for about 30 days. It's definitely turned our house upside down! The demands from 5 under 5 can definitely feel overwhelming, especially at meal time! But how amazing to see simple changes take place so fast. They adapted so well & so quickly to our routine & schedule. Last night was the first night baby A slept 7-7! She also naps for about 2 hours both morning & afternoon. What a blessing to have a good sleeper, makes me wonder if she had been on a good routine or if she just was tired and adjusted quickly. We've had throw up, diarrhea, been up multiple times each night, untold laundry, learning to get along with extra siblings (at almost same ages), and introducing them to completely new foods. Baby carrots & fresh pineapple? Initial reaction: EWWWWW. After tasting: YUM! One of our biggest challenges has been with Eden pushing or hitting all.day.long. She's feeling more than a little territorial. But wow, what a whirlwind it's been and amazing experience. We are so grateful for having a small part in these little ones lives. People have been so kind in offering meals, assistance, items to borrow, and just love, care & notes of encouragement. We are so thankful.

A bittersweet goodbye

This is my friend, Sarah. Anyone that knows her will tell you she is sweetest person you will ever meet. If you ask her about her summer plans, she won't tell about a planned trip to the beach or going to see family. Instead you might hear of the life-changing event of their family as they prepare to go across the world to a place so opposite of the United States that it's hard to comprehend. This week people are tramping in & out of their house as most of their earthly belongings are given away or sold for a meager price. They are currently figuring out how to fit everything they own for a family of five into 10 suitcases. 10. This includes books, toys, clothes, homeschool material, shoes, technology.....can you imagine, at this moment, pairing your life down to 10 suitcases? And they do it with joy, love, & no regrets. We will miss their family so much. But we are filled with joy with them as this time that they have been preparing for so long, has finally arrived.

It was such a sweet time as a few friends gathered to share our love with Sarah and pray over every aspect of their upcoming journey.

Our kids love their kids and it's hard for them to say goodbye as well. We were grateful to share in one last birthday party - and what fun the laser bowling was! It was Eden's first time bowling and she got a spare on her first turn. :) Those little ramps are so genius.

 For Valentine's Day, Andrew's gift to me was a "day away". I hadn't had a chance yet to take the time away, but it ended up that Sarah and Stacy (our pastor's wife) & I were able to plan some time away together. We got pedicures, had lunch, and shopped till we dropped at the Outlets. I was so thankful to share my day out with these 2 friends! Followed by a baby shower in the evening, I was gone from 9:30am-11pm! Andrew reminded me when I got home that my coupon was for 9-5. Oops. :) Thankful for his good care of the kiddos, even though sleep schedules were interesting that day. a-hem.

While mommy's away....the kiddos play........ 

I really don't recall french frys & hot dogs being in the agenda.

We got 6 inches of snow on March 25th. Anyone jealous??? Anyone???

spring will come....spring will come.....

And that's my 3 crazies.

Snowman Par-tay

I know I'm super lucky that so far I only have to plan one birthday party a year! Graham & I had fun looking back through his previous parties last week. Even though he doesn't remember year 1 & 2, he still thought they were pretty cool! This year, the right theme just wasn't coming to me...and then out of no where....it was snowmen! It was a fun theme, and gracious, so, so easy! You can do a lot with cotton balls & marshmallows. :) This was probably the easiest & lowest stress birthday we've done! Since we don't have family nearby, (although we were SO excited that aunt katie flew in for the weekend), Eden got her 2 friends, and Graham had 4 friends. It's so convenient that 2 of Graham's friends have little sisters. :) We were excited to include some of our neighbors this year who Graham plays with outside all the time. And his buddy Zephyr (from our Momtourage group), they've shared each birthday together since they were 1!

What to do with leftover invitations that you'll never use again?

Make a welcome banner!

I will have to share my sweet potato cupcake recipe very soon...so yummy!

The kiddos had pb&j snowmen and the adults had sloppy joes.

 

We had just enough snow to go sledding in the backyard - love being able to do an outdoor activity, even in February! And then they wrapped Andrew in TP like a snowman.

*Note to self: expect that using a marshmallow centerpiece will result in it being half eaten. :)

A fun day and thankful for the friends that made it special!

{and thanks to Katie for the pretty pics!}

Our little one is 2.

Last Sunday, February 10 was Eden's 2nd birthday. We see her leaving babyhood behind and becoming a strong, independent little toddler. Emphasis on I like to do things my way. :) She is spunky, feisty, and into everything, but cracks you up in a second with her hilarious faces & goofy charms. The other day I was getting frustrated because she was touching everything! And as I began to scold her, she broke out in this crazy dance. I could only laugh. I think God knew I needed that moment. :) I love to hear her sing-song words o-kay, (th)kank-you, mom-meeee?

I wish I could capture all her funny faces!

She is chattering more & more these days. She's always asking where "Gray"(ham) is. She has a naughty streak just for fun....discipline doesn't seem to faze her over it. I guess all we do is stay consistent and pray for patience and wisdom. :) All day she asks when we can go buh-bye. Apparently our house is a little dull? She loves going to church. Her main passions in life right now are coloring (lolor, lolor!) and reading books. I try to hold to the rule that anytime my kiddos ask me to read to them, I will stop and read. She likes this rule a lot. :) Her fave book is Moo, Baa, La La La and it's cute to watch her sit and read it, she seriously has it memorized. She loves to copy Graham. She eats very tiny amounts most meals. Like Graham, she would prefer to exist on only fruits & vegetables. Thanks to her big brother she has picked up the word "ew" a whole year sooner than he did. :) And boy does this girl have a sweet tooth! I don't think candy or ice cream was in Graham's vocab until he was about 3. She brings up one of them at least once a day. And most days is disappointed. :) She loves to sing and we love to listen to her funny little songs. We discovered a few months ago that going to sleep with music playing helped her stay in her bed. And now she sings herself to sleep.

She loves to get a blanket and snuggle. She is our snugglebug! 

It is very difficult to get her to play. Seems like she spent an awful lot of the last year fussing because she was bored! But slowly she is starting to play a little more on her own and with G as well. Happy day! She loves playing games on my phone...however it only takes about 30 seconds for her to hit a button that backs her out. :-/ Graham is teaching her how to play angry birds. And it cracks me up to hear a barely 2 year old say angry birds! The TV is very rarely on when she is awake, so the few times I would have liked for her to sit and watch something, she loses interest after about 2 minutes. I guess that's not a bad thing, but I wouldn't mind having that option occasionally. :)

She loves her football shirt. :) And love, loves her daddy.

She finally has enough hair to put in a ponytail, but her brother still has her beat. :)

Some pics snapped by Aunt Katie at her birthday party!

 

 

Keepin' it real.

We love you Eden Hope and are so thankful God chose to put you in our family!