The Makings of an Artist

It's been awhile since I had an Andrew the Artist post.  He went through a spell of only drawing Angry Birds and Cut the Rope (games he played on the iPad and stuff) and then didn't want to draw for awhile.  He started back up in January and started drawing sea creatures non-stop.  He then moved onto my favorite of his - "guys doing stuff."  Then he got on an animals kick and has since then been drawing those three things.  It's amazing.  He's so adorable, and so talented.  I love my little guy.

I came across this cute little cat he drew at the end of last year.

And a whale he drew during his non-drawing period.

Sometimes his artistic abilities extend to breakfast.

His "guys" are my favorite things ever.

This is the cutest vampire squid I've ever seen.

Andrew and Daddy playing the iPad.

From a Mo Willems book he likes.  I love the snake.

What We Ate

Those who know me, know the love I have for food.  I think combining ingredients and spices to make literally millions of meals is absolutely the most fascinating thing ever.  I have to stop myself from strutting around like a peacock when I make something new and delicious. 

But lately, I've had a hard time really wanting to make anything.  I've hit the stage of pregnancy where the Braxton Hicks contractions are getting stronger and lasting all day, etc. and the kids have all hit a snuggling stage, so I've been doing more snuggling than cooking.

For the last three weeks, we've had the rule in the house that "this is dinner.  Eat it because you'll like it and if you don't, you'll be hungry for the next snack or meal."  It working!  And so, yay!

Ok, even I'm getting bored reading this.  Sorry.  Here's food!

 

Honey Chipotle Chicken with lime quinoa (SOOOO good and healthy)

 

This is what the kids ate that night.  It's still some of the same ingredients, but in a much more manageable way.  The kids LOVED the chicken in particular.

 

 Mike and I did a home date (Subway and a John Wayne movie) so this was just a hot dog.  Andrew is always impressed with my ketchup and mustard swirls on top, so I guess I'm a gourmet.

 This looks disgusting, but wasn't.  It's smoked sausage cooked on the stove and mashed potatoes.  It was Mike's plate and he got home from work a little late, so I had to reheat the sausages.  Andrew learned that he didn't "hate those" but in fact has a deep love for them dipped in mustard.  He's been doing so awesome this week trying things.

 



I am having a really hard time taking pictures that make the food look appetizing!  This is a Greek veggie burger.  Yum.

 

Here's our corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and onions.

 

Not pictured is a scrambled egg chipotle cheddar corn taco.  It was just so good.  I think there was more, but I wasn't so organized.

If Lyrics Were Real...

  On our trip to KC, Andrew discovered Herman's Hermits.  And we listened to the CD for hours.  And yes, some of us were pretty sick of it.  Like, a lot.

  Needless to say, these songs have been stuck in my head for over a week.  Last night I laughing so hard as I was thinking of the song "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter."  I was imagining what would happen if this actually happened.  Below are the lyrics, along with what I imagine the other part of the conversation going:

 

Mrs. Brown, you've got a lovely daughter (Yes, thank you so much, Herman.)
Girls as sharp as her are something rare (Is there something I can do to help you?)
But it's sad, she doesn't love me now (Yes, she mentioned that the two of you had broken up...)
She's made it clear enough, it ain't no good to pine (Ok, yeah.  Maybe you should talk to her about this...)

She wants to return those things I bought her (Oh, okay.  I can take them for you.)
Tell her she can keep them just the same (Ok, I'll let her know, but please move your foot so I can close the door...hello?)
Things have changed, she doesn't love me now (Sweetheart.  Can I call someone for you?  You seem a tad unhinged.)
She's made it clear enough, it ain't no good to pine (*dials Herman's parents)

Walkin' about
Even in a crowd, well
You'll pick her out
Makes a bloke feel so proud (But honey, you aren't dating anymore...)

If she finds that I've been 'round to see you
Tell her that I'm well and feelin' fine
Don't let on, don't say she's broke my heart
I'd go down on my knees but it's no good to pine (*dials police)

What's in a Name?

  Before we know it, our littlest guy will be here.  Since we really have no idea what to name him, we're kind of stuck. 
  My little niece has suggested Sam the Snowman and Glitterpants.  While both of these are wonderful names, we kind of like more traditional names.
  Some ideas we've had are Henry, James, Peter, etc.  But mostly we've just had blank mind.  So I'm asking for help coming up with names!  We want very simple names, traditional spellings, etc.
  So lay 'em on me.  Otherwise little GP (Glitterpants) will be nameless.  Do you want THAT on your conscious?  :)

Fire, Water, Adventure Part 3

And we couldn't take a trip to KC without going to the aquarium.  Our house is 100% sea animal crazy, so this was definitely a must.

The teeny tiny clownfish made me squeal.

This kid was so excited to see moray eels.  It was kind of funny to see him running around recognizing all the animals and teaching us about them.

Emily was excited to get to touch a sea star, but each time she did she got a little freaked out.  It didn't stop her, and it was really funny for me to watch.

Emily liked looking at the fish,etc (the jellyfish were her personal favorite) but she was mostly just excited to fill out this little book they gave the kids.  You get it stamped at various checkpoints, and she was so excited about her "comic book."

 

 

Did we mention that we wore these kiddos OUT?

So, we did all this in 24 hours, and we were all extremely exhausted.  That, plus the crazy snowstorm that we were trying (in vain) to ignore meant that we headed home asap.  The weather got worse as we went on, but we were protected all the way home.

 

We were so happy to spend time as a family doing great stuff and spending time with great people.  Thanks, Deerings!  We'll see you soon.

Fire, Water, Adventure - Part Two

 We checked into the hotel and the kids were so extremely excited.  We had enough hotel points saved to stay at an Embassy Suites in a suite.  Andrew kept saying, "This place is fannnnn-cy!"  It was nice, and since there were two rooms, we were able to put Andrew on the pullout bed, and the kids had playpens.  Emily for some reason was super excited about being a "baby girl."  It worked out well, because then Mike and I each had a double bed.

  I made myself a semi-circle of pillows.  I LOVED the pillows there.  They were perfect, and I had it set up so that when I had to roll over (which happens about 100 times a night now that this kid is getting so big) I had a pillow everywhere I needed................I was so sad to leave my little pillows of happiness.  Goodbye, sweet fortress of pillow-tude.

Charlie and Woof Woof were happy to relax.

 

Although they had a hard time relaxing.  Staying in a hotel is too exciting!

 

 

We then met up with the Deerings at Chick-fil-a and ate dinner, then let the kids tire themselves out in the playplace.  The kids were all so excited to see each other and sit by each other.  It's nice when your friend's kids are so sweet and awesome.  :)

 

   As if the kids weren't tired enough, we then all headed to the pool to get out any energy they may have had stored up.  Andrew was a big surprise because once Mike showed him that he wouldn't sink with the life vest on, he just took off!  He jumped in, swam on his own, and had the time of his life.

 

 

Charlie wasn't sure about it in the beginning, but once he was in for a minute or so, he was happy as a clam.  He would get out of the pool to talk to me, say "Water!  So fun!" then want to get right back in.  He did that about 5 times at least.

 

Can you tell how proud he was?  Sweet little Andrew.

 

Emmie loved Sydney (which is easy since she's the sweetest little gal.)

 

The kids loved jumping in together.

 

Nolan had a head start on this one.

 

And to finish up, this is easily the coolest picture taken this trip.  Andrew's legs!  The fact that they're in the air!  Their expressions!  It's really hard to get action shots, but this one is the best.

 

I have a million things to do, so I guess I'll finish this up another time.