Ethan's Artwork

One of my favorite traits of a kindergartener are the endless creations of artwork that are born each day. I came across this one a couple of days ago and just had to share. Apparently, Ethan's latest interpretation of me is a one-eyed bearded woman with a bosom that is larger than life! He failed to include my legs and ever growing belly. It's pretty sad when your 5 year old son is starting to take notice of the things growing on your body and how it's reflected on paper (and no, I am not growing a beard.)

Baby # 4....

Is in the oven!! I'm almost 20 weeks. Expected arrival is April 19th at 1:30 (the one major bonus of a planned C-Section). Oh...and it's a boy!! We feel so blessed!

Up to no good.....my battle with Petroleum Jelly

Once upon a time...not too long ago..(yesterday)..Ethan was at school and Hayley and Brooklyn were sound asleep during their afternoon nap (or so I thought). So, I decided to sneak in a little nap myself. After about 20 minutes, I opened my eyes and saw Hayley standing right in front of me. As my eyes began to focus, I came to the realization that something just wasn't right. Why was Hayley's hair so shiny? Why did it look like she had just smeared an entire jar of Petroleum in it? Um....because SHE DID! My naughty little girl had spent the last hour shampooing her hair with Vaseline. She instantly knew from the expression on my face that I was not happy with her antics. After having a nice long talk about why we don't put vaseline in our hair, we carried on with our day. I was tempted to wash it out but just couldn't bear the thought of depriving Jeff from witnessing the mess for himself...so she lived in her grease for the rest of the day. Later that evening, I left Jeff to bathe the kids and put them to bed while I attended a school meeting (convenient, huh!) By the time it was over, I thought for sure the kids would be clean and tucked in their beds. Reality check! When I walked through the door, Jeff was knee deep in Shampoo trying desperately to remove the vaseline from Hayley's head. He had washed it 7 times and it was still as greasy as ever. Of course it was....vaseline repels liquid. So, we decided to put her to bed and turn to google for a solution. Wikipedia came through.....Olive oil and Dish Soap.

The top of Hayley's head after 7 washes with Shampoo

Believe it or not...her hair is dry in these pictures

After olive oil and dish soap bath. What a difference!

You can still see a little grease in her bangs, but after one more treatment of olive oil/dish soap..we are finally grease free!

Halloween 2009

A little glimpse into my future....YIKES!

During the day, we went to this really cool witch hunt with our friends, the Richards, in a quaint little town called Narberth. The kids loved it!

Ethan, Alex and Eli Mead, Hayley and Brooklyn

Neighbor kids in all their glory!

My new obsession

Those who know me well know that I LOVE to bake! So, I found this amazing website from my friends blog (you're in so much trouble, Katrina) called Bakerella. Click here for a direct link. I am addicted. I first made the red velvet cake balls and dipped them in white and dark chocolate. They were almost as fun to make as they were to eat! I then tried the oreo truffles (yum!). They were a huge hit at Young Women in Excellence. So, I decided to attempt the cake pops. There are many different varieties but I tried the pumpkin heads to pass out to my friends and neighbors for Halloween. They were a little time consuming but worth it in the long run! You have to try these...it could change your life!


The balls are made of red velvet cake mixed with cream cheese frosting


Per bakerella's suggestion, I used green tic tacs to make the pumpkin stem


Viola! Final product (minus the cute pumpkin face drawn on with an edible pen that didn't write well on the chocolate)

What are you waiting for.....get baking!)

Day from he@&%$!!

Sorry for the title. But, there's really no other way to describe it. Motherhood kicks me in the rear end quite often, but a couple of days ago, it kicked me right off a cliff. All 3 of my kids were sick...and with different illnesses. To top it off, Jeff is sick too (which is like having another sick child). Anyway, I was holding Ethan on one knee trying to help him puke into a bowl instead of on the couch, and was holding Brooklyn on the other knee because she was crying literally all day (still not sure what she has yet) and poor Hayley was sitting on the other couch crying because Ethan and Brooklyn were not happy. I took Hayley to the doctor yesterday thinking she had an ear infection but found out that she actually had a fever blister on her ear drum. OUCH!! I had no idea that was possible. Apparently, it's a virus but not contagious. Basically, they're just in excruciating pain for a week to 10 days with no known treatment. So, needless to say, the entire day was a nightmare and I hope I never have to experience that again. Kids are feeling better. I love the Fall but hate that with the start of school and the drastic change in temperature that it brings about all sorts of fun illnesses to deal with.

One more thing to top off the day....I discovered Ethan had a booger wall. Ewwwww. Boys are gross!

Niagara Falls, Canada

Niagara Falls.....check! We've been trying to get there for the past 4 years and finally found the time. My parents flew into Buffalo, NY and met us there. We stayed on the Canadian side which was an unbelievable sight. The picture below was taken right out of our hotel window. It's about a 6 1/2 hr drive from Philadelphia so we did a late night road trip hoping that the kids would tucker out in the car. After about 4 hours (at 11:00 pm), they finally gave up and fell asleep. We arrived at about 2 am. The following day we did most of the touring including Maid of the Mist. By that evening, Brooklyn was not looking too happy. After all, what's a vacation without a sick child? Sure enough, Brooklyn spiked a fever and was miserable for the rest of the trip. Of course, we were in Canada, so I couldn't take her anywhere. I know they have socialized medicine but I'm pretty sure it doesn't apply to us. So, we took her to the doctor once we got back into the U.S. a few days later. Poor girl was sicker than I'd ever seen her but she was such a trooper! Overall, it was an amazing trip...something I will never forget!


The Canadian Falls


The Maid of the Mist. That ride was worth every penny!!


This was a Hayley size port hole that was perfect for her. She was able to view the falls without us holding her. What a blessing!




The American side of the falls

Papa J, Granma and Brookie

This is the point when I knew Brooklyn was not feeling too good. It was written all over her little face

The endless rainbows were awesome!

I'm pretty sure this was taken before we went below the falls. We were drenched by the end!

One of the highlights of Ethan's trip? Seeing the window washer hang outside our hotel room like Spiderman!

Palmyra Temple and the Sacred Grove

At the top of Hill Cumorah


This bench sits right in front of the Smith Farm





Brooklyn at the entrance of the Sacred Grove. You can tell she just doesn't feel very good. Poor baby girl..


There are no words to describe the sweetness of this picture. Totally unprompted.

It was a perfect day for a stroll in the sacred grove. It had just rained so the smell and freshness in the air was indescribable

Hayley and Ethan are trying to sit on a plant. It doesn't matter where we are...they always insist on being goofballs

My parents with the Palmyra Temple in the background

Mother of the Year

The 1st day of Kindergarten finally came for Ethan. We've been counting down all summer. He really could care less about school...he just wanted to ride the bus. His 1st couple of days were a little strange. First of all, I had no idea that someone who spends 3 1/2 hours in school could learn absolutely nothing every day. Getting information about school out of Ethan is like pulling teeth. Every day I ask him what he learned about and for some reason he can never remember. He did bring a picture home after his first day of a drawing of his family. When I counted the people in the picture, I asked him why there were only 4 on it. He said he ran out of time and didn't draw me yet but that he was going to draw me below everyone else in the basement. He said his teacher asked him why he was going to draw me in the basement and do you know what he said? "Because she's always in the basement." I find that very interesting. Truth be told, our washer and dryer are in the basement but I can assure you that I spend as little time down there as possible because it is a 77 year old scary unfinished basement and I only go if I absolutely have to. I can only imagine what Ethan's teacher thinks of his mom that spends all of her time in the basement. Then there was the incident that happened on the second day. Hayley bit Ethan on the chest before he went to school (totally a random act since she'd never done that before) and it looked like a little hickey. So, what does Ethan decide to do? He shows his teacher and when she asked him what happened he said that he didn't remember. So, not only do I live in the basement, but now I beat my children. Then, on day 3, Ethan drew a picture of me shooting aliens in outer space. So, needless to say, I've made a great impression on Ethan's teacher. I'm really looking forward to our first parent/teacher conference.

Ethan's very 1st bus ride...this is the moment when I finally broke down....all of the sudden, he looked 13.

Photo Shoot

My friend, Melia is an amazing photographer! She recently became the official photographer for a high-end children's clothing store in the King of Prussia Mall. The clothes in this store are EXPENSIVE but totally adorable. She used Hayley and Brooklyn in one of her shoots to highlight one of the dresses. I'm not sure yet if any of them made the cut to be hung in the store, but here's my favorite:




Click on the link to view more:
http://www.pricelessmomentsbymelia.com/gregerson/

Melia...you never cease to amaze me!

This is one of the funniest video's I've seen in a long time. If you're in the mood for a good laugh, click on the link below:

http://www.pampers.co.uk/en_GB/video/babyseyes.jsp

Trying to keep up

Summer always seems to fly by. I've resolved to do a better job of keeping up on my blog. In an effort to be completely up to date, I'm posting various random pictures of what's been happening in August.

My kids ride their bikes EVERYDAY! We have a really old, but long driveway that's great for bike riding.

Introducing Ethan and Hayley's new friend. Like my Hayley, she is 3 and can you guess what her name is? Hailey. Pretty cool!

Ethan and Hayley were waiting out the intense electrical storm that came through right as we were trying to leave for church. I saw lightening strike right behind the car that's through the window

Visit to the Please Touch Museum

Brooklyn and her buddy Hanna

Remember the piano from the movie "Big"? This is a replica and it's so fun!

Hayley and Hailey- soul mates!

Priceless....I love it when dad's aren't too cool to dance with their daughters in a ghetto ally way

This picture looks like something out of America's Next Top Model!


Trip to the dentist (aka, Dad)

We finally got to visit dad at his new school. It was Ethan and Hayley's first time in a dental chair. He gave all of us a much needed cleaning.

Although a little aprehensive at first, Ethan did great and had NO cavities!

Hayley cried at first but once Ethan explained that it didn't hurt, she was fine. No cavities for her either!

Look at those pearly whites!

Ethan decided that he was going to assist while daddy cleaned my teeth. He was really good at suction! Maybe a future dentist in the making!

I love this picture. Ethan and Brooklyn are chilling on a pile of pillows they just created