Happy Thanksgiving!

We ventured outside again today after church....enjoying the last of the 'playing outside even though it's chilly' weather....and managed to get a couple more good pics!

Enjoy everyone, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving--we are headed north tomorrow afternoon to be with Shane's family for the holiday!

Is there a Colin under there?
My big boys.....
and my baby boy--once again, eating leaves!!
Daddy and the boys
One of our famous 'self-pictures'
I think Ethan has clearly had enough of the picture taking!

Today, we went to Sears to get some family portraits done.

I was soooooo excited.

My excitement quickly turned to dismay. Anyone ever experience trying to capture three boys' attention long enough to snap even ONE good picture? I am not even asking for smiles.....but by the end of the session, just for the boys merely to be looking in the general direction of the camera all at the same time would have made me happy.

But.....it didn't happen.

Out of the probably 25 shots the lady took (it didn't help that we had a photographer who was NOT at all good with children--we were sooooooo irritated by the time it was over, let me just say) we had one good one.

And none of the boys were looking at the camera. It was one of those posed ones, where they are looking away on purpose. And it turned out very cute, but it just was not what I had gone there expecting to get.

You know, you go through all that trouble of getting the right outfits picked out, and getting everyone packed up and to the studio on time, and through the whole session....just to see that the proofs on that little computer are nothing at all what you had hoped for.

**Sigh.**

So, sitting at lunch, sulking together over the debacle we had just been through, Shane and I decided to make the best of it--we were going to go outside, and just snap some candid shots of the boys. (And, if I had my way--maybe get ONE of them looking in the general direction of the camera.)
I would say that we were decently pleased with our results.

Colin and Cameron loving being up in the tree--Ethan hating it

It got dangerous for just a moment here, but we quickly grabbed the stick
The boys decided to play a fun game of dumping leaves on each other--Ethan bore the brunt of it!
Throwing leaves at each other was fun for quite awhile

My favorite shot of the day--Ethan looks a little traumatized, but other than that, I thought it was a pretty good one! I ended up getting a good shot afterall!

Seven wonderful years

This week, I got the surprise--well, maybe not of my life-- but a bigger surprise than I have had in quite awhile.

Shane arranged it all--he whisked me away for 3 1/2 days to celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary. (Picture is of us heading off on our trip on Friday afternoon.)

Now, this was no easy task, considering the fact that we have three children. But, very good friends of our family agreed to let our boys be a part of their family for a few days, and Shane and I went up north all by ourselves.

We had an amazing time, doing all the things we love to do together....eat, shop, see a couple of movies, eat, sleep in, relax, and eat! (These pics are outside at the Crate and Barrel, downtown Chicago, on Michigan Ave.) It was such a gift to have this time with him, and I am so thankful to have been blessed with such an amazing husband who would work so hard at surprising me with something like this! I love you so much Shane, you are the best thing that God has ever given me.

And, talk about blessings--our friends who would take on all three of our boys for 3 1/2 days to help make it happen--thank you so much to the entire Munro family! I know that each one pitched in their part to keep our boys, and we are both so grateful. A special thanks to Ann, who I know bore the brunt of effort! We love you guys--you are more than friends to us, you are truly family! (By the way, for those of you reading this who don't know this family, they have seven children already--so their house was packed with 12 people while our boys were there!!)

At Giordano's, enjoying pizza (Shane was goofing for me and the camera, but was loving the pizza even more than what the camera shows!)

Inside Garrett's popcorn, on Michigan Ave. This place is famous for their popcorn, so we decided to wait it out (over 15 minutes, and it wasn't even a crowded day!) to try some....it was worth the wait!

In front of Chili's, downtown--one our our many dining experiences!

Seven years ago I married my absolute best friend in the whole world....the years have flown by, and it keeps getting better and better everyday. I love you Shane!

Costumes and Candy

I'm a few days late posting the pics and video, but here you go!

We have.....Colin the Lion.....Cameron the Turtle (Franklin, to be exact)....and Ethan the Skunk. The skunk costume was a gift to Colin from Grandma Lynette when he was a baby, and has been worn by all three boys. I have seen some cute costumes before, but this is one of my all time favorites!

The video is of the boys as they are just getting their costumes on and getting ready for their big adventure!



The pics are from the entire evening, from getting ready, to leaving the house and loading up the stroller to walk our street, actual candy retrieval (and we got an entire bag FULL, from just our street alone!) and then in the car on the way to a pizza restaraunt, and then at Pizza Inn, having dinner to celebrate Colin's actual birthday.

Some highlights from the evening:
**Ethan, doing anything in his skunk costume
**Cameron, excited to go to every house to get candy and then crying after leaving every house because he didn't understand why he couldn't eat the candy right now
**Colin, roaring every 2 minutes and then grinning from ear to ear
**Hearing, "Are all those your boys? (like there were 10 of them or something) They're so cute!" like, 25 times!

The things brothers do

Shane and I walked in the boys' room the other night, to find them "playing" with Ethan. This actually turned out to be a game of "climb up the toy box to get high enough to hurl ourselves over into Ethan's crib and then practically smush him."

If you can't tell in the picture, Ethan is in red, and that is Colin's gray sleeve/green shirt. He had his arm wrapped around Ethan's neck and his head was actually under Ethan's. It was quite a sight. Cameron was in mid-climb, going back out of the crib only to turn around to come back again.

But they were really enjoying themselves.

Ethan was laughing too, which I thought was quite incredible, considering the fact that the crib is so small and he was under a pile of his brothers most of the time. Despite what these picture may show, the boys were being really careful with Ethan. They usually are, they play really well together (especially Colin, he loves to play with Ethan.)


See Colin in the second picture? Shane actually caught him in mid-dive. If you look really hard, you can see his legs sticking out of the crib.

Yet one more instance they gave mommy and daddy a good laugh!

Growing too quickly

Well, Ethan is 9 months old already.



I feel as though I was just writing about him being six months old! Time seems to march faster every single day...week....month. He is getting big quickly.




Last week, I came into his room in the morning, to change his diaper and get him dressed for the morning, as I do everyday. But this day, I saw something different greeting me--a STANDING child.



He is now pulling himself up on everything! And he is so proud of himself too. He just grins from ear to ear whenever he is standing, and looks at me like, "See me, mommy? I'm such a big boy! Look what I can do!"




It is crazy. I know soon he will be standing by himself...then walking will be right behind that! I'm in for it.....




.....but it is sooooo fun.

Shane's new toy

Our yard is huge.

We realized this more and more, everytime we mowed it with our push mower this summer. We knew when we moved in that it was big....but we thought it would be no big deal to mow it once a week or so. We thought everyone on our street was crazy for owning a riding mower. They all have yards about the size of ours.

We've joined the crazies!

We decided that since it took almost 2 hours to push mow our entire yard (and hours and hours of raking leaves and such) that it was time to join the club of lawn tractor owners. Boy, does buying at the end of the season bring great deals, too....if you have read any of my previous shopping posts, you know I am a big bargain hunter!

So, Shane got a new toy, and the boys got their first ride the other night. I even got to bag some leaves the other day! It sure was a lot more fun than raking it by hand--I think I may actually even look forward to the task of mowing now!

4 years ago today....(part two)

We left off about midnight, with no baby anywhere in sight.

As of 12 p.m. the next day, we still had no baby. But we were much closer.

I had been in labor, at this point, for about 22 hours. To tell you the honest truth, that wasn't the worst of it--the worst part for me was the fact that I hadn't eaten in almost 30 hours, and hadn't slept in 36. I was starving and exhausted.

On a side note here--I understand why they don't want you to eat (the risk of c-sections and all) but yet I have to say I think that cutting off food is the dumbest thing you can do to a laboring woman. After all, in labor, you are in like the marathon of your life. You NEED your fuel! I was so hungry that I was almost focusing on my starvation more than the intense pain. Which I suppose may have been a good thing....anyway, in between contractions I was begging Shane to sneak me in some food. Crackers, anything. But, he was the obedient to the doctor, and much as he wanted to, didn't bring me any food.

So, by noon, I was starved and exhausted.

And, FINALLY, at 10 cm.

Ready to push. And push, and push, and push some more.

2 hours of pushing. Colin's head would appear....then disappear. Then appear again....then gone again. It was like this for probably an hour! But, finally, at a little before 2 p.m., my first little baby arrived. And just like I said about Cameron....he was perfect.

About 1/2 hour old

In Grandpa Roger's arms--he was so tiny!

One day old, cuddling with Mommy

Two days old--still in that newborn, fall-asleep-anywhere and in any position phase (see his tiny hand wrapped around Shane's finger? I love that)

First trip to the doctor, at three days old!

Snuggling with Daddy, 1 week old

Hi Mommy!

Asleep again....Colin loved to sleep in Shane's arms

I prayed, my entire pregnancy, that I would just "please not have this baby on Halloween." But God saw fit to have things His way, not mine. I am so thankful that because of God's wonderful timing, this day now holds something so much more special than candy and costumes for my family. We got our first of three wonderful 'treats' on that day!

Happy Birthday Colin--We love you!

Four years ago today....(part one)

I was in terrible labor with my first wonderful son, Colin.

The events of that day are still as fresh to me as if it just happened last week. This was the day, my due date--the 30th of October. Who on earth ever has their baby on their actual due date? I don't know of one single person. But, I was determined that this child would not stay in his comfy little womb one more day.

I think with your first child, the anticipation is so great of that child actually getting there that most women can hardly take it. At least, that was my experience. Part of that had to do with the fact that my wonderful, ever positive doctor, had been assuring me for weeks that it would be "any day now."

I had been dialated to 3 cm. for 5 weeks before I actually had Colin. In fact (many of you may not know this) but I had actually gone into premature labor with him at 35 weeks. They hospitalized me for a few hours, and gave me a drug to stop the contractions, which worked. Dr. Shepherd then sent me home, and basically told me that from here on out, if this little one still wanted to come, he was comfortable with that--I was far enough along that the baby would be fine. However--he preferred that I take it easy, because the longer those little lungs could develop, the better.

The next five weeks were, at best, miserable. I felt as though I was walking around on eggshells--that it could literally be any moment that I went into labor. And, as a woman who had never experienced labor before, I wasn't quite sure what to be on the lookout for. I mean, sure, I had read every book under the sun about labor, and I knew what all of them said--but I didn't know what it would really feel like. So, of course, every contraction I had (and I had tons of them during that 5 week time) I was wondering, "is this it?" And, then.....it wasn't.

I would wake up everyday thinking, "Maybe it will be today!!!"

And I would go to bed that night, thinking, "Maybe it will be tomorrow...."

So, by the time I made it to my due date, I was determined--NO MORE WAITING. (Um, I have a patience issue....I work on that, everyday. It was worse back then....)

It was going to be today. I had done everything--the walking, the spicy food, more walking, lots of activity, more spicy food--and nothing. The one thing I had not tried was.....dum dum dum....the castor oil. How I dreaded this. My girlfriend did it and said it was awful, but my doctor said that it had worked for lots of his patients.

So, that morning, I went on a hunt for the stuff. I made a wonderful little cocktail--one scoop of vanilla ice cream, a can of root beer, and 3 oz. of castor oil. Down the hatch....then I chased it with a Reese's peanut butter cup. I know, I know. How absolutely awful, right? Well, you are right. It was possibly the worst thing I had ever tasted in my life.

That was 8:30 or so that morning.

By 2:30, nothing had happened and I was sure that the stuff hadn't worked. Shane and I had spent the morning working on our back room addition (at our last house) and I had been on "pulling all of the old nails/screws out of the studs" duty. We were demo-ing the room, and had a ton of garbage, so we decided to take it down to a friend's burn pile, which was about 10 miles or so away. We loaded up the truck and headed out.

We arrived at the burn pile after about a 15 minute drive. I was still feeling just fine, nothing at all out of the ordinary. We both opened our doors to get out, so that we could dump all of the stuff, and just as I stepped out onto the ground, I felt a gush.

Oh my goodness.

I didn't know what was going on. Here I am, as big as a house, trying to look down to see what on earth is happening, and all that I can see is my gigantic belly. The gushing is still going on, however, so I yelled to Shane. He came flying over, and we realized--My water had just broken. Neither of us really knew what to do.

I told him to go ahead and finish unloading the truck, but to hurry....the contractions had already started. And then I realized: you really DO know when it is the real thing. Those contractions just aren't the same as they were before.....this was it.

We were almost back to our house when, to my utter dismay, the castor oil kicked in.

Oh, had you forgotten about that part? Well, see, here is a little bit of irony in this situation. Colin had obviously planned on coming that day anyway. The castor oil, to this point, had done nothing. My water broke on it's own. However, just because the castor oil hadn't started my labor didn't let me off the hook of the effects of that castor oil.

I am going to spare you the details of this one....but let's just say....it wasn't pretty.

We made it home, grabbed our stuff, and headed to the hospital. The rest of this day was a blur of pain, and of my trying to find ways to manage that pain. Tubs, walking, showers, lying, leaning, sitting...you name it, I did it. For hours and hours. By midnight.....I was dialated to 4.

Did I mention I came in at 3? This baby was determined to take his time and put me thru as much misery as he could--at least, that was how it felt to me that night!

It is, I am sure, obvious to you that I did not have this baby on the 30th.....so, catch the conclusion tomorrow!

Surprise! Mom turns the big 5-0

Two weekends ago, while my wonderful husband stayed behind with our three little men (thank you sooooo much, babe--you are the best!), I surprised my mom with a weekend getaway to the Windy City--one of her favorite spots on earth.

Shane and I had been planning this trip for her for several months. I knew that she wasn't into the idea of a big 50th birthday bash, so I had the idea of taking her somewhere instead. It was actually Shane's idea to take her to Chicago, because he knows how much she loves it there. So, I decided to plan the trip for one month before her actual birthday, to throw her off. I am TERRIBLE at keeping surprises, and I didn't want to let the cat out of the bag early and ruin everything! I knew it was likely that I would drop some sort of comment, and she might begin to put the pieces together....so I picked the weekend of October 6. The sooner I could get it out, the better!

Shane and I had it all planned out--we were going to come home EARLY from our date night, and tell her to go home and pack her bags--that we were leaving for somewhere special in the morning! But, FORTUNATELY, it didn't work out exactly like that.....

It just so happened that WBGL was giving away tickets to see one of my mom's all time favorite artists in concert--Steven Curtis Chapman. I have always loved him as well, and the Wednesday night before our big weekend, in the car, the DJ came on and stated that the first caller who could unscramble the following three song titles was the winner! I immediately began dialing (right--like I had a chance at actually getting through, let along winning?) and to my surprise, I got through!

Then--just my luck--my stupid 'never-more-than-one-bar-at-a-time-connection cell phone' disconnected me! No Service, it said. I couldn't believe it. So, I sat there, listening to the lady who got through right behind me. I was disappointed....until I listened to her totally flubbing the answer! I knew that she had no clue, so I picked up the phone and dialed again...and got through again! AND, the DJ picked up the phone and I WON THE TICKETS!! You talk about disbelief....my family sat and listened to me on the radio while I answered the questions correctly and won four great tickets to the concert and three free CD's!

So, plans had changed....when mom came for date night, I got to surprise her instead! I arranged for babysitters for the boys (THANKS Emily and Rebekah, if you are reading this!) and we headed out to dinner at the Olive Garden and then the concert. She was in disbelief, to say the least. She couldn't believe the concert, let alone the fact that I was telling her to pack her bags!

Dinner at the Olive Garden

It was a great concert!

Shane, Mom, and me

I was very vague with her about where we were going--and I loved the fact that it was driving her crazy! :-) It was really funny. We headed out of town around 9:30 (after we ate breakfast at a little place we love called 'Le Peep' over in Champaign). I didn't actually even tell her until we pulled off the exit and were at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg--her favorite! We got there around noon, and didn't leave until almost 9! Now, to our credit, it is like the biggest mall ever (three floors) but I have never shopped so long in once place in my life! We had a great time though, that's for sure. We ate dinner and headed back to our hotel....just to get up and do it all again in the morning! Well, sort of....same activity, different locations. We went to Ikea, Old Navy, and tons of other places, and shopped until around 6 p.m. We decided to head downtown for dinner and sightseeing! Mom loves the lights, and loves to walk Michigan Ave.

Mom and I at Gino's East--FAMOUS for deep dish pizza!

How's the pizza?

How do you really feel about turning 50 mom??

In front of the Hard Rock and Rainforest Cafes

The beautiful city at night

On Michigan Ave (see the street sign above her?)

We had an amazing time! It was so great getting to spend time with my Mom--just the two of us! We don't have a ton of quality time like that anymore, and it sure was special.

Mom--you sure don't look or seem your age! The years keep improving you! I love you, and Happy 50th!