the current situation around here.

things are a little hectic around here this week and are bound to get even worse as the holiday approaches 

next week. 

i have a question for you.. who in the world decides to get their counter tops replaced a week before 

Thanksgiving and while 8 months pregnant? 

i'll save you from answering. that would be US of course.

scenes from our life this week.

and notice: counter tops - all gone.

not one piece of tile left on them and now i officially have 

plywood counter tops -- with a whole lotta dust on them -- until our new tops are installed next week.

i'm ok with that since the kids and i will be out of town .. husband is going to stay 

behind, not only because he has to work, but also to supervise the job.

my children.

someone gave this little girl an extra dose of bossiness in her breakfast today.

and this little boy was a little moody today..

and of course, this little one is on her best behavior when the oldest two are acting up...

but i'm not complaining because i know i was a little extra cranky today and not the best person to be around. something about not having counter tops and finding bits of cement in my food 

makes me a little frazzled.

{bless their little hearts, they are so cute.}

oh,

and while at the gym i noticed a girl running on the treadmill.

and i instantly felt like crying {definitely hormonal}.. because i miss running so much.

i'm not even very good at it but i enjoyed it so much when i was normal {not pregnant}.

instead me and my big self have to stay on the elliptical and chug along at a snails pace.

i can't go any faster than 133 hb/min.. and i can tell you right now..this girl  below {who had no idea i took a picture of her backside} was definitely NOT at 133 hb/min.

{all i can say is that lycra/spandex is awesome!}

soon enough i'll be able to get back into the swing of things.

for now, this little girl has got to stay in my tummy a little bit longer.

and preferably arrive here between Dec 27-30.

she may not, i repeat, MAY NOT arrive on Dec 25th or i will definitely be a crying mess.

******

hope you have a wonderful weekend

and raise your hand in the air if you are so glad tomorrow is friday! {woot! woot!}

it's really for reals {an announcement}.

today is my "it's really happening"  moment.

i'm coming out of the mothers closet {so to say}
and throwing it out there for all to know.

{so sorry for the semi blurry pictures. it was just me, my camera, self-timer and 2 pee sticks just trying to

record a moment}

it's for reals folks and i can barely believe it myself.
if you thought i was crazy before.. well, i may have just placed myself in a whole new
crazy category in your mind.

this new baby will be our 4th.. and we are super excited about it  :)

first things first.. some love messages:

my dearest Thursday playgroup members - you are are just the sweetest. i'm sorry i missed so
many playgroup dates.. but when i said i wasn't feeling good, i really wasn't feeling good. and it wasn't
a simple cold i was trying to fight. all you girls are awesome, i don't know what i would do without you guys.
and you take care of my kids while i eat all your snacks.. you girls rock.

my poor neglected blog and blog friends - you've been sorely neglected. but you see, i can't come up on here and post about food or outfits or the kids without somehow feeling as if i'm not being truthful.

because all i really wanted to tell you was that i haven't cooked a homemade meal in over 5 weeks and that
i'm about ready to bust out of my summer shorts. then you would wonder what was going on and then it would be awkward.

my kids - i know you miss my awesome cooking skills since it's been about 5 weeks since i've been able to make anything.
but you  must admit, i make some awesome smoothies. and i'm pretty sure you've all got your vitamin c intake for the next 2 years taken care of.
bam.
see how that works out?

to the people i've run into around town and you can't figure out if i'm just gaining weight or what - surprise!
i haven't gorged on hostess chocolate cupcakes.
right now, i can't do that even if i tried.

my husband - don't worry. we will survive. somehow, in some way we will survive.
on the upside, you keep getting cuter and cuter with the more kids we have :)

*******

if you find yourself reading this, please send some good cyber wishes my way.
for some reason, i'm extra paranoid about this pregnancy and i keep freaking myself out
but i am comforted in knowing that He in in control and i've just gotta let him go about His business
of caring and creating this little one.

thank you so very much my friends :)

friday photo dump {instagram}

hi, my name is flor and i'm an instagram addict.

it didn't take long to become one but once you've done it, you pretty much will never go

back to your normal camera phone.

here's a peek at our week:

grilled turkey and avocado sandwich.

i know what you're thinking.. it looks a little burnt right?

that's kind of how i like my food. it drives my husband crazy but i tend to overcook

most of everything.

which also explains why i'm not the greatest of cooks.

*********

spring sunshine, how we love you.

we miss you and want you to stick around for a while.

and please tell your sisters rain and wind to stay away.

********

seriously, dude you need a haircut.

but who cares about the hair, i see that cute dimple peeking through.

********

so cute... in a scruffy kinda of way.

*********

she's taking my picture and telling me to say cheese.

i don't think her dad knew she was using his iphone.

**********

we are kinda like real farmers.. well not really.

a veggie garden but no veggies yet and no soil.

it'll get there eventually. big thanks to the cute scruffy guy in photo #4 for making adding this to the homestead.

********

drink yo' water!

wow, my kitchen is extra messy.

**********

always the last person to get out the door in the morning. always.

i don't know what it is about her.. it's like she forgets she's suppose to go to school

every morning..i don't get it.

*******

my view this afternoon.

molly, my fern, is taking over. i can feel her trying to reach me as i sit at my computer.

"wwwwaaaatttterrr meeeeee, plllleeeeeaasssseeee."

too busy right now molly, maybe later.

*********

and that, friends, is life over here.

burnt sandwiches, a cute scruffy guy who can make a darn good veggie garden

and a fern that is starting to freak me out.

hope you have a wonderful weekend :)

catching up

just got back from a very-quick, mini, vacation and my laundry pile is off the hook.

it really needs to be done and since my husband cleaned up the house

while we were gone, i know i can't ask him to do laundry.

i'll try to bribe him but i'm pretty sure he got his fill of housework this week..

it's so nice to just get away sometimes. to just get out of your house for a while

so that you can actually miss it. i come back feeling refreshed and motivated, i love that feeling.

and now i'm feeling motivated to tackle some of those ongoing projects that have been

pending for a while.

i know this is totally off the topic but did you know that Instagram is now

available for Android phones? yes, my friends it's true.

and guess who has an Android phone? yes, yours truly.

and I'm in photo-heaven.

(husband missed us)

at some point, I've got to find some time to transfer my pictures

from my memory cards (& phone) onto my external hard drive.

but that's a project for another day

or i'll just wait till my husband gets to it.

actually, maybe i'll just put it on his to do list.

*******

this weekend i'm going to catch up on blogs, 

vacuum my stairs and get some quiet time in.

have a wonderful weekend!

sick.

this weekend was suppose to be the weekend.

i was suppose to get some serious painting done around here and i was actually looking forward to it.

to be able to finally finish up our hallway and kids bathroom - that was my goal since those 2 areas have

been sorely neglected for so long.

and then BAM! some sort of virus got to me yesterday... and now i've got what feels like a waterfall 

coming out of my nose,

a sore throat,

and a serious headache that's lasted all day.

so there goes all my painting plans.. but i can live with that.

what i can't live with is missing out on a movie date with my sister on sunday

(to see, yes you guessed it, the hunger games. have you seen it yet? please tell me it's as good as the books)

whatever this is has got to go away by then or i'm going to be a very grumpy mama.

(yeah, they look so cute but i just know one of 'em brought home this little bug)

on a good note, not much will be expected of me as far as cooking is concerned.

on a bad note, i'm just waiting to see which child catches this bug next

(quick! knock on wood, even if it's laminate.)

hope you have a wonderful weekend!

what's-going-on Friday...

it's been a crazy, hectic week and i'm so glad it's almost over.
thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers for my mother.

she had surgery and is still in the hospital recovering.

she is in alot of pain..i can't be in the room with her while the physical therapist is in there.

because then, i'll start crying with her.

soon enough, she'll be walking around and hopefully without any pain.

i am overwhelmed by so many things this week;

strangers praying for my mom.. people in my bible study that don't even know her

but pray for her nevertheless.

your thoughts and comments/emails make me unbelievably happy {thank you!}

meals from friends who understand how exhausted i am

and that i can't possibly muster up enough energy to cook anything.

friends who become temporary mothers to my children while

i am away at the hospital and my husband is at work. 

no time limits.

no questions asked.

they do it with a open heart,

not expecting anything back in return but just to lessen the burden upon my shoulders.

and my family.. my brothers and sisters.

our bond is strengthened every time our family goes through a traumatic experience.

we all share the burden.. and not one sister or brother in this family is left to deal with it all.

my older sister {bless her heart}.. the rock of our family
who has hardly seen her own family in order to stay with my mom.. day and night.

a brother who drives 6 hours at the crack of dawn to be there with us

and keep us company.

{muah! muah! hugs and kisses to all 6 of you!}

 

i could go on and on but i think you get my point :)

i'm just plain grateful for all of it.

and now some pictures.

because a post is never complete without any pictures, don'tcha think?

amen to that.

i'm not a big coffee person but i've had my share of coffee this week that's for sure.

 mostly i enjoy it with lots and lots of french vanilla creamer
{i PROMISE there is coffee in it somewhere}

this little guy lost his first tooth this week..

he pulled it out himself and i was so proud of him!

thank goodness he is so brave because

the little girls in this house are prone to hysterics when they see the slightest amount of blood.

my husband working hard on building me a small {stage?}
it's for my pictures around here..
he painted it white and slightly distressed it..
so it's nice and white and bright.
you know what that does?
it acts like a natural reflector when it's indoors.. where the lighting
just about drives a person crazy.

i told him about it early this week and before i knew it
he was calling me from home depot asking me for specifics.
personally, i'm thinking he was just really excited to get to
use his power tools :)

and this little girls hair has been brushed a total of maaaayyybbeeeeee 2 times this week.
but it's all good because next week we're gonna try for three.

i'll be catching up on blogs this weekend and maybe think about
bringing down my valentines day decor.
i said i'll think about it.. doesn't mean it'll get done
so don't hold me to it :)

have an awesome weekend!

around here.

it is just impossible to write a blog post and watch tv at the same time..

just impossible.

i'm trying to multi-task and it's not working out so good.

and by the way, how long does it take you to write a blog post?
me? about 2 hours. for reals.

i start looking at my pictures and get sucked in..

and then i start to edit my pictures.. which takes me a long time since i really haven't figured
out a good work flow yet.
so by the time i actually get to writing an actual post

i'm all tuckered out :)

here's a peek as to what's been going on around here lately..

now that's what i'm talking about...pumpkin bread. yum.

i've made about 20 loaves of pumpkin bread this winter.

this is the only baking i know how to do.

but, peeps, i do it well.. i promise.
maybe next winter i'll tackle chocolate chip cookies..

from scratch! {gasp}

i'm in a little group called "what's for dinner?" on facebook made up of

friends and some family members.

they have really changed dinner time around here.

we all post whatever is for dinner that day or our menu for the week

and give each other recipes.

my husband {and his tummy} are especially lovin' it.

he would like to personally thank each and every member in our group

for helping me get food out on the table in a timely manner

{without me almost losing my mind in the process}.

my darling girl.. she loves this hat.

she's been wearing it all winter long and has been so good

about not losing it while at school or anywhere else.

the problem though is that it's mine.

seriously, i bought it for myself and let her borrow it once.

well, that's all it took for her to become enamoured {obsessed?} with it.

but, doesn't she just look adorable in it?

i sure do miss it though.

meet my new best friend.

i'm trying to mix up my work outs and have heard some wonderful

things about this dvd.

i'm tellin' you right now, this better work.

some of my friends started their own private biggest loser group recently

and those girls are kickin' my butt.

i'm hoping my new friend here can help me catch up to them..

and if my ta-ta's and abs can look like that up there

then i'll buy the rest of her dvd's :)

my daughters new devotional...it rocks.

she loves it and it's really easy for her to figure out.

thanks to the lovely stephanie at love, life & babies for introducing

me to the S.O.A.P bible study technique.

genius.

this picture is just so bad on almost every level...

oh, but i just love it.

aside from the crazy hair {we've been working on trying to get that hair under control}

and the rain boots on backwards..

this is just so my daughter. 

sister doesn't see anything wrong with wearing her princess dress

and rain boots to 3 different stores and the doctors office.

she has a unique sense of style, that's for sure.

thanks for stopping by and catching up with me!

hope you have a wonderful weekend :)

playing catch up.

I'm back from an un-announced vacation.
did you think I fell off the face of blogland?
not a chance.
if I was able to schedule my days in advance I might have let you know I wasn't going to be posting.
but by now, you must already know that I'm just not that organized and together :)

It was really nice just hanging out with my husband and kids and just puttering around the house.
I'm not very good at relaxing, but I did my best in between projects.

it feels like I blinked 5 times and November came and went.
is that how it felt like for you?

my sister hosted a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner for us.
she just makes every occasion so special and magical for all of us.
the food, the details.. she's just so good at that.

my 3 year old flat irons her hair, how's that for fashion diva?
and I just have no words for that bird nest of a hair-do she's got going on.
this is just her.
sugar 'n' sass all wrapped up in one little pretty package.. but most of the time it's all sass.

now, I know you're not gonna believe me by looking at these pictures
when I say that I'm not a messy person.
really I'm not.. but I think that in order to be creative and get those creative juices flowing
you MUST surround yourself with an organized mess.
just helps a person think better.
well, that's my philosophy.

The cleaning up is a whole different story,
but if I just shut the door to this room it's as if the mess isn't there.

I had to find a spot for little miss to get her craft on.
I love that she wants to work with her hands.
it doesn't matter if it's stamping, cutting or coloring.
and she wants to do it with me.
words just can't explain how happy the picture above makes me.
she is watching me, she is learning from me.. she is growing into a big little girl before my eyes.
<sigh>

I really wanted an advent calender last year.. but as usual,
life just got in the way and I never got to do one for the kids.
but this year..
I'm on it.
I actually started it and the kids were helping me finish it up tonight.
I'll post a picture of it when it's completely done {because I've still got 2 more days to finish it} :)

hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving friends.
it's so good to be back!