All’s quiet on the blogging front. Wait a minute… no, it’s not.

Darby and Erika have both been mia from the blogosphere since last Thursday.  I wonder if that means Erika had her baby?!

** update:  Womp womp.  When linking Erika’s name, I see that she’s still very pregnant.

Babies and Showers

This weekend, Lenka and I did a little more than bridal shower planning.  We took on two boys (ages 2 and 4) for the weekend while their parents were out of town! (Newborn baby brother went with Mommy & Daddy)

Sorry for the low-quality picture… I stole it from Facebook.

Holy.Mother.of.Pearl.

I have a whole new respect for mothers and I’m seriously rethinking my desire for 3 kids.  They kept us busy and there was never a dull moment.  Friday night, we played outside, got them fed, wiped hinies, changed diapers, brushed teeth,  put on pjs, read stories, dried tears, stopped fights and tucked them in.  Saturday morning we woke up at the crack of dawn, wiped hinies, changed diapers, fed them pancakes (quite the ordeal!), played outside, stopped fights and jumped on the “champaleen.” Thankfully, at 10:00, a sweet teenaged girl from church came to relieve us so we could do a little shower planning.

After an all too quick reprieve, we were back to feed them supper, wipe hinies, change diapers, give baths, comb hair, brush teeth, put on pjs, read stories, tuck them in and wake up in the middle of the night to stop the crying.  Sunday morning met us all too early and we started breakfast, changed diapers, wiped hinies, brushed teeth, changed into church clothes, packed diapers and sippy cups, loaded into carseats and headed off to church.  (It bears mentioning that Lenka and I will never judge another mother for showing up to church sans shower and makeup with her hair pulled back into a ponytail… we may or may not have arrived at church in a similar state.) After church, we fixed lunch (a messy mix of Spaghetti Os and apple slices with peanut butter), washed hundreds several tiny shirts that were covered in lunch, took naps (all four of us!), changed the world’s worst diaper, wiped one more hiney, played games, rolled dice, fixed supper and waited impatiently for Mommy and Daddy to return.

While this weekend was in no way relaxing, it was a bit refreshing.  There’s nothing better than a child throwing his tiny arms around you and giving you a big hug or hearing his silly giggle when he’s having a good time with you. I also have a new found respect for parents who do all of this all day long without complaint and I am so thankful that we have a heavenly Father who loves us and cares for us and takes care of our every need without complaint. He loves us unconditionally despite our whining, begging and tantrums.  He wipes away our tears, he protects us and provides all that we stand in need of without needing to pass us off to another babysitter for a break.

One of the sweetest things this weekend was when the four year old would sing “Come Thou Fount of Every Bwessing” while we prepared their meals.  He knew almost all of the words and sang them very reverently and sweetly.  His tiny tw0 year old brother tried very hard to sing along but was having a bit of a problem with enunciation. :) When things would get overwhelming, (casserole was bubbling over, kids were fighting and whining, the piano was being banged on entirely too loudly and everybody was hungry) it was nice to be reminded of those lyrics of singing His grace with loudest praise:

Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
mount of thy redeeming love.

On the shower front, we got a lot accomplished.

We printed and mailed the invitations.

Complete with accompanying recipe card.

Aren’t those prints just adorable?! They were created by my fantastically talented seester, Susie.  You should read her blog.  She’s terribly funny and sickeningly talented.  Here’s the original:

We decided on the favors… I won’t post about them yet just in case some shower attendees are reading, I wouldn’t want to spoil the fun! We nailed down at least one activity, did a little shopping and decision making about plates, napkins, etc and we decided on a little bit of the menu.  We want everything to be pickupable.  It shouldn’t be too hard coming up with yummy things that fit that parameter.  The bride isn’t wild about cake (she is having a cinnamon roll tower at her wedding reception brunch in lieu of cake) so we decided to do cupcakes for the shower.  I ordered some of these lovelies this morning.

They’re so dadgum cute that I had an impossible time picking!

I ended up choosing these in blue.

I probably need to block this site on my computer.  Otherwise, I could end up spending a ton of money there.

All in all, it was a very productive weekend! What do you think of the shower stuff thus far? I’ll keep you posted as we continue to map out all the fabulous details.

Gratuitous Pictures of Tater

A cute picture of Tater from this weekend:

 

A silly picture of Tater sleeping.  I wish it wasn’t so dark!

Sweet Potato

My parents have the cutest dog ever born.  Seriously.  I’m pretty sure nobody can compete. But this girl might come in a close second place.

Sweet Potato (aka Tater) is half Boxer, half American Staffordshire Terrier and was rescued from a local shelter about 2 years ago.  All of our pets have been recues and we couldn’t be more pleased with all of them. Mama found Tater on Petfinder and fell in love instantly.  She and Daddy went to meet her and knew immediately that she was the perfect dog for our family.

After a litter of puppies and a nasty case of heartworms, Tater was an unlikely choice for most families but for Mama and Daddy, it was like she was custom created just for them.  We’re big fans of smooth, shorthaired, big dogs but Mama also wanted somebody to snuggle up in her lap on the sofa.  Tater was the perfect combination of both.

Just look at how at home she is on the sofa:

And who could resist this snuggly bear?!

I think it’s safe to say we’re crazy about her.  The picture on my phone are about 90% of Tater.

Her hobbies include destuffing toys, napping, trying desperately to get some chocolate (even resorting to tearing up Christmas stockings), learning tricks for a Cheez It, kissing EVERYBODY, going on walks, basking in the sunshine, following Mama around, snuggling on the sofa with Mama, making that puppy face you can’t say no to and not walking on hardwood floors.

Here are some pictures of her doing adorable things:

Evidence of the seven puppies

Just look at that pink chest!!

*Notice the new bed an the new rug in this picture…

Mama bought a new rug so Tater’s fur would blend in! Then her bed looked shabby so Mama ordered a special one for her.  I’ve never seen such a spoiled animal! Everytime I go over to their house, Tater has a new toy or accessory or treat.  Our poor other dogs were neglected in comparison.

Tell me about your pets! Do you spoil your babies? What bad habits do you find endearing?

Birds Fly, They Don’t Think Twice

For the past month and a half or so I’ve had a beautiful little nest in my wreath on the front door and it’s been so fun to watch the little lives of 5 birdies as they enter and discover the world.

I came home one afternoon and found the beginnings of a nest in my wreath.  Not wanting to disturb a mother bird and her babies further down the line, I took the sticks and pine straw out and thought that’d be the end of it.  Wrong. The determined mother built a replacement nest in no time  and I couldn’t bear to throw away all her hard work.

About a week later, I held my cell phone over the nest and took a picture.  This is what I found: It’s blurry but there are 5 beautiful, blue eggs inside!! I began carefully opening and shutting the door when I came and went so as not to crack one and so I wouldn’t disturb the mother keeping them warm.

About two weeks later, I came home to find that the babies had hatched! They were the funniest looking things and were covered in fuzz: See their tiny beaks and beady eyes? (again, forgive the terrible picture quality, my camera phone isn’t exactly professional grade) Note: apparently Mama Bird uses the outside of the nest as her own personal bathroom.  The nest is now lined with a thick layer of bird doodoo and it’s all over the door as well!

Over the last few days, the birdies have been very vocal and are getting restless in their nest.  They’re hopping around, chirping and really wanting to fly. This little brave fella is ready to go!

Last night, one brave baby flew out of his cozy nest and flopped all around the entry way! He was trying to be so brave but couldn’t seem to quite take off.  He finally landed in a potted plant to catch his breath and this morning he was tucked safely back in his nest.

I’m a little sad to see them grow up and fly away but it’s been so much fun to watch them develop from a few sticks and twigs into flighted birds!

Ps.  Ten extra cool points are up for grabs if you can name the song I borrowed lyrics from for this post’s title.