Easter. In July.

As I was browsing old camera cards, I stumbled upon Easter pictures. That's right EASTER. I know, I know, it's July. I guess that just goes to show how chaotic my life was this past Easter. You know with adjusting to a new baby and having to keep two other children alive, fed, and bathed (okay, so we missed a lot of baths that month too).

This Easter was extra special, because it was our first holiday as a family of FIVE. Well, besides St. Patrick's' Day. Who celebrates that anyway? Plus it wasn't like I was being served any delicious green beer in the Labor & Delivery Unit, so we'll stick with Easter as the first holiday. Party of five, bunny style.

(So maybe a great picture of all of us isn't gonna happen this year. Or maybe ever.)

A family tradition on Easter is fried chicken. I have absolutely no idea when or how it started, but it is what it is. This year was no different. Except for the mounds of sushi. It's a new tradition. But fear not - fried chicken was still there. (I mean seriously is that enough soy sauce or WHAT?)

Picture recap - better late then never right? Right.

As you can see we ate chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. I thought Valentine's was going to be a holiday topper for Max with all the candy that comes with it. I somehow forgot or never realized that Easter has even more chocolate then Valentine's days.

AND PEEPS!

 

Those kids were some sweet, sticky messes after Easter. You better believe they got their baths that night. I *think*. Yeah, you're right, they probably didn't. But no one complained.

Mason did his best to find EVERY golden egg at EVERY egg hunt he participated in. He was so stoked. (Disclaimer: he was the oldest kid participating in this said egg hunt....but hey, he still found it!)

 

Mason got a beloved Slinky Dog - he was so excited that the crazy huge bunny he saw at the mall "read his dreams" and remembered this slinky dog.  A slinky dog and chocolate for breakfast. OH YES, YES,  AND CROCS. *insert happy dance* Forget Easter people, it was like Christmas over here.

As all holidays are with the munchkins, it was a busy day full of chaos and fun. Hopefully next Easter I'll remember to blog it sooner, unless of course, I'm busy cleaning sweet, sticky Peep fingers and snuggling chubby cheeks covered in melted chocolate that is. Priorities and all, you know?

Happy Easter. In JULY. (And now it's already August, whoops!)

July 4th.

I love the holidays. My family makes the holidays that much more incredible. Having kids makes it infinitely more exciting. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that like forty times on this very blog, but I'm laying it out there once again.

As most of our summer, we spent this holiday lakeside. We attempted to withstand the heat by consuming fried food and margaritas. Surprisingly, it worked. The firework show didn't start until about 9:30, which was approximately three hours past bedtime. Which was a joy for us all.

It was totally worth it.

Alexander even watched, then fell fast asleep, even amongst the craziness. I thought the loud noise may bother him. Then I remembered that he lives with Mason. And Max. So, basically the fireworks were like a lullaby. That's right, the baby-whom-never-sleeps, slept through fireworks. Ironic.

And what is a summer holiday without some soft serve? Seriously.

I can't wait for many more Fourth's spent up at the lake. Devouring ice cream and staying up way past bedtime. I get all warm and fuzzy just thinking about the memories we are making.

Merry Christmas 2010!

From all my favorite boys.




Love,
Mason, Max & Nugget (the unborn who remains nameless - still).

gingerbread adventures.

Those gingerbread house boxes you see at the grocery and craft stores. Yeah those, they are total false advertisement. The people smiling and icing the house with ease. Mmhm, that does not happen. Here is a real adventure in gingerbread house making. Maybe I should send those companies these pictures, but then sales may drop.

First of all, we sent Michael to the store with the mission of BUY BOXED, EASY TO ASSEMBLE GINGERBREAD HOUSE KIT. Michael walks in shortly after confirmation that the gingerbread house was purchased. We open the box, sort the goodies in to bowls, but umm...where's the icing honey? Oh that's right, we got a kit with icing you have to MAKE. And by the way, you have to add a shit load more water than it says. And with two extremely giddy, excited, impatient kiddos waiting around it's not the easiest route to go. Look at the amount of icing dust they packaged!!

I ate The boys used every sticky drop.


A lot of preparation went in to the building of this gooey wonder. Okay, so really Michael skimmed at the directions and Mason was fully intent making out with his mixer beater. But occasionally pretended to be focused on the task at hand. As usual, Michael got super in to the activity and before it was all said in done, I'm pretty sure we decided he could surely become an architect like tomorrow if he wanted. In the North Pole at least.

Do you see where the real interest lies? The beater. He is planning his tongue attack with great detail and lust. ICING & CANDY. YUM.


Max did what Max does best. Ate. He indulged himself in icing, candy and blueberries. The dinner of a champion. This baby has a sweet tooth like NONE OTHER. Seriously, it baffles me how much sugar he can consume without puking. It does totally show in his boisterous, banshee behavior. So serious about icing, he was double fisting.


Alas, our sweet finished gingerbread house. Will you look at that perfection. Who needs windows and a snowy roof? I mean what more could you ask for, each side of the house is staying put. Apparently, that's good enough for us.

the holidays.

The holidays are among us. Seeing how the first week of December has already come and go, I figured I should recap our Halloween and Thanksgiving celebrations before I forget all about the wonderfulness they enveloped. We decorated with all things spooky and munched on candy, then did a quick turn around just four weeks later to munch on turkey and potatoes and enjoy the beautiful weather, while being thankful for full bellies and gorgeous weather.


I love matching outfits, pj's and anything else I can manage to match with the boys. In fact, it's one of the [many] reasons I am so excited that our newest nugget is another boy. More coordination coming soon! Holiday coordination is by far the best. Halloween costumes are not forgotten in the frenzy of candy - they too are accommodated to mesh together. Although Mason was really excited for Halloween this year, he wasn't particularly set on any one costume. I may have hit the floor on both knees in prayer stance, when he didn't demand to be Iron Man fully equipped with a plastic mask and sword.

I know my holidays are numbered, in fact, I'm fairly certain I will never again get to pick his costume, while enticing him on "HOW EXCITING IS IT GOING TO BE TO MATCH WITH MAX && (insert unnamed baby here)". Because next year it won't be exciting to him and I know it won't fly. But, the good news is. This year it did. Presenting Mario & Luigi.


And baby Yoshi coming this Spring. See how much I love to coordinate? If they made a Yoshi costume in maternity I would've taken one for the team. And if Michael hadn't been away on business, you better believe I would've found him a Wario costume in 25T, er maybe just adult.

Halloween was a success. Even with the amount of sugar ingested and the amount of face paint reapplied for mustaches, it was a total blast. We stayed out way too late. No one was scared, both boys loved helping Michael decorate. We even left our huge, fancy web hanging until the day after Thanksgiving. I figured when our neighbor had busted out her bright, blue lights, white felt for snow and music figurines for Christmas decor, it was time to say goodbye to our haunted house. Seriously, her bushes and shrubbery resemble the mother tree out of Avatar. Max ate through at least four candy wrappers for a Kit Kat or Milky Way...successful night for him? I think so. Mason ran his little heart out from door to door, for a whole hour past what I assumed he'd last. Casually stopping to gaze in to his bag and pick a sweet something to nosh on while he continued trekking the neighborhood. He loved every minute of it.

Thanksgiving didn't have quite the same excitement to it for Mason. Though I think he enjoyed it just as much. The weather was un-seemingly lot for November, even for us. We dined outside and made three stops around town to visit family, mingle with friends, and indulge ourselves in deliciousness. The boys were troopers and smiled, laughed and played through it all. They didn't mind the insane shuffle and eased in to each loving relatives arms and home unfazed.

At the end of the day, we arrived home, worn out, exhausted and realizing the bounty of gifts we have to be thankful for. Michael suggested we each share what we were most thankful for. After he and I had exclaimed our love and thankfulness for one and other and our children, Mason stated with ease "I am thankful for eating Lunchables before bed and puzzles". Maybe next year "mom" or "dad" will make a quick debut in his thankfulness. We know Max didn't make the cut this year.

Christmas is nearing quickly. The enthusiasm of the season is filling Mason's little heart more and more each day. His eyes light up and he speaks so promptly about the events that are going to take place in our living room shortly. Max senses the hubbub but doesn't display the same thrill for the holiday. Mason will randomly interject our conversations to remind us that Santa is watching us and we better behave. He revels in every lit house we pass by and every decorated tree we see brings extreme joy and sparkle to his eyes. I guess it's time we get to spreading the merriment through our own house. Perhaps we should embellish and perfect our house with more than just a simple wintery wreath.