saints sunday . . .

brown eyes got to go to her first ever saints game with dad and little miss!

our crew in their black and gold!

the little guy and little shrimp stayed home with mom and nana. shrimp wasn't too happy about that . . . to say the least . . . but she was happy again when she got to go to mcd's for lunch and get a yellow sno ball!

one week (and one day) new . . .

well . . . i was going to post this yesterday when our little guy was one week. but of course our internet was down last night and i wasn't able to! i am not exactly sure where the past week went . . . because it doesn't seem possible that he is already one week new! we are adjusting quite well to the new character in our family story. the girls are still smitten over their new baby brother . . . and mom and dad are too! he is a great baby . . . he is healthy . . . and eats and sleeps really well. and he is a really good snuggler. we are still trying to figure out who he looks like. pretty sure he resembles little shrimp the most. i just looked at little brown eye's baby pictures this morning . . . and i know for sure he doesn't look anything like she did. all i know for sure . . . he is as cute as a button and so so sweet!

we're head over heels . . .

in love with our new little guy!

sawyer cole
september 22, 2008
10:08 am
7lbs 10 oz
20 inches

looks like i'm not the only excited one . . .

there are 3 little girls in this house that just cannot wait to see how little their new baby brother is going to be! there are 3 little girls in this house that cannot wait to hold their new baby brother! there are 3 little girls in this house that cannot wait to help change teeny tiny dirty diapers! there are 3 little girls in this house that cannot wait to love their new baby brother!

we are almost ready around the house! laundry is done . . . well finishing up right now! the upstairs is clean! (don't ask about downstairs, please!) all of the beds have fresh, clean sheets! all of the teeny tiny clothes are about to go into the washer right now . . . just heard the lovely chime on my washer!

all i need to do is get the downstairs cleaned and i have a few things i need to pick up from the store today. you know the really important things . . . like new jammies for the hospital!

this and that . . .

little brown eyes has been wearing panties to school all week . . . and she has stayed dry everyday! (i also learned that a little boy in her class, luke, has to hold her hand all the time . . . and all the boys flock to her and like to aggrevate her. i know she's cute . . . but come on . . . she's only 2!)

little shrimp's teacher made a point to tell me this morning that she has been so good every day since school started! (if you know little shrimp . . . you know this is a big deal. she is probably the sassiest 3 year old i have ever seen!)

little miss has been going to bed when i tell her and staying in her bed until she falls asleep! (this is huge!)

now . . . if only all of this positive behavior doesn't change when our little guy gets here!

and speaking of our little guy . . .

as of tuesday morning i was 2-3 cm. i am scheduled for an induction on monday morning if he doesn't come before then!

so the count down is on to get ready for the little man. (which by the way might have a head full of hair according to the ultrasound tech yesterday. maybe it will be brown like mine!)

tomorrow is the first day this week that i will get to be at home while the girls are at school . . . and i can't wait! and it gets better . . . tomorrow is an extended day so the big girls get to stay at school for lunch until 2:30. i'm thinking cleaning in the morning . . . and nap with brown eyes when i pick her up at noon.

on top of the to-do list . . .

how great is this idea!

i can't wait to do this with my girls!
(i do think i will wait until after our little man makes his appearance though . . . which i'm hoping is sooner than later!)

mystery photographer . . .

i had to email some pictures of a house that sean is remodeling to the insurance company and to my surprise . . . i found some pictures on my memory card that i didn't take.

look at those eyes . . . shrimp's deep blue eyes with little brown specs are just amazing to me! and those eyelashes . . . oh my are we in trouble!

and of course i think some credit needs to be given to the mystery photographer . . . not too shabby for a 5 year old!

going to give this a try . . .

i have had this bookmarked for a long time . . . and for some reason just thought about it again. i just registered for my $1 trial on the grocery game and am going to give this a try! if i can save us a few dollars (or $80) each week at the grocery store it can't hurt . . . right? grocery prices are completely out of control. the amount of money we spend each week on milk alone is completely nuts. so . . . i am going to try this grocery game thing out and see what happens. this is another site that helps pinch your pinnies . . . and it's free. i will let you know how it goes . . . now i just have to find the motivation to make my way to the grocery store!

sunday in the city . . .

i have my camera back now . . . and here are the pics i was planning on posting yesterday!

sunday we took the girls downtown for beignets. we planned on hopping on a street car to get down to the french quarter . . . but they weren't back up and running yet . . . once again thanks to mr. gustav! once they got their beignets . . . they completely forgot about the street car and all was good again!

after we filled up on beignets . . . we headed across the street to jackson square. little miss wanted to check out all of the art work . . . little shrimp wanted to get closer to the castle (aka st. louis cathedral) . . . and the money bathtub (aka fountain) . . . and little brown eyes just wanted to keep up with the big girls!

considering our house is only about 10 minutes max from the best known part of the city . . . we really don't do this enough. the girls had so much . . . sean and i had so much fun just watching them have fun. little miss made a new friend while she was looking at the art of one of the local vendors . . . we literally had to pull her away from the artist. she was so intrigued with watching her paint and asking her questions. as soon as little miss walked up to her . . . the lady said . . . i can tell she is going to be an artist. of course she has no idea . . . but at this point in her life . . . i might have to agree with her. miss loves everything art . . . she is the most content when she is creating something. if our little man still is hanging out in his mama's belly this weekend . . . i think we might have to do this again!

in other news . . .

well . . . i was going to use this lovely 3 hours i have completely to myself each morning (yes i'm taking full advantage of it . . . because it won't be long until i am sharing it will a new little guy!) to put some new pics of the girls up from this weekend. but . . . since my camera is in sean's car . . . and sean isn't home . . . that isn't going to happen. so this is all you get. but in case you were wondering . . . as of monday i was 1 cm. so . . . from here on out it's just a waiting game! last week i had an ultra sound and he (i think we better start finalizing the name . . . huh!?) was slightly over 5 lbs . . . which is more than little shrimp weighed when she was born. and i have officially made it past 37 weeks . . . which is full term . . . and longer than i carried shrimp or brown eyes. and something else exciting . . . the lawn guys are here cutting our grass! we thought they had disappeared forever because they are a few weeks late!

school is cool . . .

thanks to mr. gustav . . . the girls first day of school was delayed. so today was the big day! i'm not sure who was more excited . . . me or the girls! little miss has been counting down the times she has to sleep before she gets to go back to school! little shrimp has been walking around the past couple of days letting us know . . . "school is cool!" and brown eyes makes sure everyone knows . . . "me school too!"

the big girls couldn't wait to go back and see all of the friends they made last year and especially their teachers. brown eyes was so excited she could hardly stand it (not exactly sure you can tell that by the picture)!

as we were driving to school and brown eyes spotted it . . . she started giggling and put her hand to her mouth saying . . . "my class! my class! my class!" and she got even more excited once we were walking up the sidewalk. she took off running so fast she was inside before me or the big girls! i had to stop her at her class door and she turned around with the biggest pucker lips and gave me a big smacker . . . and said, "BYE MOMMY!" and went right inside.

and as you can see . . . she came out just as happy as when she went in!

can't believe this is possible . . .

today our little miss turned five years old! i can't believe how big she is getting . . . little miss is such a sweet little girl. she is the best big sister . . . and her little sisters know that. they love her more than anything in the world! little miss got to spend her 5th birthday in missouri . . . without her mommy and daddy! it was a little weird not having the little girl that i share my birthday with here . . . but she wanted to have her birthday in missouri so . . . that's what she got to do. of course . . . her nana and pops gave her a birthday party that she will probably never forget!

happy birthday little miss! i hope you had a very special day . . . and i can't wait to see you tomorrow and give you lots of birthday kisses and hugs!

safe and sound . . .

sean and i are safe and sound . . . not worry free . . . but safe! yesterday we spent the morning getting important things loaded in the car or put upstairs and then headed for sean's sister's camp that is just a little south of baton rouge. we really didn't have plans of staying there other than for last night. so this afternoon we packed up and migrated north to vicksburg, ms. we are camped out in a hotel with many other evacuees with our eyes glued to the tv and the live local coverage on the web. thank goodness for technology! sean and i have seen so much weather coverage the past couple of days we feel pretty confident we could be meteorologists ourselves! if you want to keep up to date with live new orleans coverage . . . you can watch the local news right from your computer.

sean and i are safe . . . and sean's sister and her family are safe. they are with us at the hotel. but sean's brother and his wife and sean's parents decided to brave the storm and stay home. please keep them and the other's that were a little on the stubborn side in your thoughts and prayers tonight and tomorrow and hope for the best possible outcome!

dear mr. gustav . . .

can you please rethink your plan to visit the gulf coast? these 3 really cute little girls are expecting to have a playset when they return from their nana and pops' house in a few days . . . and if you decide to visit the big easy . . . then they aren't going to get that playset because they are going to make us leave town for the weekend. i was raised to be a polite person and so i am asking the nicest way possible! and quite honestly . . . i don't want to spend my birthday weekend having to evacuate from our house. if you could please take all of this into consideration . . . i know everyone here in new orleans would greatly appreciate it . . . not just me! (especially the elderly lady across the street who just 2 weeks ago got moved into her modular home that was delivered in april. yes . . . it took almost exactly 3 years from katrina to get into her new house!)

thank you for your time,
emily b.

fyi . . .

a diet rich in soy may lower your daughter's risk of breast cancer by 50%

New research shows that genistein, a chemical found in soy products, may help prevent breast cancer tumors from forming, says study author Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, Ph.D., a professor of oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. "All girls between the ages of 5 and 18 may see a benefit-especially those whoe haven't yet gone through puberty." To protect your daugther, encourage her to add 4 to 20 mg of soy protein to her daily diet, which is about 2 to 8 ounces of tofu or 1 to 2 cups of soy milk.

(taken right out of the sept. 08 issue of family circle magazine)

show your love today . . .

well today is the day that design mom has officially declared as nie nie day! say an extra prayer for the family today and if you're feeling a little spendy . . . head on over to one of the awesome auctions!

leslie at a room somewhere is hosting my auction for me . . . and she has many other awesome things that are being auctioned off as well!

go here for directions on how leslie is conducting the auctions today and for links to each of the auctions she is hosting.

go here if you are interested in bidding on my contribution to the nie nie day auctions.

this and this is a list of other auctions starting today.

this is a site that has been set up by friends of the nielson's to keep up with the recovery and fundraising efforts that are going on around the country.

if you want to make a donation but don't want to participate in the auction click here:

if you can't donate or participate in the auctions today . . . please keep this family in your prayers. the upcoming months . . . and even possibly years is going to be very trying physically, emotionally, and financially. they have 4 super cute little ones that probably don't fully understand how serious all of this is. they are blessed to have wonderful family that have taken on the 4 littles ones to make sure they keep a stable life without their mommy and daddy. so today don't forget to say an extra prayer for the nielson's and their families!

you can help . . .

one of the first blogs i ever started reading was the nienie dialogues and it has remained my favorite since the first time i read it. it's always the last blog i read as i go thru my way too many feeds and always gives me a sense of inspiration. she is the mother of 4 young children and is always doing great craft projects . . . cooking wonderful meals for her family . . . and talking about the intense love that she has for her husband. she is a beautiful person . . . and thru the wonderful world of blogging . . . has opened up her life and shares it with others.

a couple of weeks ago . . . tragedy struck her family. she and her husband were involved in a plane crash. it's one of those things that you just can't understand . . . so you just do whatever you can to try and help.

design mom has officially declared tomorrow as nie nie day and has encouraged other bloggers to take part. there will be auctions going on all over the blog-o-sphere and i'm getting in on the action. tomorrow i will have something up for auction . . . but not here on my blog. i have decided to put a custom magnet board up for auction . . . all proceeds will straight to stephanie and her husband, christian. the auction will be at a room somewhere . . . another of my daily reads. first thing tomorrow . . . i will post a link to the auction.

i wanted to do something . . . their young family has a very long road of recovery ahead of them . . . which means medical bills literally could end up in the millions! the blogging world is such a wonderful thing . . . and this is a great way to reach your hand out and help someone in need.

if you want to keep yourself updated with their recovery . . . c jane (stephanie's sister) is posting updates on their recovery.

can't wait to show the girls . . .

this was the motivation . . . this, this, and this was inspiration.

and this is what i did to keep up with all of my girls stuff from school . . . crafts, party invites, notes, etc:

they are hanging right above our bar in the kitchen . . . the fridge will stay clean (ok . . . cleaner) now, each of my girls can proudly display her favorite masterpiece of the week, and i can keep track of supplies that are needed in each of their classes and upcoming birthday parties. love. it.

it's our goal to be a . . .

there is nothing simple about life with children . . . especially life with 4 children! sean and i are on a mission to simplify our life . . . so we can do exactly what the cover of this magazine says . . . stress less and make the most of every day! don't get me wrong . . . we don't go a day without being thankful for everything that god has given us. but at the same time . . . it's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and forget to stop and slow down once in a while. the first thing i have done to simplify . . . 4 contractor bags stuffed full of stuff! stuff that we used sometimes . . . or not at all . . . just stuff that we 100% didn't need. next on our list . . . consolidate our cell phone bill. sean and i both have a missouri cell phone number. sean also has a new orleans cell phone number and included on that account is a phone for one of his laborers. both accounts are with the same service provider . . . and the only thing it does is add about $150 each month to our expenses. pretty silly if you ask me. so . . . this week since i can meet sean at at&t without any wild children (thanks nana and pops!) we are going to get everything set up on 1 account and knock that extra $150 out of our monthly expenses! just think what all i could do with that extra $150 each month! just kidding . . . my dad's infamous story of need and want has finally sunk in, i think!

this was hard . . .

before:

the girls bring home a folder each week from nursery school with all of their coloring pages, paintings, crafts, etc . . . that was all of them from the 2 big girls for all of last school year. (well almost all of them . . . i had several stacked on my desk as well.)

after:

all of the girls now have their own art storage box to save their beautiful works of art in. even little brown eyes has one on the top of the stack sitting empty . . . just waiting to be filled when she starts school in a week and a half! and boy was it hard to sort thru all of the big girls' art . . . and decide what to keep and (gasp) what not to keep!