Got It!

My camera is back from Birmingham!! It isn't anything superduper at all, but it does the trick. Now, my sister Sarah, on the other hand, found a Canon Rebel XSi yesterday for a steal of a deal. I don't know much about cameras at all-I just know this is a good one. While we are on Sarah, you really should check out her blog. She is a fine arts major at Auburn and I'm sure I'm a bit partial, but I think she is very talented and creative. You can look at her blog and check out her work. And if you like what you see, then check this out.

So, back to my little (what feels rather un-creative at the moment) life. But as Steven said one day as all three of our children were sitting on the couch "those are our little investments-eternal investments".

So, what have I been snapping pictures of?

We recently watched the TinkerBell movie and Ellie wanted her hair like Tinkerbells'. But with the Asian dress Kate brought her from China, she looks more like a little china doll. Hmmm...if we stick a few chopsticks in the bun we just might be set for a Halloween costume in October...

My boys-pacis and all-I don't have any goggle pictures yet. I will have to remember to show you that! Oh wait, I can't. Because Luke decided-on his own-to toss the paci!! And we have officially landed one poopy in the potty!! It was kind of an accident. He was on the potty and we left the room for a second and heard him start to cry. We came back and there it was. Even when Steven, Ellie, and I were pretty much turning cartwheels to praise him-he was still very upset by it.
I took some pictures to show you what I daydream about ALOT! I so very desperately want a swing for this spot here:
Don't you think it is so very badly calling out for one?

And maybe some rockers or chairs or a nice bench here:
And since we're just daydreaming and money isn't an object in my dreams, perhaps another swing or a chaise lounge here:
In real life, this is where all our money is going:
So that's about it. More pictures to come. Ada and LB are here and we are celebrating Ada's second birthday on Saturday. We're going all out with McDonald's and an Elmo cake!! Hope you have a good pre-weekend.

Guess What?

Steven called me while he was out of town a few weeks ago and said he bought us a new camera. Surprise! But after fussing about Ellie breaking it-I left it in B'ham at my dear friend, Laurahelen's surprise birthday party. I'm really not as irresponsible as I sound. Andrew was screaming his head off and I was trying to get him to the car and everything else that goes along with taking a baby somewhere. She is sending it to me.

In the meantime, I would like for you to try this recipe that I recently made for a church fellowship. They are called homeade kitkat bars by good ol' Paula Deen. They don't really taste too much like a kitkat, I personally think they are alot better. My family is probably thinking I need to chill out over these things. I don't know if they loved them as much as me, but seriously, I can't stop eating them. Here it is:

75 club crackers
1 c. butter
2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. whole milk
1/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. creamy p.b.
1/2 c. semisweet chocolate morsels
1/2 c. semisweet butterscotch-flavored morsels

Line an ungreased 13x9 in. baking pan with crackers (may have to break some to fit). Set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over med. heat. Add cracker crumbs, brown sugar, milk, and sugar. Bring to a boil, and boil for 5 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and pour half of butter mixture evenly over crackers. Place another single layer of crackers evenly over butter mixture, cutting to fit if necessary. Pour remaining butter mixture evenly over crackers. Top evenly with remaining crackers.

In a small saucepan, combine p.b., chocolate morsels, and butterscotch morsels. Melt over med.-low heat, stirring constantly. Spread evenly over top of crackers. Cover, and chill for at least 1 hour. Cut into bars. Store in fridge.

Try them. Please.

I guess it's a good thing I recently joined the gym. I am just doing the classes. Not the actual equipment. I love it! The other night I went to dance aerobics and we learned Michael Jackson's "Thriller"! So fun. I just about made a fool of myself, but at least I burned some calories in the process.

Oh...another thing to get fired up about...I am blogging right now. At my house. And it's 4:30. Which means...Steven got a computer at the church, which means he leaves the laptop at home. Everyday!!

Sorry to family who were hoping for Andrew, Luke, and Ellie stories. I can't think of anything major. Ellie is taking swimming lessons this week and loving them. I think they make her feel very grown-up. We bought her some goggles and of course Luke "needed" some too. He wears them around the house with a paci in his mouth. I will definitely try to get a picture of that. Sidenote: He is about to be three and the paci will go. We gave Ellie until then so he knows he just has a few more months.

Omigoodness. Speaking of Luke. I think this is definitely blogworthy. I CANNOT figure out how to get him completely potty trained. He has #1 down pretty well. But #2 is a different story. For several weeks, anytime it was just us at home, I would let him run around without his pull-up because he usually tells me when he has to go (#1). I really thought he knew enough not to go to the bathroom on the floor. Nope. (Warning: This is about to get gross.) So he had been upstairs and came down and I noticed something brown on his leg.

Me: "Luke, did you poopy upstairs?"
Luke: "No, I didn't. I promise." (He's bouncing around)
Me: "Why is there poopy on your leg?" (I am quickly making my way upstairs)
Luke: "I didn't poopy. I promise." (He's following me-and Ellie too)

I walked in his room and didn't smell anything. Then made my way to the bonus room and the smell hit me. Our carpet is on the darker side of neutral and it's a shag, so I was being extremely careful as I walked (it wouldn't be the first time I have stepped on poopy-so from previous experience, I knew it was something I would like to avoid). It didn't take me long to find it in three different spots.

Me: "Luuuuuke! Buddy, why did you poopy on the floor?"
Ellie: "Luke poopied on the floor? That is really yuck, mom!"
Luke: Shrugging his shoulders. (very nonchalantly...not worried about it at all) "I sorry, mom."

I kept asking why, as if he was going to give me some answer that would make the poopy go away. He would say "But, I didn't mean to." I hugged him, told him it was okay, and (sigh) said we would eventually get the hang of it. Needless to say, we have nixed that method.

And so as not to leave Andrew out-he is doing great. Still loves to nurse! An answer to prayer. When I was pregnant with him, I prayed for him to be my smallest baby and that he would be an excellent and long nurser. God has been so gracious to grant me both of those requests. He is also loving baby food. I am buying some/making some. Sweet potatoes are a piece of cake to make and freeze. Others not as easy.

That's about it. Check back soon for pictures!