A Question for My Family

Is it just me, or does Milo look a little like Bryson?
I'm not saying twins or anything, they obviously have no reason to look anything alike, but sometimes when I look at him I see Bryson.
Not sure what it is, a combination of the blue eyes & forehead... and the new summer buzz cut only adds to the similarity.

Christmas in May

May 16th

My In-Laws gave us gift cards to emergency essentials for Christmas, & we have looked at a few different things to purchase. If my dad & step-mom hadn't given me the much desired wheat grinder I had been wanting I would have purchased that... we would have picked an weather radio, but they don't carry them. So those gift cards sat on the desk for months. I would go onto the website & look around, but it really was a debate. There were a few dehydrated & freezed dried things that I wanted to try, so I had a few things in mind. Jeff ultimately left it up to me, & once I was in my 2nd trimester & using my wheat grinder I knew I needed to stock up on wheat. Once I decided to head to the cannery to get wheat & oats I knew I needed buckets. That was also when I decided to get online & place our order to use our gift cards. Here is the loot I made out with... it was a thrilling day when the packages came!! I pulled out all the 25 lb bags of grain, my new loot & my label maker. This turned into a great time to organize the pantry!

Ramblings of a Pregnant Lady

I've been meaning to blog more about this pregnancy during the last week, but am just now getting around to it. I really want to jot these things down because I'm sure months from now I won't remember the details & I most likely won't believe Jeff when he tries to tell/remind me what I was like.

I don't hate being pregnant, but I wouldn't say that I LOVE it either. My pregnancies aren't as terrible as some women, but the hormones really mess with my head. It seems to suck my desire to do the things I love. Combine that with exhaustion & what do you get? A pregnant lady in survival mode.

I am currently going through my ever favorite phase of the EXTREME hormonal highs & lows that I seem to experience in the end. Don't get me wrong, it's throughout the whole pregnancy, but it's really intense in the end. All last week I seemed to be in one of those unemotional hormonal cocktails... you could tell me a sad story, & I'm sure I would have felt bad, but it wouldn't have really effected me emotionally. Well today I seemed to be in a different mix of hormones that I am too emotional.

Of course I have to be in this emotional state now, Jeff left on a rafting trip this afternoon & won't be back until Saturday afternoon/evening. My poor kids!!

Baby Name

I am sorry to admit that we are not really naming our baby ClaraBelle. We will be saving that name for when we decide to purchase ourselves a fat cow. So now you are all dying to know what FABULOUS name we have picked out for our baby.... so are we!! But it seems that we are unable to agree & settle upon a name for this little babe. We have a short list & have even tried to get Hannah to help make the decision, but rather than choose one of the suggested names, she throws out names like ClaraBelle.

So for now we lovingly refer to her as Thing 3... as we tend to refer to the other things as Thing 1 & Thing 2, but I am starting to think we should call her Sweet Thing. Looks like we will be naming her in the hospital, I suggested letting my Dr. pick the name & Jeff suggested drawing a name out of a hat. The only thing I'm sure about it the fact that my mom will most likely NOT like whatever name we decide on... but that is okay with me, she'll get used to it... that small crowd that didn't like Milo got used to it.

Baby ClaraBelle

I had another ultrasound to check the baby & a few things that were of concern at the previous ultrasound. It was quite fun to get a sneak peek of her at 32 weeks... It did feel like I was cheating, getting to see her so developed. Everything looks great & it got me very excited to meet this little girl in couple of months.

A Little T&A Surgery...

No, not that... (Get your mind out of the gutter, mom) tonsils & adenoids. Hannah just loves a little medical attention while I'm in my 3rd trimester, & who am I to stop her. Hannah & I just got back from her consultation with an ENT & just as I thought, he recommends having her tonsils & adenoids removed. She will have the surgery in mid-June, but the recovery isn't nearly as long as it was for Jeff & I when we had ours out 6 years ago.

Babysitting Swap

When we moved to this lovely place nearly 4 years ago we learned that there was a group of 3 families that had a babysitting swap going on. They had a set day & time each week.... Saturday from 5-8 (I'm not positive on that time, but you get the idea.) Each family took a turn each month. So you babysat all the kids for one evening & in turn you got 2 Saturday nights out-kid free-for free! I LOVED the idea! This group didn't need anyone else, the had learned that 3 families was perfect, because there was always 4 Saturdays, (sometimes 5) in a month, so this allowed for a little swapping things around due to schedules/holidays/etc. I began asking around, & at the time I just had a very young Hannah & everyone I found who was interested had 3 kids. They didn't feel it a fair switch for me.... and to be honest I was a little scared being a mom of one, having to watch a total of 7 children! YIKES!! Even if I did have help from Jeff.

Well 4 years have passed, I now have 2.. almost 3 & I am still loving the idea. There are so many of my fellow Oklahoma friends that don't have the budget to get a sitter & go out regularly & so it is those of you I am talking to. Anyone interested? Anyone want to give it a trial run? It seems like a good time of year, the weather is warming up & kids can play outside, so there can be a little less damage on the inside of your house. Just think... 3 hours of CHAOS for 6 hours of date night. (We could adjust the time to what works best for people.)
Let me know!

Morning of Testing...

Don't be fooled by these faces... they aren't as innocent as they appear!

My little people spent the morning testing their mom... testing to see if they could still push her buttons, & just how far. Testing to see if they could be destructive & if I would allow it. Testing to see what level my patience was at & where the breaking point was located today. I'm not sure how they felt about the results... there were time outs (multiple) there were quiet times in their room, (one of which was when I decided to take a quick shower.) But I personally think I passed the tests today... no, there wasn't much patience to test or push by 11:30, but we are all alive & still managing smiles. (I'm smiling now because they are napping... hehe.) The good thing is I've already decided that the afternoon shift is going to be better than the morning.

Perhaps I should do some testing on them...

Cinco de Mayo

Last year I read so many fun posts about fun Cinco de Mayo festivities, that I decided I wanted to start some fun traditions... it will take a few years for me to agree on a set tradition, but luckily my kids are young. This year we made a pinata in the afternoon, & after enjoying a yummy dinner of steak tacos we busted into our homemade pinata.

The kids loved the pinata, but not so much the insides. Jeff thinks it's because they helped fill it, but I think they just enjoyed beating the thing with a bat.

The one thing I did wrong was underestimate Hannah's batting skills. I opted to hang the pinata from a wire hanger that Jeff could just hold out while the kids took a few swings. (I thought I taped it lightly, but come to find out I should have taped it even lighter.)

Do you do something for Cinco de Mayo? I'm up for more ideas.

A Public Thank You!

**Warning: I know people hate posts that talk about how great a husband is, unless is Father's day, I'm one of those people... but this is deserved, so skip it if you must.**

Dear Mr. Taylor,

I wanted to publicly thank you for the last few weeks. Yes, you are always a great help with the kids... but with the events of the last few weeks you have been FABULOUS!!

Thank you for a great birthday! The stuffed french toast breakfast was delicious & is a new favorite of mine. The cake was divine & I'm glad that you invited friends to come over & indulge with us.

Thank you for letting me take my 4 day trip to SLC alone, & while I was having a delightfully selfish weekend you complete with sleeping in, lots of mexican food & a spa day...
You were home playing Mr. Mom! Entertaining the kids for that long without a break is exhausting, I know, but you did it!!

Thank you for supporting me once again this last weekend as I prepared & enjoyed another Saturday evening Culinary Group dinner. It is a lot of work to be in charge of those dinners, & that means lots of single dad time for you... Yes, I know it was over 24 hours. Yes, I realize you have very short notice, & this was the 3rd weekend of you being super dad. You not only did it for me, but you held your tongue... something I'm sure I wouldn't have done.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

I appreciate your willingness to help me, & I love that our kids are going to have a great bond with their dad because you do so much to help make my job easier.

Love Ya!

P.S. I promise that it won't always be like the last 3 weekends...
well except for this one, since it's Mother's Day... hehe.