RETREAT - Part 1

I know, I know...seeing as how it IS the 31st, I should be writing about the Chili Party that I just got home from, and posting pictures of my girlies in their adorable costumes.. :)
However, I am not organized enough to do that quite yet. I did, however, finally get some pictures posted from my Women's Retreat. This was year four for my friend Christy and I - four years of attending the North Phoenix Baptist Church Women's Retreat together. It's so amazing to look back and see what God has done for us in the past four years. Although we've gotten to know some of the other ladies from previous retreats, the focus of the retreat remains primarily time with God and time with each other. We stayed up until 2:30 a.m. talking the first night, and 1:00 a.m. talking the second night (cmon' now...how often do I get uninterrupted time to talk??)
When we weren't enjoying the amazing food (the I didn't have to cook - thank you Lord!) or being refreshed by the speaker and Bible study sessions, we were talking...and occasionally sleeping (we took an hour and half nap on Saturday)
It was SOOO wonderful, but so fast! Before we knew it, our weekend was over and we were heading back down to the Valley. I am thankful to report that my Braxton contractions remained at a minimum and that the weekend was indeed a retreat.I'll post a little more about the speaker in my next post.. for now, enjoy these pictures! :) - P.S. A HUGE thank you to my Sisterchicks for all of their prayers that covered the weekend.

Here's Christy and I spending some of our afternoon free time with our friend Christina.:)

 

And here is an o-so-attractive shot of me looking like a small brown cow with my big ol' belly - still having fun though!

 

On Saturday night there is always a Theme Party. This year it was a Princess Party based on the retreat theme "The King & I" :)I actually found a dress that fit me (one of my sister's old prom dresses that *expanded* in the back) and Christy borrowed this beautiful Renissance dress. Christy's Mom, Jan, took the cake though, dressing like the jolly Queen of England herself!

 

Last,but not least, here's a picture of Christy and I with our "host" of the evening, one of our ladies dressed up like Yule Brenner - the KING of Siam

 

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Nineteen Week "Hiccups"

Just a quick prayer and praise update. On Monday night, I had a few hours of Braxton-Hicks. I didn't do an *immediate* freak-out, as this was something that I had experienced when I was pregnant with Lorelin (and around the exact same time) With her, I actually did end up on medication on an as-needed basis for the remainder of my pregnany, just to make sure the Braxtons stayed under control.

So, overall, not worried....

I DID worry a little bit though, when I woke up on Monday night around 1:30 a.m. with MORE Braxton-Hicks, which continued for another hour or so. I prayed and wondered my way thru that hour, debating if I should be heading down to the OB triage to get checked out. Thankfully, the contractions stopped on their own and I was able to get thru the night with no other "hiccups".

I placed a call in to my OB on Tuesday morning, and she asked that I come in for an appointment this afternoon (Wednesday) just to make sure things weren't shaking and baking were they weren't supposed to be.

The appointment was actually a big relief. There is NO dilating and my cervix is completely closed.My doctor did say that I'm probably pushing my body a little too much, and that I need to make sure that I'm drinking LOTS and LOTS of water.

The doctor also cleared me to go on my Women's Retreat this weekend, which is up in Heber/Overguard area. This is the same retreat that my friend Christy and I have been to for the last three years now. I would really love prayers for a safe weekend, and little to NO Braxton-Hicks. Also, please pray for my hubby as he stays here with the girls.

Monday Moments....

Hello All! I hope that your weekend was wonderfully refreshing. Ours was B-U-S-Y! Today for Monday Moments, I thought I would just share some of the things that make my two and three year old so fun to live with! These are just some "cute" moments that I hope will make you smile! :)

Creative excuses that K-Bug has given me while trying to "stall" her bedtime:

1."Mom? My water (in her water cup) is too crunchy!" {Crunchy? I was perplexed by this one too, but that's what she said...:)

2. "Mom? My wrinkles hurt and I can't sleep."

3. A few times K-Bug has just strolled out of her room into the living room or bedroom, etc. just as if she's supposed to be awake and walking around to ask,
"Mom? Whatter you doin?"
{I answer her and tell her to go back to bed}
"Ok! Good Night!"

You Might Be A Two-Year Old Named Lorelin If You.....

1.Open and shut a door a dozen times just so you can say “Hello!” and “Goodbye!”
2.You fall off the big-girl swing twice in a row at the park and, after brushing yourself off, still declare, “No, I do it!”
3.Can go from throwing a fit to having a giggle fit in the space of two minutes
4.Spend an entire morning with Mommy’s socks on your legs, pulled up to your thighs, pretending that you are a cat (LOTS of meowing and purring sounds...)
5.Run into a room just to give a hug and kiss and then run back out
6. You stand in any doorway and push your finger on the wall while saying “Ding-dong!” over and over again.
7.You eat three bowls of Macaroni and Cheese and still ask for more!


Have a marvelous Monday friends!

Making Of A Princess Pumpkin

 

 

 

 

Happy Little Pickle - BLUE!

Yup, K-Bug (and most of you) were right all along...

We got the definite evidence in the ultrasound today that it is indeed a little boy Smithlet that is shaking and baking in the oven. :)

I will admit that I am still in a state of being shell-shocked, as I know nothing of having and/or raising little boys. My Mom has told me not to worry - it's just like having girls, only totally different. :)

We are very excited, and thankful to report that the ultrasound showed everything looking healthy and the baby looking strong.

Now...to pick out a name....and find some clothes that AREN'T pink!

Tommorow Tomorrow, We'll FInd Out Tomorrow

It's ONLY A DAAAAY AWAAAY!!

Well,hopefully anyway, unless the little pickle decides to be too shy to show us his/her gender-related parts...:)

The ultrasound appointment is for tomorrow afternoon, and yes, I will post on the blog (as well as send out a mass e-mail) for everyone to check on and check-in..

Is it a "brudder" or a "sister"??

God has known all along...now we'll get to see into the ultrasound "window" and find out too!

Pretty Pumpkins and Dream Dinners

I have always enjoyed trying new recipes, and while I haven't always enjoyed the clean-up part of the process, I love being able to provide healthy, home-cooked meals for my family.

But lately.....

Lately my motivater to cook has been de-funct. I stopped cooking almost completely for the first three months of my pregnancy, as the very *thought* of stepping into a kitchen full of smells left me running for the toilet. And while I'm back on track with feeling good, my desire to plan, shop, put togther, cook, and then clean-up meals just hasn't been thre.

So last month, while talking with my best friend Christy, she introduced me to Dream Dinners. "Dream what?" I asked....The concept is familar to most of you - there's a host of places out there now that have different names, but a similar layout(My Girlfriend's Kitchen, Entrees Made Easy, Let's Do Dinner, Etc.)

You go online, pick out the dinners you want from their menu, and then show-up on the night you pick to put your dinner together. It was fast, it was fun, and the dinners have been DELICIOUS! They provide you with sides for several of the meals, and the rest is as easy as throwing in some bread and salad of your own.

The night I went to Dream Dinners to assemble everything, I left my hubby at home with the girlies for the second time that week. I was feeling a little guilty about going so much, so I left out a craft project for him to do with the girls, in order to help pass the time in a fun way together.

He was a little skeptical about it at first, as he has never fully attempted a craft project so completely on his own. But, after he saw that I had fully laid out everything (except the art smocks....whoops! That's OK...he improvised) he agreed to give it a shot.

The results were these very cute wooden pumpkins, painted and crafted all by my girlies and sweet hubby! I think they were all very proud of themselves... Good job everyone!!

My Latest Pregnancy Craving...

Is chocolate milk. I could drink it every day....ok,ok....I have drank it every day for the past week.
Here is my process for liquid goodness in a glass -

1. Fill a large glass almost completely to the top with ice.

2. Fill up the glass 3/4 of the way with regular (white) fat-free milk

3. Fill up the rest of the glass with a small amount of pure chocolately wonderment(I prefer the O Organic Chocolate Milk from Safeway)...:)

4. Stir it all together and DRINK IT DOWN TO THE VERY LAST DROP!!!!!

YUMMM!!!!!

Monday Moments...

Life is funnier than we think...I'm reminded almost daily of my need and yes, even my choice, to lighten up and laugh at life. In that end, I've decided to share some of the silly moments and thoughts that come the way of the Smiths..:)
"The Starbucks Missile"
My Mom had bought our little family a Vanilla Bean Frapuccino at Starbucks (I LOVE those!) to share amongst ourselves. And although we had managed to down about half of the Mega Huge Large Size (a Venti...right Nickle-Pickle/Tracers?) we still had a a good quarter of the frozen drink left in our cup.

So, we stuck the whole thing in the bottom of the freezer for my dear hubby and I to share at a later time without tiny girlies around. A private dessert-time becomes a sacred thing once one has small children - I once heard a Christian comedian do a whole bit on how he and his wife hid brownies under their bed away from the children. So, when his wife invited him down to the bedroom for *dessert*, she really meant dessert. :) Hee,hee!

Anyway, back to the story at hand.....

We had taken the drink back out of the freezer, where it had, of course, frozen into one large round chunk. So, we got out the spoon and picked away at it, eating small frozen slivers and chunks as we could get them.

This went on for a few minutes before my hubby decided to "soften" the frappucino even more by squeezing the sides of the cup. The cup made a funny sound as he ryhthmically pushed the plastic sides in.

Ka-Thwunka....wait,wait...Ka-Thwunka

It was on the third or fouth Ka-Thwunka when it happened. The entire round-shaped chunk of frapuccino flew up out of the cup.

WAAAY UP....

It caught the tip of my dear hubby's nose on it's flight up, before turning, circling, and splatting his entire face on it's return trip down. Then the disc bounced off the table, hit the chair, and fell to the floor.

This is one of those moments, as you look at your hubby covered in frozen frapuccino and just...

Laugh, and laugh, and laugh....

He laughed too. We bent over we were laughing so hard. We laughed so hard and so long that our little frozen disc melted into mush on the kitchen floor.

The first words out of his mouth were, "You've got to blog about this!" We cleaned up the mess and decided that the laugh was worth it.

I hope that you get a smile out of this too, and remember to laugh today at all of the silly moments of YOUR life! :)