Ten on Tuesday

I thought I'd give this a run today. :)

1. Emma says "Wheeeee" now. Its cute and doesn't only apply to going down the slide in the backyard, its used for driving cars, running fast, and bouncing. :) And sometimes just because she's cute.

2. We've been swimming at the pool on base the last 2 days. The kids and I are completely chlorine-ed out and exhausted. I think its baths and bed early tonight for all three of us!

3. We joined the Y. I pushed Jay into joining again (we were members in Tampa) since I can't seem to lose this baby weight and they have free daycare, which in itself is tempting. *wink*

4. I have mild PPD again. Since we're trying to get pregnant right away AND I hate taking pills, I'm trying to avoid having to take an antidpressant and just doing it the "natural way." That means lots of sunshine and exercise, so if you see a pissed off lady crying while walking down the street, its probably just me. Also, please bear with me if I'm grouchy at playdates. It's not about you, its about me and I'm dealing with it, it just takes me a few weeks. I had this after Emma and it only lasted a month or so, so I think I'm on the downside of the hill anyways...

5. Harry is learning to ride his bike. Its super cute, but it took a few times before Jay convinced him that it doesn't have a "on button" and he actually had to pedal the whole time.  Also, when we tried his bike helmet on him, we realized that it was WAY too small, so Emma inherited a  blue one, and Harry and I headed out for a new one. He picked out a hideous green army-looking thing, but what surprised me was that he needed the ages 5+ size! Yup, my just-barely-3 year old wears a 5+ helmet. Gives you new respect for my having birthed the kid, huh? :P

6. I made my first diaper cake! My friend Amber had her shower this weekend and I figured it was as good a time as any to attempt it. I tried using several different methods, but the one I settled one worked best and if I do say so myself, it turned out really cute!!! 

*Note the twin lambs on the top!!

7. I signed up to be on the Leapfrog Opinion Panel. I'm excited, it lets me post opinions and take surveys based on the products that we own and/or I've tried. Both my kids LOVE our Tag reader, so I was thrilled to see that they're developing a similar system for ages 1-4. Emma is totally getting one when they come out!!

8. I'm loving doing my new Life of Juanita Bonita Blog. Its so fun to get to post a little more about me and the things that I love. :) Although, its harder to come up with ideas than I thought... if anybody has something they'd like to see, let me know!!

9. We love Bolt at our house. I think we've watched it 10 times since we bought it last week. :) Jay and I are in love with the hamster and Ems and Harry like the puppy. Now, if only we could convince Daddy that all puppies are that well behaved... hmmm....

10. My friend is having her twins in the next few weeks- she's 9 days from when her boy twins were born and now she's having GIRLS. I can't hardly BREATHE waiting to love and snuggle these girls, they're such a blessed family. :) I'm working on a crafty little thing for their room, but she needs to figure out names and then I can finish them! Hear that, Amber??!!

We pulled out the bubbles for the kids the other night, it was 54 degrees outside!! Whoo-hoo! Even Jay had fun with the bubble gun and the kids ran around chasing each other and the bubbles. Poor Emma just wasn't fast enough with the wind and got so frustrated she wiped out and got a huge scrape on her chin. It didn't slow her down any though!!

Wordless Wednesday

Spring is THINKING about showing up...

We've been trying to get as much park time in as possible. Its been hard, but there's usually about an hour's worth of warm sunshine every day. As long as I can time it around Ems' naps, we head out immediately! The kids are loving it and I love how tuckered out they get from the exercise and fresh air. 

It was finally nice enough outside the other night for Jay to rev up the Nova. The kids were SO excited!! Ems wasn't sure what she thought at first, but she got excited as soon as she realized that the boys were too. :) 

Poem to make you think

I found this poem floating around in cyberspace today. I don't know the author, but thought it was definitely worth a read and a thought....

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my
first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately
wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a
stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind
to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my
favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little
things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each
other.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of
your time and money to help people who had nothing,
and I learned that those who have something should
give to others.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care
of our house and everyone in it. And, I learned that we
have to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't
feel good. And, I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come
from your eyes. I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw that you
cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of
life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and
productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and
wanted to say,'Thanks for all the things I saw when
you thought I wasn't looking.'

LITTLE EYES SEE A LOT!! Live simply. Love generously.
Care deeply. Speak kindly. Each of us influences the
life of a child.

Butterfield Family Updates

1. Harry is potty trained. This is my #1, since it means no more diapers for at least one of my children! WHOO-HOO!! He does still use one at night, but that's more for my peace of mind, since he's waking up dry about every other night and I'm not sure he's ready for nighttime yet.

2. Emma is communicating!! She does the signs for kitty, more, hungry, and some form of milk/drink. She's also saying a few more words again (she says things, and then stops, and then learns new words, so we don't exactly know what she knows at any given moment), including 'no,' which I'm less than thrilled about, but she says it in this silly little girl voice, so its actually pretty cute. At least for now. We have her 18 month appt in a few weeks, so we'll get her evaluated again, but I'm hopeful that she's just THAT stubborn and they are no developmental problems.

3. I had my 2 week post-surgery dr appt this morning. Everything healed perfectly and we've been given the go-ahead to get pregnant again. As for when I'm emotionally ready, that varies by day. Somedays (like today) I want to get pregnant immediately; however, other days, I'd like to wait a few years! Granted, those days are usually when the two I currently have are behaving at their worst and/or are sick and I'm considering giving them away, let alone having more.

4. We put in for our assignments. We'd like to head overseas this time, it looks great for Jay's career, plus we'd be able to get a staff tour in, which is preferable at this point. We're also still hoping that we'll get picked up for school in Alabama for a year, and then do our staff tour, but we'll take it either way. We have a couple state-side options that we'd love to do as well, and only a few places that we'd like to avoid (cough, cough, Altus), so we're hopeful and looking forward to the next stage. It looks like we'll move next summer, but we'd be open to going sooner. 

5. We're STILL trying to figure out if/where we're each going for the May trips. My sister graduates on the 8th in Minnesota and Jay's cousin Casey is getting married on the 9th in California. The original idea was to split up, but that became an issue as to which kids we would each take and still hasn't been successfully negotiated. Then new developments arose with the Butterfield side, so we were debating all heading to CA for family time. And now, Jay's had more stuff come up at work, plus he had to take leave to be with me the last few weeks, so we're not sure if he can go anywhere, so plans changed again. Please bear with us, we're working hard on trying to figure this out so that it works for us. I know where you all stand (obviously everybody wants us to come see them!), we just have to figure out what's best for OUR family.

Thousand Words Thursday

Harry at Pearl Harbor, February 2009

Wordless Wednesday

Life and Times of Juanita Bonita

So. I started a new blog. I wanted to do something a little more fun that's not all about my children. Can you imagine such a thing? 

Anyways, here's the link. I hope you enjoy it, I'm still working on it, but I'm hoping to do some fun stuff like books, contests, polls, and whatever else my children give me time for. 

Spring Pictures

Since our Christmas pictures turned out so horrible and Katie was here visiting, I dragged everybody in for photos last week. The internet link to them showed up today and when I figure out how to make it public, I'll post it on here. They turned out awesome! (I'm blaming Katie for that, the kids could care less when I tell them to smile, but boy do they turn on the charm for Auntie!!)

Here's a little taste:

More pictures!

Mobius and Dress-up

More Waterpark Pictures....

Happy Birthday Auntie!!!

Waterpark!

We, of course, had to take Auntie to Raptor Reef. Since we have a birthday party next Sat and Jay will be at work all week (finally!) we figured we should go yesterday. Everybody had a blast and I got some great reading in as I'm still unable to swim. I have more pictures on my other camera, so keep checking back for those. Ems managed to fall headfirst down the waterslide by herself not one, but TWO times! Luckily, the first time, Katie was at the bottom helping Harry out, so she caught her, but the second time, Jay had to dive down after her! They had been playing at the top with the squirt guns and Ems just decided it was waterslide time. :) She's definitely going to be our little ruckus child. We've always joked that she's destined to be a stock car driver or a stunt pilot, but I think our predictions are getting closer and closer!

Fun at Riverfront Park

Finally some pictures!

So, Jay and I got Skype up and running again. We both have accounts, but since my computer is kablooeyed, we've been using his. We had an awesome video chat with the Butterfield grandparents on Sunday night! Emma got to play peek-a-boo and Harry showed off his airplanes, so it was great. If anybody else has skype, email us and we'll send you our user name or I think you can look us up by our email address? Its the Juno one.... ;)

I have my surgery tomorrow morning. My friend Kait offered to watch the kids so that Jay could come with me, thank God for friends! It's her son Sam's 4th birthday too, so Harry is excited for that- the kid just LOVES birthdays and they don't even have to be his! He has Sam's tomorrow, Auntie Katie's on Monday, and Anna's on Saturday, so this will be a fun week for him. :) I'm a little nervous about the surgery, but so far everybody has said that its nothing compared to taking the Cytotec pills at home and I've done that twice so far, so this should be a breeze, right? :P I'm sure it won't be quite that simple, but I'm looking forward to being done with the process at least. I'll be at Sacred Heart (the local Catholic hospital) for the morning and should be home by early afternoon. Wish us luck!

Harry finally got to drive his Viper this weekend- Jay took the kids outside to drive their cars. Emma LOVED cruising with her big brother.  Harry had a really hard time figuring out how to steer- he crashed into the neighbor's house and took off his rear view mirror! (hehe-wonder who he got that from???!!!) But once he figured it out, he did awesome. Jay took him out again yesterday and let him cruise around the basketball courts across the street and he did much better with a little instruction and no little sister to bug him. :) 

We also made homemade pizzas on Sunday night. Jay and Harry picked up the stuff for them and he let both kids help make them at home. Harry had a blast, but Ems was much more interested in the final product. ;)

I just had to throw this one in there- Emma made a colossal mess of herself today eating her mac n cheese at lunch. I had to give her a bath since she had so much caked in her hair and all over herself that it was easier than trying to wipe her down!