Family of five now!

Baby Abrie is now here. She is perfect in every sense of the word.

It's crazy, and so incredibly surreal, for both Dan and I to know that we have these three beautiful little girls as ours for our entire life. We feel so, so blessed.

Maddie and Faith have been nothing short of amazing as big sisters. Maddie was so little when Faith was born that it seemed like it really took her until her Beebster was much more interactive and playful with her to have that special sisterly connection. Those 6 months of extra time that Faith has had really seem to make a difference. Faith has been awesome. She has always had a love for babies, and she just adores her baby 'Beeba.' She's been calling her 'Beeba' just like what she calls her Ella. It's really cute. She is constantly asking if Abrie has "booped" so that she can check it, and wants to hold her and kiss her just as much as Madison does. The only time she was scared at all was when she first saw Momma at the hospital on Saturday morning. My poor Flop. But, other than that, she has been amazing as a first-time big sister. We'll see how it continues to go!

Madison is just amazingly doting on her baby sissy. She is in love with her; it's the neatest thing. Faith feeds off of her Dee's energy and enthusiasm, and it really is neat to watch them with Abrie. All Maddie would say in the hospital was, "awww, Abrie. You're so beautiful. You're my Abrie. awww, Abrie." She would say this constantly. She wants to help with everything, and wants to hold her all the time. 

The fact that Cran and Beebster have each other is perfect. They've been doing really well playing together when I'm sitting and feeding the little Beeba. They have been happy little souls from the get-go (even though they actually have both been a little sick) and I'm so glad that they have each other through this transition. I'm not naive enough to think that everything will work perfectly without some minor crises here and there- especially when Dan has to go back to work- but, they're doing really well and adjusting great.

And, Abrie is everything in a daughter I could have ever hoped for, and that much more. We're so in love with her already, and enjoying these days while she's still our baby girl.

Preparing..

I'm so very glad that we took advantage of our free museum admission pass (thanks to the library and Maddie's insistence!) yesterday and got the little women out there. It's so funny because they absolutely LOVED the darn museum.. exhibits (or, as Maddie says 'zibits' and then giggles) such as Mesoamerica and Eurasia and all. We had a really nice afternoon with them, and I feel as though we really have spent the last 9 months of this pregnancy spending quality time with our little girls before they become big sisters.

This gives me some reassurance as to what will happen tomorrow, and yet I'm still so extremely anxious and nervous. Moreso about the transitions for them and their feelings, than about bringing little Abrie into this world. I am going to be a mess having to say goodbye to them tomorrow morning, and I'm choosing not to think about that right now. Maddie's only ever been away from us when her Beebster was born, and Faith has never been away from us. I like it this way. Not even knowing that their beloved Nene is here with them gives me too much comfort, but I know that they will be OK. It's me that I am worried about being without them.

******

Crannie was my buddy for my appointment this afternoon. They couldn't get me in at any other time besides 2:30pm, and Faith was still napping. Cran insisted she wanted to come with me though, and I'm so grateful she's my little buddy because I definitely needed her today. I truly thought they would give me the green flag today that my 24 hour urine results and bloodwork were completely fine. Completely the opposite. The doctor came in after a good while and told me he'd be checking my cervix today, which I hadn't been expecting especially with having Madison there. I knew something was wrong. He came in and said I am 2 cm dilated, and he would have to induce today because I'm spilling obscene amounts of protein into my urine. He said it should be at a 300, and I'm spilling 2,400. My blood pressure remains steady though, but he said the protein levels is an indicator that I've already begun with pre-eclampsia. I was feeling the opposite though, since my feet and legs have noticeably gotten better since Tuesday. I even lost a pound of pure water weight in my legs and feet (total gained of 14 lbs) and thought for sure I'd be in the clear today.

I was totally taken aback with what they were telling me. I asked if they could wait, at least, until tomorrow morning to induce. So he sent me for a non stress test (Crannie in tow and drawing with the magna doodle that they let her borrow.. of course, also with her little Tweety purse full of "accessories" and sitting on my lap half of the time getting a kick out of baby sissy's movements during the NST test!) and told me if the baby was doing OK, that we could indeed wait until tomorrow morning. Thank the Lord, it came back OK.

So, now Dan and I have to be there tomorrow morning at 8:00am, and we're both extremely nervous and yet excited at the same time. How could we not be excited considering we get to hold our third baby daughter in our arms tomorrow? At the same time though, I'm extremely anxious about the whole Group B Strep and labor for the third time, etc etc etc. 

I'm so hopeful tomorrow goes well. I can't wait to see our baby Abrielle, and have our three little girls all together soon.

36 weeks, 6 days

I always have a gut feeling for certain appointments, and I knew that this was one of those appointments.

Deja vu all over again. I remember with Madison I had a huge increase in my blood pressure at my 37-week appointment, and I was told I couldn't work anymore. I was induced the following week when my blood pressure remained high. I had all sorts of problems with my Faith-y, and she was also induced at 38 weeks. I just felt as though something would happen today. It's probably the size of my feet and legs that served as my indicator.

My blood pressure was fine, but now I'm spilling proteins into my urine. It came back very high. I have to start my 24 hour urine test tomorrow morning and take it into the lab on Thursday morning. I'll also get some blood taken that day. To put the cherry on top of all of these anxieties, I also have come back positive for Group B Strep. I can't quite understand how that is possible seeing as I was negative with both the C. and the B. I'm very worried about this and about having to have penicillin during labor. I'll go back again to the doctor on Thursday, and he said depending on all of my results, he'll decide what to do from there.

Needless to say, I've got two little girls who haven't a clue that they could be big sisters before too long. They are actually excited beyond anything to "help Momma" with my urine collection. It's quite hilarious. I'm hopeful everything comes back normal on Thursday.

Ridiculous request and birdhouses

Having a fun day today with my little girls, despite hearing the most ridiculous thing ever earlier this morning.

We went out for a walk this morning and stayed out drawing with chalks and throwing their balls back and forth. We literally seem to draw with chalks every other day since they love it so colorful (and I love that they are my little artists), and yet it seems like it rains and washes it all away every other day. Anyway, our lovely apartment manager happened to be outside this morning as we chased down Maddie's ball that had gone into the parking lot. The manager had the nerve to tell me that we are no longer allowed to draw with chalks, and that apparently they've been having a lot of complaints about OUR drawings in particular (which consist purely of boo's, baa's, fruits, rainbows, their names, etc). What kind of a person would complain about pretty drawings on the sidewalk? That was my first question. My second question was, do you mean they just can't draw on the steps leading to our apartment? She said no, they can't draw period. I looked at her and said "but, it's the sidewalk. Where can they draw then?" Apparently, nowhere. Oh, the best part was: "well, I suppose you could draw when you know it is going to rain shortly after, or bring a bucket of water outside with you." Needless to say, myself AND my little women were furious and will not be listening to this "rule."

On a brighter note, it's awesome outside today and it's supposed to be 84 degrees this weekend! Not to mention, we went to the library yesterday since it was absolutely horrendous outside, and we got our free pass for the museum. Maddie has been bugging and bugging to go to the museum and check out the exhibits. They are so excited about going to the darn museum! Haha. They also have been dying to make a birdhouse like Goofy makes in 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.' So, we went and got them this cheap little wooden birdhouse yesterday, and they painted it this morning. They are quite excited for a bird to live in there!

******

37- week appointment (well, 36 weeks, 6 days) this afternoon. I'm wondering what they will tell me considering my feet and legs are so beyond swollen.

Crappy day turned better

I was beginning to think that this day would be quite the 'no-good-very-bad' type of day.

My feet and ankles are so swollen today that it's actually painful. They've been this way since yesterday, and especially last night. It hurts to eat even in little bits now because I feel so bloated. It's quite painful to move because of the nerve pain, back pain, and general all-over pain. I HATE that it takes me years to do what I want to do with my little girls. I am not the type to ask Dan to help me with stuff, and he's been on my case all the time now about that. I am very stubborn though about wanting to do it myself. 

I felt 10,000x worse today when Maddie started crying out of the blue. It was the weirdest thing. She came out to the living room after her 'rest' time and we did a Tinker Bell puzzle (they've been doing a lot of puzzles lately that Nene gave them for Easter, and then gluing them with puzzle glue), worked on her numbers 1-100, and then played 'Go Fish' with Dan. I try my hardest not to complain about my aches and pains in front of the C. and the B. because I don't want them thinking the baby is doing this to my body or anything like that, but clearly I didn't do a good job this afternoon. I was getting so frustrated that it took me over 2 minutes to open the darn puzzle box due to my fingers going numb. I was even more frustrated that I could barely sit on the floor next to Cran while we did the puzzle. 

She kept saying how much fun she had had playing 'Go Fish' with us, and she's so funny about her card games. She always says it's the best time of her life playing card games. Then again, she says "this is the best time (or, day) of my life" on a daily basis about everything that she does. Anyway, she stood behind the loveseat then while I was cleaning up and I noticed she was very quiet. I asked her if she was OK, and she told me "I don't think I want this baby sister to come" and then started crying and crying so quietly. Dan went first and hugged her and she just started saying "I have my Beebster. We're best friends. I don't want you to have any more babies. I'm worried, Daddy." My poor little Cran. I've never felt more guilty than I did this afternoon. It was as though my most overwhelming fears and feelings were expressed through my Maddie. 

I think she just hit a point today where she just needed reassurance. She is obviously very in tune to everything that is going on, and knows about the changes that will come with 2 little sisters. She is an extremely, extremely intuitive little girl and I love her for that. She kept telling us over and over again that she has her Beebster and that she loves her Beebster. And, we reassured her that her new baby sister will only make it that much more fun between the three of them. She did calm down shortly after, and I think she felt much better. I am so hopeful that the bond that she and Faith share will help the both of them through this transition in the next few weeks. 

*******

Dan had wanted to take the C. and the B. over to St. Pete's this afternoon to climb on rocks and hike the trails and all, but they were both insistent that they wanted to wear dresses. They are so funny! The ice cream shop at St. Pete's isn't opened until May anyway, so we decided to do that maybe next month. I asked them if they wanted to go down to the museum to walk the paths there and pick flowers, and they both screamed 'Yes/Ess!' It was a really nice afternoon, thankfully. It was ironic too because the museum is directly across from the hospital so they were both very interested to see where they would go to visit me and baby sissy. They were both extremely affectionate with both of us this afternoon, and of course Maddie kept saying "this is the BEST day of our lives!" She also then fell on the pavement, and I got two pictures when Faith ran over to her to give her a hug saying, "awwww, Dee." 

Two little girls for now, and three before we know it. I know that our lives will be changed in only great ways.

To-do's and complete bliss

I'm starting to become quite anxious about our littlest lady coming soon. I feel as though it could be late(er) this time- as in past 38 weeks (Maddie and Faith)- but yet, I'm also starting to feel that it could be sooner than later. My feet and the bottom halves of my legs are so incredibly swollen since yesterday and I'm starting to feel subtle hints of pre-labor as I did during Faith's pregnancy in those last 2 weeks before she was induced. I'm feeling extremely anxious about getting things ready, as I feel that we have nothing ready. I have Donovan's old bedding in the crib, but have yet to move Faith over to her shared room with Maddie for her naptime. She's still napping in her crib in the afternoons. I feel as though I need to start this transition soon, rather than wait and have the new baby here with Faith going through extra unnecessary transitions on top of becoming a big sister for the first time. We also have yet to move the mattress up to the 1st level-- it seems so surreal that we'll be doing this again!

My main anxiety is in the form of my two big sisters. I think that they're going to transition wonderfully to big sister for the second time and big sister for the first time (it makes me feel a little better that Faith at least will be 7 months older than when Maddie became a big sister), but I'm also not naive enough to think there won't be times when it will be overwhelming for them. And, that overwhelms me. I'm constantly reminding myself that the C. and the B. are literally each other's best friend, and this third little girl will only add that much more to their soon-to-be trio. My anxieties turn into excitement when I think about that potential between three inseparable best friends and the bond that they will have for a lifetime, not to mention the feeling of having another daughter as OUR best friend. 

*****

I sat today at a stream with my Maddie and my Faith while we visited Dan's friend. The weather was absolutely beautiful today, and we noticed a really pretty little stream in their townhome development. They picked flowers for a good while and then they took off their socks and sneakers and we sat on the little bridge, the three of us, with our feet in the water. They pretended to fish with some sticks, but more than anything, we just sat and I soaked up our conversations and that moment with my little girls. We sat like this for over an hour, and it truly was pure bliss. I just love my little girls.

Little LADY it is!

I can't quite describe why I doubted the fact that this baby had been named a girl at our 23-week ultrasound, but I really was doubting it. In fact, I was moreso convinced two weeks ago at a 33-week ultrasound when the doctor didn't even look to check the gender. I personally think it is the doctor that I was not trusting, as I don't care for this doctor whatsoever. He is not personable whatsoever and just doesn't seem concerned at all about the baby ever. Not to mention, he had never shown us the 3 little lines that convinced me that both Madison and Faith were girls; he had only said "I didn't see any boy parts."

Well, we were shown the little girl parts yesterday! I still can't quite imagine having three little girls, as I always imagined us having at least one little boy. But, we are so overly excited. Maddie was funny at the ultrasound yesterday (which was unexpected) and kept saying "Oh, I hope it's a boy. He'll be in my heart for always." (She says some hilarious things!) But, when the doctor said it was definitely a girl, she instantly started saying "Oh, my princess baby sister! I wanted a sister all this time." Faith cracks me up because she's this little squirt that can barely see over the edge of the bed, and wants to be right up by the ultrasound machine just inches away to get the best look. She feeds off of Maddie's excitement, and kept screaming "Ess! Oh, esss!" They're too funny.

I am majorly excited that I get to use the bib, shirt, and little hat that Carly and her mom sent us. I absolutely love it, especially with baby Abrie's name on it. I'm just so incredibly looking forward to everything about having another little girl. These three little ladies are our entire world.

*****

The two big sisters keep sneaking out of their room as I type. They are hilarious. They've been emerging as Jasmine and Aurora (clearly Maddie as Jasmine, and Faith as 'Arara') with their blankies over their heads like head dresses, except Faith comes out with hers completely covering her eyes. Needless to say, she has already crashed into the wall a few times from not being able to see and this sends Maddie into a fit of giggles. 

An Indication..

An indication as to how the little women spent their Easter weekend...

Maddie passed out on the car ride home from Nene's after requesting Mary Poppins' "Feed the Birds" on their CD, and did NOT wake up even after arriving and Dan transferring her to bed. My girls never do this! She was e-x-h-a-u-s-t-e-d after a fun-filled weekend. Faith was full of beans after a good nap at Nene's and did not stop talking about "Nene, Bop Bop, Guy, Beeba." All indications point to the fact that they had a wonderful Easter weekend.

Faith did NOT want to leave. She kept telling us emphatically, "No go Momma, no go Da Da. (In other words, she did not want to come back to our apartment).. I go Nene, Bop Bop. (I stay HERE.)" She has a new nickname for her beloved Baby Cuz which is now 'Beeba' instead of Ella. Haha. And, she's been saying 'Guy' now for weeks. She and Madison were so, so excited to see their cousins today and had an awesome time playing all together. They all had such a fun time during their Easter egg hunt, and all got loads of eggs. 

We did Easter baskets yesterday so that Dan would be able to see them get their baskets. And, of course, today they got stuff from their Nene. And, Dan got there today just in time to watch them hunt their eggs. I don't think he's ever seen this since he has worked every single Easter since Maddie was born. We drove to Nene's late yesterday afternoon, and these girls have so much fun just being with them there. It just so happened they had movie night too because Maddie had fallen asleep with me for a nap yesterday after I couldn't wake up at 2pm due to a massive headache that had lingered for two full days. Anyway, they watched "Sword in the Stone" with their Grampa and were quite excited. Faith even woke up at 4am and started going up the stairs saying "I go Nene, Bop Bop" when she wanted to play. HA!

They were so excited to see their Tia Rosa this morning and Uncle Schnoogo as well. It's always neat to see how excited they get with everybody. Maddie kept laughing at Uncle Schnoogo this morning as he fast forwarded the 'ugly old hag' parts of "Snow White" telling them to "avert your eyes." Maddie kept laughing and saying, "Oh, Uncle Schnoogo! Why should we burn our eyes!?" Haha. Faith is obsessed with all things music, and of course thought it was great when he let them into their room to listen to him play his guitar. They were dancing and giggling like crazy. 

Dinner was delicious, and my youngest one has only now started bumping and moving (of course, quite vigorously!) around from apparently being quite stuffed just like me. It was a really nice Easter for sure. 

Getting excited for Easter

Yesterday was such a beautiful day. In fact, today wasn't bad either. Considering the lovely people on Weather Channel made me think it was going to be raining all day today, I thought the overcast day without showers was perfect. We've been able to be outside without the bother of coats, and that is very welcomed.

I decided to try to take pictures of the C. and the B. yesterday in their Easter dresses since it's supposed to be too chilly to wear them on Easter Sunday at Nene's house. Maddie picks most of her clothes now when we go clothes shopping, and from there I coordinate Faith's attire. So, she had picked the dress that she is wearing (that she just loves) and then I noticed the one for Faith that coordinated. They LOVE to match; it's quite funny actually. I feel like such a hypocrite since I used to hate when Nene would dress Lis, Steph, and I alike, but Maddie and Faith love it which I think is great. Anyway, they looked so pretty in their dresses I thought. Faith is getting to where she loves to look pretty and then admire herself in the mirror. She runs to choose a dress and loves to do 'fancy spins' in them. She was beside herself since she got to borrow Maddie's old fancy white shoes (size 6 1/2, and needless to say she looked like she had clown feet since they're WAY too big on her, but Faith thought they were wonderful!) and didn't want to take them off later. And, Maddie is Maddie. She loves a good dress and being fancy. 

I decided to hide eggs for the two of them then, and of course they loved this. They've had some Easter egg hunts around here at local parks, but I've never been too much of a fan of these since Maddie and Faith both have a tendency to get trampled from not being overly dominant. I figured they would have a lot more fun in the peace of doing it just themselves. Maddie is a speed demon and is all business, which is hilarious. Faith is the opposite and would instead stop after every few eggs to try and sneak a few tastes of the jellybeans. She can definitely be all business, but when she notices there are hidden snacks involved then she just dawdles and it's so funny. They both had a blast though and Maddie told me time and again, "Momma, this was the best!"

Now they're super, super excited for Nene's on Sunday. It's to the point where Faith was standing in her Santa pajamas while holding a purse tonight at the top of our stairs and was waving to us saying "Bah! I go Nene!" (Bye, I go to Nene's house). They've asked every night this week before bed about how many more days they had to wait to see everyone for Easter. They're anxious to finally get to the store tomorrow for their ingredients to make their Easter 'appeteaser.' It should be a nice Easter with our little ladies.

Our THREE babies

The little women spent some quality time with Dan tonight after dinner. I think he's sensing the same anxiety that I am about our newest little Constein coming so soon, and the time spent with Maddie and Faith is precious to both of us right now. We are so incredibly excited to just get to hold this new baby for the first time- the thoughts are overwhelmingly emotional at times- and of course worried about our other two babies as well. I remember that first week (well, first 4 days) when Faith was born and how much Maddie and Dan did together. It was quite hard on her when he had to go back to work and I was busy with the little Beebster the majority of the time, so I know these moments spent with Dan and the two 'big' girls will be so important and precious.

They always laugh so hard with their Daddy. I just sit back and watch, and laugh. It's really the neatest thing to see him with his little girls. They were both "dancing" on his feet and just giggling like crazy. They're constantly wrestling, and of course they love that. Then Maddie decided they needed to make him "nice and clean for marriage" (hahaha) and so they cleaned him down with baby wipes. Faith thought this was a brilliant idea. 

******

After the C. and the B. went to bed tonight, Dan and I finally put together their Easter baskets. I can't wait to see their little faces! I just love Easter. The little women are so very excited for Easter and for their egg hunt with their cousins. Maddie is insistent that they are going to make an 'appeteaser' for Easter dinner and she wants to make the fancy dipped strawberries she made on her birthday. This is a fun one because Faith is able to help also.

'Flippers' are the shoes of choice

It's becoming quite comical. 

A few of the mothers at Maddie's dance class on Saturday questioned me as to why I was wearing flip flops (or 'flippers' as Maddie calls them) when there were 50mph gusts outside and it wasn't that warm to say the least. I showed them my feet and they immediately started laughing. I told them I can't get my sneakers on (not to mention, I can barely tie them) or really any other shoes on anymore without a struggle. Faith insisted that I wear my sneakers yesterday and brought them to me on the couch. She's so funny about picking out Momma's shoes. It was quite the sight as I could barely get them to fit comfortably due to my swollen feet, and then my hands would go numb as I tried to fit my heel in through the back. Lovely.

I've also recently discovered that I have some beautiful plantar's warts on the bottom of my right foot.. probably a token gift from our trip to Florida! If swollen feet, numb and tingling hands, nerve pain that shoots up and down my right side, and back pain that can be quite excruciating weren't enough, now I'm insistent on getting nice new socks for delivery so nobody has to see my disgusting feet! Haha. Not to mention, last night I hurried to answer my phone when Nene was calling and I tripped over several Power Rangers that lay in the dark on the floor. That did wonders for my feet!

******

Dan and I decided to sleep out on the loveseat last night. It's hilarious because our bed has been overtaken by pretty little girls. It's my fault actually because ever since Dan has moved to third shift, I have moved them over to sleep with me since I hate having them in a different room when it's just us at home. I sleep much better knowing they are with me. Anyway, it's not that big of a deal until Dan is actually home on a break and as Maddie says "4 is just too many for our queen bed. We need a king bed like in our hotel!" Quite true actually. Maddie is known for laughing in her sleep- and sometimes kicking when she's having a bad dream- and Faith is well known for flailing herself horizontally in her sleep. Dan and I never sleep well when he is home. We make them a makeshift "bed" for the floor next to our bed with blankets and their pillows, but they still usually come up with us by about 4am. Anyway, we decided to sleep in the living room. And, it was wonderful. We were greeted by a little Crannie by 7:30am with a basket full of Power Rangers and I had to wake up Faith at a little past 8am. Not only did we sleep better, but they also slept better having our bed all to themselves! Little princesses.

*******

Maddie decided during bathtime last night that should this baby be a boy, she likes the name Jason. Named after the 'Red Ranger' of course! These girls and their Power Rangers all of a sudden. And, Faith goes around saying "Billy Bluuue" for the Blue Ranger. It's too funny.

Almost 35 weeks

I feel like an aged woman these days. And yet, I am definitely not ready to give up the feeling of the baby moving inside! I tell Dan all the time, "I love being pregnant" and he looks at me funny. He knows how hard it has been physically this time around towards the end, but yet I still love the feeling of being pregnant. 

I still have nerve pain up and down my right side that can be quite crippling. My back pain isn't as severe as it had been, and it's usually worse in the morning. But, now I have carpal tunnel's in my hands and it's creeping up my arms. It's not much fun to go numb when trying to brush my teeth, shave my legs, hold my poor Beebster, or even hold their little hands. My fingers start to tingle when I try and button their buttons or tie Maddie's new shoes, etc. On top of that, my feet are now swollen and that also is creeping up the bottom part of my legs. It's a lot worse at night when the walking around has caught up to me. Dan gets on my case about just laying down, but there is always something that has to be done. Needless to say, my feet look like an old woman's slippers by 11pm or so and it is quite painful at times.

Easter 'party' and fun weekend

I tell my little women constantly that Dan and I are so incredibly lucky to have the two sweetest girls as ours. I tell them also that they are two very lucky little girls-- to be able to do fun stuff all the time with the two of us, and to have each other and such awesome family that loves them. I know for sure that they both know this, and most certainly appreciate everything about their lives.

It was a fun weekend starting with dance class yesterday. Faith (the honorary 8th member of Maddie's dance class) and Maddie just love going on Saturdays to see Ms. Dawn. Maddie is definitely there to learn and to do the best she can (she can be all business which is quite funny), but she has also met some little friends there that are so sweet. She and Faith are lucky to have these little girls as friends, and I'm hopeful we'll continue to see them even after their dance recital at the end of May. 

We went to Gring's Mill after lunch and after Maddie's class. They were doing a free Easter eggstravaganza, and of course these little ladies deemed it their 'Easter Party.' They loved it. Faith of course loved the petting farm, and Maddie was a little sad she couldn't ride a pony. She quickly got excited though when it was their turn to collect their dyed eggs and make a bag for them. Faith is in love with the color blue, and traded two of her white eggs for "bluuue" eggs and kept two white ones. She and I sponge painted her little white eggs. Maddie traded her white eggs for 3 pinks and one blue, so she and Dan went straight over to make their little bunny bag. I helped Faith with hers then, and they were both quite proud of their creations.

We went to Lancaster then since Dan was headed to the classic Constein party last night. We stopped to see Grammy first, and wouldn't you know Grammy had temporary tattoos for them! They have been obsessed with temporary tattoos now for a few weeks, and I haven't been able to find them anywhere (wanted to get them for their Easter baskets) so it was quite a nice surprise. Faith was already asking "where Nene, where Bop Bop?" while we were there and of course they were both ecstatic when we finally got to Nene and Grampa's house.

We cut our visit short this morning since Faith seemed to develop a cough within an hour of getting to Lancaster yesterday, but the C. and the B. had so much fun. They were finally able to watch "Snow White" on Nene's VCR and just LOVED it. They love all the dwarfs and know all the songs, and yet hadn't even seen the movie until yesterday. They spent awhile outside this morning helping Grampa collect sticks for the stick pile. Maddie started collecting wildflowers from their yard to "make the stick pile prettier." Leave it to Cran! Nene got out Uncle Schnoogo and Uncle Chris' old Power Rangers, and they have fallen in love now with Power Rangers. It's quite funny actually. Maddie has them divided by girls ('Power Girls') and boys ('Power Boys') and it works out wonderfully, because Faith happens to love all the boys- especially blue of course- and Maddie loves the girls. They each went to sleep with one tonight.

We took them to Daniel Boone park this afternoon, and they loved being able to just run. They came upon a little house that is still intact with everything still in it, and decided this was a house where "8 adorable little children used to live, Momma!" (according to Madison, and then Faith thinks everything Maddie says is just perfect, so she enthusiastically repeats, "Ess, Dee!"). Dan grilled for dinner tonight, and I made them their corn on the cob, pasta, and fruit salad that they wanted so it was a nice dinner. 

Needless to say, we had a nice weekend.

... always let your conscience be your guide

I love the conversations that I have with my C. and my B. It's not just with Maddie either, because Faith is a very intuitive little girl and she loves being part of our conversations and sharing her input as well.

During lunch today, Maddie started asking me about how she'll know the difference between 'good' and 'bad' for the rest of her life. I reminded them both of Jiminy Cricket, and to picture him living in their little heads and that is what a conscience is. I told Maddie that everybody makes mistakes and nobody is perfect, but that if they listen to their conscience and remember what they deem 'good' versus 'bad,' that they should be set. Maddie told me, "I know! Daddy will be my conscience for the rest of my life!" I told this to Dan when he got up in the early afternoon, and needless to say, he was quite happy with this comment and proud of his Crannie! It's funny though because then they ask for hypothetical questions, and have to take turns. Faith loves this game too, and they love being asked things about how they'd respond to certain situations. It's really funny the conversations that we have! And, so sweet. 

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We enjoyed the beautiful day today. We went for a long walk this morning and then had a late lunch because they were enjoying drawing with their chalks so much. I swear every day that they're out there drawing their elaborate murals (Faith INSISTS that I draw a "boo," a "baa," a "(sniffs with her nose which means a bunny)," a "(makes fish noises for a fish)," and then a Dee, a Dis, a Momma, and a Da-da every single day!) the very next day it rains and erases all of our work. Tomorrow it is supposed to storm, so there goes our hard work from today. Oh well. They love it. We went down to the creek this afternoon too. They are obsessed with their Bear Scout Berenstain Bears books from the library these days, and they checked out a new one about cows eating onion grass. They were so enthralled by the onion grass today at the creek, and even moreso when I pulled it up from the ground and showed them the onion bulb. They cringed at the smell, but then loved the fact that there were about 6 earthworms attached to the mound of dirt (or 'wrigglers' as they call them!).  They've also been enjoying collecting wildflowers now that they're in bloom again.

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I was so excited to get a box today from Carly for all three girls. Her mom, Just Meem, makes the absolute cutest monogrammed stuff and Carly was sweet enough to send some of the cutest things for Maddie, Faith, and little Breebster. Of course, Maddie and Faith LOVE receiving stuff and thought the hairbows with their matching 'big sister' shirts were the best things ever. Faith immediately wanted me to pull out her braids so that she could wear her "BOW!" Then she loves to look at herself in the mirror. My littlest woman received some of the cutest monogrammed stuff complete with a onesie with her name on it, a little hat, a bib, and two little headbands with a bow. I loved it all! She's got quite the collection of cute little girl spring/summer clothes now, as I've been checking out the consignment shop constantly and found 5 different dresses/outfits last week for $2.99 or less. All of them, except one, still had tags attached to them and were from Carter's or Gymboree. I love finding deals, and then looking at her stuff every night!

Scavenger hunt

Giant had quite the cool idea when we visited today.

They had scavenger lists in the produce section. Faith grabbed one and a crayon, and Maddie grabbed one and a crayon. Faith scribbled all over it, and it kept her quite occupied. Maddie thought this was the coolest thing ever, and it was a really cute idea. There were a bunch of pictures of items that they had to locate, and then once they located it, they had to write down the letter in that space. Eventually, it spelled out 'Happy Easter' once Maddie found all the letters. But, it was really neat for Faith too because she got a kick out of helping her Dee look for green bell peppers, carrots, apples, chocolate milk, etc etc. Maddie was so proud of herself when she filled in all the letters, and wrote her name so proudly on the paper in her blue crayon. She thought it automatically meant that she had won the prize of the big Easter basket, but it meant only that she was now entered in a chance to win! It was neat though to see their little proud faces as they walked up to customer service to turn in their papers (Faith's complete with scribbles!). 

Now I'm trying to think up a scavenger hunt that they can do for Easter with their cousins. Obviously it would be something easier without having to write down a message with letters, but Dan thought it was a cool idea too and we've been thinking of little prizes for each of them as well.