"swing batter batter..."

on tuesday night, we planned to take the kids to the washington nationals baseball game. what we didn't plan on was that they were playing the red sox and the game was sold out! after my husband charmed a few of the employees, we were able to score some cheap "standing room only" tickets...but hey, it's all about the food right - who needs to sit down!!!!!!



nate, ella, and maddie had so much fun eating (or inhaling rather) all of the ballpark food and playing on the playground! we didn't see one play of the game...but it didn't matter...it was just fun to be there and soak in the sights and sounds! it seems that these "three musketeers" always attract a crowd...and to see the three of them dancing was quite a sight!


as you can see...maddie wasn't going to get within a country mile of these people

i think that the metro ride was as much fun for all of them as the baseball game...oh the simple things in life! it was such a fun night and one that we were grateful to spend with our company!

life is a bowl of cherries...

amy and nathan have been here visiting and we have had such a great time! we haven't let any grass grow under our feet (that's for sure) and the kids seem to be falling asleep every time we crank the engine of the car! since we've been so busy...i haven't had much time to blog...but on monday, we took the kiddos to pick cherries in markham, virginia. what a blast!

none of us had ever seen a cherry tree before and the fruit looks so pretty hanging in the sunlight...the sour cherries almost look fake they are so shiny and red! madeline, as usual, put on her game face and ate as many as she could get her hands on...and looked as if she had committed a heinous crime by the time we left!!!!! ella had fun picking and eating as well...she gave the thumbs up to the taste! nate seemed to have a good time...but just like his uncle - picking fruit loses it's luster fairly quickly!!!! he certainly wasn't interested in filling the shopping bag with cherries like his aunt "mere mere" or his mommy!

after three pounds of sour cherries were gathered in the hopes of making something yummy and delicious...we headed to the sweet cherry orchard. unfortunately, rain from the week before had split their whole crop and they looked terrible. we quickly made the decision that we would not be buying any of those and decided to bribe the kids to take some pictures...seeing as the scenery was gorgeous! they cooperated fairly well and allowed their mommies to capture some sweet memories!


these children LOVE each other...and the only thing we seem to be missing this week is caleb (aka "baby brother" or "max"). ella and nathan think that they are brother and sister...and maddie seems content to just go along with whatever they believe! we even heard them telling our neighbor that they were siblings...it is so special to watch them grow up together and listen to their little conversations. i am SO thankful that we will now be closer so that these "brothers and sisters" can see each other a little more often!

we are ONE week away from pulling out of this town to begin our new chapter...i am thrilled that we were able to spend our last "fun" week with some really "fun" people.

new inspiration...

so as most of you have figured out lately..."painting me happy" has turned into more of something like "painting slowly"!!!! between morning sickness and a cross country move invading my life - i just haven't had that much motivation or inspiration to paint!!!! well, my friend jane wanted me to paint a little something for her precious "newbie" that will be here RIGHT in time for us to leave...and i thought i would share it! it turned out really cute...and it's just proof to myself that my creativity has not died forever!!!!!!

i know that life won't slow down anytime soon...settling into our new home and having a newborn ourselves will no doubt take up a bit of my time...but if anyone ever wants a painting - please don't hesitate to ask! it really is a wonderful escape for me...and i LOVE tapping into what seems to be my "lost artist"!!!!

hope everyone has a great weekend!

wordless wednesday...

our trip down south (in a nutshell)...

wow, it's amazing how time can fly when you are having fun! we started off our journey with a week long stay in jackson with some of our favorite people! caleb celebrated his 2nd birthday with a beach bash, we played outside from morning until dark, i logged some major time on the porch swing, and we got to see the mosleys!!!!!!! it was such a fun week...and definitely needed!


we headed over to monroe (thanks to nana!!!) and spent some time with grandparents, aunts, & uncles...the kids always have so much fun there!


then we were supposed to head over the shreveport so that i could take care of some business...aka - closing on our house! well, this ended up taking place an entire week later than we thought!!!!!! obviously, this delayed a lot of the home improvements that i had wanted to start while we were home...but my mom & brooke have picked up the torch and are "awesomely" helping me out by doing EVERYTHING!!!! i appreciate it SO much! fresh paint and hopefully some new windows are just what the doctor ordered to spruce up our new little dwelling!!!!! i can hardly wait to give you the grand tour of our new home...one that we OWN and do not rent!!!!!


after a fabulously fun time at lake bisteneau with some of my/our oldest friends, we headed back to washington. this time there were no tears...funny how that happens!!!!!!


i am so ready for this new chapter in our lives to begin...seemingly much more happy than my husband...we've had a bit of a role reversal...but i know that no matter what, our little family of
"soon to be five" will be happy. after all, we've survived some major valleys...but we've always come out on top!!!!!!

first swim of the season...

isn't it always the best! i remember the days!

it's a zoo around here...

friday morning, the girls and i set out for an outing at the zoo! two of my girlfriends were going and called to see if we would like to join them. i'm glad i lived to tell this tale!!!! after getting all of us dressed & sun-screened, snacks packed, and the massive stroller loaded...oh, and going to the restroom again (what felt like my 100th time...and it was only 9:45)...we set out! we had to turn around at the end of our neighborhood because maddie announced that she had forgotten her "na" (aka lovie)...and it's like her american express...you don't leave home without it!!!!!!!

we arrived at the zoo...found a relatively close parking place on the street...and had to turn around at the end of the block because you guessed it - maddie left her "na" in the car!!!!! just one of those things...a forgetful 2 year old and a forgetful pregnant mommy...what a combo! as we began our several block walk to the zoo, i got the incredible feeling that i was pushing this massive stroller through the sand. i looked to see what was going on because after all, i'm almost 23 weeks pregnant, i'm pushing close to 75+ pounds between ella, madeline, and the stroller, it's 85 degrees, and i'm no olympiad...but low and behold, TWO of the stroller tires are almost flat!!!! what to do but forge ahead...in the "sand"!

we finally found our friends...checking out the famous panda bears. i'm not sure who was panting more...the huge animal or me!!!!! the girls got a kick out of seeing the panda eat bamboo and seeing the "baby"! we then proceeded to see the other TWO animals of the day! that's right people...we were at the zoo for approximately 2 1/2 hours and we saw THREE animals!!!! that just made me laugh...but we really did have a fun time! i think the girl's favorite thing...and probably mine...were the misters that we walked through to cool us down!!!!!!!



after some animal viewing and LOTS of walking...we found a nice shady spot to picnic and enjoyed a fun, yummy lunch! of course, my girls wanted to partake of all the other "eats" instead of their own...isn't that just like kids!!!! after i took in water like a camel, i was ready for my trudge back to our car! i can say that i have never been more ready to feel some AC and just take a little rest!

all in all, it was a wonderful yet funny day...and i'm glad we could spend it with friends!

friendship friday...

has not gone by the wayside...but it seems that my mind has! it takes lots of thoughtful time to write those - and quite frankly, "thoughtful time" seems to be scarce around here lately! anyway, just wanted to say that i DO intend to resume this "series"...just as soon as my life resumes some sort of normalcy!!!!!

for now, thanks to all my friends for being so amazing and making my life better!!!!!

life in the fast lane...

hello blogging friends! i have been M.I.A. because we have been out of town...and i have been doing the "single parent" thing for a couple of weeks which leaves little time for blogging!!! however, we are back in d.c. for our final days before the big move...and lots needs to take place before that happens!

i have so much to report...but sadly i must wait...i'm just too plain tired!!!! here are some tidbits in a nutshell:

we closed on our house (FINALLY)!!!!

i had another ultrasound...and this time "little bit" cooperated...therefore, the technician knows whether ella & madeline are having a brother or sister! so fun!

we had a great time in the "country" with some of our favorite people...and even had a visit from some of our other favorite people!

jeffrey and i celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary from long distance...but i received the most beautiful flower "work of art" ever!!!!!

we had a great time at the lake this past weekend...good times go by so fast!

i promise to give better updates before the big move...but until then, i'm going to catch some zzzzzzz's! after all, i better store up because those will be hard to come by all too soon!!!