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Monday, February 27, 2012

Our Weekend Recap

The family and I took a mini vaca from home this past weekend (not many photos to show for it...sorry....). We left Thursday afternoon to spend some time at Sam's Godmother's place 4 1/2 hours away (we do this every 3-6 months) and got back yesterday evening. During our visit we were able to go shopping for Timothy at Babies R Us. I'm SO GLAD!! We managed to get most of the stuff we have been needing, leaving only a handful of items as well as diapers and wipes (if you're interested in checking out my registry and helping this 'ol Mama out, please click HERE). Hooray! I also got 3 cute maternity shirts on Sale at Target. No more crying in my closet when it's time to get dressed! ;) I've spent most of the day today going through all my new baby loot and organizing it all. FUN!

Saturday we left Sam's Godmother's for a few hours and headed to Everett to go to my cousin and his wife's baby shower. They are due a month before us and are also having a baby boy. I gave them a pack of pacifiers and 3 of my handmade burp cloths. All my family on my mother's side was there. We hadn't seen anyone in over a year, so it was really nice to be able to trek out that way and show off my own baby belly. The kids had a good time running around and eating cake while Sam and I played catch up with everyone.

Overall we had a great trip....except both kids are sick. :( It's been a week long thing too and I am exhausted. Sick kiddos makes for a tired Mama. Anthony had a stomach bug and fever last Monday thru Wednesday evening. Thursday he developed the beginnings of a head cold, but we weren't about to cancel our plans. By Friday both he and Molly were in the throws of a head cold complete with snot, cough, bad attitudes, and refusal to sleep through the night. I thought about skipping the baby shower Saturday, but felt I'd get more flak from not going than bringing two kids with cold medicine coursing through their bodies. They did good while there anyway. The colds are still here and it makes me sad. :( Anthony has now missed a whole week of school and at $85 a month, that's something that just doesn't sit well with me. Hopefully tomorrow will see them feeling better.

My Grandparents and myself
Sammy with my Great Aunt and Uncle
Mols eating cake. I had two slices myself. ;)
Anth and Papa being silly
The kiddos acting all cool with their sunglasses and headphones on watching a movie in the car, LOL.
Classic Mama and Papa road trip photos.


Off topic, but in need of mention.....

I'm 28 weeks and that means THIRD TRIMESTER!! ;)

I'm working on a special post for ya'll with permission from a friend. Guaranteed to give you goosebumps and make you think. Hopefully I can get that out this week, so stay tuned.

Also, if you are the praying type, please say a prayer for "Gram." My childhood best friend's grandmother has been in the hospital since Saturday and is not doing well. At last update a few hours ago she had suffered a stroke while in hospital and was unconscious. It breaks my heart to know such a sweet woman who loves my own children dearly is suffering....as well as my friend and all her family having to stand by and watch it all unfold. Also, please say a prayer for my friend's safe and swift journey from PA to her grandmother's hospital bedside in NY.

With love,
Mama Hauck

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Mols Piano Fun Video

Last week I took a short video of Molly playing on the large floor piano mat we, I mean Santa ;), had gotten the kiddos for Christmas.

Check it out on my YouTube channel by clicking HERE.

Sorry it's sideways. Don't know how to fix that! But it's sweet regardless. I especially love her rabbit hop across the piano, lol!

With love,
Mama Hauck

Monday, February 20, 2012

Our New Car

We've been in the market for a new vehicle for awhile. We have a 2006 focus and an old suburban. The focus wont hold three car seats/boosters in the back and the suburban was only driven on special trips where we needed tons of room and definitely not practical for everyday driving. So what the heck were we to do with Baby #3 coming? We decided we would trade in the suburban and get something smaller than it, yet bigger than the focus. After months and months of research and working hard to pay off other bills and such, Sam and I decided on the the car we wanted.

Last Wednesday Sam showed up at home way early and told me he was going on an overnight trip to the Seattle area because he found the car online we had been wanting and we had to scoop it up before someone else did. It was being offered at $7,000 off retail price since it was the dealership owner's wife's car and they just wanted it out. We were also going to get $1,500 trade in for the suburban. So he and Anthony made the trip to get the car and got back home Thursday evening. Mols and I stayed home.

It's a 2008 Ford Taurus X Limited AWD with outstanding safety ratings and it's fantastic! Definitely a fancy shamncy car in my book. It's got butt warmers in the front and two middle seats, a sun roof, it can remember and save two different seat and mirror positions, all four back seats can be folded down to give you any configuration of storage wanted, a dvd player in the back with headphones for the kids, built in navigation (hooray!!!), a CD player that can hold 6 discs at a time, and you can hook your phone up to it and tell the system to send out a text message or to call someone and it'll do it for you. Told you it was fancy! It makes me wonder what the "norm" is for 2012 models if a 2008 is so high tech. It's the nicest car we've ever had. The best part is that it will hold all the kids! lol

Now for photos!!! ;)

These are the photos of our car off the dealership website.
Exterior
Interior
Front
Middle seating
Back seating
And these are just ones I found so you could see the dvd player and how the seats fold down.

We feel very fortunate to have found such a great vehicle and been able to get it before Timothy gets here. It's definitely a weight off our shoulders!

With love,
Mama Hauck

Thursday, February 16, 2012

When Mama's Not Around

Last Sunday we spent a fair amount of time outside. Papa and the kids always manage to get out the door before I can, giving them time to be mischievous and get into trouble before I get there. What do they do when I'm not around? This is what I saw when I walked into the shop where Sam and the kids were at: 


Molly hanging out on the bike like some regular 'ol biker chic with a bad attitude (she was checking herself out in the mirror, haha, but stopped when she saw I was going to take a photo) and Anthony using a hammer and saw!? 

Sometimes I think it's a good thing I'm not there to witness what they do when hanging out with Papa! Thankfully Anthony practices great safety when using such non kid-friendly tools. Papa on the other hand....he's the one who cut himself while doing some woodworking, LOL! Better take notes from Anthony, Papa. But poor Anth, after 5 minutes of me freaking out and telling him to be careful each time he picked up the saw to work on his "airplane," he gave up and just put a nail through it and left. Guess I'm a fun killer, lol. 

With love,
Mama Hauck

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Week 26

I'm in my 26th week! Only a few more weeks and I will be in my third and final trimester! ;)

Your Baby in Week 26 of Pregnancy

Your baby's eyes — which have been closed for the past few months (so that the retina, the part of the eye that allows images to come into focus, could develop) — are beginning to open. What this means is that your baby is able to see what's going on now. Unfortunately the view in your uterus isn't all that exciting! But do try this at home for kicks: Shine a flashlight at your stomach. Your baby might kick in response....as in: "Get that light out of my eyes!"
 
The iris, the colored part of the eye, still doesn't have much pigmentation (that'll fill in over the next month or two), so it's too early to start guessing your baby's eye color. Even the color your baby will be born with might not be the permanent shade; so you may be kept guessing until your baby is close to six months old.
 
Look what else is going on this week: Your baby's brain-wave activity is kicking in at this stage in fetal development, which means your little one can not only hear noises but can now also respond to them. Not in so many words, of course, but with an increase in pulse rate or activity. And talking about activity, at your baby's current height and weight of about nine inches tall and two pounds, and at the rate he or she is growing, your baby will soon be feeling a little cramped in your uterus. Not to worry, there's still plenty of room for your baby to grow.

My baby belly info:

Week: 26
Starting weight: 98
Weight now: 115
Fundal height (measurement, in centimeters, of uterus.....usually round abouts equivalent to your gestational week):I'm guessing 25-26. I was suppose to have my midwife appointment yesterday, but had to cancel because come 4 o clock I wasn't feeling that great and wound up going to bed at like 7:30 after a bath and some Tums. Poop! So hopefully appointment later today or tomorrow!  

Things of note:

I swear I will be giving birth to Chuck Norris or the Karate Kid! Timothy kicks and punches and squirms and flips ALL THE TIME. Seriously. He makes it hard to fall asleep at bed time and even wakes me up in the middle of the night! But that's definitely not a complaint! I love feeling him move, even if it is getting painful at times.  When I notice a knee or an elbow bulge (or maybe it's stretched out feet!) I poke him and he retreats and then pokes back. Haha! It's great to be able to play and get a response from him before he's born!

He's a fan of the shower. When I step into the water and have the shower stream hitting my belly he is quite. The second I step away so the water isn't hitting my belly he gives a few kicks, maybe telling me to move back in the stream because he likes the rhythmic sound? It's fun. :) When Anthony and Molly were babies, I would bring them in the bathroom with me in their bouncy chair when I took a shower because they would fall asleep to the sound of the water. And when they were crying and I ran out of soothing options, I'd put them in the bathroom in their bouncy chair and turn on the hair dryer because the sound of the dryer calmed them and they'd wind up falling asleep. Isn't that funny? I've no doubt Timothy will be the same. I've read a few articles that have said babies grow accustomed to certain sounds they hear regularly while in the womb and some of those sounds become soothing to them. Those same sounds may continue to be soothing to them once born. This is why a baby will recognize and be soothed by his Mama's (and possibly Papa's) voice from the second he's born. How amazing is that?

I'm pretty much gaining a pound a week. Yikes! I hope that trend doesn't continue for much longer, I still have 14 or so more weeks to go! LOL! But you know, childbirth is the fastest way to loose at least 10 pounds in a matter of seconds. ;) And then, if you're me, you sweat another 10 pounds in water weight out within the first 1-2 weeks after birth. Besides, I know a lot of women who gain far more than a pound a week throughout their whole pregnancy. So I'll just quietly sit here with my rice crispy treats, munching away, thankful my body isn't that mean to me.

Here's my 26 week pics!


With love,
Mama Hauck

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentines Day!

Anthony came home with a lot of loot from his Valentines Day party yesterday. He said he had a great time and even bragged a little bit about having TWO cupcakes. Lucky! 


After Papa got home yesterday and we ate dinner, we made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting and red sprinkles for all the guys at his work as a special treat. Of course I couldn't bare to send them ALL to work....so the kids and I each had one. And oooohhh man were they delicious! Hopefully everyone at works likes them as much as we did.


Here's the card the kids and I made for Papa. I got the idea off of Pinterest (yay!).


We also picked him up a 20 flavor jelly belly sample box and a bag of Valentine colored M&M's. I took an old drink bottle and ripped off the label. Then I made a "Happy Valentine's Day" tag and fastened it to the bottle with some twine. Just like with the card, I traced and cut out the kiddo's hand prints then glued them to the bottle and filled it on up with the M&Ms!


Today we went and visited him at work for lunch! I made us all turkey sandwiches. The kids were sooooo excited to go! When we got there we surprised him with his gifts and then when the kids were still eating, I snuck into Sam's office to set up the kiddo's Valentine baskets. I had picked up a few baskets and little chocolate boxes at the store last week, then with the help of Valentines boxes from the Grandparents, I filled up the baskets with tons of other goodies too! I didn't want to give them their baskets in the morning because Sam wouldn't be home. And then I didn't want to wait until the end of the day either cause that's no fun! So it seemed like a grand idea to give them their treats while making our special visit at Papa's work. Even Baby Timothy got a card. :) Sammy and the kids got me a few cards that I opened up this morning, they were sweet.

Please excuse the grump face on Anthony in this last photo! LOL! He was mad because we were heading home and he wanted to stay with Papa.

I don't think we have much plans for tonight. Dinner and hanging out. But that's just fine with me, I'm exhausted. My midwife should be showing up any time now for my monthly appointment. Those are always fun, though it means I have no time for a nap! 

Hope everyone is enjoying their day!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! 

With love,
Mama Hauck

Monday, February 13, 2012

Anthony's Preschool Valentines

You know how when you were a kid you looked forward to all the holidays? It didn't matter which one, you loved them all....Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, etc. But then when you're older and out of the house, the holidays kinda loose their luster. They're still nice and swell and all, but definitely not as fun as when you were a kid. And then BAM!! One day you wake up and you have sweet little kiddos tugging at your shirt and getting all excited about Easter eggs and letters from Santa and all of a sudden the holidays are SO MUCH FUN again! You know that look of excitement on their faces? It's the same excited look you had on your face when you were a kid....and the same look you have on your face all over again now.

This is the first year in a long, long time I have gone to the store and gotten Valentines. Except now it's not me picking them out, it's Anthony. And it took him all of 2 seconds to do so, lol, Kung Fu Panda for the win! :) These are the little things that make being a Mama one of the best things in the world.

I thought it would be fun to make little chex mix/trail mix goody bags for his classmates. Anthony didn't disagree with me, so I took that as my cue to gather the rest of the stuff needed to make said goody bags while at the grocery store last Tuesday. Last Wednesday after Anthony was done with school, he and I sat down and got to work! We also (Molly included) worked on a few projects for Papa for Valentine's Day, but I'll share that later.

The ingredients/goods: 

Rice chex cereal
Cheddar tiny twist pretzels
Honey Wheat rod pretzels 
Raisins
Valentine colored M&M's
Bite size chocolate covered cookies
Anthony's choice of Valentines
Sandwich bags 
Stapler
Love and patience

How to: Because I wanted each kiddo to have equal amounts of the "fun stuff," I portioned out the two types of pretzels, M&M's, and chocolate cookie bites into 21 (for 21 kids!) equal piles on the table then let Anthony put each pile in a sandwich bag. For the chex cereal and the raisins, we wound up just scooping a handful into each bag. I rustled up each bag, sealed it shut, then stapled a Valentine on each one after helping Anthony write his name on the back of each card. Voila!! Easy peasy.

Anthony had a good time making his Valentines, I had a good time watching him have fun, we both (and Molly whenever she came over to investigate) filled our bellies along the way, and the dogs got the scraps that fell onto the floor making clean up a breeze. 

Here they are!


And remember those sugar body scrubs we made a bit ago for Anthony's teachers? They are now packaged up in cute little Valentine bags ready to make them smile and love Anthony even more (if that's even possible!!). 


Anthony had a whole lot to bring to preschool with him this morning! I hope all the kiddos like his special Valentine treat and doubly hope they have a fantastic Valentine party! When I dropped him off a bit ago the whole classroom was abuzz with excitement and all the kids were running around sneaking peeks at each others Valentines waiting in their cubbies to be handed out. Hehehe I can't wait to go pick him up and see all his Valentine loot and have him tell me all about his day!! ;) 

With love,
Mama Hauck

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Will You Be My Godmother?


Anthony has Godparents, Timothy already has a Godfather (and he's not even here yet!), but Molly....cute little Molly had neither a Godmother nor Godfather. She did once, way back when she was first born, but it didn't work out and that's a long story that I'm not going to get into. Now, after much thought, I came to my decision and hoped who I had chosen would say yes. Who would not want to be Molly's Godmother? She's so dang sweet. :) Molly and I got to work creating a special gift and sent it on its merry way to my childhood friend in NY, Jill.  I received the phone call from Jill yesterday saying yes!

This definition of Godparent was taken from Wikipedia: "Traditionally, godparents were informally responsible for ensuring the child's religious education was carried out, and for caring for the child should he/she be orphaned. Today, the word godparent might not have explicitly religious overtones. The modern view of a godparent tends to be an individual chosen by the parents to take an interest in the child's upbringing and personal development"

I lean more towards the more modern definition. In my mind, a Godparent is someone who has close ties to the family and loves the child very much. They will be there to love, encourage, mentor, listen and be another strong shoulder for the child to lean on as they grow up. They don't necessarily have to be close in proximity physically, as long as they are never far away mentally and emotionally when needed. It gives the child a person to turn to (other than their parents, grandparents and other family members) when they need advice or someone to talk to.....someone they can count on and trust. That's what a Godparent means to me and that's what I keep in mind when I choose one for each of my kiddos.

Molly now has a Godmother and that makes me extremely happy! Especially with it being Jill. <3

With love,
Mama Hauck

Monday, February 6, 2012

Just a Few Cute Pics

I whipped out my paints and the kiddo's painting smocks/tanks last week so we could have some painting fun! The kids each did a painting to hang on our fridge and then each of the Grandparents got their hand prints in paint for Valentines Day. Molly thought it was hilarious that I was painting her hand, lol. Who doesn't like to get a little paint on them? Anthony did a fantastic job painting. It's always a wonder to see just how much being in preschool has allowed him to blossom.

 
Anthony got this wooden block castle set from his aunt and uncle for Christmas. I love watching him play it because he is so meticulous! I've never seen a 4 1/2 year old actually look at the diagram and directions! LOL He's such a little smarty pants and I'm always impressed with his patience and concentration when building with his blocks. :)


Sweet little Mols was looking soooo cute and soooo excited (so excited in fact, she was jumping around!) to go outside the other day, I had to snap a few photos of her before I put her coat on. She's incredibly adorable with her hat on with those little pom poms at the end.


Anthony is Line Leader and "Snack Boy" at school today. This means we had to go to the store and figure out a good snack and drink for 21 hungry school kids. Last time he was it, I made individual sugar free jello cups with a gummy worm on top (in the spirit of Halloween!).....check them out HERE. This time I was going to do some sort of Valentine chex/trail mix, but decided I'm going to save that for his special Valentines to hand out next Monday at their Valentine party. So instead I did individual baby carrot and ranch dip cups. Anthony wasn't too happy about that. He made sure to tell me (multiple times) that he "doesn't like carrots" and he's "going to tell his teacher that he didn't want carrots for a snack." HAHA Poor boy, I thought it was a nice idea. Everyone else brings some sort of crackers, so I try to mix it up a bit when it's our turn to provide the snack!


Friday evening we headed over to my gal pal Molly's house for dinner with her and her family. It was on short notice, so it actually made it extra fun! I hadn't seen her in a long while, so not only was it great to get out of the house, but it was great to catch up. We ate a delicious dinner and the kids had a grand time playing with their daughter, who's only a few months behind Molly in age. It was fun to see Molly actually play and interact with someone her own age! I'm so use to seeing her play with Anthony, I guess I was a little taken aback that my little gal was actually playing with another little gal!....and they were playing kitchen and dolls, too cute! 


How many of you watched the football game? Not me. I couldn't care less, sorry. LOL Instead we ate a huge breakfast of french toast, sausage, and eggs, cleaned house, got a start on our yard work (because all the snow is almost gone!), scooped horse poop, and just played around outside. It was nice out, about 50* and perfect for being outside enjoying the fresh air. The kids had a good time. Of course, if we had been invited to a Superbowl gathering, we definitely would have gone and watched the game! Though naturally I would have been more interested in the food. ;) We capped the day off with a movie and a take and bake pizza. Yum!

The week ahead is a long one for the kids and I. I'm already tired and it's only Monday morning!

With love,
Mama Hauck