Boy Scout Banquet...

 Last week, Braden was promoted in the Boy Scout ranks.  The banquet was a good time and he LOVED having Nanna and Nanny there to cheer him on!

 Braden Riley does love his Nanny.  He asks about her all the time, we pray for her at night, and both of the boys were tickled that she decided to join us for a night of BBQ, treats, and family fun!

 This is our little family right after Braden attached my mother's pin...it will hold all of his Boy Scout pins.

                                             Ok...this kid is in Heaven!  Look at that face!

This is the pinning "ceremony..." the actual pin on the back of my ribbon fell apart, so we had to replace it with another.  It was a little cumbersome, but we managed.

Our family placecard...my own design!  The whole evening was a fun success and we are so proud of our Boy Scout, Braden Riley!

The England Project...

 Garrett attends a very good preschool (which Braden attended, also), and they do the most grown-up, amazing things with these kids.  He had to create a cereal box presentation about the country of his choice.  Much of our family, on all sides, are from England, so we chose it for the big day!

 So, how does Garrett's (my) box look?  He told his class all about the queen, her palace guards ("the fuzzy hat guys"), the crown jewels, the "Union Jack" flag, and the Queen's fav vacation residence...Windsor Castle, built over 900 years ago by William the Conqueror.  Garrett was really hung up on the 900 years ago bit...really interesting to him (yeah, he loves history!).

Here, he's showing the class the lovely Brittish countryside...ahhhhhhh...simply pastoral.

He made a superb presentation and Mom made a really nifty box!  I'm sort of proud of my work, as if you couldn't tell!

A New Little Friend...

Because I was going through my own personal tragedy last summer, I failed to meet the new little guy next door...the newborn, not a new boyfriend.  After I finally resigned myself to our fate, I grieved for a few months and then, low and behold, we were blessed to discover we were pregnant again.  At that point, my world turned upside down because it was so unexpected, unplanned, unforseen...and yet so wonderful!  While being wrapped up in my own little soap opera once again, I think I even managed to offend a few folks by failing to send out Christmas cards, reply to Christmas wishes, return phone calls, etc.  I was simply in shock...in a good way.  My point here is that a handsome little fellow was born last summer to our neighbors, on my birthday no less, and I'd never even seen him in person!  Major faux pas, I realize, but it is what it is.  On this rare, warm and sunny February afternoon, I met H, and he's a doll!  All of a sudden, I could see what's in our family's immediate future and I am really super excited about it!  What adventures we're in for!  So, H, it was great to meet you (finally), and to your mommy...I apologize for being a bad neighbor.  He's precious!

The Strangest Craving...

I've had the strangest craving for Emmy's restaurant lately.  It began early last week and I just couldn't get it out of my head.  For those of you not familiar with Emmy's, they serve traditional German fare, and lots of it!  I was specifically jonesin' for their deep-fried bratwurst with hot, spicy mustard.  Sounds like a terrific case of heartburn wating to happen, right?  Not to worry...Emmy's is always covered over anywhere near a holiday of any sort and my craving hit just before Valentine's Day.  So, no way were we gettin' anywhere near that place. 

While I was still in the shower getting ready for Parent's Night Out last night, Eric announced (with tons of bravado) that he had secured a place in the "bar" area at Emmy's and that we would, in fact, be joinging the hoards of hoity toity folks descending upon this luscious Germanic eatery!  Wahoo!  So, I ordered the appetizer that had the deep-fried brats and the dinner that came with deep-fried brats!  Let me tell you, the little one loved it, the big one (me) loved it, and Eric came out smelling like a rose...and German beer!  :0)

My Valenine came though with the best gift ever...just the right food for his preggo Valentine!  Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Oh, and we followed up Emmy's with two very romantic stops at Sam's Club and Wal-Mart...it wouldn't be PNO w/out the traditional shopping trip, sans kiddos!
*They will be super suprised to find their Valentine Pillow Pets tomorrow morning !

For the Father of my Children...

A Valentine gift for my hubby...straight from the heart.
I love you, DH!
Sam


For the Father of my Children...

Donuts...

So, I was addicted to Little Debbie cakes...now I'm moving on to donuts.  I should have known this would hapen.  I'm not sure why it is that I always get addicted to sugary sweets when I'm pregnant, but I do.  Why can't I become obsessed with, like, carrot sticks or something remotely healthy?  You know, become a little gree-eatin' rabbit????  NOOOOO...I have to get jacked up on sugar or else I'm goin' stir crazy!  Hmmmm...even the 100 calorie sweets won't do.  Gotta' have the real thing.
Damn...it's pretty bad when I can be likened in any way to the great Homer (Simpson, that is...not the blind poet guy).

What Were the Odds?...

Really, what were the chances that EVERY school all around us would cancel in the middle of the day, but not Fort Smith?????  I can tell you which one DID cancel...the preschool!  And, being the semi-single parent that I am, I'll give you one guess as to who had to go fetch the children.  Come on, you got this...

Yep...me!  I'm not bitter or angry at Eric, hey, one of us has to do it.  It's just frustrating that it always seems to be something.  So, FS never did call off, but I had a heck of a time getting home over the "big hill," as the boys call it.  I was sliding all over the place trying to get out of the parking lots of all three schools, but NOW?????  NOW, my yard/house/etc are COVERED in snow, but the road is CLEAR!  What in the world?  I guess they'll just have to dock me a 1/2 day, 'cause I couldn't have gotten back to work on a bet...and who would want to with two rowdy boys in tow?

So, again, what were the odds?  Pretty good, apparently.  (BTW, Garrett's new favorite word is "apparently."  Apparently, I use "apparently" a LOT around here.)

Spring, when o when will you arrive?  You teased us last Saturday...not fair...

WHAT???????...

Somehow, in all the pregnancy excitement-most likely, I failed to post anything about Christmas!  I was clearing out the card on my camera and realized that nothing from the holidays made it to the blog...not even FaceBook!  What in the world???!!!  So, in the near future (maybe not today), I will be posting info and photos from Christmas. 

Oh, and my belly is really big.  Should it be this huge already?  I just don't remember everything changing so quickly the last two times.  I am now in the clothing phase that I like to refer to as "nothing fits."  My regular clothes pinch, pull, and otherwise disfigue my expanding belly, while maternity clothes are baggy, limp, and look rediculous...as if I just WISH I were preggers!  I'm certainly a lot more creative with my wardrobe this time around, but it's getting difficult.  Funny, I thought I wouldn't need any of my winter maternity clothes...Mother Nature fooled me all the way around!

Braden, the Reader...

Braden LOVES to read.  I feel sort of bad for him, though.  His reading level has gone up to 4.8, which is super fantastic...except that it means he has to read (and test on) a TON of books to earn an A in reading.  Bless his heart, though.  I was entering grades on the computer over the weekend in the office, so he came in and bedded down on the treadmill with his blanket and a couch pillow.  He said he just wanted to be in the office with me while he read.  After a few minutes, I hoisted myself down there with him and we read Berenstain Bears and the Freaky Funhouse.  It was very freaky...and very fun!

100 Days of School...

Garrett's 100th Day of School was celebrated by presenting his Cheerio project to the class...and partying afterward, of course!  As you may have guessed, it was-in fact-his mother who stayed up and glued 100 Cheerios to a posterboard while he snoozed away in his snuggly bed! :0)  Kudos to Garrett, though...the project was entirely his idea. 

He first told me he wanted to do 100 Fruit Loops, and promptly changed his mind the next day to Cheerios.  Now, this just seemed like semantics to the adult half of the project completion board (me), but it turned out to be a major issue to the project engineer (Garrett).  After shedding a few necessary tears, he managed to convince me that he had NEVER asked for Fruit Loops (I pretended to be conviced, btw), and we went back to the store for Cheerios.  I think it turned out quite nicely, don't you?