a life beyond running shoes.

the boys kept working and got the second bed finished on sat. sunday they planted broccoli, tomatoes, lettuce in egg cartons to germinate inside. i think we get to plant them in the yard in just over a week or until there is no risk of frost. they marked off two by two foot plots that we are going to seeds this coming weekend. we have planned for some herbs but also beets, carrots, summer squash, zucchini, beans, and sugar snap peas. of course, i hold this all very loosely as i don't really have a green thumb. but the boys have really enjoyed playing in the dirt with dad. on our first day of the week by ourselves, the boys and i played hide and seek, trains, and toss the sock (bean-bags) while sweet pea slept the entire time while in the room with us...getting a great nap with lots of noise and no swaddle. go figure.

on our family garden..... the boys started yesterday. we started with a consultation from a friend who has spent some time working on organic farms in virginia. she helped us think through what to plant, where, how, etc. we needed help getting started....and have some friends in the neighborhood who are going to help out along the way. saturday morning they started out and visited the local nursery. they got compost, starter plants (thyme, parsley, mint, and forgot the basil). then they hit lowes for wood and seeds. we have some friends that are going to share their worms to help us get our own compost going..... it will certainly be an adventure to see if this really works or if i can manage to green up my black thumb since i can't really even keep a house plant alive. we'll keep you posted as we build the second bed and start to get seeds and starters going. fun, fun!

hubbie and i got to get away for the afternoon while his mom was here and opted to see a movie. while i stood for half of it to keep sweet pea quiet, it was nice to be out with him and have conversation over a cup of coffee. it was slightly reminiscent of when we only had one child and would tool around town and see movies and talk over coffee...... ah, the days. now, we steal away when we can. the last movie we saw was over xmas in flordia.... and before that september when kind friends took our boys for the afternoon. BUT, i can remember the three movies that we saw during the first few months of peanut's life - fever pitch, cinderella man, and star wars.... all with baby in tow. anyway, onto this movie. i'm so glad i saw it. it is not an easy movie to see though, even though it has such a delightfully good ending. it is a rough reality of the slums in india. but the boys were endearing and the story compelling. worth my time & money! and we actually made it for the ...

my mother-in-law left today. i did not cry. i got pulled over for talking on my cell phone... which in case you were wondering, talking using the speaker phone does not qualify as "hand-free" and thus warrants a ticket. i did cry..... a week's food budget given to the city of new york. yipee! the boys are very sad g'ma is gone.... but mimi comes back in a week.

it is not because i am cool, but that i know cool people.... this is my husband's cousin who has been a miami fan forever... she started blogging a long time ago and it just got picked up by nbc sports. you should check it out... it is very funny, witty, and insightful.... as far as sports stuff goes. www.nbcmiami.com you should follow her blog. she posts twice a day and i am continually impressed with how she comes up with stuff to write about. so, i tip my hat to you ms. janie!

we made it a two full weeks as a family of five. wednesday was a bit hairy, but we survived. i had a very kind friend come over yesterday morning to help me get the boys to their "tumbling/movement" class..... in my head i had thought i could do it myself and gave daddy the morning to work on his sermon.... WHAT WAS I THINKING?! if my friend had not come with us, it would have been melt down zone. i ended up nursing sweet pea for the duration of tumbling class, so my friend got "participate" (more like help direct and instruct my kids) in her first toddler "managed chaos" class. i was very thankful! AND, hubbie and i actually went to a party last night - well, we made an appearance.....i only last about an hour and a half before i was running on fumes. we did take sweet pea who slept the entire time and disappointed more than a few friends who wanted to hold her. back-up comes tomorrow for a whole five days and nights. phew!!! and thankfully, friends...

when my first two children got their first bath.... it was traumatic. screaming, crying, fits of rage from our precious newborn. as a new mom i thought i was torturing them..... my heart clenched with guilt. it took three adults to manage both boys first bath time. this bring us to child #3. this baby... while beginning to be trouble at night - did not make a peep. we did not utilize the third adult (mimi) before she left and had quite the audience of little people that thought they were being helpful. she grunts and groans all night long making sleep a bit elusive, but while getting her first bath..... she tolerated the whole thing. we also have a new cousin (born on tuesday)......welcome to the world baby luke. she will always have a playmate when we visit florida.... cousin #11 is due in three weeks. i am sure that one day we will call them the three musketeers....

mimi left yesterday. here she is with her babies. i am sure that she had a nice quiet night sleep last night.... no midnight wake up calls. how could she resist.... and it wasn't always baby sister. today was our first day by ourselves, so we headed to the playground. (little bit is in the background coming off the slide while sweet pea sleeps soundly) it was semi-warm.... 50 degrees. we survived!!! (of course dad was still home today). tomorrow will be the real test..... can we survive?! g'ma comes in a week.... we can make it.

we went to pediatrician on tuesday for her newborn check-up. she is perfect.... gained half a pound. rock on baby girl!!! i think she looks like a doll....with a tiny little gas smirk. yesterday my mom and husband worked on a yummy breakfast for this tired mommy..... eggs benedict. so yummy!!! i have only been craving this for about two months.... it was worth the wait. it is so nice having my mom here to help get some food in our bellies. but then again, hubbie is on task as well and doing a stand-up job!!!

kathryn michelle (kate) sweet was born on friday, march 6 at 11:16pm. i had been to the hospital that morning for a non-stress test because my amniotic fluids were borderline low. they wanted to be cautious. i was told to go home but that i could go at anytime..... i was 3.5 cm and 50% effaced. i went home and had 4 ounces of castor oil. labor started for real 2 hours later...... we got to the hospital around 8 and were admitted. i started pushing around 10:50 and 25 minutes later she was out. it was hard and i asked for my epidural too late. whoops. we got to come home yesterday afternoon and start acclimating to life as a family of five. my mom flew in yesterday and is on boy duty. she has already done bath time, played hide and go seek, brushed teeth and changed diapers. sweet potato actually let me get a couple of straight hours of sleep last night and is doing great. they boys and mimi are off to the grocery to get us some food for the week. i am glad to be home!

we are heading to the hospital..... :)

it is my due date..... we have come to one conclusion: we will not be naming baby girl ADA. it was top of the list until yesterday.... when one friend thought, "um.... i ate a sweet." really....it never once crossed our minds. i am bummed. i loved the name and thought it sounded lovely. no more. here are some fun that the boys have been up to: making music making homemade brownies with chocolate peanut butter crisp topping and marshmallows. yum!! i could have eaten the whole pan! seriously. finally getting to the children's museum

we got about 6 inches of snow last night. there was a break and then it started again. this is the first real snow day we have had AND it is daddy's day off!!! fun in the snow. little bit only lasted about 10 minutes.... the bigger boys were out there for close to an hour. shoveling, building, and sliding. we are supposed to get between 8 - 10 inches. this could be interesting to get to the hospital.... of course at this moment that is not necessary. we still wait but try and have fun in this holding pattern.