Martin Christmas Dinner

My sister-in-laws and I decided that this year we all wanted to spend Christmas at our own houses with just our families. We end up traveling a lot or having family over on Christmas that it was a nice idea to have one that was just our small families. Don't get me wrong I enjoy getting together with family but now that we have kids that are getting older I want them to have some traditions of our own.

Sister love

So we decided that we would have a Martin family Christmas dinner on the 18th. It was so nice to see everyone and we had a great time. As soon as we showed up Paul and I didn't see much of Natalie or Katelyn. They just love to play with their cousins that they take off and I have to go find them to make sure they aren't getting into too much trouble. We do a movie exchange for the grown-ups and some how Paul got the movie "Big Trouble in Little China" again for the second year in a row. I swear Paul loves some of the dumbest movies. He was so excited because last year he got the DVD and this year he got the Blue-ray. We really don't have the same taste in movies. I think next year the Martins have decided to do a movie exchange and you bring a movie that you hate. It will be funny to see how many men bring chic flicks and the women bring the B rated movies the men like. I am so glad we had this dinner the week before Christmas because it totally put me in the holiday mood. I am looking forward to Christmas and with Natalie now on Christmas break we can start do some of the fun things. Baking cookies, drive around to see the lights and go to the mall to see santa and that is just the start.

Party at Amos and Michelle's house

Thanksgiving

I know it is way over due but I just had to post something about Thanksgiving because I got to see a really cute little nugget and I have a travel story that I will probably never forget.

The girls and I went down to Las Vegas to visit my cousin Emily and her family. My husband got stuck back home because of work so that meant I was traveling 7 months pregnant and with two kids but I thought I could handle it. Emily had her little boy in August and I hadn't seen him yet so I was so excited to see and hold him. He is such a cute and easy baby. It was so cute to see how Sadie loves her little brother. My girls of course loved playing with Sadie and wanted to hold and kiss Brody. I think they are going to do great with our new little one. I only have a few pictures because I just kept forgetting to take pictures....I guess that is what happens when you are having so much fun!! I was so glad to be able to come down and spend Thanksgiving with Emily and Travis.

No matter how much we cleaned....it always looked like this....the girls were so helpful. So now on with the travel story. We got to Las Vegas just fine which was good because it put my uneasy feelings of traveling by myself with two kids to rest. Then on the way home the flight out of Las Vegas was an hour and a half late so we missed our connecting flight in Salt Lake but they had one more later that night that we would make so it wasn't that bad yet. The girls were really bored of airports by the time we got to Salt Lake that I was glad our connecting flight was a little early.We got on the plane and flew all the way to the Tri-Cities when the captain came on the speaker and said the weather was bad enough that they couldn't land and they were taking us back to Salt Lake. I handled that really well and started crying on the plane. (dang hormones) By the time we got back to Salt Lake it was midnight and the girls were crying and tired when I had to wake them up to get them off the plane. So the airline gave us a voucher for a cheap hotel and a phone number to call to get another flight. I called the number and they told me that the next available flight was in 3 days!!! By this time I am not crying anymore I am just mad. The only thing I could think of was to get a flight to Spokane and have Paul drive the 2 1/2 hours to pick us up. The earliest flight was the following evening so I booked it and now needed to get me and the kids to the hotel. The only good thing about this night was that because Paul is a Gold member with this airline our hotel was upgraded to the Marriott. The girls and I finally got into bed at 2 am. Oh one small bit of info...the airline thought it would be easier if we didn't get our bags and they just transferred them to our next flight. So no bags or change of clothes or even our tooth brushes. The next morning we got up, bought some tooth brushes and toothpaste in the lobby of the hotel and needed to check out at noon. Then back to the airport to wait 8hrs until our flight left. There is not that much to do in an airport and then on top of it I had to entertain to kids. That was the longest 8 hrs of my life. When we finally bordered the plane they could only keep two runways open due to the weather so we taxi'ed the runway for 2 hrs. Thank goodness my kids fell asleep but it was still long for me and Paul was just pulling up to the airport in Spokane when I called him and said we were just taking off in Salt Lake.

This was the best smile I could get out of them. We were just about to board the plane to go home.

Overall I will never travel without Paul again. We were so happy to be home and I had to try really hard not to cry when I saw Paul in the airport. I will never forget this disaster.

Parent teacher conference

We had a parent teacher conference with Natalie's teacher and it went super well!!! I was really nervous about how Natalie was doing in school. I think I was more worried about how I did with her at home in preparing her for school. She is in the top of her class and in the top reading group. The teacher did say that she needs to work on her communication a little. She told us the first day Natalie went up to her and said "I am not so sure about this place". When her teacher asked her what she meant Natalie said never mind and went about her work. Now when ever they change things up in class Natalie will say "Are you sure about this?" The teacher asked her what she means and Natalie just says never mind. We have noticed her saying this at home sometimes so the teacher suggested that we ask follow up questions so Natalie will learn to express her concerns. The teacher thought it was very funny the way Natalie puts things but wants her to feel comfortable in expressing her concerns. It really doesn't surprise me that Natalie gets a little apprehensive when it comes to change...she has always been my child that worries too much.

I can't stop smiling

The other day was such a beautiful day that we had to get out of the house and do something. We found this nice park to go to. It has walking trails, a play area, fishing area and this little pond where there was about a thousand birds. The girls loved feeding the birds.

Both of the girls wanted to catch a bird so they were running around chasing them. (very funny)

I love this picture of me and Natalie. I wasn't feeling well that day so this is me with no make-up and my hair just pulled back. It was such a nice day that I just had to go out too so I just put on some sunglasses and headed out.

Kate and I are loving the time we get to spend together during the day. I have come to realize how unhappy I had been for a while. Just with all the changes and moving over the last couple of years. It is so nice to finally feel settled and content. I get out more then I have in a long time and I get to do things that I just wasn't motivated to do before. I find myself through out the days just smiling. I am so excited for what is to come and I am really excited to meet this new little baby of ours. Only 14 more weeks!!!!

Family time

We got to spend some more time with my in-laws this last weekend. I like that they are close enough that getting together isn't a big deal. We have a bunch of birthdays in October and November so we decided to get together for a bowling party. I forgot my camera, of course, so I didn't get any pictures of that. My sister-in-law Liz and her kids stayed the night with us so in the morning Kate got up and went out to the living room where her cousins were sleeping snuggled in with them and asked them to turn on cartoons. I got to sleep in a little so that was nice. The next morning my other sister-in-law and her kids came up and we took the older ones to the mall and did some shopping. They all went to a movie but I choose not to go and went back home. At home were the younger ones including my kids and now they wanted to go to the mall. So I loaded up 4 kids and took them to Claire's. I love that store they have a clearance rack in the back and the little girls love that stuff. When everyone got back to the house my sister-in-laws and I sat down to go over the kids schedules. A lot of my nieces and nephews are in sports and I want to try and make it to a couple of their games this year to support them. I realized while doing this how busy things are going to get for me when my kids get older. It was really different this year with Natalie in school and all the functions I have to attend or things we have to do for her and her school and it is only November. (and only Kindergarten)

We did find out a little while ago that my brother-in-law Amos and his wife Michelle are expecting and their baby is due about 4 months after ours. I am excited that all of my kids will have a cousin that is close in age to them so when we do family functions they all have someone to play with.

Halloween

The girls are older now so Halloween is a big deal. I have always decorated the house in just fall colors with leaves and pumpkins but the girls have something else in mind. They want to decorate for Halloween with scary stuff. We went through target and Paul and the girls had to be dragged out of the Halloween section. We didn't have the time this year to really decorate but watch out next year. I guess I need to do some crafts for the inside of the house before next year comes. Speaking of crafts and I have found a craft warehouse store just a few miles away so I have a hobby now.

We carved some pumpkins this year and Natalie was so excited until she saw the inside of the pumpkin. There was no way she was going to stick her hand in there. When we were picking out the pumpkins Natalie wanted the biggest one she could find and Kate wanted one of the small ones. Kate actually helped clean hers out and everything. Natalie did get excited when it was time to light the candles. This was the first time I used a stencil and I thought it was pretty cool. Paul found a pattern for the death star but after craving Natalie's he lost his motivation. Which I can't blame him, if I had to do more then one big pumpkin I would lose motivation too. The girls got to pick out their Halloween costumes this year as long as it wasn't Disney princess. I am so over princess!!! Kate and I went to the store and found the hot dog costume for Buster. When we were there the first time they didn't have his size but Paul thought it would be perfect for him so Kate and I went back another day and found his size. Paul took the kids around and I stayed behind to hand out candy. We met some of our new neighbors and and we got to see who has kids the same age as ours. I loved how the weather was still warm and not raining.

Update again

It has been a while since I have updated on this pregnancy so I thought I would scribble a few things down. While I think this pregnancy is taking just about forever Paul's family keeps telling me how fast it is going. Well I guess we will just meet in the middle and say it is taking forever....is that not the middle?!?!? haha The girls are so excited to have a baby in the house and they are both very happy that it is a girl. Natalie is working with her dad to figure out what to name this baby. I gave up the right to name this child but I still get to have a final yes or no if that makes any sense. Natalie has told me that she will pick out the clothes that she wants the baby to wear everyday and Kate just says she gets to tickle her. I am a little worried about how Kate is going to deal with a baby in the house and her losing her spot. She can be so emotional sometimes and whine for hours if I let her. I think it might be an adjustment for all of us but we will get through it. I have just cleared out the rest of the boxes out of the nursery so next week we will be buying the crib and dresser. Woohoo!!!! It will finally start to feel and look like a nursery. I am excited to have a baby around the house again. It has been a while and I am a little surprised about how many things I have forgotten. I am happy to be going through this process again one last time. I had a feeling from the beginning that it was going to be a girl and I am pleased to have three girls. This pregnancy has been trying at times but all of my pregnancies have been trying so this is no surprise. All three of my pregnancies have been so different from one another. This time I am craving salty and sweet foods so I guess chocolate covered pretzels are the way to go. The swelling is out of control. I had swelling the other times but it didn't happen until the end so this is a little different for me. I have done just about everything to try and reduce the swelling. I gave up soda, reduced salty foods and drink tons of water. Still the swelling doesn't go away. I guess I will just have to wait until I have this kid for it to go away. The heat is almost unbearable and I keep the house very cool. Paul and the girls are always cold and I do sometimes feel a little bad. Paul and I were putting the girls to bed one night and Natalie said can we turn on the heat I just what to know what it feels like. haha I have found a good doctor and he seems to be OK with everything I want for my labor plans. Everything has seemed to work out well and I will be so excited to stay home with this baby.

Natalie is a year older....

Natalie turned 6 this month so we had a party with some friends and family. We just moved into the house too so it was nice to have a few people over. Natalie loved having her cousins over and opening presents was definitely a group effort.

Natalie is getting so big I can hardly believe it. I remember when she was a tiny baby and so dependent on me. Now she is girl with her own thoughts of the way things should be and reminds me constantly of how big she is. Birthdays are so fun with her now because she makes her list of what she would like to get and wants to have input on the decorations. I am learning to let go of the control and let her choose what she wants rather then what I would think would be cute. It is a lot of fun to sit down with her and go over things.

The funniest part of the evening was to watch Paul and a couple of our friends sit around the table and put all the toys together. They were so into it and had to make everything perfect. haha Natalie loved running around with her cousins and playing with her new toys. They got to stay awhile because the adults wanted to sit around and talk so I think fun was had by all. Thanks everyone for coming and I hope to get together again soon.

I tried punch for the first time and it turned out pretty good. I called someone and got a recipe and I think I will be using that one from now on. I actually crave it all the time now but I can't have punch around all the time....that would just be dumb.....right? haha We are having a bowling party at the beginning of Nov. and the rest of the family will be able to make it. Plus we will be celebrating about 4 birthdays at that party so more pics to come later.

Change really isn't that bad.....

When Paul and I decided to move to Richland, WA we had some reservations. We both knew the area and it defiantly wasn't our first choice of where to live but now that we are here I think we are really happy we made that choice. The weather is so different from the Portland area but I think we are going to enjoy it. We have longer summers which means more time outside and we can go on more camping trips. Woohoo!!! This is the first time we own a home in a neighborhood and we did this to help the kids (and me) adjust to a new area. Natalie is in school and has made a few friends there but she has also met a few kids in the neighborhood too. The kids also like that we don't have to go to far to find a local park. I am enjoying be able to go walking again. Living in the country and not having Paul home made that difficult for me.

We love that the home we have now is finished and we don't have to spend our weekends working on home projects. I don't think we have been this content with our life in a while. Things have really come together for us and I couldn't be happier. It is amazing how when some of the stresses of life go away things just seem to run smoother. This ended up being the best choice for me and my family.

Kate is loving having some alone time when Natalie goes to school. She is learning to be a little more independent because Natalie isn't always around to help her. She spends part of her day outside with the dogs. She loves to just sit out there and talk to Buster about anything. They have really become buds. I think she is also loving that it is October and we are still having 80 degree weather.

The girls are enjoying doing things that wasn't so easy to do before. They can ride their bikes to the park and with Paul able to get off work at a decent time we can all go together. Now that we live in the same town that Paul works in we have so much more family time and we are really enjoying it. There have been so many positives with this move that I don't want to forget to mention that we are so close to family. The girls love having their cousins close and we have already planned a sleepover. Paul's family loves our kids and wants to spend time with them so we get to have date nights more then we have had in a while. Now if I could just get my cousin Emily to move up here so I can have a shopping buddy. haha

I know this blog is kind of all over the place but the gist of it is.....we are happy!!!

Our new home!!!!

So this post is for the few people who keep bugging me about photos of the new home. I hope everyone can make it out for a visit sometime to see it in person. We love our new home and are having so much fun settling in and making it our own. A lot of the walls are still bare because we have only been in the house about two weeks and if I could I would buy all new stuff I would do that!! (one could dream) There are a lot of photos of the house so this post is a long one. This is a hall leads to a bathroom and the soon to be nursery, also a hall closet.

This is Paul's office. He is searching for the right desk and I said that he could decorate it. He asked me to buy him coat hooks so he could put them in the wall. Oh boy, this is going to be a mess and I will be hanging curtains on those doors.

That is the entry to the master bedroom off the living room. I don't have pictures of our bedroom because it is a mess with boxes everywhere.

This is the hallway from the front door into the living room. Lots of space that I need to decorate.

The dining room.

Our kitchen and the best pantry ever!!!

The living room and dining room.

The living room.

What I posted in our laundry room. Thanks Emily, I agree it is cute.

Our laundry room with a sink for Paul to wash up before he enters my clean house. haha

The girls' bathroom. They got to pick out the decor even though I wanted something else. Dad backed their discussion so I was the odd man out.

Underwater sea life is the theme.

Katelyn's bedroom.

Kate's room.

Natalie's room.

Natalie's room again.

Going private

I have been thinking about this the last couple of months but with everything that is going on I haven't had time to set it up. I will be setting my blog to private in the next couple of days. There are a lot of exciting things that have changed and are continuing to change in my life and I don't feel comfortable with the whole world seeing it anymore.

First day of school

Life living in a hotel has been interesting. Below is a picture of the first day Natalie got to go to her school. We had orientation the day before school started to get the kids and parents a little familiar with the school. Getting ready in a hotel and living out of a suitcase just makes me look forward to being in the house that much more. Natalie has so much personality these days that it just makes me laugh....sometimes. I was so proud of Kate this week because with a lot of the attention being on Natalie she held strong and didn't throw fits. She was actually very excited for Natalie and loved just walking through the process with her.We had to sit in the truck and wait for the bus to come and we will be doing that for the next two weeks of school. I asked Natalie if she wanted me to drive her and pick her up from school but she said she was a big girl and wanted to ride the bus. So in the truck we will sit. She was so excited when she saw the bus coming down the street that I had to remind her to stay on the sidewalk. The bus driver was so nice that she let me take a picture of Natalie on the bus. Natalie was so excited for school and loved her first day. She got to pick out what she was going to wear and how she wanted her hair done. We did braids the night before because she wanted the wavy hair. When we got to the school the kids had to line up against the wall and I noticed that Natalie was almost a full head taller then all the other kids. I had to laugh because that was the way it was for me too. Most of the day went pretty smoothly except her bus ride back home the bus broke down. So Kate and I sat in the truck for an extra 40 mins waiting for her to show up. Later that night she told me that she made lots of friends but she didn't like the bus driver. I asked her why and she said because she makes us sit in our seats and we can't hang our hands out the windows. It must be hard to have to follow rules....haha.

Almost done!!!!!

The house is almost finished!!! We have only two and a half weeks before we can move in. I walked through the house last week and this is what it looks like so far. We are so excited and I love the way the house is turning out.

The girls walked through with me and enjoyed seeing the house starting to look like a home. The last time we walked through the walls had just been put up so this was a big change. The picture above is the girl's bathroom. They had fun going through their bathroom and their bedrooms.

This is the kitchen and you can see part of the dining room. They were finishing up the tile work last week and the kitchen was the last room. They were very busy so we didn't get to stay long and I was hoping to see the kitchen tile done but they still had the bar and the back splash to do. The tile is suppose to be done next week so when we are out there again I think I will walk through again and take a peek.

This is the master bath and I am loving the space!! Doesn't Natalie look thrilled...haha.

I had to take a picture of the closet space in the girl's bedroom. It is just so much more space then I have been use to and I don't even think I have enough stuff to fill it. (which is an awesome feeling) We are so excited to move into our new home and have life be a little simpler. The backyard is due to be done the week we move in so I will be able to just sit back and enjoy my home. Wahoo!!