Where to start?

I'm sorry blog, that I have abandoned you.  I'm going to list my excuses now.  Tot 2 Tot was great, but insane leading up to it.  We sold more than we expected, but less than we hoped for.  We pray the next sale is even bigger.  We had lots of sellers and LOTS of items, just not enough buyers, so friends, spread the word!! :)  We had like 5 racks of girl clothes and 1 rack of boy clothes, so if you have boy clothes to sale, bring them on (especially bigger sizes).  Also, if you are one of those annoyingly tiny people, bring on your size small and medium maternity wear.  That was the one question we got asked over and over, "do you have any smaller maternity items."  My response was, nope, only us big girls got rid of things this time.  Thanks for asking.  :)  It was crazy enough with 2 pregnant women and one with a 5 month old running it.  Now we're thinking about our September sale, when I'll have a 3-4 week old and Amber will be large and in charge with child due within 3-4 weeks.   Yes, we are certifiably crazy, but we have great helping husbands!!!  Here are a few pictures of our day:

Amanda: here was part of our boutique wall.  That one lattice was full of bows, as were those three bins.  It was awesome.  Thought a lot about you that day :)

But, the day before Tot 2 Tot was when Mike went into the hospital and things got bad.  We only had 6 days with him before he passed away in the hospital.  For those that asked, he was doing really well until he got the last 3 diagnosed brain lesions.  They think the cancer had spread to his spinal fluid, which was why he kept getting lesions on his brain.  That man was a fighter until the very end, refusing pain medication until the last day.  I love to remember the great times we had as a family, because there were many.  Did you know he got to see me in all my glory (ok, I had my panties/bodice on) on my wedding day?  Then I got payback when I lived with them while Eric was finishing up grad school and I had already started at ConocoPhillips.  The alarm was going off and I came downstairs to try to fix it and he came out in his tighty whities :).  We always joked about that.  We could sit and watch Nascar and Astros games forever together.  He and I both liked to cook and was one of the best dads you'd ever meet.  Sometimes he could seem intimidating to outsiders (believe me, I was one for a short while), but once he got to know you, he treated you like one of his own, and he'd do anything for Clara or his kids/grandkids!!  We miss you Mike.  His birthday is on Tuesday of next week (same as George Strait's, see he even was born on my fave singer's birthday!), and we will remember you that day.  How sweet that my friend is having her little girl that day!! :)

What else? Oh yes, a few days after Mike's funeral, I had to get Bailey's baby shower rolling.  Her friends are great, they have some great ideas, can't wait to see it all come together next Sunday!  I got to make the invites via photoshop, and I say they did come out quite cute ;).  I'll post after the shower, we have enough invitees---can't handle any more! :)  So, that got me sewing.  See, Bailey and I had got together when Jack was about 2 weeks old and picked out his fabric for his nursery.  She wanted me to make him curtains and a quilt.  Simple enough.  Except it sat untouch for 6 weeks.  I finally decided, people may want to see what she picked at all these showers, so I got busy.  Plus, if I can finish the pile of things for others on my table, maybe I can start sewing for my girls!! :)  I love that....girls!! :)

Then, little Jack, not to be out done, decided to get an infection the day before his originally scheduled surgery (5/5).  so we had to pray a little harder, but he came back fighting.  He had surgery this past Tuesday and is recovering.  He was up to 5 pounds 7 ounces before the surgery!! :)  The plan now is to get him finally feeding on mommy's hoard of milk, and then go home before his next surgery in 8 weeks.  We pray that's God's plan as well!!

We've been going to Clara's (Eric's mom) house a lot lately.  Trying to help with some decisions and you know me, organize the house (especially since she's given us a time frame of 2 years to get it sale-ready.....oh goodness do we have a job ahead of us!).  She decided she would 'like to someday' move her card making supplies upstairs and make her formal living/dining more formal again with a reading area next to her book shelves.  So last Saturday, we went to help her with a few things and then got busy!!  It looked great, and I got to organize :).  We also got a ton of stuff ready for our garage sale tomorrow, that she's been asking me to help her throw for over a year!  She and the family are doing amazingly well.  She has moments when she desperately misses her husband (of 32 years, they would have celebrated 33 on 5/7), which are completely understandable.  Oh how I wish I could take the hurt away from her.  I am so thankful to God for my husband in my daily life!

Mother's day was a good day.  I actually got a decent shot of me and the kids, and church was great.  The only problem was, after nap we went to run a few errands, and this mommy wanted a vanilla coke from Sonic.  We get there and order, and 'sorry sir, we're out of vanilla flavoring,'  WHAT??? :)  The good thing about Katy is they have 2 sonics :).  And we made it there before happy hour was over (barely!).  Here is a little mother's day flashback for you:

Cara and I, 2007

Mother's day 2008 (Cara wearing a dress I made her!), pregnant with Micah man.  Please disregard the bad hair cut, was growing it out from a February awful cut!

Mother's day 2009 with my 2 babies:

Cara, Mommy, Micah and baby girl, May 2010!

Man, the glasses make me look old!

We also got this great shot of the kids that day

I actually printed those last two and updated some old frames hanging in the hallway that had like 2 month old baby Cara pictures in them :).  We joined the YMCA for the summer, so we've been swimming more, which is why Cara and I are getting tan!  We went to Schlitterbahn on 5/1 with Eric's band and that jumpstarted the whole tan thing.  I love being in the pool in summer! 

The kids are too precious.  Cara is such a little mommy.  The past few weeks, she and Aynslee (only 13 days left to watch her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  yes, I'm excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) have been playing mommy and baby CONSTANTLY!!  It is so cute to watch.  Except for when Cara is the baby and she does this most annoying voice.  I tell her I'm glad she doesn't talk like that in real life.  She's having some big throwing fit issues, which we are trying to deal with.  Mostly telling us no a lot and immediately going for the cry.  We are working on it though.  Micah man (yes, I think that will forever be his name) is SOOOO talkative.  Seriously!!  He's putting 3 and 4 words together.  We did Signing Times with both of them.  Cara loved it, Micah could care less.  She signed EVERYTHING under the sun, and didn't really feel the need to talk until she was almost 20 months.  Micah has been talking our ear off since about 13 months.  This third baby HAS to be quiet....right.....RIGHT!?!?!?  His new favorite words are "big truck,"  "mommy, more milk," "riley dog," and sissy.  It's too cute :).

Baby # 3 has expanded.  Or wait, that's just me.  I felt like 2-3 weeks ago, I was showing, but just slightly.  Now, there is no question that I'm pregnant.  I know that when the vet asks me, if a grown man is willing to ask if I'm having one more, then I KNOW it's not a question of just fat anymore :).  Anyways, here's a picture from 24 weeks, 3 days.   

Now, we just have to acknowledge the fact that there is actually a third baby coming in 14 or so weeks, give or take.   Can I just share my name for her with you all?  I think you'd like that.  That's actually why I got up in the middle of the night, to research name meanings.  But for a few months, to me at least, she's been Anna Marie.  Anna means grace/gracious, and my Mawmaw's middle name was Ann.  Marie is my mom and Bailey's middle name, and it means, well, I just see that it means bitter.  There's got to be a better meaning right?  I used to think it meant Queenly?  On babycenter, it says, "like Marie, maybe you'll like Ann and Grace"  :)  Well, I do!  Cara even occasionally calls the baby Anna.  Now we just have to get Eric on board.  Well, it's not that he's NOT on board, it's just we haven't really talked about it much.  End of school year stuff, I blame!  So, we have 14 weeks to bake a baby and do our master bath!!  (it's been demo-ed since end of January....to be continued) :)

Praying for Jack!

I promise to do a kid update soon.  But today, will you please pray for baby Jack!!  He has surgery at 2 pm for a bowl tear.  He has made it to over 5 pounds recently, we are just so proud of him!! :)  Love you little man!

Michael Lee Newsome

I'm sorry I've been away from the computer most days.  I did want to share, Eric's dad, Mike, lost his 9 month battle with stage 4 lung cancer (that had spread to his adrenal gland, lymph nodes, brain and now spinal fluid) this past Wednesday 4/21.  It has been a sweet time of remembrance we've been sharing with Eric's mom, sister, brother and extended family the past few days.  His services will be at our church, Kingsland Baptist, Monday at 11 am, 4/26 with graveside following at Forest Park Westheimer.  We praise God for his life and for his eternal healing.   He was an amazing husband, father, father-in-law, family man, worker, business owner, friend, brother, son and grandfather!  I had the joy of having him in my life for over 10 years, and I couldn't have been more blessed.  He and I were so much alike in many ways.  He and Clara took me in as one of their own, just as his family took Clara in almost 33 years ago.  I love that man.  He was the one who got me into NASCAR, who taught my husband how to tinker with cars, who helped anytime we called him, who let us keep his tools for years without ever asking for them back (well maybe once or twice when he NEEDED THEM!) :), who raised my husband into the man he has become, who was in the Navy, who was commited entirely to his family, and the list could go on.  Eric and I are putting together a slide show, and though we don't have all the pictures compiled yet, I thought I'd share a few oldies but goodies here.  Eric and his famliy are doing well.  Processing things, grieving, and being surrounded by family, friends and food.  If you would continue to pray peace and comfort over them, especially as next week settles in, the family goes home, and the quiet surrounds them, I would appreciate it!

Mike and his cars

Mike and Clara at their 25th anniversary party (almost 8 years ago)

4 generations of Newsomes.  Meemee, Grandad, Daddy and Cara

Baby Eric and mom and dad

Our family in 2002:

A picture of them all I took on one of our visits home from Baylor:

Baby Mike:

An amazing Grandad

Randomness

I figure if I post a few of these random pictures I've taken each day, I might get caught up.  When Eric is away (UIL week, sectionals, 5th grade instrument selection, etc) this is what we eat for dinner:

Seriously.

Haha, I did cut up an apple and orange to go with it.  At first I thought I'd title my post, "Constipation, it's what's for dinner," but then I thought my mom would tell me it was gross, so I decided against it :). 

Remember about 5 months ago (maybe more) when I planted some random carrot seeds to see if they'd grow at the end of fall, then I forgot about them?  Wait, you don't remember because who posts weird things like that on their blog? Anyways, we were cleaning out our back yard this weekend, and look what we found:

Yeah, not touching (aka eating) those with a 10 foot pole, but it was pretty cool to actually pull something out of our 'garden' that completely didn't yield anything last year :).  And Cara thought it was really cool!

Who puts a crock pot meal in the crock pot at 5 pm, especially when you've already decided you're not 'cooking' dinner and are feeding your kids cheese and crackers.....that's right, ME! 

Eric doesn't get to come home all week for dinner (or lunch), so he needs meals to take to school for lunch and dinner besides PB & J.  So, I made this pulled BBQ chicken last night.  It smelled really good.  So good in fact that after the kids were in bed, before he got home, I wanted some, decided I didn't want to pull the bones off the chicken (that's his job, I have a weird chicken/beef issue), and ate a 50% off cadbury creme egg instead :). 

Cara started swim lessons on Monday.  She goes once a week for 8 weeks.  Don't get me started (and if you were one of the few friends/my husband that I unleashed my anger on that day, SORRY).  But you can't see this picture and stay mad:

For once, it wasn't her being bad, she just didn't get to practice many skills because each time the instructor would take her out, little miss Mia decided she needed to go under water and half drown so they'd have to hurry back.  I had a discussion with the owner lady (I guess that's who she is).  It won't be the same next week, or we're signing up elsewhere.  She apologized.  I'm fine.  Not bitter still.  Still not talking about a 3 year old's swim lesson.  Ok, maybe I am, I just don't spend that kind of money very often and I am going to get what I pay for dangit :).  Done with RANT! 

Another cute picture:

And yes, that's my 3 year old in a 6/6x swimsuit.  She's a giant :).

What do you do when you want to sweep up the carpet of pollen, but you don't want to actually sneeze for the next two days, why you put your kids to work, of course!

Just kidding, they were just playing in the driveway while Eric swept, and wanted to 'help.'  But they're cute!

We are a family that always eats organic and healthy.  Especially when Mommy is pregnant and feels like laying on the couch all day.  I don't ever serve my kids leftover chocolate chip muffins for breakfast.  Nope, NOT ME :)

Ok, if you know me well, you know I, as well as my kids, eat awful (awfully?) when I'm pregnant.  Sorry, I try to make up for it when I actually care and want to cook, but these days, whatever is easiest to grab is what goes in the mouth! 

Ok, I think that's enough randomness for today :)

Go visit Tot2Tot if you haven't lately.  We have thousands of items for sale on Saturday, we are SO excited for our first sale!!!

Easter

I'm going to try to do some catch up posts since I've been lacking in the post department lately.  Here's our Easter post.  We spent last Saturday at Eric's parent's house as lots of Mike (Eric's dad)'s family came up from Corpus to visit.  It was fun hanging out!  Everyone couldn't get over how big Micah had got, and just couldn't stop touching his soft cheeks!!  Sadly, I forgot my camera at home :(. 

That night my mom came and spent the night to go to Easter services with us at our church.  It worked out perfectly because Eric played trombone in all 3 services on Sunday, so it would have been a long morning without her!  We went to the 8:15 service, and sadly we only got pictures of me and the kids, because Eric had to rush back in and play 2nd service (we got out a little late!).  We were all 'matching' in greens, and the kids just looked adorable.  This is the dress Cara picked out; she picked it because of the twirl factor. I  loved it because of the 6 we let her try on, it was on clearance! :) 

Here's Micah playing in the garden at our church.

And here are the three of us:

Before church we opened our baskets.  We don't 'do' the Easter bunny.  Nothing wrong with it, we just say, "do you want to go see what we got you for Easter?"  She doesn't really even pay attention to bunnies, unless they're real and she can touch them!! 

They each got some books and a little candy (and you all know Micah's candy really was for Mommy & Daddy)!  Here's Micah with his stuff.  Excuse my large self on the side:

And this is just cute.  They both were running to me with their puppies they sleep with :)

After church, we came home and to fill the morning, we made Resurrection Rolls (marshmallows rolled in butter/sugar/cinnamon wrapped in crescent rolls).  We got the recipe in a little book from our church the week before.  They gave us some good ideas to do each day for our preschoolers to talk about Easter.  We didn't do every day, but Cara really enjoyed it.  It was like Advent all over again for her :).  She really liked that the marshmallows disappeared when we cooked them!  She really 'got' (as much as a 3.5 year old can) Easter this year.  Just this morning she and Aynslee were 'playing Jesus.'  I said, how do you do that?  Cara said, well, I was Jesus, and I died, but now I'm alive again!! :) 

After that we 'dyed' some eggs.  And by dyed, I mean we bought a pack, squirted some color in a baggie and let her roll it around!  She loved it and I loved the non-mess it created!

After Daddy got home and naps were had, we had an egg hunt.  We hid the 11 (well 12, but I rolled too hard and broke one egg) eggs we dyed over and over.   Cara loves looking for them!  And loved hiding them for Micah (and basically showing them to him and picking them up for him).  It was gorgeous outside, just wish it wasn't so full of pollen!

Micah actually got to get one alone!

Our little man loves two things, his belly button:
 

and following his sister around!

More posts to come!