The Perfect Snow Day

Today was the perfect snow day. We got around 3 inches, which was plenty to play in, but not enough to making walking impossible for a toddler. Then the temperature rose to around 36, which felt incredibly warm. Somehow 36 on a snow day feels quite warm, but 36 on any other day is the type of day that I want to stay indoors huddled by the fire. Why I wonder?

Either way, it was the perfect temperature to spend an hour and a half doing all types of fun snow games!

Sledding..... can you still see the smiles as they topple? They're there!

Snow ball fights.

And of course.... a snow man! Don't you love the hair! That was the Daddy's touch. Well - most of it was Daddy's touch, but they loved it. Then Daddy threw a snow ball at it and based on the slight slant of our hill, he tumped to his death. But he sure was fun while he lasted!

Our boys loved EVERY minute of it. And just like their momma.... we have to convince them to wait until 9 to head outside. They wanted to be out by 7 when they awoke and saw the ground covered. And we had to use hot chocolate and Charlie Brown Christmas as motivation to head back inside as Momma and Daddy were spent from a million hikes up our hill. For many of them, Daddy had boys in tow on a sled. No wonder he is their hero.

Punch Cards

What ever happened to punch cards? You know..... you eat here 9 times and the 10th one is on us! They used to exist, but I never see them anymore! Panera used to have one for hot drinks (of course Starbucks is too good for this....) but it disappeared almost a year ago. I think it was a great idea! A kind of "frequent buyers" card. Never the less, they are not found at the places I frequent.... and the past 10 weeks for me it's been Chick-fil-a. They do have the calendar, but they load the front half of the year with the good coupons and by November all you get is a free coke zero or a bottle of Dasani water. Seriously? You think I want to come to Chick-fil-a for bottled water? I think not. Why the rant, Courtney? Well.....


As you can see from picture.... we're pregnant (Steven Edward is holding a picture that says, "I'm going to be a Big Brother). I'm a bit over 14 weeks right now and this baby is making me earn it. If you had asked me in my first two pregnancies if I had morning sickness I would have responded by saying, "it usually comes in the afternoons, but yeah." But now, I scoff at the idea that what I had with the boys was even close to nausea. This time I've been suffering since about four weeks, wearing sea-sick bands daily since about 5 weeks, breaking blood vessels in my eye and making my nose bleed... I'll stop there. I suppose the point is it could be worse. It is often hard to believe that it could be worse in the middle of it, but when my eye had popped a blood vessel, I had a friend tell me about someone who had all 4 parts of her whites red (unlike mine - which was only one!). I had another friend detail for me her sickness runs in the corners of the subway stations in Manhattan.... luckily mine has been outside, on the side of roads, but mostly in the comfort of my very own bathrooms (if you can call crouching on the cold tile floor with your hair pulled back and glasses off comfort).


Eventually my doctor prescribed a medicine that I can take to help with the nausea. I hesitated to take it at first, but eventually I started taking it daily - as it seems that once the day starts to go bad it is hard to recover it. But before I was taking that the only thing I could keep down was Chick-fil-a. I went from running all the time and being a reasonably healthy person.... to refusing vegetables and water, and only desiring things fried in peanut oil topped with a pickle. It is a bit sad really. As I wait in the drive-through line I can feel myself getting fatter... but as any pregnant woman will tell you.... at the time, you don't care. I can't run, I can't enjoy a glass of wine with my husband, and I'm generally miserable all the time, so why not get a number one from Chick-fil-a with a half and half sprite/lemonade (not that I've done that before). Who cares about the food budget (show me a family who has had a sick pregnant woman in the house who has stayed within that!) or the amount of calories I'm taking in? Give me pancakes every morning, protein all day long, and chick-fil-a when I can't stomach anything else.


Well - I'm 14 weeks and this should hopefully be ending soon. I tried to go a day (today) without taking my medicine....

11am - start to feel gross
11:15am - take medicine
11:30am - vomiting
11:45am - take medicine again because you're sure the first never made it in your system
12:30.... waiting in a drive through line.

I actually saw a friend through the plate glass window and she looked at me with a knowing smile. Hopefully in a couple weeks this will be gone right? I'll like vegetables again, think hydrogenated oils are icky, and carry my Nalgene around full of water? Only time will tell.

Holiday Spirit

I never seem to get out the camera when I'm at my family's house. Everyone else has their camera out so it feels like overkill. But I always regret it later! Here is what I got from one afternoon and thieving from my sister! We went there for Thanksgiving and the boys had a blast! My sister came with her 3 girls and my Nanny was there as well. Lots of family fun crammed into a long weekend.

My sister's family

The smile I get from my introvert

The smile I get from my entertainer

The whole family
Our family

We came home a day early and decided to spend the next afternoon decorating for Christmas. It was a very fun and relaxing day to recover from our travels. The boys seem to be a little confused about the difference between the Christmas Season..... and Christmas Day itself. Every time someone walks in the door they proclaim... "Merry Christmas!"

the boys helping us set up the creche

Decorating the tree
Is it that hard to get all the boys together?
Evidently.
A little more cooperative this time.

Niki's Wedding

This past weekend I had the privilege of being in a close friend's (from college) wedding. We have done so much together and it was fun to watch her enter a new phase of life! I was more dressed up than I've ever been and it was one of the fancier weddings I've ever been a part of! People were hired for hair, make up, and I was in designer clothes! It was an evening of dancing, food, and fun, all "dolled up."

Trick or Treat!

So, I'm not 100% how I feel about participating in Halloween. We always used to go to "fall festivals" at churches when i was a kid and somehow that felt better. But is that really any different? They aren't technically calling it Halloween, but it seems to be just a glorified form of it that we use to make ourselves feel better because it is on the grounds of a church. And those people love Jesus right? So it has to be okay? Yet we still follow the same traditions.... pumpkins, dress up, and candy (this is not a slam at you Mom, even though I know you'll read it that way). But when I start to head down that road I realize there are lots of things that I should really bring into question.... Santa Clause, stockings, the Christmas tree, the Easter bunny and Easter baskets, and the list goes on. So instead of worrying too much about it, after awhile I just dress my children up in happy costumes that have nothing to do with evil or the dead and out we go to enjoy the festivities with our other friends who also love Jesus! This year we went trick or treating in a small neighborhood where 2 of our friends live.


But seriously.... theology or no... isn't that the cutest dinosaur you've ever seen?


And even though I found Steven a 'Mater costume at the flea market, it wasn't a head to toe type costume.... and as soon as he saw his friends in their whole costumes, Mater was no longer an option. Sigh. $2 down the drain.

Can you picture the tail swishing behind him and the banana in the pocket? Steven did inform his friends that the banana was not real. Priceless.

I must say we've glimpsed a side of Sam being an addict. It started with his passy and then yesterday moved towards sugar. We let him have one piece and he literally sobbed all the way home saying, "just one more, I be done momma." That is what they all say Sam.

*One funny story for the evening. The kids showed up at a house that indeed had their light on.... but evidently the wife had just stepped out to pick up the candy. So the husband raids the closet and brings out Little Debbies, packs of crackers.... and Sam actually Vienna Sausages. Um... thanks.

The beginning of winter!

October has really been a mix of weather..... anywhere from 30s to 70s. It has been quite bizarre. But it does appear that we are headed into the winter months. As tradition at the Breedlove house, cold days mean lots of fires. And the boys LOVE the fire. They love everything about it - the popping, the warmth, and most importantly, helping Daddy build it. Tonight it was used as a warmer after bath time. What a great place to get your "jamas" on!

How can you not love pictures of two brothers warming themselves by the fire!

A little late

... but not forgotten!

Sam turned 2 on Friday! He has felt like 2 or awhile to me.... great tantrums, 5-9 word sentences, and doing everything his brother does! We had cupcakes at the park with friends and then a quiet dinner (as quiet as a meal with 5 kids can be) with a cake and presents to culminate the evening.


I know I should put lots of statistics about him. But Sam cannot be summed up in words. He is adorable, has a joy for life that is hard to match, is often mischievous (and yet since he's 2...is rather obvious about it), and pushes the limits of everything.... he is a 32 pound bundle of joy. We love you Sam.

From the Same Genes You Say?

My sons are as different as night and day. This can really be seen on many levels - attention, attitude, obedience, smile.....a good example of this surfaced in our annual pumpkin patch visit.

As you can see, by the pumpkins they chose....
I have a predictable child....

and an.... um... somewhat less predictable child. This child was INSISTENT that this was the pumpkin he wanted. And oddly enough, the funny looking one cost more because it was "original." Much like it's future owner.

But odd or normal - they were both good enough for painting!
Nana BB came up, and we had lots of fun in beautiful October weather.

We climbed at the park.

...enjoyed new yard tools from Nana and Poppy for Sam's birthday (which isn't actually until Friday).

...and enjoyed a new bike helmet...

... just like his brothers!

Thanks for coming Nanna. It was a breath of fresh air for all of us!

Apple picking

One of the great perks of living in the Mountains is the beautiful fall weather! The amazing leaves, the crisp air, and the fresh apples! The county south of us is one of the largest apple supplying counties in the US. There are TONS of U-Pick farms and today we headed out to one for a family apple picking adventure. It was a ton of fun. We were only there 1.5 hours and we picked an entire bushel, and this was at toddler speeds. My personal favorite was an apple I'd never heard of before today called a Blushing Gold. They are delicious! It was a beautiful warm day and the boys had a great time.

There were plenty of apples at their height, so they had tons of fun.

Sam had an apple in his hand the ENTIRE time. Pretty sure we won't have to worry about constipation over the next few days. They both ate at least 4 apples a piece today!



Gotta love the head cut outs.

We're a little short for the one below.


This one's for you Beth.