The Simple Life.

Branden is really loving the warm weather. The minute he wakes up in the morning he asks to go outside. He goes through the same routine every day.

1. Plays in the dirt.
2. Asks for the keys to my car so he can unlock it and pretend to drive.
3. Go for a walk around the block (with Mom, of course).
4. Snacks on milk & cookies (Cookies & "No") or fruit snacks ("Nu-na's").
5. Nap time.
6. Repeat all of the above.

Life is so sweet and simple at his age...

Waiting to go "Owside".


Playing in the Dirt.


New Shoes.


Milk Face.

A few more from Easter.

...yes, those little blue drops ended up ALL over his cute little vest :(






...and i thought the little ones were excited... sheesh!
the big girls were WAY more into it than I thought they'd be.











okay, so there were a LOT more..

but who's complaining?

"I Can't Hear You"

Branden has had 2 major ear infections for the past 2 weeks. He's seen the doctor twice and is on his second round of antibiotics. I am running out of creativity and patience! He will NOT take his medicine. We have tried juice, food, chocolate milk, using a dropper and pretending its Tylenol (which he LOVES)... and AH! its driving me nuts because we can only use each method once before he figures it out and refuses to do it again. We have wasted so many doses and I'm afraid he's not getting as much as he needs to kill the infection.

Recently, he has been showing signs of defiance.. not in a rude way (its hilarious, actually) but it still makes me sad that we don't all stay sweet and obedient forever! I thought I'd get a good 5 years out of him so its depressing to think it lasted less than 2 years :(

Example #1: If I tell Branden its time to change his diaper, he runs in the other direction. This is probably the most typical way kids defy you at a young age.
No biggie.

#2: When I say its time to take a bath or get his PJs on, he immediately lays down, closes his eyes and says "Ashoo, ashoo" like he's sleeping. Zzzzzzz....
Brilliant!

but the most shocking of all is the most recent example...

#3: Last night I was beyond my level of patience so Jeff took over and tried to have a serious talk with Branden about the importance of taking his medicine. Branden slapped his hands over his ears, squeezed his eyes shut and started singing!!!!!

WHERE THE HECK DID HE LEARN THAT?!?!?

I am nervous for our future.

Any ideas?
How do I get him to take his medicine without loading it with sugar, or so he doesn't throw it up?
What do you do when your kids want to be independent and/or defiant?
How do you teach them a behavior is wrong when you are trying your hardest not to laugh or think about beating them (not really) because you are in complete shock that this little body and brain is WAY too smart for anyone's good???

Easter Sunday.

This might be Branden's new favorite holiday! He had 3 egg hunts and
loved every minute of them. I think he could do one every day :)
He didn't even care what was inside... he just enjoyed finding the "blue ones".


His cousin Annalee moved in and they have become best friends.
They follow each other everywhere and get into all kinds of
mischief together. Her name is the first thing he says every morning
and can't wait to come downstairs to see if she's awake.










So cute!

Cake Pops!

I spent the day with my sister testing out this new idea I saw on my absolute
favorite website in the world!!!

They were created by Bakerella, who is amazing in the kitchen. She was even
featured on the Martha Stewart Show.

Anyway, I'm no Martha, Bakerella, and definitely no Pioneer Woman...
but I still had fun making them and taking the pictures.



We made a MESS! and suffered from major heartburn from all the chocolate,
but it was worth it.



(For complete directions on how to make Cake Pops, just click on the links above.)
I used Devil's Food Cake Mix, Vanilla Frosting, Dark & White Chocolate for melting,
Mini M&M's, and basic rainbow color sprinkles for decorating.











I plan on perfecting these little buggers in the near future :)



This little munchkin snuck up all on his own when I wasn't looking and
helped himself to all the goodies...



My sisters and one of their friends were the brave souls who tested them first...



they're still alive, so that's success enough for me :)



I liked this version best. I put the cake part in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes
then dipped only the top part in chocolate. It wasn't quite so overwhelmingly sweet
and I felt a little better about not getting gestational diabetes... :)

No Needles Necessary.

I am jumping for joy right now (in a figurative way due to limited movement)! I got a call from the doctor yesterday afternoon saying that my ultrasound was normal. This means my clots are on the surface only, or what they like to call superficial clots, meaning they are in the veins that do not connect to any main arteries. So, the baby and I are safe and the clots will resolve themselves over time.
I feel so blessed and am so relieved to have the peace of mind that this will not be a serious complication in my pregnancy!
Thank you to all of you who said a prayer, or kept me in your thoughts. I really appreciate the concern and the love I have felt from all of you.
I will continue to keep you updated in the future.

Xoxo,
Megan

Pregnancy Update..

I am now 16 weeks along. Some of you already know I've been having some weird things happening with my left leg. I thought I tore my Achilles Tendon about a month ago but didn't think it was bad enough to see a doctor. I kept ice on it and elevated it when possible, but it continued to get worse each day. I also started noticing bumps on my calf the size of a dime to a quarter that were hard and red and were painful like bruises. At first I thought they were bug bites of some sort, but they didn't itch. They seemed to multiply each day and I started noticing them hurting more when my Achilles hurt. That seemed really odd.

I was scheduled for a maternity appointment Feb 4th so I was trying to wait until then to ask the doctor about it, but a few nights ago the pain was unbearable and to the point I could not rest my leg comfortably to sleep. I was up all night painfully tossing and turning and trying not to go crazy. I got up the next morning and noticed the skin on my leg felt very tight and almost swollen, but couldn't really see any swelling. I did some research on the internet and found some things that really scared me so I decided to see the doctor this morning. It only took one look from my doctor to tell me I had blood clots. A LOT of them!!! (12 this morning, now up to 14 and counting) About an hour later he sent me over for an ultrasound (where we got to sneak a peek at our super cute teeny tiny healthy baby _____! yeah, so exciting!) to check and see the severity and depth of the clots. If they are surface clots, I will be ok just taking some aspirin and keeping heat on it. If they are deep clots, then I will have to be put on a blood thinner that can only be injected... EVERY DAY FOR THE REST OF MY PREGNANCY!! :(

I absolutely hate needles and really can't see myself being able to inject MYSELF twice a day. SO, please keep your toes and fingers crossed that these clots are only on the surface and will be easily managed with mild medicine (taken orally).

We will find out the results some time tomorrow. I will keep you posted!

Xoxo.

p.s. I also have a bladder infection, which seems inevitable with my bladder that doesn't enjoy being pregnant in the first place...remember last time? ugh!

BRING IT ON!

no, don't, i was kidding, please go away! :)



Our little Frankenstein....


Anyone wanna guess what we're having???
:D