Mom and Dad visit North Carolina!!!

My mom and dad came to NC for a short visit and we enjoyed every minute of them!!  The girls LOVE LOVE LOVE their grandma and grandpa and the habit of waking them up early in the morning by climbing in bed with them and snuggling started early on in previous visits...you bet they did that this visit too!!  LOL!  I feel very lucky to have these two wonderful people as my parents. 

 It was upper 60's and even broke into the 70's the weekend they were here and we took advantage of the outdoors and we took the kids to the park and spent a few hours there!!  We packed a lunch and met up with some friends and enjoyed the heat of the sun!!  It was great to see grandma climb up and down the rock climber and the stairs and run across those bouncy bridges and slide down slides - I don't know who had more fun...the girls or GRANDMA!! HA! HA!

 So...mom and I went to our local GoodWill and found somd hidious sweaters to wear for an Ugly Sweater Party that we went to.  It was a blast!  My mom even found these highly fashionable BLUE high heels to match her ugly sweater...she should have won an award for matching accessories!!  We laughed so hard that night - which is highly dangerous considering my condition!!!  LOL!!!

Aren't we smashing!!!??

 These two love birds make my heart super happy!!!!

Thanks mom and dad for making the trip out here for a short visit!  We can't wait to have you back in a few months to welcome baby #3 into our family in June!  We love you and we miss you already!!! 

Two Peas in a Pod

A long time ago in a castle far far away....

A little princess was born!!

Four years ago, our family grew from a twitterpated couple in love (which, I guess we still are!!) to a little family of three!  A nervous yet excited new mom.  A new daddy that melted like butter when he first met his little girl.  And a little Princess named Evelyn weighing in whopping 6lbs 10oz and 19.5 inches long!!!

Yesterday we celebrated Evelyn's FOURTH Birthday!!!  We had a few of her little girlfriends come over for a PRINCESS PARTY!  It was so adorable to see each guest arrive in her own Princess attire!!  We played a few games like- KISS THE FROG (just like Pin the Tail on the Donkey only with big red lips on a green frog), PRINCESS WALK (just like a cake walk, just with princess pictures to walk on), ROYAL PARADE, and a ROYAL BALL where the girls learned to curtsy!  After each game the princesses were given Princess Accessories to add to their already cute ensamble!  A crown, a wand, a bracelet and a necklace!!

I made Princess Hat cupcakes that were PINK of course with PINK Lemonade and all of the girls sang Happy Birthday to Evelyn! It was a wonderful day and Evelyn LOVED her Princess Party!!! 

We love this little girl so much and we are sooo blessed to have her in our little family!  She is a wonderful helper around the house, she is a very loving big sister, she is her daddy's biggest fan and she is most definately a Princess at heart!!  She loves all things PINK and anything princess.  She loves to 'decorate' and use her imagination.  She dances with her daddy pretty much every night with special princess music.  She loves to be 'musical' and 'artistic'.  She brings sunshine to our home and we love her very much!!  Happy Birthday sweet girl!!!!!!!!

Sick sick and then more sick....

"Oh great!  MOM'S SICK!!!"  Words from my four year old!  So compassionate, isn't she?!  LOL!  I have had the most wonderful week of being sick - probably the best I have ever experienced!!  Harty-Harr-Harr!! Sense my sarcasm? 

It all started last Tuesday...I wasn't feeling too hot, but didn't really have any serious symtoms.  I had a little cough and that was that.  I was feeling great and then WHAM! It hit me like a ton of bricks!  What started as a cough ended in disaster.  On Wednesday afternoon I started feeling some chest pain. I'm talking about some serious P.A.I.N. in the chest.  It hurt when I coughed, breathed, talked, sighed, moved...and it was getting out control.  By the time Gordon got home from work, I told him what I was feeling and I that I was a little scared about it because I have never felt pain like that before in my chest.  I didn't know if it was my lungs or if I was having a heart attack!!  Not likely, but still it felt that way!  

So by 7:30pm and a few phone calls back and forth with my after hours nurse, it was recommended to go to the ER.  I am so blessed to have famliy close by, so we called up Mom and Dad Lindsay and took the girls to them while Gordon took me to the hospital.  

Now, keep in mind I am also pregnant and extremely hormonal so you can imagine the tears - OH THE TEARS - of this sick, tired, pregnant lady!!!  Poor Gordon!! 

So off to the ER - it's now 8:30 and I am being taken back to a room where they put me on a nebulizer machine - a device used to administer medicine in the form of a vapor to the lungs.  That made me super jittery - like I had the shakes all over as if I was just given a shot of the strongest caffine in the world.  Then they had me breathe into this other machine to test my oxygen levels - which were fine. 

So a few other people/nurses/Dr came in to check my lungs all while monitoring the baby the whole time too - which I was soooo glad for!!!  

After four hours it was determined that I had Bronchitis and this condition that is common with respiratory infections called Costochondritis - it's basically inflamation in the tissues attached to the breastplate/sternum area so any tension on them causes severe pain.

So I was given my drugs, a pat on the back and sent on my merry way around 11:30pm.  That was Wednesday night.

Thursday night - a lot of the congestion in my lungs were breaking up and now I am having a very (as the medical world would call it) "productive" cough.  All good signs that things are working.  

Friday morning - I wake with HIVES!  I get them with every pregnancy, but this time was the worst case I have seen on my body!!  Sorry NO PICTURES! :)

So I am miserable beyond words, but there's nothing anyone can do more for me.  I am waiting out the Bronchitis and the only thing that is completely healed since I left the ER is the chest pain - thank goodness!! 

Friday night - no sleep, big party to plan/prepare for the next day for Evelyn = STRESS!!!

Saturday - Evelyn's FOUR year Birthday Party with some little friends!!  It deserves a post of it's own because it was the CUTEST Princess Birthday Party EVER!  And I'll just say for me...well, I had to put my big girl pants on and suck it up!  I wasn't feeling better at all, but I wasn't contagious and I wasn't about to cancel my little girl's birthday party so the show went on and I somehow survived.

Saturday afternoon - something else BIG hit me.  "Not THIS" is what I am thinking, but it did - a Sinus Infection!  Swollen eyes. Sneezing 5... 8... 10... 13 times in a row!!! Sinus headaches. Runny nose. Could it get any worse?!  

So here I am Sunday morning - no sleep, itchy-watery eyes, sneezing up a wazooo, coughing up a lung and pregnant with hives!!!  At least I am alive, right????  

Blah Blah Blogging...

I realize I used to be a good blogger.  I used to do a post a day, then that turned into once a week, which turned into once a month and now I am updating what, once a quarter??  HA HA HA!  I need to fix that for all of my blog stalkers out there. 

Here's a brief update:

I am now 21 weeks along in the pregnancy.  If you missed the announcment, we are having another little girl!!  I love her name we picked out too - Bonnie Kate Lindsay.  She'll be named after her great-grandma Bonnie!  For the most part, I am now feeling great!  In the earlier months, I was pretty sick and felt nasty, but now I feel wonderful, just tired all of the time!!  Here's a photo of the baby bump at 21 weeks:

Gordon is ...well, the BEST!  He is a wonderful husband that spoils me everyday and he is the best daddy in the world!  His girls love him sooo much!  They attack him as soon as he walks in the door and he instantly goes into play mode and lets them climb on him and tackle him!!  It's so fun for me to sit back and watch this guy melt into puddy when these little girls are around!!  Here's the proud daddy with his two princesses:

Evelyn is turning into such a big girl!  She wants to go to school so bad like other 'big' kids!  She turns 4 this Sunday the 6th and she is a blossoming SunBeam at church.  She loves to sing songs and go to "class".  She is very bright and clever and she gets her whit from her father.  She loves to tell jokes, be in charge of Family Night, read books, dress up as princesses, color pictures, do service for her neighbors and play with her little sister, Claire. 

Claire is a bouncy, busy, boisterous, energetic, cheerful little 2 year old!!  She is super fast on her feet...she can out run almost all of us around the house!! Once she gets outside, she is immediately thinking of her 'escape plan' to run away from mom!  She is mysterious and shy around new comers, but give her a cookie and she warms right up to you!! She loves to play play play!!  If you ask her to come to the table for dinner you will hear her reply "no mommy, I playing!"  She is learning more and more each day and is finally starting to add words to her vocabulary!!  She adores her big sister and wants to be doing everything that she sees her do! 

Here's the girls together - love them to pieces!!! 

Here's a picture of me and my hottie at Olive Garden for date night!!!  MUAH!

**SIGH** ...are you a sucker for romance like me??? **DEEP SIGH**

Wait for it....

We're having a GIRL!!!

Mmmmmm... Chocolate Pudding!

Every Monday night our family has Family Home Evening (aka FHE)!  It's a time devoted to just our family.  We typically have a lesson from the scriptures and what is a family night with out 'refreshments'!!!  We have been making chocolate pudding as dessert for FHE and the kids LOVE it and they expecially love to help make it!!

(PLEASE EXCUSE THE LOOK OF MORNING SICKNESS ON MYSELF--EGH!)

Sugar Cookie Decorating and EATING!

Canned Homemade Applesauce

Aren't they beautiful!!!  They taste as good as they look too!!  I LOVE homemade apple sauce! 

I made 24 jars!  DELICIOUS!

Claire turned TWO!!!!

We welcomed Claire Abigail Lindsay into this world on November 1 and she is now TWO years old!  We love this little pumpkin to pieces and we are so blessed that she is a part of our family!  She is a funny, silly, busy, mysterious, sometimes destructive, curious little toddler!  We love you Claire!  Happy Birthday!!

Homemade Pizza

Two DEEP DISH and One large regular pizza....DELISH!!!!!

Sunday in Christmas Dresses

Let It Snow!

Chores

I know we're not the only parents out there that is tired of cleaning up after children.  It is a constant, daily battle to teach our kids to pick up after themselves.  They move from one thing to the next thing without cleaning up the first mess that they made.  So if you are parents like us, you will appreciate this quote from our three year old Evelyn...

As Evelyn walked away from her room, she said "Dad...thanks for cleaning my room.  OH WAIT!  I did that myself!!!"  This quote is dated November 27th, 2010.

On October 16th, 2010 (just one month earlier) a very similar conversation was happening between dad and Evelyn about her chores and this is what she said a month ago...
Dad: "Evelyn, I asked you to clean up!"
Evelyn:  "Dad, I'm a princess, and princess' DON'T clean up."

This prooves to us that over time, what we are teaching really is sinking in and one day it does click and one day they do their chores by them self!!  YA!

Bathroom Time

Evelyn has been potty trained since she was two (she'll be FOUR this February) so bathroom conversations with her are pretty normal now:  Did you wipe?  Did you flush?  Did you wash your hands?  You know, the usual Q & A session after your toddler uses the potty.
Well, the other day Evelyn used the bathroom upstairs and then came right back down to join the family.  Later, Gordon was upstairs and the light was on in the girls bathroom, so he wondered in there to turn the light off  and then he came down and this was the conversation between daddy and Evelyn:

Daddy:  Evelyn?  I found something very yucky in your toilet.
Evelyn:  What was it?
Daddy:  You tell me.
Evelyn:  Ummmm... peanut butter?

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For Korie...

I just wanted to dedicate a post to a friend ... at least I know Korie checks this thing every now and then!!  :) 

Yes, it is true I am SO behind on blogging.  It's not that I am so terribly busy that I don't have time.  It's not that I have nothing to report.  It's, It's, It's...well there is no excuse.  So here goes...

We had a great 9 Year Anniversary in September and then a month later, found out we are pregnant!  WOO HOO!  Lindsay baby number 3 will join our family June 2011!  We can't wait and yes, this was planned (for those who are busy bodies and have to know details!! :)

At the beginning of October Gordon and I hosted a Lindsay Family Fireside - this was very cool!! 

--BACKGROUND TO IDEA --

Over the summer the Meador side of the family had a reunion.  We had a Missionary Theme because one cousin was coming home from his mission and one cousin was getting ready to leave on his mission. So the last day of the reunion we had put together a Missionary Theme Fireside.  It was so special!  We went around the room and shared missionary experiences, conversion stories, testimonies...it was such a spiritual moment for our whole family.  It was so neat to hear where everyone served and how their missions impacted and changed their lives.  I loved the idea so much that I wanted to bring it home to North Carolina to share with other side of the family - my husband's family.  So I gathered my information about where each person served a mission, went to a school supply store and bought a laminated map of the world and pinned a tag with string connecting each person's name to the location of their mission. 

Gordon's family are converts to the church, starting with his mom and dad.  His parents had 8 children and ALL 8 children served a mission for the church. It was an awesome night.  Everyone came with stories to share and even brought 'show and tell' items that they brought home from their mission.  One brother even dressed in his old mission suit and tie!!  We SKYPED another brother who lives out of state and we got to see him and his cute family on the big screen TV and they were able to participate in the fireside.  Then we had yummy Texas Sheet Cake afterwards.  I loved it!!  It was such a great way to feel the spirit with my extended family! 

Another VERY cool thing we hosted in October was a Couple's Prom. 

--BACKGROUND TO IDEA--

First of all, if you are not a follower of http://thedahlingdatingdivas.blogspot.com/ THE DATING DIVAS Blog, then go do that!!!  I stumbled on their blog back in September when I was asked to teach a "COUPLES GET AWAY" class for a Tri-Ward Relief Society night.  It was a blast!!  I have since used several of their ideas almost every weekend to spice things up and to include other couples as well - since we all need a little more SPICE in our married life!!!  One of the diva's had this idea to take her hubby to PROM!  So she decorate her back patio, made a CD of love songs and made a wonderful dinner...as soon as the kids went to bed, they got all dressed up and went to the Prom!!  It was such a cute idea and my wheels were spinning for doing this exact date for my husband and then I thought...well, wouldn't it be fun to do this with other couples??  We could get all dressed up and have everyone bring food and then we could have a dance!!  So I started planning the event!  It was a blast!!!  We had too many couples to host at our house, so I reserved our ward building and got up early one Saturday morning to decorate with lights and tables and centerpieces...I was a busy bee with lots of little helpers!!!  The place looked amazing!  Then we went home, made our dinner contributions and got dressed up!!  I had my father-n-law come and take our PROM pictures and asked him to take candid shots of the group through out the night.  I had fun "getting to know you" games to play for the couples that didn't know each other and then at the end of the night I had a Couples Game that everyone played with their partner and the couple that won that game was crowned the Prom King and Queen!!  It was hilarious and sooo much fun!!!  I can't wait to do something like this again with another group of amazing couples!!  ---Pictures are still under quality control with my father-n-law so I don't have any to post YET!!! ----

We finished the month with our ward's Primary Program that YOURS TRULY conducted - I am the Primary Music Leader and this was my VERY FIRST primary program and my kids sang their little hearts out!! Proud to say we did it without any props or cue cards!!!!  YAY!! 

Then of course we celebrated Halloween and this year was a little different since it was on a Sunday - there's just something funny about doing Halloween on a Sunday to me - so we did our Ward thing with Trunk-Or Treating and then our awesome neighbors did something very special just for the girls!  The girls dressed up and Evelyn was a Princess (of course) and Claire was a leopard cat MEOW!  Unfortunately, someone has eaten all of their chocolate candies and there none left!!  That was supposed to sustain me until Christmas!  oh woops! 

That about wraps up our October!!  I'll save November for another day!!  How's that for catching up!!??