A 3 Year Old Interview.

The template that I used for the kids' interview came with a boy version and a girl version.  The questions were all the same, but the color and style when I printed them out were a little different.  My plan is to have my frames painted this weekend, and I can finally share the finished product.  Here are Adi's answers:

Nicknames:  Adi, Beanie, Sassy
How old are you? 3
What is your favorite color?  pink & purple
What is your favorite animal?  hippo
What is your favorite book?  the one with the giraffe & a monkey
What is your favorite TV show?  Scooby Doo
What is your favorite movie?  The 3 Mouskateers
What is your favorite song?  Homeboy
What is your favorite food?  hot dogs & macaroni
What is your favorite drink? chocolate milk
What is your favorite breakfast food?  toast (bread with butter)
What is your favorite snack? toast
What is your favorite outfit?  clothes, dresses
What is your favorite game?  Princess Yahtzee
What is your favorite toy?  pet hippo named Marshmallow
Who is your best friend?  Kasey & Jaylen
What is your favorite thing to do?  play
What is your favorite thing to do outside?  play in the sandbox
What is your favorite holiday?  Easter & Christmas
What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  Penny {puppy dreamlight} & Sheepy
Where is your favorite place to go?  to the restaurant
What is your favorite restaurant?  McDonald's
Where do you want to go on vacation?  at Jamaica
What do you want to be when you grow up?  go to Jamaica
What did you do on your birthday?  played with my friends

I did both of their interviews without the other one around.  I'm surprised that some of their answers are so similar!  I'm excited to continue this each year to see how/if it changes!

And this is a 3 year old who dresses herself:

A 5 year old interview.

I've seen these online for a while. I've probably pinned 5 or more of them.  And, I finally took the time to sit down and do them with the kids.  We updated Daddy's interview for him for his birthday, so as long we we were at it, I did one for Eli and Adi as well.  I found a really cute template that I printed out in 8x10 size, I'm going to frame them both and hang them in their new {shared} bedroom!

Nicknames:  Eli, Bubbie, Buddy
How old are you?  5
What is your favorite color?  green, blue, red
What is your favorite animal?  every animal
What is your favorite book?  about tigers & dinosaurs
What is your favorite TV show?  Spiderman & Batman
What is your favorite movie?  Spiderman & Transformers & Tom and Jerry
What is your favorite song?  Homeboy & Runaway
What is your favorite food?  spaghetti
What is your favorite drink?  pop
What is your favorite breakfast food?  oatmeal
What is your favorite snack?  pretzels
What is your favorite outfit?  Spiderman shirts
What is your favorite game?  Monopoly & Jenga
What is your favorite toy?  Legos & train set & guns
Who is your best friend?  Jaylen, Ben, Brandon, & Andrew
What is your favorite thing to do?  play with my friends
What is your favorite thing to do outside?  play with Daddy on the swingset,  and play baseball
What is your favorite holiday?  every holiday
What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  my silly penguin {dreamlight}
Where is your favorite place to go?  to waterparks
What is your favorite restaurant?  McDonald's, because they always give me toys
Where do you want to go on vacation?  Jamaica
What do you want to be when you grow up?  a wrestler & baseball player
What did you do on your birthday?  We had a Spiderman cake & I played with my friends

Now that I've started this my plan will be to update them  each year for their birthday.  I will post a picture of them framed when I have that part done.  They turned out really cute!  If anyone is interested in the template, let me know, and I can send it to you!

A Baby Bump Update.

22 weeks already!  It's hard for me to believe that I am over half-way through this pregnancy, and half-way to meeting and holding our new little babe.  This pregnancy seems like it has gone by so much faster than my other 2, but it could very well be that 2 other active ones keep me so busy, that I don't have the time to sit and think about it. 

This pregnancy started out great, I couldn't believe how good I was feeling, and was excited and hopeful that the third time was going to be the charm, and that I was going to avoid the morning sickness/all day sickness that I tend to get.  That great feeling lasted until about week 7, and then I got hit.  Hard.  It was Mis.Er.A.BLE!  I thanked God daily for a job and co-workers that would support me when I needed to run out of my classroom, and for my awesome husband who stepped up into the role of cook, maid, and single-parent when all I could do was lay down or run to the bathroom.   I couldn't eat anything, and had to completely avoid the kitchen.  The smells were too much for me.  I lived off of Chicken Ramen Noodles, and Mac-n-Cheese solely for a few weeks.  Not Fun.  Then, about 11 1/2 weeks into it, like a miracle, the sickness was lifted, and I began to feel human again!  It was wonderful!!  I was craving Tater-Tot Hot Dish one night for dinner.  Chad made it for me, and even Eli commented, "Mommy, you don't have to only eat Mac-n-Cheese anymore?!"  Yes, buddy, I can finally eat normal food:)

Since the sickness has passed, I've gone through waves of exhaustion, but I'm not real surprised.  Being a full-time Mommy to a 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 year old, working a full-time job, and trying to maintain control in the house on top of growing a baby will probably do that to a person.  I push it as much as I can, and try to sneak in naps whenever possible.  Anything is better than being sick, so no complaints about being tired! 

2 weeks ago Chad and I went in for our ultra-sound.  What an amazing experience.  This little babe was moving, and twisting, and turning, and kicking all over the place.  We had a hard time getting pictures to focus, because it wouldn't sit still!  I was happy to see this, though, because I had commented to my Dr. that I wasn't feeling this one move as much as I remembered the last 2.  He assured me that it was only because it wasn't quite big enough, and it was clear that this one moved just as much.  There was a student with our Dr. during the ultra-sound.  This was great, because all of the teaching and explaining he was doing for the student was great, beneficial information for Chad and I also.  He gave a detailed description of the brain, heart, spine, and extremities, and then explained how he could rule out any problems based on what he was seeing.  The baby looked great and healthy, and almost looked a little chubby already!  According to the measurements, baby is ahead of the due-date by a couple of days.  Dr. said he was going to induce me a week early IF I was still pregnant, though, because Adi came so fast, that he doesn't know if I would make it in in time!  He said he doubts we'll have to worry about it, though, because my babies tend to be big and early, and he expects that this one will follow that trend.  We will see!



We have always loved the surprise at the end of finding out what baby is.  Nothing like that feeling.  Going through labor, giving that last push, and the WHAT IS IT?!?!  I would never give up that feeling!  So, once again, we are all placing our bets on who this little angel will be that will soon be joining our family.  We are working on our names, and will hopefully have that nailed down soon.  We like to go into the hospital with one of each.  The exciting part is finding out which name we will come home with:)

About 2 days after my appointment I was sitting at my desk at work and could look down to see my belly bouncing all over the place!  Must have hit a big growth spurt, because I can definitely see and feel the movement now!   I had to take a picture and send it to Chad- what an amazing feeling!

Instagram catch-up.

Some of these probably deserve their own posts, but I just need to quickly catch myself up.  Here is a random dump from my phone over the past month or so.  Many of you have seen these on instagram.
You can follow me at jilltomala.



My Hubby surprised me on Valentine's Day by having a beautiful bouquet of roses waiting for me on the table when I got up.  The best part was the creativity and thought behind the bouquet.  One rose from him and one from each of the kids in the color of their birthstone.  What a special, thoughtful guy!  I just love him!

We celebrated the day with our annual seafood dinner at home.  This year's menu:  Roasted red potatoes, Red Lobster biscuits, Asparagus with hollandaise sauce, and Lobster cooked in garlic and butter.  Yummy!!!

Too bad his eyes are closed, but you can still see how proud he was of his big trophy!

And here's his blurry little fan having a snack in the stands.

I guess she thought that her baby needed some hair!  Better on the dolly than on her like it usually is!

She was in such a hurry to get out the door for school the other night and tripped and bumped her eye on the bench in the entry way.

A quick call to my friend who is an ER Dr., and then a trip to her house.  I love Dr. Renee- she has saved us on many occasions!!!

And by morning it was already looking so much better.  No stitches, and no trip to the ER- thank goodness!

The books we make for the kids on Snapfish each Christmas are always such a hit, and are usually the first ones pulled off the shelves to read.  They love looking at themselves and all of their family and friends throughout the pages.

 

She dressed herself one morning for daycare.  In her sweet little Jamaican sundress that we brought home from vacation.  Little One is dreaming of warmer days just like me!

Our Little Man is reading, READING!!!  Like picking up a book and reading it to US!  This is amazing to me!  We couldn't be more proud.  I experience this joy every day with my kindergarteners, but to experience this with my own is absolutely incredible!!! 

He was giving us some cute looks before his final match.

Ready to go!

Someone had my phone....

Daddy has taken these 2 for many, many snowmobile rides this winter.  What else can you do when the weather is nearing zero?  Might as well play in it!

This Little Guy is our healthy eater.  Bedtime snack of choice- Salad!

My little snowday helper.  Love snowdays to get stuff done at home and have time with these 2!

More snowday fun- baking cookies!

 

And playing Spiderman!

Then Daddy came home and got extra creative with frosting and decorating the cookies.  Good thing, 'cause Mama was almost out of energy at this point!

Found this in the Book Order!!!  Ordering one for all of our sweet friends that we met in Jamaica!

One of the blessings about getting out of the house early in the morning- Experiencing this early morning beauty:

And we had ANOTHER snowday!!!  And started this one out with 'clean mud'.  Very fun, very easy!

Put some baking soda in a bowl, and SLOWLY mix in a little water at a time until it is the consistency of mud.  Let me tell you- hours of entertainment!  We just store it in a Ziploc bag, and keep adding water when necessary!

Homemade, Homegrown, & Healthy!

I've been finding all kinds of yummy-sounding, healthy recipes on Pinterest for smoothies, baby food, iced coffee, etc... that I've been wanting to try.  We have a blender, and it works, but I wanted something that would be a little more convenient- and save on counter/cupboard space!

My birthday was coming up, so when my Mom asked if there was anything special I wanted I told her I wanted a Bullet.  I've made my own baby food in the past, but never enough at a time that I would freeze any.  I usually made it meal by meal, and had a little hand grinder that would work to throw in the diaper bag if we were out and about.  While digging around online, though, I discovered how easy it is to make a big batch, freeze in ice cube trays, and then pop them in a freezer bag in the freezer.  We grow a HUGE vegetable garden in the summer, and have an abundance of apples and raspberries each year, so I decided that with this baby I'm going to do my best to save up what I can.  We are still eating carrots, apple sauce, zucchini, beans, peppers, onions, and potatoes from our gardens last summer, plus all the yummy stuff that we canned that is in the root cellar.  We should have plenty of preservative-free fruits and veggies to put away for this little one!

For right now, though, we are just having lots of fun making all kinds of iced-coffees and smoothies for desserts!  This was a yummy decaf iced coffee I made the other day with coffee that was left over in my pot, some creamer, and ice.

 Of course, when the kids saw mine they had to have one of their own.  I threw in some ice, frozen raspberries from our garden, frozen bananas, and a splash of milk.  They loved it!

And last night we made shakes with ice cream, frosted sugar cookies, and milk!- So Yummy!

I would love any suggestions on baby food and smoothies from any of you out there that have made some of your own!

The Big 3-0!

Well- I finally hit this milestone.  I didn't think I would ever be this old, but here it is.  I don't feel like I'm 30, not yet, anyways.  I told myself I wasn't going to get down because of the number.  Instead, I decided to look at all of the positive things, the blessings, and the accomplishments in my life.  I decided that over-all, I'm extremely happy with where I'm at!

I have a wonderful husband, and a happy marriage.
2 beautiful children, and one on the way!
We have a home that is perfect for our family, in the country, and on 5 acres. 
We have a cabin, on the lake, and through this cabin we have met the best friends we could ever ask for.  All kinds of them!
My job.  I love it.  I have an established career in the field I always dreamed of. 

I can't be sad about the number of years, I need to be happy for where I am at.  Things I've always dreamed of- having a great husband, happy, healthy kids, a home in the country, a cabin on the lake, a job as a teacher, our health, wonderful family and friends.  I've got it- and I thank God for the blessings he has given us!

Yes, I'm one more year older and wiser- and onto another year.  This one is sure to be an exciting one!  There is a family wedding right around the corner, a baby joining our little family, and another exciting vacation all on the agenda- I can't wait to see how the year unfolds!  It is sure to be an exciting one!

We went out for an amazing seafood dinner with friends the Friday night before my birthday.  It was delicious, and we left so full we could hardly stand it!  Crab legs, shrimp, scallops, Mmmmm.  I wanted to spend my birthday at home with nothing on the agenda but church.  We came home and had a quiet cozy day.  It was perfect.  For dinner that night Chad and the Littles threw together the most amazing birthday dinner filled with all of my favorite things!  It was perfect and made with love!

(sorry for the picture quality- they are all from my phone)

He made Swiss Chicken:

 Crockpot potatoes:

 

 Green Bean Casserole:

 And Peanut Butter Pie for dessert:

This dinner was the perfect ending to a quiet, family day, and I am ready to bring on another year!

A Lenten Conversation.

Daddy has spent some time talking to the Littles about Lent, and what that means, and the sacrifices Jesus made for us, and explained why we should all sacrifice for him also.  He probably felt like all this information was just going in one ear and right out the other.  Then, last night on the way home from daycare and a bazillion errands, we had a very interesting conversation in the van....It went a little something like this- and I can't stop smiling about it!- (Keep in mind Eli is 5 and Adi is 3)

Eli:  Mom, I think I know what I'm going to give up for Lent.

Mom: Great!  What is it?

Eli:  I think I'm going to give up candy!

Mom: That's a GREAT idea- and I bet Dr. Renee would be very proud of you! (His Dentist, whom he LOVES)

Eli:  I was going to give up TV, but then I couldn't watch movies with you guys on Friday nights. (Our family movie evening)

Mom:  Yes, that's right, I think candy is a very good idea, though.

Adi:  I'm going to give something up too!

Eli:  Well, Beanie, don't give up TV, cause than you can't watch movies with us on Friday nights!

Adi:  I'm going to give up being little!!!

Eli: (Total exasperation in his voice) Beanie, you CAN'T give THAT up!!!


Oh, I just LOVE these 2!!

Here they are enjoying a little Friday night/Movie night.  Dinner of pizza and other yumminess from the pizza oven was served right in their tents!