Our own Earth Day

So it is earth day today, and mommy is feeling great!! This is the first day in the last 14 weeks that I have felt awesome and able to do things!! YEAH!! So I started doing things we have been putting off for a while like........6 loads of laundry and counting (ugh! someone in this house has not been keeping up very well), cleaning our bedroom, getting odds and ends done, putting up new shower curtains, and much much more! AND we also did our own earth day activities (purely coincidence since these things have been sitting in our kitchen for a few weeks!!) First we bought a battery operated car!!! I know amazing huh! Unfortunately it only fits 2 tiny butts! ;-) Daddy actually brought this home Monday night. Apparently when mommy says "maybe". This does not mean no or does it mean we should wait. Apparently it means buy it tomorrow! BUT the kids are in love with it and cruise around the yard like pros. G is still getting used to driving it, but X and R have it down pat.

Nate can't wait til they are hauling mulch and topsoil around in the back of it to help him do the yard work!!

We also did a few earthly acitivies today. We planted a strawberry pot, planted green pepper seeds, and hung a birdfeeder.

The kids also had fun playing in the dirt with their new little garden tools!!!

Just being outside with the sun has mommy and the kids in wonderful moods!!!

Some other things that have been happening around here:

R is still loving school. We tried one day last week taking her training wheels off her bike but i don't think she is quite ready and daddy doesn't have the patience yet. She also has learned how to swing on the swing all by herself. YEAH!

X is still a very funny, laughing boy. He wants to be outside all day if possible. Both him and G went to preschool screening in April and passed with flying colors. He knows so much and learns more everyday. He has really started wrestling and wanting to martial arts moves alot! Such a Boy!!!

G is still our little baby girl! She is growing like a weed. I just bought her a pair of size 9 shoes!! That is 3 sizes larger than what she wore in August!! Seriously!! She loves to play with dolls and dress them up and put them to bed and burp. She will be mommy little helper come October. She also is getting really great at riding her bike and has been able to take a few longer rides with her brother and sister.

Mommy is loving this energetic feeling and being able to get much needed things done around the house. I have been busy getting everything ready for our Race for the Cure on Mother's Day and that will keep me pretty busy every weekend until the race!! I am hoping to make it back to Ohio in May we will see if i feel like this it won't be a problem at all!

and Daddy has still been busy at work, but for the past week has been able to be at home a little earlier at night to play with the kids and enjoy a little earlier dinner. The one night we were done eating at 6:30 pm and playing outside...I was so shocked and it was sooo fun! He has started working out again and is still my grill guy at least 3/4 times a week. He has been daddy alone on the weekends lately while mommy has been busy with race for the cure activities and both daddy and the kids are loving it!!

That is what is going on here lately. We are hanging in there and waiting for our next Dr. appt which is tomorrow morning. Let's hope this pregnancy keeps sailing like smoothly like today!

Happy Earth Day Everyone!!!

Easter Candy Galore!!!

Okay so not all these pictures are from Easter. Here are a few from Spring break. We didn't go anywhere... obviously at that point I wasn't up for much or going to far from home. But we did make it to a water park one day. We went with a friend of ours Angie (who went to help me keep track of my three!) and our new neighbors and the kids best friend Audrey and her mom Miss Beth. They had a blast. I wanted to start getting them comfortable in water since we hope to be at the Lake in Tennessee alot this summer!!! Her is R in her new swim cap to keep her hair all nice and chlorine free!

Little munchkin testing the water.

X got comfortable in the water! It took him one slide down the slide to just go crazy and splash in the water!!

This indoor water park is only 1 hour and 15 minutes from our house and the kids enjoyed it alot. I can't wait to convince Nate to take me and kids up there one of these weekends for a get away!!!!

Here we are coloring easter eggs. A first for me and the kids. they did a wonderful job ... what they really wanted to do was put the stickers on them though!

Here are some of our wonderfully bright Easter Eggs. I just love the colors and i couldn't wait to turn these little suckers into deviled eggs YUM! (in theory it was a great idea ... but as soon as i made the deviled eggs and ate one... the baby didn't want anymore!!) Good thing R really really like them.

Here are the cuties Easter Morning all dressed up!!! We are getting family pictures taken next week in these outfits. I cant wait... the girls look so good in yellow!!! now if only mommy can find something that will fit and look acceptable for pictures. UGH!

Easter Bunny showed up early Sunday morning.... the kids were up before 6 am!!! Mommy had asked the Easter bunny not to bring alot of candy and so lo and behold the kiddos got sidewalk chalk and coloring books and fun activity stuff instead!!! Mommy and Daddy even got chocolate Easter bunnies too!!!

On Saturday we had gone to an Egg Extravaganza with like 16,000 eggs to hunt. It was insane!! But the kids fun.. it had carnival games, face painting, a fire truck to go through and an ambulance and a bounce house. But I had already got some plastic eggs to hunt, so we had yet another egg hunt on Saturday night! So much for limiting their amount of candy!!

Here they are all ready to go hunt eggs!!!

Off they go!

Stuffing her face before mommy could get the candy away! ;-)

A picture with the cousins who came all the way from Ohio to visit and celebrate Easter with us.

We ended up meeting Nate's brother and family in the Quad Cities so they did not have to drive the whole 9 hour in one night. SO on good Friday we visited the John Deere Pavilion and the Family Museum. The kids got to hang out and play with their cousins.

All in All it was a fun exciting weekend. The kids had a blast and got to stay up later than they are used to! We have been recovering this weekend and the kids have all come down with colds and are going through Kleenexes like crazy! So tonight we have a popcorn and movie night planned and a relaxing weekend of NOTHING planned. Yeah!

So there is an update in a nutshell. I have been feeling better. The morning sickness or sickness from 4 pm to 6 pm seems to subsided but now i am getting headaches. UGH! My clothes are starting to feel uncomfortable and i cant wait for shorts and capri weather!! Yesterday R started tumbling classes and tonight is G's first tumbling class. We will see how they do. Other than that we are just surviving and trying to be outside when the weather permits. I am looking forward to the day i can go to the nurseries and get some plants and vegetables to get in the ground. I am going to try... if Nate is willing to clear the spot i want.... to plant a vegetable patch so we have some fresh vegetables like.... tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, green beans, and whatever else i can't live without. I thought it would be a great learning for the kids to water and plant and weed. And without my big garden at work to enjoy and to harvest i will be craving this stuff all summer!! But the big question is if i can get nate to take the sod up, till the area i want as the garden and haul in dirt?? we will see......

So there it is... i will keep you posted as I can.

Happy Spring!!!!

So..the craziest thing happened

Okay, so everyone knows our story is crazy and everything happened SO fast -- how we became a family of 5 instantly. Well now we are adding to the family -- the traditional way! YES, miraculously enough we are pregnant!!! Yes this may come as a shock.... it certainly did to us. So hence no time to blog or take many pictures of kids. I have just been trying to survive and not think about October when we will be the parents of 4 kids under the age of 5~

Okay so we like to keep things exciting... this we know!! ;-) And in the meantime it is Easter and we have had the pleasure of having visitors. Nate's brother Dale and his family came to visit!! We met them in the Quad Cities thursday night (to shorten the length of the drive). We got to visit the John Deere Pavilion and ride some big green tractors.
Here are all the Kiddos!

And this is the how mommy has been feeling the last 11 weeks!! Exhausted!!!

We also went to the Family Museum - which is geared all towards kids. The kids had fun running around playing on all the cool stuff!

So i will hopefully post more pictures soon, but we wanted to give you all a hint of what we have been up too..... since i haven't been a faithful blogger. SORRY! Now you know my excuse!

Have a wonderful Easter and enjoy it with family!!!!

Love

the Schultes

We are still here!!!

Okay so it's been awhile since I posted a blog. We have been busy to say the least.... we have also been sick (walking pneumonia, nasty flu ....Yuck!). SO hence no time to blog, not even time to take pictures of our adorable kids. And to top it all off the day starts off looking like this today.... Seriously this is not a picture from months or weeks ago. This is what our backyard looked like at 7:30 am this morning!! Happy First Day Of Spring to Us!!

So things we have been doing since the last time we blogged. Well... we have been trying to get outside and play in the sunshine when it is out. We also did some baking. We made Grandma Schulte's cookies (without lard) the girls really helped me out.

The kids are going through a phase where they wrestle and fight alot... but there are some good moments where they are all friends. :-)

R has been loving school and she has started to come home with a few homework assignments. This is a raccoon puppet she made at school. She talks about her friends alot more and really likes trying to read books herself.

She also loves to play around... and be silly.

Mr. X loves being the center of attention... still. And has really taken a liking to the wii. He loves playing Super Mario Brothers.

Here is one of my favorite pictures... since we have been kind of layed up lately.... we have been doing a little more quiet days. Here we were laying in bed in the morning chilling after G got the flu and X gave her a kiss to make her feel better. Just warms your heart!!!!

Well i will try to do better at keeping this posted. Enjoy the Spring!!!!

They say it's your birthday!

Okay, so yesterday our littlest one turned "3". My how they have grown in such a little time. Isn't the cutest darn picture you ever did see? It is soooo her... like who me? I am too cute to get mad at... ;-) We used to have a 2,3, and 4 year old and now we have a 3, 4, and 5 year old. On G's birthday, I also wanted to mark how much has changed in the last 7 months.

We used to have 3 in diapers........ NOW (thank God) we do not.

We used to carry a diaper bag everywhere..... NOW i only have to bring it if the kids want to bring toys to a friends house.

We used to have smaller shoe sizes.... NOW everyone's feet have grown at least a shoe size. (not mommy and daddy's thankfully)

We used to be able to drive a car..... NOW we are looking into minivans (yes i am crying my self to sleep over this one, neil)

We used to go through so many wet wipes..... NOW we go through loads or toilet paper!!!

We used to be able to plan ahead.... NOW mommy's plans need to be flexible depending on the attitude of everyone in the family including parents. ;-)

We used to be able to sleep in..... NOW we awake to the pitter patter of feet down the stairs. (somehow daddy doesn't always here the feet and then gets to sleep in)

We used to have a lot less laundry..... NOW it is a mountain of clothes. ( but just this week i had r help me start matching socks and putting the kids stuff in the piles and it is going much easier)

We used to not be able to understand much of what the youngest two were saying..... NOW g and x have so much to say and tell us stories and recap what we did that day. Their vocabulary is astounding. (X was trying to teach his sisters what Patience meant yesterday Conversation:

Mommy says: you need patience and all take turns

X: (looks at his sisters) do you know what patience is, it means you need to wait and not cry and yell at mommy that it is your turn.

(i think he got it right on the head!!)

We used to do a lot of things..... but we wouldn't trade what we have for the world!!!

So sorry i went off on nostalgia..... been doing a lot of scrapbooking so it is amazing to see the change in these kids from just such a short time ago. AND now my little one is 3.

Here is her pudgy little fingers showing how big she is!!!!!

We have been opening gifts that came in the mail all week. It is really hard to keep kids away from packages that come in the mail and stare at them for longer than 4 hours. :-) Her first gift came from aunt kathy and she got a card (which she loves and carried around with her even to bed for a few days) and a deck of cards. So i taught the kids how to play go fish. It is the new favorite game around here... and they are learning what the numbers look like and matching at the same time. (why didn't i think of this before!!)

Then on friday we got a package from Grandma Judy! And in the box was.... drum roll...... bubble wrap!! YEAH Hours and hours of fun!!! Seriously. They loved it!!!

Well also in the package was an adorable outfit including the cutest little levi jeans EVER!!

look at this little tushy!!! heehee

G was the first one awake on Saturday (she was just soooo excited) and i had started chore charts and one of the items is for them to put on the clothes mommy lays out the night before (even though they are supposed to wait until after breakfast!) so she had started to put all her own clothes on....... was attempting i should say. I woke up hearing the banging around of her trying to get her pj shirt off!!! heehee Needless to say by that time they were all up .. except dad.

We then had to get ready for X's last game of basketball. Daddy took him by himself and the girls went shopping. X was so stoked he received a medal and was sooo proud. Nate said he did pretty good and shot at he basket about 4/5 times.

We then met up for breakfast and the kids had mickey mouse pancakes... a real treat for birthday girl. AND a treat for mom no cooking ALL DAY!! Then when we got home an EVEN bigger package was delivered to the door, of course from Uncle Neil. G eyes were round like saucers and in it was a princess cash register... just what she always wanted (is what R said!!!)

Here is G talking on the phone with Uncle Neil, wishing her a happy birthday. Then because Daddy and I could not wait any longer... we decided to open all the other gifts from the family. Cash register from Uncle Neil!

Because we didn't have a party, we thought it would be cute if daddy took both the two oldest to pick out a gift to give G from them. X picked out a basketball in Ohio State colors of course!!

and R gave G more blocks for daddy to build stuff!!! They were pink too!!!

Then when the girls had been shopping we had G pick out a gift with her target gift card she got from Vicki. And G picked out a Princess and the Frog band set with trumpet, drums, cymbals, "Raymond" the firefly maracas, and a plyaing guitar!!

And mommy and daddy gave her more dress up clothes. Snow white purse and necklace with big red gloves. AND high heels. We defently have girly girls and they LOVED the high heels. We even had to pack them and bring them to our neighbors house for supper. They walk better than mommy in heels. heeheeAnd then later that night we went over to our neighbors the Acaster's and had pizza and birthday cake. YUM!! It was the perfect ending to the day ... i think!!!