Living Out Loud: March 2010

Friday, March 26, 2010

Welcome

Molly Clare Holtzman

Born on March 25, 2010

3:21 pm

She weighed 7 pounds 1.8 ounces...

And has bright blue eyes that instantly gazed at her adoring Mama!

She has long, skinny fingers...

And white blonde hair that covers her bright pink body!

She has long hair that is a dark blonde...

And is CRAZY "sticking up" hair like her siblings had!

She has a bit of a temper and a GREAT set of lungs!

She has a big sissy who is pleased as punch to have her...

And a big brother who is not nearly as excited...

but getting more excited with each passing day!

Welcome to our family...

our beautiful Molly Clare!

Thank you, Jesus, for blessing us with our healthy baby girl!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

We welcome our newest family member!

We are scheduled to be induced first thing in the morning and anticipate meeting our sweet little girl sometime tomorrow afternoon!

Today, I'm attempting to relax knowing that...

~ the hospital bags are packed
~ the nursery is ready (almost!)
~ the baby clothes have been washed, ironed (a one time only event), and folded
~ the carseats have been rearranged, making rooming for one more
~ the house is picked up, dusted, and vaccumed
~ the tops of the kitchen cabinets have been washed and rearranged
~ the freezer contains 8 frozen meals (yes, I actually cooked them!)
~ my parenting class is complete
~ my "to do" list is (almost) crossed off
~ my legs are shaved and my toes are painted
~ clothes for the other two kids are laid out

Everything is ready...

Everything except me.

I mean... I am beyond ready to not be pregnant anymore, and I more than excited to meet our little girl and hold her in my arms, but I can't shake the anxiety and nerves that I'm feeling.

As much as I fight against it, it's in my nature to worry and be anxious. And even though I've been through childbirth twice before, I find myself feeling even more nervous and anxious than the previous two times.

So today I'm praying hard to have the faith to put my fears to rest as I trust fully in God's complete plan for me and this baby. And I'm praying for the ability to not worry, but rather focus completely on the fact that tomorrow, I will have the priviledge and honor of doing something that is so very rare and precious...

I get to actively participate with God in performing a miracle!

I covet your prayers, too, for a safe and healthy delivery of our baby girl... the one whose heavy kicks I am cherishing for the last time today!

Thank you!

Friday, March 19, 2010

A Very Buggy Birthday!

The birthday parties that my mom planned for me remain some of my fondest childhood memories. I LOVE planning unique and fun birthday parties for my kids and hope that they, too, will one day remember these special celebrations with the same fondness I do my own childhood parties.

This year, we celebrated Noah's 5th Birthday with a

Very Buggy Birthday celebration!

The Birthday Bug and his Sister Bug were beyond excited for the party to begin...

Noah greeted each guest with a set of Bug Antennae (although he would not wear them himself because they were "too uncomfortable"!) and a Bug Hunting Neck Sack.

The "Party Bugs" were then escorted to the basement where the Birthday Decor and BUGS were sitting and hanging and hiding...

The party started with some fun games!

First up...

Pin the Spot on the Ladybug

(using licked Oreo cookies!)

Next up...

The Bumble Bee Bounce

Each time a party bug got their bumblebee to bounce into one of the honeycombs, they got to pull out a buggy prize from inside the honeycomb! We did this lots and lots and lots and lots of times!

Next up...

Flyswatter Races

Party bugs raced while trying to keep a fly perched atop a flyswatter!

Next up...

The Ladybug Pinata!

And the Grand Game Finale...

The Bug Hunt!

There were over 150 bugs hiding in the basement just waiting to be found by the party bugs! And they had enormous amounts of fun trying to find all of the hidden creatures!

With neck sacks full of candy, bugs, and other fun prizes, the party bugs sat down for some cake and ice cream... rather cookies and dirt cake! Of course, there were bugs everywhere... even on their plates, spoons, and juice boxes!

The dirt cake was the inspiration for the entire party theme! My grandma used to make what she coined "Kansas Dirt Cake" for me as a child and I adored it! It is 100% pure sugar and the whimsy of adding the "dirt" made her "famous" concoction my favorite dessert.

As I was telling Noah about it, I told him we could make it for his birthday and put bugs on top of it... and that was when we decided on the bug theme for the party!

The kids each had their own "cup of dirt", complete with an authentic looking gummy bug on top! And just in case the "dirt" scared them, there were cookies with "cute bugs" too!

The "dirt" was a hit... after the initial "ewww" wore off! And Miss Emmie Kate... she was the only child to finish off her ENTIRE cup of dirt! The poor child has most definitely inherited her Mama's sweet tooth!

With full bellies, everyone headed to the...

Ladybug Lesson!

I looked up some information about ladybugs and played "question and answer" with the party bugs while they had the chance to look at the jar filled with 1500 live ladybugs!

With the exception one little party bug who was "freaked out" by the ladybugs, the kids all seemed to enjoy it... they especially liked learning that ladybugs "play dead" when they feel they are in danger!

With that, Noah handed out the "goody buckets"...

The "goody buckets" were filled with buggy surprises including stickers, tatoos, a "boo boo freezer pack" with bugs on it, bug finger puppets, a spider sucker, gummy bugs...