First trimester survival

Fun games to play with your kids-

1. Around and around. How to play: lay on the ground and have your children run around you while singing "around and around and around"

2. Get buried. How to play: lay on the couch and have your kids cover you with stuffed animals, balls, pillows and blankets. If you are lucky you can be it most of the time. 

Pregnancy advice from Danny-

1. For if you are going to throw up: set down your quesadilla, go lock the door, and no one can hear you.

2. To deal with nausea: Eat something it will make you feel a little bit better, but not a lotta bit better. 

Random tips-

1. Distractions are good. Go somewhere, visit a friend, any distraction that can help to pass the time and keep your mind off things is great. (Disclaimer: The day after I wrote this tip down my basement flooded. Not the type of distraction I was talking about. That being said a catastrophe can be very distracting)

2. Don't clean. This way when your toddler comes and asks for a cracker while you are making dinner for the first time in a week you can say, "there's one on the floor by the table." 

3. Having cereal or peanut butter sandwiches for multiple meals in a day is fine. I figure it kind of evens itself out throughout the week. 

Pictures of my kids making mischief and being kids

I am happy to report that I have survived my first trimester if at times it felt like we might not make it. Now that I have started to feel better hopefully I can get life somewhat in order and enjoy just having 2 little kids before #3 makes an appearance sometime in April. We are all very excited for this new addition to our family (Kyle is kind of baby obsessed right now and spends any outing pointing out babies to me). 

Danny

Danny: Is it a big dog or a little dog?

Me: I don't know. I've never seen it. 

Danny: I just saw him! He's a little dog! He's a fat dog too. 

Me: Is he so cute?

Danny: Yeah, he is so cute like a big fat baby.

Pickles!

I made pickles! It was very fun and I think I am slightly addicted to canning right now with the new auto canner thing my mom got for us to share. Here are some pictures from the pickling.

These are the cucumbers I used. They are baby cucumbers because all of the pickling cucumbers at the store were gross looking. 

These are the spices that go in to the jar with the cucumbers and the brine. 

They were really easy to make. I just made the brine by boiling the stuff in the recipe (water, vinegar, pickling spice, sugar, and pickling salt), then I dumped the bowl of spices in, shoved the sliced cucumbers in, poured brine over the top, then stuck it in the canner, and pressed the button. 

Here is the cool canning machine. It's nice because it doesn't sit on my stove and I can clean up all my mess while it is sealing the jars and doing it's stuff. 

Look at my cute jars of pickles! I can't wait until I can eat them (the recipe said wait at least 4 weeks so they have a good flavor). I am having lots of fun with this thing and I plan on canning lots of other stuff once my tomatoes and stuff are ripe. 

Life is kind of same old same old around here. Hanging out with wild little boys and keeping everyone alive. We did go on a fun trip to Idaho for a family reunion and that was great. Let me think if there are any new things my kids are doing. Kyle has started saying "hold me" rather than "uh uh uh" (up up up) when he wants to be held. He likes to be held a lot sometimes I think it is for safety. Danny isn't too rough with him but will occasionally plow him over in true big brother fashion. Danny's favorite thing is swinging in "baby swings." 

We borrowed one from grandma and grandpa Ware for our play set to accommodate his passion. 

Life is good. Like always there are good days and bad days, but the good days help you get through the bad ones.