Alleluia! Happy Easter!!

Dan and I had to wake up the kids this morning. That doesn't often happen. Dan went to wake up Kolbe and he said, "I don't want to be seen yet." And then pulled the covers over his head. Really? 3 going on 13.

We went to 7:30 Mass...yes...7:30 and somehow we made it right on time. The kids did very well. Emma was especially good this morning because Mrs. Millie, her teacher, was sitting two rows in front of us. We need to arrange for that to happen more often...

So here we are- a tad bit disheveled after Mass:

The boys were "matchy-matchy blue squared." Emma loved her new polka-dot dress...and I loved that she actually wore what I asked her to.

And here is a little pic that Emma took of us- she edited it too...

Also, I thought I should join the other ladies today for the "OTI: What I Wore Easter" Link-Up:

Details:
Dress: Garnet Hill (A repeat from a few years ago)
Shoes: DSW (a gift from my sweet hubby, who loves shoes and I think might have more pairs than me...)
Backdrop: my parents lovely sunroom :)

We are spending the rest of the day at my parents house. Good ol' Uncle Alex is excited about hiding some eggs and the kids can't wait to go hunting for them. I am so excited that Lent is finally over and I am looking forward to having some family time this week.
God is good. All of the time.

P.S. I wanted to give a little birthday shout-out to Ana! Happy birthday dear friend, love and miss you!

It's Palm Sunday! I can't believe it. Where does the time go? We went to Mass at Sacred Heart Chapel that is located on Mobile Bay. I love this beautiful little chapel. I grew up going to Mass there every summer when we went to go visit my grandparents. My sister got engaged there, my cousin Emmie was married there, and Joshua was baptized there.

We were blessed to go there for Mass this morning because Dan was leading music for the Catholic high school's campus ministry retreat. We have been involved with these retreats for the past 6 years and usually the spring retreat falls on Palm Sunday weekend. I love it.  It is such a beautiful sight to witness all of the teens processing with their palms in to the church. For me, it was such an amazing example of God's beauty in creation and Hope for our future.

As they were processing in, the children were asked to ring the bell, they had so much fun!

Fr. Dan even used Joshua in his homily. And Joshua did fine as long as Fr. kept feeding him cheerios. 

Now on a little different note, I decided to join the ladies at Fine Linen and Purple (for the first time) for their:

Since my last post was about our little fashionista, I thought it would be a good time to join this link-up fun. Speaking of our little fashionista, here is what she wore today:

 

I had a couple of outfits lined up for her, which she of course, chose not to wear...

Princess nightgown: birthday gift from a friend
leggings: old navy
faux fur wrap: my old dress up box
purple hat: dollar store, I think?

And then there is me:

White shirt: Target
Skirt: Dirt Cheap ($9- so excited for that find, thanks Sheena!)
Flats (below): DSW

So, there you have it.  Simple and sweet. Now click on over to Fine Linen and Purple for more...especially you awesome college and high school girls who I know are reading this post! ;)

Whew, I am sure you are asking if this post is over yet, and yes, it is....Happy Palm Sunday!

Introducing Emma Rose Johnson

 Our personal Expert on all things Fashion:

She loves to wear boots. She would wear them all of the time, every day if she could. This week she was also determined to wear Dan's badge that he had from a retreat the previous weekend.  Leggings are another staple of hers.

Emma loves to wear skirts, just like her mama. But of course she wanted to wear a pajama top with this maxi skirt, instead of the top I bought to go with it...

Yes, she wore the sunglasses to school. And the retreat badge is back in action.

She probably would wear her tutu on a "normal" day, if I let her...but Thursday was circus day and she was soooo excited.

Such a happy child...she was determined to wear her Daddy's sweatshirt, but mean mommy didn't allow it.

She seemed to get over it eventually:

I do love how she decided to wear a dress and then tucked it in to a skirt. Very creative. 

So there you have it, Emma's fashion week. Stay tuned, I am hoping to join the "What I Wore Sunday" ladies tomorrow, Emma might make a guest appearance too. 

Happy Saturday!

There is really no point to sharing this picture above, but it kind of went with my circus theme...if there were pirates at a circus...
Today Emma had circus day at school. She was so excited and I think she had a ton of fun, considering she is now zoned out on the couch watching a cartoon. Speaking of a ton of fun, Joshua decided to have a party last night from 12-2 a.m. He was talking and playing and happy as a clam, whatever that means. I was the only one to join him at this said party and it was a blast. Love watching 13 going on 30 in the wee hours of the morning...
While Emma was at her circus day, we had our own version of a circus as well. We had an invite to join some friends at the park at 10. I was showered and ready and had the boys ready at 10- to go to a park that was 5 minutes away and we didn't show up until 10:30.
"But, Why?" as Kolbe likes to ask these days...
Well, I walked outside at 10 and realized that it was too cold to wear a skirt, so inside we went so I could change.
"But why?"
And then while loading kids in the car, I realized Kolbe had a stinky pull-up.
"But why?"
Now fresh and clean and then where are Kolbe's shoes? After a 5 minute hunt it was finally time to go...
"But why?"
And then of course when we arrive I realize that Joshua had to join the stinky diaper fun.
"But why?"
I just don't know. But in the end, the park was fun.
Time for a nap...or more coffee.
But why. ;)

Joining up with Hallie again and sharing another 5:

1.  This mirror made my bud over at Bean in Love. So beautiful!

2.  The Triple Chocolate Meltdown...from Applebee's....not only is it delicious, but it holds sentimental value, as it is the first dessert my hubby and I ever shared together... :)

3. Speaking of my hubby, this picture is another fave:

4.  Basically all of the clothes from Boden...especially their skirts...a girl can dream...

5. Our new dining room chairs...we found them on craigslist...and they were brand new from West Elm!  We found all 4 on sale for $150. Love them!

Ok that wraps up my morning fun, now it's time to get Emma to school...I have no idea why she is always late...hmmmm....

We've been waiting for you...three's company too...is it sad that when I think of that theme song that I think of a Full House episode instead? Anyway...

Earlier today, I mentioned our freshly painted door and because I loved the way it turned out I am going to share it with you!

I couldn't (quickly) find a picture of the house with the old door color on it, but as you can see below it was hunter green. Pieces of paint were chipping off and last week (Dan's one free weekend he has had in awhile) we thought it would be a GREAT idea to refinish the door... At first we wanted to sand down the door all the way to the natural wood and then stain it.  Then we realized that the 100 or so coats of paint already on it would keep us from doing Plan A.  So then we moved on to Plan B.

I present the "Weathered" look. Or the ugliest door on the block. Take your pick.

Then I did my part by going and selecting the paint. I have to say that it was Dan's idea to look at yellows, but I picked the shade. I painted the door with primer one day last week and was totally regretting that decision after I spilled half of the can on the hardwood floor and then many other little things that I will spare you the details of...

Then the following day when Dan got home from work, we painted the door this awesome shade of yellow- Bee's wax from the HGTV collection at Sherwin-Williams.

 And the pic below shows off our new door hardware.

And because I do not often take the time to show off my projects, here is the wreath I made tonight- all with supplies I had at home already. I took a wreath frame from a wreath I made last year, that had faded and was falling apart, and then I cut strips of leftover fabric and wrapped them around the frame and attached them with a hot glue gun. Then glued on the flowers that I stole from a dusty flower arrangement in our living room and voila!!

"Lucky me, lucky me" 

That is what Emma and Kolbe were singing yesterday, while holding their brownie-to-go, as we were leaving my parents house. It's the little things that make kids so happy and really that's how it is for all of us.

Dan had to work all weekend at a retreat and he also had to go back into the office this morning. Bummer. So today, while he was gone, I went into cleaning mode and because of Joshua's nap schedule never made it to the grocery store...which definitely needed to happen. After the babe woke up from his nap, I only had 40 minutes before it as time to get Emma, and that was just not enough time considering the list I had made...a super downer because that meant I would have to go to the store with all three in tow this afternoon- which is doable, but definitely a lot...more interesting....

As I was rounding up the boys to get their big sis, Dan called to say he was on his way home and could pick up lunch. Perfect.

He also brought home a new door handle, which we wanted to get to put on our freshly painted door. Even more perfect. And then after lunch he proceeded to go ahead and put on the new handle! So exciting. 

And now guess what? He volunteered to go to the grocery store for me. With Emma and Kolbe. SO after working all weekend, serving so many people, he is exhausted and then comes home to a family who missed him and now desires his attention...which he gladly gives. 

Best husband ever? I think so. 

But shhhh, don't tell anyone...

Lucky me, lucky me!

Shout Hooray!

I know I will definitely be shouting hooray once Dan's schedule slows down. I think it will slow down. I hope so... I know he hopes so too. This year has been hard adjusting to three kids and his new job. But we are making it through, slowly but surely.

Today we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day, which was such a gift to help the day pass quickly while Dan is away. We had lunch and shopped with Sheena and the twins and then played outside until dinner. Emma and Kolbe even got a new pet.

His name is Flix.

Flix is a worm.

He is apparently very cute. They protected him from the bird that was flying over them. It was really quite sweet...and then they buried him back in the ground and put a stone on top of where they buried him with the hopes of finding him again tomorrow... whoops.

During bath time I had the brilliant idea of turning on Pandora and we jammed out to the disney station. So. much. fun. We were all singing and dancing and we couldn't wait to see what would come on next.
The party continued to the kitchen where we made cookies and whistled while we worked.  So of course I had to try and post some of the fun....

I know I catch myself complaining sometimes, and a lot of the time it is very hard, but all in all I really just love being a mom!

Habemus Papam! Pope Francis! What a wonderful gift for our Church and our world! I was watching the news footage with my boys waiting four our new pope to walk out and Kolbe was fascinated by the Swiss Guards and the band. He said, "Are those pirates??" And he thought that St. Peter's was the most beautiful castle ever...

Emma was dressed in a tutu and showing off her ballet twirls, Kolbe walked over and grabbed her hand saying,
"I a prince and we are getting married."

Kolbe Francis...Future priest...future heartbreaker (a mom can dream pray, right?)

While patiently waiting for his waffle to be done:
Kolbe: MOMMY ITS DONE,  ITS BURPING!!!!

While dozing on the couch:
Emma: Mommy!! You can't sleep while we are still awake!!
Lauren: I am just resting my eyes...
Emma: Oh, well I am resting my tongue.

this girl loves her daddy

Emma said to Dan when he was giving her a hug after work:  "You are yummy."


While driving out of our driveway, Kolbe cries out that I didn't buckle him.
Lauren: Kolbe, I am losing my mind! Where did it go?
Kolbe (with a very serious look): Where keys are??

Emma: Everybody thinks I am bad...I am bad at school...bad at home...like when I broke an ornament
            at Christmas...can I have a brownie?

After helping me pour noodles in the pot,
Kolbe: Mommy, you are a good maker.
Lauren: Thank you, so are are you!
Kolbe: No, I am not...I am not cool...

A conversation I overheard while they were playing on the slide:
Emma: Kolbe, did you Know that long time ago God made the earth and there were no animals.
Kolbe: No animals?
Emma: Yes. And then after he made animals, he made a man. And do you know what a man is?
Kolbe: MAN!
Emma: He is a kind of person. And they didn't have a lot of choices for clothes back then. And then God made mommy and daddy and then he made us!

Exactly.

Last week we found out that Joshua had ankylogossia, or was tongue-tied. We had noticed that he wasn't eating solid foods well, he would gag and lose interest quickly. We also saw that he had a white sore or scab under his tongue from rubbing against his cute little teeth.  This morning he had an outpatient surgery to correct it. And let me tell you, he was a champ!

I nursed him at 2 am and then had to hold him off until after the surgery. Here is bright-eyed at 5 am. I was trying to keep him happy, despite the fact I was denying him his breakfast. '

Good morning Mommy! Now feed me!

Dan and I left the house at 6:15 to get him checked in by 6:30.

Getting his prayers in..

Where is Joshua?

Oh hi there!

Still waiting...

 While we were talking to all of the doctors and nurses, he fell asleep. It was awesome, they took him back to surgery asleep and gave him the anesthesia breathing mask, still asleep. This made it much easier for him, but was still a tad bit hard for us. Even though it was a five minute procedure it was still a hard "letting go" moment.



I think Joshua thinks he just took a nap in my arms and woke up looking at me. He woke up happy, he ate, and then he started to talk and he made the cutest little faces. He could feel his tongue moving around more and he liked it!

All better! Happy baby! Happy mommy and daddy! So thankful for all of the prayers and for the wonderful doctors and nurses that took care of our little guy.