very important....please read to the end!

Shiloh and I decided to have some just-the-girls playtime after Gabe went to school today. We had a mommy group today, and we made playdoh. So, we got the playdoh out, along with some pipe cleaners, to see what we could create...

Shiloh did a good job, and then she came up with something VERY interesting.....

Yep, that's right, Shiloh will be a big sister! In a surprise to one and all, number 4 is on the way, to be debuted in late Dec.!

The only other thing I have to say at the moment is....

Happy Birthday, Mom (soon to be Grandma of 5!!) We love and miss you!

names in retrospect

Kaleb: From Caleb-Faithful, Bold (Hebrew) Evan: God is good (Welsh)


It was difficult to decide on a boy name. Did any of you know that Kaleb was destined to be Jade Miranda if he was a girl? Yeah, we're now glad that he got the boy name :)


In the bible, Caleb possessed a "different spirit", and tried to follow God's will, along with Joshua, even when the other 10 spies declared that the Promised Land was completely beyond their grasp. Even when he was 85, he still went where the Lord said.


Gabriel: Hero of God (Hebrew) Joseph: God will increase (Hebrew)


Little Gabe Gabe :) His name was decided on over a Valentines dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Tyrone decided that he would like us to carry on with giving our children biblical names. But, if he had been a girl, his name would have been Makenna, we never got to a girl's middle name with him.


I don't really need to talk to much about Gabriel in the bible, do I? :) He was God's chosen mouthpiece for VERY important news!


Shiloh: Peaceful (Hebrew) Isabelle: Consecrated to God (French)


First, Shiloh would have been Noah James if she had been a boy. When we discovered she was a girl, we had to decide if our girl would also have a bible name, or if that would just be a boy thing. It took alot of searching, but we settled on Shiloh. And, really, we DID NOT name her after Angelina Jolie's kid. Honestly. She doesn't OWN the name.


Shiloh was an assembly place for the people of Israel where there was a sanctuary containing the Ark of the Covenant until it was taken by the Philistines.

shiloh wants to show you something

just call this the martin's crafting blog...

Gabe and I decided to do a Mommy and Gabe project after K went to school and while Shiloh was taking her nap. We made flowers out of coffee filters! Lots of fun, and they actually turned out pretty....I'm thinking of making more and doing something in Shiloh's room with them. I'll let you know if that pans out.


Getting set up...


Dying the flower petals

All done, they just need to dry so they can be assembled...

The flowers!

more concocting!!

We tried out another one of the projects out of The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions today. Coffee Clay! It was fun fun!!



This time, I had the clay ready when the boys came home from school. Jaylin was with us today, so he got to play, too! The clay is pretty simple, being more or less equal parts coffee, flour, salt, and water. It was MUCH less messy than the candy clay, too! (of course, also not edible!) lol

The finished product! Shiloh, Jaylin, and Gabe all made handprints, which I love! I'm sure Jay's mom will be happy to get his, too. K made a ball, which he is going to paint in the next couple of days, so it is still a work in progress. We baked them @ 200 for a little over an hour, and, voila! They are pretty much stone hard, and I think they're cool!

Stellan & MckFamily

Remeber me posting about Stellan and his family before? Well, he did indeed have to be transferred to Boston, and will be undergoing a difficult procedure, an ablation, tomorrow. Please pray for him. If all goes well, this could be his answer! But doctor's do not like to do this surgery on a baby so little, but we know Who to ask to guide their hands!


MyCharmingKids.net

score #2

The other day I got busy on Freecycle again, giving away toys that I had cleaned out of the boys room and clothes and toys that Shiloh has outgrown.

I have been trying to slowly (and without breaking the bank), redo Shilohs room into a more "toddler" place, rather than baby. We're going with the Dora theme, since we already have the Dora toybox and toy organizer, previously received from a Freecycler. Well, guess what I got this time for free?!

Like I said, SCORE! All she needs now is some Dora bedding, wall decor, and a rug and she should be set...Freecycle and Craigslist, here I come!

BIG cookout

We had a big, semi-impromptu cookout today with an excellent turnout! Of course, I ended up sun burned after 5 hours outside, but we had so much fun and got a chance to really get to know some of our neighbors, which was great! Altogether, we had 12 adults, 7 children, 6 dogs, and one very fat cat. :)




Gabe and Shiloh, impatient for the food!

Grill master!

Playing tag

Some of the cookout group

Watermelon!

One of the guys had his remote control truck, and it was FAST. He indulged the kids, and drove it around, letting them chase it. Here's Gabe (finally feeling some better), chasing it...

And here's K and Jaylin chasing it...

Shiloh, and Mommy, met a new friend, Trisha. She was taken with all of the kids, and sweet Shiloh was taken with her. She even drove Shiloh around!

Ring around the rosie....

K, catching his breath...

5 hours later, Gabe had had it

and so had Kaleb!

By the time we came home, everyone was exhausted. After baths all around, and getting ready for school tomorrow (!), Shiloh had an absolute exhausted melt down. I scooped her up and rocked her, which was worth every second of the meltdown. She let me rock her for a solid 30 minutes before bed. Everyone is now thoroughly conked out. It was a great day!

concoctions!!

We have a new favorite book...The ultimate Book of kid Concoctions!

So, we decided to try out the recipe for Candy Clay!

We started all clean and ready for anything!

We each picked out a color we wanted to use...

Mommy measured in the powdered sugar and corn syrup, and the k did the salt...

Shiloh put the butter in...

With a little "help" from Shiloh, Gabe added the vanilla...

We had to look at what we had so far!

Then, we split it up and added our chosen colors!

Mommy and Shiloh worked on the pink and purple batch while the boys mixed in their colors...

But, the boys' batch turned out a little runny, and Mommy and Shiloh's ended up a little too stiff,...

So we decided to mix it all together!!

And then, Daddy informed them that our clay was edible!!!

We ended up with alot of mess, but alot of fun and laughter, too. We managed to keep it all contained on the blanket, which was a really good thing. Most of the clay is in the fridge now, it was so sweet that Shiloh and K both stopped eating it on their own, the only one I had to stop was Gabe. :)

all my sickies.....**updated**

Kaleb and Shiloh have rebounded pretty nicely from their ickies this morning. Gabe, not so much. See, Shiloh feels the need to baby him...




and to try to share her jelly sandwich....




But, Gabe ended up just falling asleep for a couple of hours. (he hasn't napped in over a year...) he's awake now, but hasn't moved yet. Poor guy.



**ORIGINAL POST**

progress!

I had another appointment with the specialist about my jaw today! With the kids out on spring break, we all loaded up early this morning and headed out. I was frustrated after my last appointment, but my faith has been restored! I expressed my concerns to my dr., and he was very receptive. I did have to get another lidocaine injection into my face (doesn't that just give you the heeby-jeebies?). It was explained to me that he has to do at least 2 of these injections to satisfy the insurance company that he had tried all possible conservative treatments.

The good news? I've had two of them now! To recap, I've taken naproxen, used ethyl chloride spray, done a horrid 6 day course of steroids, had a torture device-i mean nightguard-made, taken 2 different types of painkillers, 3 different muscle relaxers, had at least 3 er visits, and, most lately, 2 injections into my face. I may have forgotten something....this has been going on since October!

So....he has agreed that if, at my appt. next month, there is not significant improvement in my pain and, most importantly, range of motion, we will schedule my mri and my arthroscopic surgery! I'm not sure that anyone has ever been more excited to hear the words surgery. I am SO OVER these issues. And, I am hopeful that if we take care of my jaw, we will take care of my migraines. So, as the title says, we have made progress today!

spring break, continued

Today was one of those days where you try really hard to make it a fun day, and you have to keep stopping, taking a deep breath, and trying again. The kids haven't been horrible or anything, but they haven't been at their most angelic, either.


Now that they finally have their Dora pirate ship back, they've been having lots of fun with it out back. They think I'm the "super-coolest" if I let them have a "pirate lunch" in their pirate ship. When they are in their, though, you MUST call K "Captain Bones" and Gabe a "scurvy dog" hehe. Anyway. So, I gave them their sandwiches and deviled eggs, and went back inside (watching them from our huge open window while folding laundry). Soon, I realized that "Captain Bones" had turned his back to me and the boys were whispering very quietly (always a sure fire sign something is up). I went outside to find that they were both COVERED with crumbs, as was their ship. When asked what in the world they were doing, the answer was "feeding the bugs...they'll be here soon." I can't really argue with the logic, b/c if my back porch is covered in crumbs, they WILL be here soon. grrrrr....




After her nap, Shiloh and I joined the boys outside. They were pretty much already laying this way, and, silly me, I thought that it would be fun to get an adorable pic of them laying together in the grass. The SECOND that I turned the camera on, K decided that the sun was "TO TO TO BRIGHT!", and started making faces and complaining. Shiloh loves her bubba, so when he decided this was not a good situation, she became unsure, started fussing, and got up. I snapped the pic as they were, and let it go. .....it would have been sooo cute.....

The boys rolling down our hill.....

Shiloh, crawling backwards down the hill, in an attempt to do what the bubbas were doing.... :)

I am happy to report that when we came inside, I decided to try AGAIN to have some fun and made our modified version of "Baby Blender Foods" Nutty Choco Monkey shake (our version involves peanut butter, milk, chocolate instant breakfast powder, bananas, crushed ice, and lots of blending). It was soooo good, we drank it and watched cartoons. This snack also has the added benefit of cracking the boys up with laughter EVERY time you say it's name. :)

more outside