Foster Four

Hello friends.

It's been quite some time...

I haven't written in a while because as most of you know, I had a baby three months ago and to be honest, I wasn't sure if anyone actually read my blog since all I was doing was whining about every aspect of being pregnant.

I think I stopped writing because I have two children and also because I forgot I even had a blog. It wasn't until I began casually perusing some baking blogs this weekend that I realized how much I missed it. So here I am, not claiming to be better about posting, but making an effort on this random Monday because I just can't bring myself to actually work.

Now, to catch you up...

I don't remember what my last entry was about, but I bet it went something like this: "Blah, blah, blah, I must have done something awful to deserve this, blah, blah, blah, curse my husband for doing this to me, blah, blah, blah, my scale just broke."

I can make fun of myself now for complaining, but I definitely still have those same feelings. I didn't enjoy being pregnant this go-around and I do not hope to do it again. All that aside, what I got out of the pregnancy was so enormously rewarding that in the end, I can now say it was all worth it.

I'll skip the traumatic horror story of how Evan was born and just tell you that after having a difficult time dealing with being pregnant for 40 weeks, the arrival of my sweet baby cheeks was the painful cherry on top of my I-hate-pregnancy sundae.

Now, let's get on to the happy stuff!

My beautiful little Evan has been the easiest and sweetest baby I could have ever hoped for. If you happen to be lucky enough to squeeze his chubby bunny cheeks, you'll be rewarded with a heart-melting grin and adorable squeal or coo. His tiny fingers and frog belly fill me up with so much love that my already sensitive hormones kick start the waterworks even faster than usual.

Colin runs in to see us every morning with a huge smile and shouts, "It's baby Evan!!". I think he is under the impression that the name is literally, "Baby Evan".

Colin is getting so big that it's almost scary. His personality matches his red hair perfectly because that little dude is one fiery mister! Life with two kids is not easy, but it's also not as hard as I thought it would be. I definitely attribute that to my better half. It's moments when I walk into the living room and see this that prove I chose the right person to raise a family with...



The first few times I ventured out of what used to be our fairly normal looking home, I'd come back to realize it had turned into one big closet where some maniac (certainly not me!) was storing an obscene amount of baby-related items. To try and keep it organized seemed pointless. Every piece of furniture transformed into a changing table when I needed it to and every nook and cranny was stuffed with wipes, diapers and usually a Thomas the Train that had wandered off its path. I once found one in the fridge, trying it's hardest to chug past the carton of orange juice.

The neat freak in me is pulling her hair out and begging for me to lock the door so no one can ever see it, but the realist in me is brushing baby powder off her shoulders and saying "fo'getabowdit!"

My biggest challenge has definitely been to lose the baby weight. There have been so many excuses to make treats lately that every time I sit down to eat, more often than not, there's a cupcake sitting where my vegetables should be. I've done alright at getting rid of most of the weight, but if I want to wear any type of bathing suit this summer, I'm going to need to get a padlock for my pantry.

Now that you're pretty much caught up on what I've been up to, here are some recent pictures from the past few weeks.

We often go to a local farm called Lone Pine. They have a big playground for kids as well as goats you can feed! Colin wasn't too happy when I tried to get a picture of him feeding the goats (see pouty face in stroller) but all was forgiven after a few turns down the slide.





Shane and I took the kids to the zoo about a month ago and Colin was in awe over the huge tanks. You can barely see him here (little kid in the middle with his arms pressed up against the glass).



Shane likes to get donuts for breakfast (ok, we ALL like it) and Colin is a huge fan of maple bars.





I let Colin watch an episode of Special Agent Oso where he teaches a little kid how to blow his nose. Colin went to the tissue box, grabbed one and walked over to the TV. He then told Oso that he already knows how to do it.



Here are a few pictures of my little men enjoying one of the 5 minute intervals of Oregon sun.





Hope you enjoyed my quick catch-up on the Foster Four!

Crazy for Cupcakes

It should come to no surprise to friends and family that I love to bake. Breads, pies, cookies, cakes...I love all of it! The dessert I make most often has got to be cupcakes. I find any excuse to whip up a batch and sometimes I find myself baking multiple nights a week. Last night is a perfect example of my random baking habit. I teach a dance class at 6 pm every Thursday and for some reason, after I got home from work last night I decided that it was necessary for me to bake some cupcakes to take to my class for Valentine's Day. One hour later I was out the door with some confetti cupcakes complete with candy hearts on top. Could I be addicted? Possibly.

Shane always asks why I take the time to make elaborate cupcakes, but it's almost therapeutic. Don't get me wrong, I get frustrated sometimes when one turns out perfect and then I get to the next one and it comes out completely deformed (happens ALL the time), but I think Shane might complain more if I stopped making them all together. :) Plus, if anyone should understand why working on your craft is fun, even when you're upset, it should be him. I've seen him "have fun" playing Call of Duty and drop more F bombs than Debra Morgan. (Dexter reference...I couldn't help myself!)

So I decided to put together a post of some of the cupcakes I've created in the past for various events and/or random nights when I was just plain hungry. I wish I took pictures of all them, but this assortment is good enough!


A friend's baby shower...baby cupcakes!


I made these cupcakes for Colin's 1st Birthday Party - Pablo from The Backyardians


A friend's bridal shower - butterfly cupcakes


4th of July - firework cupcakes


Christmas Party - holly cupcakes


Our friend's wedding rehearsal - I made 3 different types of cupcakes for them








How Shane and I chose to tell his family we were pregnant again


One of the first set of novelty cupcakes I ever did...unfortunately I dropped 2 in my car...so we put those in the back. :)


Superbowl 2011 - football cupcakes


No reason at all - chocolate cupcakes with Irish whipped cream frosting...YUM!

Pregnancy Perks & Problems

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and there were a number of things that occurred simply because I am pregnant. This got me thinking about all of the things that are made more difficult or funny by pregnancy and all the things that come with it. So, I decided to create a small list of experiences I've had during my pregnancies that I've found frustrating, funny, ironic and just plain weird. Feel free to comment below to add yours as well!

1. Getting into my car yesterday, I slid into the driver seat as I normally do. My belly, however, had a mind of it's own and hit the steering wheel right on the horn. Hands-free honking? I didn't sign up for that.

2. Do you ever get tired of the urine samples at your doctor's appointments? How about when you get to the point where it becomes a guessing game called "Blindly Catch Enough Ounces for Your Urine Sample". I didn't realize that I needed to bring a handheld mirror so I can avoid peeing everywhere BUT the cup. Can someone please just invent a urine sample only toilet so we can all put the days of awkwardly holding a cup down there behind us?

3. It's a good thing I can barely see my feet, because not only am I unable to bend my body in a way that enables me to put on socks, but I can kiss goodbye the days of putting on nail polish, foot scrubs or any other luxury that makes my feet feel good. Pregnancy should come with an on-call pedicurist. Just saying.

4. I work in an office where it's expected for the employees to dress somewhere in between business professional and business casual. Up until a few months ago, this was no issue at all. My pants still buttoned, all my shirts were long enough to cover my belly and my feet weren't puffy and therefore still comfortably fit into all my shoes. Nowadays, I walk into the office wearing something out of my limited maternity rotation of clothes. I don't care if that means jeans on a Monday, if it makes me comfortable, that's what I'm wearing! I'm not going to go out and buy a new set of clothes that I'll be swimming in later on just so I can uphold the dress code.

5. Eating for Two. I'd like to know who created this false phrase that brainwashed me into thinking I could eat whatever I wanted and as much as I wanted while I was pregnant. I remember reading the first time around that you really only needed an extra 200 calories a day and I immediately thought back to the days I'd spent eating everything in sight "so the baby would be healthy"...aka because I had an excuse to get fat. I still eat more than is recommended, but this is really nothing different than non-pregnant life. We'll see how much I regret those extra cupcakes when I give birth to a 13 pound baby.

6. I'm not sure what it is about pregnancy, but it gives people cause to have the strangest reactions. The people I like least are the ones who think they have a right to touch your belly, even if they don't know you. I've only had this happen a few times, but one time was so uncomfortable that I don't think I'll ever forget it. Shane and I were in Fred Meyer late in my first pregnancy when a woman stopped us in one of the aisles. She asked the typical questions and then proceeded to move closer to me while asking if she could pray for the baby. I remember thinking, "Sure lady, knock yourself out", but what I didn't realize is that she meant right then and there. She put her hands on my stomach, closed her eyes and began going off in prayer as I stared at Shane with huge eyes and tried to think of a way to wrap it up. Don't me wrong, I'm all for prayer. I'm not for strangers touching me and creating a clog in a grocery aisle when all other people want to do is get past us to pick up their cereal.

7. A few nights ago, Shane and I were watching TV before bedtime. Our show ended and I gave a big grunt as I tried to stand up....then nothing. I was stuck. Actually, physically stuck in a squat position. Butt off the couch, far from standing up straight and I couldn't move! I wobbled a bit before I finally found the balance, strength and flexibility to straighten my body out. This wasn't the first time my belly has completely thrown off my balance. For the first time in my adult life, about a week ago, I actually rolled off our bed. I was asleep up until the point my butt hit the ground, but I remember looking up at Shane and saying, "I just fell off the bed!!" He, of course, was still half-asleep so I think he mumbled something about me being ok and then went back to sleep (how the thud didn't shake the house, I'll never know!).

8. I love the pregnancy waddle. There's something so hilarious about watching a woman walk like a bowl-legged toddler for a few months. I especially love when we're on one of our nightly walks and I can feel my ponytail violently swishing from side to side because it's gotten that out of control. It's one of my few pregnancy joys!

These are just a few of things that irritate, confuse and entertain me about pregnancy. Hopefully some of you can relate and I'm not the only one!

Here's to the last 6 weeks!

New Camera!

As some of you might know, Shane and I have been in the market for a new video camera of some sort. We had one for many years, but it saw it's final days a few months ago when a tape got stuck in it and Shane felt compelled to take it completely apart. It then sat on his desk, collecting dust and odds that it would be tossed out.

I wasn't quite sure what to do. We had a decent Canon digital camera that we had gotten about a year and a half ago. It took video, but the quality wasn't good enough to make it our sole device for capturing all those one of a kind moments. I researched the Flip UltraHD camera, the Kodak Zi8 camera, pretty much every Sony camera....basically any type of camera that was on the market was under my scrutiny. I couldn't decide if I wanted to carry around TWO cameras, sacrifice zoom quality or deal with a smaller memory that required me to upload every 1 to 2 hours.

In the back of my mind, there was also that little voice that was telling me to just give in and get a DSLR camera. I have wanted one for so long but could never really justify the cost. The second factor was the size. They all were roughly the same size and weight (that I had looked into) which was a little too big for my taste.

That's when I finally came across the Sony Alpha NEX-3. It's basically one of the smallest, lightest interchangeable lens digital cameras there are and the quality is that of a DLSR AND it films HD movies. I bought it a few weeks ago and I've been going crazy taking pictures, video and trying to familiarize myself with all of the settings it has to offer. I'm definitely excited to have everything I need in ONE camera while not compromising the size. Don't get me wrong, the lens is still big, but the body of the camera is small, which is a great balance.

I promise to have one post filled with just pictures and/or video from our latest purchase and I can't wait to see how beautiful the shots turn out when edited by my in-house graphic designer. :)

So if you're unable to locate me, just listen for the endless repeat of "Cheese!" coming from Colin and my squeals of delight as I gaze at each shot. I'm in love!

Time flies when you're having fun and stops when you're pregnant

It's been about 2 months since my last post and honestly, I just haven't felt like writing. In truth, I haven't felt like doing ANYTHING. The smallest chores and tasks now feel like huge hassles and burdens that have been thrown at me simply to make life more difficult.

It hasn't been much of secret that I am OVER being pregnant. I feel bad for saying it, but there is no amount of energy in me that can be spared to muster up a fake response when asked how I'm feeling lately. With Colin, I loved being pregnant. I enjoyed every milestone, every month, every kick/jab combo...those were all reminders of the amazing transformation that was happening.

This time, the pregnancy fairies must have run out of delusional dust when they got to me. I only feel what I imagine to be fingers and toes playing harp with my ribcage and am increasingly aware of this little guy who is stealing the space reserved for my stomach and bladder. I'm reminded every time I eat a little too much or wait a little too long to go to the bathroom. He then begins treating me like a bouncy house, ricocheting from one side to the other in what must be attempts to do a triple back flip.

I'm sure it has a great deal to do with the fact that this time around I'm no longer able to lay on the couch for hours on end, eating wheat thins with string cheese and reminding myself that I'm pregnant, therefore allowed to be lazy. This time I'm chasing a naked toddler who runs about the house yelling "choo-choo!!" and calling our cat a "Titty". Don't get me wrong, it's been a great distraction. Up until the past month or so, Colin's energy and schedule have kept my mind off the ordeal my body was going through. But lately, it's been hard to find anything that can replace the mental countdown until baby #2 arrives. I know, I know....I won't be getting any rest once the baby comes! This hasn't been about rest for me. It's been about the restrictions my body faces as I grow larger, which isn't easy on someone who likes to be active and say, touch or even SEE her toes.

So this is for all the pregnant women who have ever been sweaty, puffy, uncomfortable and jiggly. If I could, I'd waddle over and give you a hug because you deserve it. And if you're anything like me the first time I was pregnant: glowing, giddy, energetic and joyful...I'd like to waddle over and punch you in the face.