Trudging Through March

This is our toughest month of the entire year. We are so close to the end of our busy season, yet so far away. Really people, bring your tax stuff in early because we are zombies by the end of March. Oh, and there is ALWAYS something big that happens in March. Like the straw that broke the camel's back. Many times it is an event that if it occurs after April, we can handle it in stride. When it happens in March, well, it is drama multiplied by a million. Sometimes it is even something good that happens, like a brand new baby girl arriving. We're just so weary and short on margin in our lives for anything extra.

You should be so proud of us since we are continuing our Family Night Dinner. Our oldest grandchild is enamored with Family Night Dinner. He LOVES it. And I get to try out new recipes, most from Pinterest. Last night was Ginger and Cilantro baked Tilapia

So I may have gotten a tad bit carried away with the garlic (Dave disagrees, he says you can NEVER have too much garlic) and it was still delicious. Very healthy too! This most definitely will be seen again on the dinner table. We served this over brown rice (LOVE Trader Joe's frozen rice) along with fresh steamed asparagus. Oh, and as an added bonus, I may have met a new best friend while purchasing the Tilapia at the fish counter.

Again, dessert was a big hit. I think my little boys have a major sweet tooth. We had Angel Food Cake and I cut it open to add sliced fresh strawberries and Cool Whip (yeah, I know, I got lazy and didn't make real whipped cream...can you forgive me?). I covered it with even more CW and fresh berries.

Both boys were "exuberant" last night. Right after bath they took off running around the house buck naked. I'm pretty sure Mama took video of this event. What is it about freshly cleaned babies running around naked? They were careening with reckless abandon, pure joy. They were loving it. Well not so much when E whacked his head against the marble topped island. He's just at the perfect height, which we discussed several days ago and cautioned him. Really though, does a three year old comprehend "caution"?

We trudge on....loving these sweet moments. Well, not the whacking of the head, but the rest of it was spectacular.

Loving Vesper

Big Brother Ezra LOVES to hold his little baby sister. This is extra special since his younger brother is being put to bed and he gets to stay up a little bit later since he's older. So funny how Ezra is so aware that he's the oldest. I can only imagine how this is going to play out over the years. I just don't see Theo going along with this his entire life. Anyway, here is big brother Ezra holding his little baby sister. Doesn't this just melt your heart?

Here are all my grand babies getting clean. Or as we sometimes refer to them, Swenson Version 1.0, 2.0, & now 3.0!

Vesper was very happy in the warm water and didn't mind those two big boys hanging around. Good, because those two big boys are not going away any time soon.

Vesper's First Family Dinner

Tonight was Vesper's very first Family Dinner. Ezra was so happy. He likes to have everyone together. He's asked several times if his baby sister was going to come to Family Dinner. He really missed her not being in attendance last week. 

Dinner was very simple this week, with it being our busy season and all. We had spaghetti with meat sauce, Caesar salad, and bread. The bread was good, and very funny story. We were both in the kitchen trying to get it on the table. Dave decided to help out with the bread. The plan was to put butter and garlic on the bread, when Dave grabbed my one-half cup of crust that I had set aside. Granted, I did have the cup sitting very near the bread prep area. The bread actually tasted good. Sweet, but good.

This is Ezra "cutting" his food. First he announced that he was cutting his own food. Then he called out to each individual to watch him. Waiting until he heard "good job" until he moved on to the next person. He even invited his brother to watch. Theo was not the least bit interested. He was playing peek-a-boo and that takes precedence.

Even without the full crust, the dessert was fabulous. Then again, with enough sugar and ice cream added, everything is fabulous! Here's a photo of yet another snag off of Pinterest, Peach Cobbler.

Zero Birthday and Counting

How do you celebrate the birth of your new baby sister? With a Birth Day Party of course!!!!!

Cake? check. Party Hats? check. Candles? check. Oh wait, no candles because she's ZERO!!!!!

Three's the Charm and We are Charmed

We now have THREE grandchildren! So hard to believe. It's just like our daughter to overwhelm us. Everyone is healthy, happy, and exhausted. Dare I saw the exhausted part is the "new normal"?

After two boys we now have a girl. She's fitting the stereotype too, she was due on the 20th and made us all wait...until the following month! She does have a cool birthdate of 3.1.13.

The birth of #1 was filled with drama and #2 was so fast we didn't have time to fret. W & J birth the babies at home. This adds a whole new dimension for us. We think of all the horrible things that can go wrong and require technical medical intervention. Then there's always the fielding of questions and comments from people. We did receive periodic texts and photos as the labor progressed. We were tethered to our phones. We received the text that #3 had arrived while Dave was meeting with a client. Dave's client was as excited as we were when we received the photo and passed around our phones so they could see too.

We brought the boys to meet their new baby sister the next day. W & J had presents for them from their sister. E didn't really understand that and asked questions.

Please pay no attention to the fact that E has not combed his hair and his sweater is hopelessly wrinkled. I think we earn medals since he's alive, clean, and fed. That is my new gold standard.

Here's Ezra filled with glee at the sight of his brand new baby sister

And of course he had to touch her

I'm certain he hasn't washed his hands in the last hour and I have no idea where his hand has been. Forgetting all that, is this not the cutest image of Big Brother's hand, Papa's hand (that looks as if the first finger is half missing), and sweet baby girl's tiny little precious hand?

So now it's Theo's turn to meet his new little sister. It is exactly 18 months and his position as the baby of the family has been usurped. Guess how he's going to take this. Go ahead and guess. He was busy exploring and touching everything while we were all distracted and here's how he looked when we all said "Theo, come meet your new baby sister"

He took one look at her, turned to J and began to cry for his Mama. Actually it was more like wailing. This broke Dave's heart and he swooped in to comfort Theo.

Jessica assures us, she even sent a photo as proof, that after a two hour nap he woke up and cuddled with his new baby sister.

Vesper Wren Swenson has arrived and we will never be the same.

Imitating Jesus

Tuesday night family dinner wouldn't be complete without a bath for the boys. This gives the adults time to chat and brings calming for the wee ones before dessert. The water is filling in the tub and E is ready to jump in. I say "hey, you can't get in the water with your clothes on" and he tells me "Jesus gets in the water with his clothes on". I then have to break it to this sweet child..."yeah, but you're not Jesus, so take your clothes off before you hop in the tub".  He's always good for a chuckle.

We Have A Winner

We continue to have Family Night...aren't you proud of us? We're keeping this up and I 'm having a great time.  I'm enjoying searching the internet to find tasty recipes. My rules are something that can feed a group, is tasty, and I can prepare and get on the table while still being able to visit with everyone. I still need to get some work done during the day too.

Most of my searching is done on Pinterest......hello, my name is Edie and I am a Pinaholic. My Food Boards are very full and I've actually prepared many of them. There's a whole lot of crappy websites, and so many people think they explain things well and they don't. The reason Pioneer Woman has so many followers, well, she is fabulous. Decades ago I found new recipes in the Wednesday edition of the local paper. Things change some, but not that much.

I think I've found a new favorite website to checkout, DeepSouthDish.com. With the cold and dark days, I was looking for comfort food and found a winner......Hamburger Steak with Creamy Onion Gravy. This is fabulous! My SIL told me to double the recipe the next time I prepare this.....this will appear on my table again....and again....(So sorry Jessica that there weren't enough leftovers for your next meal).

Here it is while cooking.....please notice the camera trouble continues. I'm wondering if the mirror is not lifting up quickly enough because it seems like the first photo has the blackness and then the other frame taken right after does not....I think I need to find a camera shop.

Here it is on the table....

and here's my youngest grandchild....now I'm just showing off....

and yes, that is an owie on his forehead.....he face plants in the same spot so much that I think he's rubbing his skin down and bleeding....he'll learn.

After dinner we clean up, have dessert, and then bathe the grandchildren. Honestly, I ask you, does it get any better than this? No it does not!!!!  I'm leaving out the parts where Lucky is dragged in and furniture is rearranged, the boys make a huge mess, balls are hurled down the hall, little hands are dragged along the white walls, snuggles are handed out freely, books are read (and tossed and gnawed on), the lights are turned on and off when the switch can be reached, and so many other activities all crammed in to two plus hours.