April 2014: Spring Break

it kind of sounds like we are all going into hibernation or like something terribly sad is about to happen with all these posts that talk about "trying to get in as much fun as possible" before baby comes. but maybe it's just that i know a little tiny baby human just throws you on a roller  coaster that you have absolutely no control over for a good long while. and also i know that the other kids get this awesome new sibling...but that also means that they get a new boss who decides a lot of what they get to do and don't get to do...especially outings wise. basically, i'm a wuss when it comes to outings with a lil baby human, especially the thought of outings being outnumbered. i know it's gonna be great, but it's also gonna be....different too. so for spring break, we fit in tons of girly fun activities that babies (especially baby boys) wouldn't enjoy.

1) flying kites. ok this doesn't really fall into that category at all- but the girls got kites for Easter and so it was the perfect kick-off to spring break to fly them all night. the girls love love loved flying those kites!

2) this totally falls under that girly non-baby activity.....going to the American Girl Doll store. oh man the girls loved this! they got American Girl dolls from Santa, and i gave them a little bit of money each to go and buy a little outfit for their American Girl dolls. they had a total blast doing this! and i had a total blast watching them. is it weird that i want one? because i do. i never got one when i was little and i still feel a little jipped by that. luckily i can live vicariously through them.

3) we went to the book store and i let them each pick a book. such a simple thing to do, but always my very favorite activity. booooooooks! they get me every time.

4) we went to Six Flags- we have season passes, but this place never gets old! this girls love "six-a-flags!" (as Alice calls it).

5) at the Hunts Christmas party this past December, we won a $100 gift card to Benihana -- so after Six Flags, we took the kids there for their very first time. i loved watching their little faces- they devoured every bite! such a fun place. wish we could go all the time.

 6) for our last day, it was pouring rain, so we had to do something indoors....so i took the girls to Color Me Mine for the first time. together we decided that we'd paint a little tea set of our own; Ellie painted her own teacup and plate, Alice painted her own teacup and plate, and i painted a tea pot. they all turned out so cute! it was such a fun afternoon with these lil girly ladies - can't wait to take them back and do it again someday as a girl's date.

all in all, it was a totally fun little staycation and i loved our fun last little memories before life changes again.

xoxo

the all-encompassing blog post

w-o-w.

so much going on. so i'm going to just pile it all in, kind of like you do when you're going on a trip, and you say that you're going to "pack light" but then you end up bringing a bunch of useless stuff just in case. yeah, this post is kinda like that.

last week, my sister, the prettiest person on the planet, came over on her spring break and had a sleepover here. it was so fun. its time like these that makes me wish i was 16 at home again. sigh. we had fun singin' in the car, eating yummy bajio, frozen yogurt from here, playing that stupid addicting scramble game on her i-touch, watching movies, and getting fancy shmancy glitter toes. see:


the picture really doesn't do it justice. anyways, i love glitter toes. makes me feel so girly. we had a blast together, and only wish we could do it more often.

on saturday, Ellie turned 10 months old. old, right?. she has 5 (almost 6!) teeth now. she is looking more like a little girl, and not so much like a little baby anymore. it is so exciting...even though sometimes i just want to cry thinking that she won't be my baby forever. i am going to do a more elaborate Ellie update later...because i know you love it. :)



then, it was my brother's birthday this weekend. my brother is one of those unique, unforgettable people. he is funny, and very sarcastic. in fact, i told him this weekend that my oversensitive nature and all of my insecurities about myself are largely due to him teasing me incessantly when we were young. i can't imagine my life without him. happy birthday, sean. i'm so glad you were born.



of course, we got to celebrate Easters. it was so fun. Ellie was soooo cute. she looked adorable in her easter dress. see:



and, she is in this huge duck phase (see her collection of ducks on here blog here) so my mom got her this Easter basket filled with all sorts of duck things: duck pajamas, duck books, duck scrubbers, duck stuffed animal, duck backpack, and even a duck basket to put it all in. it was so cute to watch Ellie's face light up and hear her say "duck, duck, duck" over and over again. how wonderful it was to spend this day with my family. thank you mom and dad for all of the hard-work you put into making it yet another memorable occassion and of course for all of your generosity. we love you. (now, naturally, a whole bunch of easters pictures to follow:)

{life can be oh-so-serious for this little monster}

also, my sister-in-law, Courtney is pregnant and due this week. i am SO excited to meet her little Rosalie. she is going to be such a gorgeous little baby. so fingers crossed that i will finally be an auntie SOON, and that Ellie will finally have a Hartley cousin!



we've watched a few really good movies lately. Bedtime Stories. l-o-v-e-d it. High School Musical 3. kinda liked it, hold the kinda (i'm a major dork who loves to blame the fact that i watch the HSM's on the fact that i am a kindergarten teacher, even though i thoroughly enjoy every minute of them). and finally, we watched Marley & Me last night. about 3/4 through the movie, i knew it could only end bad...but i was hooked...and then i sobbed and sobbed and sobbed at the end. anyone who has had a dog (or any pet for that matter) can understand what i mean.

also, our t.v. shows are awesome right now.
LOST: a-maz-ing, keeps me more intrigued and stressed than any other show, and could watch 48 hours straight of it.
American Idol: addicting, sometimes disappointing, sometimes incredible.
Office: hilarious, never disappoints.
24: crazy and thrilling.
but the show i realllly wanna talk about is House. is anyone watching House right now? i still can't believe this last week's episode and would love to talk to someone about it. we've never watched House in chronological order till this season and we are loving it....but again, i'm in shock over what happened last Monday. w.o.w.

and finally, now i'm just sitting on my lovesac at 1:51 pm...because i'm on SPRING BREAK. and it feels great. other than the very long list i made for myself this week. i'm a list person, in case you didn't already know that). some things on that list include:

• exercise every day (ha)
• read my scriptures every day
• get my wedding album done (i know. it's been almost 4 years now. geesh)
• get caught up on my classes
• cook every night- and try a new recipe (eek!)
• hug Ellie an extra 15 times a day
• lay in bed for an extra 15 minutes a day
• grocery store (ugh)
• and...hang out with you. call me.

xoxo

from my point of view...

this is what i see every day:


today, i saw through new eyes:

we attended our first prenatal class.

it was...interesting. informative. funny (i know, weird, but it was). descriptive (beyond necessity at points). and actually pretty exciting (got me all anxious, nervous yet really happy and stir crazy).

we have three more to go- so i'll be sure to give you weekly updates....since i know you want to know all the details of labor just as much as i do.

p.s. we're less than 50 days away now...48 to be exact. holy smokes.

the chair.

spring break has brought many wonderful surprises. thanks to my mom, we got the greatest surprise of all today. let me introduce you to my new, most favoritest member of our family:

the chair.

isn't it beautiful?

dear the chair,

i look forward to many days and countless nights and hundreds of hours in between that we will spend together in the very near future. you are lovely...and comfortable beyond description. welcome to the chapman family.

love,

marci

p.s. i apologize in advance for the baby barf and explosions that will inevitably come in days ahead.

side note: i was so anxious to take a picture that we assembled the chair and took one right in our living room...and it's not the best. well, this will obviously be in baby chappy's room..so watch for more pictures to come. my question to you: do you like it??

spring break has begun.

well, my initial goal was to blog every day of spring break (because i'd have all this free time). well, it hasn't worked out that way, though i now pledge myself to blog the rest of the days. that's right, for once, you will not get ONE post a week...but rather, a POST A DAY. (yikes, do you want to hear from me that much?)

first thing: to start of spring break, i got myself some new lovely deodorant. i knew i'd be going a million miles an hour, so i'd be needing the ultimate anti-antiperspirant out there. i prefer MITCHUM because it really knows how to do the trick. well, my favorite Mitchum Scent is Shower Fresh.
it's so nice, it really smells like you just got out of the shower (or it may just be the fact that i put it on right after i get out of the shower....hmmm). well in my hastiness at the store this weekend, i neglected to by Shower Fresh, but rather Flower Fresh.
Let me tell you a little something about Flower Fresh: it wreaks. no joke. i hate it. it smells like this body wash i got once that i wanted to vomit everytime i soaped myself up. as you may know, Mitchum is not the cheap stuff...so now i'm in this dilemma: do i continue to use this horrible scented deodorant, whose sole purpose is to make me smell better? or do i fork out the 5 bucks for a my Shower Fresh smell that I deeply miss? i just don't know...