What's in a Name?

Well, did you notice? I've changed the name of our blog to {Bliss & That} .... It's something that I've been thinking about for a while really. Yes, we do have a brood of our own, but I wanted something to better reflect our blog and daily life. It's always a little of this and a little of that around here with a healthy dose of bliss mixed in! (It didn't hurt that one of my all-time favorite words in the English language is "Bliss" too!) So, there you have it, the birth of a new name! What do you think?

{Oh, and don't forget to change our name on your site if I'm so blessed to be mentioned on it!}

{Somewhat} Wordless Wednesday

Lazy {warm} afternoons won't last long anymore...

Bella's pictures of Mama...

Babies in just diapers...

Plants that are still alive ...

Bright sunshine...

Babies in just diapers... :)

An outdoor game of tag...

{Going, Going ....}

Let Go...

Sometimes it's just better to let go for a moment...

Realizing that giving the kids doughnuts for breakfast once a year isn't really going to hurt them...

That it's okay to feed them on the family room floor on paper plates, scattering crumbs all about...

...while watching cartoons for half the morning...

So sometimes it's okay to let go...

...because the smiles and hugs and "I just wanted to say thank yous" from your daughter and sons are much more worth it...

Flowers for Me!?

{As if I could love my husband any more...}

We've been having to make some big decisions lately and have big changes heading our way. This is Mark's sweet way of encouraging, thanking, and reminding me that "It's an adventure and it will all work out." I know, Honey. With you by my side, oh how I know...

A Trip to the E-Argh

"Mommeeeee! Come out here now," yells Bella from the other room.

*sigh* What now?

"Lincoln is behind the couch."

"Lincoln, why are you back there?"

"My in the E-Argh. My tummy is broke."{As he's on the floor wedged between the couch and the wall in only his Bob the Builder underpants...}

{chuckle} "Okay..."

"My can't eat food or it will FALL OUT!"

"Of your tummy?"

"Yeah, it broke."

{Bella... "He has to stay in here for, um... 60 days!" She's his nurse...}

"Okay, sounds good..."

Now I'm back in the other room and hear...

"Nurse! Nurse! Nurse Brigham!" {chuckle} Now that's scary!

They've been playing nurse/patient for quite a while now. Isabella is taking such good care of the broken-tummy boy, singing to him, reading him books, and feeding him apple slices. Daddy would be so proud!

Diving Into Preschool

Ah, now it's time for Lincoln's school post... Of course I was sad to let my Little Man go to preschool, but it was easier than I thought. Is it always going to be easier with the second and third child? Will I even shed a tear when it's Brigham's turn? Like I said, yes I was sad and yes I cried some, but it was different. I feel very guilty. Like a worse Mommy to him than to Bella, since it was so hard with her this year. Granted, he is attending school where Bella did with the same teachers, and I got to go with him for the first day. We are so comfortable there. It's small, close to home, at our church, and we know all of the teachers and staff. They've earned our trust with our children. That being said, that makes the school part easy. Now if something could just make the growing-up part easy!

Here he is in front of the school tree with his fish name tag on! The theme this year was "Diving into Preschool". It was raining, but we still had to get all of the pictures!

Looks like this one adores Daddy too! I must be too mean. Just check out the look that I get in my picture...

Brigham made it in for this one! He wonders what all of the hoopla is about, I'm sure. (And no, I didn't even put on my waterproof mascara! See, I knew I wouldn't be as sad...)

Singing the "Jesus Loves Lincoln" song while looking in the mirror. Does this child have an infectious smile or what!? (Like the picture with Daddy...) It melts my heart every. time.

Snack time! Whale cheese crackers. So cute!

We needed to take more pictures on the second day, since he was being dropped off for the first time to stay alone.

Lincoln was so excited to wait in the front seat after being unbuckled. I think he was more excited about that than school... Just look at his face in the mirror!

Our heartbreaker handsome boy all set to go, and he's loving it!

Done. For Now...

Remember this post about my late-night online picture-ordering fiasco? Yeah, that one... Well, I finally finished my order the other day quite uneventfully with another round of free shipping for Labor Day. (saved $38.00!)

To my delight, there was a box on the front porch when I came down from putting the kids to bed tonight. I whipped the door open and dead-lifted the what-seemed-like 50-pound box into the kitchen.

{Just to be super-cool for my blog, I actually lugged the box upstairs to the bathroom to weigh it on the scale. 23.2 pounds. That's it?! I swear it felt heavier than both big kids put together!}

Anyways... Here's what almost 3.5 years worth and 2,102 pictures look like when you order them all at once.

{54 envelopes, 2,102 pictures, 23.2 pounds, 3.5 years}

What's that you say? How long will it take me to put them into albums now?

We're not even going to go there... Let me bask in the glory of this accomplished task for a bit.

Wordless Wednesday

A Few of My Favorite Things

I thought it would be fun to do something different and show you some of my {favorite} things that I can't.live.without. This is quite a wide variety, but what I could come up with today! {And truly my favorites}

1) Dr. Pepper

Oh, how I love Dr. Pepper! Any of you that really know me know that I don't "drink", but would just always rather have a soda. It's my sweet potion to relaxation... My "Calgon, take me away"...

2) Target

What would I do without Target!? Well, for starters I or our children would never be wearing any cute yet cheap shoes, clothes, or have good quality generic toilet paper! {Or as Mark would say, "spend way less money..." No, not on toilet paper, the other fun stuff I get there, Silly!} I have to go at least once or twice a week or I don't feel right. I always "joke" that wherever we move, there has to be a Target nearby. Notice I put "joke" in quotes. I'm being serious. Dead.Serious.

3) Burt's Bees "Baby Bees" Products

I'm in love with the scent of these products. I'm fully convinced that this is what God intended babies to smell like. The groovy people at Burt's Bees are onto something I tell you. I can't take my nose off of my children's hair after bathtime. {Heaven} And it's natural too. Perfection.

4) Chipotle Restaurant

Again, Mark can verify this. I'm addicted to Chipotle. Really their chips, but the other food is smokin' good too. But back to the chips... Crispy perfection with real lime juice and large-flaked salt. Oh mama! I need two bags. One for dinner and the other to snack on for breakfast the next morning. Again, no joke. And I've got the kids hooked too. {Bad mommy!} I've never been happier then when Chipotle came to town last spring. {Okay, just maybe when Target opened 5 minutes from my house... But it's a tie!}

5) Clorox Wipes

I know, I know... This isn't the most "green" of my choices. I'm not proud of it, but these things are seriously convenient. I always have a few tubs. They're the perfect counter-wiping, toilet-wiping, mess-wiping wipe. I use them every.single.day. {Unless I'm rebelling against cleaning for a bit, but they're always on stand-by...}

So, there you have it. My first "Favorite Things" list! I'd love to hear who else loves these things with me. And of course, I want to know your favs too! :)

We Let Her Go...

Well, we did it. We let go of Bella just long enough for her to escape into the wonderful world they call Kindergarten. Her first day was last Wednesday, and honestly it was a day that I've been dreading for a long time. I mean, just look how upset utterly excited she looks about going...

She did great! She has been excited about it for a long time and always loved preschool. We knew she'd do great. It's just that she's our baby and still so young and in a bigger school and what if he gets lost and all new friends and all new teachers and recess where she could get hurt and what if kids are mean to her andandand...

She picked out a new pink and purple backpack, had her dress picked out for weeks, and wanted me to do a braid in her hair. We took pictures in front of the house in the same spot that we have every year. Doesn't she look SO old!? {sigh}

Daddy did great for the most part. He was sad and had many second thoughts like I did, but knew (like I did) that it was the best thing for her right now. {Just look at how she adores her Daddy!}

And then there's Mommy... I may look fine here, but I was running on adrenaline to get her to school at this point. I even made the comment to Mark on the way that I couldn't believe that I was doing so well. Of course that was all ruined by pulling into the school's parking lot.

{Dunt. Dunt. Duh.}

I thought that maybe, just maybe I had gotten it all out the night before when I laid with her as she slept in bed. Not so. Of course you still need to act excited and happy for your child, so I wasn't going to cry until after she got out of the truck. Well, long story still long but shorter now, after walking her to her classroom (which I was NOT expecting to do...), I got in the truck and cried. A little, and then a lot when nursing the baby to sleep after getting home. (Thank goodness I put on my waterproof mascara that gets applied, oh, maybe twice a year!)

Now a week later, she's still doing great and loving it! I haven't been sad since the first day either. It was just a matter of getting through it. Isn't that always the case with the many milestones and firsts of your child's life?