rocking out~

the other night our boys were rocking out to their homemade guitars that our friend niki had given to them. she brought them over with stickers and the boys loved it. they decorated them and then were playing their guitars and singing into the microphone that she brought too. it was so much fun. we owe niki a big thank you for all the laughs we had that night.

cullan and kael rocking out
kael singing - not sure what- but he was belting it out
cullan rocking the guitar!

well i guess you can tell by the photo below how happy briea was with all the noise!

is that pitiful or what?

at one point cullan was playing a guitar, garran was playing a guitar and kael was singing on the microphone! i did not get a picture but i wish i would have. it was so funny.

WOO HOO~

ok friends.. the good news keeps rolling in. today garran was checking his email and found a wonderful little surprise. the man that runs the gallery that garrans piece is in right now sent him an email saying that a woman had contacted the gallery director about purchasing the piece that garran has in the show!!!!!

WOOOOO HOOOO!!!

we love when garran sells art work. im so excited for him. so garran emailed the woman today and we are just waiting to hear back from her to firm up the details.

just thought i would share some good news!

laugh rather than crying #1

The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable. Joesph Wirthlin

ok so recently i have been doing some reflecting. i have not been happy with myself and the way i have been dealing with the boys. i have found myself being very short tempered and quick to anger. i dont like yelling or getting upset with them and it really does not make things better with them either. they just get frustrated and are even harder to deal with. at least from my own personal experience. so today i had an idea. i was at church and we were having a lesson on Joseph B Wirthlins talk " Come what may and love it" . I always appreciated his ability to find humor in things. ok so hear was my idea. im going to try and combine what i learned from Wirthlins talk and from one of my favorite quotes from M. Hinckley "The only way to get through life is to laugh through it. You can either laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache!"

now this really is for myself. but because i use this blog as a way to remember things are family has done and just for my own personal record, this is where i will be recording it.

so hear is my first attempt at being better!

now i am not perfect right off the bat. but i did try. ok so within 30 minutes the other day this is what happened.-

i was in my room folding laundry and smelled something stinky. i walked into the boys room and kael had taken his diaper off and smeared poop on the carpet. (ok i was not laughing yet) i put him in time out and cleaned up the poop. while i was cleaning that up the timer had gone off and he had got down. got the grapes off the counter and dumped them all over the floor. so when i walked in the kitchen saw that i then sent kael back to his room. (still not laughing). so i got all the grapes picked up. sat down for a minute and then heard a funny noise. i went back to the boys room and kael had found a crayon. we now have a new mural on the wall. you can guess he went back to time out. but after i walked out of the kitchen from putting him in time out i just started laughing. i could not believe how naughty he had been in such a short amount of time. i just could not believe it. i was still upset but the laughing helped.

so hopefully there will be more entries of how i am getting better at laughing instead of getting angry. wish me luck

through culllans eyes~

today i was taking pictures at the primary activity and cullan asked if he could. i said yes and he loved it. i think he took like 20 pictures. when it was time to go he asked if he could hold it. i did not realize he understood the directions so well. i guess he turned it on while we were driving. so here is the world that cullan decided to capture while i was not looking. well this one i knew about. this was right before i left. i know i look rough. garran had been gone for three days..that is my excuess!
i guess this one too. cullan wanted to take a picture of his egg while it was in the cup!

chicago trip~

garran was away from us for a few days because he attended a conference in chicago called the southern graphics council international conference. his professor had invited him to go to learn all sorts of new things and make some contacts for grad school. while he was there they stayed in a hotel that was right in downtown chicago. so when he had some down time he ventured around and took some fun pictures! funky art in the cityfun view of the great buildings in chicagoand another fun one!random shot of downtown.
some other art folks that went to the conference. we are glad that garran had a good time, but we are even happier to have him home. we sure missed him!

primary activity~

Today was the primary activity at church. Now that Cullan is a sunbeam he gets to go. They learned all about easter and got to do a bunch of fun activities. The kids had a great time. Lil Miss slept the whole time. it is very tiring being so cute.

one of the activities was coloring easter eggs. cullan thought this was great. kael just crushed his egg before he even got to color his! oh well i dont even think he knows he missed anything.cullan was being so careful with his egg. i was really impressed.after dying eggs the listen to a story about easter and talked about why we celebrate easter. then it was time for lunch. cullan and kael are right there in the middle of the circle. =)
again cullan was super excited about his egg. it looks toxic or something in the picture. it looks neon green but really it was not that green. must have been from the flash. my little point and shoot camera doesnt always give you an option on if you want a flash or not!

perfect day~

today was awesome. with garran gone in chicago at an art conference with his professor i was really apprehensive about having all three kids by myself, just because i had not had much practice yet =)

so today went great. i got all three up and dressed and we headed out to do my visiting teaching. they were really well behaved and played nicely while we were visiting. then my friend and i took our kids to lunch. again all three kiddos were so well behaved. the boys did an awesome job and briea just slept in her car seat. i have to also say that while we were at the restaurant i was so impressed with this group of middle school boys. the place was packed and there were no tables available. we were standing their with our food and waiting for something to open up with all our kids. we waited maybe 3-4 minutes when this young man walked up to us and said that we could have their table. so this group of probably six middle school boys got up and gave us their table with out being prompted or anything. (i felt so old. my friend and i both said we wished we could meet their moms to tell them what gentlemen they were!)
anyways after lunch we headed to target to do a little shopping. i needed to get some stuff for briea and so we decided to just walk around and shop for a while. who doesn't love to walk around target. i was so impressed with the boys especially. no major meltdowns when i said that we would not be going to the toy section today and that they just needed to be patient while i was looking at a few things.
I LOVE DAYS LIKE THIS!!!
so i thought i would show off my cuties today since i am so happy with them.

my blonde haired blue eyed boy has been such a big helper!

kael passed out on the way home. shopping wears him out!

finally lil miss decided to wake up just as we were walking in the door. perfect timing!

we cant wait for daddy to get home tonight. cullan has been asking pretty frequently when daddy will be getting home.

beautiful insanity~

that is how i feel today. beautiful insanity. beautiful because today is the first day that i have had to be the mom of three with no help from my husband. insanity because today is the first day that i have had to be the mom of three with no help from my husband.

the day started with getting all three kids ready after completely missing my alarm. i must have turned it off in my sleep because i know that i set it. anyways we had to get three kids dressed and fed, out the door and we were only 7 minutes late getting cullan to mom school. not to bad. then briea, kael and myself took a trip to target. picking up a few things for the ladies that i visit teach. i am working on a little thing for them. then back to pick cullan up.

now we are home doing laundry, cleaning, breaking up fights and watching briea sleep. (secretly wishing i had an adult size bouncy seat to sit in and nap in too)

is it bad that i do not even want to think about dinner?

i should not complain. things could be worse. it could have been a few days ago when everyone was throwing up! =)

on a good note. i got to post two pictures on the photo blog i was playing with of briea. i have not had a chance to take as many pictures as i would like...oh well all will come in time!

poor garran~

so the other day i told garran that i had to run a few errands and he suggested that i just go ahead and go to get a small break from the kids. i told him that i would take briea because he was going to be outside playing with the kids. so i got to the store and realized i had missed a call from garran. so i thought i would listen to it before i got briea out and did all that stuff.

i dial up my voice mail and hear a very frustrated garran. i wish there was some way i could play it so that you could hear his exact message, but i will do my best to portray what i heard.

"hey meghan this is garran. i was wondering if you could come home. as i came back in from giving you your card (i had forgot my card) the boys locked me out. can you can rescue me"

so i called him to tell him i was on my way but he informed me that the boys had let him in. when he had gone outside, they had locked the bolt lock on him. after much begging and convincing through the door, the boys finally let him in.

i was laughing so hard listening to his message and then talking to him. it was so funny to hear him. i dont think he thought it was so funny. i guess i just say the humor in it. LOL

celebrate~

ok so i have known for a long time how talented garran is. i know some people hear artist and think "what is he going to do with that" or who knows what else. however i know he is going to do great things and i think he will be an even better professor. today however we got a wonderful surprise. there was an art show at the school garran attends and garran submitted an etching that he had done. we thought that the award ceremony was tonight, however we were wrong. it was last night. very sad about missing it because garran won an award!!!!

he received the Douglas Lindseth Art Award: (the award stated)

This award is given to a current art major who has consistently proven to be an extraordinary student, a person who is hardworking, capable and unusually committed to the serious study and practice of art.

it goes on to state how the award was started and the family that created it. it also came along with a cash prize, which we were both very surprised by!

hopefully this blog doesn't come off the wrong way, but i am so happy for garran. i know that he is super talented and when things like this happen, i just get so excited for him!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS GARRAN! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH =)

a little art & a check up~

so garran found a picture of his dads father and decided to do a linoleum block cut of it. the boys thought this was awesome. since it was garrans spring break he worked on it at home and the boys got to help ink the block. they were super excited and thought it was very cool. cullan even said, " this is grandpas dad". i dont have any pictures of the print, but it came out great. i am excited to get it printed and framed. i think garrans dad will really like it.

-great grandpa gillespie--the boys inking the block-

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briea had her two week checkup today, even though she is three weeks old. she is doing great. here are her stats:

weight: 9lbs 5 oz (75%)

height: 21.5 inches (75-90%)

the bug~

so as of thursday there has been a bug in our house. it started thursday with cullan and has slowly worked through our house. so far the only one not to get it has been briea. thank goodness! hope that today will be a good day. hope eveyone else is nice and healthy. happy saturday!

nice weather~

yesterday was the first day that we had actual nice weather. it was almost 70. can you believe it? 70 and before easter. so we decided to get the kids outside. we took the kids to a local park that has paths and things to go for walks. the kids had a great time running and playing along the way. i forget how fun it is to see your kids running around, having fun and just being outside. everything is an adventure!!cullan found his way through all these trees and climbed to the very top.then we had to stop off to get a stick out of his shoe.kael had a blast playing with all the sticks and leaves along the way. unfortunately kael was throwing leaves and the wind caught them and delivered them right in brieas lap. this is the look he got.(mom does this "look" look familiar?)

we then went down by the lake, which the boys loved. cullan had a blast throwing leaves in the water. he was so happy to be outside.kael was too. can you tell by that big ol kiss daddy is getting!

THEN IT WAS TIME TO GO!!

we were so grateful to have such a pretty day and to be able to spend some much needed time outside.

my girl~

a friend of mine started a photography business. she asked if she could shoot briea for some newborn pictures. i agreed and we met the other day. she posted three and is going to post more later. if you are interested in seeing these few you can check out her sight.

http://www.jenelleshamrellphotography.blogspot.com/

going green today~

HAPPY ST PATRICKS DAY!

well today we are totally getting into the st. pattys day fun!!

we started the day off right - green for everyone.

kael started without us this morning. he got out of bed, found a marker, colored himself and came in our room to say "GOOD MORNING" & "HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY".

cullan kept it simple and wanted to wear his green army man underoos. i figure as long as he had some green we were good. he thought it was funny to get chased so that we could pinch him.

briea is in her "kiss me im irish" outfit that grandpa got her just for the day. it is hard not to give this girl some kisses, she is so sweet!

garran is sporting his green pants! he was the second one ready for the day-so you know that means we all got pinches before we could get ready =)

i decided that since garran wore the pants i would cover the shirt part! so here i am my shirt was in the mirror!

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so here is a question i would love an answer to-

does anyone know who sent me these?

they are so pretty, but came with a card that said "for mom and briea" with no name. i would love to say thank you because they are so pretty. so if anyone knows who sent them i would love to know!!!

naughty nude~

remember my ranting about kael not leaving his diaper on. if you look closely you can see why i was not so happy when i discovered him like this tonight. i tried to let you see and still stay modest. argg this little boy can be so frustrating sometimes!

worn out~

after a busy saturday and a busy sunday morning, this is what happened at our house.....

-cullan falls asleep in some new yoga position-

-kael falls asleep on the floor--this little princess fell asleep while daddy was holding her-

after a busy morning at church and introducing briea to everyone we all came home and crashed. garran started snapping pictures of everyone napping. i decided to just post the pictures of the kids. i was so tired i looked like i had been drugged or something LOL. not a cute picture. so here's to lazy sunday afternoon and cute kids that you just love to watch sleep!

busy weekend~

so this weekend was kind of busy for us. we had a lot of fun things going on. friday we spent the day with garran after he got done with work. we just were able to hang out and enjoy being together. saturday garran had to work in the morning but my parents came to visit for the day. they had not had a chance to meet briea yet due to the fact that my mom was in florida visiting her sister. so the boys and briea were excited to see them. it was a non stop day. the boys were on over drive because a-they were excited that people were here to play and have fun with them and b- it was grandma and grandpa. who doesn't love when they come into to town!the boys hanging out watching a fishing show with grandpa!

mom and briea- i dont know what the face is that briea is making but it is kind of funny lookin =)grandma mo-briea-"my lil ham" (kael loves to get in the pictures)

while my parents were here the mail man came. boy oh boy did the boys get excited. my aunt Monica sent a little surprise for everyone in the mail. of course the boys always get excited when Monica's boxes show up. they were yelling "ohhhh presents"!! she is so good about thinking of the kids and sending fun things she thinks they will enjoy.

they boys instantly wanted to wear the shirts that were in the box. cullans said naturally irresistible and keals said moms lil helper. very cute!! (thanks monica-they loved them) also there was a great cd in there. if any of you are ramones fans let me know. it was a hit with my kids and garran=) thanks for all the other goodies-it was fun to get a treat in the mail!

seriously~

i know that everyone jokes about pregnancy brain and what having kids does to your memory and ability to keep things straight sometimes. However I think baby number three has taken the cake for me. I am still wondering how I get out of the shower, brush my teeth, and get almost completely dressed before i realize my hair is still covered in shampoo. was it because i have had a lack of sleep? was it because i was rushing trying to get the kids ready and myself showered before my parents get her to visit (garrans at work)? i dont know but i am seriously wondering how that happens. i think that i need to put a mirror by the door to make sure before i leave the house i am ok to leave the house =)

ps. this is a question i am not really expecting a response to but just am going to throw out there because i am about to pull my hair out- WHY WILL KAEL NOT LEAVE HIS DIAPER ON??? every time he comes around the corner he is naked. it is so frustrating.

pictures with daddy~

i have been trying to get in as many pictures as i can of briea and the boys but i have not had much luck. just to much going on. anyways the other day i decided to enlist garrans help. he is much more cooperative than the boys=)

he is so cute with briea. he just loves her so much. i took a couple of pictures of them together.

this one is my favorite.

i have a few others but instead of posting them on both blogs you can just click HERE.

new little ones are so sweet. i love taking pictures when they are still so bendable and sweet. plus all that baby chub does not hurt either!

remember this~

remember when i blogged about those cute sleep sacks that i had found on another blog. well here it is. my friend jamie is great at knitting and was able to figure out the pattern. she dropped it off the other day and i was so excited. i love it. it is so cute. briea loves it too. it does a great job of keeping her nice and warm, especially on these nasty cold days we have been having. i think it is adorable and am excited to use it. thanks so much jamie for the work you did. it is awesome and i love it!!

here are just a few shots of briea in her sleep sack. i have a ton but i thought just a few would do the job=)

she is so sweet i can hardly stand it.

adjusting~

my boys have really surprised me. i thought we would be dealing with some serious issues with jealousy and things like that, but so far so good. they love little miss briea. they always want to help and give her kisses. they have been great with her. kael always calls her "his baby". i was really surprised that they have both come around. kael loved her instantly but cullan was another story. when they came to the hospital to meet her for the first time kael gave her kisses and looked at her. cullan walked over to my bed and looked at the tray by my bed. we said "cullan do you want to meet your baby sister?" he said "no, mom can i have some of your sprite?".

it is amazing to me how much bigger the boys look and seem to act. they do seem more wild than normal but still they just seem so much older now. funny how having a new baby can do that to you!

big brother kael

big brother cullan