Quiet doesn't always mean they are being good . . .

I just have to post this I think it is so funny!
Yesterday Trevor got the heartbeat monitor out to hear the babies heartbeat and it was fun for us all. The kids were all mimic-ing the noise the baby's heart made. (koo - koo- koo- koo :) ) IT was cute. Anyway, this morning I was in the kitchen finishing up the dishes and I hadn't seen Grant for awhile. I don't know about any of you, but when I don't hear or see my kids for a period of time I know I need to go check on them cause quiet doesn't always mean they are being good. So, I went into my room and guess what I saw ?? -- Grant was completely naked -- He took off all of his clothes and his diaper -- Not only that he had gel everywhere and the heartbeat monitor on him trying to hear the baby's heartbeat! I couldn't get mad at him -- It was so funny!

Baby Buchanan's Reveal

We just had our ultrasound and are excited to ANNOUNCE -
that they say the baby is a GIRL!
So it is cool that the gender identity test was right that we took awhile back --
All 6 of us were in the small room and surprisingly it wasn't that bad. We were just worried the kids would be restless or act up the way kids sometimes do and we didn't want that to ruin the experience. They loved it though and were really attentive and good the whole hour. Thank goodness. The ultrasound tech asked us all what we thought it was and all the kids wanted a baby sister so they said 'girl' and she said 'looks like you all are right!' The kids loved watching the baby and they kept saying "I can see it, I can see it" We all are really excited to have a precious little baby again. It seems like it has been a long time since we have had an infant. This will be our farthest gap between our children, which is 3 years. Which isn't that long to some, but to us it is our longest gap so we are really excited. We didn't care if it was a girl or a boy, but it will be nice to even things up a little since we have 3 boys and 1 girl now. I was hoping to put up a pic of the ultrasound but I am not sure how to scan it in -- I will see if trevor knows and try to post it later if we can.

She's got to be crazy!

Some of you may be thinking that I have got to be crazy. Being pregnant and sick, babysitting full time and undertaking a kitchen remodel project all at the same time ~ You might say "she has got to be crazy!" I would have to say it has been challenging. But I keep telling myself there is a end and it will be so worth it!

I know I have been posting a lot about our remodel lately -- but that has been our crazy life for awhile now. So, hopefully the next post I will be showing the finished product. Yay! So exciting! More pics to come . . . hopefully sooner than later (kitchens are kind-of essential to everyday living -- it has been an adventure without one:)! )

Getting there. . . Part 3

A few video clips of our Remodel going on,
thanks to your ~ MC Trevor . . .

Kitchen Remodel . . . Part 2

The demo is finally done and the electrician came and wired our kitchen -- We love our new can lights! It is now ready for sheetrock! More to come . . .
































The hard work is finally done --Trevor spent until 2 am stuffing garbage bags full trying to get rid of the mess. He filled 50 garbage bags full! It was a mess.

Our Kitchen Remodel . . . Part 1

This is our kitchen ~ One of my favorite colors is Plum -- so I painted my cabinets Plum and cream. The pictures make it look really dark almost like black. Trevor Put in the garden window when we re-did all of our other windows in the house so that is new. The lighting left much to be desired. Old floresent lighting Yuck! We put up a makeshift breakfast bar a few months ago and it really didn't get put to much use so we threw that out of the new plans and by that we had a console table holding all my cookbooks. We have a food cabinet in the corner storing our appliances and cereal and anything that is tall cause nothing will fit under the cabinets they are too low and the shelfs in the cabinets are fixed so they don't move and they won't fit anything tall in them either. The one thing I did like about the kitchen was the base of drawers. There is another pic of my oh so fabulous dishwasher that sounded like my washing machine -- It did clean good that was a plus. Also my oven that is still in really good condition. The contractors said that the kitchen must have been built for little people cause it is like 3 inches too low (counters) you can see in the above pic the counters don't even meet the dishwasher and stove height. The last pics are of some of the demo --- all the walls were made of solid wood slats so we didn't have the mess of sheetrock to deal with which was a plus. More pictures to come . . .

Our Family Photo

We are hoping that it gets easier to take pictures as a family as our children get older. We consider it a success if we can get out of the shoot with at least one picture that is decent! There is always at least one child always looking away or not smiling. Why is it that children find it so hard to look at the camera and smile? These ones actually turned out pretty good ~ I think it totally depends on if you have to wait an hour before your appointment because the photographers are running late. My kids aren't happy if they have to wait a long time in the waiting room and then are told smile for the camera! Say cheese! They are just ready to be done and want to leave. This time we didn't have to wait so it was fast and I do think that makes a difference with little children.

Update . . . IntelliGender Results

Update . . . .
Here is the IntelliGenger test that we took.

Now keep in mind this isn't 100% accurate ~ Actually the lab tests were 90% accurate and since 2006 in real life studies it is about 86% accurate. So this was just for fun. It will be neat to see if the results match the ultrasound results (which will be the end of April)
So here it is, the Results . . .
The test said it was a . . .
GIRL
Stay tuned and I will tell you if the test was right!

Everything is an adventure with boys!

Raising Boys ~ Wow what a subject to tackle. Everything is an adventure with boys. But, My husband cracks me up. There isn't a day that goes by that my boys don't race to the door to see Dad when he comes home. And that starts the spiral of events. The boys jumping on him, one on his head & one on his back, chasing and tickling and yelling and jumping. What I call 'rough housing'. And inevitably it always ends in screams and crying (mostly cause mom is watching and should save them). I'm sure I should be running interference but occasionally I am sitting on the sidelines just repeating the phrase "find your happy place, find your happy place!" :)
Anyway my husband cracks me up cause he isn't afraid of getting them all wound up. Being a pregnant woman and all that goes with that I am just thinking has he lost his mind? At this point in the day I am ready for a break and he has just let the lions loose! I guess boys will be boys! And I can't help but love them! Even the big kid at heart~My husband.

So Excited! OH Yeah!

What we are up to these days :
We are going to be remodeling our kitchen soon! We are getting several bids this week and I am so excited. I can't wait to have cabinets that actually stay shut! And a regular dishwasher that I don't have to hook up to the sink (I always need to use the sink after I have started it why is that? and not to mention how loud it is~ It will be so nice to have a quiet dishwasher. I went to my friends house and she had her dishwasher going - I could barely hear it. I couldn't believe how quiet it was, but this is coming from me having a dishwasher that sounds like my washing machine!) There are so many other things that will be nice about it also. Then there is the remodeling process that will not be so fun. I am worried about being without a kitchen until it is done. We will set up a mock kitchen in the dining room and that will be an adventure in itself. Not to mention the dust from the demolition and from the taping and texturing sheetrock BUT . . . WE HAVE SURVIVED BEFORE - with all of our other remodeling projects in this house and we can do it again! I would say that the outcome is worth the annoyance of those things. I will post some before and after pictures of the remodel, so stay tuned . . .

Summer pics

Another Destination from our Summer Vacation : Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington

Catching up ~ More to come. . .

I am trying to play catch up ~ SO here are some more pics of this summer and our
Trip to Multnomah Falls in July.


Hiking up to the top of the Falls

P man waiting to go get Ice cream

C man showing off his rock while we wait for Dad to go get some Ice Cream

Taking a little break while hiking up to the Falls

Mom and Grant eating Ice cream

Almost to the bridge by the Falls

Mom taking a rest with the older kids

Dad and kids outside of the Falls ~ what a huge water fall!

Dad and the kids just below the bridge where mom got queasy

Just arriving at Multnomah Falls in Oregon

Moss grows everywhere in Oregon & Washington -- The trees at the falls were all covered like this ~ it was really fun to see for us all.

Funnies

Growing up I remember reading the funnies with my grandpa ~

This isn't the traditional funnies, but it is the Buchanan funnies!


I thought everyone would get a laugh at the things kids do.

Kenz and her souvenir from the redwoods ~ she wanted to take a piece of the tree home ~ how cute.





















Go fish Go! Connor posing for the camera!



Grant dressing up in kenzies dress up clothes













Grant playing in the pumpkin seeds.












Kenzie dressing up her little brother for the first time. He loved it.




























Connor and his posing again
















Parker and his impression of Mickey mouse.
















Connor and his goofy poses!




















Mackenzie looking through her pretend binoculars




















Grant and the bball ~ what was he thinking?




















Grant and his dressing up into the boys hats and shoes.






































Kenzie and her spontaneous poses!



















Grant and his pucker lips!



















Grant in the toy basket -- Yes he dumped the whole thing :)


Kids can be so funny --- in their words and their actions. I might have to post some funny things my kids have said over the years in a future post.