Day 9: At Home Paris Date Night

I love my husband.  I love dating him.  With three kids, sometimes it's hard to get out of the house on an official "date."  This is why I love the idea of at-home date nights.  Don't get me wrong, I like to be taken out on the town, just like any other girl, but this is a nice alternative if babysitting is lacking or it's raining and you just feel like being cozy with your hubby.

Troy's birthday gift:  A year of dates!

In August, my husband turned 40.  I wanted to do something unique and special for his birthday.  With the help of Pinterest, I came across the idea of giving him a year of dates.  The blogger (Find Joy in the Journey) who first posted about this did one date night a month.  I decided to do two---one at-home and one away from home date each month.  It was a lot of work to pre-plan and pull this together, but it was so much fun.  And, here we are, months later, still having fun with this gift!

Our candlelit dinner.

An extra dinner guest showed up.

January's at-home date night was Paris Movie Night.  The "date" really started with the kids awake.  I put my PJs on and when Troy came home from work I handed him his PJs to get comfortable.  I then took him into the kitchen and treated him to a candlelit dinner of tomato soup and cheese and bell pepper paninis while the kids watched Curious George in the living room.  Of course, we had Owen visiting us throughout dinner, but it still was romantic.  We then had a "PJ dance party" with the kids so we could wear them out and send them to bed.  Oh, yes, I had fun at the dance party, but it served many purposes!  We sent them to bed and the "date night" continued!   I made chocolate fondue and we watched Charade, which is one of my favorite movies that takes place in Paris.  We had so much fun and the fondue was a very special treat!  We went somewhat healthy with what we dipped---strawberries, marshmallows (only 2!), graham crackers (only 2---and natural ones at that!), and some clean eating cookie dough bites, which will be tomorrow's post.  We drank orange flavored mineral water out of a wine class, lit candles, and sat fireside to enjoy our fondue.  As I said, SO MUCH FUN!

Dance party---wearing the kids (and the parents) out!

The Paris-themed movie

Fireside Fondue

Us!

I have really enjoyed dating my husband.  All the ideas on Pinterest are a great help to get creative and cheap ideas!  Please visit my "30 Days of Pinterest" board to see all the ideas!

Dates with my Hubby!

November 24

Thankfulness Day 24

Today Michael and Genevieve so kindly watched our kids so Troy and I could go out to breakfast.  I am thankful that I still get to date my husband!  It has been such a privilege to get to know him over the years as he has become a husband to me, and a father to my three children.  I still love finding out new things about him, even though I know so much already.  I love the times when we get to hold each other's hands!   That does not happen when we are out with kids, naturally! :)  I am thankful for the people (you know who you are!) who watch out kids so Troy and I can date!

My Hardworking Husband

When I met the man who was to become my husband, he desired to be in the position to support a wife and a family, even though he didn't yet have one.  I am so thankful for this mindset of his.  Now that he has a wife and a family, he works hard to meet our needs.  He has been blessed with a job that he really enjoys and is close to home, which we are so thankful for.  I am thankful that God has put it on my husband's heart to provide for his family and even more thankful that God has given him a means to do that.  He is such a talented and creative man and I love him so much!  He will be leaving on a business trip to Washington D.C. tonight and I will miss him so much!  We have never been apart for 2 days, much less 4 1/2!  I know I will survive, but I sure will miss him!  (So much I said it twice!)

Troy turns 40!

A week before Madelyn turned 3, Troy turned 40.  He had a hard time deciding what he wanted to do to celebrate the beginning of his 4th decade.  So, two weeks before the big day, he decided on a party! (Yea for Pinterest!)  We had close friends and family come to celebrate with Troy, which was hard.  If he could, Troy would have invited a lot more!  Nevertheless, he had a blast!  Here are some highlights of his party and his birthday!

The chalkboard has been one of my best purchase out of the Target dollar section.

 One request of his was bottled coke...you know...the Mexican ones with the real sugar!

 A movie themed seemed to be fitting for Troy, so behold the "backyard film theme!"

 Striped bunting and hanging mason jars.  

 Troy's mom was kind and rented a popcorn machine for the party.  We were so glad she did!  It was such a fun thing to have!

 Homemade yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

 Semi-homemade red velvet cupcakes. (I made the frosting and added some "special" ingredients to the mix!)  I made all the toppers in Adobe Illustrator.

 CAKE!

 Getting ready for the showing of Pee Wee's Big Adventure!

 My 40-year-old hubby doesn't look 40, does he?

 About to blow out his candles!

 Us.  With Cake.

 One of my favorite scenes...

 Silly boys.

 Good friends.  Just missing Scott!

 I gave Troy a year of dates for his birthday!  Looking forward to going on them!

 In N' Out!

 We ended Troy's bday weekend with a trip to the park.  The kiddos enjoyed it...

...and so did Troy!

24 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 3

I'm thankful for my husband who let me sleep in this morning because Owen was up and down most of the night.  Usually I get up and make his breakfast and lunch and see him off with a kiss.  After last night, he suggested I stay in bed.  Sleepless nights are difficult, but its mornings like those, and that graciousness displayed, that makes those mornings a bit easier to swallow.

It's been 7 years since Troy first said "I love you" to me and since then, we have experienced what love truly means.  I am so thankful for our marriage in which I can honestly say I enjoy.  I am more in love with this man than I was 7 years ago.  He is hard working, patient, gracious, funny, creative, tenderhearted, and, on top of all that, an amazing father.  I am thankful for the man God has molded him into.  Thank you, God, for this precious gift of a husband you have given me!

Owen is 5 Months!

As Owen interacts more with Jackson and Madelyn, I enjoy seeing the dynamics of our three-kid family grow!  He loves to be in the mix of things, whether its in his jump-a-roo watching his brother and sister play, on the floor, rolling around with his siblings, or listening to a bedtime story with Jackson and Madelyn.  I believe Jackson has made Owen laugh more than anyone and Jackson offers to "watch" his brother on a regular basis.  This, of course, just consists of him sitting next to him while Owen plays with a toy.  Nevertheless, it's cute!  Madelyn always says, "Hi, Owen!" whenever she sees him and then proceeds to talk to him.  I'm not sure what she says, but it sure makes Owen smile!
It's been a while since I blogged about Owen, so here's a quick update to get you up to date: 
-He started rolling over from front to back a little over a month ago. 
-Just like his brother, he loves standing up.
-He now weighs a little over 14lbs.
-When I put him on his stomach, he tries to be very moblie, almost doing an army crawl.  He can get his butt up in the air, and he can lift his head, shoulders, and tummy up in the air, just not at the same time.
-Owen loves to hold onto something while going to sleep.  So far, he loves the Teddy bear that his Aunt Jenni gave him.
-He loves his jump-a-roo.  He just sits, there and plays.  He doesn't jump.  He actually is just content to watch what is going on in the world around him.

-Per his pediatrician's instructions to he would sleep better, we started Owen on cereal.  He now gets a healthy helping of oatmeal, applesauce, probiotics, and flax-seed meal at night.  Now to add the other meals!  (By the way, it didn't help...he still wakes up every couple hours.  We have to work on that!) 

-Owen sat up very briefly yesterday on his own, just long enough for me to snap a photo! (Pictured below)

-At two months, Owen was diagnosed with Infant Acid Reflux and given Zantac to treat it.  I have since discovered that this effected his digestive system, as his diapers were far from normal.  Per his pediatrician's instructions, we weaned him off the Zantac.  We then started giving him probiotics to see if that would help.  He seemed to be doing okay, but recently has started to violently gag again at night.  Hence, one of the reasons why he is waking up so much.  And so the sleepless saga continues!

-During the day, Owen is an extremely happy baby.  He always smiles at anyone and everyone he looks at.  He has such a sweet and easy-going personality and its been such a joy to get to see it develop!
-This past week, Owen waved hello to our friend at church.  I couldn't believe it when she told me, but she got him to do it again!  And, then we told Troy and he did it again!
Here are some photos of the last couple months for your enjoyment!

 On his way to Oak Glen!

 In the jump-a-roo

 Big, strong boy sitting up on his own!

 Brothers and buddies!

 UP....

 UP....

 And...

 Over!

 Owen's first feeding of cereal.

 Lounging at the beach!

 One of his favorite pastimes...chew on his feet!

Wrestling with his daddy.  He had him pinned.

We truly thank God for this little gift to our family.  We enjoy this little one so much and look forward to seeing him grow even more.  I must say though, I see how fast this growing happens, and it churns up bittersweet feelings!