Party of Five

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Rewind to AUGUST

We're almost through the month of September, and I keep staring at the hundreds of pictures that were taken during our Michigan trip this summer. Here are some highlights from August:

National Baby Food Festival Parade

The loot (minus the really good stuff that a pregnant Mommy may have stolen from the pile) from our small-town parade.

MANY hours on the trampoline!

Many hours in the LAKE!

Many hours with Mema and Papa!

Fun with Ninnie!

Special time with family!

Despite Isaac's look, he loved being pushed on the swing.

Celebrating Phil's Birthday!

Enjoying a Hillary weekend with the family at the cottage in Glennie.

Grandma and Grandpa with their nine GRANDkids!

This picture always makes me smile because Isaac was in time-out, but I didn't know it. I just thought he was sitting so nicely by the tree, so I started taking pictures of my handsome little man. Phil quickly let me know that the little stinker was in time out. Oops!

Double Rainbow in Glennie!

Homemade Cotton Candy with Uncle Brian!

And 578 attempts at ONE decent family picture.

The boys look a bit loopy in this one.

The girls look a bit disconnected in this one.

Getting closer...

Would have been GREAT had Isaac's hand stayed in an appropriate location.

Pretty good...with some hidden giggles.

Thought we had it...until we realized that you couldn't see Quatro in this one.

This will have to do!

My three littlest loves!

Friday, September 20, 2013

Scalloping 2013 - YEAR 9

As the 2013 scalloping season is coming to a close,

it's time that I highlight our annual trip.

As per tradition, Phil and I spent an entire day on the Gulf of Mexico enjoying one of our absolutely FAVORITE activities.

I was 32 weeks pregnant (similar to our 2008 Trip when I was just weeks from delivering Clare), and it was a million-dollar-day!

It turned out to be a pretty successful day, and we collected 120 scallops.

We went home with about 100 of them because Phil likes to eat them raw...
as fresh as you can get!

No Hillary trip would be complete without some mechanical issue. This year's hiccup was that the water pump started malfunctioning on our 5-mile ride back to shore.

And then the something broke on the something.

Those were just little things, and they certainly didn't impact our day as a whole. Mema graciously watched the kiddos while we enjoyed our mini-getaway, and we were home around 9:00 PM. Guess what we had for lunch the next day? Bacon-wrapped SCALLOPS and stir-fry with shrimp and SCALLOPS.

Mmmm...Mmmm GOOD!

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Bathroom "Project"

Our main bathroom has needed MAJOR work for a LONG time,

and Phil tackled it this summer.

We put money aside throughout the year, and Phil knew that he would work on this project while I was in Michigan with the kids. The 37-year-old bathtub had rust and mold that just couldn't be "surface- repaired" any longer.

Phil literally started demolishing the old bathroom the very day that we flew up to Michigan.

He didn't expect to find such extensive damage beneath the surfaces of our tub, the floor, and behind the walls. We should have known better.

He literally tore down the ENTIRE room...right down to the studs.

I'm so bummed that I wasn't living in the house during this mess.

Phil is versed in many areas, and now bathroom repair can be added to the list.

All of the plumbing needed to be re-done.

SO...he taught himself how to do that.

Don't get me wrong...this was NOT an easy process by any means.

In our 8+ years together, I've never heard him so frustrated or exhausted.

He would work all day at Busch Gardens and then come home and work on the bathroom into the wee hours of the night.

He was on a first name basis with many of the employees at Home Depot, and he ran into one roadblock after another.

These pictures show the progression of the room, but what will never be seen is all the time, sweat, and dedication that he gave to making it perfect.

One agonizing day at a time, he moved towards the beautiful completion.

Even after pulling a few all-nighters, and working on it NON-STOP while we were in Michigan, he didn't have it quite finished when we got home.

We lived over at my sister's house for two weeks,
and then we excitedly moved back home...

with a brand new bathroom.

- New bathtub
- New toilet

- New plumbing

- New cabinets

- New counter-top

- New sinks

- New floor tile

- New drywall

- New wall color

- New shower curtain

NEW BATHROOM!

I have said it before, and I guarantee that I will say it again,

MY HUSBAND IS AMAZING!!!!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

What NOT to Say!

I will start by saying that I generally love being pregnant.
- I love feeling a baby move inside me.
- I love knowing that my best friend and I created a life together.
- I love the smiles that I get from total strangers.
- I love the anticipation of meeting our child.
- I love seeing how excited my other little ones are about a new baby.
- I love the way Phil loves it when I'm pregnant!
- I love the experience of childbirth.
- Overall, I just LOVE it!

That being said, I feel as though I should be allowed to carry a taser to ward off all the ridiculous people who say ridiculous things to pregnant women.

(Picture taken at 30 weeks.)

Examples of comments I've heard just in the last week:

(The responses were in my unfiltered prego brain...not actually spoken.)

- "You must be due today or tomorrow, right?!"

(No, I actually have 6 weeks left, so my baby would not do very well if born today or tomorrow.)

- "Are you sure they calculated your due date correctly?"

(Actually, we calculated our due date based on conception. Want me to tell you more about that?)

- "There's only one in there?"

(What do you mean? I'm not pregnant!)

- "You're going to be done after this one, right?!"

(That is absolutely inappropriate and none of your business.)

"It's like you're not really fat...you just have a huge belly."

(Umm...let's talk about fat for a minute.)

"I swear you're pregnant every time I see you."

(I swear you're ________ every time I see you.)

Comparing Pictures:

(Picture taken at 33 weeks.)

(Picture taken at 33 weeks with ISAAC.)

(Picture taken at 32 weeks with CLARE.)

As I was looking for old pictures, I came across this post from when I was pregnant with Clare. Apparently, people just don't know what to say to pregnant women:

Post when pregnant with Clare

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Clare is FIVE

Clare turned FIVE on August 13th.

While that was nearly a month ago, she had fun stretching her birthday celebrations over the course of several days.

Her first party was in Michigan...where she celebrated with the other August birthdays from the Hillary family.

Then she had another little celebration with Mema and Papa the day before we flew back to Florida (the eve of her actual birthday).

She showed genuine excitement for every gift she opened: new dress, new books, Finding Nemo DVD, lots of crafty stuff, and some new dolls/Princess stuff.