May 31st...Ultrasound!

Today Lee and I had our ultrasound appointment.  I'm 18 weeks tomorrow, and we and the kids have been SOOO excited to find out what we're having.

I was inspired by a TV show to make a "gender reveal" cake as our way of telling the kids.  Since I didn't want to wait to tell them, I had to make TWO cakes, one pink and one blue, so we could just cut into the right one when it was time.

Enter the white cake mix, and two round pans...

then I divided the cake mix in half and colored each half! 

Then I decided to make sure *I* didn't get confused at cutting time! 

Just waiting for frosting...!

(Side note:  I bought the new Duncan Hines frosting flavor packets, just to see what they taste like.  We tried Chocolate Marshmallow...Tasted just like regular chocolate to me...but there were some other tasty flavors I'd still like to try!)

Which is which??

Time to cut the cake...Here are the kids, waiting to see...

(Sorry about Michael's foot...What the crazy...?) 

And it's a... 

GIRL!!  :D 

Cheering...And Dancing...Notice that Tory is missing...! 

Oh...THERE he is...Not quite so thrilled about it being a girl.

(I love the look on this boy's face...!) 

All the kids with their "It's a Girl!" cake! 

Daddy's excited, too... 

And a little hungry, too, I guess!  :D 

We are honestly SO thrilled!  It wouldn't have mattered, really, but there is something fun about having my oldest and my youngest be girls.  About having another little girl almost 14 years after I had my first.  I think about the things I will do different...and better!...than I did the first time around.  I've never been a stay-at-home mom of just ONE baby before!  I worked until Tory was 1, and then I did day-care while Spencer and Michael were babies, so there were always at least two...sometimes THREE babies around all day.  

Without this pregnancy, I'd be looking at an upcoming school year where all 5 of my kids would be in school all day, and I'd be moving into a new chapter of keeping myself busy in other ways.  But I think I'd have felt like there were pages missing from this chapter, and I couldn't be happier for a few more years of THIS story!

(Plus, now that I know it's a girl I can start buying all the super cute baby shoes that she doesn't need, but that I might have to have anyway!)

Big News!

Lee and I posted this on Facebook on Saturday:

(Here are their best "secret" faces...!)

(Followed by their "so excited" faces...Spencer's might be my favorite!)

We so excited...Should be a fun time around here!

Easter!

THIS is where most people would have cute little pictures of all their kids in their fancy new Easter clothes...but not me.  I almost never remember to take pictures of THAT...Getting off to church in the morning is busy enough!  And I admit the kids take after me in that as soon as we walk in the door from church, the dress clothes come flying off.  (And I'm not exaggerating!  Often I'm picking up shoes and ties off the stairs on my way up to change out of MY church attire!)

So these are pictures taken in their comfy clothes, at Grandma and Grandpa McAlister's house during the egg hunt.  All the Richins and Wright cousins were there, too!

Sydney...

(Just curious...Is it possible to get a picture of this girl NOT doing this?)

:D 

Megan helping Kara... 

Michael... 

Tory looks like he wishes he was just a little bit taller!

Oh...He got it!

Michael... 

I tried to get a picture of the fact that Michael's t-shirt is inside out! 

 And Spencer.

 All the kiddos after the hunt...And after the all important egg tally, to make sure we don't stink up Grandpa's yard with rotten, forgotten eggs!

Not pictured:  Kendra and I racing on the little car-toys (you can see a red one right behind Syd on the patio!) right behind all theses kids.  I totally won.

But then if I remember correctly I fell on my behind.

Still...A win!  :D

It's Great to be Eight!

Today Spencer was baptized!  Of all my kids who've been baptized, I think he looked forward to his big day the most!  He talked about it for months.  I am proud of this boy for deciding to be baptized.

Here he is with Daddy, who baptized and confirmed him. 

Two proud parents and a special boy: 

 After the baptism, we had anyone who wanted to come over to the house to visit and have some lunch.  My friend Danna came with a few of her kids, and she brought a towel her Mama had made that I really wanted Spencer to have.  It is a white towel with a CTR shield sewn on it, and underneath that is his name and today's date.  (He loves it, and uses it every time he takes a bath or shower!)  

It was great to have all the family over, and I'm so thankful for their support today!  So many great hands helped to bring food, and many awesome spirits helped share the day.  I'm super proud of this handsome little fella.  I can't believe he is eight already!  Where does the time go?!

Mouths of Babes...

Michael's kindergarten class is studying what it means to represent something, or be a symbol of something.  Their class talked about how the National Anthem is a song that unites us as a country, they learned that the Statue of Liberty is a symbol of our country.


His assignment, after that, is to make a power point presentation  to tell about some things that represent his family.  (Really? You remember you teach kindergarten, right?  Amazing how much earlier kids are learning things these days!)


While most of his ideas were pretty much what you'd expect, I wanted to share with you the symbol Michael chose to represent our family:

Yes, folks...That's the great symbol of the McAlister family:  a DVD player!

{Crickets Chirping}

(What?  I didn't say it was a GOOD story...They can't all be funny!)

Happy Superbowl, Everyone!

So I don't really care about football, but any excuse to eat things covered in chocolate is a winner for me!  

So yes, Happy Superbowl, everyone!

Random Wednesday Delight!

Wednesday:  One of the best days of the week

1. My "weekend" from Walmart starts today...which means:
2. I get to wear my favorite pair of pajamas ALL DAY!  (We all know how happy THAT makes me, right?
3. American Idol, followed by Mobbed...!

So obviously some GREAT things to look forward to.  I was sitting at the computer working away at my data entry job, when the doorbell rang.  I was right in the middle of processing an account, and I was getting close to having to leave to pick up Michael from school...I hate leaving them unfinished, so I debated about answering the door.

In the end, I was so glad I did!  Otherwise, I'd have missed signing for the FLOWERS my awesome husband sent me!!  He sent them to thank me and tell me how much he loves me...You know, without words!  :D

Lee, thanks for one more reason to love Wednesday this week!  I love you!