Chalk it up

     One of our favorite things do is draw with chalk. I buy so much chalk every summer I should probably try out some of those "make your own chalk" pins on pinterest.

AND I got to help Emma practicing writing her name! 

She is getting a lot better.

     We have been trying to find many cheap or free activities to do with the girls. We wish we could go and play today but they sprayed for weeds that means no playing outside for us today...

And we ride....

      One of the things we have been trying to do as a family is become more active. A easy way to do that is chase the girls as they ride bikes. This was our first bike ride of the "season" we have had a extra kid with us most days but not a extra bike so we haven't been able to do bike rides. Well yesterday we didn't have an extra so we took advantage of that and rode bikes!

This was my view for most of the ride Ellie is a much faster bike rider than Emma.

     I have seen LOTS of children riding bikes without helmets and it drives me insane PLEASE have your child wear a helmet for their safety!

Pizza Time!

     My girls all time favorite dinner is pizza. No if ands or buts if you ask them what they want for dinner 9 times out of 10 they will say Pizza. Tonight was a pizza night! The only thing they like better than eating pizza is making their own pizza and tonight they got to! 

      They were so proud of their Pizzas and they actually ate every last bite, and part of my salad. 

Emma

     We had a "Lazy" day today. Well at least I did, Juan got Ellie ready and took her to the bus stop so I even got to sleep in! It was AMAZING! Have I ever mentioned how much I love my husband because I really do!

     Even with our lazy day I got a few good pictures of Emma while waiting for big sister at the bus stop. This kid does not like taking pictures (well sit there in smile pictures) She will goof off for pictures with no issue. This one was my favorite of our little "shoot". I think I love this picture so much because this is how I see Emma. She always has her hair in her face and she likes it that way. She has her own style and just wants bright colors and comfy (and anything "Jaguar" print) and she is just a good kid.
     And in true Emma fashion she had to get a picture with the Flower she picked me. For some reason she holds everything in front of her face when it comes to taking pictures. But it is still a cute picture even with not being able to see most of her smile.
     Right now Emma is OBSESSED  (Yes bolded and underlined both needed) With Pregnancy and babies. Juan thinks it is because I have been talking to them about the surrogacy. I think it is because my niece was born this week and we have been talking a lot about how she is not going to be the "baby" anymore, and trying to prepare her for not being the complete center of attention.
     It is amazing to see how fast the girls are growing up. It seems like just yesterday she was my baby. I think I am going to start a monthly "update" post for each of the girls every month! Would anyone be interested in this?

Water balloon fight!

     Another hot day today, I sit here writing this post with my shorts still wet from our big water balloon fight! I was the official water balloon filler so the only time I got wet was when I exploded a balloon but it may have happened a few more times than I would have liked. We got this to help us fill them up and it was a whole lot easier than turning on and on the water a million times. You just fill the bottom with water and use the top as a pump. I may have been pretty wet but this saved me from being soaked I am sure. It also has something that "Helps" you tie the balloons but I found it more of a pain than anything. I think Juan used it though. If you want one for your family we found ours at Walmart!
     Juan and Emma started out filling up the water balloons while I helped my mother in law make dinner! Emma was more than happy to help daddy fill up the water balloons! I am pretty sure Emma ended up with more water on the porch than in the actual balloons. I admit I didn't get very many pictures of the waterballoon fight because I afraid of water damage on my phone... BUT I will be getting a waterproof case in the next few days so I should be able to get more of the fun shots at the next waterballoon fight!
     Well with dinner at my Mother In Laws I am always in charge of the Guacamole and dessert! I cut up a ton of avocados wishing I would have brought my special avocado tool with me the whole time... Yes I am one of those people who have a special tool for just about everything. That seems to be a problem most of the time though because we have a TINY kitchen. When we move a bigger kitchen is a must.

    Maria (mother in law) made homemade tortillas, Salsa and Carne asada. It was AMAZING and you can see the finished Guacamole there too! YUMM. I am still so stuffed. And yes as you can tell we ate in the grass! It was cooler in the shade then it was in the house so it was the obvious choice! I am so stuffed from dinner when ever my mother in law cooks I eat way too much.
     We go over for "Wednesday night dinner" Every single week without fail. It is pretty nice to have a night off from cooking dinner one a week. and we get to spend time with family!
     We also had a non-alcoholic Sangria tonight. I still prefer the normal sangria but this is might be my substitution when I have the surro baby in my belly!
     So we are on a surrogacy site, I am sure you are wondering what is going on with the surrogacy. Well we are just doing the waiting game. Insurance should be getting back to me soon about if I am "Officially" Approved or not. We also waiting for the right time to do the testing. We will be doing the testing in June so not too much longer to wait but I have to admit I feel like I have been waiting FOREVER!
     So another non update update BUT next month we should start having a LOT more updates!

What's for dinner tonight (or yesterday)

      Today I wanted a quick easy dinner that would not warm up our whole apartment. I had chicken (I always have chicken in my freezer I over chicken every time I go to the store) And I had tortillas so I figured we could do chicken wraps for dinner, I looked into the pantry and saw Caesar dressing so looks like Chicken Caesar wraps it is!
     This a really easy meal to make.

    Ingredients 

• Chicken (I used 4 small chicken breast for 4 people and we have some leftover chicken)
• Caesar Dressing (We use Newman's own Creamy Caesar Dressing)
• Romaine lettuce
• Grape tomatoes (you can use cherry tomatoes or any kind of tomatoes really)
• Parmesan Cheese (I used frigo shaved parmesan cheese because it was on sale)
• Tortilla or wraps (We had Mission Flour Tortillas on hand so we used those)
• Salt and pepper
• Garlic

     Directions 

1. Marinate the chicken (I did this overnight but a few hours will be ok) With the caesar dressing, Garlic and Salt and Pepper. No exact amounts just eyeball it!
2. Grill the chicken or cook it on the stove top until fully cooked. 
3. Shred the chicken. (I do this with my stand mixer it makes it a lot easier)
4. In a bowl combine 2 leafs (or a handful of the bag kind) A few tomatoes (I like mine sliced down the middle) Parmesan cheese, chicken, and Caesar dressing until everything is coated. 
5. Put mixture in a tortilla and roll it up!
6. Enjoy!

Car Washing

   Today was another pretty warm day, I was having a hard time figuring out what we were going to do to keep the girls girl cool today until Juan (the husband) started complaining about how dirty the car was. Everyone knows washing your car is just an excuse for a water fight (that's not just me right?). 

     We filled up our bucket with soap. Juan added WAY too much soap so it was very very sudsy water. We gave each of the girls a washcloth and let them go to town on "washing" the car. They really just moved some suds around I am not even sure if they actually got any dirt off the car. 

     Juan did a few tune up manly things to the car. To be honest I have no idea what he did and he could have screwed up the car for all I know, but he tinkered around the hood and I made the girls pose for a few pictures. Emma was not to happy about getting her picture taken but as you can see (well at least have of her) Ellie is a cheese ball when it comes to getting her picture taken. 

     I ended up soaked. I am so glad I changed into my flip flops before going out to wash the car! I am also glad I took the time to paint my toes again! They are a dark purple with a purple glitter top coat. This is what happens when you let Emma choose anything you get whatever she can find in purple. 

     It was fun to have a bit of a water fight with the girls today and it was nice actually getting something productive done too...

Time to install the A/C

     We live in a 3rd floor apartment so when it is even a little warm out, our apartment is HOT. We have been trying to figure out fun things to have the kids do so that way we can delay putting the A/C units into the windows. Yesterday we went to Mcdonalds.
     The Mcdonalds closest to here has a really good indoor play area, the kids can run wild and burn off a ton of energy while being inside (no risk of sunburn) and we are in a nice cold air conditioned area! The no risk of sunburn may not be a huge deal with my tan skinned little girls but it seems like can I burn on a rainy day, So while I LOVE this weather I have to be very generous with the sun screen! Finding anything we can do to stay out of the sun on hot days is a must for me!

     We got the girls ice cream and I got some too! I got Tillamook Marion Berry Pie ice cream! It was amazing! One thing I love about living in oregon is Tillamook products! And no this is not a sponsored post! I LOVE Marionberries our favorite spring/summer treat is Marion Berry milkshakes! Ok I am so off topic.
   But during the school week we usually have an extra. I watch my husbands cousin after school so when you see pictures of an extra kid that is her! She is a built in play buddy for Ellie, now if only we can find Emma a friend around her age... Anyone in woodburn with a 4 year old who needs a play date partner hit me up... lol.
     We let the girls play for a little while they even were nice enough to stop and let me take a few pictures. Even if they wouldn't smile for the camera. If only Juan would have gotten some pictures of me trying to get these pictures... Yes I was that crazy mom standing on a table to get my shot. I can be a bit of a klutz, I actually fell down a few steps about two hours before this, so maybe I should stick to both feet on the ground.
     As I am sitting here Emma is bugging me to go and play again. I bet she will be very excited when she finds out what we have planned today! You want to know what we have planned today? Well check back tomorrow I will have a post about what we do today up tomorrow!
     What are some activities that you do with your children?

Making her a Mom

     This mothers day for me is like no other. Knowing that this next year I am going to have given the gift of a child to a family that has been wanting a baby so badly just makes me smile. I get asked all the time why I would want to be a surrogate. Happy tears would be a good reason.

     I want this moment. I want to see the look on the parents face when they become a parent! It is strange to think that just one year from now I will have either had this moment or will be preparing for this moment. I wrote S today and it dawned on me this will be her last mothers day not being a mom. It is the last year that she will not be able to celebrate for herself!
     I have been tearing up all day, this Mother's Day had for some reason made me very emotional and sentimental. Saturday we had brunch with my mother and father, we went through pictures and it was amazing to just get to look back at different memories and just getting to remember all the amazing times we had growing up.
     It is funny how the simplest memories like having friends over dinner, helping me with homework, and allowing me to drag her to the store to buy yet another book that stick out the most. It really is true that the little moments are the things that matter the most!
     What was your favorite memory growing up?

One more check, checked off!

     So we have slowly been checking off everything needed for the surrogacy. Surrogacy friendly insurance is a pretty important check and we cut it pretty close checking it off the day of the insurance enrollment cut off date. We did get it done though and it is one less thing to worry about!

     I am pretty sure you are wondering why I needed another insurance policy. Well it is pretty simple my insurance has a surrogacy exclusion, so if we used my insurance for the surrogacy we could be charged with fraud and be made to pay back every penny insurance covered. That does not sound like something I want to happen so the new policy was a must.

     It seems a little strange right the surrogacy is just a pregnancy why wouldn't insurance cover it? Well if you think that you can help and sign this petition to help us get rid of surrogacy exclusions Sign here!

     What does this mean for the surrogacy? It means as soon as the insurance is active (June 1st) I can go in for my Last round of testing (well we will also have our psych evaluation too). That means that if everything goes as planned we can be starting Meds in July and transferring in August! That means a April or May baby for S+J!

     I never thought I would be excited to start giving myself shots, but I actually am! I seriously can not wait for this process to pick up and to be able to give S+J the baby they have always wanted!