Five On Friday: Mean Momma Edition

Hey y'all! I'm back again for another "Five On Friday" post to talk about a few current randoms from the week. Off we go!

[ONE]

I have felt so spoiled, too spoiled, by all the kindness my sweet family and friends have shown as I reach the end of my pregnancy with Baby Lu. I think it's true what they say: It takes a village to raise a child. And at this point, it takes a village to get through pregnancy with Baby #3. Ha! Seriously. I could not feel more blessed or thankful for the wonderful people in my life. Case in point: I received the coolest surprise in the mail from my sweet sister-in-law, Amanda, a couple days ago: A cupcake in a jar! She ordered it from an etsy seller, Bakezerker, and y'all. Ohmygoodgracious. There are no words for how DELICIOUS that thing was. No words. I scarfed it down and then watched my belly dance as Baby Lu enjoyed all that scrumptious sugar and sprinkles. Thank you again, Amanda, and thank you to all of my family and friends for being, well, YOU. I love you all!!

[TWO]

We are in the process of making some changes to our screened in back porch, the first of which arrived earlier this week: new furniture for a more "conversational" seating area, namely a new outdoor sofa, two chairs with ottomans, and a coffee table. We got it for a STEAL from Sam's Club of all places. I cannot wait to see the rest of our porch plan come to fruition so that we can fill the space with family and friends while burgers cook on the grill, summer bevs flow without abandon, and little ones run freely through the backyard. Have I mentioned I love summer?!

[THREE]

Now that I am 37 weeks pregnant (today! full-term!), my pregnant body is certainly taking a beating thanks to all the usual aches and pains that come with the last month of baby-growin'. For me, my back is usually sore and aching by mid-day, but I also refuse to give in to daily movie watching and excessive cartoon exposure for my kiddos. Just not my style. So. Instead, I've been trying to do lots of seated activities with my kiddos. Sometimes, it's only me who requires the seated position (picture: me sprawled out on a beach chair in the backyard for several hours each afternoon while the kiddos run around to their heart's content, often while playing with our neighbor's children). Sometimes, the three of us sit together and just read books, complete puzzles, play games, or, my duo's all-time favorite, have Momma draw and cut out whatever they request. Y'all. I am NOT an artist. Luckily, I do have the internet, which has lots of tutorials for drawing whatever crazy creature or object my kiddos come up with on any given day. Here is a very, VERY small sampling of what I've drawn and cut out over the last month or so. Only, take the number of items here and multiply it by at least 1,692. Okay. Maybe a slight exaggeration. 1,691. ;)

[FOUR]

My baby sister is having a baby! My baby sister is having a baby! I know I've mentioned it a time or two on this blog, but I am still so excited about it! This also means that the rest of my sisters and I are throwing her a baby shower this summer. We just settled on a theme, and I started picking up some fun, DIY decor supplies at Joann Fabric and Crafts earlier this week. I have good intentions of lots of naptime crafting next week to help prepare for the shower. Because even though it's not 'til the end of June, I have a feeling I may have my hands just a *little* full very, very soon. Nonetheless, I can't wait for the shower and to spoil my sister!

[FIVE]

Oh, y'all. I should officially be nominated for "Momma of the Year" [insert sarcasm here]. I took Banks and Raleigh to see the Easter Bunny yesterday. We talked about it all morning, as I had a feeling my Rals would be nervous about it. Specifically, we talked about being brave, about not crying, about how Banks would be by her side, about how we'd snap a quick photo and then go get a treat to close out our fun morning. She seemed on board. Seemed. See what I mean? Pre-bunny smiles: 

And then we saw the bunny. This was the initial reaction, seconds before the sh*t hit the fan. 

And then, I spent a good 10 minutes trying to release my death-gripped spider monkey from around my neck as she cried and came up with every excuse in the book to, for-the-love-of-all-things-holy, not go near that freaky bunny. "I wanna take a nap!" "I want my Daddy!" and on and on. So, being the loving, nurturing, supportive mother that I am [again, sarcasm should be noted], I promptly plunked her down in the space next to Banks, putting her fear-wracked body as far from the clearly evil bunny as I could while still in place for the photo. Well. She leapt off of that bench faster than a cat in a bathtub, refusing to step foot any closer to that hell-hopping mammal than next to the Easter egg props nearby. So. Here's what we got for our official Easter 2014 photo. 

But remember my "Real Behind the Highlight Reel" post? Here's the reality: 

Like I said, "Momma of the Year," right here. Oh well. If I'm being honest, I think crying kiddo pics can be pretty darn funny. Actually? They are some of my favorites. And also? The post-traumatic milkshakes we immediately devoured made that bad bunny a distant memory for Raleigh. At least, I hope they did...

Have a great weekend, y'all!