Mr. Darcy

Okay, my last post was about all of the projects that I was planning on doing now that my children are giving me a little more freedom.  First, what was I thinking?  We've gone through several clingy spells along with a day of sickness (Zach spent yesterday throwing up, poor guy).  I have however made it through one of the projects.  I have finished with my Mr. Darcy trilogy!!  I was hoping that it would be worth the while but was a little unsure.  I have to say -- I loved it!  In Austen's Pride & Prejudice, Mr. Darcy comes across as not the nicest guy in the world most of the time.  We are given a little insight into his attraction to Elizabeth, but not much in the way of his true character & personality.  Pamela Aidan's trilogy does a great job at showing Darcy's side of the story.  I found myself giggling as I got to a part of the story where I knew what was going to happen between the two of them, but it was also good to see the other aspects of Darcy's life that made him behave the way he did.  All of the major events from Pride & Prejudice are portrayed from his point of view plus other scenes not in the original.  I found myself feeling sorry for him, seeing how he misread things/feelings on Elizabeth's part.  He truly thought they were getting along at Rosings & had been flirting back & forth with one another!!  While I really enjoyed the books, if you aren't prepared to see a Mr. Darcy who thinks of & dreams about Elizabeth constantly, you're probably not going to like these books.  The romantic in me loved it.  I found myself wondering if my dear other half had spent hours pouring over his feelings for me, dreaming of our life together, admiring my every virtue.  Then I remembered the wonderful man I married & thought, "yeah, right!"  Oh well, I love him anyway!!!!!  Just as much as Darcy & Elizabeth loved one another -- if not more!! 

New Projects

I'm trying a little harder these days to make the transition from mother trying to cope with a two year old & newborn twins to a mother of three trying to develop her own interests & hobbies.  I'm finding it a little difficult but exciting at the same time.  It's funny to think of the difference in my current hobbies & the ones of a few years ago, but I wouldn't change the shift in priorities or my three little tornadoes for anything!  There are three current projects on the horizon.  First is thanks to Makayla finally growing a little hair.  I'm getting on the bandwagon with several women at church & trying to learn to make hair bows.  I've made two so far & have found several other types of bows that I want to try soon.  I'm not that talented yet, but thankfully Kayla won't know the difference.

My second project is more like five separate projects, but they're all related.  My mother-in-law gave all of the girls in the family a "Land of the Free Because of the Brave" wall hanging to do a couple of years ago.  I haven't had the time to do it yet, so I've been hanging on to it.  I've also got 4 "6 B's" wall hangings to do for my little ones & as a Christmas gift for two of my nephews.  I've never done these types of projects before, so I'm a little intimidated.  They look really cute when other people do them though.  I'm hoping they're not as hard as I'm expecting them to be.
Finally may be my favorite project!  Most of you probably don't know it, but Pride & Prejudice is my all-time favorite book!!!!!  I was online about a week ago & found a series that was written from Mr. Darcy's point of view.  There are three books in the series.  I received my copies of the first & second books today.  Hopefully the third book will get here tomorrow.  I'm sure that these books won't be as good as the original, but the reviews that I read sounded like they were written in a similar style to Jane Austen.  The 1st book covers Darcy's time in Hertfordshire when he initially meets Elizabeth.  The 2nd book covers the time he spent between Hertfordshire & seeing Elizabeth again at Rosings.  The 3rd book picks up at Rosings.  I can't wait to start reading!!  Hopefully I won't get so involved that everything else falls by the way side.

So here I go!!!  Hopefully at least a couple of my new found hobbies will stick...

Pig Tails!!

None of my three adorable children started this life with an abundance of hair.  Zach's has come in full strength, but the twins are taking a little longer to get there.  For the guys it hasn't been that much of a problem.  Poor little Kayla has suffered terribly though!  Okay maybe not, but she has certainly been looking scraggly lately.  Her hair is so fine that it doesn't stay in clips very well.  It's so short that I've been scared to try & put it up.  I'm not exactly talented in creating hair masterpieces.  Look at my own for proof.  If the hair's been brushed, I've done my part!  Alex's sister, Leslee, has been telling me for a while that Kayla had plenty of hair to do pig tails.  I finally broke down & remembered to buy the rubber bands.  The last time Aunt Leslee came over, she decided to take me under her wing.  Kayla actually did a great job sitting still.  That was really the main reason I hadn't tried it myself.  I just knew my little diva would throw one of her "I'm dying" tantrums.  But she loves having her hair done.  I guess she really is a diva!

The hair's still a little messy at the top.  She looks like she's got a little static electricity going on up there.  But hopefully it will get a little bit longer soon.  I'm a little bias, but I think it's still adorable.  Maybe I'll have to make her a girly girl after all...

BLOOD!!

Alex has had problems with nose bleeds all of his life.  I'm guessing it's either a Howe or Chase family trait.  Several people in his family have the same problem.  It looks like at least Zach is going to follow in the family fun.  A few days ago, I went into his room to get him up from his nap.  The kid is 3 1/2 & still will not get out of the bed without me going in to get him.  For the most part, I think that is wonderful!!  I don't have to worry about him running around the house in the middle of the night, getting into things he shouldn't, going to the bathroom alone (okay, maybe it's not all good)....  Anyway, back to the nap.  I open the door, & this is what I see --

There was blood everywhere!!!  You'd think he would have wanted to come & tell me that blood was gushing from his nose, but apparently not.  I have no idea how long he had been sitting there or how long he would have lasted before letting me know he was having a blood bath.  He has gotten into the picking his nose phase.  That's disgusting enough without adding other body fluids to the mix.  I'm not sure if this was a spontaneous nose bleed or if it had a little help from a finger or two.  Either way, I hope it's an isolated event.  That was DISGUSTING!!
I'm sure that these pictures were exactly what you wanted to see today, but I just had to share the love!

Sean Undressing

Not long ago, I walked into Zach's room.  All three of my wonderful children had been watching Little Einsteins.  As usual, I check on them every time there seems to be peace & quiet occurring in that general part of the house.  As I peeked down the hallway into the bedroom, I noticed Sean sitting in the floor.  My "good" child had unbuttoned his outfit & was in the process of stripping down to his diaper.  He continued to do this all day long!!  By nap time, he had undressed nine times!!  You might ask, "Why not change his clothes?"  That would have been the easiest thing to do.  But honestly, I enjoyed watching him.  He was so proud of himself every time he got that outfit to fall to the floor.  I tried to upload a video for THREE days, & I couldn't get it to work.  We have a Mac, & I did the video in iMovie.  If anyone has any idea what part I might be missing, please let me know.  I exported the video using Quick Time & made sure the video was a small enough file size.  Anyway, here's a pic, but it doesn't do justice!

Makayla Lynn Howe

If Sean & Makayla are at times polar opposites, Makayla is the spit fire!  She rarely stays still & is always full of energy.  Like her brothers, she really is a good little one though.  While she rarely slows down, she generally is full speed ahead with a smile on her face.  She will certainly try her best to keep the boys in line.  We love having our little princess!  Daddy is already wrapped around her finger.

Getting ready for the drive home from the hospital.  It's not your eyes; she's just a little yellow!
We don't have a good shot of her alone.  She didn't enjoy her first birthday party too much.  There were lots of frowns that day...
August '08 - Look at me!!
August '08 - She's such a goof ball!

Sean Douglas Howe

On January 9, 2007, we got a two for one deal!  Our family quickly expanded from 3 to 5 when Sean & Makayla entered the world.  Having twins is something that can't really be understood if it isn't experienced.  It is, however, an experience that I wouldn't trade for anything!  Sean is in a lot of ways the polar opposite of his twin sister.  He's generally calm & laid back.  He is also happy & loving.  I'm so grateful to have him as a part of our family...

Preparing to leave the hospital...
1st birthday!
July '08 - Enjoying looking at some fish
August '08 - He's getting to be such a big boy!!