In Light of Eternity

It is only 9:30 in the morning and I have had kind of a hard day. Max has had some major attitude and the little math poject I had planned... well, it didn't go according to plan. I grabbed my phone to check my Facebook really quick (aka... breathe for a second so that I wouldn't yell at my children...) and the link to this video popped up. It was just what I needed to hear. I hope it encourages you today as well.



After watching this, as soon as I hit "publish" we are going to head to the couch for storytime and snuggles and then we are going to go meet Daddy for lunch... And I am going to try to remember the reasons for why we are doing what we are doing!

Buffalo Toasted Ravioli

Okay, so if you aren't a St. Louis person you might wonder what I am even talking about. But, around these parts one thing we love almost as much as our provel cheese is toasted ravioli. Well, a local restaurant by my mom's decided to take their toasted ravioli to the next level... Buffalo Toasted Ravioli. Did you hear angels start singing when you read that? I can't help it. I love all things buffalo.

Well, my sister (the Little Chef as I like to call her... and then she gets mad at me... inside joke) anyhoo... she went home and recreated these babies. Actually, she posted the recipe on her blog yesterday! But, she mentioned she didn't take pictures of the process so I took it upon myself to do so. Because, you just can't keep a good thing to yourself. But, I still recommend checking out her post because she also posted a recipe for boneless bbq wings which I really NEED to try...

So, without further ado I give you....

To make you only need 3 things!... Well, 4 if you count dip, but Ranch dressing isn't so much an ingredient as it is a basic staple for life, am I right?

I think my sister uses Frank's Buffalo Sauce, and normally I would to, but this is what I had on hand. And it worked just dandy. I found my raviolis in the freezer section at Wally World.

You will need as many ravs as you want to cook (I went for 10), 1/3 C. of wing sauce, and 1/4 C. butter (melted).

1. Cook ravioli according to package directions
2. Add buffalo sauce and melted butter
3. Stir, or use my sisters shake method!

Serve with ranch dressing or bleu cheese... or whatever else toots your horn. These would be a great app to take to a Super Bowl party this weekend. Or just make them for yourself at 9:30 at night and eat them in your p.j.s... not that I do that...

*Note: I made these again for lunch today and didn't feel like having them quite as hot. I used a little more melted butter than hot sauce... so play with the ratio however you like to find out what toots your horn!

Linking up today at The Better Mom and Women Living Well!

Sunday...

So,  I missed my Random Friday Post and my Why I Love My Husband posts this week. Sad. So, we will go ahead and combine them both a little bit here on this dreary, rainy, Sunday afternoon. Let's start with some randomness...

• Since it is a rainy/dreary day here we decided to run by the store after church and grab a frozen pizza and a few Red Box movies.
• I have been a little addicted to Words With Friends lately. My mom, Grandma, and aunt all play... a lot. So, since I am sitting around a little more these days I decided to play too. It is kind of... really fun.
• I have been obsessed with Passion Tea Lemonades lately. When the craving first hit I had to run to Starbucks and get one. But, since I can't afford several, almost $4, drinks a day I had to move on to making my own. They are just as good... but not quite as fun as having the "official" cup.
• Aside from the Passion Tea Lemonades I have been on a huge tea kick. It has been about a month  since I have had a Diet Coke. And sadly, coffee doesn't taste very good to me right now. So, tea in lots of varieties has been fitting the bill. I love regular iced tea, sweet tea, flavored tea, hot teas, green tea, etc. I am a little obsessed.
• I haven't gotten a ton of stuff done this weekend. But, I did manage to get my hospital bag "mostly" packed. It is a little hard because so much of what I want to take (camera, laptop, make-up) is stuff I have to use everyday.

And how about a little husband love...

I just have one this week but it is a big one...

The poor guy has been sick for over a week now and is still being so helpful taking care of me and the kiddos. I am just so thankful for him!

36 weeks

Today I am officially 36 weeks. The crazy part for me is that I feel like I still have such a long way to go, but Max was actually born at 36 weeks, so in reality it could happen anytime.

I am actually pretty content to wait several more weeks. I would much rather deal with a little bit of uncomfortable-ness and have my baby born in God's timing than try to get him here on my personal timetable. Despite normal discomfort and of course the hives (which actually were pretty bearable yesterday) I am enjoying this time. I am enjoying giving the kiddos lots of attention and am enjoying slowly getting things set up and baby ready.

I went to the doctors today and everything is looking good! Although, she did say that there is a chance the hives could come back once I am done with the steroids and that I can't take them again during the pregnancy. Darn! So, I am praying that that will NOT be the case!

Anyhoo, here is the "official" 36 week belly shot-

The Big Boy Bed

This happened 2 nights ago....

We set up a toddler bed for Jack and he slept in it all night. He was so excited and we were so  proud of our big boy! Then yesterday at nap time Jack insisted on sleeping in his crib again! And then again at bed time!

So, I am not sure when he will be ready to move over to the big boy bed full time! But, I am not one to push these things. When we were having Sophie I really felt like Max was not ready for a big boy bed (he was 22 months old when she was born) so we went ahead and bought another crib. Max ended up sleeping happily in his crib until he was 3 1/2. I am not one to mess with a good thing! I really feel like for the most part little ones do things when they are ready. I feel like a lot of people try to rush their kiddos to the next step and I like to let them be little while they can. So, I am not one to rush potty training, big beds, giving up blankies, etc.

So, if Jack decided he needs to stay in his crib for awhile longer I am not too worried. I have a feeling he won't be still sleeping in the crib at 13. The plan is for Jack and the new baby to share a room but we will have the baby in our room for awhile and we can always change plans if we need to. And we are having fun setting up their cute little shared room even if they don't end up sharing a room for a long time!

ITCHY

The fabulous weekend that I wrote about in my Random Friday post didn't go off exactly as planned... In fact, it was kind of a stinky weekend.

Friday night I started feeling really itchy... only to discover that I had hives spreading all over my body. I was up all night itching and scratching. I applied lots of cream, took a bath... I was miserable. I finally caved in and called my doctor at 6:30 in the morning (he sounded a little sleepy... sorry doc!). He said to give Benadryl a try and if I was still having the hives in 24 hours to give him a call back. I ran to Walgreens at 6:45 on Saturday and took the Benadryl in the parking lot!

Within about an hour or so I was feeling much better. The hives had gone down. I felt sleepy and out of it (gotta love Benadryl!) but at least I wasn't about to crawl out of my skin.

I got to go to my Sprinkle feeling relatlively good. And I am so glad because it was so much fun! A few of my close girlfriends came and all of the ladies in my family. They blessed the socks off of me and our sweet baby boy. I am pretty sure I am set for diapers and wipes for the first 6 months! Not to mention I also got a new carseat! It was so fun. My sister did an amazing job!

And how cute is the cake? I really loved the blue owl theme my sister went with.

After the shower we headed out for the birthday lunch. As soon as I sat down I started itching again. I looked down and my wrists were covered in hives. I had hives off and on the whole day and night and called my doctor back on Sunday morning. He perscribed some steroids for me and said he believes it is a PUPPS rash which is a fairly common pregnancy condition... although it most often occurs in first time moms which I obvioulsy am not!

Sunday afternoon I was still itchy but was dealing. The Benadryl didn't seem to be helping anymore at this point. We went to lunch with my parents and sister and bro-in-law before they went back to KC. I was feeling okay so I told my parents I thought we still wanted to go on our date. They came over after lunch and Nick and I went and saw Les Mis. I was fairly itch free during the movie which was great because I LOVED the movie! I have seen the musical live at least 4 times and so I am a big fan anyway. But, I was very pleased!

I wasn't feeling super hungry after the movie (I think Benadryl suppresses my appetite?) so we decided to go to Panera. I got some good time with the hubs which was very good. The hives came back with a vengeance before bed and I was pretty miserable most of the night.

I spent most of Monday in bed alternating between napping and itching! Here is a pic I took last night. My hives were actually a lot more red than the pic shows. And they were all over! Including down my legs, on my neck... ahhh!


Today I was mostly hive free until about 2:30 this afternoon. Thankfully my mom came by and kept me entertained for a little while which was great. I have found that distraction is the biggest help in dealing with these hives.

My doctor is actually out of town this week but I will see another doctor in the practice on Thursday. I have a  feeling she will say something like, "oh, that's too bad". But, we will see!

So, needless to say it wasn't the weekend I had planned. And did I mention that the hubs was sick with a nasty cold on top of it all? But, he was totally a rockstar and took care of everything for me even though he wasn't feeling great either. I am so thankful for that man.

And despite the itching this little man is totally worth it... but, if the hives could go away soon that would be great! :)

Random Friday

Yay! I am welcoming this Friday with wide open arms! I am weekend ready! It has been kind of a long week (not sure why)... plus this weekend is going to be ledgen... wait for it... DARY (who caught my How I Met Your Mother reference?)...

But, seriously, I am excited. Tomorrow morning is my Sprinkle/Baby Shower that my sister is having for me. I am very excited to get to hang out with a few of my friends and some of the ladies in my family. I love getting to celebrate a new baby! Then Saturday afternoon we are having my Grandma's birthday lunch. We have a tradition of doing a girl's lunch for all of the ladies on their birthdays on my mom's side. So, I am very excited to celebrate my fabulous Grandma!

Sunday afternoon/evening Nick and I are going out for my birthday date! It is almost a month early but with the baby due so close to my birthday I didn't want to chance missing out on my birthday time with the hubs. We are going to go to see Les Mis (which I have been dying to see) and are going out to dinner. Not sure where we will do dinner. I had a lot of fun resteraunts in mind but I am at the stage where I take 3 bites and am full so I am not sure if I want to waste money going somewhere that I can't really enjoy the food! So, we will see!

And then on Monday my husband has the day off! Woo hoo! I think we will probably work on some of our pre-baby checklist stuff done. I am really looking forward to the time together.

Yesterday I had my last ultrasound. Baby weighs about 5 poounds, 9 ounces and is head down and doing great. It was so fun to see him at this point. The tech said it looks like he has lots of hair which is great... we just love our little hairy monkey babies! They did a few 3-D shots which was neat, but he was so crammed in there and he had his arm over his face most of the time so it was hard to really see much. But, we will get to see him soon enough!

In other randomness...

• Scout is at the groomers today. He was long overdue for a haircut. Although sadly, I think I keep up on his better than my own...
• I actually slept really well last night... so I am feeling good today. Maybe it was the brownie I had right before bed?... probably not...
• I found really excited to find some nice button up p.j.s at Target this week. I like to wear p.j.s with buttons for nursing after the baby is born but it can be hard to find ones that are somewhat cute and a nice fabric. These ones are great. I might have to go back and grab another pair...
• I am hoping to pack my hospital bag this week... since I have had a baby at 36 weeks before I like to be prepared!

Happy Friday!

Why I Love My Husband...

I was scrolling through my GoogleReader today and came across Carrie's blog post for today. It is kind of funny, I don't really know Carrie but I pretend that I do. She is my sister-in-law's bff and so I decided she needed to be my Facebook friend awhile back and now I follow her on Instagram. Carrie and I share a love of pets and Starbucks... need I say more?

Anyway, today Carrie linked up with a blog called The Happy Wives Club (how do I join?) and they do a segment on Thursdays called, Why I Love My Husband: The Never Ending List! Each week people link up with any blog post and add additions to their list of why they love their husbands. Talk about right up my alley. You know I love to gush about the hubs on the blog... and now I have an excuse!

So, here it goes... I am joining in on the fun!

1.  Let's start with the obvious... he is so cute. 
2.  He is the ultimate servant in our family... he takes care of all of us so well and is so willing to put me and the kids first. It amazes me.
3. (Especially lately) He deals with my craziness very well. I am less than 5 weeks from my due date and I am a bit of a mess. He is always so kind and reassuring.
4. He always eats whatever I cook and tells me it is delicious. He makes it very fun to make meals for him.
5. He is faithful in his walk with God. I am so thankful for Nick's spiritual leadership in our home. It means a lot to me to know that the leader of our family is in God's word every morning and I love that he can answer so many of my Bible questions!
6. We share the same goals and dreams for our future. It means a lot to me to know that we are working in the same direction.
7. He paints my toenails for me... since I can't reach them. If that isn't true love I don't know what is.
8. He always asks my opinions when making decisions. 

Hmmm... this post makes me think I should maybe make something other than tuna casserole for dinner for such a wonderful husband...

Good Reads Today

I wanted to get on here and write my own witty or inspirational post today... But, there is so much good stuff out there on the blogosphere today that I spend most of my "blogging time" reading what others were writing. And it was worth my time. So, I thought I would just pass along the goodness...

The Inestimable Value of a Wise Mother by Sally Clarkson at I Take Joy
This post was exactly what I needed to hear today. I feel like God has been putting it on my heart this season to say "no" to most activities outside of the home. I know it is the right thing to do but I have still been feeling the constant tug of wondering if I am hurting my kids by not having them in dance and karate, by not doing Classical Conversations, etc. This post was so sweet and reminded me of what my children really need. I am so thankful for Sally Clarkson and her willingness to truly step up and be a Titus 2 woman!

I've Been Ruined by Courtney at Women Living Well.
Courtney's blog has been one of my favorites for years. But, this post might be my favorite she has ever written. It really spoke to my heart today. Courtney writes about how, after experiencing Jesus, we can be ruined in enjoying a lot of what this world has to offer. I can really relate to this at times and it was so wonderful to have someone put into words so much of what I am feeling. And she left me desiring to be continually "ruined". I love it.

Beth Moore is doing another year of Scripture Memory on the Living Proof Blog.
She challenges women to memorize 2 Bible passages a month. I tried a few years ago and failed miserably. But, I have decided I want to give it another go this year. Memorizing scripture is one of those things that is so, so difficult for me. But, in the past few years I have been so incredibly blessed by the few scriptures that I do have memorized. It is amazing to be able to quote scripture to myself when I am believing a lie or having a hard day. It is also incredible to actually be able to use the Word of God when I am sharing my faith or answering a question for someone. So, I am joining in on the challenge.

My verses for January are (from the ESV);
James 4:17, "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."
and
John 15:4, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."

I decided to start small with some shorter verses!

I hope everyone is having a happy Tuesday!

Raising your kid when his glass is usually half empty

I love my 6 year old little boy so much. He is ridiculously intelligent, handsome, funny, and he gives the best snuggles around. He really is a sweet boy. But, he is also kind of a pessimist  His natural inclination in most situations is to see the negative side of things... and to point it out!

I often have joked with the hubs that if we took Max to Disney World and let him ride ever ride twice and eat as much candy as he wanted his response at the end of the day would be that he didn't get to ride each ride three times and they didn't offer enough chocolate at the happiest place on earth...

My husband says he can relate and remembers being the same way as a kid. I am very thankful that I have his perspective in this area because sometimes it feels like I am failing big time as a mom and am raising a really ungrateful kid. But, it is good to see that there is hope of him outgrowing this!

But for now, I am here dealing with the day in and day out of helping a pessimistic child navigate the world... a world which is often boring in his opinion. It can be very disheartening to try to teach the same lessons day in and day out. Most days I feel like I am not getting anywhere.

I am not sure what the point of this post is. I have in no way "arrived" and have no real advice to offer. But, if you area dealing with the same thing, know that I feel for ya! And I am choosing to persevere. I believe that God does have big plans for my sweet Max and I believe that He is at work in his heart.

In the meantime I am focusing on

• Helping Max to see the positive, pointing out the bright side for him.
• Correcting and dealing with behavior issues. 
• Helping him develop self control, especially in the area of his speech (even though we are unhappy with something it isn't always okay to say it!)
• Helping him to think about others (it just does not come naturally to Max... total opposite of his sister in this way!) by reminding him about other people's feeling and opinions. We do lots of storytelling, talking through and practicing different scenarios, etc.
• Giving him opportunities to love and serve others.
• Pray, pray, pray!

And even in all of the harder things, I wouldn't trade this boy for the whole world. Doesn't that dimple almost do you in? Love my little man... even though he stretches me as a mom in ways I never thought possible!

Linking up at The Better Mom and The Modest Mom today!

Random Friday... on a Sunday...

I am a little behind on my random Friday post. I spent all day Friday in bed. I woke up feeling really icky, sore throat, runny nose, achey... so the hubs offered to stay home and hold down the fort while I stayed in bed. And I stayed in bed ALL DAY! But, it paid off because I woke up Saturday feeling much better except for a little runny nose.

So, without further ado.. let the real randomness begin...

• We are on our second cycle of our new budget and it is going really well. I have actually texted Nick a few times to tell him how much I love our budget! And if you know me at all you know that that is HUGE! But, I think for me it is easier to ration the money for different categories over a two week period rather than for the month.
• I made my official pre-baby to-do list...the hubs actually appreciates my lists but I am the first to admit that this one is a little random including things like packing my hospital bag (logical) to organizing the linen closet (maybe a little off topic).
• I have my last ultrasound this week. I am really hoping that the baby is head down now. At the last one he was sideways...
• At church this morning Jack was acting a little bit under the weather so we decided we better not send him back to the nursery. He was a total rockstar and sat on Nick's lap the whole time and never made a fuss. It was pretty awesome to have our whole family sitting together at church.
• My cousin has a fun blog and has challenged herself to post some of her own drawings on her blog every week. I am uber impressed (since my stick figures are usually pretty wonky). She also posts about other craftiness, marriage, etc.. check out Amanda's blog here!
• This week is my freezer meal swap with a few of my girlfriends. I decided to make one oldie but goodie (stuffed shells) and one new recipe (red beans and rice). I will post the recipe if it turns out to be amazing.
• Speaking of recipes... dinner tonight is these no-peek beef tips. My house smells amazing right now as these are cooking away in the oven!

Here are a few iPhone pics from this week!

Not sure what was going on here....

Last weekend we had lunch at Pizza Pro, our favorite pizza place... I love their buffalo chicken pizza!

Jack drinking the milk from his cereal

Playing a little Skip-Bo with the hubs... he totally beat me...

The kiddos like the new chalkboard in the kitchen

The official 34 week shot

Yesterday, the big kids went to a birthday party and Jack and I went to lunch with  my mom, grandma, and aunt. I think he had fun but he looks pretty serious in this shot.

And of course a post wouldn't be complete without a pic of the furry children!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! :)

New Year's Resolutions

I really enjoy making New Year's Resolutions. A new year just feels so full of hope and like the perfect opportunity for a fresh start. This year when thinking about resolutions I tried to focus on what I felt God had already put on my heart to be doing.

I also didn't want to be too hard on myself since I know that I will be making an adjustment to being a mom of 4 young kiddos early on in the year. So, a lot of my resolutions are focused more towards simplicity and being home. I separated my resolutions/goals into 3 categories, Spiritual, Family/Home Life, and Just for me.

So, without further ado... here is my list of resolutions for 2013.

Spiritual:

• Continue having a daily quiet time and focus on meditating on God's Word and prayer
• Build relationships within our new Peine Family
• Take part in our church's discipleship movement by discipling my neighbor
• Continue to read good books on God, marriage and parenting (I will share my list below)
• When it comes to serving, evangelism, and new friendships, try to choose things that can be done from my home and with my family and children
• Pray for at least one person who is not yet saved every day

Family/Home Life:

• Live within and stick to our new family budget
• Focus on having lots of normal "home days" throughout the week
• Facilitate fun/simple family memories throughout the year
• Keep our schedule light, keeping family time a priority
• Keep up with housekeeping better by daily keeping the kitchen clean and keeping up with laundry
• Make daily reading time with the kiddos a priority

Just for me:

• Keep working to kick the Diet Coke habit (I haven't had one in almost 2 weeks!)
• Focus on eating more whole/healthy foods
• Read a few books just for fun this year (I haven't read a just for fun book in over a year and it is something I have always enjoyed)

Of course all of these resolutions are God willing. I am happy to turn in whatever direction he has for me this year. 

Here are the books on nightstand that I am hoping to read for personal growth this year:

I still need a marriage book. Anyone have any recommendations?

Linking up at The Modest Mom and The Better Mom!

Friday {Randomness} 1st edition

I have decided to make Fridays a day for random blog posts. There are so many little snippets and things I want to talk about that rarely are enough for their own posts. So, I thought I would go ahead and dedicate one day a week to the randomness. It is also a great place to post my random Instagram pics from the week that I want to share!

Oh goodness. We had a stressful morning around here. This morning Nick and I realized we hadn't seen our cat since yesterday afternoon. We searched high and low and finally came to the conclusion that he must have somehow gotten out. I was feeling devastated. There were some serious tears (on my part) as we searched all morning. Our cat is not a hider, he likes to be where the action is, so I just knew he was gone. During my last check of the house I decided to check the linen closet, lo and behold, there was my Whiskers. I can't believe he has been in there since yesterday and didn't make any noise. And, because he is the best cat ever he didn't even have any potty accidents in there. We are so excited to have our sweet kitty found. 

Yes, we are a little attached to our kitty...

The other good news in our house is that we are now 33 weeks along with our sweet little Quatro. Here is the belly shot...

I have a doctor's appointment today and as always I am excited to hear our little man's heartbeat and am dreading the big weigh in... My next appointment will be our last ultrasound. This pregnancy really has flown by. I can't believe we are getting so close.

I am hoping to hop back on here a little later with a New Years Resolution post. Our pastor gave a really awesome sermon this past weekend about the right and wrong way to make resolutions based off of James 4:13-17. You can listen to it here. I think you will be encouraged.

I will leave this post with some pics from the last week or so!

This little guy always has me smiling. He loves when we take pictures on my iPhone so he can see himself.

I am really enjoying this book by Elyse Fitzpatrick. 

I kind of can't believe I have a 6 year old. Where does the time go?

Sophie loves hanging with her daddy under almost any circumstances. She was sitting and watching him set up his new computer.

And I can't forget about my favorite puppy friend. Yep, he sleeps in our bed with us every night.

We got a beautiful snow on New Year's Eve and the kiddos enjoyed watching it.

Yep, it is all about "the rug".

Max asked me to take this pic of him with his Ninja Turtles.

I ended up sick on NYE so we had to cancel our plans. We ended up painting pics of the ball in Times Square. 

My 3 cuties on New Years Day

Meal planning.... I am now doing my meal planning 2 weeks at a time as we are on a  new 2 weeks at a time budget. I think it is going to work really well.

Yesterday we took my grandma to get her haircut. Here are my 3 peeps waiting patiently. 

Well, I am going to go pet my cat and get going for the day. I hope everyone has a blessed Friday!

Christmas Recap Part 2

We woke up and spent the first part of Christmas morning opening presents at our house. We have a little tradition where we get each of the kiddos three presents. We had a great time opening them up and getting everything put together.

We started with stockings. All of the kiddos got new Spin Brushes.

I honestly think this was one of Sophie's favorite gifts. She had been asking for one for months and reciting the commercials to her dad!

Nick and I fill each other's stockings. This year the criteria was to spend around $30 and we had to buy at least three things. One of the gifts Nick bought me a new notebook to take notes in at church... he knows that office supplies are the way to my heart.

The kiddos got Star Wars Angry Bird stuffed animals in their stockings too.

All of the kiddos got new dress-up outfits as one of their gifts. Dress-up is one of the number one played games in our house. These have all been very popular.

Max's "big" gift was a Ninja Turtle van. He loves Ninja Turtles right now. It is pretty cute.

Jack's "big" gift was this car rug. It has been by far the winner for most loved gift. He is obsessed with it. Everytime we turn around Jack is grabbing one of us by the hand and pulling us up to his room with the announcement that it is "rug time".

Afterwards we headed to my parent's house. More pics of that to come!