Three Years Ago...

I wasn't planning on blogging today... I have been thinking about it but actually planning on doing it. Yeah right. But here I am writing out this blog post. Mostly because I happen to finish my homework early tonight and instead of going to bed I checked my e-mail. I had a message from Rachael Stoner. It said...

Remember this. I am so thankful for you :)

Attached was the first e-mail I had ever sent to the Stoner's introducing myself. It will be exactly three years on December 10th that I sent that message and it was on December 20th that I started the application process of joining ABWE. 

Reading over that first e-mail I had sent to the Stoner's, I am kinda impress how well it was written. It was definitely a God-thing. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around how much my life has changed in the last three years from moving to France, getting kicked out, going back, moving to Romania, and ending up with my current job as a nanny. 

As I am getting ready to fly across the country to help out my cousin next week, I have really been thinking about decisions and life choices lately. This e-mail was a great reminder that God is in control of everything and he has a much better plan for me then I ever imagined. 

It's Pretty Wonderful

I started this blog post with no idea what I was going to blog about but having an urge to write something since I have a little free time for once in my time. I am sure I could find more useful things to be doing right now other then blogging like cleaning my room or getting a head start on that five page paper but I decided to blog instead. 

I will confess to my real motives about blogging. Facebook can sometimes be depressing with everyone announcing their plans of life. There is a part of me that is jealous. So I decided to blog and think about the wonderful things in life like my boys. 

Even though I miss the Stoner's and my boy Josiah telling me I am beautiful, it's pretty wonderful to see these smiling boys faces everyday. 

Triplets

The boys are so cute. I already love them. And the family spoils me pretty bad. For Easter I got my nails and eyebrows done at the Salon. Then Easter afternoon I was visited by Bryson and Bronson with an Easter basket full of chocolate and goodies. Not to mention that the grandma cooks me Thai everyday for lunch. The running joke is that the grandma is actually my nanny and I just take care of the boys ;) 

Bryson, Braxton, and Bronson.

They are adorable, are they not? I love it when Braxton looks at me with his big brown eyes, or when Bryson tries to talk to me, and when Bronson gives me a look like how could I ever think about putting him down. 

Nannying

I started my nannying job, so I get to spend my day with these boys. They are pretty cute plus I get awesome benefits like free Thai food everyday at lunch, frozen yogurt starting in June at their new shop, and 50% off on my nails at the salon. My toes will be looking pretty this summer :) I am grateful for a job working with kids and all the time I spent in  in Romania has helped me prepare for this job with the triplets like handing three crying babies all at once, mastering the technic of feeding them all at the same time, and changing diapers super fast to avoid any extra stray. 

Happy Birthday to Josiah!

It's Josiah's birthday, he is officially three whether he pees or poops in the potty. We celebrated his birthday with a monkey cake. 

He got all kinds of exciting things for his birthday like a bee bouncy ball, activity book, a bowling set, and of course the Curious George movie. 

He is a pretty special kid. 

French Alps

There is a lot benefit from living near the Alps. It's beautiful, peaceful, and just amazing. 

I think all of us were having fun. Enjoying the fresh mountain air and humming the Sound of Music to ourselves. 

Sandbox Fun!

This week it's suppose to get the high of 80*. Woohoo. Looks like we will be spending a lot more time in the sandbox. 

The sandbox is a win-win for us. The boys are happy, Ethan is contained, and Josiah is close to the potty. It makes us all happy. Me especially! :)

We miss the park!

It's sunny with the high of 75*. Perfect weather to spend every waking moment outside and that's exactly what I planned on doing with the kids this week. Sadly with Josiah's potty training, we can't venture out far and Ethan can't fall asleep in his stroller on our walks home. So the little guys hasn't been taking many morning naps but he is definitely making up for it in the afternoons. We been keeping it close to the school but man do we miss our park fun. 

Potty Time!

Josiah was doing so good the first few days of potty. But it has seemed to go down hill. He has been wetting his big boy pants and the poop hasn't seem to make it in the potty for a while.

A lot of time has been spent on the toilet with either of book or Curious George, trying to get Josiah to poop in the potty. He even gets an awesome nerf gun for pooping in the potty. But still the boy seems to struggle. Please think of us. 

Changes.

This week I am a loner. Rachel went back to Holland for a college interview thing so I am all by myself. I guess this is just a taste of what it is gonna be like next fall cause it's hard to believe that I will find someone as cool as her to hang out with. 

I know you have been waiting in anticipation all weekend to find out if the party potty really work. Well the poop has been having trouble making it to the potty. But his big boy pants have stayed dry almost all weekend. I am pretty proud of him. 

Potty Party Time!

A lot of people seem to think we are pushing the whole potty thing a little too early. But these people just don't understand that Josiah been able to pee on the potty for almost a year now and that a kid who looks like he's four, poops like he's four year old. In other words it's a rather big mess in a diaper. Not very peasant to change. 

So I take it on my part to give the boys baths during the week. I think we are avoiding the diaper rashes a little better then before and the boys are having fun. And as a swim instructor that makes me very happy. If Togo had a swim team, they would be on it :)

Ethan's a nature at blowing bubbles. 

Today is set aside to fully potty train Josiah (or at least I am hoping). So far so good. There has only been  a small poopy mess in his big boy pants but the rest of it made it into the potty. Yay. Less Diapers. Less changing. 

Monopoly

We played monopoly today. I am starting to think my grandma was half Wonder Woman. When Lydia asked me to play monopoly today, I thought why not I use to play monopoly all the time with my grandma. It was alright. But it was more of me scolding a very whiny two year old and playing against myself but it made Lydia happy. 

It doesn't help that I have a sinus infection-cold-headache thing going on. And in other words I feel miserable and the idea of sleeping in my bed it sounding more wonderful by the minute. Hope your allegories aren't getting to you and you have a good start to your weekend. 

We like reading... A LOT!

We also don't like smiling when Shannon is taking our picture. But we know she loves us anyway. 

P.s. If I randomly start quoting Dr. Seuss or the Berenstain Bears don't be surprised.

Rainy Days

The perfect thing to do on rainy days beside stay in bed with a good book and a cup a coffee is to bake!

I found a great cookie recipe on Pinterest that is only three ingredients. Two bananas. A cup a oats. A cup of chocolate chips. In other words a great recipe for kids. All they have to do is smash of the ingredients. 

Only bake for 350* for 10 mins...

They are pretty much healthy :) hehe. I love this recipe!

Birthday's

I don't think I have ever experienced a birthday with so much crying, tears, laughter, and smiles. Only Lydia .... as Rachael describes her "sweet and spicy". Which is so true!

Getting your ears pierced is a very dramatic event. Especially in the eyes of a five year old. Lydia has been talking about getting her ears pierced for a pretty long time. So this was the day, it was gonna happen! Little did we know it was gonna be filled with crying and begging. But she put her big girl pants on and went through with it. And oh how she loved it!

All her wishes came true! Getting her ears pierced, her bunny cake, hello kitty, and  her Rapunzel movie :) She was one happy five year old!

May the fourth be with you!

As Isaac kept reminding us this is the only day of the year, may I repeat the only day of the year you can say that. So in honor of Star Wars we made cupcakes and watched episode one...

The cupcakes turned out great. The icing not so much but everyone was fine with using nutella as frosting :) Yum!

Spain!

While on vacation we had a few rainy days so we decided to go a little farther south and head to Spain.  I was super excited to get to see Spain and add another country to my list. 

We ended up eating lunch in a little local restaurant in the town, Cadaques,Catalonia. I tried to go with something original for Spain and chose a Spanish omelet which was rather yummy and went well with my tiny strong European coffee. 

We finished off our trip to Spain by driving up into the Pyrenees Mountains checking out a local lighthouse. 

It was an amazing view and getting the opportunity to stand on the Pyrenees mountains looking over the Mediterranean sea was an amazing opportunity. I am truly blessed!

Le Cap d'Agde

There are many things people should know before traveling in France. When driving/riding in a car remember there really aren't that many restroom stops along the road so don't be drinking too much before hand. While traveling you will have more of a chance to find a bakery that sell sandwiches rather then a fast food place. And thirdly I don't think there is such a thing as non-nude beaches..

The kids loved playing on the beach but we could never be on the beach very long till usually an old lady would be dropping her top. So we never spent much time on the beach. 

The french do pizza a little different in the south.. Adding an egg to the middle of the pizza.yum.

We got to go on a boat ride and take a closer look at the old prison on the shore.

We got to do some shopping downtown.

And take a visit to Spain... I will post those pictures later. So you all will have something to look forward too ;)

I am Back!

Back to the blogger world and back to France. My time in France has been great so far. I truly am home away from home. My living situation is a bit different this time. Living with the Stoner's, the constant flow of kids is always going through my bedroom but I am fine with that. Not much has changed in France the last three months. Trying to find a place open to satisfy my craving for ice cream at 7:30 at night is still impossible. And their regular vacations haven't stopped I am happy to say. Which I came just in time for...Lucky for me the Stoner's made a trip to the south of France this past week to spend some time on the beach. 

On our way to the beach we stopped in Nimes, France which is an ancient Roman city. While there we ate some Kebabs, saw a couple of churches, and visit a Roman Colosseum. It was a great way to start our vacation. 

Eglise ste. Perpetue et ste. Felicite

After our short afternoon in Nimes, we made it to the apartment by the beach in time to watch the sunset. 

Vacationing with the Stoner's was a blessing. Not only did I get to spend time with my family back in the states by the beach right before I left for France but I got to spend sometime with my other family by the beach in France. Truly a blessing!