Unfailing Love

Vincent Gerard

This is my hubby. Also known as Vinny, Dowey, Dowebally, and (as of last night) Pickle Juice. (You may learn that I have an affinity for nicknames, comes from my daddy!) Unbelievably, the hubs and I have been married for 9 years! I can't believe it! Seems like just yesterday I was a freshman in college and my friend introduced me to this hunky senior with a hot red car! Vince is working hard to support our family and traveling here and there. Vince is a WONDERFUL father and his girls (all of us) are the most important things to him!

Barclay Kathryn

What to say? I'm Barclay, usually known as Barclay (not much you can do with Barclay). I was an elementary teacher for fours years until I had Bella. Now I am doing the job I have wanted to do ALL of my life, being a mom. I love these two girls more than I can possibly express and it is my joy and privilege to be able to spend each day with them. I recently entered the blog frontier, and although my blog followers will probably be able to be counted on one hand, I thought it would be exciting to be a part of something so neat. I love that there are many other moms out there facing the same joys, hardships, questions, surprises, and challenges that I am. I also hope to be a sort of medium to spread awareness for others that need prayers, help, or just someone to walk through life with!

Isabella Kathryn

Usually referred to as Bella. As well as Bells, Bellie, Belly Boo, Bellsie Bubs, Bubs, Bubba, Bells and Whistles.... Bella is our first born daughter. She is 6. Bella enjoys school, reading, riding her training-wheel free bike, she could color and write for hours, she loves singing to the Momma Mia soundtrack, anything princess or pink, having bows in her hair, playing dress up, and her little sisters! God blessed us with Bella a month early but she was perfectly healthy. In six years she has become such a bright, outgoing, sensitive, and fearless little girl. Bella really is the sweetest girl you will ever meet. She is eager to please. If she hurts or disappoints someone it literally crushes her to tears. This last year she asked Jesus to be her Lord and Savior and we could not be more proud!! Love this sweet, blonde, blue eyed beauty!

Bryanna Karina

Usually known as Brynn. As well as Brynnie, Miley, Miley Moo, Geegs, Geegers, Brynnie Boo, and many more. Ten days before Bella turned 2 years old we were blessed with another beautiful, healthy girl by planned c-section. This time I was able to see my baby right after birth, watch her get weighed, bathed, etc. I couldn't wait for Bella to meet her. Brynn is now 4 and keeps me laughing all day long. Brynn, since she was about 2 months old has been the smiliest baby I have ever met. All you need to do is look at her and she will flash you a world class smile. Brynn is smiley, more shy and reserved about things than her big sis, can be quite the clown when she feels safe or gets in a silly mood, amazingly brilliant, she's been speaking full sentences since she was 19 months and continues to amaze us with what comes out of her mouth. She loves doing whatever her big sister is doing, dressing up, looking at books, her blankie, being held, twirling in her dresses, singing, and dancing whenever she hears music! Brynn is my compassionate baby, she hates to see people hurting. We just love this sweet, shy, snuggly, smiling little girl!

Brooklyn Blythe

Also known as Brookie, Brookie Cookie, Cookie Lu, Lulu B just to name a few. Sweet, sweet Brooklyn is our family's latest addition! We welcomed Brookie into our family on August 23rd 2010 at 12:23pm by planned c-section. I was nervous she would be a bit high maintenance since she came out screaming bloody murder and continued to wail anytime anyone touched her- get her footprints, take her temperature, etc. Amazingly, she would instantly stop the moment the Hubs touched her or began talking to her. And since her birthday, we have barely heard a peep out of her..... And fast forward 18 months, she definitely makes plenty of peeps now! :) We are full blown in the the terrible twos (which IMO last from 18-36 months) I believe. To make matters worse she's also cutting her 4 molars. She definitely knows what she wants but can't quite articulate it, so gets frustrated. Eating is also a hit or miss these days which is very foreign to me. Mixed with the crabby days though is the funniest personality ever. She is a riot! She LOVES chasing after her big sisters or having them chase and imitate her. She also has this adorable chubby face and will peek out of the corner of her eyes and just melt your heart! She is definitely shy at first but if you can get through to her she will keep you in stitches with her antics. We love you little BB and couldn't ask for a sweeter addition to our family!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Bloggy Fun

My bloggy friend Heather tagged me in this fun little game so I thought I'd play along! : )

3 names I go by:

Barclay

Mom/Mommy

Cakes -that one is from the hubs : )

3 jobs I have had:

First and Second grade teacher

Child care in a health club

Mom

3 places I have lived:

Vienna, Austria

Buffalo Grove, IL

Grayslake, IL

3 fave drinks:

Dr. Pepper

Kiwi Strawberry Propel

Lemonade

3 TV shows I watch:

ONLY 3?!

Glee

Lost

Modern Family

Chuck....

oops. : )

3 places I have been:

England

Italy

Hawaii

3 places I would like to visit:

Sweden

Alaska

Australia

3 fave retro TV shows:

The Nanny (is that considered retro?)

Bewitched

Gilligan's Island

3 fave dishes:

Toasted Ravioli at Olive Garden

Chicken Tender Wrap from Buffalo Wild Wings

My momma's Lasagna

3 things I am looking forward to:

Summer weather

Going to Great America as a fam. a ton

Little Bean's arrival in August

Three bloggy friends I am tagging:

Somer @ thejoysofbeingamother

Kelly @ joyfuladorations

Christina @ myfamilymylovemylife

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Happy Mother's Day!

We had the pleasure of spending the weekend up in MN with my gramps. Since my grandma passed away in February we like someone with him and my aunt and uncle were going to be away, so we jumped at the opportunity to spend some time with him! We had such a nice visit with him and he just loves watching the girls be their crazy selves!

Best mother's day presents!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

The grossest thing ever- did I leave you hanging?!

So apparently if you follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter I left a lot of you hanging yesterday. Yesterday evening I posted that the grossest thing ever just happened to me. I did not elaborate. Allow me to do so today. : )

So the girls and I were out enjoying the beautiful afternoon weather while the hubs had a little Cinco De Mayo golf outing. We decided to clean up the backyard and head out for a walk before dinner. I noticed the hub's golf flag from his small backyard golf hole had fallen down.

I thought I'd be a nice wife and put it back up for him. I held the flag while I asked Bella to pick the balls out so I could put the flag back. She wasn't too excited to pick up the dirt covered balls but did none the less. So when all was clear I jabbed the flag back in to position.

Some dark, liquid mixture of goodness knows what went flying and just coated me. It smelled and TASTED horrific!! My cleanliness goddess got a bit on her face and hands as well and Bella got a drop or two.

Needless to say we did not go for our walk, but straight to the shower!! Sorry to leave you hanging! : )

The pictures aren't great but I had to of course, document this event!

Brynn showing off her messy hands, NOT a happy camper!

Oh this picture doesn't even do it justice. My hair was caked, all over my hands and up my arms..... yuk!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Wordless Wednesday- hiding from the vacuum!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Can we handle 3?

So the other evening we decided to give 3 kiddos a try! : )

Our neighbor needed us to watch her 6 month old son, so we jumped at the chance.

It went great!

Bella wanted to be a part of EVERYTHING, which was so great to see. When Brynn was born Bella didn't pay her much attention. She has never been a big doll player either, so I wondered how she might take to another little one. From the minute she heard he was coming for a visit she was so excited. She wanted to hold him, feed him, everything! It was precious to see.

She's going to be a great big sister!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Monday Mugs!

LOVE this idea. Got from my bloggy friend Heather, great idea Heather!Are you in need of a mindless Monday Blog post? Are you struggling to deal with the weekend being over and can't muster the strength to type a single word? Well, Monday Mugs are for YOU! I may or may not "borrow" ideas from IheartFaces and post my interpretation of their weekly theme. Without submitting my photo for judgement and not being forced to follow the rules.

Mondays are hard! Blogging on Mondays shouldn't be!

Today's theme for Monday Mugs is: Then and NowI chose pictures from the girl's first summer and now because we are anxious for summer weather to be here!
Then