Cool or What??

So, who could use a new Kitchenaid Mixer? 5 Quart with all the bells and whistles? Oh, and did I mention it's FREE?!?! All you have to do is go over to my sister's site at www.doughmesstic.com leave a post at the giveaway site and mention that I sent you. If you win, Iwin! How cool is that! And while you're there, check out all the cool things she's working on from classes to recipes to opinions (and believe me, she has a lot of ALL of them!). So head on over and register. We Want Mixers!

Hittin' the Pumpkin Patch

Weelll, contrary to popular belief the Lauer clan has not dropped off the face of the planet. We've just been a little on the busy side. With school, soccer, housework, and of course Ben, I don't have as much time as I would like.
Today, however, was a fun day. The kids were out of school and we all decided that a trip to Bender's for the Pumpkin Patch was in order. Clay and Nate loved running thru the hay bale maze and Benny just enjoyed playing in the straw bed. So, with animals to feed, pumpkins to pick, and apples to eat, a good time was had by all.
We hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the fall weather.

World Peas

So, I've discovered that while nutritional, peas are not one of Ben's favorite foods. He'll eat them, but not before getting a very confused look with each bite. It's like each time he's expecting something sweet and each time he's disappointed. Anywho, the boy will eat just about anything, but he would be completely content eating nothing but pears day in and day out.
Well, we hope you are all doing well and enjoy the video!

Easter Massacre

So, here's the story. The Easter Bunny in his infinate wisdom decided to bring the boys an Easter Pinata as opposed to baskets. The boys tried their best but to no avail (apparently cardboard is much stronger when it comes from Bunnyland). Finally, however, the pinata gets knocked down and Nate has to get a little nuts to get it open. I was able to video the whole thing. It's a little long, but well worth it. We hope everyone had as good a time as the boys did this Easter.

There's also some some pics of Ben before Easter, but just too cute to leave out.

1st Foods!

Well, Ben had his first taste of baby food yesterday. He seems to enjoy it although he's not always sure what to do with it. But, he's still a happy little thing and we still feel really lucky to have him. Hope you're all doing well!

houseoflauers

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Too Cute!

Okay. So I know I wear very thick Mommy-Goggles, but I am hear to tell you this boy is cute. He is turning into such the little ham, as you can tell. He is getting so big and changing so much, I'm trying to stay up on pictures. Here are some from the past week or so. Hope you all enjoy them as much as I do.

Happy Birthday Mom-Maw!!

Hey Mom-Maw! Just a little something from the boys for you. Happy Birthday and we love you!

Getting Big

Yes. I know, I'm way behind on my blogging. Ben and the boys have been keeping us hopping. We're all doing well. As you can see the baby is getting BIG and the boys are crazy about him. He's eating a little too well...7 ounces ever 4 or 5 hours. So, I've been putting cereal in his bottle. He is also sleeping well at night. The past few it's been 7 or 8 hours at a stretch. I don't know about you but I think the cereal is doing well! He's still not too crazy about bath time, but we're getting there! Take care and I hope you all enjoy the pics of my boys...All 3 of them!

Welcome Benjamin

Benjamin Paul Lauer was born at 2:38am on December 28, 2009. He weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds 2 ounces, 21 1/2 inches long. Mommy and Ben are both doing well, though little man has had a little trouble eating and needs some assistnace via a feeding tube. He's doing just fine though! Everyone may get to come home Monday evening or Tuesday.

Clay & Nate are being loving big brothers, that is, until they realize that he is here to stay. Like, forever!

Busy Busy Busy!

Hello Everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. Until recently I have had no news that was fit to print. So, since Nikki finally sent me the pictures from the shower I have some news.
The party was great. All of my neighbors were here but 2 and they sent gifts, which I thought was extremely nice. My friend Sasha was here with her little girl, London, as well. Then to what to my wondering eyes should appear...Jake!! Who, some of you may not know is getting prepared to be a Daddy! (We're just a little excited!) So, all in all it was a great day and I felt really lucky to have such wonderful friends who wanted to share in welcoming the baby to the neighborhood.
This past weekend was pretty hectic as well. We had a Christmas party at the Major and Patty's house and then on Sunday we took Clay to Chuck E Cheese for his birthday. He had a great time. Our neighbors, the Wrights came and brought their 2 kids, Connor and Cayris. Conner and Clay are in the same kindergarten class. So, after a couple of hours, the kids were still going strong, but we parents were about to croak.
As for doctor's visits, up until yesterday, they really hadn't been telling me anything. All they were doing was taking my weight, blood pressure and making me pee in a cup. I could have done that at home! I know I'm fat, my blood pressure is fine and I can get pee on my fingers here as well as anywhere else. (You ladies who have been through trying to pee into what you can't see know exactly what I'm talking about so quit with the eeewwws.) Anywho, when I went yesterday they finally checked me and while I'm not dilating yet, everything is softening up. So, they're pretty sure that if I haven't gone on my own by the 26th, they'll be able to induce with no problems.
Well, now that I've written my life story, here are some pics from the shower. Hopefully soon the beached whale stage of my life will be over!

Me trying to hide the fact that my stomach is probably sticking out from under my shirt.

Nick holding London and getting a little practice for what's to come.

All the tasty food for the shower. We also had to incorporate something Hokie considering I insisted that the game be on during the shower!

Nick, Nikki, and Jake really got a kick out of my TV dinner tray!

Go Elf Yourself!

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Halloween!!

Another Halloween over and done. Clay went from wanting to be a ghost to a vampire which actually worked out well. His costume was easy. Black sheet with a hole cut in it and a half hour makeup job. Nate on the otherhand, with his Indiana Jones costume was a bit more challanging. I didn't want to just go and buy him the one at Walmart because all he really needed was the hat and jacket. So, after days of looking for a brown jacket/heavy shirt, I wound up at Goodwill where I found a heavy white button down shirt. Then I walked over to Jo-Ann's and got some brown dye and ta-da! I have a faded brown shirt. The hat was found at Michaels of all places. Clay kept talking about his "loot" the whole time, so we made sure to get a picture of it. Enjoy the pictures.

The Drama Mama

Picture it. Chambersburg AppleFest. Saturday. So, there I was, walking down the sidewalk on my way to the bathroom (imagine that). I see an extension cord in front of me, I think I've picked my feet up far enough, but alas, I did not. I take a face plant right into the sidewalk and am immediately surrounded by strangers. I'll tell you now that both the baby and I are fine. I was sent to the hospital by the EMT where they said that the baby was fine and I wasn't contracting. I did however knock the crap out of my chin and knees. I think what I did was come down on my knees and hands first then inertia (big fat objects in motion being what they are) propelled me forward and that's when I smacked my chin.
So, for the rest of the day I'm sure I was known as the clumsy pregnant girl. The good thing was that AFTER I made a jackass out of myself, the extension cord owners taped it down to the sidewalk.
The good news is that both Ben and I made it just fine. The only thing really hurt was, of course, my pride.

Nursery's Coming Along

I know I just posted, but I wanted to get these up. I'm not finished by a long shot, but it's looking more and more like a nursery all the time. I finally got the crib stained last week. I didn't think it would ever dry so I could varnish it, but finally it did. Last night, I got the bedding and stuff on. I still need to put up window treatments and some more decorations, but it's getting there. I made the lampshade and the light switch covers from a crib sheet and painted the wall decorations to match the rest of the room.
Well, I hope everyone enjoys the pictures and if you have any ideas, let me know. The room still looks a little naked. Thanks!

Little Soccer Man

So, after having been fussed at by several people, I am now putting up some pics of Clay at Soccer. These are from his second game. We were very happy to see him not get angry at having the ball taken from him this time. He also had 2 very good assists and, if we had been keeping score, Clay's team would have won it's second game.
I am also including pics of the rest of us so you can all see that we are all doing well. And yes, I am a pregnant chick wearing a Wild Turkey sweatshirt. I was chilly. Sue me.

Getting Closer All The Time

Nick and I went for my 24 week check-up yesterday. Actually, I'm 24 weeks, 5 days. Still measuring about 2 weeks ahead at 27 weeks. The doctor said everything looks good, my blood pressure and the baby's heart rate. I've gained 3 pounds this month. Not too sure how I feel about that. I'm scared I'm going to balloon up now that I'm getting close to the home stretch. I have one more visit then I start going every two weeks.
We've been working on the nursery. We are going to pick up the furniture this weekend, so I'm really excited about that. I'll need to stain the crib next week, so I hope to have some nursery pictures next weekend.
Well, I've got two boys that are in their room being a little too quiet...

Lookin' For A Few Good Bakers!

Hello out there! As I've mentioned in my blog before, I am a member of Operation Baking G.A.L.S. (Give a little support...Bake!). And, I am a host this month. My soldier's name is Cpt. Jackie Buzzard. He is a great husband and father to a teenage son. When he's not serving his country in the reserves, he works in federal law enforcement with my husband. His wife is a good friend of mine, as well. This is Jackie's second tour overseas and is due to come home in November. So, I am asking all of you to make the couple of months long tour more bearable for him, because as we all know, last leg of any trip is always the hardest. I know that he and his men would love some homemade goodies, from some caring folks. These guys are tired and anxious to come home, so lets give them a taste of it now! So, if you want to join my team, you can email me at jlauer17222@comcast.net or just leave me a comment saying "Sign me up!" and I will send you his mailing info later in the month in time for shipping. Shipping by the way is the week of Sept. 29th. So, thank you all in advance for your help!

The Bakers of Team Lauer:

Erin Morey

Susan Swearengin

Michelle Dargen of http://myyeartogetskinny.blogspot.com/

Anna Scheminger of Maybe Just a Little Bite

Donna Stafford

Nikki St.Germain

Carrie Montanez

Katie of goodthingscatered.blogspot.com

Kris Smylie of http://thesmylielife.blogspot.com/

Jan Connell

Patty Stanley

Kelsey Morris of http://kelseykakes.blogspot.com/

Sasha Arnett

Elizabeth de Saint-Aignan

Cheryl Spoehr

Dolores Ferrero

Randy and Val Monday

Fran Smith

Clay's First Day

Well, I did it. I just put my little boy on the bus for his first day of school. This has been the hardest morning of my life. You know, I always think of him as being big, but as he stood down at the end of the road with all the other kids waiting to catch the bus, I couldn't help see that he's still just a little boy. Whether he likes it or not he's still my baby. Even with his SpongeBob backpack and new shoes, he still shouldn't be big enough to catch a bus by himself. I was proud of myself, though. I didn't follow his bus to school and I didn't let him see me cry. He was so excited to be going that I just put on my friggin' happy face and sucked it up for a while.
So, enjoy the pictures and be thankful that they are digital and not covered with tears and snot.