Andrew Cash turns 3

Happy Birthday Andrew Cash Benedict!! My little man turned 3 today. Now, the girls' birthday's always make me proud and happy that they are growing older and more mature. I always look back on how much they have learned and feel excited for what's to come. Andrew's birthday's, on the other hand, makes me sad and wistful. He is my baby! I look at the time past and all I see is my baby boy growing up too fast. I will spare you the sobbing mommas "Oh where does time go" spill and just take you on a short trip trip down Memory Lane. Here is Andrew at about 37 weeks. When he was still just a bump in my belly, waiting to come out and meet us!!
Here we are, all ready to meet the little guy!! And then he was here.
And then, somehow, they go from this- to this.
I know, all the good stuff happens in-between. There is some of this,
and this,
and lots of this....
It's been the most amazing, wonderful, action-packed three years of my life. But even with multiple ER trips, uncountable sleepless nights and all the messes, I wouldn't trade a single minute. And I can't wait to see what the next years with the Cash Man bring me. He truly completes our family. :)

Mothers Day

I love Mother's day. Hands down, it could very well be my favorite holiday. I mean, aside from my birthday and Christmas, it's the "giftiest"of all holidays. Not that that is the best part of the day; I was also cooked for, taken out to eat, and for the most part, took the entire day off. Oh, and all the kids were instructed to be super sweet to me too. Bliss! All three even made me homemade gifts. I can't believe how big they are!! They can all sign their artwork now, which to me, is as big of a milestone as cutting molars.

Jacy made me a coupon book which was full of promises to do chores and give hugs and kisses on demand. I plan on cashing in all of those! She also made a beautiful silhouette card with a lovely poem on the back. Peanut and Andrew both made me personalized memory books. They are so darling!! (Thanks mom!) And Kadence even wrote REAL WORDS in her book. And you can actually even read them!
I also got a gift certificate to Academy, which is exactly what I wished for. (Thanks Bradd!) The most unexpected gift came from my parents though. Yes, I have the most wonderful parents ever. They surprised me and my mommy sister, Kat, with diamond mother necklaces. And it's so delicate and sparkly, I love it!! I am so blessed! But, like I said, it's not about the gifts. And if it were, these are the absolute best gifts I ever had. Getting to spend my days with them is the most exciting, challenging and rewarding thing I could ever be given. I am so blessed to be called their mommy and I am so thankful for each one of my precious babies. They give the best of everything to me; from kisses, to cuddles, hugs, to tickles. They tell me the best stories, teach me the most important lessons and fill me in on the funniest jokes. They also give me best memories. Times three.
So thumbs up to you, Jacy, Kadence and Andrew, for making me the happiest mommy and giving me the best gift ever. Every day. :)

JuiceBox Jungle

Humm.... I do look pretty good in an apron....

Big News!

We have been counting the days, and now it's here! My sweet baby girl is enrolled in kindergarten!! It's not near as big as the "big" first day, but to Kadence, this day marked the beginning of something new. I put the enrollment date on the calendar last month, and then forgot about it until the calendar got flipped over this morning. (Yes, today is the 4th.) Peanut and I have been looking forward to this enrollment date, and now it was here! We ran errands this morning, went to the bookstore, and had lunch. After lunches, Andrew took his nap and she stayed up, for the first time, so she can get used to being a big girl who doesn't need naps. The whole time she was up, she followed me around, telling me all the ways she was grown-up.

1. She can read. (She can be very convincing of this.)


2. She can wash her own hair. (I have convinced her of this, although, I never let her get out before I check it.)


3. She doesn't need naps. (She does. She just needs to get used to skipping them.)


4. She is enrolling for school. (She wins.)

I realized was starting to get misty and nostalgic about her enrolling today. My baby girl, whom I've had by my side constantly for the last 4 and 3/4 years was now leaving me to the join the public schools institution. She may be ready for this, but I AM NOT READY FOR THIS! Yet there we were, at the P.C. Enrollment Office, giving our information to the lady and then getting our supply list. First step taken!! She was so excited and we celebrated after. It was cute watching her feel so grown-up. And still, for me,oh-so sad!!

Team Work

Despite many arguments, Kadence and Andrew actually do a lot of working together. It's always my pleasure when I catch them being so sweet and helpful with each other. And of course, I snap pictures so I can have evidence later when they are scratching each others eyes out again... For example, we went to see Great-Grandma last week, and here they are helping Great Grandpa water his new fruit trees. Taking turns is for beginners- they go at the same time. Always such a team!

When they are not doing hard work as a team, the Awesome-Twosome are playing together. Check out these glamorous buddies! Only true friends could share such beautiful gowns with out squabble. They make Team Work look gorgeous. Of course, no good playing is complete without a quick game of chase... Mind your hem, Andrew!!

Perpetual catch-up

I never make the time I should to keep my blog up-to-date and it seems I always find myself playing catch-up with it. We keep so busy too, so when I do think about blogging I don't know where to start! So, here I am, kids asleep, mommy drink poured and ready to put the last few weeks into a single blog. I can do this, are you ready?? Ha! Here we go....!
Peanut was invited to read a story to Mrs. Honnoll's first grade class. She has been practicing!! It was so sweet, and she loved every minute.

Our church Easter egg hunt was on the windiest day there could ever be. We seriously almost blew away! But we had fun despite the 50 mph winds, and the kids loaded up on the goodies.
And my sweet nephew Benjamin found his fair share of eggs too! He was so excited, he started tearing into it and eating them right there on the field. Unfortunately for him, mommy smelled a shoo-shoo and he was taken out of the game early.

He was back in full cuteness Palm Sunday, waving his Palm branch like a pro! Andrew was also in full on cute mode, yet, he looked shocked and stunned to see me snapping pictures of him during service... Peanut was there too, waving her branch with the rest of the Sunday School class, but mommy missed her before she left. (Sorry again Peanut!!)Later in the afternoon, all us girls completed the Stroller Derby at the Red Bud Classic. Again, the weather was not optimal, we all nearly froze to death! (Please note baby Ben in his bubble.) We all still had so much fun!! I even met the unabomber. Turns out, she's a pretty cool chick. ;) We all made sure to stretch it out before we started the "race". The stretching seemed to wear Steph our more than we planned.... But it was too late to turn back, we were off! Just a few miles later we were finished! No one was more worn out than miss Peanut. She felt she earned more than just a medal and had a donut too.

That 2 mile race in the blustery cold managed to knock me sick in bed for most the next week. I came down with tonsillitis, strep, among other things. I was hopped up on medicine for so long that by the time Friday came, I was ready to get out of bed for most anything. Which led me to host the first Girl's Night In. Here are my beautiful girls, all ready for the party. We danced, we played Whack-a-mole with Mema and Azilee, we had lots of snuggles,

and painted each others nails. I was personally treated to a lip-glossing session by Ms. Peanut And she did my toes too. Lucky me! Aunt Steph got the lip-gloss treatment too After all that hard work, we crashed on the couch with a movie and popcorn.

We made Easter cupcakes the next day. Lots of sticky fun!!
They turned out perfect. I was so proud! (Guess which ones I decorated. :)


Everyone cleaned up nicely for Easter Sunday. The girls, and the boys. We snapped some pics of the kids after church, and amazingly, I got one with all of them looking at me- at the same time!! How sweet are they?? We tried to get one with Benjamin too. This is what you get when you tell my kids to look up here at the camera. Oh well.
We took our lovley cupcakes over to Aunt Kat's and had a wonderful rest of the day.