May Highlights

May was quite a month for us. Not only did we have some parenting challenges, lots of errands, and had school wrap up, but we also went on our big trip! Here are some highlights :)

{I tried a new sandwich recipe that included vegetarian bacon. I wasn't entirely sure about it, (especially because the bacon smelled like those dog treats Beggin' Strips), but it was really delicious! I may not buy more vegetarian bacon due to the cost, but I am certainly eating this sandwich again :) Plus, Jalapeno kettle chips were extra yummy with it ;)}

{My early Mother's Day gift was materials to crochet a blanket for BB-3! It was actually incredibly frustrating because the original pattern I chose was not making sense. I was about to give up, but slept on it. Thanks to ravelry.com, I found a (free!) new pattern that has worked out much better! I'm over halfway done now, so I'm excited to finish :) Plus, Jillian has already asked for her own, so I'll get on that later}

{Jillian's preschool had a letter parade to end the year! She decided to be the letter P. We had her in pink and purple, she had a penguin headband, and she carried the book "Perfect Piggies" to school. The cutest little P I ever did see :)}

{Davey wanted a picture too, so I got them together <3}

{I tried snacking better, and I noticed D's Naturals was on sale online at Vitamin Shoppe! I got some Quest chips, as well as tried a new beef jerky. The jerky was not that good, but everything else was great! It's funny that I have an aversion this pregnancy to peanut butter, but these almond butters are totally fine. I can eat it by the spoonful!}

{Davey fell asleep on accident the other day on BB-3. BB-3 tried to kick him off, but Davey was out like a light. It was pretty cute though :)}

{Glucose test #2 - passed!}

{It's interesting that the first time I ever did the test, I wanted nothing but salty foods for the next 24 hours, and crashed that night from being so tired. Then with David's pregnancy, I wanted salty foods for about 12 hours, but didn't have the crash. This time, I was ok with sweet foods about an hour after, and no crash. The drink still tickles my throat in the I-think-I'm-gonna-barf-but-won't way, but I'm convinced it's due to the fact that you have to drink it in 5 minutes. Orange drink vs. red, refrigerated vs. room temperature, neither of those really changed the outcome for me. It's just one of those things. Yuck!}

{Best mom deception ever!}

{I wanted the tiny ice cream cone without the kids asking for one. (Don't judge! There's only a few in that box!) So I just happen to see this toy one and placed it in front of the real cone. That way, the kids only saw the toy. By the time I finished eating the real one, Jillian ran up to me, grabbed the toy one, and left without knowing the difference. Score!}

{This was my birthday gift, and I finally got it! I decided to save it for our Europe trip, which was nice to have on those long plane rides! It was a wonderful book, and I'm so proud of my blog friend :)}

{Mother's Day 2016}

{Phil was kind enough to give me a cupcake and some computer game time after a rough day with the kids. What a great hubby :)}

{He's got my vote!}

{Got books for our trip in the mail! So excited to use them!!}

{The things you have to google in order to prepare for an international trip while pregnant}

{I did this because there's a dish in Barcelona where things are cooked in squid ink. No one really knew the answer, but concluded that squid is low in mercy so the ink should be ok? Comforting...}

{For Global Entry, (which didn't help us much this time), I had to do an interview. The problem is, the closest place to do that is Dallas, TX or Kansas City, MO. Dallas was booked solid for months, but there was a spot at KCI. We drove to Tulsa on a Friday night, then the kids stayed with Grandma and Papa while we took a mini road trip to KC. We were only alone a few hours, but it was really nice to do it together :) Plus, my interview went well, and we were both officially approved for Global Entry}

{So glad it's finally cherry season again! I've been waiting since last summer ;)}

{Jillian had her preschool graduation. It's hard to believe she has Pre-K classes at her preschool before it's officially time for Kindergarten!! She did a great job at the program, and I'm just so thankful for loving, and attentive teachers who really helped Jillian, and myself, as the school year went on}

{The following are a series of pictures that I like to call... "Guess Where David Fell Asleep?"}

{At Chili's in Tulsa}

{At home while resting his head on a bucket of playfood}

{On the couch while watching "The Jungle Book" after insisting that he was not sleepy}

{Whenever we go on trips, (unless it's to Tulsa), I like to take a picture at the beginning of the day of what the kids look like/are wearing that day. I'm sure it's a little on the OCD side of things, but I got in the habit from traveling with the kids alone. I try to be vigilant, but we all know that kids are fast, and things are happen faster than a heartbeat. Anyways, after taking a full body picture of her, Jillian posed again, and I thought she just looked so grown-up and beautiful that I had to share :)}

{We were told that our hotel in St. Louis had a pool that was open! We wanted to take the kids really quick before driving to Jemma and Gee-Chaz's house. Well, it looked like this... so we skipped it. It was really hard to explain to Jillian, but we played in the pool at Jemma and Gee-Chaz's, so that helped soften the blow}

{How Davey fell asleep on the way to Wisconsin}

{We started our trek to Wisconsin on Phil's actual birthday. So, my mom made some cupcakes and a nice dinner for Phil for the night we got into town. Those cupcakes were delicious, and we were glad to celebrate Phil!}

{Jillian asked to take a picture before we left for our flight :)}

{Apparently, she wanted to wear this particular outfit several days we were gone. My mom had to wash it a few times, just to keep it fresh! LOL Silly Jilly}

{It was hard to pick highlights from our trip, so here are just a few that may or may not be repeats from our trip recap posts}

{We finally made it to Paris!}

{We look rough, but we were glad to be on the ground, and celebrating our 8 year wedding anniversary in France together <3}

{I went to a cat cafe in Montpellier where I ended up with the hairless cat in my lap. It was definitely an experience, and I doubt I'll ever own a hairless cat. Petting it was weird :-/}

{This is how close pigeons would get to me in the park. I was proud of myself for not screaming, but I certainly did not feel comfortable! (I even have a video of them crowding me. Ugh, I hate birds!)}

{I loved that poppies grew wild out there. There were still dandelions, but how often do you get to see red poppies growing? I don't, so it was a treat :)}

{The park near Phil's conference was setting up for a literary festival celebrating Italian authors! It looked like a really neat festival}

{One of the sculptures in the park that I really liked}

{I thought this looked like a place out of a novel at the Botanical Garden in Montpellier}

{I love exploring with him :)}

{Viewing Barcelona from our lunch spot}

{I love that even Spain runs on Dunkin'! LOL}

{At the market, we entered where lots of candy vendors were. I thought these things were cool looking!}

{Barcelona Cathedral}

{Checking our the beach in Barcelona}

{This is the third selfie we took. I think we took a total of 5(?) just because selfies are not our thing. However, we wanted a few pictures of the two of us :)}

{I just love the colors! The picture doesn't do it justice}

{These beauties were outside of our hotel in Montpellier just before we left for Paris at the end of our trip}

{Not only was this the market from the movie Amelie, I was able to purchase a garden gnome for my mother from here! The man must be used to it because he gave the gnome a kiss and told it goodbye}

{It rained nearly the entire time we were in Paris, but we made it out before the flooding. I didn't mind the rain much :)}

{After souvenir shopping, we got some warm drinks and had it on the terrace at our hotel. We got to the room and noticed the rain was done just enough we could enjoy the terrace attached to our room. This was a favorite moment of mine <3}

{Seeing the Eiffel Tower light show before leaving to come home. By this point, we had a great trip, but were ready to come home and be with our babies again :)}

{Au revoir, Paris (and May 2016)!}