a thursday morning…

The boys are climbing and jumping all over our flowered Goodwill couch in the playroom. This is something they do every day around this time lately. I don’t care… as long as they don’t beat each other with flying feet, and there is more laughing than crying…

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I took them to bowl for the first time this morning. We have a local upscale bowling alley that offers free bowling for kids on Thursday mornings. The staff were really nice, and you didn’t have to rent shoes as long as everyone had rubber soles. We were paired up with another mom and her 3 girls, and the kind ladies working there put in all the names and got the board set up for us. Evan and Seth rolled their balls down the little portable ramp, and Evan eventually learned to say, “I knock the pins down with my ball!” Having to wait our turn made things a little harder, but it was ok…

But we won’t be going back this summer. Sigh. We had to leave before they’d finished the last 3 frames because I was getting worried about myself. At 32 weeks pregnant, stooping down, picking up, and placing 7-9 lb. balls over and over again was too hard on me. I started getting sore and achy. I hate this. I want to be able to give my boys new experiences and fun activities this summer, but it’s getting harder and harder for me. Things are going to have to get more simple around here. I tell myself it’ll be fine for them; they’re not really missing out. But I’m sad about all the things I will have increasing trouble doing for the next several weeks…

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We ARE going to do the local neighborhood 4th of July parade. I really love it. Everybody meets up in a local cul de sac. Kids decorate bikes and wagons, and somebody pulls a portable CD player blasting patriotic marches. This will be Seth’s first year riding his bike, and I think he’ll feel like a super big kid. Now to figure out how to decorate his bike tastefully…. heh heh. =)

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I asked David what he wanted me to make for the 4th of July this year. Cherry pie? A nice ribeye? Nope. The man wants hot dogs, chips, and something simple like ice cream for dessert. And he’s right. This year is not the time for me to go crazy in the kitchen. Low key is best, and some of our favorite comfort foods aren’t terribly complicated. If he would be happier with hot dogs than filet mignon, who am I to argue? Actually, this year I feel the same way myself. He did request a nice, juicy watermelon. =) Nothing says 4th of July like watermelon….

at 5:40 a.m. again…

Up with the birds. Literally. They’re singing up a storm out there. =) I’ll probably go back to bed in 5 minutes, but I was a little uncomfortable, so I got up for a bit…

We’re back from our week at the beach with 4 kids. It started with a bang. David had gone to Tampa to get my nephew and niece, and I was here, feeling all full of myself because I’d gotten everything packed up, and I still had some energy left. (Yeah, that should’ve been my clue to stop right then.) But, no, I had to make some homemade salsa. Soooo, I cut into a serrano pepper for the first time. And a few minutes after I’ve put everything away, I realize my hands are stinging. I’ve gotten some sort of pepper acid on them. I wash them over and over again, ask Dr. Google what to do, soak them in milk, and wash them in rubbing alcohol.

That didn’t stop me from getting the acid in my eyes when I washed my face before bed. I woke up in the middle of the night with my eyes glued shut. I prayed it wasn’t the world’s fastest case of pinkeye. I washed out my eyes over and over again, and I ended up driving to the beach with the boys with one eye pretty swollen. Figures… =)

Meanwhile, on a highway somewhere in FL, David is getting the most expensive speeding ticket we’ve ever heard of. The cop told him that he was pulling him because he’d missed the speed limit going down “at that last stoplight.” Really? Happy Father’s Day…

Things got better from there out, but the trip did include… my parent’s dog getting locked in a closet by some kid or other and us driving the neighborhood calling him, the one toilet at their cabin breaking and being replaced, and my nephew stepping in dog doo barefooted. 

I would like a vacation after my vacation. BUT… the kids had a fantastic time, and we enjoyed getting to bond with the cousins. Listening to the two littlest sing and giggle together in the car was priceless.

This week I’m trying to focus on just enjoying our little family and taking it easy. I’m not making myself shop at Walmart anymore with my boys until after this pregnancy is over. We’re eating off paper plates more. There will be a lot of pool time and children’s museum time in our future… and lots of book reading and snuggling. And if we eat a lot of frozen pizza and takeout after “Trey” gets here because I didn’t manage to restock the freezer before his birth, I’m going to be ok with that.

Oh, and I seriously love homemade orange creamsicles. These are Seth’s latest obsession, and he nearly freaked out tonight because he thought that not getting to ride his bike (it was raining) meant that he wouldn’t get one. Here’s the recipe- 1 c. vanilla yogurt, 3-4 T. orange juice concentrate, 1/2 t. vanilla. Stir until concentrate thaws, pour into molds, and freeze. I’m daydreaming about other concentrates I can use… =)

mama musings…

(taken looking down in an airport at about 27 weeks, back when my thighs hadn’t yet outgrown those shorts I’m wearing =)

- Vacation starts on Sunday. We’re going to be staying at a lovely beach house right on the water for a week. My parents will be at their place 15 minutes down the road. We’re expecting lots of excitement and fun, but not expecting tons of relaxation…. =)

- …And this would be because David is driving to FL to pick up our 5-year-old nephew and 3-year-old niece. He’s driving down on Saturday, spending the night, and then driving them back up to the beach on Sunday. We’re talking many, many hours in the car. David is an excellent, wonderful, enthusiastic, helpful man. He begged to be able to do this because he is so incredibly nice. But he’s going to be whupped before this vacation even starts, y’all, so please pray for him on Saturday and Sunday.

- My brother has had some sort of chronic fatigue syndrome for months now, and that means their family can’t come on vacation with us like originally planned for various reasons. BUT… we can take 2 of their 3 kids off their hands for a week to give them a break, so we are. And our boys are super excited about the time with their cousins, so win win!

- I think I’m going to buy some t-shirts for me and David that say, “Are you quiverful? We are!” Yep, that’ll keep the comments down when we go out with 2 grandparents and 4 children ages 5, 4, 3, 2, and one in utero. Heh heh. Ok, I won’t really, but I’m going to be very amused at the horrified looks I’m sure we’ll be getting. =) 

- At this point in the pregnancy, I have no will power. Zero. I have eaten a lot of chocolate in the last few days. I need to stare at my cellulite more and get some will power from the view. If junk food is in the house, I’ll eat it. I need a good little angel to go grocery shopping on my shoulder at the beach so I leave that bag of white cheddar cheese puffs at the store. Remember, Ellen… you put it on now, you gotta get it off in a year. Remember… you don’t enjoy sweating. =)

sorting and stockpiling kid’s clothes…

Hey! I guess I never told y’all how the yard sale went. =) We were up until midnight the night before sorting and labeling boxes with the various sizes of boy clothes we were selling. We started pulling it all out on the lawn at 6:00 a.m. At 7:00, people started rolling in. It was hopping from 7:00-9:00 and then slowed down a lot.

We priced at rock bottom prices (like $.25 a piece for most things), and we sold A LOT. I’m actually embarrassed to tell you how many items of boy clothing we sold… most of it hand me downs we’d been generously given that didn’t fit, wrong season, etc. AND I had bought a lot of toys at yard sales and consignment that we didn’t end up playing with. Our front yard was crowded.

It inspired me to never let our shed and closets get that full again. At this point, if a new clothing item comes in, one is going to have to leave (in most sizes).

I’ve been following this discussion at Money Saving Mom on stockpiling clothes. It’s been interesting, and I’ve gotten some great ideas from it (especially from the comments).

At this point, I have all the boy’s clothes sorted into sizes. All the baby clothes are in the baby’s dresser, filling drawers all the way down, each drawer devoted to a size, until we hit 12 months. The other clothes are sorted into piles on the floor of our room.

I’m going through each pile and writing down everything I have in a particular size. Then I write down anything I’m needing. (For instance, we could use lightweight pajamas without feet in just about every size from 2T up, so I note that.)

We’re clearing out the shelving in the boys’ closets in the next week or two. And this is our new storage method… paper boxes!!! =) David can get lots of nice, clean, new ones from the office, and they fit the existing shelving really well. We’re going to type up labels and tape them to the fronts of the boxes. This will be so much better than our current method of dumping all clothes in a giant Ziploc bag and throwing them into the shed until needed again. That was a frustrating mess every season…

Anyway, here’s hoping this works… at least for a few more years before the clothes get a lot bigger. =)

Vacation Bible school, Y’all…

It’s Almost Naptime is one of my new favorite blogs. I totally get this mama’s sense of humor. I wish she’d invite me over for sweet tea. =)

She just put this post up about VBS. Cracks. me. up.

See, I just signed Seth up for VBS at a church I have never set foot in. And I am not going to feel guilty. Nope. Nun uh. I have many years of VBS volunteerage under my belt. David and I taught VBS at three different churches before we even had kids, and I taught at our church a couple of summers ago. We have been teaching 2 and 3-year-old Sunday school every Sunday for the past 2 years. I have paid some dues, people. This hugely pregnant woman is putting up her feet and only having one crazy 2-year-old to watch for one glorious week this July…

A friend told us about this VBS, her kids will be in Seth’s class, and it’s 5 minutes away. 3 hours each morning, 5 days total. He’ll have a blast… and so will Mommy! =)

summer evening…

Ahhh, June evening with no humidity, I love you. =) This is my toddler boy eating on our new screened in porch. Yes, we did it, and I don’t regret it! I love sitting out there in the evening watching the fireflies, and we still have half the deck for grilling and water play. My mom has reminded me over and over again that I spent more time on our screened in porch growing up than anybody else in the family. She knows me…

Now, we haven’t put much on it yet. This will probably be our last time trying to eat a sit down dinner out there for awhile. Evan getting up and down and up and down while we were trying to eat a full dinner at the card table was driving me nuts, so I think we’ll wait awhile to get the full patio set. We have a little round table I can use for me to eat on while picnicking with the boys, and that’ll be fine for awhile longer. But the porch swing is definitely there… you can’t have a screened in porch without one, in my opinion. =)

I’m loving these summer days with my boys. Just a few of the highlights…

- Seth’s new obsession with riding his bike with training wheels. A neighbor gave it to us, and we put it away for awhile in the shed until he was really good at pedaling the trike. Every morning when he wakes up lately, he asks, “Can I ride my bicycle today?” He walks out on the front porch to “check on his bicycle.” I got him a helmet and a bike bell today, and we took our first ride in the neighborhood with him tonight, him riding and us pushing Evan in the stroller. This is a sweet first for us all.

- Seth convincing Evan to try scrambled eggs for the first time. And Evan loving them so much that he cried when there weren’t any more. =)

- Boys taking turns climbing up on the block box and diving over the arm of the loveseat, giggling and squealing, over and over…

- Evan bringing Seth one wooden block at a time so Seth can build a castle. And then when all the blocks are gone, both of them knocking it down with wild abandon.

- The look on Seth’s face when he felt the baby kick him for the first time.

- Making a triple batch of banana bread while they push cars around my feet. And being excited about my new habit of dumping some ground flax seed into everything baked. You can’t even taste it! =)

baby shower for “trey”

My MOPs small group gave me the sweetest baby shower for “Trey.” Everyone brought food, and we stuffed ourselves on 7 layer bean dip (a request from me =), baked brie with red pepper jelly, homemade pound cake, tres leche cake, fruit, punch, and other goodies I’m sure I’m not remembering.

I’ve been to a lot of baby showers, but this one definitely had the coolest game I’ve seen yet. We all sat down at the table and were instructed to make a baby. Our hostess had cut out lots of eyes, hair, noses, mouths, accessories, and a bunch of random names. We sat around and talked and made these crazy looking little guys. I got to vote for the winner. His name was Ralphie Beaufort, and he had some great nerd rocker glasses and a lovely smile. Here I am as Octomom. =)

Crafting babies and chewing the fat. I named mine Maximus Zeus. I think my little guy already has a power trip complex as much as he enjoys keeping me up at night with his antics, so it seemed to fit. =) Hah, hah.

A big part of my MOPs group. We’ve laughed and cried and playdated together and been there for each other this year. They surrounded me and prayed for me, and Sarah B. even gave a little devotional. I’m so thankful for MOPs and the relationships it has given me over the last few years. What a wonderful group of godly women!

pool day…

It’s a hot 96 degrees today, and after all the errands I’ve subjected the boys to this week, I decided they deserved a little pool time. So we headed out to Seth’s favorite swimming hole. This pool has a large 3 foot area where he can practice his new moves that he picked up at swim class a few weeks ago.

The boys are starting to get the pool drill down, and so am I. It makes it sooo much easier to go, and I’m thankful. For starters, the pool bag stays mostly packed all the time with sunscreen, pool toys, and snacks. I fill up a water bottle with ice and water, throw in a couple of rolled up towels, and that’s done. Also, I don’t get dressed in the morning when we’re going to the pool. I leave on my nightgown and bring down all our swimsuits to change into after breakfast. Lots easier… They now know that I’m going to spray them and apply sunscreen to their faces on our porch before we head to the car, so they wait instead of charging right to the van, etc., etc.

The water felt great today, and it’s nice to feel the weightlessness that only comes from being in water right now. I’ve started wearing a large straw hat to keep me from getting too hot. That, and some big sunglasses, and I look like a fat Zsa Zsa Gabor. The boys don’t care. And since it’s just other moms and preschoolers at the pool, I don’t care, either.

Evan has gotten better at knowing his limits at this pool. Even a couple of weeks ago, he would charge out fearlessly over his head, and I’d keep dragging him back, coughing and sputtering, every 5 minutes. It was exhausting. Well, he’s a lot better at keeping his balance now and not getting in over his head. It’s wonderful. I can be at the pool with both of them now for 2 hours and not feel totally stressed the whole time.

It says something about how pleasant they were today that Evan could fall in our hallway, bust his lip wide open, and have to sit in his high chair sucking on ice to get the bleeding to stop for several minutes… and I wasn’t fazed. While the ice sucking was going on, Seth was smearing poop all over the downstairs bathroom trying to wipe himself, but he asked for help, and I was able to clean him and it up without much trouble or any tears. One again, not fazed today. Why? Because they weren’t fighting or whining or dissolving into tears every 5 minutes. Little emergencies don’t seem like big emergencies so much when everyone is calm.

Please, Lord, more days like this this summer! At prayer night a week ago, one of the other moms there prayed that I would really relish these last couple of months with just my two big boys. She prayed that their hearts would be knit closer together, and that they would enjoy each other more and act out more kindness and sharing every day. It was a great prayer. I’m copying it myself every morning when I wake up… =)

about my brother…

I haven’t written about this on my blog because I just haven’t known what to say. But I know that some of you might have some advice or be willing to pray, so I’m going to put it out there.

My baby brother is pretty sick. He’s been sick for months now, and we’re all worried about him. He is exhuasted, nauseous, headachy, has body aches, and has had to miss work because of it. This thing just came out of the blue, and it’s very tough to see a young, hard working, healthy, and energetic person suddenly get hit by a disease with no real diagnosis and no standard cure.

You can find out more at my sister-in-law’s blog here.

Please pray for Vance, Terri, Isaac, Claire, and baby Eve. We love you, and we wish we were closer to give you more hugs and more help.

And I know I spend some time in bed at night, every night, praying for healing…

brain dump at 12:21 a.m.

I can’t sleep. “Trey” (also known as Baby Boy the 3rd) has been having a party in my tummy, and that usually gets me thinking and rolling around trying to get comfortable, and sometimes it ends with me coming downstairs and checking Facebook for the 100th time today at midnight. This is one of those nights…

Sooo…. after all my bellyaching and worrying about everything I want to get done in another 2 1/2 months… I actually got something done. David (aka Mr. Organized and Motivated) pulled me up off my heavy tushie, and we spent an evening cleaning all the toys out of the shed and de-cluttering the playroom. We started the shed part when the kids were up, and that ended with them whining, muddy, covered in bug bites, and in need of a quick bath. But after they were in bed, things really got cooking. We went to bed with a nicely decluttered playroom (and shed) and bags of toys on the front porch. Bags, I tell you.

This lead to us deciding to attempt our First Ever Yard Sale this Saturday. I’m nervous, y’all. I hope this isn’t a huge flop. I hope creepy people don’t come and try to run off with baby toys under their trench coats. I hope we don’t all succumb to heat stroke. If you have any tips for having a successful yard sale, I’m all ears. I know I should advertise on Craigslist and get plenty of change, etc.

We’ll be spending a couple of nights this week going through every stitch of boy clothes we have- from 0-3 months to 5T. I may have to hyperventilate into a paper bag. We have a LOT of clothes.

Random thought: I was in our local grocery store the other night, and I started longing to shop there with another newborn. This is how it went when Evan was born: I’d load the baby up in the car about 9 or 10 at night, (after everything was quiet but before he was willing to go down), and we’d stroll through the deserted aisles. I’d be bleary eyed and tired, but it was a peaceful time. His infant carrier would be propped in front of me on the front seat of the cart, and I could enjoy watching his little face and tickling his tiny feet as I picked up the frozen broccoli for the week. Little man doing jumping jacks in my tummy, we have a date at the Food Lion coming up soon. I’m looking forward to it.

but here’s a woman with real problems…

Now here’s a lady that makes my single gender and running out of names issues look tame… =)

“Did I ever tell you that Mrs. McCave
Had twenty-three sons, and she named them all Dave?

Well, she did. And that wasn't a smart thing to do.
You see, when she wants one, and calls out "Yoo-Hoo!
Come into the house, Dave!" she doesn't get one.
All twenty-three Daves of hers come on the run!

This makes things quite difficult at the McCaves'
As you can imagine, with so many Daves.
And often she wishes that, when they were born,
She had named one of them Bodkin Van Horn.
And one of them Hoos-Foos. And one of them Snimm.
And one of them Hot-Shot. And one Sunny Jim.
Another one Putt-Putt. Another one Moon Face.
Another one Marvin O'Gravel Balloon Face.
And one of them Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate...

But she didn't do it. And now it's too late.”

- Dr. Suess

 

Hmmm…. Sunny Jim sounds nice… =)

Asked and answered…

… “Yep, we’re having a third boy.”

… “Yes, actually I did want a girl this time. Thanks for reminding me.”

… “Are we going to try again? Well, the odds of having another boy after this one just went up by 10-15%, so I don’t think that’s my best bet for having a girl. Would you like to play those odds? Didn’t think so…

… “No, I’m not all that interested in having a basketball team.”

… “Actually, I wouldn’t have minded paying for a wedding.”

… “No, I have nothing against boys. I have two of them, and they’re wonderful.  Wanting to have a daughter doesn’t mean that I don’t want to raise boys.”

… “God must think I’m really special? Thanks…. I think?”

(I’ve been doing an unusual amount of answering these questions and fielding these comments during the last week, and I’m tired. Next time someone asks, I’m having a hippo. Seth and Evan would like that. =)

Summer heat and pregnancy…

Man, it got hot fast! It’s been in the 90’s for the last few days, and today is the first day of June!

I’ve got to admit that this has me a little worried. Late August seems really far away, and I already have a little bit of swelling in my hands and possibly some swelling in my legs. Sigh. By the time the boys go down for nap, all I want to do is put my feet up and rest.

We went to the local kiddie pool this morning. It was crowded, but really great for us all. I thought I was keeping cool, but I was slightly dizzy by the time we left. I’m guessing I needed to drink a lot of water. The dizzy feeling didn’t go away until an hour later. I guess I’m really going to have to be careful all summer.

There are a million things that I want to do to get ready for this baby. The boys’ closets need to be cleaned out. All the boy clothes need to be gone through, sorted, and many given away. The playroom needs another thorough cleanout. I want to steam clean all the upholstery and downstairs rugs…. You get the idea. I know that once this baby comes, it’ll be about 2 years before we’ll feel up to doing any of this again.

BUT… it’s so hard already for me to find the energy to do any of it. David has decided that we’ll tackle projects on some weeknights after the boys go to bed. That’s a good idea. I hope it works out for us…

Maybe I’ll get a burst of energy and excitement to encourage me soon… =)