WFMW

Today is Works for Me Wednesday, and I think I have a tip to share! After the first few weeks of struggling to get his morning chores done on time before school, I instituted a new rule: No breakfast until the kid in question is completely ready to walk out the door for school. It sounds mean, but he has only missed out on breakfast once in almost two weeks of this new rule. So, that's what Works For Me!

Preggy Funny

A good sign you're pregnant: You wake up on the toilet, with no recollection of how you got there, and you are not at all surprised.

Ummm, now what?

So. The cute little Denver Broncos football uniform arrived. I unpacked it with all three kids watching eagerly. I explained that whichever of them it fit could wear it. Yeeeeaaaah. Slight problem there. See, the helmet fits Bug's noggin nicely. The jersey is about right for Kat. And the little, and I do mean little, pants probably fit Monkey-boy. I haven't had the guts to let him try it on, because I don't think he'll let me take it back off of him til I have to surgically remove it. Since seeing the cute little thing, he's been relentlessly chanting, "Go Boppos, Go Boppos, Go Boppos!" The helmet really is waaay too big for him. But I don't think he cares. And he won't be going trick or treating without me for years to come. Maybe I should let him wear it anyway, seeing as he's the second most avid Broncos fan in this house? (He learned from his Mama, of course!)

A giveaway worth checking out

5 Minutes for Mom is giving away a dyson vacuum. And it's pink. Not too sure about the color, but hey maybe my little princess will help vacuum if she had a pink one!

101 posts and I won a giveaway!

How's that for a pretty good day? Yesterday, a friend stopped by to visit, just because. That pretty much never happens to me, because around here any more than two kids is a lot and people don't know how to act around me, with the 4th on the way. But this friend just had her fourth, and her husband works for the same company as mine, and we have similar parenting styles, and as if that weren't enough, our kids are similar ages and genders and get along.

That would've been enough to make my day right there, so I'm glad I didn't check my email til today. That way, yesterday's goodness spilled over into today! I got in touch with an old friend from high school who emailed me back yesterday, and I won this giveaway! Woo hoo!

I hope everyone else is feeling as blessed as I am right now!

It's Fall!

The mornings are cold, the afternoons are blisteringly hot. Last week, I got up early to mow a section of lawn every morning. This week, I have been waiting until the sun finally dries the dew off of the lawn enough to mow. Soon I'll be raking and mowing. And railing internally at the irony.



I love fall because it's warm enough still to wear my easy to slip on sandals, and we all know how important that is, especially when pregnant. And fall is also cool enough to warrant a little bit of a wardrobe change.... nothing too drastic, just a little warmer clothing.



I love fall because of the things we'll be doing soon, all the fun stuff there is to look forward to. September will be packed with soccer games and practices, and on the 22nd, I'll be holding a meeting at my church to try to start a mothers group. In October, there's more soccer, the annual chili cookoff, Nevada day, and of course, Halloween. Then, Thanksgiving, our wedding anniversary, Christmas, New Years, the new baby...... Fall and Winter are just going to be so much fun this year!

I think I've been watching too many birth shows....

Today I watched the documentary "Crazy Sexy Cancer". My daughter walked by glanced at the woman in the hospital bed on tv, and asked, "Is that lady having a baby?" That's what a woman in a hospital bed means, in her mind. Maybe that's not such a bad thing, though....

Logic, Schmogic!

Hubs called on his way home from work yesterday to ask what's for dinner. I informed him that there wasn't much leftover and he might want to pick something up on his way home, and while he was at it he could get me a McFlurry.... Big pause on his end, and then, "but we have 3 pints of Ben & Jerry's in the freezer... don't we?" I replied, "Yes, that's true, but I'm pregnant, not logical!"

Back to School

So, we survived the first week of school, and with sanity intact, too! Both kids like their teachers, and are still enjoying school. Keeghan is a little annoyed with a week of reviewing last year's stuff, but that'll pass, I'm sure. Kathryn just loves everything about kindergarten.

Next week is the one I'm expecting to be interesting. Soccer practices start for both of them, at different fields, of course. At least the times work out pretty nicely for the most part. I'm still waiting to find out the game schedules and see if those conflict at all.

Awww crud.

When Bug starting losing teeth, we made the appropriate oohs and awws, and the Tooth Fairy made her appointed visits.

Until, one day, she didn't.

That goofy Tooth Fairy slept a little late on a saturday morning, and woke up in a panic. Luckily, Bug inherited those airhead tendencies, and they kicked in that very same morning.

He forgot to check under his pillow. I had Hubs keep him distracted by feeding him, and ran to get some cash out of my purse. It was empty. Then I had a brain fart and remembered the huge box of books that had just arrived from ebay. There were even some tooth fairy themed ones, so I managed to stash one of those under the pillow in lieu of cash. And I congratulated myself for the great save.

Since I had a number of these great books, and always seemed to be out of cash when he lost a tooth, he got more presents that money from the Tooth Fairy. Seemed like a great solution at the time.

Today, Kat lost her first tooth. And I congratulated her, and oohed and awwed, and thought to myself, awww crud. Because I set the bar so high with Bug, Kat is beside herself with excitement over what cool present the Tooth Fairy will be leaving her. And it's my own fault.

Dorky phone message

I just called a friend I haven't heard from in awhile. Had to leave a message. I totally embarrassed myself. "Hi, it's just me. Calling to say hi and see what you're all up to." not too bad until this: " The number is xxx-xxxx.... um I think. Crud, I don't know. I can't remember my own number. Good thing you have caller ID. Bye." Now, I'll never get a call back.... lol.

Chores are becoming a real chore.

My oldest has been suffering lately from a case of the lazies. He has an argument or an excuse for anything I ask him to do, and failing that, he'll take as long as he possibly can. What gives? His sister's attitude hasn't changed lately, nor has his brother's, so whatever it is, is only affecting Bug. The most trouble I have with Kat is that she forgets things a lot, but I have a feeling that's pretty normal for a five year old girl with a healthy imagination. And when I remind her, she apologizes and hops to it pretty quickly.

In my bones

I know it's only August, but I can feel autumn coming. Around here, it might look like summer still, but if you pay attention the signs are all around. The dogs have shed their summer coats, and a now looking pretty cozy in their winter coats. After two months of high 90 and low 100 temps, we're finally down to the mid-80's. The trees are changing color, just a little bit here, and a little bit there. And the nights are downright cold already!

I think it might be a good idea to take the kids to the park a little more in the couple of week left until school starts. Just in case we can't go even sooner than usual.

Mattell recall

Mattell is recalling many of their very popular toys due to lead in the paint. My family actually owned two of them. One got destroyed with a hammer because it would never shut off and annoyed my husband one time too many. The other I'm going to have to take away from my two year old; it was a birthday present for him this year. Go to www.Mattell.com to see the full list.

Busy, Busy Week

Last week, I was put in charge of the crafts portion of our church's VBS. The theme was Avalanche Ranch, which was very cute. I started out very intimidated and a bit overwhelmed, having never even known what VBS was before this year. By thursday, I was not only feeling almost in control, but also pretty excited about it all. And then. We found out that two of the kids who'd been attending all week were suspected of having whooping cough. The last day was cancelled. Major bummer. And a major reminder of why it's so important to keep our kids immunized.

Just call it the Spring Creek Wildlife Preserve

I think my neighbors are beginning to wonder about me just a little. My erratic lawn caretaking must be getting pretty curious, or at least a little amusing to the outside observer. I think I mowed our lawn once this summer before our lawn mower decided to take the summer off. I was not convinced, so for a two week period, I'd be out there a couple times a day trying to get it started. Jehromy came home, worked on it, declared it fixed, and went back out of town for work. Which began another two weeks of trying, but not starting the lawn mower.

After a month of not mowing, it was getting a little embarrassing to pull into our driveway. Another couple weeks, and I decided something had to be done. It was becoming a fire hazard, not just an embarrassment. So I borrowed my father in law's mower and weed whacker.

That's when things got pretty interesting. Seeing as how I'm in my fourth month of pregnancy, and we're in the midst of a heat wave that shows no sign of relenting, I can only do a little bit at a time. Now, a smart person says, just do your yard work in the mornings and evenings when it's cooler. That person isn't in an exhaustion coma every morning from staying up too late on the phone with her hubby, or on the phone with said hubby the second the kids are tucked in. This person is, and has to do ten minutes here, ten minutes there, all the while taking half hour water breaks. The picture above is what it looked like when I'd mowed my first swath.

When it rains, it pours...

On Saturday, I bit into a piece of candy and lost part of my tooth. Tuesday, I went to the dentist to see what was to be done about it. I was given a referal to a specialist in Reno. I immediately wondered how much this was going to cost me. Turns out, I have a choice. I can pay $800 for the specialist to try to save the tooth, with no guarantees for success, and then pay for a crown. Or I can have the tooth removed and get bridgework done, for around $2000 out of pocket. What makes this a difficult decision is that part about "no guarantee". I don't want to take the first choice, only to have to do the extraction and bridgework anyway. Do I take the chance, or not? I don't know yet.

What did you do today, sweetheart?

I wasn't always a stay at home mommy, and it wasn't a decision Jehromy and I came to lightly. In fact, we both fought it tooth and nail, because of some hilarious miscommunication. He thought that I needed to work in order to feel like I was contributing to the family, and decided that he would not be the one to force me to quit working, even though he thought our family would be happier with me at home. I thought that I'd lose all respect from him if I admitted that I really didn't want to go to work and miss out on all my kids were doing- even if it was diaper blowouts and weird science with the kitty litter.

So, for the first few months we were together, he worked as a delivery driver for Budweiser, and I worked as a bartender. Doesn't that just sound like a match made in drunk heaven? We had opposite schedules, so one of us was always at home while the other was at work. Which worked ok for the kids, but soon Jehromy started calling a babysitter more and more often so he could hang out with me at work. When I realized that he was paying the babysitter more than I was earning, I told him he either had to quit visiting me so much, or I need to quit working. He finally admitted that he really liked having me home when he got home from work, and that he just missed me too much when I went to work, and would I feel horrible if he wanted me to stay home? I was so relieved. I've gone back to work at odd jobs a couple times since then, as needs have dictated, and those experiences have only solidified our committment to put our family first.

The other fantastic side effect of the opposing schedules was that Jehromy got to be home alone with the kids, and got a small taste of life as a stay at home parent- sort of. It was enough that I know when he asks what I did today, it is out of interest in my life, not a question of derision. And on those days when I say it was a worthless waste of a day, he'll find something I did right, even when I just see everything I didn't do. The way he sees it, the most important thing I can do in any day is make sure the kids know they are loved. The rest is gravy. Or icing. Or whatever you like best.

Why, oh why am I not allowed to title my posts anymore? Sheesh.

Ah, well. Moving on. My seven year old son is singlehandedly resurrecting the social life that he, himself killed seven years ago. Oh, I know I could have done playgroups and gone to the park to meet other mommies and stuff like that. But I had more important stuff to do, like oh, you know, surviving a crappy marriage and supporting my family and all. Silly priorities.

So, anyway. My son has a social life. This means I almost have a social life, because negotiating the details of his social life requires me to interact with other mothers. Somethine that has really been quite terrifying to me for quite awhile. I am very much an introvert. But I'm starting to enjoy interacting with some of these moms quite a lot lately. In fact, I even hijacked the phone from Bug to talk to his friend's mom for almost an hour today! My kids thought I'd lost my mind!

I bet I'll even need a calendar once Kat starts school. That kid is so not an introvert. She's incredibly friendly and outgoing, and will find something nice to say about anyone.

Well. This has been quite the blogging hiatus, hasn't it? After the worst morning sickness I've had yet, and then the entire family getting the flu, and then me being in the ER because of a migraine, well.... last week was a doozy. The ER doc told me initially, "you're either having a stroke or a migraine, so we're going to run some tests to find out which it is." OH, ok. No biggie. I'll just sit here in this massively uncomfortable bed wondering if I'm dying or not for the next six hours.

Thankfully, things seem to be gradually improving now. My midwife is concerned that I've lost a couple pounds instead of gaining. However, taking into account the above mentioned situations, and mixing in a heat wave that makes it too hot to even think about eating, and I think we've figured out the problem. She says to eat lots and lots of protein in order to prevent another migraine. A gal can only eat so much peanut butter, nuts, and yogurt before it gets really old though.

Oh, and Blogger won't let me title this post.