"Man Skills"

When you get to church activity and see the parking lot marked off with caution tape and several of these around the edges, you know you are in for a great time!


Our new ward (congregation) has what they call "Man Skills" for the men. They thought that since the women learn things that they want to, the men should have the same opportunity. So, every month, they have an activity to learn or have fun. This month it was more fun than learning. They were each given a wedge of pine, some wheels, hubs (and whatever else you need to make a car roll) and brief instructions. They didn't have any limits other than if they added extra holes for the explosives, they'd have to bring their own.


We didn't have a lot of time, last week, so My Man just put the wheels on with epoxy and covered the thing with duct tape! It was cool! It actually did quite well, even compared to the ones that had been done up quite fancily!


It was a fun activity, but Belle didn't like it at all. For a while, she wasn't paying attention, and so I picked her up and had her watch one of the races. She was startled by the sound and then, the next one made her cry. It was all over by then, I had to take her to the van (wisely parked on the other side of the building!) so she wouldn't be scared.



This picture was actually taken before the event! She looked pretty concerned. I guess she had reason to be. A few of the cars even flew!

Here is a video of ours racing. You can't tell very well, but in the end it rolls. It was pretty cool!

Weekly Park Trips

In my new neighborhood, the moms get together every week at a different park and let the kids play and eat while we all sit around and talk. So far, each adventure lasts for about 3 hours. It's great! I get to sit around while the kids are occupied and talk to other adults! I'm getting to know the women here and it is really nice. I spend a lot of time inside enjoying my air conditioning, so it is good for me (and the kids) to get out of the house. I hope to be a better mom after I'm not so pregnant and useless!

I love that the kids get to be outside with other kids and I don't have to feel bad about sitting and talking for 3 hours. I'm not ignoring them, but I also get to be an adult and enjoy other adults!

This week, I walked to the park (it only took about 20 minutes) but when I walked home after sitting in the heat, I started to get dizzy. I was so grateful that my husband called and was on his way home from work. He was able to pick me up, so that I didn't pass out on the way home!

I keep forgetting my camera on these excursions. I'm sure I could get some great shots of the kids. Luke has made a couple of friends his age and Belle just goes from group to group. Sometimes she hangs out with the girls, sometimes the boys and other times she just does her own thing. Sometimes I love her independence. I just wish it didn't exhibit itself against me so often!

I don't want to Induce this time

I had an OB appointment yesterday. The baby is head down and things are moving along.

We talked about inducing as well as striping the membranes. I really don't want to induce this time, but my doc is worried that I'll have a ten-pound baby (since my others were 9.5 and 9 lbs) and all of the problems that go with that. With my other two deliveries, I had to have Pitocin when they were late. I hate all of the sitting in the hospital and being tied to an IV. I'd love to spend the first several hours at home and then go in when the baby is ready. I've also heard it is more painful that way and that there are risks.

At the same time, if I am going to hit my due date (on a Friday) and then induce on the next Monday, why not just induce earlier and not have to be pregnant any long than is needed!

I am wondering what any of you did at home to help things along. I have read about a lot of home inducing remedies, but I am wondering if you tried anything that actually worked! (Also, how horrible is having your membranes stripped? It sounds awful to me!)

Thanks!

Another Use for your Sports Bra

I just had to blog about this article! Who would think to take off their sports bra and use it as a signal flag? I guess I would, now.

Randomness

Do you know those times when you should really get off of the computer because you've done all of the useful things and a lot more useless things? Yesterday, I just hit random keys and the search that came up from my mess was www.asdfjklsemicolon.com. It's a really interesting site where they don't tell you anything, don't try to sell you anything, they just want you to leave a message. You can say whatever you want. You can leave contact information or not. They receive tons of emails from this and respond if you leave your email address.

I just thought it was random and cool!.

Random Semi-related Memory: When I was in seventh or eighth grade, I took a typing class. (Yes, typing, as in on a typewriter! Wow, I must be getting old!) One of the first things we learned was where to put our fingers. To reinforce this, she walked around the room singing, "ASDF-JKLsem". The tune was like one that you hear drill sergeants use while running with soldiers. She'd chant the letters and we'd type them in time with her as if we were repeating them out loud.

Potty Training, Again

This morning, Belle looked into the toilet and said that pee was gross. We told her that she sits in pee all day and that she should put hers in the toilet, too. She agreed and sat on the toilet right away! She had an accident with the first pair of panties, but right after announced that she needed to go to the bathroom. She keeps committing to use the toilet, so I am hoping that this time she does better.

She has been saying for weeks that she doesn't want to wear diapers, so maybe this is it!

It's really good timing if she is really ready because we are almost out of diapers anyway. Luke potty trained right after we bought a huge package of diapers. Those lasted several years--Belle's still not in that size but sometimes we'd use them if we were low on hers.

I know things change when a new baby comes, so we'll see how this really goes!

This cracked me up!

I don't know about you, but the first thing I'm going to do after this baby is born is put on a bikini and show of my flabby abs!!

I was looking around Amazon.com at baby stuff and I don't know where this book came from. It looks hilarious!

Games, hobbies, dances, self-defense--All with your postpartum belly! They even say that this book may convince you that you won't want to lose the flab at all!

Big

Today, I officially feel big! I went shopping for a new maternity shirt. I have had a lot of trouble finding clothes, so I was really lacking in something cute and a little dressier to wear. I found a few I liked and they fit way differently than my knit shirts (that are cute and oh, so comfy!). My belly looks a lot bigger in them, but I kind of like that. At the same time, it made me realize that my belly is bigger than I've been thinking it was. This also made me feel big. I found a cute shirt, but I also feel very round, today!

It is amazing what your brain can do. The thing I don't understand is that I thought I looked really cute in the shirts, but then I am ending the day feeling very pregnant. I guess that is fitting since I only have 5 weeks left!

In My Pretty Garden...

...I wish more flowers were nodding! I went out to take some pictures of the plants that we bought with this yard. In the front, the irises are mostly done blooming, but are gorgeous. The roses are especially beautiful and this one smells wonderful.

Hubby loves roses and fire and ice is one of his favorites!


There is also a Japanese Snowball bush. It is waning, so here is one of the last pretty blooms. I love this one already. It spreads beautiful, white blossoms all over! It looks really neat. It's huge, though, so we are not sure what to do about it. It hasn't been cared for, so we aren't sure if we can get it back under control and out of the power lines without killing it. (There are also lots of lilac bushes, but they are done blooming and aren't very photogenic at the moment!



Oh, and just so you aren't deceived into thinking we got a beautiful ready-to-go garden, I thought I'd share this picture! It is a huge garden plot in the back of the yard, with a water turn. The problem, as you can see is that it has been neglected for a while and needs a lot of love! My goal was to weed and plant some melons, but with how late it is and only 5 weeks until the baby comes, my new goal is to get it under control enough to maybe plant some new fruit trees (do you like my dead ones there in the right of the pic?) and have less to do next spring.



One more thing. Here is an almost casualty of moving. I put my houseplants in the window sills and a few of them have been knocked down. I thought that this one was kind of funny hanging on for dear life!

Pregnancy Update!

I'll be 35 weeks along, tomorrow. The last two months have been so consumed with packing, showing, selling, buying and then packing more, cleaning and moving that this pregnancy is going by pretty quickly. I don't mind that at all. It also makes for very little nesting. I have already been doing those things and they are mostly out of my system.

I feel a lot healthier this pregnancy, too. I haven't gained nearly as much weight as I did with the other two. I gained between 50 and 60 pounds with them and this time I have only gained around 20. I hope I can keep it under 30, since this is a time when the baby gains a lot of weight. I have been more active and we are in a lot better eating habits, now. Wii Fit and moving have been really good on my weight gain as well!!

I've had more contractions with this pregnancy, so even though I don't like the pain, I am hopeful that I won't have to be induced this time around. My doc doesn't want to let me go overdue because I have big babies, but, I am hoping that induction isn't necessary!

Sleep Book Review

I've been reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. It is an amazing book. I borrowed it from a friend when I was pregnant with Belle and I was able to do a lot better with her sleep, so when I got the chance I checked it out at the library to see if there was more that I could learn. There was so much more! I haven't been able to read as much of it as I would like before I take it back to the library, but I am definitely going to add this one to our library!

The first part talks all about how children sleep, why it is so important and problems that may develop. Part 2 is about what parents can do to achieve good sleep habits with their children. It goes through the various ages and stages to help you understand what your baby/child needs. He talks about birth through adolescence. The last section talks about other disturbances and concerns.

It is a great book. I have learned so much and I hope that I can do an even better job of getting this baby into good sleep habits! I have already learned how important the afternoon nap and an early bedtime are for children. These two can actually help your child sleep through the night. I also learned that lost sleep is cumulative and makes a child act worse and worse over time.

I highly recommend this book if you are having trouble with your child's sleep or if you are starting fresh with a new baby. Dr. Weissbluth knows what he is writing about as well. He not only has had a pediatric practice for several years, but he is also a father. He has also done extensive research about sleep.

We Have Keys!!

...and a house to go with them! I'll have to get pictures when it isn't raining!

We are trying to move in over the next few days, I am hoping that we can get some lapses in the rain for moving! I guess there are always tarps and at least we only have to take it across town at this point! I just want to sleep in my own bed tonight, even if it is just my mattress on the floor for now!

If it would dry up, I could also put my two little slaves to work weeding the garden so we can grow a few melons and such. I want to do more, but this late in the season and with all that we need to do before the baby comes, it will have to wait until next year.

Pray for sun for me!! :)

Moving Limbo

We are out of our townhouse. We got it all cleaned and cleared out this weekend after finding out (on Thursday) that we had to be out today. We didn't renegotiate the possession date, so the girl buying our home set up installers and who knows what else to be in there tomorrow. I am frustrated with her, but at the same time, she is a really sweet girl who is excited to be in her first home. I have to keep reminding myself of that.

We were thinking we could move right into the other place, but we have had to store all of our stuff and stay with my in-laws for 3 or 4 nights. We are hoping to get the keys today. They said they were willing to give us the keys as soon as we signed the closing contract, instead of waiting until it funds and records. If they do make us wait that long, we should get the keys tomorrow. I just want to sleep on my own bed, well at least the mattress, tonight.

So, we have had an insane weekend and we'll have a busy week moving in.

(So, Blogger seems to be having trouble in general and with spell check, so I hope I didn't spell anything wrong... :) )

I Wish I Was More Insightful

I guess all of my brain power is going to figuring out how to pack and move out of here in the next week and a half. I feel like I haven't written anything very funny or insightful in a long time. But, maybe when things calm down a bit, I can try.

We closed on our townhouse, yesterday and we should close on the new house on the third. We can't be done quick enough! With the gas prices over $4, now, we are ready to stop needing to drive so much. So much of what we need to do is in our new town. I will miss all the places to shop, here, though. It is so nice to be able to be away for a hour and go to 4-6 places and then go home. Once we move, we'll have to drive about 45 minutes and then shop. Plus, they just built a Hobby Lobby in town, and I'm going to miss it, even though I've only been once. It looks like a place I could spend a lot of money!

It will be easier to leave the car parked more. We can walk or ride bikes to a lot more places and that will help save so much money. It will get us into better shape, too!

So, I'll leave you, now. I need to pack some more today!

School's Out

At least for Luke, school's out for the summer. He is really excited, but I am wondering when the boredom will begin. Especially after we move, I hope to get in a routine of doing some "school stuff" everyday. I don't want him to forget what he has learned. He's come so far this year. So, he's no longer a kindergartner! That is kind of weird. Next year, he'll go to school for the whole day. It will be weird to have him gone for so long everyday.

I hope I can keep up my energy to be a fun mom this summer, with the baby and move that are coming! I hate having to say no, because I'm pregnant. I know it will happen, but I just feel bad for the kids. I'll have to take them to explore the parks in our new town!

Side note: We did buy Wii Fit! It is really fun! I love it. I used it both yesterday and today and I feel great! You can do yoga, strength training, aerobics and balance games. It keeps track of the time you've used it. It is really nice because you can mix up your workout so easily. It also keeps track of your weight, BMI and goals. I wonder what it will do when I lose 15 lbs or so all in one day! Even our kids can use it! They both think it is a lot of fun.

Sooner??

We got a call from our real estate agent asking if we could close on our new home sooner. The bad part is that it would be next weekend (a good week and a half earlier than we planned). The great part is that we won't have to camp out at Grandma's house and farm our stuff out for 3-5 days!

I think we can pull it off. It seems crazy, but when I think logically, I think we'll be fine. We were really going to pack in earnest a week before, anyway. We have a relatively small amount of stuff, since we were showing the house so much. It is just a different week.

So, I may be blogging sporadically or only at the times when pregnancy demands that I take a break!

So, It's Probably Time to Get off of My Butt!

So, at my last OB appointment, I had only gained one pound in a month. This time, after only two weeks, I gained five pounds! I just don't want to gain the 50-60 pounds that I gained with the other two. The problem is, well I guess there are several.

I have an internet addiction. I don't like to exercise. I love food. And pregnancy has been not allowing me to sleep very deeply. I wake up a lot of mornings and I feel like I slept a lot, but I am still really tired. I did better last night, even though I woke up about three times to go to the potty. I slept really heavily and had strange dreams.

But, do you think I have gotten any decent exercise with my relatively better energy level...Yeah right!

Maybe I should make sure we get Wii Fit really soon! It does come out tomorrow! Hubby would like that!

60 Days

Finally! A number of days until my due date that isn't so depressing! In that time, we'll be pretty busy with moving, so it should go by pretty quickly, too!

I've been looking at a lot of baby wearing sites and I am getting really excited to have this baby out and in a wrap! I was only able to use a wrap for Belle for about a year, because of when I discovered baby wearing, so I am excited to wear this one from the start!

Whenever I see someone carrying a car seat with their baby, I reaffirm to myself that I will not do that, again! It is so heavy to carry around a car seat and a baby out away from my body! I just don't want to do that! This way, I can take her where ever I go and still be able to keep up with my little runner!

Speaking of running...We bought a harness and leash to keep Belle safe. She will not stop running away from us and out into the street for anything, lately. I'll have to get a picture of her in it. It is a really cute one with a monkey that looks like it is hugging her back. She is getting too heavy to carry all of the time and wants to walk. This way, she can explore safely.

Speech Problems

Luke barely spoke until he was 2 1/2. That is when he went to daycare part of the day so that I could go back to school. I think a large part of the problem was that he didn't feel the need to talk, since he could get whatever he wanted with minimal talking/sounds. I could understand him, so he continued. He was only able to be understood by Mom and Dad. When he was 4, we put him into speech classes through the local school district. When he started kindergarten, he continued. A new speech teacher as well as his wonderful kindergarten teacher have helped him so much! Since Christmas or so, he has leaped forward amazingly. Most of the sounds he has trouble with now are the ones that are expected for his age. He is able to be understood by most of the people we are around, now. I rarely have to translate for him. (Sometimes, I wish people couldn't understand when he is being rude. We are still working on manners and when it is or isn't appropriate to say something.)

Now, Luke wants to talk constantly. He has a favorite toy. It is an action figure of a stormtrooper. He has loved it for over a year. He tells stories about it all the time. It is hard to get him to stop. He has a wonderful imagination and also involves any story, movie or game he comes in contact with, in his tales.

I just feel really bad that I get tired of hearing the same things over and over. I love to talk to him and see what he is thinking and feeling. The Stormtrooper stories are harder to listen to all day...

I am trying to appreciate the fact that he has become a wonderful talker and that he has a wonderful imagination. I don't want to discourage him in anyway. But, it is really hard to listen to, "And then on my stormtrooper..." so many times everyday. We are going to work on turning his tales into a book with pictures for him to read. He is excited and I think it will be a lot of fun to do and really good for him. I'm trying to appreciate how far he has come and that we no longer have to worry about his speech. He is a great kid!

Picky Eaters

My picky eaters actually ate carrots, cabbage, onions and garlic! So what if it was wrapped and deep fried! We had homemade egg rolls for dinner tonight, and both of my kids decided that they really wanted to try it. Usually, they won't touch something like that, but they both ate and loved it! I think it helped a lot that we chop the veggies until they are barely recognizable. I hope this is the beginning of a great thing!