Feeling a little bah-hum-buggish

I hate to say it, but I really am. I finished wrapping presents today and have started making lists & piles of things that need to be packed for our trip (we leave on Sat.), but I am just not feeling the holiday vibe today. I have dealt with a crabby husband for two days now, the girls have been tired from too many late nights (our fault since we are the parents, but they have been having fun!), and Ms. Aidan still won't sleep anywhere independently (what's it been since my last post - two days. Am I expecting too much?). There - those are my excuses for feeling crabby myself. I am really wishing I had a box of chocolate covered cherries right now. I would eat the entire box. In reality I know that once we get to our destination I will be in full holiday spirit - we are meeting some really great people up in AR. I truly love my husband's family and have a great time with them all. Now, if I can just get us all packed and ready and make it through the 9 + hour drive to AR . . . .

Anyway, enough of the bad attitude. The above photo is one of my absolute favorites. Ainslee is on the left, Aidan and then Erika on the right. They are really great kids - all three. I was looking through Erika's baby book for a moment today and noticed some remarkable similarities between Aidan & Erika. Aidan's infant photos & Erika's photos around the 8 month mark are very similar. Kind of crazy.

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In case I don't get a chance to post again before we leave, I wish you all a very happy & safe holiday. Happy New Year too!

Yawn, stretch, yawn

This photo proves she can sleep. She sleeps for hours in her swing; I can run errands for two or three hours and she will soundly snooze in her car seat, but she will not sleep in her pak-n-play. She absolutely refuses. On Saturday morning it was just the two of us at the house so I decided to put her down for a nap when she was noticeably tired. From 9:30 am till 11:30 she cried. Never cried herself to sleep, just cried. Sunday night I went to bed around 9:30 pm. She was in the pak-n-play cooing and being sweet. At 10 pm I was woken up by her cries which continued until 2 am. Yes folks. I let her cry thinking eventually she would go to sleep. At 2:30 am she was sound asleep in a little ball next to me - in my bed. It is sweet and I love having her in bed with me, but I am thinking long term. E & A never slept in our bed. They were always in a crib or a pak-n-play; I guess that is where I screwed up. January 1 it is tough love for Ms. Aidan. I don't care who she wakes up or how long she cries she will be doing it in her crib in her room. Sorry baby girl.

Gray day

Christmas cards.

I guess this is the best thing to do on a gray Friday during nap time. The house is so quiet. Other than some music, and little snorts & gruffs from Aidan who is sleeping close by (she is not a quiet sleeper by any means) there isn't a whole lot of noise in the house. It is nice. It will be short lived since the girls are due to wake up any time now and then we are off to the bowling alley for a birthday party. It definitely won't be quiet there.
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Just thought I would take a quick break and let the writing cramp subside. Back to the cards! I hope you all are enjoying the holiday and all that goes with it. Have a great weekend!

Just be present . . .

Today I received a message that hit home. It was a "ah - ha" moment, and it was so simple. It just took hearing it from someone else to make it sink in. The message was that the best gift we can give another person, any person, is to be present. This past month my mind has raced to keep track of things I needed to do, wanted to do, or felt were so important that they just had to be done. I even blogged about it. Mean while I have three little charges that could not care less about 90% of that list that was getting longer & longer. I told them more than once during the past few weeks, " just go watch TV for a minute, I am almost done." Even as I said them, in the moment, I knew it was ridiculous. It felt necessary at the time. So my goal for this holiday season, and forever, is to make sure my priorities are in check and to be present in the lives of three little girls that I love so much.

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Having that in mind when I came home this afternoon I set up a family plan for this evening that went rather well. After the girls napped we decorated the tree and had a yummy stew for dinner. There was even some story time and photos squeezed in. I hope it sets the tone for the remainder of the week. Hope you all had a great weekend too!

A full day at home

My husband took "my" car to see about having a recall item repaired. I feared his car would not house all three car seats so I told him to just leave then in my car. Me & the girls are having a full day at the house with no way to escape. So far so good. Last night I started decorating for Christmas and worked on it a little more this morning. I am at a stand-still until my husband puts the tree up. We baked oatmeal cookies, prepped tonight's dinner and did laundry. The girls did a great job of entertaining themselves when I was working on things that didn't interest them. Aidan did what she does best - sleeping. I am still in my pj's and would love to crawl into bed & take a nap, but instead I will be putting on my painting clothes to finish up a project I started months ago. I bought a table & chairs for the girls and rather than having it finished I decided to paint it. I have always favored neutral colors and would have probably painted it all white in our previous house, but since moving into this rental house and having every wall white I have started to crave color. The table & chairs are a combination of pinks & reds. So far all I have managed to do is paint the table, and part of the chairs. It is supposed to be part of E & As Christmas present, so I really want to complete it before we leave for Arkansas. Shouldn't be a problem if I could only rip myself away from the computer!
**The photo has nothing to do with the post - just haven't included one in a while. This was taken on a nature walk in FL over Thanksgiving**

Feel the buzz?

I am feeling it. The buzz of stress knowing there is so much to do and seemingly little time to do it in. Every year I do this to myself & every year everything gets accomplished. Why do I stress so much? Do I secretly enjoy it? Anyway, my family returned to TX yesterday and as I looked at the luggage piled up in the living room, stacks of mail from the previous week, toys & shoes strewn on the floor, "the buzz" set it and has been buzzing every since. Amid all the mail were the birth announcements that I ordered. I opened the package and discovered that I did not like them at all. I disliked them so much that I have scratched the whole endeavor. Our far flung friends & family will get a peek of our newest one in the Christmas card so I am scratching the birth announcements off my list. I did keep one to include in her baby book just so she knows I did try.
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Furniture. This is something that causes me stress as well. My husband and I don't see eye-to-eye on what we need, how to acquire it and what to do with it once we have it. In our 9 years of living together we have purchased very little furniture. We have inherited some, and brought some into the relationship that we previously & separately owned, and purchased some as a couple. Neither one of us like the idea of walking into a store, picking out a "set" of furniture for a room and buying it. We try to avoid conspicuous consumption and like the idea of recycling furniture. We also like 100% wood. I have begun to scout out pieces and have come across two great ones. One is a dresser for the girls room, and one is a beautiful oak dining room table. Both are sitting in our garage waiting to be tended to. I have decided to refinish both, but I have no clue when I will get to it. My husband thinks both are fine as-is and wants me to just leave it be. See what I mean?
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My family had a great Thanksgiving holiday. Really great. I wasn't looking forward to our FL visit ending. Now that we are back in TX and gearing up for Christmas I am looking forward to visiting my husband's family. I feel so blessed that I enjoy his family AND mine. I am a lucky girl. I can't wait for the whole gang to get together. I know it will be a blast. Now I just have to make it through the next few weeks and get everything on my list completed. No time like the present . . . better get started.

I am thankful for patience . . .

I often run short on patience. Very often. I have gotten better as I have gotten older, but I am still too short too often. My older & wiser sister, who is a mother of three, always told me that patience comes when you have your own children. Hmmm. Not sure she was right about that. I am finding myself snapping at Erika & Ainslee with some frequency lately. I justify it in my head by listing reasons that may allow me to be grumpy (lack of sleep, hormones, being tied to the sofa/ bed/ chair as I nurse . . .), but those are all excuses. I should be more patient with them. Today, to try an avoid any snappishness on my part I decided to avoid the car and errands that always ensue when we are all loaded up, and to hoof it. The girls and I went on a long, long walk through a couple different neighborhoods, past a mini goat farm where we stopped for a while, and then back towards home with one last detour to the park. It is something we should do more often. We tend to go to parks a lot but I usually end up sitting on a bench talking while the girls play. Not quite the same. So, during this season of thanksgiving, I am thankful for a healthy family, good friends, and patience (which I promise to strive for more of).

A quick HI . . .

I am not sure when I will figure out a schedule to check e-mail, read all with my fave blogs or update my blog with some more frequency. Twice in three weeks seems a little inadequate, but I will figure it out. Eventually. We are off to my mom's house this coming weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday so this may be my last blog for a while again. Thanks for your comments. It is so much fun to receive them even if I am a slacker & don't respond.

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So, for the past three weeks I have had my mom here or my MIL. HUGE HELP!! I haven't lifted a finger to clean or cook. I have received many, many meals from my MOMs group. What a life saver. The meals have all been delicious and it is so meaningful to receive a meal from each of them since I know they are busy as heck with their families. It is such a thoughtful gesture. I am trying to think of some fun way to reciprocate once I get the above mentioned schedule in place. As of yesterday we are on our own. I feel like I am on my own, since I have all three gals by myself all day, but to give credit where it is due, my husband jumps right in once he is home. He has been great.

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Yesterday was a blah day. I managed to get all the girls ready and we made it to church. While there I saw a little old lady, probably in her 80s, sitting behind me dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. She looked soooo sad. Throughout the service she kept dabbing and I kept wondering what or who made her so sad. I had to leave the sanctuary early to find the cry room since Aidan needed to nurse, so I didn't introduce myself, or say anything to her. I am awful in these situations 99.9% of the time, but I really think yesterday was a day I should have made the effort. Also in church they mentioned veterans and asked for all veterans to stand. It made me think of my dad, who served 30 years in the USAF, which made me shed a tear. The day I told him I was pregnant with his sixth grandchild was the same day he passed away. Now that Aidan is here, it makes me very sad that he isn't. I am so glad I told him and so grateful that he got to know Erika & Ainslee. I only hope that they remember him even just a little. Aidan has dark hair just like me & just like my dad. I like to think she got it from him just like I did. So, I was a little tired and sad at this point in the morning. I came home, we ate lunch, and I was ready to relax. As usual I did a load or two of laundry. All is well. Martin's watching football, I am reading, the girls are all sleeping and the hum of the dryer is . . . wait - why isn't the dryer humming? Because it is broken! The first load is partially dry and the second load is in the wash waiting to be dried and now NO DRYER. These are just the small, unrelated events that led to a sad, blah day.

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Today? Much better. A very kind man came and repaired my dryer before 10 am for less than $60.00. I was dreading the thought of dragging three kids out to to buy a new dryer. Now I don't have to! I also managed to get up and showered before my husband left for work. I took all three girls to the park, picked up lunch, and got them home & down for naps at the usual time. Yeah!! I think that is pretty good for my first day alone with my three children. I hope tomorrow goes as well or better!

Let me introduce you . . .

Miss Aidan Jane has arrived. She is 8 days old today and doing great. Incredible. She is relaxed and eats & sleeps like a champ. Knock on wood. I have been doing lots of cuddling and snoozing myself, all of which is possible because my mom is here and has been doing everything else. I will take it while I can. I certainly didn't take advantage of all the help when the girls were first born and now I question why I didn't. First-time-mom ignorance probably, but I won't make that mistake again. I will have all of it to take care of soon enough. For now I will snooze and and cuddle all I can. Hope you all have a fantastic and spooky Halloween tomorrow!

Just photos

Photos from the past week.

The SE Texas State Fair:

The tilt-a-whirl: NOT a hit with the girls!

Enjoying her corn dog

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Yesterday's windy visit to the pumpkin patch:

Do they look bored to you?

Ainslee & the bumpy pumpkin

Yummy

Yesterday was spent at the fair. At least a solid couple of hours. It was hot and the girls & I were worn out when we got home. I have some photos to post once I get them uploaded. In the meantime I was feeling terribly guilty for the carb-loaded, vegetable/ fruit deficient meals that I fed the girls yesterday:

Breakfast: pancakes

Lunch: sprite & a corn dog

Dinner: grilled cheese & french fries (they only ate the fries) and another sprite.

I wasn't up for cooking last night so we ended up eating lunch & dinner out which is pretty unusual for us. Today I made up for it, somewhat, and am ready to dig in to our tasty supper:
tilapia w/ lime butter, homemade mac and cheese & steamed broccoli. I am not the best photographer especially when it comes to food so I will spare you, but I am sure it will taste yummy. Can't wait.

Shoes, shoes, shoes

Why is it I can walk into any store, Target, Dillard's, or Neiman Marcus & find a pair of shoes I like in about 10 seconds. I can take my girls to five stores and they don't like anything. They won't even try them on. The only exception being ridiculous character-style house slippers. Those they want by the truck load. This morning I spent close to two hours trying to beef up the girls fall wardrobe with some long sleeve shirts, cords and shoes. I was able to find a couple of outfits for each of them that they "agreed" to, but no shoes. I am thinking I should just go out and buy some, put them in the closet and see how that approach goes. Do they really need to help pick them out? No, probably not. I am just making it harder on myself. Anyway, so I was able to accomplish part of this mornings task. I am thinking we need to take Dad to the mall & let him experience shopping with the girls - maybe he will be more successful in the shoe department!

Pops of excitement

Pregnancy hormones, lack of sleep from having a horrible cough this past week, excitement about meeting the new baby - all of it has me experiencing intense mini-moments of excitement throughout the days - little pops. We are under the two week mark until we meet the new baby. Pretty soon my mom will be arriving to stay & help out for a bit; it is all really happening. To bring it home even more I received the sweetest little onsie (above) from Joanne. It is absolutely adorable. Thank you so much, Joanne.
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And on a similar topic, I am having a hard time believing that these two are going to be BIG sisters! Just three short years ago they came along weighing 5lbs 8 oz, and 5lbs 9 oz and now they are running around the house and singing Wheels on the Bus, asking to go to the zoo, and doing normal kid stuff. No babies no longer. I think they are going to make super big sisters!

See ya' September!

I am so happy that October is here. September seemed like it would never end. The final count down to the arrival of our newest family member has begun, and I am so anxious to meet her. I still have a to-do list that I can't seem to eliminate. We need to set up her bed, wash her clothes and blankets, add the third row seat in the SUV, put the infant car seats in both cars, I need to finish a little project for the girls and I know there are other things that keep zipping across my brain, but you get the idea. I had hoped to finish Christmas shopping by now, but that hasn't happened yet. Speaking of shopping, check out www.darlybird.com. This site has some of the cutest things. I fell in love with about 20 different items and plan on making a few purchases. It reminds me a little of some Etsy shops I have seen. If you do check out Darly Bird let me know what you think!
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We have had another week of the sick swap. Coughs, sore throats, pink eye. Martin has escaped it all so far, thank goodness, but it all caught up with me this weekend. I am actually on my way to curl up in bed while the girls finish their naps. I just wanted to pop in and say "HI". Hope it is a great week for all of you.

Thrifting

Notice some changes? Okay, a change? I have been thinking about this blog and what it is about. I have gone through this thought process several times since my blogging beginning as it has always been rather aimless. I don't want it to be about my children, but that is what I do 99.9% of the time. I am not crafty enough to have a craft blog. So the thoughts continue and I continue to blab as the mood strikes which is rather aimless as well. I will let you know what I come up with. On to the real content of today's blog - thrifting. This is something I have not done in years due to four little hands that don't always respond to "No" as quickly as I would like. Now that I have some children-free time during the week I am trying to take advantage. So, yesterday I hit three little antique/ thrift stores & wouldn't you know I found something at all of them. The first does not have a defined purpose but I just liked the look of it. For now it is storing some art & craft supplies next to the sewing machine table.

It may end up a different color eventually, but for now I am liking the red. The other purchase was for E & A's kitchen. I had it set up on their stove and they noticed it right away once they came home from school. I have had a never ending supply of coffee & tea ever since.





Too cute & I love the color. An even better characteristic? It is not ceramic and won't shatter into a bazillion pieces on the tile flooring. The third is currently in my bedroom which is also where one of the girls is napping. It isn't old or used but it did come from an antique store, and it is the softest baby blanket I have ever felt. It completely matches the bedding for the baby too. This is the first non-utilitarian purchase I have made for the baby. It is hard to get excited about buying diapers & bottles, but this purchase made me very happy. I can't wait to wrap her up & see how she likes it. As an aside, I mentioned the "burrito wrap" to my husband the other day to see if he remembered how it was done. This worked so well with both girls that until they could wiggle out of the blanket they were swaddled in blankets to help them fall asleep. His response, which was verbalized while reading the newspaper, never making eye contact with me, and which I absolutely loved: "Yeah, I remember. That is how I wrap up the girls' baby dolls." Love him!

Bump in the night

Martin has been out of town for the past few nights. The first night he was gone I had taken a shower and was getting ready for bed when I heard the doorbell ring multiple times. The girls were sitting on my bed and looked at me with a "what are you going to do about this" look. I think they thought it was an odd time to have a visitor too. I gave them strict instructions not to move as I quickly got dressed and tried to figure out what was going on without having to answer the door. I was in the dark living room when I heard a thud-thud, patter-patter on the roof. Yes, ON THE ROOF. 8 PM, it is dark, I have two little girls in my room and I am 8 months pregnant. I was freaking out. I looked outside and there were two work trucks in the road in front of the house and I could see one man walking back to the truck with a ladder. Apparently the owners of this house are going to have some roof repairs made and that was what all the hub-bub was about. After I calmed down, got the girls comfy & tucked in I called the property manager and left a nice but firm message that this was not acceptable. She called back on Tuesday morning in total agreement. Good. Well, last night I am in bed, lights off, girls are sleeping and I keep hearing noises. I look to the cat to see if he responds, which he does, which freaks me out more. I finally fell asleep but I was a little edgy. Thankfully Martin is due home this afternoon so I can sleep peacefully tonight! Have I mentioned I am just NOT comfortable in this house?



On to prettier things: these are our shamrocks that have moved with us various times and which my husband has had longer than we have known each other. Actually, the ones he has had the longest are green and are in the other bathroom window. The purple ones started from a volunteer that Martin found by our pool pump in FL. I think they are pretty and the girls love the fact that the leaves "go to sleep" or close every evening.

And this is another bump that bumps in the night. As soon as I get in bed and get comfortable she starts her nightly flips. 34 weeks and counting.

This is me tooting my own horn

This is the door that separates the laundry room & garage. It is very ugly and has no winning attributes other than being clean. I decided a couple weeks ago that it was time to take action and do something to prevent me from having to look into the garage whenever I am in the laundry room, which is a lot.
This rug is one that I have had for a while and I really like. It too is in the laundry room, and it served as the "inspiration" for the window.

And this is the finish product! It consists of a tension rod and four cloth napkins that I cut & sewed together to make a curtain.

While not perfect and certainly not retail quality, for a mere $14 and change it is a huge improvement over the first photo.

Wind & Wet Stuff

This is the conversation my husband overheard at about 3 am this morning between Erika & Ainslee:

"It is windy outside."

"Ya, it is very windy."

Well, it was a hurricane! Totally caught me by surprise and apparently I was not the only one.

The water in the photos below is where the street is normally. We had a river running through the neighborhood for a few hours. The girls thought it was great. Not so great will be picking up the many small limbs that are littering the front and back yard. I am saving that for after nap time so I have some little hands to help out.

Surprise for Baby

Today as I drove up to the house I noticed a small white box. Mail! It was a surprise package from a fellow blogger. Stacy sent a present fit for a princess. Such cute little baby-girl goodies:

and

Thank you! Thank you! I am don't want to gush, but am very touched by such thoughtfulness. My first two lived in onsies the first six months - this little one will be all dolled up from the beginning!

Amusing ourselves

What is that in the photo? Yes, the picture is centered AND in focus. Poor Ainslee is just being squeezed out of the frame by my big belly. This was last week at 32 weeks. The photo makes me laugh. Last week passed like a whirlwind. It seemed like we were constantly on the go. To balance out the craziness of the week we made a point of taking it easy over the weekend and doing small things to amuse ourselves. We did some small art projects, a little napping, a little sewing (still working on that!), some cooking, and hanging out with friends. It was a great weekend. Today it was back to the never ending to-do list that keeps me on track. I am hoping this week is a little less crazy but just as much fun! Thanks to all of you who have left comments recently. It is so much fun to hear from you!

School is F-U-N

Wow, I am so excited for the girls to start school. Tuesday is the big day. We had orientation tonight and it was a great introduction for the kids & parents. Their class is small and the teacher seems completely competent and up for the task at hand. My biggest thrill? Packing their school lunch. I know: NERD-ALERT. It all goes back to my love of food. The girls received back packs and matching lunch boxes for the birthday a few weeks ago so they are all geared up, now I just have to make sure the back packs & lunch boxes are properly loaded up. I have been checking out various websites to get ideas of what to pack and so far the best has been foodnetwork.com under the section: back to school. If you are in school mode with your children and get stuck on ideas for lunches then I recommend checking out their site. It is pretty useful & nothing too complicated is on the list. Also, if you are a lunch packing pro then drop me a note. I am always up for a good idea!

Pregnancy hands & feet

I am at THAT stage. My ankles & hands look pudgy & feel tight. Turning over at night is a major chore and I am just flat-out-sit-on-the-couch-tired. But, there are two little girls to manage & entertain so I keep going. I am not complaining necessarily, just stating the facts. I am uncomfortable (that is a complaint), but that is part of the process. Pretty soon, too soon, it will all be over & our little family will be five strong.

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The last cousin frame is complete. I am mixed about it. I like it but would change a couple of things. I would still like to make one for our house so I can easily rotate family photos, but I will see if that happens. I think each set of frames has improved & it is just fun to sit down and paint. I bought a small canvas and have started painting it, but haven't decided what is going to go on it. Sorry for the shadow, but you can get an idea of the finished product. This cousin has a December birthday so I am ahead of the game. Feels good for a change.

Coming together

We have preschool orientation in two days and I believe classes start next week. Crazy. It boggles my mind that three years have passed and that the plans I made months ago to put them in school are now coming together. Time flies. It is pouring rain here and does not appear that it will stop any time soon. The house is dark and the girls are staring out the windows looking for more school buses to drive by and giving me weather updates ("Mom, it is raining"). I have a two small projects that I should be able to complete today. I did work on some hair bows, but I can't seem to duplicate the bows that the girls currently have. Mine didn't turn out horrible, just different than expected. Hair bows & barrettes don't seem to stay in their hair long anyway. These will definitely do for now.

We are off to Austin on Saturday to meet up with a friend of Martin's from high school. I have always heard such positive things about Austin and am looking forward to seeing it for myself. I am hoping for nice weather & happy kids - everything else is icing.

Home again

The trip to Grandma's house was great. The girls were pretty good for the most part, slept well, ate well, listened selectively. Typical three-year old behavior (or so I am told). We tried our best to stay cool.
Grandma assisted in a couple baking projects. We got to lounge around quite a bit, and after the girls were down for the night my MIL and I got to watch movies. I think I saw 6 movies in about five nights.

My MIL likes the occasional evening cocktail and has created some pretty tasty ones. Since I am not able to partake right now she would make me a fizzy cranberry cocktail. Very yummy: tonic water, cranberry juice, and few cubes of ice and a slice of lemon and lime. The proportions of tonic to cranberry are about equal. It is a great summer time mocktail. Give it a try. We visited the Saturday morning market and I stored away an idea for a headband cover that I think I should be able to handle. I also have some plans for some more appliqued shirts and trying my hand at some hair bows. I have one more photo frame to make for a cousin that is partially finished. My point? I feel like I have lots I want to do and need to do. I am hoping that once pre-school starts I will have uninterrupted time to start & finish some of this stuff. Not to mention getting ready for a certain little baby. October 22nd is the big day. I report to the hospital at 6 am. Good thing I only live 4 minutes from the delivery spot! One plus to having to have a c-section: knowing exactly when I get to meet the newest little one. Hope everyone's summer is winding down nicely.

A Royal Adventure

I have two little princesses. They have declared the title for themselves.

The job requires a princess outfit. Daily.
And the fair ladies are very serious about the dress requirements. Even in nearly 100 degree weather.

I am the chauffeur. My job for the next 10 days is to accompany the little ladies through Texas to Arkansas to visit Grandma & Grandma Great. Daddy is Colorado bound to run a leg of some ridiculously long race that his cousin runs each year. Essentially: road trip for the girls. I am sure the royal ladies will have a grand time and will be smothered with love & attention. I will give an update of the royal adventure upon our return to the palace!

Summer Fun

We spent a long weekend in Oklahoma. This was my first time there and we were visiting my SIL & BIL and their two kiddos. They live on a beautiful piece of property and Erika & Ainslee had a blast. The reason for the visit was to have a cousin birthday bash. We have never lived very close to either SIL since the family had its baby boom (6 kids in four years!), so now that we are within a decent driving distance I wanted to take advantage and let the girls have a pre-birthday celebration with two of their cousins. It was a lot of fun and we are already talking about the next visit. Here are the foursome below. The other two cousins live in TN and we will have all six - actually seven by then- together for Christmas this year. It will be a crazy-fun, loud week!
This is my little family. We made a quick stop at a nature center. I wasn't able to take the heat for long and the girls were nearing nap time, so it was a very quick stop.

Yesterday was the girls' 3rd birthday. Unbelievable to me. I spend every day with them so it would seem reasonable that I of all people would grasp the length of time that has passed, but it just doesn't seem possible to me. They are amazing, sweet, inspiring little girls and I feel so completely blessed that they are ours to raise. I hope I never take it for granted.

Happy Birthday Erika & Ainslee. You make me smile, cry and laugh for joy! I thank God for you both!!!

Groundhog day

It has been a week of having sick toddlers around here. Let me tell you - I have a feisty one and this past week has revealed a whole new level on her feisty-scale. My husband said she reminds him of me. I guess she had to get it from one of us. I am hoping the sick-cycle is nearing the end as I am beginning to feel like I am living the movie Groundhog Day. I can never remember if movie titles are supposed to be underlined or italicized - either way. I hope I am Andy McDowell and not Bill Murray just from an aesthetic stand point! Every morning we have gotten up after having a rocky night's sleep, gotten breakfast for both girls at which point one of the girls will start crying and will need to lie on the sofa. I have worn a trail in the floor from the sofa to the fridge, filling orders for Gatorade or sprite and applesauce. That is all they really want and that is what they are getting. This too shall pass . . .

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On a crafty note, I have finished two more frames that are intended for my nephews. One will be six & the other three. I have so much fun painting these. I have one more to do for my little niece and then I think I will do one for us to have at our house. They are lots of fun to make!

Happy August - can't believe it is already here!

Projects complete!

I have been doing great on my to-do list. I finished up the second practice

shirt for the girls. One fish & one whale complete with button eyes. The photo quality is pretty poor but you can see the finished product and the entertained recipients. Their little smiles made me happy. I am far from being a pro, but the second shirt was much easier. Thanks Stacy for the fabric glue tip. That was the extra little stabilizer I needed. Now if I could just get the stitching closer to the edge of the fabric. I need more shirts to work on! I have also completed two other projects for the girls' boy cousins. They are not assembled, but I will show & tell once I have them absolutely completed. The girls and I are heading out this morning to try and find two Christmas presents that have been requested and are supposedly on sale now. Hopefully our Target has them and we can fill that order too. The sun is out now, but it has been absent the past two days. I hope it sticks around and dries up all the huge puddles that this past weeks rains have left. I still can't believe how much rain we get here! Have a great weekend.

Whale-of-a-project

This was this past weekend's project that didn't get started till today. This is my first sewing project aside from hemming one pair of pants about three years ago. This is not looking great. It is a test project for another applique that I want to do. This is an idea I got from Erin at http://houseonhillroad.typepad.com/. She makes it seem so easy. These are the problems I am having:

* the fabric is not laying flat which I think I can use a bonding fabric to eliminate this problem until I am more comfortable with my machine, but if anyone has advice . . .

* my stitches are very herky-jerky but I think this is a comfort thing too. However, if anyone has advice on how to move the fabric while stitching to make a smooth, continuous stitch please comment. I am all ears!

* I am not stitching close enough to the edge of the fabric. I chose not to finish the edges before appliqueing to the shirt this time. I think once I get the stitches close enough to the edge of the fabric I will be please with the edges.

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If anyone else with an experienced eye sees anything and wants to comment please do. No hurt feelings here. I really want to reach a comfort level with my machine so I can do these types of fun projects in less time that the scary piece above took me! Have I mentioned I am open to advice??

Putting myself out there . . .

I have called two SAHM groups since arriving in TX. So far I have not met up with any of them, but I am making plans to join one next Wednesday for a park outing. Never mind the fact that their playgroup starts about the same time my girls usually go down for naps, but I figure the girls will love to skip their nap and we really need to make an effort to make some friends. The group has no national affiliation and consists of 25 members. Judging from their website & myspace webpage many are younger than myself and have at least two kids. I don't know why I feel any hesitation to go other than they all know one another and I will be the "new kid" so to speak. Not a good feeling. I am sure they are all nice and I know I will have plenty to talk with them about since we are all women and moms. My husband says it is a girl thing, the standoffishness that women can vibe out to one another. I understand what he is saying, and I recognize it, don't understand it, and do it. Weird. Guess it is all part of being a woman. Normally I will talk to anyone who makes eye contact, but there are those times I just don't feel like talking or introducing myself and prefer to pretend I am invisible. I guess that may be what he picks up on??
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On the pregnancy front, I had the YUCK-O glucose test today. After fasting and then drinking the syrupy-sweet orange goo I had to then sit in the tiny, off-white sitting area for one hour and wonder what my children were doing to my husband as they were all at home. Turns out they took it easy on him and all were happy when I arrived back home. Hopefully the test results will come back in the normal range. After getting two wild girls down for naps I plopped in front of the computer and gobbled not one, but two salami & cheese sandwiches. I know deli meat is a no-no during pregnancy, but fasting should be too!

Meanwhile back in Beaumont Land

Well, the girls and I are at an all-time low in productivity. That is how it feels anyway. My husband's work has kicked into high-gear the past couple of weeks, and he is back in marathon-training-mode for a January marathon. I feel as soon as he walks in the door from work, he changes and heads back out for a run or gym time. Part of me is jealous that he is physically able to do it. The pregnancy is definitely slowing me down - not that I was in marathon shape before I got pregnant. I am sure once this baby arrives I will have no interest in training for such a run, but right now it sounds great!

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This past Sunday was a wet one here and we ended up spending it at the zoo. The weather broke and it turned out to be nice, but the first hour or so we were spent dashing in between raindrops looking for indoor exhibits. The girls got to pick out new umbrellas from the gift shop which was a huge hit, and luckily I had two in the car for Martin and myself.

Other than our weekend day trips to Houston, not a lot has been happening in my corner of the world. I am trying hard to find entertaining things for us to do, and some days are successful. I have big plans for the weekend which involves me & my sewing machine. I have read the manual and think I am ready to make friends with it. We will see how it goes. Martin learned to sew as a kid, so I think he can probably come to my rescue if I need it, but I really want to do this myself. I will let you know how it all turns out!

COOKIES!!

After signing the girls up for preschool I was feeling a little down and wanted to do something really fun with them after their naps. The weather here is very wet so outside play is rarely an option. I opted for some inside play - baking cookies. They had fun and I tried to ignore the flour on the floor and little fingers in the batter.
They were pleased with the results and got a pre-dinner cookie treat. Just to clarify the guilt I previously mentioned: I have nothing against preschools, but I also know that if I weren't having a third baby then I wouldn't be sending them to preschool for another year. The guilt has diminished and I know they will have fun and that they are ready. I just feel a little selfish is all.

We had a family outing to the OB today. I met my new doctor (very nice) and we had an ultrasound which revealed another girl! Three little girls. I can only imagine the fun they will have together. My husband is totally outnumbered now but he just smiles. I think he actually likes it. Of course he likes it. He is Daddy. Number one man in the house. I am thrilled. I am also relieved I kept so many of the girls clothes. This little lady will have quite the wardrobe!

Big Day

I am a little shaken by today's event. This is coming a full year earlier than I anticipated. I registered the girls for preschool. School starts in September. That is roughly eight weeks. That is it! I know the girls are ready for this. I am not sure I am. I get knots in my stomach when I read the information packet that they gave me. These photos are what I consider our "school" here at the house. Art supplies and odds & ends that help me entertain the girls when outside play is not an option or when we just want to use our hands.

Pretty skimpy compared to what the preschool director showed me today. The preschool's art room looked like so much fun. I would be tempted to toil away a couple hours in there myself. They will also have a music room, a class room and an imagination room filled with toys that can be used & played with in a variety of ways.

I read about a neighborhood that had a back-to-school breakfast the first day of every school year. The parents would pack the children on the school bus and then meet at a designated house to have Mimosas and breakfast treats. I thought it sounded like such a fun idea, but I am guessing that I won't be in the frame of mind to celebrate school starting quite yet. Maybe I will host a similar party for kindergarten.

Family Outing

Our first Texas outing was to Kemah. Our choices were Kemah, the Houston Zoo, or the Galleria. I was up for any and all and we will hit them all eventually. Kemah turned out to be perfect for the girls. It is close to a Marina so we spotted lots of boats, we saw a school of Mullet swimming (spotted by Ainslee), lunch by the marina and tot sized rides for the girls.

The weather was overcast which was a huge blessing. It is definitely more humid here than in FL and the clouds provided great cover for our fair family.

The girls had a great time so we all had a great time. Isn't that how it works at this age? The ride home even consisted of a ferry ride. Try explaining to 3 year olds: "Our car is on a boat and we are being boated from the island to the mainland." They didn't quite get it and kept asking to ride the boat when passing the other ferry.

The evening was quite. Baths & early bedtimes for all. Today I am hoping to go see a movie with my MIL while she is in town and maybe even a kid-free lunch. The opportunity doesn't come often! Hope you are all having a great weekend.

Texas benefits

I am a big list maker, many lists are made in my head on a daily basis and some lists are even penned onto paper. So, it seems appropriate to make a list of things I have found in the new town that I really like:
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H.E.B Plus: this is a great grocery store. They have a very large produce section, nice seafood, a large organic department, and a great selection of salsa. This salsa is "fresh" with chunks of veggies. It tastes like it just came out of the food processor.

Tortilla chips: a good salsa needs a good chip. Our first grocery run I grabbed a bag of the usual corn tortilla chips that have served us so well in the past. Martin immediately corrected me and grabbed a brown sack of chips. He was right. They are so light and crispy. They are local too.

Avocados: They are so cheap here!

Belle Maman: a great little maternity & infant store that is literally minutes from our driveway.

Traffic: there is very little to deal with.

Craft Stores: We have a Joann's, Michael's & Hobby Lobby in the same shopping area.

Kolaches: We have a Kolache Factory up from the house and stopped in today to sample a few. YUM. I had seen these on the Food Network so I kind of knew what they were. They are very tasty and I see many Kolache stops in my future. Basically it is a yeast bread with a sweet topping or a savory filling. We had both and I couldn't pick a favorite unless absolutely necessary.

Library: there is one close to the house and we stopped in today for story time. The girls loved the children's section and there is comfy adult seating within eye shot of the tot area.

I am sure there is more to like I just have to go out and find it. Not a bad start though for less than two weeks in the new town.

Quirky Things

I suppose there is a period of adjustment after moving into any house. We have been here a little over a week and a lot has been improved. There are next to no boxes inside the house, bedrooms are comfortably put together, and hallways have been nearly cleared as we find homes for things we don't intend to use right away. Some of the charming points, odd things, and tacky things are observed in this blog. You can decide what is what:

Almost-avocado-green bathroom tile:

This is the pattern on every inch of the walls and ceiling in EVERY room except the bathrooms:

A rosebud knob in the master bath. I believe both bathrooms have this detail on the drawers & cabinets:

Fancy chandeliers in the master bathroom:

Large kitchen windows. Large windows in general:

The house has lots of pocket doors. There are 5 that I can think of right away. Other than less space and a blue-gray carpet that I can't find any love for everything else is in good condition and well taken care of. It is home for now and I know we will get accustomed to the things that bug us. Before we know it we will probably be questioning where the year went.