Flower Girl

Just had to post a few pix of my cute little flower girl at practice tonight...

Outdoor classroom...

The hiker with his bag o' goodies

I took the kids out for a little outdoor education today...a hike at the dog park. Unfortunately, it has probably been a year or more since I was last there and I truly forgot how long and hilly the trail is.  It must be at least a mile!  Fortunately, Carter was able to walk the entire way.  Reese on the other hand, had to be carried for at least half of it, which is super comfortable for me at this stage in my pregnancy.  The only saving grace was that it was mostly shaded!

The kids were very excited about their "treasures" though, so it was still worth it.  We found lots of colorful leaves (Ahhhh Fall really is coming soon!), acorns, rocks, sticks and pine cones.  I tried to tell them the kinds of leaves we saw, when I knew what they were and explained how squirrels store up acorns for the winter.  They were worried I think that we took too many and that the squirrels wouldn't have anything to eat.

The kids have been so up and down in their moods this week, I'm sure due to them both having little colds.  But it has been really difficult some nights and definitely raised my anxiety even more about handling three of them.  I was joking with Derrick last night that I might have to go shopping at Giant Eagle every day just so I can put Carter and Reese in the Eagle's Nest for an hour or two to get a break from them.  Haha!

Unexpected fun

We did a little Bug ID 101 this morning in the front yard.  Carter and Reese love catching bugs these days and this big juicy grasshopper gave them both a smile.  He even let Carter hop along behind him on the sidewalk, which was pretty cute.

I try so hard to plan out our days and make them exciting for the kids and educational at the same time.  And it's funny how time and time again I am so humbled.  How the things I think they will LOVE doing turn out to be total flops and we spend three hours outside, like we did this morning, drawing angry birds on the driveway, catching bugs, watering flowers with the hose, "painting" the deck with paintbrushes and water, and cutting down weeds with scissors...yes those were all things they asked to do!  Just makes you realize that being a parent is a lot of adapting to constantly changing situations and moods and not getting frustrated when plans don't work out as you'd expected.

Bug and Carter, mid-jump

It is hard to believe summer is almost over.  It is even harder to believe I'm due in 18 days.  Yikes!!  Time surely does fly.

Activities...

The goat at Soergel's

So we've been staying busy the last few days.  Field trips to Soergel's, two birthday parties, flying kites Uncle Ed bought for the kids from Mongolia, miniature golfing and the pediatrician for checkups today followed by the library and ice cream.

The pediatrician was interesting today.  Carter is still in the 90th percentile for height and weight and Reese is in the 50th.  He asked me if both kids were in pre-school and when I said no and explained that we do school lessons at home, he said, "Oh, so you're homeschooling them."  He also asked me what activities I have them enrolled in.  I was like, ummmm, we play inside and outside, go to playgrounds and museums and the zoo...  That apparently didn't satisfy his questionnaire because he asked if they played sports or did dance or gymnastics or other activities.  Really???   They are 4 and 3!!!

Reese tried on her dress for the wedding on Saturday...fortunately it still fits.  This will be the first wedding for both kids and she is the flower girl.  We'll see how that goes!

Getting ready for baby...cleaning off the infant carseat.

Bug catchers

The kids like to track progress on their chart.

Reese practicing as a flower girl!

"Pre-School"

Getting closer...

Carter was swatting at flies with a fly swatter last night after dinner because they were totally swarming us on the deck.  After smashing one, he victoriously said, "Now that fly knows what it feels like to get killed!"

I feel like I'm in full blown nesting mode at this point.  The house is more organized than it's been in 4 years, my crib is assembled, all the baby clothes and cloth diapers are laundered and ready to go.  I even scrubbed off my strollers today!  Everything is "on track" according to my midwife who I visited yesterday.  Now all we need is a baby.

Which, to that end, Carter started asking me yesterday, "How does the baby come out?"  If any parents of older children have already experienced that bombshell question and have come up with a good 4-year-old-appropriate answer, do feel free to share.  I fumbled around quite a bit with my answer and I think he was pretty confused still after my attempt, so I changed the subject quickly.  He was also quite perplexed that you don't have a birthday party on your actual birth day, but that you in fact spend it in the hospital getting measured, and weighed, and bathed, and poked with needles.

Doubts

In the daily struggle of wills between me and my children, yesterday...the kids won.  Hands down.  Not even a prayer for me to compete with their crazy energy levels.  I was scouring Craigslist and Amazon last night in search of the perfect "toy" that would both entertain them and sap them of all their energy.  (Do please let me know if such a device exists??)  Reese's eye was caught by a $3,000 bounce house that someone had posted on Craigslist...yea, sorry Reese, that's not happening.  UGH!!!  Is there no miracle fix for the crazy kid?  It does have me doubting my ability to cope with three of them in a few weeks, I'm not gonna lie!

Carter & Daddy's "Man" in the sandbox

I feel like, if ever there was a time I needed to fully put my trust in God, this is it.  I know, without a doubt, that I will be overwhelmed by this experience of Derrick and I being constantly outnumbered by the children in our house.  I know my level of energy, my creativity, and my ability to cope will be no match for three demanding little ones.

Psalm 56:3  When I am afraid, I will trust in you.

Yes, fear could be used to describe what I am feeling some days.  There is this constant, nagging fear that I am not doing enough for my kids and that I am somehow failing them, especially by adding another to the pack.  I will not be able to do all the things they want me to do for them.  That is a hard thing to accept.

And just as I need to admit my limitations and my inability to provide for them everything that they need, I need to turn to God and prayerfully release them into His care, knowing that He can provide all that, and more.  Every time I feel guilt about failing my children, or dwell on my inadequacy to keep up with their demands, I should use it as a reminder to say, "God, I can't, but You can!"

I need to remind myself too that they are going to be learning, on a whole new level, what it means to share.  Not only their toys, but their time and the amount of attention they receive daily.  They will learn what it means to be older siblings (times two for Carter).  They will learn to take on more responsibility.  These are all good things, and as hard as it may be to let go a little and push them to do more for themselves, these are ultimately lessons that will help them in life.

Watermelons!

The kids were soooo excited to finally pick some watermelons from the garden tonight.  We obviously would have liked them to grow a little larger, but the plants were dying from some unknown blight or something...figures.

Today marks 30 days till Baby #3's Due Date.  It is hard to believe it's so close already!!

Day at the Amusement Park

 We used Derrick's free work tickets to Kennywood today and the kids really had fun.  I was the designated photographer since there were really no rides that I was able to go on.

They did the log flume and the Pittsburgh Plunge (very large log flume) towards the end.  The kids rode the plunge two times in a row and then stood on the bridge to be pummeled by the huge wave from it two more times.

School is in session!

 I'm desperately trying to get the kids into some kind of pre-school routine before I have the baby.  Saw some cute ideas on Pinterest and gave them a try for the first time today.  I made a chart for them to follow along what we were doing...they move the smiley face down each time we finish a "subject".  I printed out a calendar we filled in together with the date.  For reading, I grabbed a bunch of educational books at the library yesterday that they can choose from.  Math was Counting, Using Scissors, and practicing Left and Right today.  I found a verse that we printed out and recited together (see pic of Reese).  Writing was practicing ABC's.  And Activity was a game/activity/craft of their choice.  Today we played dominoes and Bingo.  So maybe it's not a huge deal, but at least we made it through all six things without tears or too much griping.  Maybe if we do it for the next 4 weeks we can actually keep going with it even after the baby is born.  We'll see...

Life, Interrupted

Carter made his own Bat Costume today

 There is no "normal" day when you have kids.  Even when you try your best to plan it all out, schedule different activities, be organized...somehow it always seems chaotic.

I guess I'm starting to appreciate my chaos a little more though, knowing that a new baby is just weeks away.  As much as my kids drive me crazy now, I have achieved a sort of routine in the midst of their chaos, and the thought of this fine balance being thrown off yet again is rather frightening.

As much as I long for this baby to arrive and can't wait for that day, it's hard to forget all the initial difficulties that come with a newborn.  The sleepless nights, the feedings, the diaper/outfit changes, the extra laundry.

Nothing in this world could possibly teach you, as an adult, to become selfless, as much as a baby.  The number of sacrifices you make for your children is incomparable.

And yet...in spite of all this, you can't imagine a life without them once they arrive.  You forget what it was like to have "me-time".  It's OK now that you drive a minivan.  It's OK that most of your time spent reading, involves Dr. Seuss.  It's alright that the "restaurant" you visit most frequently is McDonald's. (or Old McDonald's as Reese still calls it)  It's OK that your house is never really clean.  Your ability to keep up with current events may dwindle, but you know the names of every Super Hero, My Little Pony and all the trains from Thomas.

But when all is said and done...somewhere 10, 15, 20 years in the future, I think I'll look back on my life and find that the years that were the most meaningful will be these chaos-filled years with my babies.




Lately Reese has been on this kick with which gender she prefers.  Usually she'll say, "Today I just like girls".  Some days she'll say, "I only like boys."  Last night she said to Derrick, "Now I like girls and boys.  I just don't like old people." Ugh!!!!

Summer Delicious-ness

I made this Tomato Soup today with tomatoes and basil from our garden.  It was AMAAAAAZING!!!  I'm not kidding, I could seriously eat the whole pot by myself.  This is definitely my new go-to recipe.  I think I added more onions and carrots than she called for...I like a lot of flavor.  Also just used skim milk rather than 2%, and fresh basil of course.

I would fight off a pack of hungry ninjas to protect my soup.  OK, maybe not...but it's darn good.

Productivity??

I took advantage of my parents being out last weekend to get some bigger sewing projects completed.  What started as a well-intentioned plan to make three Roman shades for Reese's new room ended up being my greatest Pinterest disaster ever.  No, I will not be posting the tutorial I found that said you could make easy Roman shades using a cheap Venetian blind.  It didn't work...not even close...and this was not discovered until about 8 hours of effort were spent, several trips were made to different stores, and a lot of fabric was purchased.  I just about lost it when I realized I had all this fabric, and the shades just weren't happening.  Then Derrick suggested I try to remake them into a pull curtain for our sliding door.  (our other blinds had just broken).  So I was able to use almost all of the fabric that was salvageable and spent the rest of the day making this curtain.  I'm not saying it's anywhere near perfect...I was just glad to somewhat redeem myself after such a dismal failure!!!

 After that bomb, I decided to make myself feel better by sewing something easy...really, really easy.  So I made a dozen or so cloth wipes from some green dotted flannel I had (shown here hanging in my laundry room drying with my new cloth prefolds!!!).  Excited to give this a try with baby #3.  Woohoo, I can sew a bunch of little squares...go me!!!

My final project was to start on Reese's Halloween costume.  I couldn't pass up this cupcake costume when I saw it involved no sewing...and was especially glad for this after the blind debacle.  Hopefully she will still want to be a cupcake by the time Halloween rolls around.  OK Pinterest, I guess you have redeemed yourself.

Dinosaurs!!!

 The kids had fun visiting the Natural History Museum today.  It was a good way to beat the heat.  I think they maybe "got it" a little more than our last visit, but were still asking lots of questions.  Reese asked me as I tucked her in tonight, "Why weren't they moving?"  I guess explaining bones to a 3 and 4 year old is still pretty abstract.  But Carter was pretty thrilled by it.

Latest happenings

Carter (and Dadda's) Lego Man Masterpiece

Well, the weeks are really flying by now.  It's hard to believe we've crossed the 6-week mark until my due date.  Not saying that's when the baby will come...no not going to get my hopes up after the LOOOOONNNNG wait Reese gave me.  But regardless, the baby is coming and it's not far away.

The kids have been staying busy and keeping me on my toes. I actually managed to gain one pound since my last doctor appointment, so they were happy with that.  This pregnancy has been the lowest weight gain so far and I totally attribute it to the fact that I never get to sit down all day!!

From the garden...

Nani and Pop Pop came out for a long weekend visit and we were really able to get a lot accomplished around the house.  The basement bathroom is well underway now and will hopefully be completed before #3 arrives.  I was able to finish some monstrous sewing projects and get some deep cleaning and organizing done.  I even started working on Reese's Halloween costume (found on Pinterest)!  Everything is coming together...and just in time!

Lego Rhino

Me and my little sweetie

 I was walking to the bathroom to help Reese today because I heard the water running.  But when I got there, instead of washing her hands in the sink, she had her whole head shoved under the faucet and said in her sing-song voice, "I'm washing my hair!"  Ugh...

Gigantic flamingo cookie!!

Cool dude