Happy Fourth!

On a whim this year, we decided to go visit family in Utah for the fourth.  Last year, C had to work the parade in a nearby town, but this year, some other poor schmuck got stuck with it, and we were free to do what we wanted.

A few days before we made our decision, L asked me, “Mom, have you ever been on a boat?”  Ha.  Have I ever been on a boat?  Yes, my dear, I have.  “Do you think maybe one day I can go on a boat?”  So I called my mom and asked if we could take the boat out on the 4th. 

Can you see how happy this child is?!  S, on the other hand, was in my lap, screaming both for me to take her life jacket off and to put her in the water.  She finally calmed down when I took her to the back of the boat and let her put her hand in the water.

It’s hard to tell with the wind in our faces, but this is one happy, laughing child.

We had a good time, even though it was too cold, really, to do anything, and since I’m pregnant, my little brother was the only one to actually get in the water.  Next time I won’t be pregnant, and the girls will be big enough, maybe, to drag around on a tube.

This year we decided L was old enough to stay awake for the fireworks, which means by default, S got to stay up, too.

Notice which one almost has her eyes closed …

And which one eventually fell asleep!

We finished off the weekend with a trip to the zoo to wear the girls out and to let C loosen up his back before hopping in the car.

 

The girls did a good job sharing their ice cream, and while they didn’t sleep all the way home, they were pretty good.

Thank you, everyone, for a wonderful weekend!

Boating

Yes, that is my brother, L, behind the boat on his wakeboard, the morning before he got hit. I'm so glad he's still alive - even if his leg isn't up for wakeboarding at the moment!

My cute little bug!

S came  into my bedroom to wake me up this morning with her usual, chipper, “Is it wake-up time yet, Mama?”  Then she said, “Mama, Look!”  I sat up and watched as she waddled up and down the side of my bed.

“Oh,” I said, “Are you a little penguin?”

She ran up to me and said, “No!  I’m a Mama!”

C tried to stop himself from laughing.  I just laughed.  I guess my baby belly isn’t the only sign of pregnancy!

Is this nesting?

I remember reading articles about nesting when I was pregnant with my girls.  (Nesting – a compulsive urge to prepare your home for your baby.)   In the articles, the women deep-cleaned their closets, painted and re-painted the nursery, and stuff like that.  I never really identified with it, even when I had pregnant friends talking about their own nesting instinct kicking in.

I wonder if it’s because I was always in a rented apartment when I was pregnant … temporary situations that I knew would change.  Now that I’ve got my own house, and a place to put the baby, I think it’s hitting me harder this time.

For each of my babies, I’ve made an afghan.  With both L and S, I didn’t get it finished almost until I had them.  I can remember C hanging over my shoulder, asking, “Are you going to have that done on time?”  Well, with three months to go, I’ve finished this little boy’s afghan.  You’ll also notice that the bassinet is already set up, ready to go.  What you can’t see is the small pile of pacifiers I’ve already bought for him.  Or the car seat we bought a month ago.  Or the coming home outfit that’s ready and waiting.  The “spare room” that will become the baby’s room only has two pieces of furniture left in it that have to go before the baby comes – two bookshelves.  I resisted the urge to move them into my room the other day only because I had too much else to do.

I’m not sure if this is quite “nesting”, but I’ve also been anxiously watching the work in our yard, praying they’ll actually finish before the summer is over.  The fence took a week to put up, but I think it looks nice.

We have a wide, double fence on the north side, so C can fit his old car (which is literally larger than my dad’s boat) in the side yard.

 

And a smaller, pedestrian gate on the south side.

Today they’ve been running the trencher around the yard, presumably putting in the sprinkler system.  It makes the whole house tremble, and the girls hold their hands over their ears and tell me it’s too loud (although it’s really not bad, inside the house).  Hopefully soon I’ll be posting pics of the finished product.

Life goes on …

I was sitting here this morning, finally with a chance to check my email after a very hectic weekend, and S came up to me.  She had her monkey and a doll blanket in her hands and said, “Mommy, how do I put this blanket on my monkey?”

I glanced down at my freshly-painted nails (which is odd in the first place, because I paint the girls’ nails more often than I paint my own) and explained, “I can’t help you right now – mommy’s fingers are all wet.” 

After a few minutes of trying to do it herself and fussing at me for help, I gave in.  I took the monkey and the blanket in my hands and gingerly tried to wrap him up.  As I put the first side flap around the monkey, S cried out again, “Not right now, Momma, he’s not cold!”  I just had to laugh.  I handed her the monkey and blanket back, and off she trotted, pleased as punch.  Sometimes I just don’t know what’s going on in their little minds.

This will be a boring post without pictures, but my Sister-in-law takes fabulous pics, so I plan to get them from her.  We had a family reunion this last weekend for my husband’s family.  Mom and Dad, their four kids, their four spouses, and eight grandkids filled up a whole house.  We had a blast.  We also got to make a trip to Great-Grandma and Grandpa’s farm.   There we all said good-bye to my husband’s Great-Grandma, who has been suffering with Alzheimer’s for years, and who lately took a turn for the worse.  I was so proud of L, who walked right up to her, lying asleep in the bed in her front room, and talked to her.  L has such a loving and sensitive heart. 

We had only been home two days when we got the word that Grandma had passed.  Lucky for us, we don’t live far away, and the rest of the family hadn’t gone back home from the reunion, yet, so we had a Family Reunion Part 2 this weekend, with all the extended family.  Grandma’s funeral went well.  The flowers were pretty, and I’m told the musical number (which my husband and I got roped into) was very nice.

I’ve been so used to having children too young to understand what’s going on, I didn’t think to prepare L for the funeral – more than telling her that Grandma had died and we were going to her funeral.  At the family viewing beforehand, she saw Grandma in the coffin, and her curiosity had to be satisfied.  C took her up to see Grandma and tried to gently explain that she was dead, and her spirit was with Jesus.  L came back with tears streaming down her face, sobbing.  It broke my heart.  We had a whispered lesson on how the body and spirit work, and how, while Grandma’s body will be in the box in the ground, her spirit isn’t there.  L was so concerned about burying someone in the ground.  Then we talked about how we can all be together again after we’re dead, so even though we’re saying good-bye to Grandma for now, we’ll see her again someday.  She seemed to understand, and her sobbing stopped.

I didn’t know Grandma before Alzheimer’s took her, so I didn’t feel much loss at her death (after all, she’s happier where she is now), but seeing L in tears did it for me, and I ended up crying a little anyway. 

So, that’s where we’ve been and what we’ve been up to.  If I survive taking the Cub scouts to Day Camp today, I just might get some pics from my sister-in-law and post them. 

Dun, du du dun!

I have not dropped off the face of the earth …

Though it may seem like that.  I just haven’t had energy lately to do much of anything.  I am starting to feel better now – now that I’m well into my second trimester.  I really don’t understand those women who say they love being pregnant … I hate being sick!

 

I did discover a second use for my pregnancy pillow – if the girls take a nap, mama gets a nap!

Unfortunately, if mama falls asleep, the girls get busy … tearing up my entire supply of wrapping paper.  A friend of mine says, “There are always casualties when mama needs alone time … most of the time it’s worth it!”

Anyway, in spite of sickness, we have been busy the last few months.

The girls did get to dye Easter eggs, then waited impatiently until they were dry and they could put stickers on them.

We got to take a trip to Utah and spend time with family.  Here the girls are watching the baby elephant with their Great-Grandma while their mama feels stupid for not bringing their jackets.  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for sharing!

We got to spend some time with some old friends who have kids about the same age as ours, and they had a blast.

The adults had a little fun, too.  Here are the two big boys playing with fire.

And finally, I got someone to help me put up my curtains and pictures.  How long have we lived in this house with bare walls?!  And now it really feels like a home – not just a house. 

This is just my living room, but the pictures are up everywhere now, and it makes me feel like it’s brand new again.

And for our next project (as soon as it stops snowing), we’re going to put some grass in our yard so the girls can play in it … and a garden for me to play in!