Currently

-My almost 4 year old is having a football game with his toy dinos. His imagination is incredible.

-My 20 month old will bring me books to "read", only to have him flop through the pages and say "NO!" when I actually try to read the words.

-I have spent at least 5 hours each of the past 3 days cleaning. I sure hope that this is a nesting thing.... otherwise I just became OCD.

-It has taken me 26 years to realize that it definitely shows when you buy the cheap nail polish and makeup. The good stuff is worth it. 

-Next year we are getting a three foot Christmas tree and putting it on our tv stand. I am so sick of picking  ornaments.

-Leaving the house is completely overrated. The boys have learned to play by themselves for hours at a time, and if we stay here all afternoon I am 4 times more likely to get a nap in.

-The last 3-4 weeks of pregnancy SUCK. that is all.

another baby gift

      Geez. I can hardly keep up with everything going on right now. Between holidays, babies being born, and everyday things that need to be done, I am pretty sure that I am going to pass out one of these days.... probably while buying Christmas decorations at Target.

     ANYHOW... I made yet another baby quilt for a sweet little boy due sometime in mid-January.

I am a huge fan of the orange, brown, and blues. Hopefully this will keep that little guys toesies warm this winter.

Also, I started cutting out pieces for our own little guy's quilt. I am still unsure about just what pattern (if any) I am going to go with.... I have pinned a ton of quilts for inspiration. You can see them here if you like. My only real goal is to be done with it before the baby gets here. I don't care if I am still sewing in between contractions... (HA!)

I took a quick instagram photo of the pieces before West ran across them... but I am pretty sure that I am in love with the colors and patterns.

redo

     Before West was born, I made poor Stephen drive out in the middle of nowhere to buy this chair from craigslist. It was a great chair in theory- wide, modern, and neutral enough that I could use it in another room when he didn't need a rocker anymore. However, it was horribly uncomfortable. Also, tan microfiber is possibly the worst fabric on the face of the earth. Every fingerprint, speck of dirt, and stain was magnified by the terrible fabric.
    SO, my mom came up this weekend (because she is amazing, awesome, and loves me a lot!) and spent hours and hours helping me recover it with some fabric that I found on super clearance at my favorite fabric outlet near Asheville.

     It is now AMAZING! The fabric we used is ridiculously soft wide corduroy in velvet. Needless to say every living thing in my house loves it. Westley has actually just stood there rubbing his face against the arms a few times. I am a little sad that the pretty blue-gray color of the chair clashes terribly with the color of my bedroom. But that is where the chair will need to live while we are still in this house. Now all I need to do is find a moses basket stand for our room and I will finally be able to stop hyperventilating because our boy will actually have a place to sleep.
   

24 days of thanks

(FYI, I stopped keeping track of numbers and I am just kinda winging it. I am still frustrated and dealing with that, but I am determined to make a point of mentioning it when something comes to mind that I am particularly thankful for...)

                                                 (Ignore the weird color my legs look in this picture as well as my creepy alien toes)

     I am so very thankful that we have the opportunity and ability to put both kids in preschool right now. Yesterday was an incredibly long work day for Stephen, thus it was a very long day for me. But this morning, I took the kids to school and had three glorious hours to rest, relax and take care of myself. I chose to run errands and take about 30 minutes to get a pedicure. It's amazing what a massage chair and having someone rub one's achy feet will do for the soul. Anyhow... I now feel refreshed and as though the next 3 days won't be quite so bad. Stephen will probably have to work late all week, and I want him to feel as though he has nothing to worry about or to do when he gets home (except play with his kids and spend a few minutes holding my hand while we watch Big Bang Theory.) Thanks to the 6 hours of kid-free time I will have this week, I can actually focus on getting things done so that he can actually do that.

24 days of thanks #11

    I am going to be honest. I don't feel like being thankful today. I am tired, cranky, frustrated that my husband has worked 50+ hours this week and it isn't even over yet. I am not in a place that I want to think about the things that I should be thankful for.

    So.... Let's talk about contentment vs. thankfulness.
I try to be content with what I have. I have learned to live with less this past year. I have learned to be happy with what I cannot change around me (ugly wall colors anyone?) I have even gotten to the point where I am not constantly starting conversations with my husband with "You know what we need..."

   But I am not always thankful for what I have. I am constantly convincing myself that I can absolutely make my Honda Pilot work with three car seats (even if it will take some configuring and probably a few months of tweaking to figure out what works best), but what I REALLY think I need pine over daily is a fancy pants minivan. I am on Pinterest ALL THE TIME looking at stuff for the "next house" (if we ever actually get one). And probably the most difficult and frustrating one- I am constantly struggling with the fact that I have two amazing, funny boys - but no girls. *That is something that might take years to move from the "I'll get over it" list.

   So, when I am at this place... what is there to do? I will eventually snap out of it and remember that my life rocks and that I have basically everything that I could ever need or want. But for now, I am here. And this is where I might be camping out for the next few days. This is probably not the best timing (Hello, Thanksgiving!) But this is reality. This is truth. This is my life.

24 days of thanks #10

     I am soooooo very thankful for Skype! I have a sister in Isreal, and without Skype I would probably never be able to talk to her. It also lets my kids see her and recognize her when she comes home to visit. She was gone when Westley was born and will be gone when this baby is born. It's sad that she won't meet her newest nephew for some time, but I feel like being able to see him and and the other boys it doesn't quite seem so bad. I miss my sister so very much, but being able to talk to her and see her makes the long months in between visits go by just a bit quicker.

24 days of thanks #9

     I am so thankful to have a husband who knows when he has to be a little extra-strong for me. With our latest offer on a house not working out (and I really really liked this house!) it's been a little extra gloomy around our kneck of the woods. Stephen has been extra sweet and supportive. I know that God has some great plan and a perfect house for us somewhere.... I just really wanted to be there before Christmas and little boy #3 arrived. So, I will drink extra tea, take some extra deep breaths, and thank God for the husband that I have next to me in this journey.

24 days of thanks #8

I am thankful that I have a little boy who is always ready with something for us to do together. We put puzzles together, color, read books and he is always asking how he can help me. Harry is such a joy and has such a sweet spirit. It makes me kind of sad to know that in just two short months that I will have less time to spend one-on-one with him. I am determined to make some time just for the two of us though. I would miss i terribly if I did not.

24 days of thanks #7

I am thankful for this sweet pup. Emily has been with Stephen and I almost as long as we have been married. She is such a great dog. The boys love her, and I don't know what I would do without her sweet snuggles when I am home alone. She cuddles with me on the couch and keeps me company. I couldn't ask for much more than that.

24 days of thanks #6

         *I'm still going to attempt to catch up and get this thing back on track... I said 'attempt'.

I am thankful for hot drinks and quiet time to write. This morning (after an hour spent running around outside) the boys were chill enough to watch a bit of Dora. I took the opportunity to journal and sip my tea. Oh, how I treasure my little 15 minute breaks.

currently

- Our third and final (before this baby is born) offer on a house was rejected this past weekend. It looks as though we will be in our little rental longer than anyone really planned. Now I have to do some major improvising as far as where baby stuff will go. We don't really have room for a real nursery here without sacrificing our guest room, and we have tried that in the past. It was kinda terrible.

- I am really, really, really excited about Christmas. Really.
This is the first Christmas that we will be spending entirely at our house. I am already ready to start decorating EVERYTHING.

- My to-do list only seems to be growing. I already had way too much to do, and so I decided to try to make some gifts for Christmas and another baby gift, too. Oh, and I bought a ton of fabric to make my own lil' guy a quilt of his own. Smart, Truly. Real smart.

- We have too much stuff. I am going to go through every room of this house and purge all of the crap that always seems to be in my way (which is pretty much everything). If my kids are playing with rocks and sticks the next time you see them, you will know why.

- And now we have an emergency Target run to make. I used the last of West's diapers this morning.

24 days of thanks #5

(despite the fact that my numbers are completely messed up.... moving on.)


I am thankful for this baby bump. Most days I am uncomfortable, tired, cranky and frustrated at something (or someone). BUT, I am so incredibly blessed to have two funny little boys and one more on the way. I can't even begin to imagine how great their friendships will be. Harry and West are pretty much besties, so I am just going to assume pretend that adding a third to the mix will just create that much more awesomeness.... always.

a baby gift

      I went to a shower this afternoon for a friend from church. I generally stick to registries when buying gifts, but as of late I have become a huge fan of hand made presents for new babies. They seem so much more important in the months after birth. I love the handmade gifts I recieved for my boys, and hope this soon to be mama will like the quilt I made her, too.

This particular mama requested that we stay away from traditional baby colors and mentioned that brown and olive green were the colors that she likes.

Luckily, I already had the brown and green fabric on hand and really just had to pick up a few coordinating fabrics to put this blanket together. Stephen was nice enough to watch the kids all day yesterday while I sewed like a mad woman in order to finish this in time for the shower.

I really, really hope they like it.

24 days of thanks #4

Sooo. I am a little behind. Does that really surprise you?


Anywho...

I am thankful for my amazingly supportive and helpful mom. I don't think that I talk to anyone else (besides my husband) on the phone as often as I do my mother. She is one of my best friends. We don't always agree on everything, but she is so supportive and listens whenever I need it. In fact, she is coming to help me take care of the boys this weekend when Stephen goes to a football game. I love her.

This picture was taken the day that Westley was born. My mom was at the birth of both of my boys and I am really hoping that she can be at this one too.

24 days of thanks #3

I am thankful for the beautiful fall weather we are having. Days that are sunny and warm enough for us to spend some time out in the yard are definitely helping the kids and I from feeling stuck. It's also kinda cute when they jump in the piles of leaves that I will never pick up that might be there for a while.

24 days of thanks #2

Today I am thankful for nap time.

     Naptime is very important to me these days. I can spend that time doing something around the house or just having some quiet time. It's been especially nice lately, because I have even been able to sneak in a nap myself once or twice when I felt particularly warn out.

24 days of thanks

     I feel like this is the perfect time to get my bum in gear and start posting more (you know, right before the holidays and with me being 7 months pregnant and all.... timing was never my strong suit). So, I will start with a litte picture and something that I am thankful for everyday until Thanksgiving.

     Today, I am thankful for the three guys who make this life so amazing. Stephen took the day off yesterday to spend with us and actually suggested that I take some time to work on a baby gift that needs to be done in the next few weeks (more on that later). He watched the boys and I got some real time to focus. Harry eventually came over and wanted to help, so I had to get inventive and figure out what he could do that didn't involve scissors or the sewing machine. We figured it out.

we went to the pumpkin patch...

                                                                       And had a great time.

Busy busy busy...

   I have just entered the third trimester of this pregnancy (don't expect a belly picture any time soon), and it hit me like a mac truck. Basically as soon as week 27 rolled around I have felt the need to tackle each and every thing that is or ever might be on my to do list.

   For example: yesterday I NEEDED to go through each box of clothes that the boys have grown out of/are waiting to grow into and sort, refold, and finally put them all back into boxes. Unfortunately, the end result is now something like this due to the fact that I have a ton of stuff to donate, and I have yet to decide where to store said boxes.

    I also finally attacked the pile of fabric that was waiting to  be turned into pillow covers. My previous covers (seen here) were a bit "spring-y" for me right now (yup that's a word), and I really wanted something a bit more subdued.

The floral fabric is a Pottery Barn curtain that I found at a thrift shop and the yellow patterned fabric is the stuff I bought way back here and have been waiting to decide just what to do with it.

I am pretty sure I am going to make some more, but haven't found any more fabric that I am in love with just yet. Besides everything I do is pretty much a constant work in progress.

Speaking of works in progress- I messed with some fall do-dads on the mantle as well.

I am pretty sure that all of this energy is going to leave any day now, and that my husband with literally have to drag me out of bed every morning. I am just trying to use it while I have it.

october is here

     After countless hours pinning some pretty amazing fall decorations, the time has finally come to get off my butt and actually accomplish something.

     Granted it is only a start, but we are waiting for daddy to take us to the pumpkin patch (myself included.)

I think this particular spot is begging for a pretty, fat white pumpkin.

currently

- I am 26 weeks pregnant. It feels a lot like I am actually 26 months pregnant.

- We have an offer out there on a house and are waiting (not patiently) to hear back on it.

- There are piles of clothes (some the boys have grown out of, some that I have grown out of, some that we are waiting for a little something to arrive who can wear them) everywhere!

- My husband is on a business trip, and my sweet, amazing mom came for a short (one night) visit to make sure that I didn't have a break down during his absence.

- The tv has been on way too much lately. These two don't seem to mind...

- My 3 year old turns into a screaming banchee at swim lessons. He will still be wearing water wings at the age of 36.

- I have a pile of fabric ready to make new pillow covers. I have zero energy or motivation to make said pillow covers.

- I am relishing the fact that I can now wear my vast collection of sweaters without getting weird looks. (people tend to question my wardrobe choices when it's 80 degrees and I look like a grandma.)\

- The plan is to post more often. (*I said PLAN)

put a bird on it

I am seeing a trend in my recent purchases. It would seem as though I am a sucker for anything with a pretty bird on it. I am perfectly okay with that.

Is there a trend that you're stuck on lately?

Owls are another weakness of mine.

caught my eye

                                                           I think I need this print!
      I am seriously ready for fall and woke up this morning to beautiful 50ish degrees. The boys and I
spent a good hour or so on the deck playing with dinos, bubbles and kick balls. I got some time to read my Bible, drink tea, and journal a bit. It was lovely. We will definitely be spending time on the deck a few mornings each week while the weather is so great. I hope that the slightest hints of fall are making their ways to your home.

sick boy

This poor guy woke up feeling pretty terrible at around 1:30 am. He didn't get much sleep at all. I didn't get much sleep either. Today we are having a chilled out day with tv and chocolate milk.

bigger belly, smaller to-do list

Hello! I feel like I am sending an email to a friend I haven't seen in a long time, like a pen pal or something. That's kinda sad. The good news is that I finally feel like I have energy again and fully plan on using it to do fun stuff.

     This week I actually spent the majority of my time (that wasn't spent changing diapers, breaking up fights, or making sure that my kids weren't starving) working on a little project for little babe #3.

     I recovered the car seat that we used for the other two boys! It was definitely looking a little sad and showing its age. I think it turned out pretty stinkin' adorable and now I am working (slowly but surely) on the stroller that works with the car seat. I was pretty bummed when I realized that my Phil and Teds double is an older model which means that I can't buy a car seat attachment for it. BUT, I figure that I will probably just wear little Bean (we haven't picked out a name yet, can you tell???) whenever I have all three by myself and put the two older boys in the double.... at least until someone rebels and refuses to sit in the stroller anymore. Then I will simply refuse to leave the house with all of them in tow. There, I win.... or lose. We are going to go with win though. I have seen those mothers at Target trying to keep three or more kids together and remember what she was there for to begin with.... no thank you. I will work my way up to places like Target. Maybe I'll start with Walmart or something. I am pretty sure that there is always at least one or two kids (someone else's, of course) yelling every time that I go in there. At least I would feel like we were blending in.

     Also, I have made an appointment to get my hair did. (yup I just said that).
This is kind of a big deal for me. I haven't had my hair professionally cut since November. NOVEMBER.
It's longer than normal, so that's a plus I guess. Now I just need to figure out what I want to do with it. I don't even know who's going to be cutting it. I just called and took the first available spot my salon had. That's what I might call desperation.... but am going to refer to it as "faith in the stylist". It doesn't really matter what it looks like I suppose, since it will probably be another 9 months before I make it back over to get a trim. I should look into some hats just in case.....

to do list

     This is going to be a very busy week around here.
We finally moved West's crib into Harry's room and have the guest room back. It was getting kind of ridiculous when people came to visit. They either had to bunk with our temperamental toddler or he slept in our room... and he is not a fun bed-mate.
     So, I now have a disaster zone in the guest room. It is a mixture of all of the things that the boys have grown out of, extra books and toys that don't currently fit into their newly shared space, all of my sewing and craft stuff, the changing table, and of course the guest bed. Somehow this space needs to be functional by the end of the week when my mom is coming to visit.
     I did manage to get all of the boys' things into the small room in an organized way. It isn't the prettiest room in the world, but it will do. The plan is to make a dino room for them in the next house, so I will have my eyes open for some awesome bedding and art. I will try to get some pictures of their shared room up soon. It's kinda adorable to have them both go in their together at night.
PS I am turning 26 this Wednesday. Goodbye early twenties.

a little trip

     Last week we took a little vacation. It was the first time we have really gone anywhere with just our family of four, and it was lovely. We visited Charleston, SC for a couple of days and went on to visit my family in Raleigh/Durham. We aren't quite brave enough to take our little ones on a full week's vacation alone. The three days we had were just enough for everyone. We did manage to do everything that we had wanted to: the aquarium, beach, downtown Charleston, a brewery, and even managed to go to the children's museum in Durham.
     I was glad to get away and very glad to see my family, but it's nice being back at home now. I have even managed to get some things done these past two days.

no place like home

     We have gotten really good at hanging out at home during the day. The boys have really started playing well together, I am actually getting things accomplished, dinners are actually cooked as opposed to picked up, and my to do list is more than just "survive".

     There are still so many little things that can (and often do) put a little cramp in our day- biting, potty accidents, things breaking, and toddlers telling me "no way"- that when we have a great day, it really makes everything else seem unimportant.

     We have had a couple really good days this week, and it's pretty much got me excited to actually create and accomplish more than just housework. I am currently putting together a to-do list of things to get ready before the baby comes (just 21 more weeks). I am hoping that some sewing and painting will actually find a way onto my done list... but I will take almost whatever I can get.

     I think that seeing this little one and knowing what our slightly less little family is going to look like in a short time is changing my mood, outlook, and overall emotional state. I am really getting so excited about another baby being in our home and our lives.

an announcement

It looks like there is going to be a lot of little league, dirt, bugs and blood in my future for a VERY long time....

Baby # 3 is most definitely a BOY.

Picture found here

lately

Here are some things (big and small) that I have noticed lately:

1. West's feet are so ridiculously fat that I will soon have to buy him a pair of Crocs due to the fact that all of the cute shoes that I bought don't even come close to fitting his little sausage toes.

2. If I read one more dinosaur book, I. WILL. SCREAM.

3. Library movies are more often scratched and unwatchable than not.

4. Ice cream can fix most things. Not everything, but most.

5. I am ready to find a house. I almost don't care what or where it is. I am losing any desire to be picky.

6. My dog smells like sweat. I didn't think dogs could sweat. She is an anomaly.

7. Red hair on little kids attracts sooooo much unwanted attention. Someone actually told me that in 50 years red-heads will be extinct. I wanted to punch him.

8. There are currently 6 puzzles spread across my living room. I don't care. The kids can pick them up... or Steve can make them clean them up when he gets home. My battles have all been fought today.

9. Harry is potty trained... kinda. He refuses to go anywhere but his training potty. This makes traveling such a terrible thing.

pre-baby blues

    I don't think I have ever actually heard the term "prenatal depression". Obviously postpartum depression is a very real and very serious thing. I didn't know that people actually struggled with depression while pregnant, though. I just assumed that everyone (whether they loved pregnancy itself or not) was just going to be happy and full of joy at the very thought of the new baby growing inside.
     That is, until this pregnancy. I don't think it's the pregnancy itself - granted the ridiculous hormonal imbalance can't help things. I think that the past 9 months has been a season of intense hardships. We moved away from my family, my husband has been working hard at a job that has changed frequently, we have found some friends (but don't have the same feeling of community we once felt), and being all alone with two little children that are quite demanding doesn't help. I had a handful of close friends whom I could call if I needed to get out of the house or needed someone to talk to while our kids played. I haven't found that here. My husband thinks that it is because I haven't worked hard enough at it. His solution is to join a MOPS group. As an extreme introvert, the thought of joining almost any kind of group like that causes me to throw up in my mouth a little.
There are some young families in our church, but nothing has seemed to work out.
    I definitely assumed that we would feel more settled by now. Nope. This accumulation of "stuff" that has been constantly circling my head has left me dry. My poor kids are probably suffering the most through all of this, though. These "low points" leave me exhausted and irritable to say the least. I make an effort to get them out of the house and around other kids at least 2 times a week, but I don't think that will cut it for long.
I am not completely sure what the next step is to deal with my current state. I will talk to my midwives, make a real effort to exercise, and get out of the house to do something with the kids as much as I can.

once upon a time

It feels like I haven't been able to catch my breath the entire 16 weeks of this pregnancy. I have only been over the awfulness that is morning sickness for a couple of weeks and we have already jumped right into full-blown house hunting and Westley has decided that sleeping through the night is not for him. Both of which are completely exhausting on their own.

I did manage, however, to find a camera and take some pictures of some things we did as a family this past weekend. The mister took Friday off and we spent the day lounging and loving on our kiddos. Harry started his morning by reading a few books to some of his closest friends - his dinnos. Of course, no summer day off would be complete without frozen yogurt!

Saturday was similar, but we ended the night with a few hours at a hanging out at a local brewery where kids and adults are welcomed to sit outside, listen to the music and buy a hot dog or two from a local vendor. The bartender was even thoughtful enough to provide a sprinkler for the little ones. We will definitely go back again before the summer ends.

really???

blog much?



nope.


i am really going to back to this.... just as soon as i can find my camera, charge it, take pictures, delete most of those pictures, find one that is reasonably acceptable, and upload it.


miss you.

cave dwelling

 Source

excuse my absence.

when i don't feel well, i tend to retreat into my own little world and keep everything and everyone else out. {picture the Marshwiggle (hermit) from the original bbc Silver Chair.}

fortunately at my last midwife appointment we came to the conclusion i need to try a new medication. (i have been on anti-nauseau meds for all three pregnancies due to the fact that i have been diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum.) the one that i took with my two son's pregnancies doesn't seem to be doing it for me this time around, so i am currently trying a new (and ridiculously expensive.... RIDICULOUS!) medication to see if i will actually able to function. so far it seems to be working. i actually left my house this morning. that is a pretty big deal these days considering that i have been in my pajamas most days when the hubs got home. i also cooked for the first time in about a week. soo.... hopefully this will help get us back into the swing of things... or maybe i am just being super optomistic.

fess up friday

Oi. What a time these past few weeks have been. Here is the best and the worst of it (in no particular order):

- I caught myself using tv as a bargaining tool on several occasions. Not even a good one. I think it went something like this "sit down and be quiet, or I am turning the tv off right now." yeah, we probably won't be leaving the house a whole lot, so this is about all I have.

- I take breaks potty training. If I don't think I can handle it that day, I just put him in pull-ups. That won't confuse him or anything. Really.

- I have zero pain tolerance. I actually have cried every time that I have thrown up this time around. Great.

- There is currently a load of laundry in the washer. I have no idea when I ran it. I am afraid to open it due to the inevitable smell.

- Going back to the tv thing... my 14 month old sings along to the theme song for Bubble Guppies and actually claps whenever he hears it. If you don't know what Bubble Guppies is, consider yourself lucky.

- Also, my 3 year old speaks Spanglish thanks to Dora. Great. As if I didn't have a hard enough time understanding him.

Source

- My attitude towards diapers has gotten pretty awful. I avoid them whenever possible. My one year old must know this. He has decided to drop a load every two hours or so. I think he likes to make me suffer.

beautiful things

This is truly a beautiful song. It reminds me that I am not finished yet, and that I don't have to rely on my own strength. There is so much more that I have yet to see or even imagine.

saltines and show tunes

Last week was such a roller coaster of a week. I spent at least two full days moving back and forth between my bed and the couch, trying to convince the boys that staying confined in the room we were currently in was super fun. I have the feeling they didn't fall for it, but they did what they were told none-the-less (with a breakdown here and there).
     We had a ridiculously busy weekend planned, and I was completely overwhelmed by just how much we had going on. We went to a birthday party for two toddlers on Saturday afternoon. That entire morning I could barely convince myself to get out of bed, so by the time we needed to leave I was sort of in rush mode. The whole party I felt like I was in a daze. It was hot, sunny and there were a ton of little kiddos running around the backyard. It was fun, but very draining. After two hours of that, the rest of the day was spent in recoup mode.
     Sunday was going to be an even busier day. We had planned to go to church, followed by a cookout, immediately followed by Chicago the musical that was being done at Flat Rock Play House (which apparently is North Carolina's state theatre). I didn't make it to church because I was already exhausted just thinking about everything else that we needed to do, so my husband took the boys by himself. Apparently, my 3 year old peed on a friend after church. Oh, the joys of potty training.
     After a quick nap for the boys and getting everything that we would need for such a busy afternoon packed up in the car, we set out for the cookout. The place we were going was only about 20 minutes away, but halfway down the road I got a terrible feeling in my stomach. I knew things were going downhill. Luckily, we had a ton of practice with emergency stops due to the fact that I was constantly throwing up when I was pregnant with my oldest. Stephen stopped right in time for me to jump out of the car.... and well.... I'll spare you the details. Ugh.
However, it made me feel so much better! I was actually able to enjoy myself at the cookout and eat almost whatever I wanted. (It also helped that I took a few pills that my old OB was lovely enough to prescribe for me to cancel out what I like to call the baby-pukes.)
     For almost 5 hours we played in the sun, at fished, played corn hole, walked, and chatted with some old friends and new acquaintances. We were the only ones there with kids, so it was much more laid back than Saturday afternoon.  When you have 8 or 9 couples who are either pregnant, ready to think about kids or just like kids- someone is always ready and willing to play with yours. It helps that ours were in pretty good moods.  I wish I had taken my camera, but I probably would have forgotten to take pictures.
Once everyone else left, we hosed down the kids cleaned the boys and ourselves up a bit. The couple who were hosting the cookout had already agreed to watch the boys while we went to the play. It was super easy that way, since we were able to leave straight from their house without making another trip to drop the boys off anywhere.
     The show was pretty great. Although, I will be the first to admit that I am always going to compare things like that with the movie.... and the actor they had playing Billy was no where close to Richard Gere....
I was glad we saw it, though, and was so very glad to see my bed once we made it home. I am glad that the previous week had been so low key (even if it was only because I felt like I was going to die half of the time.)
     Stephen took today off to help make today easier. This is Harry's last week of preschool, so hopefully I can put those two days to very good use. Tonight I think we will be eating something very easy and following it with some ice cream. Might as well end the long weekend on a very high note.

Dear Baby: 6 weeks

Dear baby,

    I can already tell you are going to be a trouble maker, just like your brothers. I woke up this morning to that subtle feeling of queasiness only to discover that full on nausea was soon to say hello. I don't blame you. It's not your fault. I actually find it comforting that you are making your presence known. I just want you to grow big and strong.
    Your big brother, Harry is already excited to meet you. He is pretty sure your name is going to be Hazel. Your father and I disagree. But no matter the name we end up choosing, he will love you just the same. I'm sure. West is probably the one you will have to worry about. You are taking the title of "baby" from him. I don't think he is going to let it go enthusiastically. I tell them both everyday that you are on your way. I tell them that you live in my belly now, but soon you'll be here and our family will be complete.

I can't wait to meet you, precious little bean.

-your mama

happy mother's day to me

(apparently blogger decided to delete this post, so i am rewriting it)

My mother's day was amazing. I would even go so far as to say it was the best yet. Stephen went above and beyond what I imagined.

The day started with the boys waking me up with some hugs and kisses. I got homemade cards, a mug from my favorite bookstore in downtown Asheville and a new pair of Toms (yay!)

After presents were opened, we had pancakes for breakfast and lounged around for a bit.

We went to church, had lunch in Asheville and walked around for a few hours while both boys napped in the stroller. (I don't know what I would do without my double stroller!)

After coming back home, Stephen told me that he had one more surprise for me. Apparently he had been waiting for it to come in his email all morning.

   A couple of weeks ago, I had gone out to dinner with a friend. While I was out of the house, Stephen had his friend come take picture of the boys. I had no idea! The email containing the link to the pictures had finally come and I could see the pictures that were taken.

Amazing. Lauren Rosenau made magic. She made my two silly children look absolutely precious.

I hope that your mother's day was as amazing as mine.