year end flickr favorites

1. Birgitta and the Advent Calendar, 2. Felt Ornaments, 3. some_ornaments_2, 4. Wonky Log Cabin, 5. Wonky house, 6. Advent Calendar, 7. Allsorts Elf Clogs, 8. Heart Detail, 9. Christmas stocking, 10. handmade patchwork christmas stockings, 11. Handmade Christmas Ornament, 12. 2006 Holiday Ornament Swap, 13. :) :) :), 14. a red J, 15. hhhh copy, 16. Procession, 17. lovely fabric, 18. isbn4-529-04204-9, 19. Treeskirt- Gift for Teacher, 20. not a mobile after all, 21. Avon Small World Collection, 22. It's A Small World Record Mary Blair Art, 23. Once Upon A Wintertime, 24. Vintage Fabric


Happy New Year! Be safe everyone. Love, me

Happy #7, Harrison!

Happy birthday to my sweet, sweet, Harrison. I can't believe I have a seven year old. It seems like yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital on New Year's Day. What a way to start a year off right! I can't begin to name all of the ways he has blessed our lives and the lives of those around him. He is a great kid. He makes me proud to be his mom. Pure and simple. :)

We went to Rubys tonight for dinner. That seems to be the spot for birthdays for us. You might recall that we went for Charlie's birthday too. It was nothing fancy. I felt bad about calling off the little party we had planned on having, but I really don't think that anyone would have wanted to come and listen to me cough. Plus, I am exhausted. I ache from coughing so hard, it's a wonder my coughing hasn't kicked into labor. Harrison was a trooper though, he didn't mind at all because he still got to open his presents from us. And just look at him, does he look unhappy? I asked him tonight if he had a good birthday and he said yes, so I'm happy. :)

ugh

Well I managed to catch whatever is going around. First Robert had it, then Charlie and now me. Harrison seems to be the only one that is doing okay. I have it the worst, of course! It is a bad cough with congestion. I am seriously hoping and praying that the baby doesn't decide to come early. Now would not be a good time. Today I will find out more about that, I've got another appt. For now I am gargling and drinking lots of liquids. That's about all I can do.

Harrison turns 7! on Sunday. We were going to have a tiny party for him here with immediate family. Right now those plans are up in the air. The only thing is if I put it off, we are getting closer and closer to the delivery date. Maybe New Year's day we can have it instead. Those two extra days might make a difference.

I know I'm not the only one out there that is sick. Please take care of yourselves!

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas! Here we are after we opened our gifts. We had a lot of fun yesterday. I will update later. Now I am just trying to get the house in order and the gifts put away. I hope you had a great day too.

on the day before Christmas

I love to have Christmas photos from different years on display throughout the house. Here is a photo of last year's Christmas card photo and this year's photo. I can't believe what a difference a year makes. This is particularly special because this is the last year of my little twosome. Next year there will be three in the photo. We are all excited and looking forward to that happening. :) So here are my 2, for now.

12 days of Christmas, day 3

Our lights. Robert always puts up our Christmas lights, I am just the inspector. ;) The tree in the front with the white lights was done at Thanksgiving. He put up the rest the first weekend in December. It is a long job and he takes it seriously. He also does the lights over at his mom's house. What I wanted to highlight the most is our palm tree. Our home was built in the 1950s. What could be more Californian than a palm tree? I have had a love-hate relationship with that darn tree. For the longest time, it was on the way out. I don't know what made me change my mind, maybe it was Robert's refusal to get rid of it. I am glad that he was firm in his decision. I love that tree now. I especially love to see it at Christmas time all lit up.

12 days of Christmas, day 4

The train. This train is very special to the four of us. To the boys it is special for obvious reasons. What child doesn't want a train around the Christmas tree? To Robert and I it means a lot more. This train belonged to his dad. It is an LGB model train and I love how it has Christmas wreaths dotting the sides. After Bob passed away, I figured that Yvonne would still want it around her tree. But she surprised us and wanted to give it to Robert for the boys, for our tree. What a honor. Every time I see it, I can't help but think of my father-in-law. I make sure the boys know who it belonged to. We really do love it.

12 days of Christmas, day 5

Good morning. Here is something else that is handmade. I did this piece last year. I am kind of cheating with the photo today because this piece is packed away right now. My decorating this year went something like this: If it's in a box, it's staying in the box with the exception of the ornaments.
I think I have mentioned before how much I like doing cross stitch. It is one of the most relaxing things for me to do. It really is easy too. My mom taught me how a couple of years ago in about five minutes. Seriously, if you can count you can do this. I had this Santa for a little while and was inspired last year to finish it. I didn't like the background paper that it came with, so I improvised with a little Basic Grey paper. I love how it turned out.

Right now I am getting ready to go to the pediatrician with Charlie. He has a cough that sounds like croup. Yeah, there is no place I'd rather be then the doctor's office on the Friday before Christmas. I'm hoping it is just a cough.

Happy Friday.

12 days of Christmas, day 6

Handmade decorations are definitely one of my favorite things about Christmas. Today, both Charlie and Harrison happened to come home with things that they made. Charlie made this fabulous beaded ornament at preschool. We have one that is very similar to this one that he made last year. What can I say? He likes his purple, blue and green combination.
Harrison had CCD tonight, and they had a little Christmas party. I love this little pin he made out of puzzle pieces. If you look closely you can still see the chocolate smudge on his mouth from the treats they had. :)

The doctor's appointment went fine. No news is good news. The baby is head down, but I have not started to dilate at all. I am happy about that even though I am uncomfortable. She felt pretty confident that I would make it through Christmas. Whew! I go back next Friday so we'll see what happens then.

12 days of Christmas, day 7

While the boys were over at my mom and dad's house today (while I finished up some wrapping) I was thinking about what to take a picture of for my 12 Days of Christmas photos. There are plenty of things around here that I could use, but then I thought of the stockings. I love, love, love my childhood stocking. I love all of them. Here is a photo of the stockings at my parent's house. The four original (mom, dad, sis and I) were made by my Nana. My mom made the rest. Each little doodad on the stocking has some significance. For example, my mom has her Greek sorority letters, I have Robert's initials and a felt chinchilla. (We had 2 chinchillas while growing up).
These stockings inspired me to make a couple for the boys. I could NOT buy some stockings. As pretty as some of them are, (and I have been tempted), I just couldn't do it.
Be sure to click on the photo so you can see some of the detail.

*Tomorrow is my appt. where the doctor will exam me to see if anything has started. I'll let you know the outcome. It is getting harder and harder to sleep. Other then that, I feel fine. :)

12 days of Christmas, day 8

Day 8 already! Here is Charlie with a new Christmas book that was given to him today at school. His teachers are so thoughtful. The boys have gotten books each year for Christmas while at preschool. He was pretty excited about it, so I went ahead and let him open it now.
It is another cold and rainy day here. Not too bad, but we are in for the day. I went to the post office and was surprised that we only had to wait 15 minutes. I also picked up a couple of teacher's gifts for Charlie's teachers. We got them little pots with marigold seeds. I am going to finish adding postage to my Christmas cards and hopefully get those out in the mail today, if not tomorrow.
Have a good one!

12 days of Christmas, day 9

Well, here is my 9th day of Christmas photo. Tonight was Harrison's Christmas program. This is the best shot that I got of him. The show was cute, but from a mother's standpoint it was a bummer. I could barely see him up on stage, that is why I have this photo of him after the show. It's not the best, but it's a moment worth remembering. :)

The four of us went to Panera Bakery after the show and Robert and I each had a bowl of soup while the boys shared a big fruit cup and of course, they each got their own cookies. Harrison really wanted to go to the place where Charlie and auntie and I wait for him while he is at CCD. I thought it was only fair that we go, plus I was a little hungry. After that, we just had to by Target which is conveniently located next door. Charlie got a new Spider-man ski cap (Harrison has been wearing his beanie lately) and I picked up some tissue paper. Nothing exciting but we had fun looking at all of the Christmas decorations.

12 days of Christmas, day 10

We are slowly but surely making our way through the Christmas books. This has got to be one of my favorite things about this time of year. There are a couple of oldie but goodies in there too. That's my old Richard Scarry book down on the bottom. My new favorite this year was picked up at Hallmark of all places. It's the one on the top, Christmas A to Z: Fun Facts for Kids. It is a great little book. I would recommend it.
We are missing a couple too, these are the books that I grabbed on my first search. I don't think you can ever have enough books.
There is a great article in the Parade magazine today by author, James Patterson. It is a letter to his son about the importance and joy of reading. Be sure to check it out.

12 days of Christmas, day 11

The boys are getting bigger and here is some proof. A nativity from Playmobil has replaced the Little People one that we have. (I also have several beautiful nativities, this is not our only one.) We got a beautiful set when we got married that is put away now. My Christmas decorations are minimal this year. This is the first year of the Playmobil nativity. I love the Little People one, at least I've got another little person coming that will enjoy it soon. :)

the 12 days of Christmas, in photos

I can't take credit for this idea. My friend Marie did this last year and it was really fun to check in on her every day. I also L-O-V-E what she did with the photos she took. Be sure to check it out. A little scrapbook is the perfect idea, and I think even I could pull that off. So thank you, Marie! A photo a day for the 12 days of Christmas. It seems easy enough, right? We shall see. So today, I am starting off with an out-take from our Christmas card photo shoot this morning. Last year we went out to Brea and got some neat photos, this year well, the circumstances around here are different. ;) Here is a blurry shot. The boys were cracking up, I had to remind Charlie not to lean down when mommy is taking a picture.

I've got Christmas card envelopes addressed. I haven't got any cards made yet, but I do have my supplies handy. That has got to count for something, right? I have never made all of my Christmas cards. Most everyone gets a store bought card and my immediate family and crafty friends get handmade cards. It is much easier that way. I applaud those of you that hand-make each and every one.

We don't need to discuss that countdown clock over there. I am well aware that time is flying by. I am choosing to just keep moving along. It doesn't help that my friend Stephanie that was due only a week before me had her baby on the 10th! Mama and baby are doing well. :)

happy saturday, or what's left of it

Christmas will arrive tomorrow here when we go get our Christmas tree. I have already told Robert that the decorations are going to be low key this year. I just don't have the energy but I'm no killjoy either. I would love to get a smaller tree then we usually do but I can't do that to the boys. They are very excited. Things are moving right along here. I go back to the doctor's office in another week and then they will start seeing me weekly. :0

Harrison and I had a great time painting ornaments last week. We each chose something small, and we were out in no time. While we were uptown we stopped in a new toy store which is super neat. They have the coolest things, we even picked out something for Charlie while we were there. I am thinking about going back in to get one of these. After all, I do need to go back and pick up our finished/fired ornaments.

Has anyone ever seen this before? I love the idea of having a little elf on a shelf and I know the boys would get a kick out of it too.

I have been enjoying super stamper Tim Holtz's new blog. His techniques look very detailed, but he has instructions for each step. I think I can do them on a much smaller scale. Susie, remember we got to see him in action at Carson? His style is very unique, but I think there is something for everyone. You can see his blog here:Tim Holtz

my busy weekend

It has been pretty busy around here as I'm sure you can imagine. I still need to do some Christmas shopping, but I may send Robert out to pick up a couple of things.
I have spent a lot of time at Etsy looking at handmade baby items like, bibs, blankets and burp cloths. There is so much cute stuff to look at, I always get side tracked and then forget what I was originally looking at.

My baby shower was on Sunday. My sister and my mom really knocked it out of the park. Thank you again guys. I will take a couple of pictures to show you all of the hand crafted goodies. My mom made about a dozen each of little pink and blue felt dresses that had a little pregnant bump inside of them. Each guest picked out a dress wear as a pin. One dress in particular had "more" of a belly (a tiny button hidden inside) and whoever picked that one was the winner.
My dad even got involved and made the base for the adorable diaper cake that my mom and Chris made. Look how cute it is. I spent about a half an hour yesterday going through all of the stuff that they packed onto it.
I got a chuckle out of the cake. It says, "Congratulations Jenny, Happy Pushing." Only a mom would love that. I got so many wonderful things, all things that we need. It was so nice to see my friends and family, some of which I haven't seen in awhile. We all had a nice time.
The last picture is a little sneak peek for my card club. Susie's theme was sparkle. Pretty appropriate this time of year, wouldn't you say?
Right now, I am off to Color Me Mine with Harrison to paint a couple of ornaments.

42 days to go!

time is a tickin'

Thank you for your prayers. The memorial service for Julie was on Saturday. It was tough, and beautiful all at the same time. The hardest part was seeing her dad. He just looked so broken. Her sister gave a beautiful eulogy and her daughter got up and read some scripture. She would have been so proud. There wasn't a seat left in the church and I don't think that anyone was surprised about that. I believe the church held 450 people. My mom and I got there early just so we would have a seat.

After the service we headed over to the Disneyland Hotel for a Holiday Elegance luncheon that is put on by our friend's church. We have gone for the last 3 years and it is always fun. It was especially nice this year to end our day on a high note. We did miss my sister though, she stayed back and went to the reception for the service.

That counter over there----> keeps getting lower! I went to my doctor today, and my next appt. is in two weeks. They are seeing me more often now. :0 I feel good. The gestational diabetes test came back normal! That was a relief. Robert is working furiously in his office, so we'll see how that comes along.


We are having Thanksgiving here. I might be crazy, but it will be my immediate family only. No pressure there. Last Friday Harrison had a mini Thanksgiving feast at school and the Grandparents were invited. My mom and mil went, and he was thrilled to have them all to himself. They had a little skit that they had been working on, and he was a pilgrim.


My sister has been planning a baby shower for me and it's all been pretty hush-hush. I had no idea about the invitations. Just look at them! That is my ultrasound picture, my favorite one. The baby is actually waving. :) Robert was involved in getting that to Laureen, who made all of the invitations. She is something else, I tell you. She volunteered to make them, so my sister said, sure! A lot of work went into these, I just had to share with you. I love them. The shower is in a couple of weeks, I know it will seem much more real when I am opening up baby items. This pregnancy has flown by. I was just telling my doctor today that I haven't had time to dwell on it. I am so excited, but I also have two little boys that keep me plenty busy. So, I am just not daydreaming like I was when I was pregnant the first time around and time dragged on and on and on. Only 8 more
weeks to go.

I am doing pretty well with my Christmas shopping. The boys are pretty much done, thanks to this place. I got a few Playmobil items there. Those are high on the wish lists this year. That, and of course anything Lego is always a hit. Now mom, if you are reading this, please let me know what you and dad want. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

for Julie

Julie, my sister's friend that has breast cancer died today. She had gotten progressively worse from when I was able to see her a little over a month ago. Her body just couldn't take it anymore. I don't think her spirit could either. I will say that she was at peace, at home and surrounded by her loved ones. She finally let go when her son told her it was ok to go. It breaks my heart. I really don't know what else to say. I could tell you all how wonderful she was, that is a given. She was truly. She leaves behind her parents, her siblings, her children and her husband. She was 42.
The service will be sometime next week. I know it will be hard, but you can bet I will be there. For Julie.

challenge #2 results

My good friend Michelle and her sister Faye had a challenge on Monday night to go to any scrapbook magazine, open it up and whatever page you landed on, copy the layout. Here is what I did. The original is from BHG Scrapbooks Etc., Dec. 2007 issue. I opened it to page 53 and chose the layout by Christy Tomlinson. The reason it is posted here and not 2Ps is because I wanted to show you the photo that was taken right after this one. Frankie, my big black galoot loves to swim up to the seat, but he always shakes off so watch out. ;) This is from the summer of 2005.

We had challenge #1 a week ago, and we had so much fun we did it again.
Thanks, Michelle and Faye. :)

welcome to Nov.

November already? Time is ticking away on that little counter over there--->. I am feeling good. Right now I am waiting for my glucose tolerance test results. I had to do the three hour test on Friday. Yes, it was as boring as you would imagine, just me sitting in a lab for three hours and getting my blood drawn every hour. My arms look a little worse for wear, but that's about it.
I'll have a new picture of my growing belly soon.

We survived Halloween. My purple dinosaur and clone trooper did pretty good in the candy department. My sister and niece met us over here along with our friends Kent and Nancy and their two kids. I like going out in a big group, it is always a lot of fun. I lasted longer then I thought I would. About half way through, I headed home by myself. I even made it back in time to pass out some candy, (before I passed out) which hardly ever happens here. I think the neighborhood kids were surprised when they noticed the lights at our house come on.

Today I am finishing up a layout. :D Robert is working on his office in between watching football and driving me insane all at the same time. We move at totally different paces. His office as you know will be the nursery. Let's just say that he's got a ways to go. It's a good thing that I love him dearly. ;)

yay Elizabeth!

I am so happy for you and excited to see your book. :) Here is link for the few that might not know about it.

the toothless wonder strikes again

I was just sitting here at the computer when Harrison came in and announced that Charlie just kicked him in the mouth and his tooth fell out. Oh boy. This particular top tooth has been loose for quite a while now you might recall. I was assured that it was an accident and thankfully there were no tears shed. I think he was just shocked. We had a little bit of blood that caused a little panic (by him, not me). After he rinsed a couple of times he was ok. I think now he is relieved that it happened so quickly and he didn't even have to think about it. Charlie is also proud to have played a part in it too, even if he did accidently kick his brother in the mouth. ;) So I guess the Tooth Fairy will be making a delivery tonight. :)

happy fall

This is the only decoration we have up right now that is strictly for fall. (I won't be mentioning to Robert how I almost fell off the step stool into the camilla bush while putting it up. Not one of my finer moments, but I did manage to NOT fall.) Every other decoration is for Halloween. My two helpers and I decorated last weekend, so the countdown to Halloween has begun. I really don't know about walking around this year during the trick or treating. We walked a looooong way last year and we were all tired. The mere thought of all that walking this year makes me tired now. :)

I can't believe we are under 90 days nows. Yikes, we still have so much to do. I had a doctor's appt. this week and all is well. I feel good, lots of Braxton Hicks contractions, but the doctor thinks that the reason could be the fibroid but more likely it is because this is my 3rd pregnancy. The important thing is, is that they don't hurt and they don't last. I was up last night (I should say this morning) between 3:00 and 4:00. The baby felt like it was having a party inside. That is pretty normal now.
Yesterday while I was at Target the cashier actually asked me if I was about 3 months along. If she would have been drinking something when I told her that I was in fact 6 months along, she surely would have spit it out. Let me just say that I do not in any way look 3 months pregnant.

We've been busy. We have started soccer camp for Harrison. Did I mention that already? It is every Friday for an hour after Friday school. It is the perfect introduction to sports. There is no team, no uniforms, just practicing and learning the basics of soccer. He really likes it a lot. Charlie loves it too because it is held at a park with a great playground. :)

Yesterday was my sister's birthday. We had a fun day. She came by in the morning and helped me clean the boy's room. Sounds like a lot of fun, huh? :) Harrison started religious education class a few weeks ago, so he goes at the same time as my niece. Every week we pick up Chris and Maddie and head over to the church to drop the kids off. Yesterday after we dropped the kids off, her and Charlie and I went over to Panera Bakery for chocolate chip cookies and ice tea. The time goes by so quickly, that before we know it, it is time to pick up Harrison and Maddie. Yesterday she took Charlie over to Pet Smart and they checked out all of the possible pet options. He was so excited, and it worked for me too because I relaxed and ate my cookie. A win win all around! :)
Happy Friday.

holy cow!

I just realized that the baby countdown is under 100 days now! ->

at the beach {Bolsa Chica State Beach}

Can you believe how tall those roses are from the fair? (see photos below) We went a couple of weeks ago. It was nice and I had promised the boys that we would go, and all I can say is thank goodness for Grammie and Papa. We did a lot of walking and whenever I got tired I would sit and let them go on ahead. The weather wasn't too bad to start, but it sure got hot. My favorite place that we discovered this year was the flower pavilion. The reason? The gorgeous flowers of course, that and the fact that it was air conditioned didn't hurt one bit. I had one contraction while walking around, but it went away quickly.

Thank you for all of your kind words and prayers. I really am doing fine. The contractions still happen, but they never last and I never have more than 5 an hour, which is what the doctor told me to look out for. The pain is more like a cramp. He also told me to look out for sharp pain. I was able to see our friend Julie on Wednesday. We went over to my sister's for lunch. She looks good, and more importantly her attitude is one of determination. She started another round of chemo on Thursday and she feels strongly that this will help get her out of the bad spot that she is in right now.
Renee, I think you said it best. Just when you think you have it bad, something happens to put it all in perspective.

This past Sunday we had a wonderful day. Robert had been talking about going to the beach, and I gave in and we went. The boys loved every second of it, Robert got to surf even though the waves were cruddy. Harrison tried boogie boarding, and got buried up to his neck in sand. (His choice not mine, but I did the burying) Charlie built all kinds of things and tried out the water. And me? Well I had a great time watching them all and I even ventured into the water myself. We had so much fun that when we went to leave and realized our car battery was dead, we didn't mind! A quick call to the auto-club and we had a jump within 20 minutes. Here are some photos. :)

the Los Angeles County Fair

the good and the bad 9-28-07

I had an appointment last Friday and was totally expecting a quick one. What I got instead was the doctor telling me that a fibroid was found during my ultrasound. He is not concerned. My next appointment is still 3 weeks away. It just took me completely by surprise. I thought the ultrasound went well, and by and large it did. It wasn't bad enough that the technician summoned the doctor to take a look. Still, they have to tell me. The biggest threat is going into preterm labor. When he asked if I had had any contractions, my reply was literally, "right now?!" But you know what? I have had contractions. In my naivete (or stupidity whatever you want to call it, after all I DO know what a contraction feels like) I never in a million years thought that I was having a contraction. They are Braxton Hicks contractions, and I never have more than one at a time. Thank goodness, but now I am analyzing every single bit of movement or pressure.

My sister has a girlfriend that has been fighting breast cancer for eight long years. She has conquered each setback to date and has been living with the cancer as best as she can. Her children have had half of their lives taken by this. I don't imagine that her daughter even remembers a time when her mom wasn't sick. It appears now that the cancer is in her lungs. If anyone can hang on a little longer, I believe that Julie can. Please say a prayer for her and her family.

And a bit of good news. One of my friends called me today to tell me that the police had arrested a man accused of murdering her cousin 23 years ago. It had remained unsolved for this long. The work of a cold case detective with the Torrance PD was able to finally put some pieces together that resulted in them getting their big break. Today was a day the family has waited for for much too long. The accused was convicted! The jury took one day to decide. After 23 years her family finally gets a little bit of peace.

ha ha ha!

Found this out in blogland, and just had to share it. It is too funny, you moms will appreciate it.
Robert's arm is back to normal size again, and well on its way to a full recovery.
We had another busy week this week, and it's not over yet. CCD (religious education classes) started tonight for Harrison. We have decided to hold off on Boy Scouts until next year. With the baby coming, I just don't think I could do it all.
And speaking of the baby, I have another appt. tomorrow. Just a regular check up. That's about it in a nutshell. Oh, and my new favorite tv show (until Project Runway comes back) is on tonight. Anyone else watch Tim Gunn's Guide to Style? Love him.

back to school, this and that and a Popeye arm...

Well, we are officially back to school. Charlie started on Tuesday, and Harrison had his first Friday school today. Let me start off with Charlie. Last year he was a different kid. He was not so hip on the idea of preschool, and generally wasn't happy about it at all. Just look at him this year. He is beaming! What a difference a year makes. I am so comforted by this I can't even tell you. He loved everything about it this year and was excited to go back on Thursday. Yay!
Harrison has been waiting very patiently for Friday school to start up again. As you know, we started about a month and a half ago here at home. I am planning on using up some time when the baby comes, so we started early. It has been going really well. Our days are much longer but we have fallen into our little routine. Today after I pick him up, we are heading over to the park where a lot of the kids go, for lunch and play time. Tonight we have our first Boy Scout meeting at church. Whew, I'm tired just reading all that we have done this week.
And the Popeye arm you are asking about? Blech! I wish I was exaggerating but I'm not. It turns out Charlie was eerily prophetic with his drawing of daddy and his muscles. Robert has a staph infection on his forearm. Yep, a staph infection. We think that he got it from an insect bite last weekend. He did a bunch of yardwork and noticed it after that. It is hideous, and yet it looks a lot better then it did at the beginning of the week. You really don't want to know much more then what I've told you. (Trust me, it involves oozing.) He has gone to Urgent Care twice this week, has 2 prescriptions, and received a shot. This morning he is at his doctor. Lol, you know it has to be bad if he took himself to the doctor! I am happy to say that it is doing better and he feels better, now we just have to see what the doctor thinks. They should be able to tell exactly what it is, the Urgent Care doctor was able to get a culture of it earlier this week.

Thank you for your nice comments on my photo. When I look at that I see a tired, tired mommy.

So, that is what's been going on here. ;)

21 weeks and counting...

Here I am. I grabbed Robert yesterday morning as I was on my way out and made him take a photo of me. My sister and niece came by and picked me up. We went out to see her friend Kathy and her newborn son, Jacob. He was a week old yesterday! Oh my goodness, seeing him made me very anxious to see our little babe. He is sooooo cute and tiny. I don't know why, but you forget how tiny they are. What a good baby too, he seemed so content and unfazed by the noises of his home. He's got 3 older siblings who are all crazy over him. What a sweetie he is. After our visit we went to lunch and then to a big baby store. I wanted to buy all kinds of things, but I didn't! I am definitely getting excited though.

I'll update next week. We've got preschool starting for Charlie on Tues., and Harrison's first day of Friday school on, Friday. duh.
Have a good week!

ten on tuesday {my first}

1. I hope this heat wave is over soon. When it's 90+ degrees at 11:00 at night, it isn't good.

2. Good Lord, Harrison's other front top tooth is now loose too.

3. I've got a busy week this week. A doctor's appt. for Charlie (checkup) and orientation at preschool (also for Charlie).

4. I spent a lot of time in the pool this weekend, but I did manage to get some housework done.

5. My sister and her family are back from Hawaii and you should see the puzzle she got for the baby. It was the first gift she bought while there. :)

6. I am feeling quite a bit of movement from the wee one. It really is active when I'm trying to relax, usually around 4:00 in the afternoon.

7. Oh! Big news, we have a new niece. My sil and bil adopted a baby girl a few weeks ago. Still haven't seen her. We are happy for them.

8. I will have a photo of my expanding self for you (Laureen) soon. Promise.

9. Here's a photo of Charlie with a picture he drew of daddy and his muscles. :D

10. Here is another photo of the space left by tooth #3. He thinks it's pretty cool to be able to stick his tongue out through the opening.

ultrasound update

Everything went great. I am measuring on track with my due date. All of the important things looked good. We saw the heart's 4 chambers, the brain, spine, stomach, kidneys, etc. Peanut looks healthy, we even got a wave. I had to get on my side a couple of times, the baby was facing down the entire time. The technician had me move to get the baby to move and it worked. We watched as the baby floated down onto their knees and finally allowed us to see their face. The boys seemed excited and unfazed all at the same time. I am just so relieved. It's a good feeling going into the long weekend knowing that everything looks good. The only way I will have another ultrasound is if the doctors think I need one. I had two with Charlie because his measurements were off. Other than that, we will see this baby in Jan. when it makes it's debut into the world. :)

oops! the ultrasound is tomorrow, not today

Glad I looked to see what time our appt. was. I'll update tomorrow!

tooth # 3 has left the building

I don't have a photo yet, but last night during dinner out with my mil, Harrison lost his other loose tooth. We were all eating dinner at Seafare (the best seafood around) and Harrison suddenly exclaimed (loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear), "Mom! My tooth just came out!" Silly boy, he said at first he thought it was a chicken seed from his chicken fingers. What a nut. He ran over and gave it to me, so I wrapped it up in my napkin. We were all happy. I knew that tooth was coming out any second now, it has been loose for a bit and during lunch yesterday he loosened it some more. He would not let me touch it though. He was scared there might be some blood, and a little nervous. He was very pleased when he remembered that his Auntie is in Hawaii right now and wouldn't be flying home just to pull his tooth out. :D
It was pretty comical. The mother and daughter that were eating nearby cheered for him, and our waitress brought him an extra big helping of icecream for dessert. We all will remember this dinner for a long time. So that's two teeth in one week. The tooth fairy has been a busy lady lately.

In other news, our ultrasound is Thurs. and I am anxious to see that everything is fine. At my appt. last week the heart-rate was 152. Harrison was with me and he remarked that it sounded like a horse. It really does!

tooth # 2 is out!

Harrison has finally lost tooth # 2. It has been loose forever, and this morning I noticed that it was kind of hanging. Ewww! We had been affectionately calling him, "Snaggle Tooth." I happened to be talking to my sister at the time and she offered to come over and pull it out. She also told Harrison that she would pay him a dollar if he agreed to it. Of course he did. She came over and took it out. That stuff doesn't sit well with me. And, it won't be long until # 3 is ready too. It is also loose. Thank goodness Auntie lives close by.

I took a couple of pictures of him by himself, but this one was by far my favorite. Harrison asked if Charlie could be in the picture too. Charlie seems just as happy as Harrison, although I suspect he is happy because none of his teeth are loose yet!

back in the saddle

We are back in school here. I started 1st grade with Harrison last Monday to be exact. That sounds funny doesn't it? The biggest problem with school now is that we are still doing swim lessons too, and those really cut up our day. I expect next week to go much smoother. So far, so good unless you count yesterday when he just refused to finish his math. It is still SO HOT here. Thankfully our AC is fixed or this post would have an entirely different tone to it.

I am feeling good, finally! Our ultrasound is at the end of the month. I am still on the fence about having the boys find out. I think we will just wait and see. If one more person asks me if we are trying for a girl, I may go postal. No, we did not try for a girl, I would be overjoyed with another boy. There, I said it. After all, we've got 2 pretty super fantastic boys already, I'd be crazy to not want another one. And no, that doesn't mean I've got anything against girls at all, I'd take one of those too. :)

Charlie starts preschool on the 11th of Sept. He seems excited some days, and could really care less on others. I feel really good about not having him start K this year. He is doing as well as, if not better than Harrison in swimming. Can you believe it? Yay for swim lessons!

Robert has been very busy. He's got freelance work on top of his "day job", so he has been coming home and going straight to work in his office.

Is anyone watching Big Love? Only 2 more episodes left. Man, I love this show. I love Bill Paxton too.

sweat central

Our air conditioner is out. It took me a couple of days to figure it out. It just wasn't getting cool in the house. Thankfully, my dad is quite familiar with the ins and outs of air conditioners and told me what to look for. Darn it, it's out alright. It was over 95 degrees today. Tomorrow morning someone is coming out to take a look at the unit. It is really old, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole thing needs to be replaced. We need something that runs more efficiently anyways. Bummer! So, the boys and I just came in from a quick dip in the pool. They were swimming fools trying to outshine the other one with their newly acquired skills. The bonus with it being so hot is that the pool felt GREAT.
We've got a busy weekend planned, so hopefully we won't notice that the house is hotter than you-know-what. We won't be here enough to notice, at least that's my plan. :)
Have a good one.

Tell my sister to break a leg. She's got her first dance recital on Sunday. My niece is in it too. Chris decided to take a tap class after taking Maddie to the studio so often. It should be fun, I am looking forward to seeing them both.

Legoland recap

For the birthday boy, my mom transported these cupcakes and frosted them there while we ate lunch. Now if that isn't love then I don't know what is.

Harrison had to be bribed to go on this roller coaster, and as you can see, he LOVED it. My sister, Robert and Maddie loved it too. Rather than pay $12.95 for the photo, I took a picture of the monitor. Cheap, I know.

My 3 lovelies.

The Las Vegas Lego Miniland was unbelievable!

I have no idea what my dad was thinking when he agreed to go on a ride called, "The Claw". This is not unusual for Mark, my brother in law, I was surprised my dad went on it too. What is really fun, is that for the people watching they have these water shooters that you can spray the riders with. Yes, you know we got them good.

We had a great time, we stayed far too long and were exhausted by the end of the day. :)

I have a doctor's appt. tomorrow. I am anxious to see how everything is going. I do feel good for the most part.

Swim lessons are on going. I couldn't pass up signing the boys up again, they did so well the first time around.

I am in a constant state of clean-up. Even though I have five months before the baby, (holy cow! only 5 months!?) I am nesting now I guess.

It is hot and humid here, not a good combination.