July 26, 2007
A lot of stuff
Where to start.

Well, we went on a trip to California for a wedding and spent a week with my grandmother. It was really a fun week, the kids had a blast and it was overall low key-which was good for me. The ride in the car had my ankles really really swollen, and they didn't really go down until we returned back here at the end of the week. But, back to California. We ate lunch at my grandma's club with my cousin and her fiance. I hadn't met him before and he was really great. They seemed really good together. I always like when my grandma takes us to the club for lunch, there is a beautiful view of the bay. And there are always so many memories of going there when I was a kid.

The next day we went into Oakland with my aunt and uncle to go to Fairyland. Another place I have nostalgia for from my childhood. When I was little we went with my great aunt and would pic nic and run around putting our keys into the boxes and listen to the fairytales. Sometimes it is hard to revisit places you loved to go as a kid because they may not live up to your memory of them. But it was really grat, the kids had fun, some of the fairytale boxes were under construction, and you could tell some years had passed. But it really was an excursion that was at my speed. I was exhausted by the time we got back to my grandma's house.

We awoke at about 4:30 in the morning on Thursday to a loud noise and rumble, which turned out to be an earthquake. My instincts took over and I was up out of bed and in the hall before I really knew what was going on. And I know I have had an adrenaline rush when getting out of bed isn't so painful. The earthquake was 4.2, so not too big, but it was close. My grandma came downstairs to reassure us, and we went back to sleep quiet easily.


Thursday evening was the rehersal and pre-wedding dinner at a lovely place in Yountville called Compadres. It was somewhat gratifying to see I am so not the pickiest eater in my family. Really, I get a lot of crap for being picky, and it bothers me a lot that I am not the most adventurous eater, but in comparison to the rest of the clan, I am a foodie-really, I ate anything that wouldn't give me heartburn. So, I found this evening very very enjoyable. Christine had gift bags for all her attendants and she made them for all the kids as well, there were all sorts of goodies they played with and enjoyed all that evening, and are still loving now. How thoughtful was that!

While there I did do a little shopping-I found some great shoes on sale at Mervyn's for the kids, and some adorable recieving blankets at Target. I bought Bella a little tiara to wear with her flower girl dress, and some other pretty hair things.

Friday was the big wedding day, for a number of reasons, we were running late and got to the church a bit late. My grandma was a bit late as well, so they didn't start without us, which I had been preparing the kids for them to do. But Jack and Bella both got to walk down the aisle in their cute wedding clothes, which they loved. The ceremony was fast-they always are, and the church was hot-I have noticed very few churches have the ability to regulate their temperatures very well.

After the ceremony we had some pictures taken and then headed off to the reception, which was at a newly built hotel called the Gaia. First thing Jack saw was a dance floor, and being all dapper and charming in his tuxedo, he couldn't resist. He waltzed Isabella around for about an hour, until an untimely fall sent her into my arms and left him partnerless. Thankfully about that time we were seated for dinner, so he wasn't too upset. There were a lot of toasts and stories about the couple, I got all caught up on what's up with the family, and my aunt and cousins gave the kids some gifts-they loved these-and a present for the baby girl on the way. At that point I thought there couldn't be any more fun, then came more dancing, I think Jack didn't leave the dance floor for two or three hours. Nate and I even got in on it and danced. The photographer at the wedding took way too many pictures of my family dancing, I am convinced. I think he just couldn't resist the kids in their finery cutting loose, and I am sure it is quite a novelty to see someone as pregnant as I in small heels cutting loose. Yikes-I am not sure I want those pics out there! Anyway, we didn't get back to grandma's until almost midnight.

And speaking of that-I could barely sleep, knowing that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was available. I got up and was at Wal-Mart by 7:30, copy in hand, along with a few snacks for the trip home and a copy of the book on CD. And yes-I read almost all day on Saturday, everyone was pretty worn out, so nothing else was going on, and I just couldn't put it down. It did take all day-I did take out time to eat, chat with my grandma, and nap a little. But overall, I read from that morning until about midnight.

Sunday, we headed home and came back to reality.

July 05, 2007
4th Of July
Well, we had a great 4th of July BBQ yesterday. I must say, I love BBQ. There is something so good about food cooked outside. We just had hamburgers, hot dogs, and brats, but they were delicious. And the fresh corn on the cob and of course the rice crispy treats.

We started out the day going up to Park City and getting a lot of shoes, four pair to be exact. Nate got a pair of Nike's that have purple on them to show his coaching spirit. I kind of talked him into them I am sure. Jack got a pair of snowboots. They were on clearance for 7.47. How could I pass them up at that price. Bella got a pair of shoes to wear to my cousin's wedding, and a pair of mermaid sandals. All those shoes and not a pair for me. We looked a few places, but I was trying to focus on other tasks. And truthfully, I will only be in flip flops in a few months time as it is. Though I did mention wanting another pair of crocs perhaps, they are sooo comfy on pregnant feet.

After Park City we came home and got everything ready for the BBQ. Nate's brothers came over, one brought a date. And his sister and her hubby came over. It feels kind of weird to be the adults and in charge of these things. Everyone played wiffle ball in the back yard while I took pictures and watched. Then at dusk we started in with the fireworks. J could not have been more delighted. He is a true boy in loving things that explode. Bella got scared by one of those loud screaming fireworks and huddled on my lap for a bit, but she recovered quickly.

On a weird note-our neighbors set off all sorts of fireworks I suspect are illegal. The kind that fly up into the air with big, visible explosions. I think we all felt on the verge of it being nice to see them so close, but hey-don't light the neighborhood on fire-and when are the police going to show up? Everything was unburnt this morning, but I must say, I was a bit worried.

The kids and I headed off the the doc's this morning for my glucose test. A good friend's sister drew my blood, which was funny. And I watched both children drain of color while she was doing it. I guess it didn't occur to me at the time that it may freak them out, so I quickly had them turn around and said it wasn't hurting and I was okay. I will make a mental note that they may be a bit squeamish. Bella is having needle anxiety in general since her last immunization. I need to think of some good ways to prepare her for any needles or tubes poking in my when I have this baby. I am sure she will be a little alarmed. And I suspect she is mistrustful of my lack of screaming and crying when I get poked. I seems unnatural to her.

On a lighter note-after the doc-we went to JoAnn's and I found some red and black fleece remnants. So this baby is going to be a ladybug for her first Halloween, it will be soft and warm and cost of total of 2.00, so how could I pass it up really.

June 23, 2007
Swelling!
Well, last night it began. I was just getting the kids dinner and ironing some fabric and all of the sudden I felt a tightness in my legs. I looked down to see the sadly familiar sight of my swollen legs, ankles, and feet. I think this has started a month earlier with each child. All the bones in my lower extremities disappear and don't reappear until after I have given birth. The thing that wasn't so bad with the other kids was, it wasn't shorts season. None of my current maternity clothes cover the monstrosity that was once hidden from the world! And it's really too hot to be wearing long pants for the sake of vanity.

The kids and I spent a week in Oregon with my parents. We came home with two bikes! Which was very exciting. My parents walk their dog on this large four mile loop every day and for two days in a row the kids rode the whole way while I trailed behind. After the second day, I realized that walking that much might make it impossible for me to move if I continued. This baby seems to have parked herself on my sciatic nerve. The more I walk, the more pronounced this condition seems to become and I start to really really waddle! B got a super cute purple bike for her birthday. She really loves it, she is very excited to get out and go whenever we can. And the other bike we brought home was for me! I have wanted a new bike ever since my last one was stolen out of our storage shed nine years ago. This bike is from my mom and Nate for my birthday this year. It is a mom bike, not a slick mountain bike like the last one. This one I can ride around the neighborhood with the kids. I am very excited about it. I can actually ride it now, if I can get all the stuff put together on it I had to take apart to get it into my car on the way home. I had three bikes in the trunk of my Malibu-no mean feat. I had brought J's bike because I knew his sis was getting one and they would like to ride together. So we took off all sorts of handlebars, tires, and peddles to fit them all into the trunk.

I also stopped on the way to Oregon in Nampa to visit my college roomie. She has a new baby girl and I hadn't seen her yet. I had intended on staying a few minutes, but two hours later we were still talking and I realized how much I missed her. We had such fun in college and have kept in decent contact since then, but I had forgotten how well we get along. She is having some of the things I remember having when I had Jack. Feeling like you don't speak to anyone grown-up all day. Shopping for the sake of it, or splitting up trips so you have somewhere to go every day. I remember it was a hard transition from being a full time student and working to being a full time mom. It just takes a while to adjust. And then all of the sudden, you have more activities than can be scheduled and you are wondering where those lazy baby days went.

May 30, 2007
One of those days
Well, I have done a lot of things today, but it seems my list barely has a dent in it. I finally called the eye doc for J. He has an appointment in August. Crazy that they are that far out, he must be the only pediatric eye doc here. On the other hand, B's well child check up is next week, so no problems scheduling that.

I ran a few errands this morning, seemingly forgetting to put a few things on my list, so I may need to go out again tonight, we'll see. I have set out to make an apron for J's teacher as a thank you, and it seems to be going very slowly. I cut it all out and went to change the laundry to find that the dryer seems to not be working. It makes a noise but doesn't spin. Now we have had the dryer for almost 9 years, but still. It has progressively gotten slower and slower over the years. So I took all the laundry upstairs and hung everything up to dry over the bathtub. Now I wouldn't mind having a clothes line, but right now I don't. And we have a ton of laundry, I think I do at least a load a day, and could maybe do more. I am thankful it was just clothes in the dryer, who knows what I would have done with sheets or quilts, I would have had to load everything in the car and taken it to the laundromat, that would have been an adventure I suppose.

Anyway, after hanging everything up I googled the problem to see what it was. Maybe the belt. Then I went to get all the serial numbers and such off the dryer. For kicks I turned it on, and it works. So now, I need to see if it works only when empty, this is of course a bit risky, as I may end up with another load of wet laundry to hang up in the bathroom. I would love for it to have been a fluke, but like I said, the dryer has been slowly dying for the past few years.

After an hour of messing with all this, I still only have a cut out apron, that needs to be ready to send to school tomorrow, so it may be a bit of a late night. I would start on it now, but we need to eat and take off for baseball practice. So it may be a while before I can get going on it again.

Really, I would like to just sit and close my eyes for a few minutes, but if I drift off to sleep, I am sure I wouldn't really want to wake up until tomorrow, and that would just be torture wouldn't it. Ahhh, it has been one of those days. My advice to anyone is to spread out buying all major things. All our furniture, appliances and cars seem to be going belly up at about the same time, and they are all about the same age, and all very far out of warrenty. Replacing and/or repairing them all at once gets a bit expensive.

May 25, 2007
IKEA
Bella and I ventured out to IKEA this morning. It opened on Wednesday and I have been dying to just stop by. I figured if it was too busy, I would just head on to the next stop on the list of errands. Surprisingly, not too busy. We didn't park far away, of course there was an army of parking people, which led you to the close spaces. And I think we were only in there for an hour or so.

It was much more relaxing to go knowing I can drop in whenever I want. I don't have to just be there on vacation and only buy things that fit into the suitcase. I must say, I felt relieved to not be strategic about my buying. We didn't go nuts though, under 20 bucks, just a few things I wanted.

May 14, 2007
It's a girl!
Well, we will be welcoming a baby girl to our family this fall. We have no names yet, but don't worry we will come up with something before she comes home from the hospital.

B was very excited and J seemed like it was all okay as well, I guess he figures he is the oldest and that is enough for him. I really need to go through all of B's clothes and baby things and see where I am at for basics. This girl is in a different season that B, so I am sure I will need a few warm things for her.

Another thing I need to focus on is getting Halloween costumes done, hopefully in August, and Christmas shopping done. This seems rediculous right now, but I don't want to be out and about with a tiny baby in the cold and crowds, so this will take some planning ahead on my part.

I just read some of my friend, Crystal's blog and needed to comment on a few things. One-The Office-I was sooo happy that Pam bore her soul about Jim, the look on his face was priceless. I am very excited to see what happens! I have Roundtable on Thursdays, so I will have to tape the episode, we have not yet joined the world of TIVO.
Two-the skirt she loved in Texas, I believe is called a pettiskirt. I know that my grandma used to have a white one that she wore while square dancing. I have seen a lot of little girl sizes and would love to have one for B, just because you really can get away with any fashion choices at her age.

I also realize, I am going to alter this blog a bit when we come up with a name for Baby Girl. I am sure she will need to be included. I will have to do a bit of research and figure out if I want to move completely, or just rename this.

May 02, 2007
Wednesday!
I love Wednesday! Mostly because I love LOST. I admit, I am addicted, I have watched it from the beginning and I really have enjoyed it. There are a few other must see shows around here, but LOST takes priority. J and I are both fans of the Deadliest Catch and the Amazing Race. B really only likes kid shows or movies. I generally limit her, but I myself can't resist a good princess movie, so often we snuggle while she watches.


We find out if baby number three is going to be a boy or girl this Friday! I honestly have no idea-this pregnancy being so different. I am thinking I will need quite a wardrobe replisnishment either way, J and B are spring babies and this will be a fall baby, so I am sure there are some wardrobe differences. J is contemplating missing school for the ultrasound, he can't decide, they are reviewing for state testing, and he has not liked that, so maybe.

I have been going to the Physical Therapist twice a week for the past four weeks for tendonitis in my shoulder. I really had no idea what they did at Physical therapists offices before this, and I must say, I was quite surprised. First, they hook me up to some machine that passes electricity though my shoulder, then they use and ultrasound machine on it to send ultrasonic waves into my muscle. Then, my shoulder gets a really great rubdown. I do various exercises, which I also do at home. Then I get stretched out and iced. The whole process takes a couple of hours. I don't know what my expectation was, but I had no idea it was all so involved. And even better-it is totally working, my shoulder has felt better and better!

So with the success of that, I am going to be sewing again soon, or more pressing-working in the yard. The yard is in sorry shape these days. I want to get out into the front yard and dig up the planters, there are three of them, put down weed barrier, then put bark over the whole thing. My main problem is I need to do a little then do something else so as not to put the shoulder into pain. But I have a tendancy to overfocus and not take breaks, so I am trying to plan a different approach to this all. We'll see.