All This Is True

2011-06-01T15:10:00.001-04:00

2011-06-01T14:14:00.001-04:00

2011-06-01T12:51:00.002-04:00

Movie Reviews

2011-05-22T10:46:00.002-04:00

It has been a while since I have reviewed movies we have watched. There have been a lot of good movies this past year and we've seen quite a few.

Alice in Wonderland
Big Man took Princess to see this movie before Chumlee was born. We have seen it a few times since it has been out on video. Once we caught it on a free movie weekend on TV. To be honest, I have never made it completely through the movie (i know some of you might find that hard to believe). The parts that I have seen were good. It was a bit "dark." Kind of like the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that Johnny Depp did a few years ago. Parts of it were intense, but the kiddies are old enough to handle that. I wouldn't recommend it for younger children. I'm not even sure what it is rated. Both kiddies loved it!

How to Train Your Dragon
Big Man took Little Man to see this movie for his birthday last year. They saw it in 3D. They both loved it so much, that they took all of us to see the movie a few weeks after they had seen it. Chumlee did really good (she was less than a month old). It was a really great movie!! Little Man got it for Christmas and we have watched it several times. We also got (in the movie pack) a digital copy, so Big Man put it on my iPhone. Now the kids can watch it where ever we go.

Beezus and Ramona
We didn't see this movie in the theater, but rented it from Red Box (i LOVE red box, movies for $1 a night - can't beat that, and we usually do watch our movies the same night/day we rent them). I enjoy watching books turned into movies. This was a great movie. Rated G - so we are going to be watching it at school before the end of the year. We are in the process (at school) of reading the Ramona books. I like having the children critique the book vs the movie. Their insights are always interesting! Great movie!! Very family friendly. I highly recommend this movie. Princess was given this movie for Christmas and Big Man has put the digital copy on my iPhone as well. (i love that iphone!!)

Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader
I took Princess and two of her friends to see this movie for Princess' birthday. Great movie!! Wonderfully done - provided some excellent "talking points" for the kiddies on Christian principles and concepts. I have loved the Narnia movies. We own all 3 of them. Must see in my book!!

Marmaduke
We didn't go see or rent this movie, but it was one that Little Man wanted (and got) for Christmas. It's okay. Funny, but predictable. Good movie for the kids to watch, but not so interesting for adults.

Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief
Again, this was a Christmas gift for Princess. She had read the Percy Jackson books and (like her mother) she likes to see movies that are based on books. Not for young children. We talked with the kids about Greek Mythology and the history that the Greek gods are associated with. While we (as believers) do not hold to the Greek god beliefs, that part of history plays an part in history and it is good to have that knowledge. Our goal (as parents trying to raise our children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord) is not to keep them from the world, but to raise them with proper knowledge of the world and of the Bible. Knowledge that is filtered through the Bible. This movie allowed us an opportunity to have some good discussions with our children on this matter.

Despicable Me
GREAT MOVIE!!!!! We saw this in 3D in the theater. It was awesome!!!! So many great parts. A movie that we have enjoyed watching over and over. We gave it to Little Man for Christmas and we have a digital copy - soooooo, this movie is also on my iPhone. We all loved this movie. Even Chumlee enjoys the minions.

MegaMind
Little Man was given this movie for Easter. It's funny and I don't mind watching it over and over. That's how I rate some kids movies - if I can tolerate watching it over and over again!

Tangled
This was in Chumlee's Easter basket. We have watched it several times. Chumlee really likes it. Really, she does. It is a bit of a musical and she enjoys the music. This was a good movie. I recommend this one, too.

I think that's it for kids movies. Maybe I'll get around to a post on grown-up movies soon.

They Are So Funny

2011-05-15T15:50:00.005-04:00

I promise that this is not turning into a videoblog!! But since Big Man got me a iPhone for Mother's Day (and Valentines Day, Birthday too), it is so easy to take videos of the kiddies and Chumlee is just too darn cute!!!

She laughs so hard at them. In case you haven't figured it out, she is "driving" the car and they are pretending that she is hitting them! She finds this hilarious!!!

Ice Cream - It's Lipsmackin' Good!

2011-05-04T14:25:00.002-04:00

Every Sunday (almost) Papa takes the kiddies to Dairy Queen for ice cream after he finishes preaching at a nursing home. He has been doing this since DQ opened. When I was pregnant, he would bring me (amd chumlee) some ice cream. Now that Chumlee is older, she is waiting for her turn to start going to DQ, too. She has been once or twice. Usually Papa brings her some ice cream. She LOVES it - of course!!! Last Sunday, she and I shared a golden Oreo strawberry blizzard. It was yummy!!

Chumlee Sings

2011-05-01T12:02:00.001-04:00

Since the video of the battle for control of the remote went up so easily, I decided to try this one, too. We took this about 2 months ago. She is such a ham!!

Remote Control

2011-04-30T09:49:00.002-04:00

I promised Grammy and Pappy that I would get this video up for them somehow and email just wasn't getting the job done.

Chumlee and Little Man were fighting for control of the tv remote last night. The video tells just how that went down.

New Blog

2011-04-29T10:13:00.000-04:00

At our school, we have Praise and Worship each Monday morning. The youth pastor that comes and leads that has a GREAT blog that he writes. I'd like to share it with you and invite you to visit it.

The Blog Channel

Chumlee's Birthday Pictures

2011-04-28T12:10:00.000-04:00

I figured it's about time I get these pictures up. I don't have the patience for blogger's photo uploader, so the pictures are in a slide show. Sorry if you don't like that!

Her cakes were the Pajanimals and a Kipper. Maybe we shouldn't have made her cake in the form of one of her favorite TV friends, because it took her FOREVER to eat Kipper!!! As you can tell from the pictures, she spent a LOT of time just looking at him and poking him with one finger!!

We had her party at our church. Grammy and Pappy came for her party and we had a good number of our church people there, plus Big Man's brother and his family and Nana and Papa. I realized as I was loading the pictures that I don't have any pictures of the other people at her party, but then again, it was her party!!

Nana found the crown and bib at Target and Babysitter made her shirt. I love it!!! She makes all kinds of embroidered shirts and other items. She has a website, but I can't remember it or find it right now. If you are really interested, email me and I can ask her for it. She does great work!

Overall, I think it was a great party. I'm not a big birthday party person. I would just rather have had grandparents and us at our house for cake and ice cream, but since it was her first birthday ---- I did a party.

Here is Chumlee with Princess and Little Man on her birthday morning. It was a school day and (as usual) we were pressed for time. We did take her to Burger King to get her breakfast - that has become a birthday tradition for the kiddies. Chumlee really likes the blueberry mini muffins from there.

Random Pictures of Chumlee

2011-04-27T11:46:00.002-04:00

Little Man Turns Eight

2011-04-26T11:09:00.000-04:00

Ooopsy! That last picture didn't get turned! Oh well, if you can't figure it out, it is a pancake in the shape of the number 8. I can NOT believe that my baby boy is eight years old!!! He just doesn't seem that big. Perhaps it helps that he is less than 50lbs and is just at 4 feet tall! He still seems so small to me. He is such a sweet boy and a very loving brother. Last year when Chumlee was born, I was a bit nervous as to how Little Man was going to react to a new baby and to not getting all the attention, but he has done well. He loves his baby sister and is such a great helper!! Chumlee loves him and dotes on all that he does!! They are going to be good friends, I am sure!!

Little Man is in 2nd grade. He loves to play sports and has had a busy year of soccer - which is probably his best sport - basketball (he's getting better - he is fast and determined) and baseball. He loves baseball the most, I think. This year we have outfitted him with batting gloves and his own bat and bat bag. He is so excited!! Next year, he will play minors and the coaches have said a few times that he might be a good pitcher. Big Man was a pitcher when he played ball. Little Man also gets to play catcher this year. He almost caught a fly ball last week. That was very exciting for all of us!!

For his birthday supper, he wanted to go to Ryan's. He really likes steak, and Ryan's has added steak to their buffet. Fortunately, I had coupons for free kids meals and for adults b1g1, so it wasn't too expensive. (that place can be quite pricey for a buffet for us, because we don't eat but one plate each.) I had gone to our local bakery and let him pick out his cake. He picked that blue dragon/dinosaur cake. ICK! Too much icing for me, but he LOVED it!!! It was actually a large cupcake under all that icing so it was perfect for one.

Nana and Papa got him a new bike for his birthday. We had gotten a PS3 for Christmas and Little Man had been wanting the Lego's Star wars game for that. So that's what he got from Big Man and I. Grammy and Pappy came for Chumlee's birthday and they took Little Man shopping and he bought some sort of radio controlled helicopter. He loves it!!

Holding Chumlee, I realize how fast time has gone! It seems like just a few days have past since Little Man was in my arms like she is now. Our lives are busy and time is flying. I'm holding on as tightly as possible and trying to remember as many memories as I can - for soon these days will be gone forever.

Chumlee's First Steps

2011-04-25T11:06:00.000-04:00

Chumlee walked to Auntie on January 19, 2011. Auntie had a drink from Sonic that Chumlee was interested in.

Blessings

2011-04-24T10:50:00.003-04:00

Two weeks ago, the refrigerator broke. Big Man had gone to get some milk out for cereal and the milk was warm. After sticking a frig/freezer thermometer in it, the temperature was 60*. A bit warm for milk!

Sooooo, I took all the food out of the freezer and moved it to the deep freezer. Then put the food from the fridge into the freezer and turned the freezer to as warm as it would go. It settled around 28-30*. We had a very busy Monday and Tuesday, so I didn't even think about calling anyone - and the freezer was holding the food nicely. Big Man thought he might be able to repair it himself.

Wednesday, Nana called. Someone in their church was moving into a new house and the new house had a refrigerator and they didn't want it - did Nana know anyone who needed a fridge?? DID SHE EVER!!! We were told we could have the refrigerator, but it would be Friday until we could get it. No problem. So, on Friday, Big Man went over and brought home our new (FREE) refrigerator. I think it has never been used because there was still packaging tape on the veggie drawers!!!

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One of our grocery stores was running a special last week that would give you 2 free packages of Gerber baby food with your store discount card. A parent of a former student brought me 6 packs for Chumlee. She had used her card and her mom's and aunt's cards to get those for us!!

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A parent came to school on Thursday and said that they might be moving to another state and that she had been cleaning out her attic and she had a Britax car seat she wanted to get rid of - did I need one. Since Chumlee is now one, we do. She is less than 25 lbs, and I have been keeping her in her infant carrier because I haven't gotten a forward facing seat yet. I said we did and asked her how much she wanted for it. She said, "Nothing. You have been such a blessing to our family and you will be helping me out by taking it off my hands." We are on Easter break right now, so next week, Chumlee gets a new ride!!

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I have not bought eggs in over 2 months thanks to the generosity of a family at school. They have been providing me and several other teachers with farm fresh brown eggs!! Delicious!!

Today

2011-02-22T19:50:00.002-05:00

Today is my birthday. It was an awesome day!!! Every year seems better than the year before. I love my birthday - probably because I love all the attention! I never was really popular in school, so I really like facebook on my birthday - everyone wants to wish you a happy birthday. It makes you feel really special!!

My day started at 12:01am with Chumlee screaming over the baby monitor. I know it was 12:01am because the first thing I do when I hear her on the monitor is to see what time it is. If it is close to time to get up, I must admit that sometimes I will turn the monitor down and let her go - especially if she is just "up" and talking. When I got her, she had a nice present for me - a big ol' poop. You know the kind that is everywhere and that makes you turn on the lights so we were both good and awake. I told her that that was NOT the present I was hoping for. Thankfully, once she had on clean bottoms, she went right back to sleep.

My day began (again) at normal wake-up time (5:40) and I proceeded to make breakfast and get ready. Nana came to the house to watch Chumlee today and she brought a biscuit from Hardee's for me and some Bare Minerals make-up. The biscuit was GREATLY appreciated, because the only oatmeal left in the box was banana cream. That was just about gross!!! Chumlee LOVED it though (she would - she also likes strained squash and strained green beans). I didn't have enough time to thoroughly read about applying the Bare Minerals, so I wasn't able to wear it today. But, I have looked the papers over and am ready to apply it tomorrow! (woo-hoo).

School was great! I love teaching a larger class and for the first time in almost 2 years, I really love going to school. The stress level is WAY down and things are great!!! It's not about the presents, it's about feeling loved and appreciated. My cherubs were super today - a bit high-strung (but so was their teacher) - but super none the less. I did get a few things. A little statue thing that has a paper/photo holder at the top, some smelly (good) lotion, chocolate, a candle, more chocolate, homemade cookies for me to share with the class, a plant, and some more chocolate. They all loved the fact that I got chocolate - they were all so excited for me - precious cherubs!! Then Principal came in (just after we had finished the cookies) and reminded me that the dental hygienist was coming to visit and do a little talk about tooth health. GREAT - and here I was with a pile of birthday chocolate and handing out cookies!!

After the hygienist left (and after she gave me toothbrushes to give the cherubs at the end of the day), Nana showed up with HUGE cupcakes - piled high with icing - for the cherubs and me!! SUPER!!! What a perfect way to bookend the hygienist's visit: cookies before and cupcakes after! Seriously, though, I was very surprised and felt very special.

When school was over, I came home. Oh! Little Man and Princess had given me a chocolate rose in the morning. Big Man brought me dinner from the Japanese restaurant. He had to work tonight, so we didn't go out for dinner. We have plans for another night. I made the kids eat leftovers so that I wouldn't have to make them anything. Big Man also brought me a small carton of dark chocolate ice cream - yum!! - and a boston cream pie cake thing - yumm-o!!! Needless to say, I won't be starting a diet today or tomorrow!

I have been so blessed by God. I love my family and friends. Today has been an awesome day. I feel so loved and cherished!!

Now, off to eat some chocolate!!!

The Sick and the Dead

2011-02-12T19:20:00.002-05:00

We have been hit with illness. Last week, Princess was out of school for 2 days with a high fever, but no other symptoms. Nana watched her (bless nana) since I am now THE first grade teacher. (that's a LOOOOONG story, but one i am thankful is over - we think) I kept waiting for Little Man or Chumlee to get sick, but they didn't.

UNTIL........ Thursday when I picked Chumlee up from Babysitter, she told me Chumlee wasn't herself that day. I thought it was just Chumlee's teeth coming in (and i think babysitter was thinking the same thing). We ran a few errands and got home just before 5pm. Chumlee had 2 bright red spots on her cheeks, but was otherwise normal. I decided to take her temperature, to see if she needed some motrin to help with the teething. It was 105.4!!!!! I admit, I freaked out a bit. I stripped the baby and told Princess to draw a cool bath for Chumlee. I plopped Chumlee in the tub and had Princess get in with her (princess was still in her volleyball clothes) while I called the Dr. As I was waiting for the Nurse to come on the line, Little Man was standing beside me and he looked worried. I told him everything was going to be fine. He looked at me, and with all seriousness asked, "When (not if, but WHEN) Chumlee dies from this fever, who will do her funeral? Daddy and Papa won't be able to do it for her?"

WHAT?!?!?? I about dropped the phone!!! I tried to assure him that Chumlee wasn't going to die, but then the Nurse came on the line. After getting proper dosages of tylenol and motrin for Chumlee from her, I was able to get with Little Man and tell him that Chumlee wasn't going to die from her fever. At which point, he informed me that Princess had told him that people die when their temperature reaches 106. I told him not to listen to Princess and that Chumlee wasn't going to die and that we were going to get her fever down.

Seriously, where does this child come up with his thoughts!?!? I'd love to be able to understand his thought process!!

As this weekend has progressed, Chumlee hasn't died. I have developed a fever and so has Little Man. All of us are still alive - but I have decided on a back up minister should one of us die and Big Man or Papa can't do the service. It made Little Man feel better to know I had a "back up."

Thankfully, we are on break this next week, so we will have time to recover and get fully well before heading back to school. If I can just keep Big Man from catching whatever it is we have, we'll be good!!

Things I Never Thought I'd Say

2011-02-07T09:01:00.000-05:00

"Don't use the baby as a weapon against your sister."

This was something I said when Chumlee was less than 3 months old, because I was on maternity leave still. Little Man and Princess were arguing about something. I had just finished feeding Chumlee and Little Man was hold her (he was - and still is - an expert burper) trying to get her to burp. When I looked over at them, Little Man was holding Chumlee under the arms and was pointing her at Princess trying to get Chumlee to spit up on Princess.

"She is a baby, not a baseball bat!"

This was said to Big Man (of all people) as he was swinging Chumlee's feet at balls that Little Man was throwing at them. Chumlee was 7 or 8 months old and the balls were bean bag type. Chumlee was thoroughly enjoying the event!

"Everyone gets their OWN towel after EACH shower!"

This was said to Little Man just the other night. Princess had come out of the bathroom to ask if she could get a towel out of my bathroom. Little Man promptly said, "Princess, just use the pink one that's in there." I said, "There's a towel in there?!?" Little Man said, "Yeah, the one I used. She can use it too. I use her towels all the time." Big Man and I could only laugh. It reminded me of this incident.

Basketball

2011-02-06T15:27:00.003-05:00

Ready to go in the game!

Dribble, dribble, dribble!

Pictures Princess took with her camera

His first score of the season!!

Little Man is playing Upward Basketball for the third year. This year, he is doing AMAZING things with the ball. He is becoming an AWESOME dribbler and he is incredible at stealing the ball. I think he has the potential to become a great point guard one day. Big Man says he needs to work on learning how to dribble with his left hand so that it is more difficult for others to steal the ball back from him ('cause that's something else he's good at: letting the other team steal the ball back).

The other Saturday, he scored the first 4 goals for his team and had about 10 baskets in all - after a while I lost count (there were just too many!).

Princess has taken several pictures of him and she even has one picture of his first basket of the season.

I love Upward basketball and I think Little Man does, too.

Ride A Little Horsey

2011-01-24T19:30:00.003-05:00

Chumlee loves that poem, song, nursery rhyme - whatever you call it. We have her on video "riding" the horse (poking her bottom in and out) while I'm reciting the poem. She will also throw herself backward at the "gonna fall DOWN!" part. It is quite hilarious!!

Chumlee's babysitter has a baby boy. He is the CUTEST thing E.V.E.R!!!! He looks like a Michelin man - he is sooooo chubby!! He is about 3 months younger than Chumlee and he doesn't roll or crawl. He just sits or lays and it is absolutely adorable!! Wellllllllllll, Chumlee decided the other day that she didn't like the fact that he was just sitting around doing nothing. Babysitter said she watched Chumlee get this look on her face and then Chumlee headed over to Michelin. Babysitter said she just had to watch to see what Chumlee was going to do. Chumlee gently pushed Michelin on his tummy and got his hands and feet out from underneath him. Then Chumlee got on his back and began to ride him like a horse!!!! I was horrified, but Babysitter was just laughing and laughing. She said it was the funniest thing she'd ever seen. She did stop Chumlee when Chumlee tried to make him go faster by tapping him on the head. I wish she had gotten a picture.

I'm slightly jealous of Babysitter - I bet the two of them are a riot to watch!!

(life is good when you are in your pj's - well, the top of your pj's - and ya got a donut!)

Ten Months

2011-01-23T17:03:00.002-05:00

Today Chumlee is 10 months old. Right now, she is supposed to be napping as her afternoon nap was cut short so she could make it to her cousins' birthdays party (two cousins - one party. hope that grammar is correct). She is instead calling out for anyone to come get her. Big Man is not here right now and the kiddies are playing the gaming system and I (of course) am blogging.

At 10 months, Chumlee has 6 teeth. She weighs just under 20lbs and is just over 27". She is WALKING!!! She took her first steps on January 19th. She walked for Auntie and I. Auntie had a drink from Sonic and Chumlee wanted some, so she walked to Auntie for it. (little man used to walk for a snickers bar. he wouldn't eat it, but instead would lick it) She is wearing size 3 diapers and 12 month clothes almost exclusively. I still squeeze her into some 9 month onesies and pajamas. She is eating more and more from the table, but I send stage 2 veggies and fruit to the babysitters (her son is on stage 2 foods, too. it's easier for her to just have one stage of food at a time in the cabinet). She eats Cheerios and other finger foods. She drinks juice from a sippy, but still takes her bottle. She said, "bottle" yesterday, twice, just as pretty as you please. I think she has settled on a name for Little Man that is very close to his real name, but she calls Princess something that is VERY similar to "dada." She also says, "nana," "bye-bye," and sings "la, la, labye" with the Pajanimals. I'm sure she will be adding lots of new words these next few weeks. She babbles all the time. She knows and responds to (most times) "where is momma, dada, sister, and brother;" "where are teeth?" and "where is your hair?" She says and waves bye-bye to herself when she is sleepy. She likes to play with her babies and LOVES music. We often catch her dancing! It is hilarious!!!

I can't believe in 2 months she will be a year old!! Where, oh where, has the time gone!?!

(pictures coming later this week)

Peek-A-Boo

2011-01-18T22:40:00.002-05:00

She sees you!!

Just popping in to let you know I haven't forgotten about blogging. Just trying to keep the blood pressure down and keep things going at work.

As I said to some friends the other day, I need to remember that you can't fix stupid. This precious face keeps me relaxed, and makes me laugh!

(princess took this picture and it is one of my new favorites)

I Am Losing Control of the TV

2011-01-15T09:05:00.003-05:00

Over the years, I have slowly lost "my" tv viewing time. It started when I got married. I had to watch football on Sunday afternoons, college basketball in the spring (especially during march madness), and MLB through the summer and fall. That was all okay, really. I like those sports.

Then Princess was born. It was fun to watch kiddie cartoons with her! Her favorite was Bear in the Big Blue House.

The Disney Channel was our best friend. Princess was a very calm, quiet baby and toddler. She was easily entertained and would sit for hours in her playpen and play with toys. She would also sit for an entire 30 minute cartoon and watch it and never once move from her spot on the carpet!! I never had to worry about what she would get into if I left her watching tv. I knew she would always be sitting right where I left her.

Just after she turned 3, Little Man was born. I knew with a toddler and a baby in the house, my tv viewing would be limited to oversized singing animals, dancing men, and mind-numbing cartoons for the next few years. I was okay with that. Little Man was enamored with the Wiggles.

I thought they were a little strange, but he loved it and it was pretty much the only show he would halfway sit for! Little Man was WAY different from Princess. At 10 months, he was dropping himself out of his crib (he would pull himself over the top and drop to the floor). He couldn't walk very good, but he could get out of the crib with no problems! He could get out of the play pen and the shoulder straps on the high chair were no match for our little Houdini - neither was the 5-point carseat harness!! That child could get out of anything!!!

As the kiddies grew older, we introduced them to cartoons from our childhood: Smurfs, Yogi Bear, Flinstones, Jetsons, all those great older (not old) cartoons from the Boomerang channel.

Then the kiddies got interested in SpongeBob and Phineas and Ferb. Those are mind-numbing. Same story line, annoying voices, theme song that is in your head ALL.DAY.LONG!!!!! But, also, as they got older, we could trust them more to be in their bedrooms playing or watching dvd's. I was regaining control of the tv again (minus the sports time). I really enjoy the crime dramas and Friends and Seinfeld are still at the top of my favorites list!! When I was out on maternity with Chumlee, I would spend some days with Nana and she introduced me to some more shows. I had plenty of time to watch them and we had switched satellite providers and we were given 6 months of movie channels for free - so I was able to dvr and watch all the "chick flicks" I wanted!! It was a great 3 months!!!

Now that I'm back at school and Chumlee is older, I'm losing more tv time. She now will watch Kipper (or most things on sprout network). You have to bribe her to get her to stay in the play pen. She will play in there, if she is sidetracked first. The best way to get her in there is to play the Pajanimals.

I must admit, they are rather cute! The song will stay with you all day. She has started to sing the "la, la, lullaby" part. It comes out "la, la, laaabye." But, ever the stinker that she is quickly becoming, I doubt I will ever get that on video. Every time hears the "beep-boop" of the video camera turning on, she quits whatever she was doing and just grins at the camera.

Thanks to the wonderful technology of the DVR, we are never without the Pajanimals or Kipper. There is always a folder of 5 of each of those shows in the list for her.

Guess I'm out of luck for the next few years. Singing animals, talking dogs, and sports - that's all that I will watching till 2014 (at least!)

Chumlee (or Little Man Made Over)

2011-01-13T21:33:00.003-05:00

Chumlee looks a LOT like Princess. She acts a LOT MORE like Little Man. Case in point:

One Sunday, she was sitting with Grandma Church. I had given Grandma Church a bottle, just in case Chumlee needed it, but asked her to try to not give it to her until I was finished in the choir. (chumlee tends to fall asleep in church after she has her bottle, but if she falls asleep while grandma church is holding her she wakes up when i come to take her back - she's too heavy for grandma church to hold her sleeping through the entire service.) Apparently, Chumlee wanted her bottle. Grandma Church refused to give it to her. So, Chumlee threw a toy on the floor, and when Grandma Church bent over to pick it up, Chumlee grabbed the bottle and started chugging!

OR:

The other morning, I was cleaning up toys and Chumlee was in her play pen. I came across her bunny, so I gently tossed it in the play pen. I bounced off her head. She looked at me with a look that could kill and announced, "MAMA." It made us all laugh. Then she pooched out her lip and cried.

JUST ONE MORE:

She's getting to be quite the stinker when it comes to being still for a diaper change. So, we have taken to giving her something to hold while doing the deed. Mostly, it is something we grab from the changing table - the most likely item is a small trial sized bottle of baby lotion. Yesterday, she was gagging herself with it. I took it from her and she hollered at me (the hollering at a person is also another "trick" she does when someone does something she doesn't like. it usually doesn't work for me, but the kiddies cave everytime. EV-ERY-TIME). At that point, I firmly told her, "NO." She hollered again. "NO," I said, again. And I put the bottle in the drawer and handed her another toy - which she promptly threw on the floor and then announced to me (with a bit of a grin in her voice, i am sure), "Nana." I informed her I was telling Nana about the gagging incident and that Nana would know and wouldn't give her the bottle either. (nana watches chumlee here twice a week.)

When Nana came this morning, I told her about the bottle incident. After school, Nana told me that she had given Chumlee a ring to play with. Chumlee had hollered, said, "Nana!" and threw the ring on the floor. Nana gave her the bottle and Chumlee proceeded to gag herself. Nana took the bottle and Chumlee hollered. I can't remember how this conflict resolved itself, but we have a very stubborn little girl on our hands. Thankfully she is so adorable!!

OK, ONE MORE THAT I JUST REMEMBERED:

We've been having some trouble with Chumlee getting up in the middle of the night and with her not taking good naps. Part of that is because she was only taking 4 oz of formula at a time and she was getting hungry at night. Another part is because she is cutting all 4 of her incisors (praise the Lord, 2 are finally through). And the final part is because anytime she cries ~~little man~~ ~~the kiddies~~ someone goes and gets her up. I've finally gotten her to take 6 oz of formula at a time. The teeth are coming along better (benadryll works better than motrin or tylenol when they are really bothering her). As for ~~little~~ people getting her, we are working on that. Chumlee has realized we are working on that, and she knows that the people who get her live just beyond the wall behind her crib. Sooooooo, on Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons, she has taken to knocking on the wall. She will holler some, but mostly she knocks on the wall. Patiently waiting for ~~little man~~ someone to come and get her.

Those two are going to be the death of me!!

Christmas (almost) Snow

2011-01-12T06:54:00.000-05:00

There was snow in the forecast for Christmas Day. It didn't quite come. The snow started a little after midnight on December 26th. I was sick and Big Man had taken over for me, so I took the pictures while he did everything else. Thanks so much to "Aunt" Nurse for the snow suit for Chumlee. Snow suits are hard to come by here and VERY expensive (cause you don't need them much), so we were borrowing from her!

The kiddies were very excited to introduce Chumlee to the snow.

Chumlee, not so much impressed, tolerated her 15 minutes of snow fame!

The kiddies played for almost 3 hours. We got close to 5 inches of snow. It was the nice and fluffy kind. The neighbor lady was out with her daughter and 2yr old granddaughter. They invited the kiddies over to go sledding down their hill. They had a blast and entertained the 2 yr old quite nicely (according to neighbor grandma). Big Man had gone out to Wal-mart while they were playing for formula for Chumlee and he got hot chocolate with mini marshmallows for the kiddies!

So far, we have had a few days of snow. Not like "northern" snow, but enough for us to stop what we are doing and watch it. As of the "Christmas snow," we had 3 days with snow in December. We also had a 2 hour delay on school. Looks like it is going to be a good snowy winter!!

Baby Boomers, Social Security, and Abortion

2011-01-11T12:05:00.002-05:00

We are on our 2nd snow day (yay - and more on that later). I was watching Fox News and they were having a discussion about how the Baby Boomers are turning 65 this year and would be starting to retire. There was a lot of concern about how the workforce isn't going to have enough people paying into Social Security and Medicare to support the 10 million Baby Boomers who are retiring at the rate of 1 every 10 seconds. (these are the statistics given during the news broadcast) And so the dilemma is, "how to pay for all this?"

In 1973, the US Supreme Court passed Roe v Wade which legalized abortion. After looking through several websites (National Right to Life, CDC, etc), I have come to the conclusion that there have been roughly 45 million abortions since 1973. The most recent statistic I could find claim that around 800,000 abortions are done yearly. I did some calculating of my own. By taking the yearly abortion totals and subtracting the number of abortions done since 1992 (those babies would be 18 or younger), we have killed about 37 million people who could be working and contributing to the work force and therefore to Social Security and Medicare. Even if HALF of those did not survive or did not work, that number would still be close to 18 million people.

Obviously, we can't go back in time and bring those babies back. But, it's something to consider - we've put ourselves in this Social Security mess by killing our babies.

**yes, there are other factors, but this factor is one i've never heard anyone discuss. i wonder why??

Any One Interested in a Little Man Funny??

2011-01-05T21:36:00.002-05:00

Little Man has a habit of wanting to get Chumlee out of her crib/playpen/walker and then leaving her unattended. So we have had to demand that he ask before he gets her.

Over Christmas break, he asked me if he could get Chumlee out of her crib. She had woken from a nap and was ~~screaming at the top of her lungs~~ crying gently. I was in the midst of a pile of monkey bread, so I said, "Yes, please do!"

I heard him get her up and could hear them both laughing and playing in the living room. A moment later, I heard Little Man opening the refrigerator behind me. I asked, "Where is Chumlee?"

Little Man: In the living room.
Me: Who is watching her?
Little Man: (VERY matter-of-fact) God.
Me: GOD?!?!?? (thinking of chumlee's recent love of the tree, and the nativity set and the flat screen tv that could tip over on her)
Little Man: (looking at me as if i were deaf) Yes. God. He is everywhere and sees everything we do.
Me: Yes, I know that, but I would prefer someone in there watching her who could protect her from being hurt.
Little Man: Yeah, well, God has Angels that will protect us from harm.
Me: Ok, but I would still prefer a HUMAN someone - ON THIS PLANET - to be with the baby at all times!!
Little Man: okay, okay! I'm going!!

Don't get me wrong - I agree with everything he said and I'm glad he has that deep of a faith. Maybe I need more faith like that. I still think God, Who sees all and is everywhere with Angels that protect us, expects us to use common sense!!

Random Pictures of Beautiful Blessings

2010-12-31T14:55:00.001-05:00

Our lives have changed a lot this past year - mostly with the addition of Chumlee. Eighteen months ago, I never would have imagined how wonderful life could be with 3 blessings, but I sure am glad God's ways are not ours and that His Will will be done in spite of our plans. And so, on this last day of 2010, I leave you with pictures of the greatest blessings ever!!! (and i apologize to pappy for using slide - and anyone else who doesn't like that program - but blogger's photo program is being a pain in the patoot)

Thanksgiving Program

2010-12-30T21:01:00.005-05:00

Every year, the 2nd grade at our school puts on a Thanksgiving play. This year, Little Man was in the program (duh - he's in 2nd grade). He was John Carver. The dress for the program was white shirt and dark pants for Pilgrim boys/men. Since John Carver was the governor of Plymouth Plantation, there was NO convincing Little Man to just wear a shirt and pants. He was 100% sure that John Carver would have worn a dark suit and white shirt. After ~~hours of debating~~ mild arguing, I let him wear the suit with the stipulation that he would take the suit coat off if his teacher said he had to be in just a shirt and pants. When he walked in the door at school, she said, "Oh, I'm so glad you wore a suit. That will distinguish you as a leader in the colony." I calmly (read fuming inside for the hours of debating) turned and left the room, thinking ~~nasty, bad words~~, "why couldn't she have said that on his paper?" I must admit he looked quite dashing (or smug at his victory) in his suit!

Christmas

2010-12-29T16:51:00.002-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas! We got a gaming system for the kiddies. That was the big gift. We also got some games and movies. Chumlee got toys to help her learn to walk. She has been standing alone for several weeks now, but refuses to walk. She will walk all around the couches and tables, but will not let go and walk alone. She is quite the stinker. Big Man got me a "loving family" necklace and a game card for an online game I love to play!

For Christmas Day, we go to Big Man's grandmother's house. There is a tradition that we have there - pulling money from the jar. Each person gets to put their hand in a big milk jug that is filled with coins. You pull out as many coins as you can. Chumlee pulled out $2.45 - she was allowed to use two hands. Little Man pulled $9. Princess pulled $13. Big Man pulled $26 and I was the family winner with $30!!

I've got some pictures that I will post later. I didn't take many photos, though. I know. That's awful considering it was Chumlee's first Christmas, but that's how it happened! I wasn't feeling well. I had come down with a cold of some sort, so that's my excuse!

Christmas Break

2010-12-21T19:55:00.002-05:00

Ahhhh! Breathing deeply and enjoying the time off. School has been a stressful place for me for the past few months, so when break comes, I really enjoy it more. I'm trying hard to be relaxed at school and some days are better than others. The Christmas party at school was nice. We had burgers and fries from Sonic. My cherubs had taken home word of my addiction to coffee and I was given several coffee mugs and coffee related items. It was great!!

The weather has been very wintery - some snowflakes and sleet. It has been very cold. We even had a 2 hour delay last week. We had been experiencing some difficulties with our HVAC. Thankfully, I had taught the daughter of an HVAC man a few years ago and he came out and looked at our system (as we - and he - believed we were out of freeon). It wasn't the freeon. It was the defrosting unit. It took a few days to get the unit ordered and installed, but now we are toasty warm again.

Princess invited a few friends to lunch and to the movies for her birthday. We did that on Monday. We went to see the new Narnia movie. It was very good!! We went to the Mexican restaurant for lunch. After we took her friends home, the kiddies and I went Christmas shopping. That was an adventure!! It is interesting to watch them buy gifts for each other while we are all in the store together. Then we headed home to wrap the presents. They managed to use 4 complete rolls of wrapping paper and almost 2 complete rolls of tape to wrap 8 gifts. I love my kiddies!!! ♥ ♥ ♥

Today we went to Nana and Papa's. Papa took the kiddies to see the new Yogi Bear movie. They said it was good. This morning, I watched "Julie and Julia." It's an older movie - from 2002 or so, but I really enjoyed it. It is rated PG-13, so it is not a movie for the kiddies, but I sure it would be one that the grown-ups would like. It is based on a true story about a woman (Julie) who makes all the recipes in Julia Child's cookbook in one year. Right now, Big Man and I are watching "Hancock." So far, it is a good movie (the satellite is refreshing itself and that takes about 10 minutes. that's how i have time to blog)

Big Man is usually off with us at Christmas time, but there has been some issues at his work with heat and such so he is working for a few days this week. So it has just been the kiddies and I. We have had a busy 2 days and the rest of the week it looking like it will be just as full. I enjoy that, though.

I just wanted to do a quick post. I will be back later this week, I am sure, with more pictures and a few stories!

It's That Time of Year

2010-12-14T22:26:00.002-05:00

Yes, it is Christmas. But that's not what I'm talking about - well, not entirely.

It's that time of year when the kiddies are bombarded with talk of Santa and presents. Every year it is the same thing: we don't "do" the Santa thing at our house, but since the vast majority of the kiddies classmates do - the kiddies have to play along so they don't "ruin" Christmas for someone.

It is an argument I'll never win, but I can never seem to get "Santa" parents to understand why we do what we do. However, we are to completely understand and go along with all the Santa talk for the sake of their secret.

Here's how it is for us. We have never told our kiddies that their presents are from Santa. Their presents are from us (or whomever chooses to bless them with a gift). The presents aren't given based on how "bad or good" they are. The presents are a reminder of the gifts the Wise Men brought to Jesus and are a representation of the gift of Jesus that God gave to us. The spirit of giving, that is sometimes connected with Santa, is really a spirit (or gift) from God. Santa is a derivation from Saint Nicholas who gave toys to orphans (or those less fortunate) and we are thankful for what he did and we remember that by giving to others (either through Operation Christmas Child or another charity). Santa is a fun, imaginary, fictional character and we talk about him as such. If we see him in the mall, the kiddies will talk to him and sit on his lap. We watch all the Christmas specials and sing the "Santa" songs. But, bottom line, Santa is not real and the kiddies know that.

We have issues with Santa on several levels. #1 - what do parents do when their child finds out Santa isn't real *gasp*?? One sweet boy in Princess' class (5th grade) made the discovery last year and he is still upset about it all. I know of a family who, when their child learned the truth asked his mother, "So what about the Easter bunny and tooth fairy?" When the mother said they weren't real either, he said, "And Jesus?" While that might be extreme, what do you expect when you aren't honest with your child and Jesus, Santa, and the Easter bunny are usually lumped together at holidays? And what do you say to the child whose Santa can't buy what someone else's Santa does? That happened in my classroom one year. One little girl was going on and on about all the stuff she got from Santa. I noticed another little girl looking sad and she had tears in her eyes. When I asked her what was the matter she said, "I guess I wasn't as good as so and so was. I only got some movies and a Barbie." What do you say to that?? If everyone is visited by the same Santa, why do some get more than others??

We are confident we are doing the right thing. Our kiddies have the fun of Santa, but know the truth about him, too. I'm sure I won't change anyone's mind about what they do with Santa, but I hope I've given you something to think about. The Santa debate will live on and quite frankly, I think it's sad that our kiddies have to defend themselves to grown-ups as to why they know that Santa isn't real when the real concern at Christmas should be how real is Christ to them.

Birthday Bowling

2010-12-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

The last set of pictures from Little Man's birthday. He wanted to go bowling. We invited one friend and that fellow spent the night with us. I think they all enjoyed their time together. Little Man did. He was talking about it the other day and he wants to do the same thing again this year. I think I can handle that!

Birthday Breakfast

2010-12-14T00:08:00.000-05:00

Whoa! This is from March! I forgot I had started a few posts for when I was short on time for posting. This is Little Man at his birthday breakfast. Since I was t-minus 10 days to delivery, I opted for the easy way out on breakfast and got his pancakes at McDonalds!! He had to eat in my classroom. These were the last few days of his being the baby!!

Birthday Snack at School

2010-12-13T00:12:00.000-05:00

Another blast from Little Man's birthday past. Again, I was a bit lax in the birthday celebrating and opted for Little Debbie snacks for his at school birthday treat. It was a very nice day at school and we enjoyed the snack outside.

I Don't Know

2010-12-12T17:57:00.008-05:00

I don't know where to start.

I don't know what to say now.

I don't know if I can consistently continue to blog.

I don't know.

I miss blogging. It was a good stress reliever. There's been a lot that has happened that I'd like to post about, but a lot of it is personal and I don't want it all "out there." (especially since - for a while there - i was learning every day of new people i knew who were reading.)

So, I'll start with where we are now. Think of this as one of those Christmas card letters you get once of year from people you only ever hear from once a year! This is our year in review.

Chumlee arrived safe and sound - after a few date changes, and a bit of health concerns - in March. We all loved her immediately. There were adjustments to be made, but the kiddies did well and we all survived. The funniest thing Little Man said while we were in the hospital was one evening when Chumlee started to cry. He looked at me and said, "Momma, she needs to be milked." Also while in the hospital, Little Man had to take a shower in the big walk-in shower and had to use the hospital soap and towels. That was apparently the highlight of the hospital stay for him - that and the little refrigerator and my food trays. We were fortunate enough to not have to move out of the nice, big LND room. Which was great - considering we had an average of 6 people in the room at any given time.

Chumlee is growing and amazing us every day. I cannot image life without her and am thankful to God EVERY DAY that He knew we needed a third baby - despite what we thought. She currently had 4 teeth - 2 top and 2 bottom - and is cutting all of her incisors (according to the pediatrician). A 5th tooth is just barely through her top gum and if I press really hard I can feel 6 and 7 on the top and bottom, respectively. We thought she might never crawl properly. She pulled herself around on her arms with her legs dragging behind for weeks. Shortly before Thanksgiving, she started getting up on her knees. Now she crawls, but pretty much only to crawl TO something to pull up and stand. She JUST started last night to say, "Uh-oh" when she falls down from her standing position. Sometimes only "uh" comes out and occasionally it is "oh-uh" that she says. She says, "Mama," "Dadee," "ba-ba" (for bottle), "Na-nuh" (nana), and a bunch of other blabber. Those 4 words she knows and means what she says. Sometimes we get a "hey" and a "bye-bye" but not always at an appropriate time or in the appropriate manner. She is absolutely beautiful. A lady in Wal-mart told me yesterday that she was so cute she could just eat her. That made me a little nervous!! She loves to play with dollies and has 4 of them. She does well in her playpen - if Little Man and Princess will leave her alone. She doesn't like to bathe alone - most nights. She LOVES to eat!! She eats stage 2 and 3 baby foods and we've started her on table food, too. She weighs just over 18lbs and I'm not sure how long she is 27 inches sounds right :). She wears 9 month clothes, but some 12 month, too. She loves to dance and sing. Her favorite TV show is Kipper - on Sprout - and she adores Star and Nina. She will sing along with the Pajanimals on their "La-la-lullaby" song. It is precious. She knows what a camera is and will smile - most of the time - when the flash goes off.

Little Man is taking 2nd grade in full stride. He had a bumpy start, but his teacher is very consistent with her discipline and expectations of him - which is something he has not had in the past. He is doing great!! He played soccer in the fall and is starting basketball this month. He really liked soccer and is quite good at it! He still makes me laugh and pushes the limits, but I love him with all my heart! He is doing good with his guitar lessons, even though he doesn't like to practice! There are probably a million stories that I have missed blogging about these past few months, but I'm sure there will be a million more. He is as curious as ever and loves Chumlee more than anything. One day, a few months ago, he set Chumlee on the chair in the living room and she leaned forward and fell off. Of course, she started to cry and I came running. What I saw was Chumlee laying on the floor and Little Man kneeling next to her with one hand on her head and the other raised to heaven. He was praying, "Please Jesus, don't let her die today." Once I checked her out and saw she really wasn't going to die THAT day, I questioned him about his choice of words. His response, "Well, everyone has a set day when they are going to die, and I just didn't want today to be Chumlee's." Proof that the child listens more during church, Bible, and family discussions than I thought!

Princess will soon be 11!!! I can't believe that my baby girl is so grown up!! She is becoming a beautiful young lady. She is taller than Pam and almost taller than Nana. She wears the same size shoes as I do. She is still playing piano and doing a wonderful job. She has joined the choir at church and the folks love hearing her play the piano for special music from time to time. This fall she started Cross Country with the school team. She was very excited. It was a hard time for her. Cross Country is a lonely sport. There are times when no one is around to see you running and to cheer you on. By the end of the season, she had trimmed 9 minutes and 5 seconds off of her first run time. We were so proud of her!!! The team came in 1st in our Conference and were undefeated all season long. She is doing great in school and is loving the 5th grade. There was a big adjustment to be made in the amount of homework from 4th to 5th grade, but she handled it well. It helps that she loves to read. She is a great big sister. She can care for Chumlee just as well as I do. I feel confident that she will be an awesome babysitter and a terrific mom someday. She takes such good care of Chumlee and has good sense about caring for her baby sister.

I have had a roller coaster year. Plenty of highs and enough lows to last a life time. Things are going well, and I have (hopefully and prayerfully) made the necessary adjustments to keep things more "level" from now on. I have gone back to work. It was harder than I thought, but I had a great support team - both here and through prayers from afar - a super sitters!! I love my class. There were adjustments to be made at work and I'm still working through/around/in spite of some things. But God is good, all the time!!

Big Man is still the pastor at our church and is still teaching ESL. This summer, we needed a new car and after looking at various options and debating over different vehicles and seeking God in prayer, he got a Dodge Challenger. I must admit that I love that car!!! I wish I had one!! I did learn that Dodge is making a Challenger in pink (fingers crossed)!! Nah!! I love my Pilot, but maybe someday!!!

I do know that I couldn't have made it through these last few difficult months without Big Man by my side. He is the best husband and best friend, ever. I love him so much!!!

Whew!! That's it for now. If you read all that, you really are a devoted reader. This week, we've got a lot going on - it's the last week of school before Christmas and Princess has a birthday and I still need to do a good bit of Christmas shopping. It will get done, or what doesn't get finished mustn't matter!

And for those of you who read this all, a treat - pictures of the kiddies!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

A Trio of Trick or Treaters

2010-11-01T10:51:00.003-04:00

Can't Win

2010-07-13T14:14:00.002-04:00

Just as I decide to get back to blogging on a regular basis, we have company. I knew they were coming, but I just didn't make the connection that having company would mean I was too busy to blog. Also, it didn't help that our computer decided to act up, again. This has been a theme at our house lately - what will break or refuse to work properly next?

Everything has settled down some, for now. School starts in less than 2 weeks. I can't believe it's time to head back to work. It's going to be hard to leave Chumlee, but she will be with friends and family. That makes it a little easier to let her go.

The kiddies and I have been enjoying the laziness of summer. We haven't done too much. We have visited Sonic often - for the 1/2 price drinks each day for 2pm-4pm. Plus, we have also gotten several receipt coupons for free Route 44 drinks. Mmmm mmm! My favorite is the Strawberry Fresh Fruit Slush!! It has pieces of strawberries in it. Yummy!!

We have settled into a nice routine. We go to the library once or twice a week. The movie theater in town is offering free movies twice a week. They still have guitar and piano lessons. We've been to lunch with friends and have spent some time with Nana and Papa. Two weeks ago, Grammy and Pappy came and stayed with us for over a week! That was a very nice time!!

So, I will, once again, try to blog more regularly. Chumlee is growing so fast and I don't want to forget a minute of it! I've got to get it all documented here!

Pictures from Third Month

2010-06-24T20:58:00.003-04:00

Sisters

This picture makes me laugh, even though I can still hear her screaming!

Chumlee refused to look at me!

She has also started to notice the butterfly Grammy bought her
that we have clipped to her car seat. She looks at it and laughs at it now a lot.

I love this picture of them!

She's not sleeping - the flash on my camera is too bright for her.
Everyone says that they look alike.

Three Months

2010-06-23T19:54:00.002-04:00

I've been putting off blogging because I feel so behind. I decided I would just jump back in and try to catch up and fill in the past few months later.

Today, Chumlee turned 3 months old. I'm not sure how much she weighs, because she doesn't have a doctors appointment until 4 months. At 2 months, she weighed 9 lbs 9 ounces, so I'm guessing that she weighs about 10 1/2 pounds. She laughs aloud often, but only for short periods of time. Big Man says it's like there is a timer on her laughter. She smiles ALL THE TIME!!!! We are constantly getting stopped at stores and restaurants by people telling us how cute she is and how good she is.

She is still wearing some of her newborn clothes, but most of those have been put up because they are getting too tight. She fits nicely into 0-3 month clothes. We are still using the diapers that we were given at showers. It looks like we might have enough left for another 2-3 weeks (plus a few size 2 packs).

Chumlee has been sleeping through the night (7pm-6am) for a month now. I wrap her tightly in a receiving blanket and then wrap a bigger blanket around her. We lay her in the crib and she puts herself to sleep within minutes. If she cries, something is wrong - a gas bubble or a poopy diaper. She is a good baby. Occassionally, she will get up in the middle of the night, but that's usually less than once a week.

She loves Little Man and Princess. She really loves taking a shower. Lately, I've been laying her in a very shallow (barely covers my finger nails) water-filled tub on her back. The other night, I sat with her for 20 mintues while she lay there. She will kick her left foot in the water. She eats every 3-4 hours (except for night time). I'm still nursing her, but we will be starting rice cereal sometime this next month.

Chumlee likes to "walk" and lay on her back. She doesn't like being on her tummy, but we do tummy time each day. She has a bumbo that she sits in and a boppy that she lays on to watch tv.

The people at church LOVE her and she is a good girl during church. Lately, she and Princess have been dressing alike. Princess really likes doing that!

Little Man is good at calming her down, still. Princess is a great diaper changer and enjoys helping! She laughs and grins all the time. If she is in the carseat, she'd better be moving, though. She is not liking the swing as much now. We use a lot of burp cloths because she spits up a lot!! We are so thankful for little Chumlee and love her so much!!

Chumlee has been to several movies: How to Train Your Dragon (in imax 3d), Kung Fu Panda (free summer movie), Toy Story 3 (in real 3d), and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (free summer movie). She has been out to eat a lot with Nana and Papa. She goes to church every Sunday. This summer, she goes with Little Man and Princess to the library for activities. She is very quiet there.

She likes to suck her thumb and will rub her hair. She is rubbing a spot of hair off. We are trying to stop her from doing that by sticking a blanket or a stuffed animal in her hand.

At One Month Old

2010-05-12T09:35:00.004-04:00

Day One - My Three Kiddies

We had a hard time getting the kiddies to let anyone else hold her!

He is very good at calming her down.

These next few pictures are from her first two weeks at home.

The day that Chumlee turned one month old was also Field Day for the kiddies. This is a picture I took of her at Field Day.

At one month old, Chumlee weighed 8lb 3oz and was 20 inches long. She was still wearing newborn (5-8lb) clothes and we mostly dressed her in onesies. She was eating every 2-3 hours while awake and would go as long as 5 or 6 hours at night. She was wearing mostly newborn diapers. She loves her paci - but only one. She loves her daddy and loves sleeping on his chest on the couch. She and I spent most of our time at home because I wasn't released to drive until a few days before she turned 1 month. She had been visited by her cousins, aunt, uncle, grammy and pappy. She had been to church for Easter, and every Sunday since then. She took an out of town trip to see her great-grandma and her other great-grandma came to see her. She was learning to like the bath and took one every night (mostly). She loved to be outside and loved her swing, but only if it was going really fast! She started to smile a bit and we were able to notice that she has two dimples. They only show up when she smiles REALLY big, though.

We love having Chumlee in our family. Little Man dotes on her. Princess is a super diaper changer and burper! Chumlee has Daddy wrapped around her little, bitty finger. I love being able to be with her all day and am looking forward to a looooooong maternity leave with her.

Here She Is!!

2010-04-13T15:44:00.003-04:00

Easter with the Cousins

Anne Geddes Baby :)

Two days old

The Sisters

A very protective Big Brother.

Chumlee has arrived. She is three weeks old today. She was born 3/23/10 at 7:45am. She was 7lb 5.5oz and 19.5" long. She is beautiful!!

We are all adjusting to her and are loving every minute with her! The kiddies were off school last week and this week for our last 2 week break. It has been nice having them to help with the household chores. Princess is the BEST diaper-changer!! And Little Man is a good entertainer. I am hoping that as the kids get back to school and I get into a better routine, I'll get back to blogging.

37 Week PIctures

2010-03-22T11:55:00.000-04:00

Here we are! These were taken 2 weeks ago. I promise to take a picture the morning we go to the hospital - one last belly picture.

I remember this day, though. I was SOOOOO ready to have the baby. I would have been happy if she had been born that day. I was miserable. That was the beginning of the swelling and the start of my blood pressure being higher than normal, too. But I've made it two more weeks and tomorrow we will have baby girl!!

I don't know when I'll be back on the computer. I'm hoping that Nana and Papa will bring their laptop to the hospital so I can upload some photos while we are there, if I'm feeling up to it. It might be at least a week until I can get to our computer.

Pros and Cons

2010-03-21T19:17:00.003-04:00

What I'll Miss About Being Pregnant

having a good excuse to eat
the feeling of Chumlee in my tummy
everyone asking how I am doing
not getting fussed at for gaining weight
being excused for being tired, grumpy, or emotional
having others get stuff off the floor for me
Little Man and Princess talking to and kissing my belly
being solely responsible for Chumlee's care

What I'll NOT Miss About Being Pregnant

people touching my belly (strangers)
heartburn
nausea
swollen ankles and hands
having difficultly backing the car up
hitting my stomach on the refrigerator door, counter top while cooking, and washer while loading it

What I'm Looking Forward To Once I'm Not Pregnant

seeing my feet again and painting my toe nails (although, i'm planning to attempt to do this tomorrow)
walking without waddling
running again
seeing Little Man and Princess hold and kiss Chumlee
holding and kissing Chumlee
Big Man changing diapers (he is very good at that)

Thank goodness I have less than 48 hours left!

Definitely Not Predictable

2010-03-18T10:30:00.000-04:00

That's a good phrase to use to sum up this pregnancy!! From day 1, there has really been nothing "normal" or consistent about Chumlee. Maybe that's why an underlying fear I've been having lately is that she is not a she, but is rather a he!! That would just fit in perfectly with the way things have been going.

I went to the dr today for my regular (and last) check-up. I've been having a few contractions. Nothing big or that had me really concerned, but I just wanted to be checked to see if anything was changing. As the day progressed at school, I started feeling worse and worse. It's really hard to say how I was feeling, just pretty crummy seems to sum it up fairly well. I knew my blood pressure was off of my normal perfect reading (in the 110's over 70's). That's what happens when someone tells you a bold face lie and then denies that they lied to you when you confront them with proof of the truth!! Also, my feet and hands have been swollen for a few days, so I knew the blood pressure was going to be rising. Today it was 128/86. The nurse said that was a little high, considering how low I normally am. One good thing, I didn't gain any weight from last week to this week!

I wasn't able to see my regular doctor - the one who was scheduled to do the c-section next week. For some reason he wasn't in the office. I was never told why. The other doctor said that everything was fine, but he was a little concerned about the elevated blood pressure combined with the swelling and the contractions, even though they haven't changed me any. Then he said, "We'll see you on Tuesday." I said, "No, Thursday." He went on to explain that my doctor was going out of town and would not be here on Thursday, so my section would be Tuesday. I assumed that my doctor would be the one doing the surgery, so when they brought me the pre-op papers to sign, I noticed that his name had been crossed out and replaced with this doctor's name. I said, "So I can't have Dr. A do the surgery? I have to have you??" Looking back, I realize now that I probably really insulted him. But hey, I had been told that my date was moved up for several reasons, a few of them health related and now I was being told that I couldn't have my dr deliver the baby.

I signed the papers and then realized that I needed to stop back by work and tell my boss (for the 2nd time) that my date had been moved. Also, Big Man had just submitted his paper work requesting time off for the now WRONG due date. (he got that taken care of.)

This baby is definitely rocking our world in a major way!! So, the countdown is wrong - again, but I'm too exhausted to care or to change it because it just might change again before Chumlee gets here!! And I was foolish enough to think that a scheduled c-section would be more predictable than going into labor and delivering that way!! HA-HA-HA!!!

Wonderful Husband

2010-03-16T18:43:00.005-04:00

I have the best husband in the world and I really do mean that! This pregnancy was harder than I thought, but he has been wonderful through it all. Even from the very beginning.

I remember the day I took the home pregnancy test and then just sat in the bathroom and cried and cried. I couldn't believe I was pregnant!!! It wasn't supposed to be. How could we afford ANOTHER baby!?! Who would watch the baby?? We didn't have insurance. Big Man was working part time. I had taken a slight cut in pay (because last school year i had taught a "double" class and this year i had a "regular" sized one). We only had 3 bedrooms. Where would we put a baby? We had NOTHING for a baby. I had sold or given it all away!! I didn't have maternity clothes. I was a basket-case.

Big Man was the opposite. He was calm. (i think deep down he was a little excited!) He told me that God had planned this baby even if we hadn't. God knew exactly where we were financially, medically, and space-wise. God sent this baby to us and God would provide for this baby.

And He did. Almost immediately!! Within the month, Big Man was working a full-time job for the state. I had medical coverage. While it's not good news, Nana was laid off - so she would be available to help care for the baby. At ever turn and bump in the road, God was there, providing what we needed and even what we wanted sometimes. We found terrific bunk beds for the kiddies to share. Friends, to whom we had given our crib about 5 years ago, STILL had the crib and their daughter had JUST moved into a toddler bed. They were looking for someone to give it to. We took it back - with the promise to burn it when we were finished with it this time - haha!! My sweet cousin (who the kiddies have dubbed an honorary aunt) sent a huge box of maternity clothes and the book, "What to Expect When You're Expecting." Despite my fear that I am forgetting some thing MAJOR for this baby, God has provided everything we have needed for her and then some. We are still lacking a thermometer and bathing items, but I think Pam is on that.

Big Man has recently been a real trooper about the sleeping arrangements. For the longest time, I have had a difficult time getting comfortable at night. The best place I had found for sleeping and being semi-comfortable was on the big chair in the living room. Big Man would sleep on the couch to be with me. He has (with the exception of driving 45 minutes to the next big town one night at 11pm for a donut, but he did go to our walmart) gotten me whatever food (or foods) I might be craving. He has held me when I was crying for absolutely NO reason. He has listened to the rants of a mad pregnant woman. He has encouraged me to eat when I wasn't hungry and he's gotten out of the way during my mad dashes to the toilet to be sick. He has found coupons online for my prevacid to help the terrible heartburn.

And most recently, he has allowed me to have the bed all to myself. I cannot get comfortable with anyone else in the bed with me. I don't like that I can't sleep with him in the bed. If you know me, you know I hate to sleep alone (hence, his sleeping on the couch beside me while i was sleeping in the chair). But now, when he is in the bed with me, I toss and turn. I snore - which annoys both of us. I am afraid I'm keeping him awake - which I am, but he doesn't like to admit it. He wants what is best for me to sleep and be comfortable - even if that means faking sleep when I have asked him to be in the bed with me so that I don't think I'm keeping him awake or if it means sleeping on the couch so that I'm able to sleep comfortably through the night. He checks on me often throughout the night, I know. Because he makes comments about how peacefully I was sleeping, or how many times I was up going to the bathroom, or what position I was sleeping in. He is sacrificing so much for my comfort and I love him for it. I also don't want to forget how good he is to me at this odd time in my life.

He has always been my encourager and champion. When I think about how overwhelming a new baby will be, he is right there telling me that I can do it! I love him so much!! I can't wait to see him holding our new little girl!!

Baby Alive

2010-03-14T18:46:00.004-04:00

For her birthday, Princess got a gift card from Pappy and Grammy. Since we had given her an iPod and because she has a DS, I was sure she was going to get something "techie." I asked her if she wanted to get some earphones or an iPod carrier or if she wanted a DS game.

Nope! She wanted a Baby Alive doll. Now, Princess has not really played with dolls for over a year or more. I tried to talk her out of it a little. She insisted. She wanted a baby doll that would pee and eat so that she would be able to practice for the arrival of sister. I thought that was sweet, but told her we could practice putting diapers on the Cabbage Patch doll and other babies that she had, but she was certain that she wanted the Baby Alive because it really peed.

She got the Baby Alive that had health stuff with it - like in the picture. Unfortunately, Baby Alive only came with two diapers. She had Baby Alive home for 30 minutes and had used both diapers. Little Man wanted to use some of the diapers we had gotten from Pappy and Grammy at Thanksgiving for Baby Alive. I said, "ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!" I told them they would have to buy more Baby Alive diapers. Princess was not happy about that. She said, "Those are expensive and she uses them too fast." To which I replied, "Same goes for the real baby!" Needless to say, Baby Alive has made it to a bin in the closet for playing with later.

Now, fast forward to last night. We were all in the baby's room, looking at her clothes and packing the diaper bag for the hospital. I noted all the size 1 diapers we had on the top shelf of the changing table and had Big Man do the math for me (8 packs of 40 diapers). We have 320 of them. I asked the kiddies how long they thought that many diapers would last. Little Man quickly said, "A year!" Princess was a bit more conservative with her guess of "a couple months." Big Man looked at me with a question in his eyes while he said, "Two months??" I said, "If we're lucky, a month! She will use about 10-12 diapers a day."

Princess said, "A DAY!! That's like changing her diaper every 2 hours!!!" I said, "Exactly!"

Oh boy! Are we all in for a big surprise with our own Baby Alive in a few days!!

ps: we are accepting donations of more diapers - hehe!!

Learning About Baby

2010-03-07T14:50:00.003-05:00

The other day, Princess told me that she could remember about the day that Big Man and I told her and Little Man about Chumlee. I told her she needed to write it in a blog post.

You should be glad that I remember about the first day Little Man and I first found out that Momma was pregnant. It was the first day of school (I had no homework, Little Man did.) We were watching t.v. then Big Man came home. We HAD to go back to one of our bedrooms. Of course it HAD TO BE MINE. We were playing with my barbie doll stuff and then Momma and Big Man called both of us out to the living room. Then they started to argue about who would tell us the SECRET SURPRISE. Finally, I think Momma told us that we were going to have another baby. "We are going to adopt a baby!!!!!!" I cried out. "No," Momma said. "I'm pregnant!" Then of course we were all excited and Momma had to call the whole family and tell them after they told us. And that my friend is my story.

In Need of a Miracle

2010-03-04T18:02:00.002-05:00

I find it only slightly ironic that yesterday I posted about getting my miracle and today I learned that my prayer partner at school is in need of a miracle of her own.

This is a desperate family situation and she needs God to do a miracle for her and her children. Now. Today. Immediately.

When I asked her how I could pray, all she could say was, "From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I." (ps 62:1) She is so overwhelmed; she doesn't even know what to pray for.

She has been there for me so many times. I told her I was going to ask for your prayers too. She knows about you all and has prayed for some of you when you've had a tough time. Please pray for her and for God to grant her miracle.

Thank you!

A Miracle

2010-03-02T18:57:00.003-05:00

I'm sure you've heard about the swine flu. It's been all the rage (if that's a way to phrase it) around here since late fall. Because of the swine flu, the hospitals have had a ban on anyone under the age of 18 from being in the hospital for visits. When I was at the OB ward being monitored when Chumlee decided to not move for almost a day, I had to take the kiddies with me and the nurses, while they were kind, didn't look too happy that I had traipsed them into the OB ward. They were nice and let them stay in the waiting room until Papa had arrived.

This ban has been a concern of mine, especially since the time of Chumlee's arrival has been getting closer and closer. In early February, I asked my dr what he thought about the ban and whether or not he had heard if it would be lifted by the end of March. He said it would take a miracle to have the ban lifted by the time Chumlee was born. He said the flu risk would most likely still be around until April or so. I told him that was fine, but that if the ban was still in place, I wanted out of the hospital as soon as possible (usual c-section stays are 3 days) - even asking to go home the next day - and I wanted a notice posted that NO ONE was to be in my room but my husband and his parents. If my kiddies could not be there, I didn't want to see anyone else. The dr agreed to send me home as soon as the spinal wore off and as long as it was at least 24 hours after delivery - if everything was ok.

When I went to school the next day, I found my prayer partner and told her that according to the dr, we needed a miracle for the kiddies to be allowed in the hospital with us when Chumlee was born. I must admit that my faith on the issue was not strong. I had just simply accepted the words of the dr and had resigned myself to the fact that the kiddies would not meet Chumlee until we got home.

Last Wednesday, one of the teachers at school told me she had seen in the newspaper that the ban had been lifted! I got online and checked the newspaper. Sure enough, there it was - the ban had been lifted. Children are allowed in the hospital!! I started to cry. I didn't realize how heavy that denial had been on my heart. I had thought I was okay with it, but it was really bothering me. Princess was so excited. I could hardly wait to tell Big Man, but he was at work and would have to wait until that afternoon to hear the good news. Little Man jumped up and down and clapped his hands!!!

I had a dr appointment later that afternoon. I was eager to tell my dr that we had gotten our miracle. However, I had to see another dr in the practice and my dr was not there. I am planning to tell him at my next visit.

When we got home that evening, Little Man went to Chumlee's room and got out the outfit he had picked out for her. He brought it to me and announced, "We are taking this to the hospital and I am putting this on her right away. And no one is going to stop me!" He was not being disrespectful, but rather, he was firmly exerting his rights as a big brother to see and help dress his baby sister. That really made me cry as I realized how the kiddies had been hurting over the thought of not being in the hospital with us.

I am so thankful for my sweet prayer partner whose faith carried me through and brought about this wonderful miracle when my faith was not strong enough!!

We have told the kiddies that we will ask if they can spend the first night in the hospital with us, if we are given a room with a couch and recliner (otherwise, we will be in a room with just a recliner and therefore no room for the kiddies to sleep). My faith is strong enough now to ask God for that big room!

So, the pictures you will be seeing in about 3 weeks will have the entire family in the hospital!!

Any Suggestions???

2010-02-28T06:09:00.003-05:00

The arrival of Chumlee is just around the corner! Some days it feels like forever since I posted this, and others it seems like just yesterday.

As we are preparing and trying to get things ready, I decided to ask you all for any suggestions about things we might want or need to get. So much has changed since Little Man and there are many new things that I might not even know about.

So, if you have had a baby recently or if you've heard/seen/used an item or gadget that you think is just fabulous, please let me know!

Thanks in advance!!

Getting Ready for Baby - Part 3

2010-02-26T06:19:00.000-05:00

This is the last of this series of posts (i think). After getting all of Chumlee's clothes organized and realizing what I had and didn't have, I began to get panicked. As far as I know, I have had all my showers. Now, it's possible that I'll still get a gift here and there, but unless there is a surprise one going on sometime in the next 4 weeks - we are finished. That left us with a lot of things to still get.

I had mentioned earlier that Dear Friends had taken me out to dinner and had given us some bedding and a changing table. Here is a picture of the bedding on the crib: (never mind the pack and play for now)

And the changing table, loaded with diapers :)

Getting those two items was a big relief to me! Please disregard the mess and piles of stuff everywhere. I took these pictures AFTER I had cleaned out closets this week and before I have had a chance to take stuff to the consignment shop and Christian ministries.

We still needed a few "big" items - a pack and play (which grammy and pappy were getting, but they hadn't ordered it yet - which was fine), high chair, stroller, car seat, and I kinda wanted a rocker, but with everything else, I was content without one. Plus there was the boppy I really, really wanted, and crib sheets, blankets, bibs, and burpers.

Well, Dear Friend had told me of a HUGE consignment sale in Big City that would take place in February. I signed up as a New Mom and was able to get 2 tickets to get into the sale Friday at 3pm. Fortunately, it occurred on the Friday of break. Papa watched the kiddies and Nana and I went.

We had a GREAT time. However, my morning sickness was making a reappearance, so I wasn't feeling too well. Thankfully, I had some of the white pills left from the beginning of the pregnancy and the dr said it was still safe to take them. We were able to find a pink pack and play and a boppy (i took the cover off to wash it):

A mesh bathtub and glider rocker:

a stroller (didn't take a picture of that yet), a monitor, some nursing pads,

and this HUGE pile of bibs, burpers, crib sheets, blankets, absorbed pads (so we don't have to constantly change bed sheets), and some tupperware-type containers for snacks and formula:

I feel much more prepared now, except for the fact that I have to wash that HUGE pile of cloths and such!! We still need to get a baby book and a car seat. We need a high chair, but as I told Nana and Big Man, we really don't need that right away. Chumlee will be at least 4 months (if not 6 months) before she starts eating foods and until then, the high chair will just stay in the box or will be in the way in the kitchen.

Now, we wait for Chumlee to get here :)

Bunk Bed Photos

2010-02-25T06:09:00.000-05:00

Top bunk where Little Man sleeps.
You can see some of the glow-in-the-dark stars, planets, and moons he bought.

Bottom where Princess sleeps.
On the right are three of the six bookshelves.

The outside of the other set of bookshelves.

Two of the five drawers on the right side.
This is also the one post that will slide out to make room for a double bed underneath.

Left set of drawers and ladder.
Also, the post that slides out on this side for the double bed.

Princess's unmade bed!

Getting Ready for Baby - Part 2

2010-02-24T06:02:00.001-05:00

While getting Chumlee's clothes organized, I ran across this baby doll in Princess's old closet. She made me cry. My grandmother (who passed away 5 years ago last week) had given that to Princess. Princess remembers my grandmother. Little Man has some memories of her - most are "borrowed" from Princess. He does remember when she died and being at the funeral. Anyway, Princess knows that the baby doll is from her. I tried to hide the tears from the kiddies, but I'm sure Princess caught me wiping a few tears away. She stepped up beside me and said, "You can take that baby to the hospital and share it with Baby Girl."

Getting Ready for Baby - Part 1

2010-02-23T05:23:00.001-05:00

Probably over a month ago, I decided that I really needed to sit down and go through the clothes and such we had gotten for Chumlee. I was trying to see what we had gotten and what EXACTLY we still needed. The kiddies were very eager to help.

We started with the pile of presents that were stacked on Princess's old bed because that was a logical place to start and it enabled us to get the bed out of the room. We put all the clothes on hangers, onesies (size 0-3 months) were folded and put in a dresser drawer, and gowns (which are my favorite!) were also folded and put into the dresser.

Princess was a great helper - very business-like and got stuff done quickly and efficiently. Her job was to put the clothes on the hangers. She did GREAT!! She even handed them to Little Man in size order (meaning she did all the 0-3 first, then 3-6, followed by 6-9+). Little Man was a great helper, but he was a distracted helper. His job was to hang the clothes in the closet. He would look at an outfit and wonder who it was from, when we would wear it on Chumlee, and a few times, I caught him "holding" the outfits as though he were holding a baby. Awwww, sweet! I know!!! (I was folding clothes and organizing the dresser.) When the clothes were all put away, he informed me that he had hung the clothes in the closet in the order that he wanted Chumlee to wear them, not in the order Princess had handed them to him. That was great, but now I have to go back when he's not around and put them in size order. Or we all know what will happen, there will be at least one outfit, if not more, that I don't wear on Chumlee because I didn't know I had it!
Here are the clothes in the closet - in Little Man order. I was glad I had taken time to do this. I learned that we had no crib sheets, 3 burp cloths, 2 bibs, and 4 receiving blankets. I also discovered that we had plenty of onesies and gowns/sleepers.

Snow Day - February 12, 2010

2010-02-22T07:48:00.000-05:00

This snow was much nicer than the snow in January. It was ice free and it came on Friday night and was mostly gone by Saturday afternoon/Sunday morning. We got about 4 inches and it was all fluffy and soft. The kiddies played outside for over 2 hours. The neighbors had their granddaughter with them and she joined the kiddies, too. They all had a wonderful time.

Making snow angels

I must be getting to be a "southerner." The best part of this snow was that it came, was beautiful to watch fall, and it melted all in about 36-48 hours. That was perfect!! And the temperatures were warm enough that when it melted, it did not refreeze overnight and cause black ice.

I do miss the snow from the north, but when your county/state is not equipped to deal with snow amounts over 3 or 4 inches, the snow that melts on its own is the best!

You Do the Math

2010-02-21T07:43:00.000-05:00

Here we are on Thursday, February 11th. I'm too tired to calculate how far along I am in this picture right now. That math goes beyond my 1st grade arithmetic requirements. You figure it out and maybe be nice enough to post the answer in the comments!

I've had to resort to CONSTANTLY wearing a tank top under my clothes as even most maternity tops are too short now. Very nice, I know!

Snow Day - January 30, 2010

2010-02-20T16:55:00.000-05:00

Snow is a BIG deal here! Very big. When the forecast calls for snow or ice in any form, there is a mad rush for the grocery store and all the milk and bread is gone!! Well, the end of January, there was a call for snow and ice. On a Friday night. The last Friday night in the month. Friday night of pay day for me and for all the state employees. That normally isn't a good night to go grocery shopping. Add a forecast of snow and ice into that mix and the grocery store is the LAST place you should be. Unfortunately, it was the #1 place we NEEDED to go. We had NO bread, milk, lunch meat, cereal, NO NOTHING in the house!! We were even out of paper towels and toilet paper.

Big Man was nice enough to go with me to the store. We were there for over an hour. It was insane. The lines were worse than they were on Black Friday. All the registers were open but 2 and they were all at least 4 people deep. Everyone had their buggy piled to the top. We used two buggies to get our stuff out of there. (why it never goes back in the way it was in the first place is beyond me!!)

The snow started while we were in Wal-mart. It continued slowly through the night. By morning, we had about 2 or 3 inches, but a nice mix of snow and ice. The roads were awful!! The kids had a blast! I didn't go outside, but took these pictures from the garage. It was too slippery for me.

We don't have a sled, so they roll down the driveway or down the side hill.

I uploaded these in reverse order, so this is the kiddies BEFORE they went outside.

I should have known we would get some snow this winter. Someone gave us bibs for Little Man and Princess semi-fits into my bibs. (they were a little big, but with the adjustable straps, they worked)

The snow/ice fell Friday night into Saturday morning. Little Man's basketball game was canceled on Saturday. Sunday we didn't have church (as didn't most churches in our area). Monday we didn't have school. The problem was that the snow/ice wasn't melting and the roads were BAD. We did have school on Tuesday, but the public schools were out on Tuesday still and Wednesday they had a delay.

When the bad snow hit the North a few days ago, our Principal asked how much snow my family had gotten (she knows they live up north). I told her around 2-3 feet. She asked how much school they missed. I believe at the time, they only had a delay because the snow fell on the weekend. I told her that. She just laughed and laughed. She said that much snow would have put us all out for a week or more. She is right!

K'nex

2010-02-19T19:38:00.000-05:00

For Christmas, Little Man got K'nex. He LOVES them. He has made so many different vehicles and such. He never really liked Legos, but K'nex are perfect for him. I think it's because the K'nex come with instructions. He likes to follow the instructions and then modify them. He has a great imagination, but he can't always come up with his own designs (like you need to do with legos).

I love the K'nex because when Little Man is playing with them, he will play for hours - literally - on his own with them. He is not a child to play by himself. They are perfect for when Princess isn't here or when they can't seem to get along together.

Busy Break

2010-02-18T11:29:00.002-05:00

We've been on break this week. My last break before I go on Maternity Leave. And, five weeks from today - the baby will be here. Whew! That's not a lot of time and when I look around the house, there's still a lot to do and get.

This week has been busy, busy, busy. Monday, the kiddies had dentist appointments. Little Man was just in for a cleaning and x-rays. Princess needed to get a cavity filled. Since it was in the BIG City, Nana went with us. She went back with Princess and I went with Little Man. Everything was good for both of them. Princess was still oddly fascinated by the fact that she had a cavity filled but was nervous about getting a shot. She didn't even feel the injection and afterward was strangely excited that her cheek was still numb! Little Man has 2 "stains" (the dentist called them that) on his right back teeth. The dentist did a good job of scaring him into brushing better.

As we were getting ready to leave the room, Little Man asked the hygienist where his toothbrush and toothpaste were. He told her that all the cherubs in his classroom told him that he would get a toothbrush and toothpaste. She looked at me and smiled. I didn't really know what to say, because I know that Princess got a toothbrush and stuff on her cleaning visit and I kinda thought that was dentist protocol. I told Little Man that maybe they were out of toothbrushes. He looked sad. She said, "You sure are cute." And then she opened a drawer and told him she didn't have any toothpaste. He peered in too and pointed out that she had dental floss! Again she said, "You're a cute one!" (only feeding the ego there, it doesn't help!!) She left and came back with a toothbrush and handed him some dental floss. Then she looked at me and said, "Next time I'll be ready for you!"

We had had some issues with the payment policy and our insurance. Basically, the dentist was wanting us to pay the full price upfront and then any "leftover" from what the insurance paid was applied to our account as a credit. When Big Man and Princess went in December, I wasn't on top of things, and didn't think much of it, until I really sat down and read our insurance stuff. According to what I read, we only needed to pay our deductible and that cleanings were completely free (and exempt from the deductible). Well, Monday morning, I called the insurance company before we went to see what the deal was. The insurance rep was NOT happy that the dentist office was making us pay upfront and he left me his name and number and gave me instructions to tell the office personnel that according to the contract that the office has with our insurance, we are only to pay the deductible for Princess and nothing for Little Man and if they had any questions, they were to call him. Miraculously, we didn't have to pay a thing! That was due to the credit we had from December.

Nana and Papa kept the kiddies Monday night. Monday night, I went out with some Dear Friends for dinner and they had some gifts for Chumlee and I. They had gotten the bedding for her crib and a changing table! I was very happy and excited!!! I organized her room that night!! I still have to take pictures of it.

Tuesday, we cleaned out closets and reorganized some furniture. Let me just say, that the kiddies are very strong - when they want to be. I had told them that I would not be able move any of the furniture, but that I would guide them and make sure that they didn't hit the walls with anything. They did GREAT!! But, ask them to pick up the trash they dropped on the floor and you'd think I was asking them to move a trailer truck!! We cleaned and reorganized in their closet, Chumlee's closet, their room, Chumlee's room, the coat closet, and took stuff to the basement. Big Man was impressed with the work we had done. I think they really surprised him with how much they did!!

Wednesday, we did laundry and more laundry. We also watched the Olympics and slept in. We've been having trouble with the Accord and Nana was going to help us take it to the mechanic, but we couldn't get it started, so she let us borrow one of their cars. The kiddies stayed with Nana and Papa again. I got the hall closet, my closet, and under the kitchen sink cleaned out.

Today, we have more laundry to finish up and I have a few more cabinets/closets to clean out. Then we have guitar lessons and a trip to Walmart.

Tomorrow, I hope to get everything finished up and tomorrow afternoon, Nana and I are going to a HUGE consignment sale in Big City. We are looking for a high chair, stroller, and pack and play (big things). I also hope to find a boppy and lots of burp cloths and crib sheets. We need a car seat, but the consignment sale says they are not carrying car seats. I am hoping to stay under $100 and still get all that stuff. I'll let you know how it goes!!

I can't believe that Chumlee's arrival is only 5 weeks away! Sometimes that still seems like FOREVER and other times it seems like it will be here too soon!!

Happy Valentines Day

2010-02-14T18:18:00.003-05:00

Big Man informed me that today is also Chinese New Year. To steal the thunder from his facebook, "How did Wal-mart let THAT holiday slip by??" I thought his comment was hilarious!! Or maybe I'm just delirious from lack of sleep.

Ah, yes, Chumlee's newest "trick" is to be very still or just move gently about my abdomen until I sit down or lay down to sleep. If I sit down, she positions herself so that she is diagonal in my womb with her feet pressing on (or near) my right hip and her head under my left rib cage. Then commences the bouncing. Apparently she is jumping on a nerve or a pressure point of some sort, because as she jumps, my right leg will twitch. Then, I get the breath knocked out of me as she head-butts my left lung. And back and forth the fun continues! The best way to get her to stop is if I get up and walk around. However, I have learned that she will also stop if I pat my tummy for about 5 minutes. I usually resort to patting.

The other new "let's make momma tired" game takes place whenever I lay down to go to sleep. She will permit me about 20 minutes of blissful slumber and then decides that I have had enough rest and starts to try to punch or kick or head-butt her way out my belly button. This goes on for about 5 minutes. Enough to wake me up really good! Then she will settle back down for about another 20 minutes or so.

I think Big Man and I are in for a real treat once she arrives!! She is going to be the stinker of the bunch, I am sure!

For Valentines Day, I usually make a bunch of heart-shaped foods for our meals - starting with pancakes. This year, I had some mini m&m's and I decided to mix them in with the pancakes. I poured the batter before I remembered the heart mold. Hoping the kiddies would be excited about the m&m's, I just kept on going with regular round pancakes. I forgot who I was trying to fool. As we were sitting down to eat, Little Man announced, "They are supposed to be heart-shaped Momma!" I told him I had forgotten, but that they had m&m's in them instead. Princess decided to chime in with her opinion: "You could get a knife and cut them into hearts, Momma." Me: "Uh, NO! Eat your pancakes."

I did feel a little bit guilty for not making them heart-shaped foods. After church, they went to Nana and Papa's so that Big Man and I could go out to eat and to a movie, but Big Man hasn't been feeling well (the kiddies and i were sick about 10 days ago: sore throats and coughs. i think we shared with him)and was tired and due to Chumlee's newest tricks, I was tired, too. So, we decided to skip the movie and just go get lunch.

The steak house we were going to go to was closed for lunch, but was opening around 4pm. We weren't going back out. We headed to a local Japanese restaurant for take out. They have a facebook page and the cashier asked if she could take our picture. Big Man said, "Sure." I borrowed it from their page. And I just noticed that I'm wearing the same outfit that I wore to my baby shower. Hey - it fits and I like it! Don't mess with a pregnant woman!!

I like the picture! I really do! I've been hot rolling my hair. I needed something different. Things have still be stressful and I decided that even if I feel lousy, I want to look good. Besides, my hair hot rolls better when it is dry (obviously) so I can take my shower at night which really saves time in the morning.

Our Japanese was good - I ate all mine. Big Man didn't. His comment was, "That was a lot of food; I just couldn't eat it all." (sound familiar grammy??) Then I ate some girl scout cookies that I ~~stole~~ got from Papa and we watched some Olympics. We watched the Office (love that show) from Thursday night (love the dvr even more) and then we both fell asleep. Big Man for a couple hours, me for 20 minutes!

It was a great Valentines Day!!! I'm hoping to get a foot massage yet tonight. Shhhh! We will see about that!

Tomorrow, the kiddies go to the dentist. (we are on break.) Little Man for a cleaning and general x-rays. Also, he has a very, very loose tooth. Nana is supposed to try to get it out today. I don't want to have to pay the dentist for getting it out. Princess is getting a cavity filled. Oddly enough, she is slightly excited about that. Maybe we should let her pay for it, then she might not be so excited!! (haha)

New Beds

2010-02-13T17:59:00.002-05:00

When we found out that we were going to be having another baby, my mind went to several "obstacles" or reasons why we could not possibly have another child. One of those was the fact that we have a 3 bedroom house. Now, I am not opposed to (or above) having children share rooms. But when there is a 7 or 10 year age difference and they are not all the same gender - it can create some issues.

For the first few months, I guess I just put it out of my mind. The WHERE we would put everyone, that is. I guess I was just hoping we would have a boy and somehow that would just solve all the problems.

Well, as you know, we are having a girl (the us tech had BETTER be right). Once we learned that fact, I really started thinking about what to do with the kiddies. I didn't want to have the baby in with either kiddie for the first few months (probably more like the first year or so) until we have Chumlee in a good bedtime routine and she's not getting up at night to eat. That meant putting Princess and Little Man together for a year or more. That meant getting new beds - bunk beds - because there was NO WAY 2 twin beds would fit into the larger of the two kiddie rooms. Nice bunk beds are expensive!!

Big Man and I wanted to get nice, real wood, not plastic or fiberglass or pressed wood, bunk beds for the kiddies. We have had the less expensive stuff in the past, and while it works for a while, we have always had to replace it. The plan was to try to get the bunk beds around Christmas, using any Christmas money we got to help with the cost.

I was on facebook one day and I noticed that a friend was moving and was trying to sell some real wood bunk beds. She wanted $400 for the beds and a dresser. We really didn't need a dresser. I sent her a message and we set up a time for me to come by and look at the beds. I fell in love!! They were perfect for what we needed and better yet, someone else had messaged her and was interested in the dresser, but not the beds. She said she'd take $300 for the beds. I did some online research that night. The closest I could find to the beds she had was around $900. Plus, she was including the mattresses. Princess was in need of a new mattress and the 4" foam mattress we put under Princess's bed for guests or for Chumlee when she gets a bed.

The beds form a "T" shape. The sides are bookshelves and have 5 drawers on each side - for a total of 6 shelves of bookshelf and 10 drawers!! Plus, the top bunk can be adjusted on the sides to allow for a full bed to be placed underneath!!! We could not have asked for a better deal.

The kiddies LOVE them. We are thinking that when it is time to move Chumlee in with Princess, we will adjust the top bunk out and we should be able to slide a toddler bed in the bottom part. That would give the girls more floor space until Chumlee is too big for the toddler bed.

I thought I had pictures of the bunk beds, but I don't. I will try to take some and post them soon.

A Baby Shower

2010-02-12T19:42:00.001-05:00

Nana and her sisters had a baby shower for Chumlee and me a few weeks ago. Princess came with me. This is the only picture I have of her and me from that day. Apparently Christmas wasn't the only event I didn't take pictures of.

It was a nice shower. We got nice things for Chumlee: clothes, towels and washcloths, diapers, wipes, some toys, and several gift cards.

Princess loved her corsage and she and I both wore them to church the next day.

We are still getting all the things together that we need for Chumlee. There is a BIG consignment sale in a couple of weeks in the Big City. Nana and I are going. I got an early entry pass because I'm an expectant mother. I hope we can find the carseat/stroller combo there at a good price. I'll also be on the lookout for burp cloths. As I was going through Chumlee's stuff the other day, I noticed we had 3! If she is anything like Princess and Little Man, 3 will be good for about 2 hours!!!

Christmas At Our House

2010-02-11T19:26:00.000-05:00

Until I decided to upload and post these pictures, I didn't realize that I had taken so few pictures at Christmas time this year. I don't know why. Maybe it was because I hadn't (still don't) felt quite like myself - could be the additional person I'm carrying - or because our HVAC unit decided to start acting up on Christmas Eve and then our computer crashed on Christmas Day. Whatever reason, these are the only pictures I have from Christmas.

Little Man reading the Christmas story before we opened gifts.

Opening his gift from Princess - a dinosaur that sprays water!

They both got several DS games.

Daddy liked his PSP game.

The best part about being the one in charge of the camera is that there are no pictures of me! We also got a new tv. It is very nice and we had been thinking/talking about getting an HDTV for months. Big Man found a good deal on a great model on Cyber-Monday. We got what we wanted for less than we had saved. It was great!!!

That's all the Christmas pictures I've got, even though we had two other Christmas celebrations. Oh well!

Upwards!

2010-02-10T17:15:00.001-05:00

Little Man is playing Upwards Basketball this winter again. He tried it last year and really liked it - even though they lost every game but one. That seems to be the kind of teams he is on. The ones that lose all their games.

This year is much better. Now, don't crucify me for wanting my son to win. I'm usually the one telling Big Man that it's more important that Little Man have fun and learn the rules of the game. This year, I was out for a winning season! And so far, we have one. They have won all their games. It is GREAT!!!

Little Man is a scrapper. He seems big (or normal sized) to me, but when he is on the basketball court, he is usually one of the smaller (if not the smallest) ones out there. He has a really hard time getting a rebound because his arms are about two hand lengths shorter than the other boys. But that doesn't stop him from trying!! When he does get a hold of the ball, he won't let go. He has been involved in several "jump ball" calls in each game. He is not afraid to go after the ball. And his coaches have commented many times about how happy he is to be playing ball. He loves it! He still hasn't scored a basket, but his coaches and teammates are giving him many chances (as they are for the others who haven't scored yet, either). He was really close this past Saturday. Twice the ball was in the net and it swirled around and bounced out!

So far, he has gotten 1 Christ star (which is given for having a Christ-like spirit and attitude. we were very proud of that!), 2 good sportman stars, and 2 great effort stars. He is trying to get the best defense and best offense stars, then he will have gotten all the stars.

The pictures are dark, but you can get the point.

He is in this last picture, he's on the far backside of the blue shirts.

The Princess is 10

2010-02-09T16:43:00.000-05:00

It was very hard to believe that Princess turned 10 in December! One of the things I remember reading on the internet about a week before her birthday was a list of things that weren't around/popular a decade ago (it was from some newsy site in preparation for the new year). Google and iPod were on the list. Google and iPod are a part of her everyday conversation. When she asks a question that I don't know the answer to, she will say, "Let's google it." It is amazing how much technology has changed in 10 years!! And what we think we can't live without, we did just fine without 10 years ago when we brought her home from the hospital.

I didn't get an "early morning" picture of her. We were running late (and since i don't have my WONDERFUL aide that i had last year, we had to be at school on time to unlock the door). Princess picked Burger King for breakfast. It was great for her, not so great for Little Man. I ordered a 3 piece French Toast stick for him, but they were out of them. (WHAT?!?! it reminded me of the time we went to kfc and were told they were out of chicken - seriously, it happened!) So, I ordered him a plain egg croissant. Instead they gave us 4 ham, egg, and cheese croissants and NO plain egg. He ate one of the ham, egg, and cheese but wasn't happy about it! (this is the child who doesn't like his food touching)

He did manage to get happy in time for some breakfast pictures!

I was SOOOO tired and SOOOO ready for Christmas break!
I think we really look alike in this picture.

Checking my facebook for the birthday messages everyone sent her.

We went the easy route for birthday treats - Little Debbie cupcakes!
Little Man was excited to miss some seatwork time to come celebrate with her.

Waiting to open her presents.

Gift from Little Man - can't remember what he gave her :(

Right before I yelled, "Stop moving around!"

She LOVED her gift from us - an iPod Nano. It is better than the Shuffle that I have!
She loves the video part of it best!!

Little Cousin drinking Pepsi (don't tell his mommy) at Applebee's

Dinner at Applebees - that was an interesting time!

Opening presents from grandparents and Auntie.
Opening her mouth even wider than I thought was humanly possible!!

She now has 2 LPSO (littlest pet shop online)

And a FurReal Panda

Reese's Ice Cream cake from DQ
(if you can't have a pappy cake, get a dq one)

Princess and her daddy!!

Rantings of a Mad Pregnant Woman

2010-02-08T19:53:00.002-05:00

You might want to just walk away from your computer or go to another site. I am frustrated and very mad and I'm not sure if it is the hormones or if people really are this dumb!

If you hate to bother me, then DON'T!
Do not call me at 8am on a Saturday morning to ask a question that I have already answered a billion times!
My sense of smell is heightened. I appreciate that you know that. However, when you ask me if that smell bothers me and I say, "Yes." Then STOP USING IT or STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!!
Read the directions yourself. I have stopped reading directions to 90% of my class (ages 6 & 7). I don't want to read directions to adults, too.
If you don't understand the directions - read them again. Coming to me will only cause me more stress and heartburn.
If you have read the directions twice, and you still don't get it - you may come to me. But chances are great that I will just read the directions to you again :) I like to annoy you as much as you annoy me!!
I repeat myself because you keep asking the same question!!!
Changing the wording of the question doesn't not qualify it as a different question.
Don't touch my stuff!!
Get out of my personal space (now redefined as 20 square feet around my ever enlarging body as opposed to the normal 1 square foot most people require)!!
DO NOT TOUCH MY BELLY!!!!
Keep up with your own stuff.
Don't ask me to help you find your stuff - I am having memory issues of my own without having to be responsible for you, too.
If you lose your stuff, don't ask to borrow mine.
When I answer your questions and give you the advice you have ASKED for, DO IT!! Otherwise, DON'T ASK!
You're not my boss, applesauce. Understand rubber band???
When you don't like what I am doing, that's fine. But don't offer suggestions if you aren't willing to take responsibility for anything. That only makes me more resistant to your ideas (which, by the way, are INSANE!!!).
Thank goodness this isn't rocket science, but it does require a little bit of brain power. Please remember to wear your thinking cap!
Yes, I am tired. Your pointing out that I have circles under my eyes will NOT improve my disposition - nor will it make me any less tired. And suggesting that I go to bed earlier will not help either.
My belly is getting bigger - that's supposed to happen.
I KNOW you did NOT just say, "WOW! You still have a looooooong way to go!!"
Asking the same question more than once in an hour might result in injury to your person!
I move slowly because I'm fat! Cheetahs run faster than elephants. Be glad you can move faster than me right now. Otherwise, you might find yourself being squashed by a mad pregnant woman!

AHHHHHHHHHHHH! I feel so much better. And, in the true meaning of this blog, ALL THAT IS TRUE! I have heard/seen/experienced all of the above in the past few weeks.

Sunday Before Christmas

2010-02-08T16:30:00.000-05:00

While I have some time, I thought I'd schedule a few posts. These pictures are from December 20, 2009. (i was about 26 weeks.) We don't have a picture of Big Man and any one because the camera ran out of battery and I didn't have any more AA in the house at the time. (that is typical for me)

The kiddies. I was a bit put out with Little Man's outfit. That sweater is 1 size too small. I had laid out a gray turtleneck and a nice PLAIN red sweater. He decided to wear the too small reindeer sweater with a green polo shirt underneath! Then he hid from me until it was time to get in the car so that I would not be able to tell him to change!!

Aside from running out of batteries, I also forget that the camera has a zoom feature! That's why each picture of the kiddies gets closer and closer. I remember it eventually!!

This was supposed to be a picture of the girls, but somebody didn't get my belly!

The three kiddies and I!

Merry Christmas! (just in time for valentine's day)

I Haven't Died, I'm Just Tired

2010-02-07T11:34:00.006-05:00

Exhausted would be more appropriate! I have 6 weeks and 1 day until I get to hold Chumlee (who is getting closer to having a real name and is still waking me up around 2-3 am). I can hardly wait!!! Every day, I get more and more excited and am more and more thankful for the surprise that she is!

We have been busy and I've not really be on the computer much. Big Man got me a BlackBerry curve in October and I can access Facebook from there. I do more "updating" on there than I do here. Blogging just takes more thought and effort - both of which are in short supply for me right now. And, actually, I probably wouldn't be on today if the kiddies were healthy. Last week, I came down with a BAD cough and sore throat. The OB-GYN looked at me at my appointment and said it was just a sore throat. I pretty much couldn't take anything, which I figured. So I salt-watered it and sucked on Ricola Honey Lemon cough drops. Little Man caught it next, then Princess. Big Man is coming down with it now, I think. He went to church (he has to - he preaches) and I kept the kiddies home.

Auntie is in Peru now. She will most likely be coming home for a few weeks in December. She is down there as a missionary teacher in a Christian school. She has a blog. I will try to link to it soon. Click here.

Little Man is now taking guitar lessons and playing Upwards basketball. His team hasn't lost a game yet. That is a first for him. Usually, he is on a losing team - no matter what sport he plays. He is really enjoying it and is earning a lot of stars. He has gotten the "Christ" star once, the good sportsmanship star twice and the effort star twice. We are really proud of his good attitude and testimony on the court.

Princess is still taking piano and loving it (most days). She is also still being Princess Attitude most days! We are working on that!!

Big Man and I (ok, big man) painted Chumlee's room last week. Since we will be doing some room shuffling in the next few months/years, we wanted a color that would suit baby Chumlee and Little Man. Right now, Princess and Little Man are in the same room with bunk beds (the biggest room) and Chumlee has the smaller room to herself. Once Chumlee gets older (around 1 to 1 & 1/2) we plan to move Little Man into the smaller room and Chumlee in with Princess. So, painting the room pink wouldn't work for long. So, we decided on a color called Chocolate Turtle by Valspar. It is gorgeous!! I've picked out this bedding:
And I've heard that some Dear Friends have purchased it for us! YAY!!! Now, I just can't wait to get it and put in on the crib.

I took some pictures of what we have done in the room so far. It is still not quite finished, but I have been promising people pictures for about a week now. The computer is going out. The piano is staying. I hope to be able to sand and paint the small dresser white. The crib will stay the same color. I'm not sure what we are going to do with the bookshelf - probably take it out, too. We need to get a changing table. Anyway, there is still a lot to do, but it has come a long way!! (oh, and of course, there is always a story behind everything we do. as big man says, "nothing is simple for us." it took nearly 2 gallons of paint to do this room. all the paint calculators we did said one gallon would be plenty! HA!! they don't know us!!!)

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

2010-01-25T19:49:00.003-05:00

Just call me Alexander. I might just move to Australia. However, I'm sure that the school children there also have parents that I would have to deal with, too.

Today was one of those days that are the reason that I have my own personal "happy note" file. Cause, every once in a while, I just need to be reminded that I am a good teacher and there are TONS (50 in my file - yes i counted them today) of parents who wrote me notes and letters to express just that opinion.

Tomorrow will be better, I know. This too shall pass. And I shouldn't take it too personally.

Another reason to be happy that in 56 days, I'm outta ~~here~~ there! (until another school year starts)

She Said WHAT??

2010-01-22T22:14:00.003-05:00

Last year, I posted about our class trip to buy Christmas presents for the residents of the assisted living facility we (as a 1st grade class) minister to. This year, we are visiting the residents again and again we went Christmas shopping and out to lunch. Things went just as well this year as they did last year. With the exception of the fact that I had forgotten that sales tax had gone up 1/2% and that meant 1 extra cent. It's not the extra penny per child that I had to pay, it's the frustration of having to stand by the register paying the extra penny.

The funny story this year doesn't involve the actual shopping day, but rather a conversation that happened a few days before our trip. As I was explaining to the cherubs what we were going to be doing and all, I told them that we would be going into the toiletry aisle to buy our gifts. I don't know why I didn't call it the personal hygiene aisle, but I just kept referring to it as the toiletry aisle.

The day of our trip, I got a visit from one of the cherubs' mothers. She had a story to share with me. She was getting her son ready for the day and asked him if he was excited to go to the Dollar Tree to go shopping. He looked confused and slightly worried, she said, so she asked him what was wrong. He told her he wasn't sure we were going to the Dollar Tree anymore. She asked why and he said, "Because Mrs. Teacher said we were going to the Toilet Tree." She said it was all she could do to keep from laughing right at him. She told him she would come in and talk to me about it.

Of course, I explained what I had said and we sorted it all out. But we did have a good laugh over it all!!

Note to self: next year refer to the aisle as personal hygiene aisle!!

Christmas Movies

2010-01-19T20:17:00.003-05:00

We have Dish Network and as part of our "sign-up"deal (over 2 years ago), we got Cinemax for free (i thought it was only for 3 months, but we still have it at no extra charge). Then we signed up for HD channels and got HBO for free (again supposedly for 3 months, we will see - it should run out in feb) and for the final set of movie channels, we signed up for automatic payments and got Showtime for 3 months (again, should end in feb).

Well, that resulted in having a lot of movies to choose from. Over Christmas break, Big Man and I watched: The Hulk, The Dark Knight, Bride Wars (yes, he watched it with me) and He's Just Not That Into You. The Dark Knight was the best of all 4 of those movies. It was very good! Although, I do still believe it wasn't as good as all the hype (i think that most of that was because of what happened with heath ledger). The Hulk was better than I thought it would be, but there was a bit of suspenseful action - which isn't bad. But suspense makes my heart race, and that in turn seems to make Chumlee more hyper. Also, it was kind of weird for me to see the lead actor from Lie to Me in this movie. I have a very hard time separating tv from reality. I get involved in a show/series/movie and when actors cross over to another movie or show, it throws me for a loop!

Bride Wars was great! I loved it. Even Big Man enjoyed it. I love when he watches "girlie movies" with me!! As for He's Just Not That Into You, I was just not that into it. I fell asleep during it and it didn't bother me one bit. Big Man was semi-watching it with me. I think he was working on fixing the virus on the computer at the time. I think it was just a movie filled with big names.

Our DVR is filled with movies - a good bit of them are scary or suspense movies (those are big man's favorites). I have August Rush on there. I have heard good things about it. I need to look through the movie channel guide to see what else we've got coming up. I'm sure I'll have some time soon to watch movies!

Allowance Update

2010-01-17T15:08:00.003-05:00

It's been two months since we started the kiddies on the allowance plan we have developed. It's going pretty well. The hardest part, for me, has been letting go and letting them buy whatever they want. There has been a bit of frustration on their part when they realize that they don't have enough money to buy something (usually because of tax), but they are learning to consider that. Little Man has been upset with Wal-mart a few times because items aren't shelved properly and so he has been confused a few times with prices.

Big Man took them shopping a few days ago. Little Man was out of toothpaste and shampoo. One of the "rules" is that the kiddies have to buy some of their needs, too. Princess was in need of more sharpies for school - until she saw the price. Then she decided that she could still use the ones she had. Well, back to Little Man (cause he's always funnier). First, we didn't realize he was out of shampoo because he kept filling his bottle up with water. It's a colored bottle, so when I would lift it to check it, it always seemed like it had enough in it. I only discovered that he needed more shampoo when I caught him filling the bottle with water. They only have to buy one need per month, so he only had to get shampoo or toothpaste. He bought the toothpaste. However, he wanted to tell Big Man which shampoo he wanted. Big Man told him that wasn't the deal. If we are buying, it's Sauve. Little Man wanted Axe brand (at about 2x's the cost of sauve). Big Man told him he could buy the Axe and that we would then buy the toothpaste. Little Man decided he could use Sauve.

After the time in the hygiene aisle, they headed to toys. Big Man was able to experience my pain! I highly dislike taking the kiddies to the toy aisles and have started giving them 5 minutes to make a decision. I think that day they spent 30 minutes in there (and there are only about 4 aisles of toys). Little Man got a siren light. Princess decided to save her money and convinced Big Man to take her to Game Stop because she had a gift card for there from Christmas. She bought a game for her DS.

Overall, this is turning out great for our family. We don't buy a lot of snack cakes and such. Usually at the beginning of the month (i do most of the grocery shopping once a month, with necessity runs for milk and bread weekly), I will buy a box or two for lunches. Well, last week, the kiddies realized that they could use their allowance money for snack cakes - one of the rules is that they can buy whatever they want (as long as it is not something we, as parents, would be opposed to for safety or moral reasons). So they each bought a box. They also put their money together and bought "Bedtime Stories." They are getting better at saving their money. We are halfway through the month and they both have slightly over half of their money left.

An End to the Heartburn

2010-01-16T15:42:00.002-05:00

Well, I think it is finally over - the heartburn, that is. After having such bad reflux that I have vomited a few times and that I couldn't sleep lying down in the bed (been sleeping in the big chair in the living room) AND having tried most all of the "allowable" heartburn medicines on the list from the dr, I have found a solution!

At my most recent dr visit, I told him of the trouble I was having. He said to try Prevacid. Prevacid wasn't on the list. I told him that. He said Prevacid used to only be available by prescription, but now there is an OTC version. He said that should work, and he also said that I could take some liquid antacid for the in-between times (prevacid is a once a day pill).

I took my first Prevacid last night. Within 2 hours, the heartburn, burping, and burning sensation in my throat was gone, gone, GONE!!! I was able to sleep in the bed for the first time in a long time! It was wonderful - now if I can just convince Chumlee to not wake me at 2 (or 3) AM!!

Aside from wanting to take a nap and needing to get laundry and dishes done, I feel great today. That's another first in a long time, too!

29 1/2 Weeks

2010-01-15T07:41:00.003-05:00

K, here is the picture that Little Man took this morning. We are 29 1/2 weeks in this photo. I think I seriously need to be wearing makeup, but I'm too lazy to put it on in the mornings!!

Also, this is most likely the last day for this sweatsuit outfit (i love the sweats)! The last time I wore this outfit, the Art Teacher at school asked me if the PE teacher knew I was smuggling out her basketballs under my shirt. Haha!! She is so funny!!!! On the plus, the only place I can really tell that I'm gaining a lot of weight is in my belly - so hopefully by March 22nd that will be most all coming out and off!

And, yes, March 22nd is the official date. The dr confirmed that yesterday. And, I hadn't gained any weight again, but he didn't say a word. I think he was more focused on the lack of movement from the other day - which he said that everything is fine.

Alrighty then, I should probably go to school now. Have a great day everyone!!!

A Little of This, A Bit of That, And a Lot of Heartburn!

2010-01-14T02:10:00.004-05:00

Yes, yes, it's been a while. I know, and I'm sorry. I'm more sorry for myself than for you! I really want this blog to be a journal of our family and I am afraid that I'm going to be leaving out some funny or important stuff by not blogging more often.

Since the last post, here's the low-down:

Big Man got the computer fixed after about a week of working on it (and several 24+ hour days). He is so the MAN!!!
We are all back at school.
I have taken and passed my glucose test! YAY!!! That thing gets nastier each pregnancy. With all the improvements and changes in maternity and baby things I have seen since Little Man, I was really hoping that the glucose drink had changed. Nope! In fact, I might even put in a vote for it being WORSE!!
We did have a very nice Christmas and New Years (despite all the stuff breaking or not working).
Our church gave me a surprise shower on Sunday! Since it was a surprise, I didn't have the camera, so I don't have pictures of the shower, but I will get pictures posted of the gifts.
Chumlee is still nameless. We have decided (for now) to take our list of names to the hospital and name her once we see her. We have joked (hopefully) that she really might be named Chumlee!!
I have 10 weeks left!!!
Temperatures have been in the teens for several days and we had the threat of snow. That is not nice to tempt Southerners with snow. There was no bread or milk of any kind to be found anywhere! And all we got was a little rain!!!! Although, we did get an hour delay out of it - hehe!
The heartburn has been killer lately. (and this is where i'll park for a while, because it has been such an issue.) It doesn't matter what I eat or drink, I get it. I think it is really more like acid reflux because it makes me vomit or want to vomit (sorry if you have a weak stomach). I've tried just about every OTC medication there is and nothing helps. We are talking to the dr this week about this issue. Right now, it is 2:20am and I can't sleep because it is so bad. Drinking milk seems to help, but only for an hour or two. Sleeping in a chair helps, but then my back and hips hurt.

However, I have recently learned that heartburn equals moving baby. No heartburn, no movement (at least none that i can feel). How did I learn this? Glad you asked! A couple of days ago, Chumlee had me up at 4am (like normal) and was moving and kicking and having a GRAND time for about 30 minutes. I went back to sleep. Got up at regular time and got ready for school. No heartburn. I thought, "This is going to be a great day!"

If Chumlee has been anything the past 4-6 weeks, it's regular. She has a nice routine of movement and waking me up at night. I was getting adjusted to it and things were fine. Well, that day, she was not in her normal routine of movement. Actually, there was no movement at all. I thought that maybe she was just more sleepy that day and decided to try to "wake her up" with a Mt. Dew. That should do it. I drank the Mt. Dew around 2:30ish. Nothing! I laid on my left side. Nothing. It was now close to 4pm and I knew the dr office would be closing soon and I didn't want to take my chances with who I would get if I called the on-call dr (i'm very picky). So, I called the office. Fully expecting them to say one of three things: 1) give it a little more time; 2) come in and we'll try to get a heartbeat with the doppler; 3) try "this, this, and this" then call us back.

NOPE! The nurse said (exact words), "Go to the ER and have them put you on monitors. I'll call and tell them you are coming."

NIIIIIIIIICE!!!! Big Man is about an hour away and because of where he works, kinda hard to get a hold of. Princess and Little Man are with me and both are crying because I told them we had to go to the ER so I could get monitored. Grammy and Pappy live out of state. Nana is with her mom (also an hour away) and I'm not sure where Papa is - although I was pretty sure he was in our town.

I call Papa and ask him to meet me at the ER so he can take the kiddies. Then I try to get a hold of Big Man. I was transferred twice and finally got him after 3 minutes - which isn't bad. He was gonna be on his way. And we headed to the ER.

The ER sent me to the OB wing. The OB nurses hooked me up to monitors and we had a heartbeat, but no movements. Once I was settled, I asked that the kiddies be allowed in to see me as they had been crying when I left them in the waiting room (the other nurse was watching them and papa got there REALLY quick!! i didn't want them in the room with me because i wasn't sure yet what was happening with chumlee and they didn't need to be there if things weren't good.)

They left me on monitors for a while. Chumlee did move a bit, but still not her normal self. The nurse said she just must have been really sleepy. Her heartbeat was strong and steady going from the 130's to the 170's (with a few drops in the 80's and 90's but i think those were the times she was moving away from the monitors and they couldn't pick up her heart fully).

Once we got home and got settled, the heartburn kicked back in and she started right up with the moving. And she has been back on her little schedule ever since! Hence the lesson that heartburn=movement and I have decided I'll take the heartburn (although i am hoping the dr has something I can take that will let me sleep better and will keep the vomiting away!)

Finally Some Computer Time or Murphy's Law

2009-12-29T17:18:00.002-05:00

Growing up, I learned that the phrase "Murphy's Law" meant "anything that can go wrong will." Poor Murphy. What a way to be remembered!! This last week has been a time of "Murphy's Law" for us.

On Christmas Eve, we had decided to try to start a new tradition. I would cook a turkey dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole, cranberry jelly (i could eat the whole can myself), gravy and pumpkin pie. I was debating on making macaroni and cheese, but the broccoli casserole calls for so much velvetta, that we opted out of that. We invited the in-laws for lunch around 12:30pm. I overslept, but only by about 30 minutes - so it wasn't enough time to ruin any plans. (i forgot to set the alarm - still having memory problems.)

The turkey was still frozen, despite having been in the fridge for about 36 hours (it was only a 6lb breast). So I stuck it in cold water for about 30 minutes so I could get the gravy packet and the innards out. Then I couldn't find the turkey baster nor the meat thermometer AND we were out of milk. I knew this was heading to a trip to Wal-mart.

About that time, I remembered that the hvac unit had been making noise and I went outside to check on it. It was FROZEN over!!! Completely - and no, it wasn't because the weather here was cold. After some research, Big Man discovered (or at least believes) that it is out of freon, or something like that. So we had no heat. Not so bad, because it was in the 50's and the heat from the stove and oven were warming the house nicely. We did not want to call someone out on Christmas Eve and have to pay the "holiday" prices.

Well, by then, it was too late to go to Wal-mart, so it was fingers crossed on the bird getting done and none of us getting food poisoning. Everything was going along just fine. I pulled the potatoes off and drained them, but couldn't find the other beater to the mixer (this memory thing is getting OLD). So, I left them sit for a minute while I got the bird out of the oven.

In-laws arrived and started helping. I set Auntie up to mash the potatoes. They didn't turn out so well. They had gotten cold and weren't mashing right. They looked more like creamed potatoes with BIG lumps!! The bird was done, and I managed to ~~carve~~ butcher it nicely. Aside from the potatoes, the meal was rather nice.

After everyone had left, we had our family Christmas. Since the institution of the allowances, the kiddies had bought gifts with their own money. They were very excited about being able to give their gifts to each other and to us. Big Man took another peek at the hvac unit to see if it had cleared itself up, but it was still a bit froze over.

We headed to the in-laws for Christmas with them. We were a bit late, but given the hvac problems, I hope we were forgiven. I was still stuffed from lunch. Big Man had some oyster stew and then we opened gifts there. That was a flurry of paper and presents. After gifts, they had a Christmas Eve service at their church and Big Man was singing. He sang, "How Many Kings." The sound man accidentally locked his soundtrack in the sound room, so we had to leave without it.

Christmas Day was wet and rainy all day long. I made some monkey bread for breakfast and beans for the supper and we headed to Big Man's grandmother's house for Christmas celebrations. It was a nice time of being with family. The rain helped melt off the extra frozen part of the hvac unit. That was nice!

Nana and Papa kept the kiddies Christmas night and Saturday, I tried to return some things to Wal-mart. There were only 2 (i had posted 3 on facebook, but there were only 2) registers open for returns!!! You've got to be kidding me!! It was insane, and I went at 5pm!!! I got my stuff returned and purchased some containers that were on sale. Then I went to get the kiddies. Meanwhile, back home, Big Man was realizing that we had a terrible trojan virus on the desktop computer. NOT GOOD. He worked late into the night trying to get it off, but to no avail.

Monday, I had to work daycare at school. There were only 10 cherubs. That was really nice. Princess and Big Man had dentist appointments in the BIG City and then Big Man went looking for hard drives and cables to try to get our stuff off the computer before he wipes it and starts over. They were gone most all of the day and we were not able to get the car to the mechanic (we think it needs brakes).

Monday night, we got bunk beds for the kiddies. They love them!

Today, we did about nothing but hung out as a family. Little Man and I went for groceries as we have not been at home really since Christmas Eve and we were out of a lot of the staples (bread, milk, lunch meat) and I needed some Coke. (that is my newest craving)

I am able to have some computer time because the kiddies are playing in their "new" room (little man's old room) and Big Man is taking a nap, and Nana was nice enough to let us borrow her laptop while the desktop is down.

Tomorrow, we take the car in for brakes and we are heading back to the BIG City to return the hard drive Big Man bought as it doesn't work and there is a short in the connection cable, too.

And so, as we end this year, our theme seems to be......if it can go wrong, it will (and it will cost a lot of money or take a lot of time).

Happy New Year!!

Are You Paying Attention???

2009-12-21T16:21:00.003-05:00

If you are very observant, you may have noticed that the "baby" on the side bar has jumped ahead a few days. At my last OB appointment, I asked about when we would be scheduling the c-section so that Big Man would be able to put in for time off work in advance. Since our dr does c-sections about a week before the due date (march 30), our little Chumlee is scheduled to make her appearance on March 22nd! I'm excited because that is exactly 1 month after my birthday :)

I haven't told my boss at work yet, because we are on break. So, if you know people from my school, please be kind and keep this info to yourself until school resumes.

My appointment went well. I had gained a nice amount of weight, which seemed to make him (dr) happy since he's been harping on my about not gaining anything. My blood pressure and all were in a good range. Chumlee's heart rate is 145 bpm. He said she is sitting really low in my uterus, which is his opinion of why I've had achy hip joints. That and this is a third pregnancy. Apparently everything inside is more "droopy" now! Great!!! He did tell me that I look good and that she seems to be doing great too. They did check my iron levels because I've been so tired, but they are normal. He said to use my break to sleep and rest. Big Man has been home from his job (and will be this entire time) and he has really helped in getting stuff done and the kiddies have been great too. I've been getting a lot of rest and naps.

I have another appointment yet this month for my Glucose Test. I hate that thing. I do not function well if I do not eat breakfast - when I'm not pregnant, I tend to get sick if I don't eat in the mornings. So, pregnant is even worse. With Little Man, I about passed out after they drew all that blood! Fortunately, Big Man will be able to go with me so I won't be alone. I've never had GD (gestational diabetes) with either kiddie, but I've heard that each pregnancy is different.

Chumlee is still being a stinker at times and is still getting me up at night, but since we've been on break, I've been able to sleep in or get a nap, or both.

I do have a 24 week picture for you.
Twenty-five weeks has slipped by without a photo. Hopefully we'll get one this week (26).

Has It Been A Decade Already?

2009-12-15T21:40:00.001-05:00

Today, Princess turned ten. I'm not feeling so well (actually got sick today - first time in a while) and I'm exhausted from all the celebrating!

I can't believe she is TEN!

Worship and Praise Sunday - How Many Kings? by Downhere

2009-12-13T07:07:00.002-05:00

Click on this button to listen to more wonderful Worship and Praise Music today.

I love this song! Big Man found it a few weeks ago and we've been listening to it ever since. What a great song. I love finding new Christmas songs!!

Follow the star to a place unexpected
Would you believe, after all we've projected,
A child in a manger?
Lowly and small, the weakest of all
Unlikeliest hero, wrapped in his mother's shawl -
Just a child -
Is this who we've waited for? 'cause...

How many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Bringing our gifts for the newborn Savior
All that we have, whether costly or meek
Because we believe.
Gold for his honor, and frankincense for his pleasure
And myrrh for the cross he will suffer
Do you believe?
Is this who we've waited for?

All for me...
All for you...

Raging Hormones

2009-12-12T04:01:00.003-05:00

Princess is getting older. She is a preteen and will soon enter those "teenage years!" Lately, we've been dealing with some attitude and other ups and downs of adolescence. Mostly, it's been crying for no reason (or no good reason) and thinking that we are picking on her. Big Man and I are working on it and praying about it and she is doing better. However, yesterday morning was just TOO funny!!

(some of these things i found out later, as i was investigating what had happened)

I was in the bathroom drying my hair and the kiddies were finishing up breakfast when Little Man looked at Princess and noticed that she had a boogey in her nose. He, very nicely, (according to both kiddies after the fact) told Princess that "There's a boogey in your nose."

She lost it! She went from crying, which caused her nose to run, to screaming at him that "you don't like me; you're always picking on me; everyone is mean to me."

It was the screaming that I heard over the noise of the hair dryer and thinking that something awful was happening to my kiddies, I came ~~running~~ wobbling down the hall and into the kitchen. When I entered the kitchen, I noticed Princess's runny nose and said, "Sweetie, I think you need a tissue."

That turned the Wrath of Khan on me!!! And apparently, I got the same "lecture" Little Man had been subjected to moments before. Out of sympathy or comradeship or both, he looked at me and said, "That's (referring to my tissue comment) what started it for me, too."

She finally stopped erupting and I was able to talk to both of them and discovered what had happened. Then she and I had a talk about how NO one was attacking her, we were just concerned for her and she needed to be thankful that Little Man was willing to tell her that she had a boogey in her nose so she didn't go to school like that.

Apologizes were said. Hugs were given. Tissues were used (haha). And the world returned to normal for a few moments before the next explosions. It's going to be a LOOOOOOONG teenagehood with her!!

What I Should Have Done

2009-12-10T17:56:00.002-05:00

With the rush of the holidays, there has been a LOT of stuff that has "slid" by here lately. A lot of stuff has been set aside, rescheduled, or just not done (or forgotten).

I have changed my dr appt for Chumlee twice this month. I was supposed to go the week after Thanksgiving, but I had the date wrong and almost missed the appt, but caught it in time to reschedule for the next week. Then I had to reschedule that one because I didn't have anyone to take my place at work afterschool. Hopefully, we'll be able to make this appointment :)

I have been to Wal-mart 5 times in the past 7 days. Each time (except the first time) because I forgot to get something that was ON THE LIST (or they didn't have it). I think I've got everything I need now.

I remembered to pay some bills that I pay online, but then got on the computer and couldn't remember which bills I needed to pay. After checking on a few sites (that i had already paid) I figured I just couldn't remember what I had already done. Today I remembered which two I hadn't paid yet. Fortunately, they weren't due until the 12th and the 20th. But I did pay them.

I have been putting off laundry and dishes, but we all have clothes to wear and I have paper plates, foam bowls, and plastic spoons and forks - so we are good there, too!!

I HAVE been able to blog - aren't you lucky!!

I still have a few Christmas gifts to buy, but I've decided to wait until school is out and Big Man is out, too, so he can stay with the kiddies! (lucky him)

Now, to try to remember what I should have done about supper!!!

New Family Favorite

2009-12-09T18:46:00.000-05:00

When we were at the beach this summer, my Cousin made this great chicken dish. We all loved it and every time I make it, it gets devoured. We call it Cousin's Chicken. I don't know if it has another name or not.

It is very easy and if you've been reading any of my recipes, you know I don't measure. So here it goes.

Ingredients:
1lb (approximately) chicken breasts
Italian seasonings
olive oil
spaghetti sauce (i use prego mushroom)
lots of shredded mozzarella cheese

I use about 1 lb of chicken breasts for the four of us - that usually leaves enough leftover for Big Man's lunch. You can cut them up or leave them whole. Since I have kiddies in the house, I like to cut the chicken up into smaller pieces before I cook it. Saves me cutting time later.

Heat olive oil in a skillet and brown the chicken pieces on all sides. Sprinkle them while they are browning with Italian seasonings. The browning is optional. I have been short on time for fiddling in the kitchen and have just put the chicken straight into the oven.

Place browned (or just regular) pieces in a 9x13 oven pan (if you remember to spray it with cooking spray first, it cleans up easier). Cover with spaghetti sauce. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

(sorry the pictures are sideways)

The time and temperature are what I always forget, or get messed up. I think it is bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. If you brown the pieces, they cook faster. (**cousin, if i have the time and temperature wrong, please comment or email me)

Serve with cooked pasta noodles and veggies. Although, I have served it without the noodles once because I forgot to cook them before we ate!!

Celebration for Sister

2009-12-08T17:08:00.000-05:00

The day we found out who Chumlee would be, the kiddies were so excited. I was too. They wanted to get out the Easy Bake Oven and make cookies and cakes. I wanted to be on the phone and on facebook to talk to everyone about her. So I let them go to it. I didn't realize until the end that they had used 12 packets of Easy Bake mixes. Fortunately, that only resulted in about 12 cookies!! However, it did result in a huge mess!! They had fun and celebrated sister, though. That's what really mattered!!

The Morning After

2009-12-07T16:48:00.001-05:00

......................and now the conclusion of the post "Of Tithing and Taxes."

Friday morning dawned cold and chilly in our section of the world. As I went to rouse the kiddies from their slumber, I reminded them that we were going to the Big City for some shopping that night and that we might end up at the Mall. They needed to be thinking about what they wanted to buy - if anything.

Princess asked if we were going to the Bookstore. I told her most likely we would (since we get our coffee beans from the coffee shop in the bookstore), but that this time she would have to buy her own books. In the past when we would go to the Bookstore, we would buy them each a book, but since they have allowance now, that's one of their responsibilities. She was excited and asked if she could use my Bookstore discount card. I said of course. Then I headed to take my shower.

When I got out of the shower, she was crying and so was Little Man. I was slightly bewildered. After some intense interrogation, I ascertained that her tears were sympathy tears for him. He was crying because he only had $4 left to spend at the Mall. She wanted to know if she could give him some money. I told her we'd have to check with Big Man on that and I went to try to convince Little Man to get dressed. Nothing doing.

I ended up having to call Big Man (who was on his way to work) to get him to talk to Little Man so that we could get dressed and to school on time. It took Big Man a while to get him calmed down and explained to him (once again) that the allowance money is for the ENTIRE month and that Little Man needs to learn to budget or save more carefully. Finally, a compromise was made for this one time and one time only. Momma (me) would take Little Man and his hot wheels toy back to Wal-mart for a refund after school so that Little Man would be able to have money for the Mall. However, there would be NO MORE returning toys after this one time. Little Man needed to learn to be satisfied with his purchase or not purchase the item in the first place. And, Princess was NOT allowed to lend or give him money.

I had Little Man pack up the toy and receipt so that we could go straight to Wal-mart from school. As we pulled into the parking lot, Little Man changed his mind again! He wanted to take the toy to school to share for Show and Tell. I told him if he took it in, then we were NOT going to be returning it. He was fine with that.

There was a bit of drama in the Big City and at the Bookstore over his lack of funds for making purchases, but with Big Man there, the fuss was not as great as it had been at Wal-mart on Thursday or at the house that morning (oh the power of the daddy!).

Little Man is learning about money and saving. That is the whole point of this allowance thing. We are learning about it too. Hopefully next month will be a bit smoother and less fussy!!

Worship and Praise Sunday - What Faith Can Do by Kutless

2009-12-06T00:30:00.000-05:00

Click on this button to listen to more wonderful Worship and Praise Music today.

This song is a new favorite around our house - especially for Princess. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Of Tithing and Taxes

2009-12-05T09:27:00.002-05:00

We have decided to start giving the kiddies a bit of an allowance. Big Man and I have been discussing and researching this for quite a while (ok, big man has been researching, i have been reading what he finds - he's the researcher). I won't go into all the details of our Allowance Plan, but we are very pleased with what we have going on.

The #1 rule is that the kiddies MUST tithe - 10%.

After giving them their first month's allowance this past week, they were both chomping at the bit to go shopping. Wednesday it was raining - like board the ark, flood mode raining - and I did NOT want to go to Wal-mart in that mess. So we struck the deal that we would put up the Christmas decorations instead and would go shopping on Thursday.

Thursday after school we headed to Wally World! Straight to the toy section. Princess had only brought about 1/4 of her money. She didn't want to spend it all. She knew what she wanted - a Furr Real pet. However, the only one our Wal-mart had was $38. So she switched her plan and got a Littlest Pet Shop Online. She was ready to go after 5 or 10 minutes.

Ya all know that was NOT the case with Little Man. We wandered around the 2 aisles of "boy" toys for over 45 minutes!! He didn't know what he wanted AT ALL!!! As I tried to guide him toward things he had the funds to purchase (but would still leave him with money left for the rest of the month), he kept picking up toys that were WAY out of his price range or would not have left him with tithe money. Apparently I had said, "that doesn't leave you with money for tithe" one time too many because at one point (about 30 minutes into the trip) he looked at me and said, "WHY does God need MY money??? He owns the whole world!?!" I reminded him of what Big Man had said about it being a command from God and how it shows that we acknowledge that our money is from God and that we are helping the church do the work of God.

The next toy he picked up, he would have been able to buy and still tithe, but he had to pay the tax, too. I hated to do it, but I said, "Buddy, you can't get that because you don't have enough to pay the tax."

LM: WHAT!!!!! TAX?!!? What is tax?
Me: Tax is what the government charges on purchases we make.
LM: OH NO! I am NOT giving my money to the government!!!! NO WAY!!! Momma, you pay the tax.
Me: No, Little Man, you have to pay the tax, too.

Now, at this point he did something he has only done once or twice before (and that was when he was a toddler). He flopped to the floor and began to cry. Then he looked up at me and raised one hand and then the other as he declared, "First tithe, now taxes. When does it end?"

I had to try really hard not to bust out laughing as I told him, "When you die."

He finally decided on a Hot Wheels car crusher and we were able to leave with enough money for the taxes, tithe, and a small amount left in the wallet.

to be continued .............................

I Still Exist

2009-12-03T17:49:00.002-05:00

Yes, we are still here - all 5 of us. We have been a busy crew and have decided to add a few more things to our busy schedules, too. How smart of us!

Thanksgiving has come and gone. We had a fabulously busy time with Grammy and Pappy and a few others far to the north. We had a wonderful trip to their home. We had the best time traveling there! It was wonderful. We did run into some heavy fog for about 30 minutes or so, but nothing Big Man couldn't handle.

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious. We ate at my cousin's house - whom Little Man insists on calling Aunt despite all discussions we've had with him on family relationships!! She blessed us with an abundance of little girl clothing. She is also responsible for my current wardrobe (for which the entire world is thankful). I did not have my camera with me. I forgot it. I forget a lot of stuff lately.

Black Friday, Grammy and I hit the stores at 3am. I got winter coats for the kiddies at Old Navy for $15 each. Then we were at Kohl's for their 4am opening. Grammy stood in line and got our purchases while I went to Target for their 5am opening. I was in line at Target for an hour and a half to get the 3 items I wanted there! It was slightly worth it. I love the rush and thrill of Black Friday shopping. This year, though, I was just a bit more tired and the deals seemed a bit less exciting than last year. We headed to Walmart after Target. That place was EMPTY!!! I think everyone was at Target! I didn't get the movies I wanted, but we didn't really need them anyway.

I kept meaning to take a nap on Friday, but it never really happened. We went to see my Grandma about 10:30 that morning. Again, I forgot the camera! She is doing well, but when we were leaving she said to me, "I hope I get to see this new baby." That made me sad. I hope she does too. We are planning another trip north in the summer when Chumlee is about 3 months old, but I told Grammy that if she thinks Grandma won't last until then, we will come sooner. I hate being away from my grandma. She is the last grandparent I have living.

Friday evening, I was able to rest for about an hour or so before Big Man and I went out to dinner with my cousin and her husband. We went for Thai food. It was good. I got Chicken Pad Thai - which was chicken with rice noodles, veggies, and peanuts. Big Man got Ginger Beef (or beef ginger, not sure which). The ginger was a bit much for me, but Big Man liked it. We had a good evening with them. Big Man and I are able to go out or at least have a night to ourselves quite often, thanks to Nana and Papa, but we don't often get out with other couples. It was nice to be out with another couple and talk about grown up stuff!!

Saturday morning, we were out of donuts. Not just regular donuts, but donuts I have only been able to find in the northern part of the country: powdered donuts filled with white cream. So, Little Man and I made a run to the grocery store. I bought a dozen! I finished the last one this morning for breakfast. They are delicious!!!

Saturday afternoon, we went to an Army display thing. I do have pictures of that, but they are on the camera. Good luck seeing those soon :)

Saturday night was my aunt's birthday (she turned 60). We all went to a steak house buffet for her birthday. It was very nice and I ate too much, but since I kinda got in trouble at the drs last appointment for not gaining any weight, I hope that this month I'll be okay!

Sunday, we went to early service at my parents church and then out to Bob Evans for breakfast. We were on the road shortly after 11am. We figured we'd be home around dark. (we are also the people who figured we were finished having children.) Again, we figured wrong. We didn't get home until after 9pm!!! It was a 10 hour trip coming home. We were miserable. Big Man drove the majority of the way. I drove the last hour or so. We were in college kid traffic. Thankfully, God kept us out of any accidents. We did pass some and even witnessed a few happen. We did learn that we need to get a car charger for the Black Berries, because they went dead with a good hour left on the trip! The iPod had died about 7 hours into the trip. Fortunately, the kiddies had a car charger for the dvd player!! Our technology wasn't prepared for an extended car ride.

Monday, we planned on putting up the Christmas tree, but there was some issue (can't remember - that's typical for me lately) that kept us from doing that.

Tuesday, Big Man was working nights and the kiddies had an activity each. For Princess it was piano lessons. Then we met Nana, Papa, April, and toddler cousin at a pizza place for supper before we ran to basketball practice for Little Man. Tuesday, I left the house at 7:30am and didn't get home until 8pm. I don't think I'm going to like Tuesday's.

Wednesday (last night) we were having issues with our bank - don't get me or Big Man started!!! - but we did manage to get the tree up and decorated. It looks good. The outside of the house still needs to be decorated, but that can wait, I guess.

Tonight, I should be washing dishes (yep, the dishwasher broke about 3 weeks ago) and doing laundry. I figured though, that I needed to blog about stuff before I forgot it and I'm sure that I'm leaving some stuff out.

My other aunt did also give us a bunch of baby clothes. They are adorable!!! I am getting so excited to meet Chumlee. She still doesn't have a real world name. She might end up being Chumlee for real!!!

I will have someone take some pictures of my belly this weekend or next week as I'm approaching 24 weeks. I know that some of you are dying to see the expanding waistline. Today, I felt like I had swallowed a basketball!!!

Worship and Praise Sunday - More Beautiful You - Jonny Diaz

2009-11-22T09:40:00.000-05:00

Click on this button to listen to more wonderful Worship and Praise Music today.

Brittany is back with Worship and Praise Sunday. Actually, she's been back for two weeks now and so I'm a bit slow on the draw.

This song has been playing on our local Christian radio for about a month and I just love it. I guess with a preteen girl and another baby girl coming, Big Man and I are realizing more and more the pressures of "beauty" that the world is placing on our daughters. Princess is tottering on the brink of teenagehood and all the pressures that come with that stage of life. We want her to recognize that she is beautiful and has been fearfully and wonderfully created by God.

Thanks

2009-11-21T21:01:00.003-05:00

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers about my hips. I have talked to the nurse at the dr office and with some other Nurses that I know. The pain hasn't gotten any better - at least in the mornings. It does lessen as the day goes on. The general consensus seems to be that it is in some how a form of arthritis. The best advice I have gotten is to just keep moving and to push through it. It is hard in the mornings to get up because it's been a few hours since I have been moving. I have also been advised by several people to wear tennis shoes. That's not a problem at work (we've got a very relaxed dress code), but I don't know if I can do it on Sundays or not. We'll see how the pain goes. Sneakers do kind of ruin some of the cute maternity outfits that I have, though!

I have an appointment with the doctor in a few days. I will talk in more detail to him about this - because I've read (and been told) that if it is arthritis, it will only be getting worse with the coming winter weather.

Trying Something New

2009-11-19T09:25:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd try posting from my phone. We'll see how this goes.

I have a question for you mommies. Well, really, I want to complain, but thought it would sound better if I presented it as a question.

For the past week or two my right hip has been killing me. Seriously! There are times I can barely get out of bed or get up off a chair. I sleep on my left side and have tried heating pads. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Clubbing

2009-11-16T19:30:00.002-05:00

Today I learned that the mother of one of the teachers at school died yesterday morning. As I was waiting with some other teachers to comfort her and pray with her, I took a good look around at the other ladies with me. Two of them knew EXACTLY how she felt. They had lost their mothers, too. The rest of us didn't. We were all blessed enough to still have our mothers living - and healthy. The two who knew how she felt held her longer and cried harder with her than the rest of us. I thought, "I'm glad I'm not apart of that club."

I remember watching the movie, "First Wives Club." It was a funny movie about 4 (i think) divorced women whose husbands were getting remarried. Hence, the first wives part. I don't want to be apart of that club, either. And I'm confident I never will be.

Then as I read blogs, I hear of so much loss and sickness with babies and children. I get worried about Chumlee. I don't want to be apart of any of those clubs, EVER!!

But, I consider the clubs I am a part of, some good (mother of 3) and others not so good (i'd just rather not mention any of them). But either way, a few years (or months) ago, I never would have wanted to be a part of some of the clubs I find myself in now. It doesn't make those memberships any easier, but God has been with me at each club "initiation" and I've been able to take my membership and become a part of clubs that I never wanted to be in in the first place.

He gives strength just when we need it and not before. I have heard that all my life, but today it really seemed to hit home.

Some of you are "motherless." Please remember my friend and colleague. Those of you whom haven't joined that club yet, remember her too. She needs us all! And when it's my turn, or your turn, we'll be able to bear it.

Helpful Information, Hopefully

2009-11-13T15:59:00.003-05:00

I have learned a lesson today. I thought I would share it with you.

Regular panty hose (no matter how big) will not fit over a pregnant belly.

There you have it!

That's the short of it. Now (since i've never really been one to be of few words) for the long version.

This morning, as I was getting dressed (i had decided to wear a new-to-me jean skirt that nana got for me), I realized I didn't have the appropriate stockings for the skirt. It wouldn't look right with white socks and I didn't have any colored socks clean. (are you surprised!?!) While rummaging through my drawer, I came across a pair of queen sized panty hose from over a year ago (before i lost the weight). I had recently (before baby) been wearing a size B. I figured, "Queen is two sizes bigger than B, and SURELY two sizes bigger is plenty for fitting over my belly."

I must admit that they went on quite nicely, a bit snug, but not too bad. Well, that was short lived. I got dressed at 7:30 am and by Bible time (one hour later) the hose had rolled off my tummy and were barely hanging on to my hips. Plus, they were starting to cut my circulation because of being rolled up (come on ladies, you know what i mean, that rolled up panty hose feeling is NOT good).

So, I went to the bathroom to adjust them. There was NO adjusting going on. Only coming off was happening. So, I pulled them down, but that caused the crotch to hang mid-thigh. NOT GOOD. I didn't really have a choice. I had to keep them on like that for the remainder of the day.

Lesson learned.

Buy knee highs.

You can stop laughing now.

20 Week Picture

2009-11-12T18:20:00.003-05:00

And there we are! I had Princess take this picture at the end of the day on Tuesday. Tuesday was cold and rainy here, hence the sweat suit. I should have had the picture made yesterday. I looked much nicer then!

We still haven't completely decided on a name for Chumlee. We thought we had one we liked, before we knew who she was, but once we knew she was a girl, I didn't like that name any more! So, now we are back at trying to find a name that we like. At least we have a while. However, with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, I believe these next 20 weeks will be going by faster than the first 20. (let's hope so.)

I am feeling much better than I did a few weeks ago. The nausea and dizziness have left. I can eat a bit more of sweets than before. I haven't gained much weight though. I gained about 10 lbs the first 15 weeks - once I had those special white pills! These last few weeks, I've only gained a pound or two. That might be why my belly seems so big! Also, I'm glad now for the weight loss I had over the last year. I hope that once Chumlee is born, I'll be able to get back to running again and lose that weight again!

I have bouts of tiredness. Unfortunately, it seems that when I am most tired, there is the most to be done or I am needed the most. The worst is when I JUST lay down and the phone rings or someone needs me. We are working on that!

School is going well. Since I am feeling better and am not as dizzy, I have not been sitting down as much. My feet aren't swelling, but I have noticed that my fingers get swollen every once in a while.

I have felt Chumlee move every day for about 2 weeks now. Before, she would move like crazy one day and then rest for a day or two. She is most active at night and in the morning hours. She is also a stink-pot. She knows (don't ask me how, but somehow she does) when Little Man or Big Man put their hands on my belly to feel her move, because EACH AND EVERY TIME they do, she stops moving!!! And as soon as they remove their hand, she starts up again. The other night, she had Little Man in tears because he wanted to feel her so badly and she was being a stinker!!

I am having a hard time sleeping. I will sleep for about 3 hours at a time and then wake up. The reason for waking up is usually because I've rolled to my back and then I start hurting. Then I have to try to get myself back to sleep on my left side. That is very difficult for me because I am a right side and back sleeper normally. I'm sure this will be a problem for the rest of the pregnancy.

I did have some fun registering at Wal-mart and Target online. Boy oh boy have some things changed!! The most noticeable change is that most things are not gender-neutral anymore. It is either pink or blue. I did find the most adorable crib set at Wal-mart. I love the pink and brown color scheme that is popular right now. The crib set is in polka dots! (another of my favorites)

So, that's about how things are going at 20 weeks for us. Aren't you glad you asked??

Guess What?

2009-11-10T17:58:00.002-05:00

We are halfway finished! We are halfway finished!! Today is the 20 week mark!!! WOOHOO!!!!!

Although, the "bigger" 20 weeks are still ahead. Hopefully, I'll get a belly picture taken tonight for you!

More Details About Baby Girl

2009-11-05T19:18:00.002-05:00

I'm sorry I didn't get back here yesterday. After the doctor's appointment, there were tons of people to call (sorry pam) and then I sat by facebook and watched and read as the lovely comments rolled in. I was slightly self-centered yesterday! Then, I forgot that Princess and I had manicures scheduled for last night, so I couldn't post then either.

So, that brings us to ~~today~~ tonight for some more details from yesterday. Since Big Man had just started his new job, there was no way he could get off work. It was just the kiddies and I. We had already had the talk about how there would be NO crying if the baby wasn't who we wanted the baby to be. Our appointment was for 9am. We got there about 10 minutes early. I was hoping we wouldn't have to wait very long. We didn't. I did tell the ultrasound lady that if there was something wrong or of concern on the ultrasound I didn't want the kiddies to know and I wanted them excused from the room before any mention of the trouble was made. She was fine with that. Praise the Lord everything was perfect!

Chumlee was being quite the priss at first. She had her legs crossed and she was laying face down in my abdomen. There was no getting her to budge!! Then, slowly but surely she started to wiggle and move about - often to the consternation of the technician. Just as the tech would have a good view of her legs (for example), Chumlee would move. It took a good 30 minutes, but we were finally able to ascertain that she has 10 fingers and 10 toes. There are four complete chambers to her heart and they are all pumping as they should. There are three nice vessels in her umbilical cord. Her limbs and spine are wonderful and her brain measured just perfectly! We couldn't be any more pleased.

When Little Man heard the technician say, "It's a girl, for sure," he clapped his hands and said, "YAY!!!" He is so excited. He and Princess had lots of questions for the tech. Princess wanted to know why her eyes were so big and black. That's because the ultrasound only shows the eye socket, not the eye balls. Princess confided to me later that she was glad Chumlee's eyes won't be that big. They both thought her head was huge. And Chumlee must have gotten tired of us pushing and poking on her because at the end, she appeared to be shaking her pointer finger at us!

After the appointment, we went shopping!!! We couldn't go home because I'd have been too tempted to get on here or on facebook or on the phone and start calling/telling people. We had to wait until Big Man got out of class and called us so that he would be first to know who she was. We went to Wal-mart because we needed some bread and cheese and because that's where the kiddies wanted to get an outfit from (also, it's about the only store we have in town). I was so afraid we would see someone we knew in there, but we didn't. That's a first! We always see people in Wal-mart. The kiddies each got Chumlee a sleeper and I found a dress and a onesie on the clearance rack for $2.00 each!

Then I had some clothes to take to the consignment shop. That's where Little Man found these:
He is going to be a GREAT big brother. He told me that now he gets to be a big brother and a little brother. I don't have the heart to tell him that he would have been that even if Chumlee had been a boy, but I think he meant that he would have a big sister and a little sister.

These are some onesies I got at the consignment shop. The one says, "If you think I'm cute, you should see my mommy." Also, Little Man tried to get in on this picture.
A hooded towel and three burp cloths from the consignment shop.
The clothes we bought yesterday at Wal-mart and the consignment shop. I hope the clothes I took in to sell go quickly so I can have store credit to get Chumlee more clothes!
Grammy called last night from her Wal-mart. She had bought two outfits for the new granddaughter. I also had fun today making a registry at Target and Wal-mart. We have made the "room decision" too. For the first year, Princess and Little Man will share a room (with bunk beds) and Chumlee will have a room to herself. Then, we'll move Chumlee in and Little Man out. Hopefully, that will work best and keep everyone happy.

As we get more stuff, I'll take pictures and share them. We are about 1/2 way through this pregnancy! I can't wait to introduce you to Chumlee!!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

2009-11-04T11:51:00.001-05:00

We just got back from the doctor and Chumlee is a girl! We are very excited.

I've got to get lunch as I am starving. I'll be back later today to give some more details!

A Sincere Promise

2009-11-03T18:16:00.001-05:00

I, Momma of the blog "All This is True," do solemnly swear to update this blog tomorrow, by 1pm EST.

17 Weeks and Counting

2009-10-22T19:23:00.002-04:00

I'm starting to feel better. Most likely because I'm over that first trimester - at least that's what I'm hoping. The doctor had put me on meds to help me eat, but I don't really like to be on pills (if i can help it). So, I had started last week to go off the pills. Now, I am off of them on a regular basis. If I know I'm going to eat something sweet, I will take a pill. I will also take one if it has been more than 4 hours since I've eaten last or if I am feeling queasy. Sweets still make me sick, so I try to avoid them if I can. Although, it's hard to tell a first grader that I won't eat a piece of their birthday cake, so sometimes I really don't have a choice.

I'm not as tired as I had been. But my back and hips are hurting more. Little Man is good with the back massager!

I am getting rather big in the belly, but not anywhere else - as far as I can tell. That's good! Chumlee is quite the active little booger on a semi-consistent basis. It seems that he (no we don't know who chumlee will be yet, that's a gender-neutral he) likes to go to town with the kicking and hitting for 3 or 4 hours at a time and then rests for about a day. I think he plays himself out!

So, that's how it's going here!