The Object of Her Affections

DD can't help herself. She is constantly touching her baby brother. She loves to kiss him, hug him, and just be around him. She sometimes calls him "cutie baby" and often says, "He's SO CUTE!!!". She often gets underfoot of whoever is carrying him because invariably she'll be holding on to his foot and we just aren't able to see her there when she does that.

Her big thing the last few days is that she wants to "carry" him. This means that we put him on her lap while she is sitting on the sofa. That's all she is allowed to do because the other day she tried to help him "stand" and she lost her balance. He ended up tummy down on the edge of the sofa, but he easily could have ended up on the floor. He wasn't hurt or even startled, and I was right there next to her on the sofa, thank goodness.

Yesterday, I took a quick shower while DS#2 and DD entertained DS#3. When I got out of the shower, I heard DS#3 making whirring sounds over and over, and I heard DD "singing" (or rather, making high-pitched noises). It was hilarious listening to that. Today, DD was playing Peek-a-Boo with him and he was laughing and laughing. I wish I could have taken a video, but that would have involved putting him down.

We often try to tone down DD's affections, because she can get a bit annoying, but I hope that she always feels this loving towards her baby brother--especially when he starts trying to grab her toys.... :)

Winding Up

The kids have two more weeks of summer vacation. I feel like we're not winding down, however, but we're winding up instead. DS#1 has soccer practices every day this week from 5:30-7PM. He also had an orthodontist appointment today at 4PM. I worked last night, so I was a little tired today. School hasn't even started yet and I feel overscheduled already. Of course, the baby's containment leak right before DH and DS#1 left added to the chaotic feel this afternoon.

DS#3 seems to store up his poop and then lets it go all at once. He has at least one huge poop and resulting containment leak daily. DH is usually the one that handles it, but I was the unlucky one today. What was worse was that after I gave him a bath to clean him up, I turned to get a towel, and he pooped some more--in the tub! Ugh! I'm not going to go into more detail, but I'm glad this day is over!

I'm sorry I haven't had much time to add photos to this blog lately. I'm lying in bed right now trying to feel the little man as I'm typing this. I can only upload photos from my computer downstairs. Maybe tomorrow...

New Friend

First of all, a retraction of sorts, of my last post. DH says he is NOT a "happy homemaker". He says that he was just tired of eating out all the time and tired of maids that only pretended to clean. No matter what the reason, I still feel lucky to have him do all of that work, though. :) We all did a bunch of cleaning this morning, so we could have people over this evening.

Tonight, we invited my scrapping friend Jen, who I know from the Scrapaddict.com Design Team, and her family over for dinner. Her boys played with my kids while we talked, and we also got to meet her DH. We all had a nice time, I think. I'm glad to finally have a scrapping friend here in town. Last year, I thought I had found one. She was a reservist RN who I met through work. Although she was very nice, she has grown kids and doesn't have quite the addiction to scrapbooking that I do, so we didn't have too much else other than scrapbooking in common. We do still keep in touch, however.

I was so excited when Jen moved here in June. Jen has a young family and she loves to scrap as much as I do, but the best part is that she is so easy to get along with. They've been here just a little over a month and we've met several times. I've really enjoyed her company and I hope she has enjoyed mine, too. We haven't yet scrapped together, though, but I hope that we can do that some time soon!

Happy Homemaker

I never thought I'd see the day. DH has turned into a "homemaker".

Early in our marriage, when we were both still in school/training, we barely had any free time let alone free time to clean our apartment. We decided then that we would always have a maid to clean our residence, so we could spend our precious free time having fun together instead of cleaning.

Recently, our regular maid suddenly stopped coming to our house. I found another maid that some friends used, and I gave her name and number to DH. To my surprise, he said that he would rather clean the house himself!

Ever since he started "staying at home", the kids have still gone to daycare or school. I could appreciate how difficult it was to get anything done while the kids are around, and he wanted to have time to write. The kids also enjoyed being with other kids, so daycare was a natural choice.

About a year ago, DH decided to take DD out of daycare (the boys were both already in school). She went to school with the boys this past year, but for the summer, he again decided to keep all of the kids (including the new baby) at home with him. This surprised me because he had complained of not having enough time to write this past year. He has been limited by the bad weather, but he tries to go out and "do fun things" with the kids.

DH has also never enjoyed cooking, whereas I used to love cooking. Slowly, over the years, he has learned some quick and simple recipes from me. During this last pregnancy, I never knew what I wanted to eat until I was ready to eat. So, I started cooking less and less. I also get so discouraged by DS#2 and DD being very vocal about not enjoying what I did happen to cook.

DH has thankfully picked up my slack. Recently, he even started planning meals ahead of time, going to the store and having all the ingredients ready before the day he was actually going to make that dish. Tonight, he took the next step. He actually made a couple of dishes with the express purpose of freezing them so that we can just reheat them at the appropriate time.

I couldn't believe it. I can't believe it. I'm so proud of DH, though. He's doing this all for me and for our family. I absolutely picked the right guy! :)

What's in a Name?

I don't know why, but I started calling my family members "Sweetie" around the time DS#3 was born. I think it was because he is/was such a sweet baby. I sometimes even call him "Sweetie Baby", which drives DH nuts. What really drives him nuts is that DD is trying to be like me and is starting to call DS#3 "Sweetie" also.

I remember around the time we were first married, I felt the need to call DH cutesy names like "Pookie" or "Pumpkin", but he would have none of it. He insisted (and still insists) that "Dear" and "Honey" are okay but he frowned on my using any other nicknames. I just think those sound so "old" like something our grandparents would call each other.

So, I guess I'll continue to call DH "Dear" or "Honey", but right now, I'm still going to call each of the kids "Sweetie". :)

Exciting Things

Here is the precise moment after DS#1 removed the new Harry Potter book from its packaging. Doesn't he look excited? DH and I didn't really sense his excitement until yesterday when DH suggested DS check the mail early since we sometimes get our Saturday mail earlier than on the weekdays. After that DS started asking to check the mail every few minutes. Finally, after we got back from lunch, we saw the mail carrier across the street at the other community mailbox.

DS wanted to wait outside near the mailbox since he couldn't see the mailbox from our house. We suggested that he take his soccer ball with him to pass the time. I took some photos of him playing outside, and I planned on getting a scrapbook page done by the time I posted this, but alas, real life got in the way again.

In any case, DS#1 got his book. He started reading it right away, of course. We made him take a break for church and dinner then he read until around 9:30ish last night. DH started reading a little then, but DS#3 kept him from reading more. DS#1 picked the book up again this morning and finished it by lunch time.

Speaking of exciting things, here is DD with DS#3 in her lap. Every morning, she wants to hug and kiss him right away, and she just cannot keep from touching him. She kisses and hugs him quite often, and sometimes it can get a little annoying, especially if you're trying to calm him down and she's hanging on his foot. Still, it's nice that she cares for him so much. Everyone says they look so much alike. What do y'all think? I think they both look adorable, but then, I'm a little biased. ;-)

Harry Potter Mania

As I type this, I'm at home with my two youngest children who are sleeping. DH is out and about with the two older boys trying to find a good Harry Potter party. They started out at Borders, but they didn't have any magic shows, which is what the boys really wanted to see. DH called a while ago to tell me that they were headed to Barnes and Noble to see what they had there. We ordered the book from Amazon, so they won't be picking up a book at either of those locations. I was secretly hoping that the book would arrive a little early, but instead we probably won't get it until tomorrow afternoon when UPS usually delivers packages here.

DH and DS#1 will be duking it out to see who gets to read the new book first. Actually, they'll probably handle it like they did when the last book was released. DS#1 will read it during the day--ALL day. DH takes it at night when DS#1 goes to bed. Of course, the problem is that this time, DS#2 is interested in reading it, too. Of course, he still has to read the last four or so... I'm not sure when I'll have time to read it myself, but I wish I had enough time to re-read the first six. I would love to remember the little details. There's a review of the book in our local paper today, with a "spoiler alert" warning. I was SO tempted to read it.

DH and the boys just got home. I guess there wasn't much in the way of "activities" at both stores. There was a photo op with someone dressed up as Harry Potter and apparently, DS#1 looks more like Harry Potter than that person did. Too funny! Okay, I'm starting to ramble. Happy reading to all!

Another Free Day

I wish people would stop hurting each other. I got called in to work again last night when some guys got shot and had to come to the operating room. I got to go home after my case was done, and it was a good thing, because I was exhausted! I slept most of the day, but I did manage to make some dinner. I haven't cooked very much since I got pregnant last year, so this was unusual for me. Luckily, DH has taken up my slack. He actually cooks now--I'm so proud of him, and thankful that he doesn't mind doing that. I also managed to complete a couple of pages in DS#3's baby book. I've completed up to "7 weeks old", so I'm a little behind since he is now 14 weeks old. The most important thing is that I got to spend a little time with the kids, so that always makes it a great day!

Rolling Along

Apparently, my little man rolled from his tummy to his back twice today. He also rolled from his back to his side, but his arm got in the way. I missed it, but I'm sure he'll have more in store for me very soon. :)

Beach Photos

Here are the photos I promised I would display. I changed my header above with some closeups of the older kids. Doesn't DD look like she is modeling those seashells for some gameshow? The boys really look like they're having fun. Even DH got in on the action and was helping DS#2 build his little fort/sand castle. DS#2 really gets into building and was upset when we had to leave his creation on the beach.
DS#3, on the other hand, was sleeping most of the time. In the photo on the left, he was perched inside the back of the van. In the photo on the right, I was holding him and trying to get a photo of him looking very peaceful. This leads me to a list of things that made me smile during this beach trip. Most involve me observing my family since I was pretty much stuck sitting on a chair holding DS#3 during Day 2 of our trip:

1. My kids really getting excited about building sand structures
2. DD asking if she can take home the various "cool-looking" shells she found on the beach
3. DH digging in the sand, helping DS#2 build a castle/fort
4. DH and DD walking along the beach with her running alongside him
5. DD holding hands with DS#1 as they stepped into the crashing waves
6. DS#2, who was upset about having to leave his sand creation at the beach, being appeased when I told him we would take a picture so he could remember it forever
7. Digging my own toes under the sand so that my feet would be covered completely with sand
8. Trying to make a tunnel with DS#1 and finally figuring out that we should make a big mound first and then making a hole through it, rather than trying to make an arch that kept collapsing
9. Hearing DS#1 explain that DD wanted to make her drawing "evil" so he had instructed her to give him "fangs"--she is such a "boy"!
10. Hearing all three kids tell us that they want to go to the beach again! :)

Impromptu Beach Trip

DH and I are planners. We decide to do something only after much research and planning. This week, we decided that, since I had Friday and the weekend off from work, we would go to the beach about three hours from here. To be more exact, DH made the hotel reservation on Wednesday for Friday night. Actually, he tried to make a reservation for Thursday night, but he couldn't find a hotel that we wanted to stay at that had rooms left. So we left yesterday after 11AM and got back this evening.

Yesterday we got there in time to check into the hotel first. We didn't know exactly where to go to find a beach, so we just started driving and looking for signs. Once we got to one beach, we were able to drive right up. It was very windy but it was around 4PM so it wasn't too hot or too sunny. Still, we were able to lift up the back hatch on the van and leave DS#3 there in his carseat for most of the time (he was sleeping). The kids had so much fun making sand "castles" that they barely went into the water. They also wanted to go back to the beach today instead of visiting some of the tourist type spots we had planned.

Today, we stopped at the Visitor's Information Center and got directions to a beach that had restrooms and showers. It was very sunny and hot, but there was still a nice breeze. Shielding DS#3 from the sun was a bit more challenging, since we didn't bring any kind of umbrella or covering and we weren't able to drive right up at this beach. Luckily, he again slept for most of the time. I had to hold him wrapped in a towel to shield him from the sun. The price was that I didn't really participate in any of the sandcastle building this time. I just watched. It was very relaxing to watch my family play and interact with each other, however. All in all, it was a very disorganized and stressful trip, but we all had fun in the end.

I don't have time to post photos tonight, but I'll try to post some tomorrow!

Free Day

I got called back into work this morning at around 1AM. Two trauma cases came in at the same time, and another was possibly on its way. I felt surprisingly awake at 3AM this morning. In any case, I was sent home at around 5AM after my case ended. I was very tired, but excited that I was going to get the rest of the day off. DS#3 was good to DH and did not wake him up while I was gone. Yes, this is the second night in a row that DS#3 slept from about 10PM to 530AM. We're keeping our fingers crossed that this continues.

Everyone let me sleep for most of the morning then the whole family went to the gym. Our gym starts taking kids at 3 months old, and DH wanted to check out the whole system so he can make use of it. The whole thing requires some pre-planning, as spots for infants have to be reserved 48 hours in advance. They'll feed and play with the babies, but they won't change their diapers. The older kids enjoy the "daycare" too because they get to play on the big play gym and other areas AND they can play on one of the many computers. Guess which area my older kids played in--computers, of course!

Anyway, I was able to get about 30 minutes on the elliptical machine before they paged me. DS#3 was apparently very hysterical, but he stopped right before I got there. He was quietly sucking on his fist when I saw him. We went home while DH took the other kids to the outdoor pool and water slides there at the gym. He was in a good enough mood to let me take some photos of him with the chair I used to take photos of DD in. I want to be able to see how he's grown relative to the chair.

This afternoon, after they all got back home, I took the older boys to see the new Harry Potter movie. It was a great movie, but then, we're all HP fans. It made me want to re-read that whole 900-page book again. The movie just capped off a really nice day with the family. :)

13 at 13

Today, DS#3 is 13 weeks old!!! He also happens to be 3 months old. I didn't get to take a photo of him in the chair I wanted to, so I hope I can do that tomorrow. We've been wondering how much he weighs, so today, I weighed him at the Lactation Consultant place that we used to go to. He weighed 13 pounds! That means he is almost out of the Size 1 diapers and soon we will be using Size 2 diapers. He has had quite a few containment leaks recently, and DH thinks that's partly because he's running out of room in his diaper.

I took the above photos of him yesterday. He really has been smiling a lot lately, especially when he is supposed to be eating. He also has been sticking out his tongue pretty often. On Saturday, when I was at work, DH put the phone up to his ear so I could talk to him, and he ended up licking the phone. I just heard a "Gross!" and giggles over the phone from the kids. He has also begun to grab toys, like one of the hanging toys on his play arch. His favorite seems to be the one of a smiling sun with ribbons hanging down. He loves to grab the ribbons and put them in his mouth. In fact, he usually has something in his mouth, and it's usually either his fist, or a burp cloth.

Happy Three Months Old, Little Man!

Catch Up

I'm trying to catch up on posting our activities of the past week or so. DS#2 was supposed to be at Cub Scout Camp for four days last week, but because of the constant rain we've been getting, he only went for 2 1/2 days. He had lots of fun swimming, doing crafts and other activities. He even got a prize for being the best at Archery. Here is a photo that DH took when DS#2's pack was in charge of bringing down the flag. His smile says it all--camp was fun!

As I stated previously, my family was here earlier this week. DD got attached to this pair of sunglasses owned by her cousin E. E is the most girly girl I've ever seen--except for her mother, that is. She is 10 months older than my DD and my DD just follows her around and wants to do everything with her. I thought DD was hilarious when she pretended to talk on the phone with these very grown-up looking sunglasses on.

Finally, everyone keeps pointing out how DS#1 is just a hair shorter than me, and how it will only take another good meal for his height to surpass mine. Well, DS#1 already has bigger feet than I do, and DS#2 is catching up fast. Here is a photo of our feet. DS#2's foot is on the left, my foot is in the middle, and DS#1's foot is on the right. DH's feet are only a toe longer than DS#1's, and my feet are only a toe longer than DS#2's.

Happy 4th!

We had a pretty sedate holiday today. It was raining this morning, so no one really felt like leaving the house. My Mom and Dad and dear sis and her DD were here for a couple of days. Dear sis took my DD and her DD to Sea World on Monday. DH took the kids and dear sis and her DD to Sea World on Tuesday. They got lucky both days as far as not getting caught in the rain. Mom and Dad stayed home and got to bond with the baby. He really is very interactive now. He'll often stop eating just so he can stare at you. When you look back at him, he starts to smile. It really makes it all worth the effort.

DH tried to take the boys to see the new Transformers movie but it was sold out of the showing they were going to see, and after being told that they should line up an hour before the next showing just to get a seat, they decided to postpone it for another day. DH was also going to take the older boys to see fireworks tonight, but they're now just setting off fireworks with the neighbors. At least they're having fun.

The only other "holiday activity" we did today was grill burgers. Like I said, we had a pretty sedate holiday, but being with family is always a good thing. I really should post every day, but I just don't have time some days. I'll try to catch up on photos in the next few days. For now, here's a cute photo of DS#3 smiling and wearing his 4th of July outfit courtesy of my dear sis. :)

Whoosh!

That's the sound of money being sucked away by Disney. I just booked a vacation to Disney World at the end of September when the kids have a week off from school!!! I'm EXCITED!!! Can you tell?!!! Am I crazy for wanting to take a 5 1/2-month old to Disney?!!!

I think that means that I have 88 days to scrap the photos from our last Disney vacation three years ago...

Uniform Day

The store where we have to get the kids' uniforms from has a 10% off discount until the end of June. Well, today is the end of June, so we got there early today to try to beat the rush. DD was so excited about getting a "jumper" for kindergarten that she was literally jumping up and down. Here's a photo of her. Does anyone know how I can make her smile without sticking her tongue out? This is her "excited" smile, in case y'all didn't know. ;-)

We also learned today that the boys really don't have any concept of how their clothes fit. DS#1 thought his shirt was too tight around the neck. DH was able to fit his fist in there! He also thought his school sweater was too small--wrong again, but we went ahead and bought one size up. He's bound to grow into the larger size anyway. DS#2 got some hand-me-down pants from his older brother. He's actually a little slimmer along with being shorter, so either I'll have to take the waists in, or he'll have to tighten his belt. Even with those "savings", the bill still came to over $500. OUCH!

Speaking of DD and clothes, I just finished another LO using products fromScrapaddict.com's July sponsor, Around the Block. I took these photos when DD was only 19 months old. That's when I would pick out the dresses for her. She has her own opinions nowadays. Still, I love that she wears dresses. As long as I only have one DD, it's nice that she likes to dress like a girl.

Finally, I'm going to end with a photo of DS#3 who is still a pooping machine today. This was taken after his most recent bath. His bouncy chair, unfortunately, also had to "take a bath". He is coordinated enough now to get his hands in his mouth. I think he looks like he's trying to take out his own tonsils here. He's still a cutie, though. :)

First Bath

Just another quick post with the page I finally finished this evening. DS#3 has been a poopy and spit-up machine today, so this page is an appropriate photo for today's post. He's gotten at least two "real" baths today and worn about 4-5 different outfits. He's pooped two or three times just since I got home. It's about 10PM here and I think he might be finally ready to settle in for the night. Good night, everyone! :)

They're All Growing Up!

Isn't this the cutest photo? I wanted to get a photo of DS#3 "standing". He can't actually stand yet, of course, but sometimes he holds his body so stiffly that it seems like he could be standing. I asked DS#1 to hold him while I snapped a photo and DS#1 makes this hilarious face! What was even more hilarious is that DS#3 looks like he's saying, "Who's this cornball holding me?" Also, DS#1 made that face two more times as I snapped two more photos!

I can hardly believe I used to be able to hold my oldest child on one forearm. He's right around my height now, if he hasn't surpassed me with the last meal, that is. He did something else tonight. I was telling the kids that tomorrow, we were going to be meeting my friend Jen and her two boys, ages 2 and 5. DS#1 looks at me and asks, "Do they have any girls?" DH teased him about being more concerned if there were girls around who were his age rather than anyone else to make friends with. My baby is growing up!

Grandparent Bonding

I just wanted to share this quick page that I did yesterday. Yes, I can actually do quick pages sometimes!

I love that I have photos of each of the grandparents bonding with the new baby. I love that DH's parents have been here quite a bit this year, since they live farther away. They're trying to find a place to live a little closer to us, and DH, the kids, and I are hoping this happens sooner rather than later. The kids, especially, are very excited at the thought of both sets of grandparents living close by.

I also love the photo of my Dad with the baby in the lower left hand corner. He is watching DS sleep, which I think is so CUTE! I love you, Dad!

Teething already?

My other children were teething by three months, so I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that DS#3 is, too. At first we weren't sure. He started drooling a lot. He became coordinated enough to put his hand in his mouth (sometimes the whole hand). Then he seemed fussier--reminding us a lot of DS#2 except DS#2 was like that ALL the time. DS#3 also seemed to be eating more frequently but not very much each time. That includes night time, much to our chagrin. DH and I think he needs to be sleeping through the night consistently before he starts this teething thing. I guess this is one more wish that isn't coming true.

Today he started bringing his gums together while I was feeding him. I hesitate to say "bite" because that implies more speed and force. In the past, he has done this occasionally, but today it was several times in a row. Ouch! It's a good thing he's a cutie and that I enjoy nursing him, or he would be cut off! :)

Goodbyes

I'm too tired to post too much tonight, but I wanted to show off a few photos. DH took DS#2 and two friends to lunch (at Fuddrucker's) and a movie (Fantastic Four) but he forgot to take pictures! :( I was at work or I would have taken photos--ugh!
It was like pulling teeth to get DS#2 to talk about it, (of course, I happened to ask him while he was playing Gamecube) but I still think he had fun. One of the friends he went with is moving away in another week, so this was a sort of goodbye to him. Speaking of goodbyes, my parents are leaving for home tomorrow morning. DH and I always appreciate all the help they give us when they're here.

They might be back with my sister in early July. I'm crossing my fingers! We took them out to eat at Texas Land and Cattle tonight. DS#1 ate off the adult menu again. He ordered the Bacon-wrapped Filet (7 oz.). That boy is getting too expensive to take out to eat!

I took the above three photos at the restaurant. The boys posed with my Dad--great smiles! DS#3 was very interested in his right fist. He was also getting comfortable by putting his feet up on the table--wow, he's starting early! ;-) DD sat next to my Mom. Both have them had a little trouble smiling.

The last photo below, I took yesterday. I know Jen through Scrapaddict.com where we are both design team members. She and her family just moved here so we set up a time to meet--at one of the local scrapbook stores, of course. She was so easy to talk to and her boys (ages 2 1/2 and 5) were adorable. This definitely wasn't a "goodbye" but a very excited "hello"!

Happy 15th Anniversary

Today is my 15th anniversary. I worked last night so I would have today off. Luckily, I was able to get some rest last night. DH and I went to lunch at one of my favorite restaurants. I had my favorite dish, which basically is a pasta dish with lightly breaded shrimp and a garlic butter sauce. DH tried something new--blackened chicken in some sort of corn sauce accompanied by sundried tomato mashed potatoes. My favorite part, as always, was dessert and this time I had the cappucino pie, a frozen dessert that had enough coffee and chocolate that it made me wonder if the caffeine in it was enough to keep my baby up later tonight.

I can't believe it's already been 15 years. Actually, we were dating for 5 1/2 years before that, so DH and I have been together for 20 years. That's a long time! I still can't believe I got him to fall for me and I can't imagine what life would have been like without him. He doesn't do everything I want, of course, but he is constantly trying to do things for me. He's been great for my ego and we make beautiful children together. He is a wonderful companion and he knows how to make me laugh. I am so thankful that we have the life that we have together.

No photos of the two of us today, though. It's been rainy, dark, and cloudy all day and I would have had to rely on one of my kids to take the photo. Maybe tomorrow... :)

Happy 8th Birthday!

Today is DS#2's 8th birthday. I went to work early, so I didn't see him until the afternoon. By then, DH had sufficiently spoiled him by taking him to Target to pick out his own gifts. When I got home, he got to open another gift from us and another gift that his godfather sent. This year is all about laser tag, super soakers, and all matter of weapons. His favorite will probably be one of the strategy games that he received, however, like the Rings game or Stratego that he has already been playing with big brother. He also got sufficient spoiling by being able to pick out what we had for supper and lots of Gamecube time.

We actually had a cake for him yesterday, since my sisters were here and wanted to see him open the gifts that they gave him. I got this great photo of him with the glowing candles.

Tomorrow, the spoiling continues somewhat when I take him for ice cream, something we didn't have time to do today.

Baptism

DS#3's baptism was today. It's been chaos here with all of our family members, but it's been so nice to see everyone. The baptism was scheduled to follow the High Mass at 11AM at our church. We had lots of parishoners come up to us and congratulate us, which was very nice. The ceremony itself was very brief, but it seemed like eternity because our dear child was fussy the whole time. He did quiet down a few times, so it wasn't constant. Unfortunately, I knew that it was time to feed him, but what could I do at that point?

Afterwards, we all met at one of our favorite restaurants. The kids sat at one table and the adults sat at another. It was much easier to carry on a conversation this way. For the first 20 minutes or so, I was wrestling with the baby in the bathroom trying to feed him. It was difficult enough to balance myself on the commode, but he was also still crying and fussing. The reason? Who knows! We remain convinced that he is also teething and usually nothing makes sense when babies are teething, in our opinion.

After lunch, my family went to our house to celebrate DS#2's birthday (which is tomorrow) quickly before they all had to go home. DH's parents took his sister to the airport. We were sad that she had to leave, but we were certainly thankful that she could join us, even if her visit was a brief one. Tonight, my nephew is staying the night with us before he and his parents leave for home in the morning. My in-laws are leaving tomorrow as well, and DH and I really hope that someday soon they'll be able to live close by, so we will be able to share many more family moments like this together.

I haven't had much time to post, but I'd like to at least post a few photos tonight. One photos is of DH and me and DS's godparents. The other is a photo of all of the other kids that attended. We all had a lot of fun!

I've been tagged!

Melynda tagged me on her blog, so here goes...

These are the rules.... each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their Blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well. At the end of their blog list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment. So, time for my 7 random facts:

1. I love coffee ice cream, especially Haagen-Dazs.
2. I don't like to drink coffee--that is, unless it has lots of milk and sugar in it.
3. When I was a little girl, I actually thought I wanted five kids as close in age as possible. I was such a silly girl!
4. When I was in eighth grade, I won 7th place in our District Spelling Bee. I mispelled the word "martyr" because the lady who was calling out all of the spelling words had a very strong Southern accent and pronounced it like "marta"!
5. I used to win ribbons in various Math Contests in high school for "Number Sense" which is an event where you have to do math in your head. I'm lost without a calculator nowadays!
6. I love seafood and order it almost every time we go out to eat.
7. I discovered the internet (and internet shopping) shortly after the birth of my second child. I wanted something to do with my hands while I nursed him, and he loved to nurse...a lot!

All right, I'm tagging Catherine, Monica, Anita, Jen, Michele, Pam, and Lynne! If nothing else, I want them to update their blogs so I can read them! :)

Lots of visitors

Tomorrow my in-laws arrive in town. By the time, Saturday comes, we'll have thirteen family members in town (in addition to my immediate family, that is). It's kind of exciting, because these family members haven't all been together since DH and I got married. I'm sad that my niece will be with her father this weekend, and my brother-in-law couldn't make it from Alaska. They're the only ones that will be missing. It would've been nice to get a picture of everyone. In any case, DS#3's baptism on Sunday will be well attended. :)

Squish Face

Today, DS#1 was holding a sleeping DS#3 when DD came up and said that DS#1 was squishing DS#3's face against his chest. I didn't get the best photo, but you can get an idea of what she was talking about. Aren't they adorable?!! DS#1 has been SO helpful with taking care of his baby brother. They both actually seem to be enjoying each other, too.

Tonight was DS#2's end-of-baseball season party. They decided to meet at the Inflatable Wonderland here in town. The kids were already tired out from swimming at the pool this afternoon, and they played so hard tonight that we're hoping that they sleep very well tonight. DS#1 was tired enough that all he did was watch a movie on the big screen they had there.

I worked last night, so I'll be sleeping well tonight, too. It was my first night away from the baby. We both handled it okay for the most part. I guess I don't have much more to say, but I'll leave you with a photo I took this afternoon of the baby's bald spot on the back of his head. We first noticed it last week and it has grown quite a bit. His siblings are all smiling at him and trying to entertain him so he will smile back at them. :)

Last Games

Hurray, today was the last day of baseball/Tball this year for us! We had two games back-to-back starting at 9AM. Luckily, we played both on a field that is less than 10 minutes from our house. DS#2 hit a double today that I caught on video. He was very happy with that, and so were his parents. :)

DD was tired, grouchy, and hot by the time her 10AM game rolled around. I was bracing for the worst, but she seemed to snap out of it and enjoy herself in the end. Maybe the threat of not letting her swim at her end-of-season party "helped" her snap out of it...

DD's Tball coach is DS#3's future godfather. He had the end-of-season party at his house. Everyone had such a great time. DD wore her new swimsuit given to her by her godfather when he visited a couple of weeks ago. DS#1 and #2 spent almost the entire time in the pool. The week of sun at soccer camp and then today had taken their toll on DS#1. His nose and shoulders look a bit red tonight. As for DS#2, we had to basically threaten him to make him get out of the pool. He was having so much fun.

DH decided to see if the baby would like the pool a little better this time. We didn't bother putting him in his swim shirt since there was pretty good shade and we weren't going to have him outside for too long. To the left is a photo of him being comforted by DH when this very short dip in the pool proved to be as unsettling to DS#3 as it was the last time. Poor baby! To the right is a photo of DS#3 hanging out with his "future" godfather later, after we had changed him back out of the swim diaper. He was much happier after pooping, getting a diaper change, and then getting something to eat. I think he was especially happy to get out of that swim diaper! :)

First Time Braids

I've always been amazed that DH will do DD's hair. Ever since her hair was long enough to get in her face, he has put her hair up, first in pigtails, and then now in ponytails. Today, she showed me how her Papa put a braid in her hair. It was a small braid, but since this is the first time he has EVER done a braid, it was a pretty darn good braid. I didn't get a photo because I was holding DS#3 at the time and then DH gave DD a bath. I'm sure DD will sweet-talk him into doing another braid for her again anyway. ;-)

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my Dad's 76th birthday. Dad has always loved watching sports. I remember when he was re-enacting a baseball player sliding into base but stopping a little too short and then crawling quickly on the ground towards the base. He did this little re-enactment on the living room couch, and it still makes me smile to picture him doing this. My Dad has always taken such good care of my Mom and my sisters and me--in every way. I still remember when he used to pick up my laundry on Friday when I was in college and bring it back folded on Sunday. He's also always been a man of very few words. I remember when DH first met him, my Dad barely said anything to him. Of course, DH being a man of very plentiful words, was scared to death because Dad was so quiet. Of course it all worked out. :) With his actions, however, he has always shown how much he loves us all.

Over the years, the Parkinson's has taken its toll, but I still see that same Dad I've always known. I still see the Dad who taught us how to drive. We blame this for turning his hair white. ;-) I still see the Dad who, when he sees me, will smile at me and pat me on the head. I see the Dad who with my Mom drives three hours just to see me and my children, even though it tires out the both of them. I love you, Dad! Happy Birthday!!!

Soccer Camp

Today was the first day of Soccer Camp for the older boys. They had a blast, of course. This is a full-day camp (8:30A-5P). They brought their lunches/snacks, sunscreen, and swim stuff (they will be swimming daily for an afternoon break). DH really tried to remind them last night to drink plenty of water and apply sunscreen often. We've always been glad that the kids all tan so easily. We still put SPF 30 and above sunscreen on them, but it's nice to know that we have that safety net if the sunscreen wears off or doesn't get reapplied. Today was such a day. DS#1 looks very dark, but is a bit red-tinged on his face and arms. DS#2 just looks dark. The weather was sunny and in the 90s today, after all. DH (who doesn't tan so easily) again reminded them to put sunscreen on often. Hopefully, they will both remember to do so tomorrow.

DS#3, on the other hand, looks very "white" right now. I hope he has his siblings' tanning capabilities in the future. He also had a big day today, but not in a good way. Poor baby--he was so irritable after he received three shots at his well-baby checkup today. He is eight weeks today and he is 11 lbs. 4 oz. and 22 3/4 inches long. Apparently, he is at the 50th percentile for weight and length and 25th percentile for head circumference. I caught him at a good moment this evening. He has the most adorable dimples, doesn't he? :)

Bedtime Singing

When my first child was born, I always wanted to sing to him before he went to sleep. It was just one of those things I always felt like I should do as a mother. At first it seemed like he didn't care, but as he grew up, he started requesting me to sing to him. He also started requesting particular songs, which I found to be rather adorable. This made me feel so good, especially since I spent many long nights at work away from him. What makes me feel just as good now is the fact that even at almost 12 years old, he still asks me to sing to him before bed.

When DS#2 was born, I sang to him, too. I let both of them choose what song they wanted me to sing. When they started sleeping in the same room, they each picked a song and I always ended up singing one additional song to the both of them. Usually that song was Hush Little Baby, which continues to be a favorite even now. When DS#1 got his own room, I still sang three songs to each of them.

DD was different. Well, she was different in many ways, but our bedtime routine was just one more thing that was different. Many times she would say, "I don't want you to sing to me tonight." Sometimes she said this to me, sometimes to DH, and sometimes to both of us. We attributed these times to when she was more tired. At first I was crushed, but I got used to it. Recently, as she has become more affectionate in general, she always wants me to sing to her before bed, and it's always one song.

Lately, I've been thinking about how I balance my time with each of my kids. I started thinking about how I sing only one song to DD but three songs to each of the older boys. I didn't mean for this to be so uneven, but I wondered if I do it because I have less time with more kids. I just hate the thought of shorting any of them just because we chose to have more kids. I know that it could also be because DD started out not wanting me to sing to her, but either way, the Mommy Guilt is getting me once again.

Tonight I sang two songs to DD, and I'll sing that third song to her in the future if she wants me to. I also started singing to the baby occasionally to get him to sleep. I'm sure I'll see what songs he likes and how many before too long. :)

Pool Time

DH took the kids to the pool today, including DS#3, of course. It was one of those first experiences that makes me regret that I missed it because I was at work. Apparently, DS#3 did not enjoy being put in a swim diaper or a swim shirt. What he liked even less was being put into the pool itself. Of course, DH couldn't get pictures, since he was holding the little man. I suggested that he have DD take the photo, since she loves taking pictures with my digital camera. Wisely, he answered that it might not be a good idea to let DD have the camera near water. ;-) Later on, he had DS#3's feet only in the pool and he seemed to enjoy that a bit better.

I asked DH to at least get some photos of the little man dressed in his swim gear next time. :)

Regrets

Have you ever wanted to go back in time and change something? We have some wire shelving that used to be in one of our closets except that it's been just propped up on its end in our garage for months now. It's maybe around six feet long or so and it sits right next to the door that leads into the house. I've wanted to move it for a while because I'm forever bumping into it with all the stuff I'm usually carrying, but I never did move it. Tonight, DD rushed past it and knocked it down. I didn't see exactly what happened because I was carrying the baby at the time and worrying about how to get everyone out of the back seat of the van. The shelving got knocked down and DD was crying, so I knew that she had been hit somewhere. I wasn't prepared for what I saw next.

DD had about a 4-inch gash on her right calf and it was bleeding profusely. I have a hard time with bleeding soft tissue injuries on anyone, but especially on my own children and DH was not home at the time. I cleaned her up, trying not to focus on the bleeding. She was sobbing the whole time and all I wanted to do was hug her, but I wanted to stop the bleeding as soon as possible. Thankfully, it stopped bleeding while I was giving her a bath. I was applying a bandage on it just as DH got home. I felt so bad that I hadn't removed that shelving earlier! You can bet that it's been moved now. Poor DD! :-(

I really need to focus on some good memories right now. Just yesterday, I let DD have some fun with my camera. Even though there is a 2.5 inch screen on the back, DD would still close one eye and look at the screen as if looking through a tiny viewfinder. I really wished that I could have gotten a photo of HER getting a photo of me. This photo is me telling her to back up so she wouldn't cut off my head in the photo. I was also laughing so hard because of her one-eyed picture-taking technique. I have to laugh when I look at this photo now, and I really need to end with this fun memory to make myself feel better about tonight's events.

Malls Are Not Baby-Friendly

I never realized how "handicap-unfriendly" malls were until I had to go there with a stroller. The first time this happened, I was with DS#1 when he was a newborn. Today, I experienced this again with DS#3. There was an elevator in the parking garage, but there were stairs just to get INTO the mall FROM the parking garage. Once in the mall, there were ramps and elevators, but the elevator was not conveniently located. Since there were a few of us, one person carried DS#3 in his car seat, and one person folded up the stroller and we all took the escalator.

When it came time to nurse, I've had to do this mostly in bathrooms. I prefer not to nurse out in the open, mostly because my children jump around a bit when they nurse and they are messy--all not conducive to privacy. Very few bathrooms have somewhere comfortable to sit. I've had to sit on the commode before, and not only is that not comfortable, but it's dirty and so clinical, for the lack of a better term.

I was playing around with my camera this weekend, so I got this adorable photo of the little man. I think he's worth all the trouble he causes, don't you? :)

Rain, Rain Go Away

The rain let up a bit today, and DH took the older boys and our friends to Sea World today. I stayed home with DD and DS#3 so we could go to DD's Tball game. She was SO tired that by the time the game rolled around at 9:30AM, she was sobbing. She sobbed before during and after batting. She sobbed as she ran the bases. She even sobbed when she was in the infield with her team. The coach had to stay by her just to get her to stay out there. In a way, I felt like a cruel parent, but in another way, I just wanted her to learn how to cope with life when she's tired. It's her own fault, after all, if she doesn't go to sleep when we want her to. We left after the standard two innings (for PreK Tball), and she fell asleep in the car on the way home. She was in much better spirits later in the day.

Luckily, DS#3 behaved when DD was misbehaving. He just doesn't sleep well during the day, however. The three of us went to the mall for lunch (after DS and I had a little nap) and DD and I even had some Haagen-Dazs ice cream (my real motivation for going to the mall). DS was awake the whole time. I had to keep the stroller moving or he got upset, but he was quiet most of the time.

Tonight we had "Tortilla-encrusted Tilapia" from Costco (YUM!) and some Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory (double YUM!) after every one had some chill-out time after a tiring day. To the left is a photo of DS#3 after dinner. DH decided to prop him up on the couch. We joked about wanting to take a similar photo of our much bigger DS#1 to compare sizes with, but we didn't think we had a onesie big enough to fit him. ;-)

Below is a photo of DH, DS#3 and our friends relaxing out on our deck tonight. I hope everyone else is having a great holiday weekend! :-)

Appreciation

I'd forgotten how beautiful babies are when they're nursing. Even at 2:30AM this morning I was noticing this. I've also noticed that DS#3 seems to get much more relaxed when he nurses versus when he was fed with a bottle. Maybe it's only because he is getting "older", but he doesn't stay awake any more after eating in the middle of the night. We'll see what he's like at night the next time I have to be on call and away from him. Because we had so many problems getting to this point, I willingly get up at night to feed him. I don't complain too much when he twists his head around while he's nursing because he is straining to produce a bowel movement--well, okay, maybe a little. ;-) I think this was God's way to make me appreciate what I have.

Speaking of appreciating what I have, DD's godfather and his family arrived yesterday for a visit. He just celebrated his 40th birthday and he is treating himself by coming to visit us. What a great friend! He lives in the small town that we used to live in before we moved here. That move was not good financially for us, but we've never regretted it. We were able to get more family time than we have ever had before, or since. We also were able to meet and make friends with the most amazing people. DD's godfather and his family are some of those good friends.

One more thing that I realized yesterday. Someone at work asked me if it was difficult going back to work. While it was difficult leaving my new baby, I realized that being at work itself wasn't difficult. I love my job, and the people I work with. Working definitely isn't difficult, it's just that I have to be away from my favorite activity of being with my family.

It's going be rainy and stormy here all weekend. I hope we can still do some fun activities for our guests...

Back to Work

Today was my first day back to work after taking my maternity leave. I thought I had informed the appropriate people that I was taking six weeks off from when I had the baby. I guess no one sat down and figured it out that I would be back today. I told the staffing person at work the exact day, but I didn't tell my contracting company the exact day. There was a guy who replaced me while I was gone. He was still there today until I got a call from my contracting company saying that only one of us was supposed to be there. I was really tempted to just go home, but I decided that, after two weeks of unpaid leave, I wanted to start getting paid again, so the other guy went home. Other than that, things went fairly smoothly today. The important part for me was that the day went by fairly quickly. I couldn't wait to be back home. Of course, right now the baby is screaming probably because he is tired. Gotta go!

The Switch Turned On

I never expected it to be like a switch just turning on. Three weeks ago, when the lactation consultant told me that all babies learn how to nurse by two months of age, I was hopeful but unsure. She told me not to even try "for a while". I didn't know exactly what that meant, but my apprehension about the whole experience made me afraid to try too soon. So, I haven't even tried for probably a couple of weeks or so. Today, on my last day of maternity leave, I had to try. I had to know what was ahead of me--more lonely pumping, or some cuddly nursing time.

Today, when I first tried to get DS#3 to nurse, he cried like he had before. I was afraid that this was him refusing just like the many other times before. Suddenly, however, he just latched on and kept going. I can't even describe how I felt--relieved, excited, exhausted. It felt right but I didn't want to believe it was actually true, since one other time before, he appeared to be nursing correctly, but in the end, he actually didn't get much. He acted satisfied, though. The next time he got hungry, I was afraid again that it had been a one-time thing, but he latched right away. He has nursed several times since then, and seems satisfied. He hasn't had anything else to eat, so I have to believe that he's actually doing this nursing thing correctly now. Of course, DH has to say, "Why didn't he learn this earlier? I could've gotten more sleep!" I guess I'll get less sleep now, but I'll be happy AND sleep-deprived. :)

Here's a photo of the little guy smiling at me.

Rubbing Kisses

When DS#1 was younger, he went through this phase where he would wipe my kisses off his cheek. I used to ask him, "Are you wiping my kisses off or rubbing them in?" After asking him this a few times, he would always answer, "Rubbing them in." He has always been a little sweetie. I carried this on with my next boy, who used to be so cuddly but now runs away from such signs of affection. DS#2 usually doesn't say anything when I ask him this question. Instead, he just smiles at me like he wants to appease me but in truth, he really wants to say "Wipe them off." I recently started this with my DD, who hasn't really been the type to wipe off my kisses anyway. Today, we had a little conversation when we were having ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, that went something like this:

I kissed her hand. She says, "Don't kiss my hand!" She then proceeds to wipe off her hand.
I kissed her cheek. She looks at me and states emphatically, "I'm going to rub it in!"
She then turns back to eating her ice cream and says, "That way it will last forever."
She also says, "You can give me two kisses on my cheek every day, and I'll rub them in!"

Earlier in the day, we had several little "arguments" from what she should wear (she always wants to wear a dress, even when playing outside!) to how she wanted her hair done to how she shouldn't stick DS#3's pacifier in his mouth when he's already sleeping, etc. This just made my day a whole lot better! :)

Spring Concert

My DD and DS#2 had their school spring concert today. DS#1 had his a few weeks ago and I missed it because of kid duty. This is a small school and ALL the kids sing in the various "choirs". Their music teachers do an incredible job with all the kids--even the ones that don't sing so well. :) Today, DD was in the PreK/Kinder "choirs" that had their concert at 10AM, and DS#2 was in the 1st and 2nd grade "choirs" that had their concert at 1PM. This meant a lot of driving back and forth for DH and me--once again a reason why it would be more convenient if DS#3 would learn how to nurse, but enough of that...

I took some short videos of both of them with my camera. The videos aren't great, but they will remind me how the kids sing. DD was really into the singing and hand motions, except when she got distracted and kept her hands in the same position as she continued singing the words. DS was barely moving his mouth, but I could see that he was paying close attention and singing all the words. His music teacher actually came up to DH and I after the first concert and told us what a great job DS does. All I could think of, at the time, was "Are you talking about MY child?" :)

We picked them both up from school after the last concert. Most of the kids in their classes were getting picked up early, too, so there wasn't going to be much learning going on anyway. We left DS#1 at school until the normal time since he didn't have a concert. I picked him up after school and we both went to karate class.

It's times like these that make me want to live closer to the school. Oh well, it's not worth having to move again, so we're staying put for a while!

Mama's Treasures

I've been meaning to post about my Mother's Day treasures. When we picked up the kids from school last Friday, they each presented me with things they had made at school. DS#1 gave me a handmade card with a pop-up heart inside (which he said he figured out how to do himself). The front was unadorned except for the "To" and "From". Inside on the pop-up heart was a poem that he wrote himself:

"Clouds are grey,
So is the floor.
You're the best mama
I could ever ask for.

The clock is messed up,
Some of my classmates are too;
But one thing's for sure-
I love you!"

I started cracking up so hard after reading just the first two lines that I couldn't go on reading for several minutes! "Clouds are grey" is not a line you'd expect on a Mother's Day card, and the "so is the floor" isn't a very warm sentiment either.

DS#2 gave me a small sheet of paper that his teacher must have given everyone in the class, with premade lines for the date, greeting, and closing, and premade artwork that he colored in. First of all, the "Dear" was heavily pencilled in, and so was the "Mama" that he had previously written in on that line. This seems so typical of DS#2 who tends to avoid those types of affectionate terms. Next came his poem with mispellings included:

"I'm from America, their from Peru. Papa's the best parent and you are to! Happy Mother's Day!"

I laughed hard at that one, too. I mean--Peru?!! Also, there can only be one "best" parent, right? I guess Papa is the one! *WINK*

DD, being in PreK, had minimal writing on her gift. She gave me a cute little flower pot with a wooden pot, felt grass, and foam flower pieces for the flower. There was a small wooden clip attached to the flower with the handwritten note, "I love you Mom" which I'm sure was dictated by the teacher. Still, it is precious to me because DD wrote the note herself, and probably glued the flower together all by herself, too.

DD seems to have inherited my love for crafts. She actually "scrapped" her first photos this past week. She used some extra photos and some paper scraps and ribbon that had given her. I scanned the pages to keep, but I might go ahead and buy her an album to put these pages in so we can both enjoy the "evolution" of her scrapping later on. I'm so happy to have someone to scrap with!

Last but certainly not least, DS#3 is still a little young to be giving me little treasures. Right now he's a treasure himself. :) We had an outing yesterday, just the two of us. I wanted to go shopping at Ann Taylor (I had some things to return, actually) and I suddenly felt the urge to eat at PF Chang's. DH had to do something at the kids' school, so it was just DS#3 and me. I felt a little awkward eating by myself, but I had my favorite dish, Szechuan From the Sea with Shrimp and Scallops, and it really hit the spot. DS slept through the entire meal, thank goodness, but he woke up just as I ate the last bite. He then started crying at the top of his lungs and I quickly asked for the bill. I tried pushing the stroller back and forth, but finally had to pick him up and carry him, which calmed him down almost immediately, and he once again, fell asleep. The visit to Ann Taylor was uneventful, and we went home after that.

So, I have four little treasures. I don't always feel this way about them, but they're all angels to me right now. Of course, they're all asleep right now. They're always angels when they're asleep, aren't they? *WINK*

One more week

I can't believe that my maternity leave is almost over already. I don't feel ready at all. Sure, each time I go through this, the maternity leave goes by so fast, and I never seem ready to go back to work. It's just that for the past five weeks, daily life for me has been so hectic that I wonder how DH will be able to handle it alone when I go back to work. DS#3 is getting into more of a pattern, but babies always seem to throw you a curve ball once in a while, don't they? The other three kids will be out of school soon, too, and they will most certainly add to the chaos. DH and I keep telling ourselves that we enjoy the chaos--are we crazy, or what?!!

Happy Mother's Day!

We went out of town to visit my family this weekend. We wanted to be there for my nephew's First Communion and we also wanted to give my Mom her baby fix. :) Speaking of the baby, we were relieved that he did okay traveling in the car. We had to stop a couple of times on the way there, but he slept the whole way back. DD was a horrible car traveler, so this is a welcome change. To the right is a photo of him during one of the stops. He really seemed to enjoy being outside and having the wind blowing through his partially bald head. He's got some cute fuzz on the front and more hair on the sides and back.
I have to shout out a big thank you to my Mom. My mom stayed up with the baby on Friday night. According to DH, I was "toast" and didn't even wake up when he came in to put the baby in bed. My Mom fed him at 5AM so I barely had to wake up, too. She also makes sure we have all our favorites to eat when we're there. The kids had their mango, fruit salad, donuts, etc. I got my soup. DH got some beef. DS#3 got some TLC. She and my Dad also baby-sat so DH and I could go out to dinner on Saturday night.

I have to also shout out a big thank you to my two sisters, who were very generous in entertaining my other three children. Both of them took all six kids to the bookstore and bought them books. My youngest sister took five kids (including her own two) to her neighborhood pool, bathed my DD, then drove them all back to my Mom and Dad's, where we were staying.

Today my Mom got to choose the restaurant we ate lunch at. Even though there were four of us moms involved, I considered her the "Supreme Mom". :) Below is a photo of all of us today. I love you Mom! Happy Mother's Day to everyone else, including my two sisters and my DH's Mom!

New Car

We got a new car today! DH and I had been talking about getting a new car for a while. Our Toyota Sienna has over 100,000 miles on it and recently there have been problems with the brakes and other things. After all, reliability is our #1 priority. This week, DH went to the dealership to get the back latch fixed. It broke about a month ago, so we couldn't even open the back door at all--very inconvenient for our active family. The repair guy told him that it wasn't worth fixing if we were going to end up trading the car in. This made us think of getting a new car a little sooner. While he was there at the dealership, DH started looking at the new Siennas and the Sequoia. We know a few people, including my sister, who own Honda Odysseys, so DH looked at those, too.

We liked how there was an option for an eighth seat in the Odyssey. This has been a concern lately, since we are now a family of six, which only leaves one extra seat. Whenever one set of grandparents comes to visit, we have to take two cars to go anywhere. With everything else about equal, this eighth seat plus how the Odyssey is a few thousand less than the Sienna tipped the scales in favor of the Odyssey. So, we brought home our new Odyssey today!

I just have to add that DH did all the shopping on this one. In the past, we would go to the car dealership together to look at cars. Usually we decided on a particular make and model before we even went to the dealership, however. This time, we were doing some comparison shopping. DH made this process very easy on me. He did the legwork, he test-drove the vehicles, and he negotiated with the salesman. All I had to do was go in and sign papers with him. He even picked my favorite color--red! We finished up at the dealership just in time to pick up the kids from school. They were so excited! They're even more excited that we're taking the new car on a road trip tomorrow to visit my family for my nephew's First Communion.

I'll take a photo of the new car tomorrow. :)

Here it is!

One month old

Just a quick post--I've been busy doing some assignments for the Scrapaddict.com design team that I'm on. Tomorrow I'll post some of the LOs I got done.

DS#3 is now one month old. He seems to cluster feed every night, and he still stays awake at 2AM. Last night he was asleep for a while, but when I started going upstairs at around 2AM suddenly his eyes were WIDE open! I was so tired already, so luckily, he let me put him in the bouncy chair and he seemed content there. I fell asleep and I didn't wake up until I heard DS#2 get up before 6AM. He still gets fussy at night, too. Often, he only sleeps for a few minutes at a time during the day, although when he sleeps, he doesn't wake up easily. Today he slept a lot, however. I must have worn him out yesterday.

I have to go feed the little man. I'll post more tomorrow.

Birth Announcement Photo

I think I finally have my birth announcement photo. Of course the landscape orientation doesn't go with my planned design, but I'll make do. Can you see DH covered with a sheet? DH reluctantly agreed to get under the sheet so I could get some photos. Some day I'll actually know how to change the various settings on my camera, but for now, I used the automatic portrait setting for this.

Crafty Mom Steps In

Today I spent a couple of hours helping DS#1 with an assignment for school. The assignment was to compare the timeline in the Chronicles of Narnia books with real world time and put this on a poster board. When I saw him writing on that poster board with a pencil, that crafty side of me gasped--I knew he could do better than that. ;-)

The truth be told, I knew that he was just starting with pencil and that he would eventually go over it with a dark pen, or at least I hoped he would have done that. So, I made some gentle suggestions, like using some colored cardstock and some diecut letters for his title, and using cardstock strips for his timeline. Yesterday, I had already suggested that he sketch out how he wanted his poster to look. He had planned on including pictures from the books in his timeline. Although I knew that he was a good artist and that he had planned on drawing these pictures himself, I suggested that he look on the Internet for suitable photos that he could just print out. I also eventually suggested that instead of hand-writing in his labels for the timeline, he could print them out from the computer to make it look more "professional". He liked all of these suggestions and I helped him with the various steps. I plan on taking a photo of him with his poster tomorrow morning.

All along I was wondering if I should be putting in all of this work to "help" him with this project. After all, he was cutting into my scrapping time! ;-) He was grateful for my help and told me so, but I just wondered if I was doing "too much". Of course, if it was me doing this, I would have gone all out and used colored poster board and done a big title, etc. He made all the choices and I just helped him. That's okay, right?

One side note--we took about three hours to do this and during all of that time DS#2 was waiting for DS#1 to finish his project so they could play a game. Poor thing--they never got to play since we took so long.

Smiles and Baseball Bats

Isn't this the most adorable baby ever? DS#3 has started to occasionally reward DH and I with smiles. Last night, we even took a short video of him smiling with some coaxing from me. As I was touching the corners of his mouth with the bottle nipple, he would turn up that particular corner. Once in a while he would have both corners of his mouth turned up into a smile. He has also started to "talk", that is, a noise that isn't a cry or a burp occasionally comes from his mouth.Often, this is accompanied by a smile. DS#3 still has good nights and bad nights. DH is a little bummed that I'm not doing all the feedings right now but he's been wonderful in allowing me time to sleep. DS also seems to be finished with his growth spurt because he hasn't been eating quite as much--now he eats closer to every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. He can still sleep in long stretches, but instead of just being awake at night, he fusses more at night--not necessarily a good trade-off.

This weekend we only had one game to go to--can you believe it? DS#2 had a baseball game tonight. Poor thing tries so hard; he also really loves to practice with his Papa. He struck out twice tonight, although he had some pretty long throws (throwing the ball in from the outfield). DH says that DS#2 is doing everything right (as far as the right stance, swing, etc.) but that it just hasn't "clicked" for him yet. I wish I could just magically give him super baseball powers. :(

My Sisters

I'm the oldest in my family, and I have two younger sisters. I've been running these journaling challenges over at Scrapaddict.com, and the one for this week involves how alike or different I am from my siblings. I've always gotten along well with my sisters, but as we spend more time together, the more the little things start annoying us. Over time I've realized that this is because we all are pretty alike, although we're also very different.

My older younger sister has always been more "girly". She has always taken the time and effort to look nice even if she has to spend more money. I'm more about comfortable "mommy" clothes, as she has put it. We've always both been very shy and quiet. As we've gotten older, though, through various circumstances, she's been "forced" to be more outgoing. I'm afraid that I've relied on my DH many times to be the outgoing one while I retreat into my comfort zone. For some reason, when it comes to being in the kitchen, we both like to be in control, so this can lead to some arguments. She is much better with children than I am because she doesn't mind getting down on their level and playing with them, no matter what game it may be. Ironically, I have more children, but I really admire her for the quality time she spends with her daughter and with my children when she comes to visit. I'm much more comfortable rough-housing with the kids, but she can do all the "girly" stuff with the girls, too. Most of all, she has always been so generous with her time and with her money. She is always checking on my parents and taking care of them. She used to take care of me when I was still going to school and she was already working. She even bought me shoes when I wore holes in my favorite pair.

My youngest sister used to be like a stranger to me. Although we spent lots of time together in high school, she tended to keep to herself. I would have to describe her as quiet but not shy, although she can be shy, too. Now, I feel like we have more in common--kids in sports activities, scrapbooking (a mutual obsession), and similar lifestyles. She has always been more thrifty than my other sister and me. She used to be more self-centered. Now, she is much more generous with her time and money. She drove three hours with my parents just to go to my son's First Communion and Confirmation, then drove back so she could go to her son's baseball game. She has done the same just so she could accompany me to a crop at my local scrapbook store. She still knows the best places to get a great gift for less, but the difference is that she gives gifts to my kids "just because".

I think I've gone on and on enough here. I should probably edit the above better, but the bottom line is that I love my sisters very much. I'm so happy that we can be as close as we are, both in our relationships with each other and in the physical distance that separates us. :)