Back to School Bash

Wow! Two posts in one day!

Today, Josh and I headed up to his friend Mikey's house for some splashing fun. (For the kids that is, not me.) Mikey's mom, Amber is the children's director at our church and they were throwing a big "Back to School Bash."

They had a HUGE water slide set up in their yard and the kids LOVED every minute of it. Just look!




They also had other water games. Here's Josh passing the sponge to fill a bucket.



Mrs. Amber couldn't stand it any longer. She just had to give it a try!



She's just an overgrown kid, as you can tell, which is why she makes the most super children's director ever! Happy Birthday (yesterday) Mrs. Amber! We love you! And thanks for everything you do.



Going back for more...



What a fun day!

D-Day

Thursday, September 25, 2008 - That is still D-Day, as of now.

I had an appointment yesterday and mentioned to the doctor the idea of moving up the C-Section date to the 18th. He said, "No. That's twelve days early and I don't want to." Then he asked if my husband was in town. (He remembers that Craig was leaving for Iraq shortly after Andrew was born.) I looked at him a little confused and said, "not in this town right now today, but he's around." He said the only way he'd consider the 18th is if he was leaving the next week for deployment. So, I'd have to lie to get that done! Of course we all want a healthy baby and not to take ANY chances. And thankfully, all still seems to be well.

We are enjoying a fairly relaxed holiday weekend. I can't think of much else to write about at the moment. I'll try to get out and get some new pics to post this weekend too.

Oh...and for those who missed the post I deleted. It was a picture of Craig flexing his arm. I was just explaining why I hadn't posted any new pictures with my camera yet. (Because I am still experimenting with settings, to figure out what I like.) But I had wanted to post at least one and that was it. It was on there for a couple of days I think. He told me I could leave it if I wanted, but based on his initial reaction, I decided it best not to. It was kind of a deflated gasp..."WHY did you do that?" So that's that.... :) (For the record, I thought it was cute!)

Cows

Well, Craig wasn't real fond of my last post, so I decided to delete it. He's humble like that you know?

So I need to replace it...

Anyway, this morning as I was on my way out to take Andrew to school, I decided to stop and take some pictures of some of the cows grazing. It was a beautiful morning and they looked so lovely up by the fence. Here's a sample...



And here's another cow picture...


I'm just kidding! I'm not really that hard on myself. At least not at this point. Yes, I've gained nearly 50 pounds, which is significantly more than I gained with the first two, but, there's nothing I can do about it at this point. I know it will be worth it in the end. Soon enough I can concentrate on getting the pounds off. Who wants to shout out three cheers for the calories it takes to nurse? Hip, Hip, HooRAY!! See, told ya I'm a cow!

Camera Craze

Well, I finally did it! I went this week and got a new camera. I still don't have everything all figured out just yet. Consequently, this post is without pictures. Go figure!

Anyway, it was quite a decision (like most things are for me) and it seems that everyone has an opinion. Some say...."Don't ever get a Sony." Some say, "Kodak is brought in for repairs a lot." Still others say..."Nikon only makes cameras, it's what they do, they're the best." And then, of course, you have your Canon people, and the list goes on. OH....the decisions.

I went to 6 different stores! I started out at Staples. The first one I went to had just a handful of options, but I was able to look and play around without anyone bothering me.

A few days later, I went to Best Buy and ended up not staying more than 5 minutes. I wasn't at the point where I was ready to talk with a sales person and thought I had made it clear to the lady that I just wanted to look. She never went away! I felt like I was being watched over as if I was a criminal. I HATE shopping like that. I don't even like it when Craig stands around me like that while I'm trying to make a decision.

So, we quickly made our way out of Best Buy and over to a different Staples. They had a few more choices and I was getting closer to being ready to talk, but the salespeople weren't very knowledgeable. I got pretty much settled on what I wanted, but decided I'd wait and go back to the first town I was in because the tax there is cheaper.

We again leave empty handed, but decide to stop in at Bedford's Camera and Video. The sales person was very nice, but pretty much only tried to sell us Nikon. I was torn...that wasn't one I had even thought of...

That day ended up a disappointment with no camera.

The following day I headed back to the original town, thinking I'd return to Staples, but decided to give Office Depot a quick shot. It just goes to show you that certain people are just good at selling things. I fell in love with the sales lady. I know that sounds kind of dramatic and maybe "love" is a bit of a strong word. I am a crazy pregnant lady you know. I even let her rub my belly. Is this weird?

Anyway..."Rosalyn" let me know her opinion straightaway was pro-Canon. She was all about the bigger versions though, which wasn't what I was in the market for. We both agreed that pretty much all the cameras like I was looking at do the same things...so I felt fairly confident in my choice and she validated that it is a good seller. Out of all of the ones I looked at, this one had the most megapixals and zoom for that type of camera.

So.....you ask......what kind did I end up with?

It's a Kodak EasyShare Z1285.

Hopefully, I'll get some pictures to post with it soon!

The Time is Coming

I'm sure you are all just dying to find out what I learned at my appointment today. Well let's see...

- I measure about 34 weeks. I'm actually 33 weeks and 3 days.
- Baby's heartrate sounds good at around 120.
- I had my first appointment with the delivery doctor.

Basically, it was a fairly uneventful visit. We chatted it up about how amazing Michael Phelps is. Let's see.....was there something else?

OH....

And we have a C-Section scheduled for September 25!

I thought I'd try to keep you hanging as long as possible. ;)

Anyway, Dr. W said he likes to do C-Sections at 39 weeks, but since he's only in the O.R. on Thursday's I had to make a choice of waiting a couple more days or having a different doctor. Since I had such a good experience with him last time, I thought it best to stick with him. Of course, there is a chance I could end up with someone else if I happen to go into labor and it isn't a Thursday.

So there you have it. Less than 6 weeks to go and counting.....

School Daze

The day did arrive! It's time for school. Can you believe it?

It was a fairly good first day. I managed to roll out of bed shortly after 6:00 a.m. A feat for me! I had a shower and cooked omelets before having to wake the boys.

Wake the boys...hmmmmm, that doesn't happen around here very often. It's usually the other way around with them waking me, I'm ashamed to say.

Josh popped right up sleepy eyed, but eager for the breakfast I actually cooked. Andrew, who is normally my early riser was a bit slower to wake. He did eventually find it pretty funny that I was the one begging him to get up for breakfast. Only thing is....he said he wanted anything BUT an omelet. Oh well, I tried. He had oatmeal instead.

Here are a few pictures of our morning.


Standing tall and ready to go!


I'm on my way.


Parting hug


Ready for 2nd grade back at home


"Teacher's" desk

I did surprise myself after dropping Andrew off with a few tears. (Me that is, not Andrew. He was perfectly fine.) I think it must mostly be the hormones. I found it kind of ironic that our Christian radio station was talking about this very thing. The morning DJs are husband and wife and they have a daughter starting Kindergarten tomorrow. The mom was sad about it and couldn't stop crying. She said something about a "BooHoo Breakfast" for all the mom's sending their babies off to school. I didn't catch the whole thing, but I could identify. Wish I had a "BooHoo Breakfast" to go to!

I quickly had to pull myself together because Josh was eager to get started with 2nd grade when we got home. He was a bit confused as to why we were doing things he'd already learned in 1st grade. I tried to explain that it was review and we'd get to new stuff soon. Josh seemed to really enjoy the time alone with me and still loves being homeschooled.

Andrew's day seemed to go well. He was cheerful and was able to tell us quite a bit about his day. He did make some new friends and he said he will go back tomorrow!

I really think this arrangement is going to work well for us this year. I'm looking forward to getting in the swing of things a little better though.

The Countdown

The time is nearly here...SCHOOL TIME! It's kind of hard to believe that we only have one more day of laziness left and then it's all business.

Andrew is looking forward to finding out what preschool is all about and Josh is looking forward to 2nd grade.

Am I ready?

I guess physically I am, but not mentally. I'll just have to jump in and get there somehow. I've got about a week's worth of work organized and ready and I've looked over the curriculum, so the only thing to do is get out of bed and get moving! My biggest challenge....

In other countdown news...I have a doctor's appointment on Friday with my delivery doctor and expect to get an exact birthdate. That should be exciting! (To finally have a true timeline.) I think I've got around 6 weeks left.

I'm getting uncomfortable, but praise the LORD it's cool and raining! It's so nice not to be hot. Wonder how long it will last. I'll just take it while I can get it.

Different subject again...it was brought to my attention that I wasn't very clear about where the baby bedding came from. It sounded like, because of thanking my mom, that she made it. Although I have every confidence that she COULD have done it, she didn't. She got it at Babies-R-Us.

Still no other progress on the nursery/school room. I take that back. Craig cleaned the rug! :) Maybe I'll get some pics in there of Josh on his first day of school to show you a little more what it is like at this point.

Okay...gotta go get some TUMS...

My New BFF

So I wanted do a whole favorite things post. But honestly, this is the only thing I can think of at the moment that I can't live without. Well, that and those previously mentioned brownies. Anything else I might think of would probably have to do with something fattening too....and I wouldn't want to cause you to stumble in the sin of gluttony, so I'll try to refrain as much as possible.

My new BFF (Best Friend Forever; or at least until this pregnancy is over and the hot weather subsides) is the Stanley Utility Blower. This was something that Craig had kept when we sold the business last year and am I forever grateful he did!

This handy little fan goes with me anywhere I need it in the house. Hey, for that matter, we put it inside our tent when we went camping too! It is great for in the bathroom when I'm trying to put on my makeup, but the sweat won't stop pouring. It's got 3 speeds, so I can crank 'er up depending on how hot I am. I've been known to perch it on my night stand for some direct air at night. Oh, and positioned just right in the living room I can recline with a gentle breeze blowing. Once, I was so hot I put it on the footrest of the recliner! Now that's a heat wave when you've got to get that up close and personal with a fan...

They say it's supposed to be cooler here this week. That means in the 90's. It remains to be seen if it will make a real difference for me. I'm hoping so.

How IN the world did they make it before electricity? I mean...I've still got A/C to boot! We are so blessedly spoiled these days and I'm SO very thankful!