the sweetest thing

So I’m 30.   Inside I still feel like a teenager, but I guess I am a real life grown up now.  That sometimes still amazes me because I don’t feel like a grown up.  I wonder if I ever will.  You would think that having a husband and 3 kids and a house and all the responsibility that comes with adulthood would make me feel all grown up, but it doesn’t.  I’m still that same spazzy, hyper, happy, emotional girl that I was 15 years ago (and probably 20 years ago…and 25 years ago…I think I’ve always been this way!)

I had a really great 30th birthday.   There is just something fun about my birthday falling on a Saturday!  It feels like the sky is the limit for a birthday celebration.  I must have changed my mind 5 or 6 times about what I wanted to do for my special day.  I finally settled on what I think was the perfect mix of family time and Derek time.

I got to sleep in while Derek got up with the kiddos, and I managed to stay in bed all the way until 7:45.  Ha.  My body is so untrained to sleep in!  After a breakfast of my favorite donuts, I opened my presents.  I didn’t think there would be any because my iPhone was an early birthday present, but Derek took the kids shopping and they each picked me out something.  Logan wanted to get me a new kitchen (I wish!  I dream of new countertops, appliances, and cabinets!), but seeing as that would be a $10,ooo gift, he picked out a cute spoon rest instead.  I’ve been needing one of those, so it was the perfect gift.  Connor wanted to get me some scrapbook stuff, but then he decided that a better gift would be a big stapler, staples, and a staple remover.  So that’s exactly what they found.  Again, it’s really something we’ve been needing and a very thoughtful gift on his part.  The boys also picked out a wooden Welcome sign, which they decided was from Camryn.   I loved all my thoughtfully chosen presents!

By 10:30, we were heading out the door for some birthday fun.  The first stop was the grocery store to pick up food for a picnic.  D and I had sushi and the kids picked out lunchables.  We also picked up a birthday cake, although much to Logan’s dismay, it was not Hannah Montana.  At some point, Logan got it in his mind that I needed to have a “girl” birthday and that meant a Hannah Montana theme.

The next stop was the park.  We had a picnic, the kids played on the playground, rode bikes, and I followed them around and took pictures.  It was really fun…well, there were a few tears shed, but that’s not too unusual.

We got home just in time to put Camryn down for a nap, and about an hour later our baby sitter arrived so Derek and I could go out on a date.  We did a little mattress shopping (well, mattress browsing…picking the perfect mattress is no easy task!).  We went to see Up in the Air and went to eat at a delicious Italian restaurant.  It was the perfect date night, and the perfect end to a great birthday.

Lots of pictures from the day…

I wouldn’t let anyone eat cake until they took pictures.  Mean mommy, but it worked!

Then it was cake time.  The kids were adamant that there be 30 candles in the cake, but it was too windy to actually light them.

And finally…time to play.

She is trouble!  I wonder what she’s thinking about…

Everyone was tired by the time we headed home.  What’s funny is Logan wasn’t really the one struggling, but this picture pretty much sums up how everyone felt.

All in all, it was a really fabulous start to this new decade.  Bring on the 30s!  Can’t wait to see what they have in store.

With all my new found free time, I decided I needed to attempt a sewing project.  I found this super cute free pattern online, and I decided to go for it.  I’m just tickled fancy at how it turned out!

Anybody want one?  I over bought a bit on the fabric, and I could probably make one more size 2 (that’s what C has on) up to size 4.  It’s not perfect…my sewing skills aren’t the best and my sewing machine’s straight stitch is the tiniest bit wonky, but I’d love the practice if anyone is interested!

My friend Danielle just did a day in the life post, and I loved it.  It’s been awhile since I did one of these, so I figured the (almost) last day of summer would be a good day for this.

7:00-Someone little and snuggly climbs into my bed.  I feel like it can’t possibly be morning yet, but of course it is.  Logan and I snuggle in bed for another 20 minutes or so.

7:25-I hear Camryn talking to herself.  The talking quickly turns more urgent.  Time to get up.

7:30-We all say good-bye to Derek.  Connor has stumbled out of bed by this point.  Good-bye includes hugs and kisses for all, and all of us waving to him as he pulls out of the garage.

7:45-make my coffee, Logan’s bowl of cereal, and Camryn’s cinnamon toast.  Connor isn’t ready to eat quite yet.  I eat some cereal, read blogs and emails.  Finally make Connor and english muffin for breakfast.  Oh, and Logan also eats a pizza lunchable.  Choose your battles…

8:00-the boys watch Diego and Dora while I get myself and Camryn ready for the day.  I clean up the breakfast mess and take a moment to think about the day and make a to-do list and a shopping list.

8:55-Help the boys get dressed.  They can do this themselves, but they are having a bit of a helpless morning.

9:10-Leave to run our errands.  I need to go to Target, and then decide to go to Wal-Mart, too.  I was hoping to find a pool on clearance big enough for all 3, but no such luck.

11:15-Home again.  I only had to remind the kids 3 times to use inside voices, and only had to say no to 15 different “can I haves”.  Not too bad.  No tears, no tantrums, and I stuck to my list.  That’s a successful shopping trip in my book.

11:30-Feed everyone lunch.  Ham and green beans for Camryn, ham and cheetos for the boys, and a leftover meat cupcake for me.

12:00-Clean up lunch.  Start a load of laundry.  The boys alternate between playing a few computer games (Webkinz for C, Nick Jr. for L), and have motorcycle races complete with rock and card obstacles in the dining room.

12:30-Put Cami down for her nap.

12:35-Fold yesterday’s laundry, put away the last week’s laundry, make my bed, do a quick bathroom clean, and break up several fights between the boys.

2:00-sit here and start this blog, read other blogs, enjoy the (relative) peace and quiet.  Logan is watching Max and Ruby, Connor is playing a computer game.  (Sidenote…it sounds like we’ve done a lot of tv/computer time already…usually they are limited to 1 hour per day, but it’s the last day of summer, and I’m just letting them play.)

2:30-Camryn wakes up from her nap.  I make snickerdoodles, she walks around being cute, and the boys finish up their shows/computer games.

3:00-We all go out in the (hot as you know what) backyard.  I fill about 50 water balloons.  What takes me half an hour to accomplish is undone in less than 5 minutes.  But the boys are having fun, so it’s all good.

3:30-Camryn and I head inside.  The boys continue their water fight just using the hose.

3:40-Everyone is back inside.  Camryn and I take a little walk to the mailbox, and the boys spend about 15 minutes just running around the house naked, eating cookies, and cleaning up the cards from this morning’s obstacle course.

4:00-Finish making the snickerdoodles.  Eat too many of them.

4:10-Boys go back outside to play with our neighbor.  I have no idea exactly what they are doing, but it definitely involves dirt, the hose, some cars, some legos, and some sticks.

4:22-It starts to thunder.  I’m hope the storm holds off a little longer.  They are having a great time outside.  I play with Camryn, and start working on Connor’s official Morning and Nighttime Charts.

5:00-Outside time is over.  The thunder and lightening is close, and it’s going to rain any minute.  The boys run back to their room to play.  They play nicely together for the next 45 minutes, which is a rare thing these days.  I finish up the charts and sort of putter around, waiting for Derek to get home.

5:45-Derek is home.  Yay!  We eat leftovers for dinner (taco salad for me, meat cupcake for Connor, nachos for Logan, sausage and tortellini soup for Derek, and quesadilla and peaches for Cam.)

6:35-We all load up to go see the class lists at C’s school and to rent a movie.  I was definitely the most excited to see the class lists.  I loved that part of starting a new school year!

7:15-Home, with Shrek the Third and a Diego movie.  The boys get their jammies on, I give Cami a bath and get her ready for bed, and Derek finishes cleaning up the kitchen.

7:30-Camryn goes to bed and the boys start their movies.  I clean up a few things, and then get out Connor’s yearbook from last year to see his teacher and try to find the kids who are going to be in his class.  I’m such a dork!

9:00-movies over, time to brush teeth and head to bed.

9:10-Goodnight hugs and kisses all around, and boys are tucked in.

9:12-Logan is out of bed because his nightlight isn’t plugged in.

9:14-Connor is crying because he doesn’t want a nightlight.

9:20-silence all around.  All the crying was just a last ditch effort to stay awake.

10:00-finish up this blog, and I’m headed to bed!

(sorry for the lack of pictures.  This would have been way better with pics.  Oh well!)

I don’t get embarrassed very easily.  If I fall on my face, I can just laugh.  If my zipper is down, no biggie.  It happens to everyone.  When my kids act like hooligans in public, I remember that every mom has been there.  There really aren’t too many truly embarrassing things that I can remember.  But lately I’ve been remembering one embarrassing moment…and even though it was sort of embarrassing, I can still brush it off, and I even think it’s a little bit funny.

Let’s go back to early March, 2005.  I was about 38 weeks pregnant with Logan.  I remember I was wearing my red work out pants and a t-shirt and I was doing the dishes in the .  Suddenly, I was leaking fluid all over the place.  “Derek!  Derek!  Oh! oh!  My water is breaking!”

I was so excited.  I immediately called my mom to tell her the exciting news.  I started packing my stuff for the hospital, and called my friend Chelsea to come over and sit at the apartment with Connor while he slept.  I kept waiting for the contractions to start, but they really weren’t strong. But I just knew my water had broken, even though my mom was skeptical.  With Connor, once my water broke, things progressed pretty quickly.  So she was surprised that nothing was happening an hour after the event.  Looking back, this was definitely one of those times when I should have listened to my mom.  Even Derek brought up the possibility that maybe it wasn’t my water.  No way!  It’s not like I hadn’t given birth before.  I just knew my water had broken!

Derek and I headed into the hospital.  “My water broke about an hour ago,” I announced quite proudly to the nurse.  I got checked in and hooked up to the monitors.  The L&D nurse came in to to check for amniotic fluid.

The test was negative.

She tested again.  Still negative.  I was having some contractions, but nothing major.  I think I was maybe 2 or 3 centimeters.

She tested one last time.  Still negative for amniotic fluid.  I started to get a little suspicious since I hadn’t had any more leakage since the flood at the sink.  And the contractions were not there.  Derek’s words kept coming back to me…”Meg, I really think this might be pee, not water…”

Two or three hours later, we headed home from the hospital.   As it turns out, I was just a big, fat pants-wetter.  I peed all over myself.  Not just a little dribble like when jumping on a trampoline.  Not even like at camp (or the other times) when I laughed so hard I peed on myself but I knew what was happening.  It was completely uncontrollable, and not only that, it took a doctor and a nurse to convince me that was what had happened.

It was definitely not one of my finer moments.

The whole reason I’ve been thinking about this is because I really want my water to break at home this time.  With both of boys, it broke in the hospital, and for some reason this time, I just really want it to break at home.  It just seems so exciting and so definite when it happens that way.  If it does happen at home, I will be checking and double checking that it is actually amniotic fluid, and not just me being a big dork who pees on herself.

I’m cool with being a dork.  Just not a dork who pees on herself without knowing.

I actually fixed my hair this morning, got dressed, and put on a little make-up. That sounds like the perfect opportunity for the latest belly picture. Here I am at just over 34 weeks.

How do you like my natural smile in this next one? Apparently, it was too much multitasking to make sure that I got my belly in the picture, held the camera steady, and showed the belly. Also, I am glad that my stomach is at least one shade darker than that white towel.

Thanks for all the neti pot stories. I actually never made it to the store to get one. I think tomorrow while I am out and about, I will pick one up. I am happy to report that after 12 days of sinus congestion misery, I am a little better today. But I still want to try out the neti pot-I’m curious to see if it makes a difference!
*****

I have discovered a new pet peeve. Last night, as Derek was making his lunch (have I ever mentioned that he eats the exact same thing every day for lunch, and has for years and years? PBJ, chips, and an apple. Every. Single. Day.) Anyway, he was making his sandwich and commented on the fact that I opened a new jar of PB but the old one wasn’t gone. He thought it was an oversight on my part. That’s when it hit me. It was not an oversight. I did it on purpose because I cannot stand when peanut butter gets to the bottom of the jar and I get pb on the handle of the knife and on my hand. I can’t stand it so much that I will open a new jar of peanut butter just to avoid it. One of Derek’s many responsibilities now is to finish off almost-empty jars of peanut butter. Luckily, he gets me and agreed to finish of the peanut butter. Thank goodness, or my pantry might someday be taken over by almost empty jars.
*****

When I was pregnant with Connor, I went to the hospital when I was 22 weeks with pre-term labor. When I was pregnant with Logan, I went to the hospital at 31 weeks with kidney stones. This time I made it to 34 weeks before a hospital visit. I went to my normal doctor appointment this morning. The heartbeat was good, I’m measuring good, everything was fine. Then we start talking about fetal movements. Baby girl is just not a very active baby-at least compared to her spastic older brother. Sometimes I will get worried about her lack of activity, but then I just lay down, drink something, and she starts kicking. But today I had not felt her at all. After some discussion, I was sent over to the hospital for some monitoring and an ultrasound, just to make sure that everything was okay. I dropped the boys off at a friends house (thank goodness for friends who can help out in a pinch! I don’t know what I would have done without my friend Laura today.) I headed in to get monitored. Her heart rate was normal, but it was a little flat. They wanted to see more accelerations with activity. Then I had an ultrasound, and everything looked good, but she just wasn’t moving very much (at all, really. In a span of almost 2 hours, I only felt 2 kicks.) The whole time I was on the monitors, I was contracting. Nothing regular, nothing painful, but they were there. So they were also watching that. After the ultrasound, I got hooked back up to the monitors, and I was having contractions every 4-5 minutes. At that point, I started to get just a tiny bit worried. I had been drinking lots of juice and water, so I knew I wasn’t dehydrated. What if I was in pre-term labor? I ended up getting checked, and thank goodness everything is closed up, just like it should be. And thank goodness I got to go home with a clean bill of health all around. Baby girl looks good and will thankfully keep on baking. As much as I am ready to not be pregnant anymore, I am not ready for her to be here yet! She definitely needs to bake another month or so!
*****

In other baby girl news, she still doesn’t have a name. Why is it so hard to pick one this time?
*****

Connor is going to a day camp tomorrow, which means I will have several hours in the afternoon to work on painting the nursery while Logan sleeps. I am excited to see it all come together! Since my post 2 days ago, I have changed my mind again on the paint. I have never had this hard of a time choosing paint before. My goal is to have everything finished and put together this weekend. I should probably mention that goal to my husband…without his help, there is no way it will happen!
*****

Third trimester+sinus congestion=awake at 5:00 a.m.  And I can’t get back to sleep.

Plus I was up at midnight and 3 to pee.

All worth it in the end, but goodness sakes alive, it will be nice to sleep all night again.  And I know, I know, newborns are up at night, too.  But I would much rather be up with my sweet daughter than with cotton mouth and cracked lips from sleeping with my mouth wide open since I can’t breathe through my nose.

Anyone ever used a neti pot?  I’m think I’m going to give it a go.  Wish me luck!

Let’s see.  What else.  We had a bunch of friends over Friday night for fajitas and fun.  It was great!  We have been so blessed with the friendships we’ve made over the past two years!

I  started painting baby girl’s room yesterday.  I bought a few samples at Sherwin Williams and I think I have decided on the colors.  I usually don’t agonize over paint color.  I just pick one and go for it.  I’m not sure if it’s because it’s pink and I’ve never done pink before, or if it’s because I suffer from an extreme case of P.I.I. (Pregnancy Induced Indecisiveness).  At any rate, I was such a dork at the paint store yesterday.  One employee actually said that I looked lost.  Yup, that about sums it up.

That’s all I got for now.  I think I’ll watch some tv and hopefully doze off for the next hour or so until the fam wakes up.   Have a great Sunday!

-I completed yet another task of operation prepare for baby girl. Derek pulled down my bins of newborn clothes, towels, blankets, etc. I spent all afternoon going through clothes, organizing gifts and things I’ve purchased, and trying to decide just how many blankets, washcloths, hooded towels, and baby nightgowns are necessary. All the clothes I have so far are organized in her dresser-yahoo for being productive! I also cleaned out the junk in her closet, and sent Derek up and down the attic ladder about 18 times.

-Why did I save clothes that were stained beyond repair with spit-up?  Note to self…if something has a little milk stain on it, the stain will not look better after 3 years in a box.  Some of the stains even smelled still.  How gross is that?  Honestly, what was I thinking when I packed that stuff up?!

-Any money saved on tampons during the 9 months of pregnancy is spent on toilet paper. I am amazed at how fast our family can go through a Sam’s size package of toilet paper. And I know it’s my fault…I live with all boys, remember?

-Can I say tampons on my blog? Is it weird that I still get a little embarrassed buying them? And I also get embarrassed when I’ve bought pregnancy tests. I am a freak.

-I’ve gotten to hang out with Logan one on one a few times this week. He is so much fun! I think this summer, Logan will be my grocery store buddy. He is actually a really great helper. He and I shopped on Thursday night while Derek and Connor were at t-ball practice. At the checkout line, I pushed the cart up too far, and I could not fit in between the cart and the conveyor belt. So Logan hopped in the cart and handed me all the items. It was great! When we got home, he helped me carry in the groceries and even put some away. Well, he did rifle through the bags first and carry in his stuff (i.e. fruit snacks, a lunchable, and popsicles) leaving my stuff bagless in the garage. What a dirtbag.

-The kids only have 2 days of school left. My list of things to accomplish during those last 10 hours of kid freedom is way too long. Wish me luck.

-We are close to getting a van again! If you’ve been reading awhile, you know that about a year ago we got all Dave Ramsey-ified and traded in our brand new van for a not-so-brand-new CRV. It was a really good decision at the time, but I honestly cringe every time I look in the backseat and picture 3 carseats smushed across the back. And I cringe even harder when I think about our trips to the metroplex with 3 kids plus a dog. Anyway, we’ve done really well with our get out of debt plan, and we should be able to get a minivan again before little miss gets here! I am such a soccer mom-I am pumped up about my minivan.

-Connor has been enjoying t-ball lately. Well, enjoying Connor style, which means that as long as he’s in the mood to play t-ball, it’s great. We haven’t had any all-out meltdowns in several weeks, which is always a good thing. He’s so cute in his little uniform! My favorite part is the proud look on his face whenever he does anything in the game. Like when he crosses home plate, he stops and looks for us in the stands with the proudest little smile. And he’ll stand there until we give him a big thumbs up and lots of cheers. So, so cute!

-I’ve done a little scrapping this week! These boys make me laugh, that’s for sure! (click to see bigger…I’m slightly neurotic and all pictures in one blog post must be the same width.)

It’s 10:57 and way past my bedtime. Plus this blog is getting long and sort of boring. Night!

Like any pregnant woman, food has become a big deal around our house. I have gotten quite particular and brand-y about food lately. That hasn’t been very pretty on the grocery bill… I still try to buy when it’s on sale, but I indulge myself even when it’s not. The baby needs it. Right?

Simply Orange Juice

A long time ago, I used to drink the frozen concentrate stuff, but once I tried the Tropicana or the Minutemaid stuff sold by the milk, I couldn’t go back to frozen. And then Simply Orange passed my lips. It is so, so delicious. Just the right mix of tart and sweet pulp-free goodness. I limit myself to orange juice in the mornings only or I would spend a fortune on this stuff.

Yoplait Yo-Plus yogurt in Blackberry Pomegranate

I think Suzanne told me about this yogurt. It’s the best! I am a big fan of anything that assists with digestive health…but besides that, it really is a great flavor and size. It’s great mixed with granola. I also like HEB’s brand of Yogurt Smoothies in strawberry. When I buy drinkable yogurt, I want it to be completely smooth, and HEBs is the smoothest I’ve tasted.

Dole or Dreyers Whole Fruit Popsicles

I have my sister to thank for the popsicle craze in our home. She bought the boys some Dora popsicles a few weeks ago, and we all loved them. The next time I was at the store, the whole fruit variety were on sale, so I picked up a box. Now it’s all I buy. It does make me feel a little better that if we eat a lot of popsicles they are at least the real fruit kind. But what really sold me is the texture. They are a little softer, so if you want to bite it, you don’t get that fingernails-on-chalkboard shiver. The lime in this particular brand are a little sour…I just save those for the kids. They don’t discriminate between popsicles.

Fiber One Granola Bars in Oats and Chocolate

These taste like candy! And they really do help if you need more fiber in your diet. My kids love them, too, but I can only let them eat them occasionally…let’s just say they don’t need any extra fiber. I eat these a lot for a mid-morning snack, and they keep me full until lunch time.

Thomas Whole Wheat English Muffins

I love these toasted with only butter, or toasted with butter and cinnamon sugar. Derek is a bagel man, and I’m an english muffin girl. Both boys are like their dad and love bagels, which is fine with me because my english muffins last longer that way!

Life

I have loved Life cereal as long as I can remember. My favorite way to eat it is with fresh strawberries cut up on top. The only drawback to Life is it gets soggy really fast. My family knows that once I sit down to eat my Life, I cannot get up until it’s gone or the bowl is ruined.

As you can see from my list of must-have food items, there really aren’t any dinner products.  Which is one reason why lately my kids eat cereal for breakfast.

Happy Mother’s Day to my mom, my mother-in-law, and all my mommy friends out there!

I got to celebrate Mother’s Day on Friday. Derek took the boys shopping on Thursday while I hosted bunco. Connor was so excited about what he picked out that he spilled the beans on Friday afternoon. He wanted to give it to me right then. How could I say no to that excitement? He picked out the frame all by himself and drew a picture of me. The CM stands for from Connor to Mommy. Logan and Connor also each picked out a candle for me-Logan, the jasmine, and Connor the home sweet home. I am so thankful for my husband and my boys, and for this thing called motherhood.