Starting our celebrations a bit early!

Tonight there was a NC Symphony Orchestra concert and fireworks at the downtown amphitheatre. We took the kids to this last year and we all really enjoyed it, so we decided to go again this year. We packed up the camping chairs and some snacks and enjoyed the nice weather (it was humid, but there was a nice breeze).

Reid even sang along when the crowd joined in a chorus of "God Bless America". Now, I'm not exactly sure what verse he was singing, but it was cute none the less.

I cannot really tell you much about the fireworks. It is interesting to note that, as a parent, I was too busy watching the kids reactions to the fireworks to actually pay attention to them.



Of course, all this fun was after a busy day playing in the pool. Those kids should be ready for a nap tomorrow. We'll have to get them rested up for the big Fort Bragg celebration on the 4th! Now, I know those will be some good fireworks!

Mr. Smiley

I love this picture of Ross! And don't you love the chipped tooth? (Yes, Grandpa has already fixed it once, but Ross was skilled enough to break it off again.)

Done painting!

I finished up the last of the painting project today. I painted the bedroom in April, but had left the bathroom the same neutral beige it has been since we moved in. I'm glad I painted it, though, because I think it looks much better having the rooms match. Did I mention the rooms are green? Really, really green!!! I love the color -- it is so bright and fun. The splash of color almost makes up for the fact that the rest of my house is really neutral.

The project, however, has exhausted me. I'm bigger than I had realized and had a lot of problems maneuvering into corners. I spent a good deal of this morning scrubbing paint off of the counter and tub where I dripped.

And now I have NO desire to paint anything anytime soon!

I really hate the drivers here!

So, I forgot to mention this, but about two weeks ago someone hit Jeremy's car in the parking lot at work. The damage wasn't too bad (just cosmetic) and the car is drivable. We're waiting to have it fixed, though, because the body shop is just too busy.

Yesterday, John & Betty were nice enough to take Reid (and Ross went, too) to speech therapy. On the way back they were rear-ended in my van (and, don't worry, no one was hurt and it was completely the other drivers fault). Now, the van is drivable, but the back door won't open. So, I'm stuck with a yucky (meaning cheap and dirty) rental vehicle until further notice. Jeremy is dropping the van off today to get the estimate and I'm really hoping they can get the work done right away.

People here really do drive like psychos. I miss the polite driving of Columbus!

I can't reach my toes!

I tried to touch up the paint on my toenails this morning while I was waiting for Hannah at swimming. They look AWEFUL!!! There is paint smeared all over my toes...guess I'm going to need some help with them for the remainder of the pregnancy!

Of course, this is a wonderful excuse to book a pedicure...

Random things...

So, I'm pretty sure I do not have GD (yeah for that)!!! I somehow got ahold of my lab results, so unless they use different criteria to diagnose GD than what I was able to find, I'm okie-dokie! Whew...I was worried about it, as people had already started talking about an early induction due to GD.

John & Betty are visiting this week, so I'm using the opportunity to do a few projects. I tore my bathroom apart this morning and have the walls almost prepped and ready for the paint. Hopefully I can finish up before they head out of here.

The pool is officially up and running, with all the chemicals in it and the pump working as it should. I cannot wait to get the concrete in, but I'm not holding my breath. The two week wait will be up on the 4th, which means they probably won't get to us until the following week (or at least I hope so, those guys put in LONG days and deserve a few days off for the holiday). The kids are loving it! We swam twice yesterday and everyone was exhausted by the end of the day.

Swim, swim, swim!!!

Hannah got her first official dip in the pool on Saturday. She spent 4, yes FOUR, hours in the water!!! And she spent almost as many in the water on Sunday. (Jeremy spent the weekend working on the backyard and so Hannah could be out there pretty much all day.) I thought she was going to fall asleep in her dinner plate on Saturday night!

We all have had our opportunity for a dip, now, and I must say I am really glad we put it in! The boys LOVE it, although I think they love their pool "noonls" (ahem, that would be pool noodle) as much as they love the pool itself. We need to get a few more of them, though, because the kids are fighting over the two we have.

And let the nesting begin!

Yesterday afternoon I got the bug to nest. So, the newborn clothes are officially washed and hung, ready to be used. Aren't they pretty?

Now I need to convince Jeremy to dig the infant seat out of the attic. And the newborn diapers need pulled out yet, but we still use the changing table in the nursery for Ross, since he is (again) sleeping in there (all his clothes have already moved, though). Once those two things are done, I think we'll be ready. Oh, well, I guess I need to pack bags for the hospital, but it is way to early to think about that.

However, I have the overwhelming urge to complete other non-essential tasks before the big day. The master bathroom needs painted to match the bedroom, the kitchen cabinets need washed, all the appliances need pulled out and cleaned behind, and (of course) we need to finish up the pool project.

Now I just need that burst of energy you're supposed to get at the end...

Did I mention?

Did I mention that Ross is back to sleeping in the crib? Yes, his stint in the big boy bed went THAT well. After 2 nights of mommy spending 2 hours in the room, physically restraining him to his big boy bed, she gave up!

So, we'll try that again in a few weeks. Because, well, he NEEDS to be out of the crib soon...

Rain rain, go away!

It is raining here. And our yard is a big muddy mess. Jeremy was going to work on getting the sprinkler system fixed today (the pipes formerly ran where the pool is now). I'm hoping it stops soon, because if it doesn't Jeremy won't be able to work at all today.

And I had wanted to take the kids blueberry picking today (though I still need to call and make sure the blueberries are ready). There is no way I'm taking the three of them to do that in the mud, though! I was hoping to have blueberry pie for dessert tonight...maybe we'll have to make a trip to the farmer's market.

On the other hand, the rain is helping fill the pool with water we don't have to pay for. And, the entire sprinkler system has been down for a week now, so the grass really could use a good watering.

Don't I have cute kids?

Ross hasn't been feeling well for a few days now. He has been running a low grade fever and has a runny nose. Yesterday he woke up from his nap very early and VERY cranky. Hannah & I brought him upstairs so that he wouldn't wake up Reid. She rocked and cuddled and played with him for a long time while I finished a few scrapbook pages. As long as his big sis was tending to him, he was a happy camper. I snapped a few pictures while they were playing and boy are those kids cute (though I suppose I could be biased)!

And I'm not sure how I got such a "posed" picture from Ross!!! It certainly wasn't planned.

Day #5

We are getting so close!!! The pool is mostly filled right now (one of us will have to get up in the middle of the night to shut the water off). The installer is coming back tomorrow to tie up a few loose ends and then we'll see him again in two weeks when he pours the walkways and patios. The forms are in for the concrete, but the dirt has to settle around the pool for a few weeks before they can pour it. The a/c unit gets moved sometime next week, so it won't be near the pool anymore. Now we just need to find a way to cover the pump -- it had to go in the middle of the yard for a variety of reasons: legal set-back, out of the way of other utility boxes and where the kids can't climb on it to get over the fence. The fence will go around two sides of it, so that just leaves two sides to hide.

And Jeremy & Hannah took their first dip in it tonight. The water hasn't been treated yet, though, and is YUCKY from all the dust. So, I'm waiting until tomorrow after we get the chemicals in and learn how to use the vacuum to take a dip.

Day #4...oops!

I forgot to take photos of the pool last night. That isn't true. We ran errands and I had expected to be home well before dark, but we had a disasterous trip to Lowe's and didn't get back until it was too late to take photos. At least the fence parts are ordered now, but that was a trip that should have been taken sans children.

What can keep 3 kids entertained for 45 minutes?

Diapers, that's what. And what do they do with those diapers? Hannah makes them into football uniforms for the boys -- some get stuffed under their shirts for shoulder pads, some get snapped together for jersey's and some get used as helmets (don't worry...they're clean).

The real question is, though, how can 3 kids LOSE 3 diapers in 45 minutes? They're gone, no where to be found...

Learning our ABP's

Reid has shown a lot of interest lately in learning his alphabet (verbally, not necessarily visually). He loves singing the ABC song. Unfortunately, however, he can't say the letter C. So, we're learning our ABP's around here. He is picking up the visuals a bit, too. Last night he pointed out the O's on Jeremy's t-shirt (there were two of them, which he counted as well). Maybe another few months of speech therapy will buy a C sound...

Day #3

They got done early today!!! And, the pool is being filled right now. We can only let it fill to the 1st step of the stair, though. They have to wire the light before we can fill it the rest of the way. The kicker? One of us will need to get up in the middle of the night tonight to turn the water off. But, we should be able to swim this weekend...those of us who aren't re-doing the irrigation system, that is!

GD...yuck!

So, I had a routine check-up this morning. Apparently the results from the glucose test I took a few weeks ago were too high. So, now I have to go back for a three hour glucose test (I get pricked at the beginning and then 3 more times, each an hour apart). I'm really hoping the last test was just an anomaly, because I don't want to deal with GD (gestational diabetes). I love my carbs too much!

And it is lucky Jeremy is off on Friday, since I'm sure the kids would love to hang out at the hospital for 3+ hours.

Day #2 of Pool Install

So, this is what we had yesterday evening:

Oh, we're getting closer!!!

Reid's Faux Hawk

Hannah came up with this clever little game. Reid think's it is a hoot! And that makes me think...I need to get an updated picture of Hannah on here. I tried to snap some at swimming practice the other night, but it was too hot for me to stick around long enough to get one. I'll have to try again tomorrow!!!

The mess that is our backyard

So, day #1 of the pool install was very eventful. There is now a big BIG hole in my backyard, which was made only after a large dump truck drove dangerously close to my house repeatedly yesterday (and did manage to drive over my patio and crack it).

Wanna see the pool? Here it is, and it is oh so exciting.


And for those of you who haven't visited recently, here is what my perennial bed in the backyard looked like a week ago:

And here it is now:
I'm just glad that my clematis survived the destruction. The pool builder actually dug up all the perennials and put them in the corner of my lawn. It is so hot here right now, I don't think they'll survive like that. I'll have to find somewhere to put them, though my entire backyard is big mudhole and most of it is fare game to the backhoe and dump truck, so there really isn't a safe spot to put them.

The pool should have water in it and swimmable by Friday night. However, there won't be any decking/patio around it yet. The dirt has to settle for two weeks before they'll pour the concrete around the top. So, we'll be able to swim, but we'll be covered in mud to get from the house to the pool. That's better than the 20 minute drive to the pool, though.

Too busy to eat!

Today, this is what Reid wanted to do instead of eat lunch. Do you see what he sees? Yes, that is a backhoe in my yard and a HUGE pile of dirt. Somehow that will become a beautiful swimming pool...right now I'm wondering what we were thinking. My fence is torn up, my perennials have all been dug up and I'm just waiting for my cable to get cut!

And for those of you who are worried, I did manage to get a PB&J down him, though, before he re-glued himself to the window.

And some call it "baby crack"...

Yesterday we had Melissa & Joel over for dinner. Before nap time I needed to sweep, so we stuck a Wiggles video in to keep the kids out of trouble (I know, I know, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do). They stayed in this position for a good 1/4 hour (and didn't even notice me taking pictures). Yep, that folks is why we call it baby crack.

Oh, but Reid did take a break from his blank staring to play "guitar" on his play mop. Wish the camera would have been handy for that shot.

Ross is a little confused.

So, I've started introducing the idea to Reid & Ross that there will be a new baby in our house soon. A couple of days ago, I told Ross their was a baby in my belly and he gave my belly the once over and laughed at me. It was really quite cute. Today we were talking about body parts and again discussed the fact that I have a baby in my belly. He seemed to understand better this time, or at least I thought he did. Then he started pointing to his belly and saying "baby". And then he started pointing to everyone else's belly and saying baby. So, I guess I didn't make him understand anything about the new baby -- I just taught him the wrong word for his belly!

We're all so tired!

Night #3 of Ross sleeping in the big bed was a DISASTER!!! I can't even rightly say when he finally went to sleep, as he just kept making noise most of the night. Reid did so well...he didn't get mad or cry, just kind of laid there with a look of "what is the big deal" on his face. So, Reid was up all night as a spectator, Jeremy & I were up all night trying to get Ross to sleep, and Hannah was up all night at a lock in (she didn't sleep a wink while she was there). Right now, the rest of them are all sound asleep. I have too much to do to sleep.

We started destroying our backyard this morning. The edging is out of my flower bed, the pavers that the grill sits on are gone, the hook with the windchime is gone, too. I need to go out and cut back as much of the plants as possible yet today, but I'm waiting to see if the bees vacate the plants later this evening.

Off I go...I hear the oven chiming. Fresh strawberry shortcake for dessert tonight...mmmm!

Two nights down...

Night #2 with Ross in the big boy bed went a little better. It only took him about 1 1/2 hours to get to sleep and he stayed asleep. Night #1 I was in with him about every 1 1/2 hours because he would get himself stuck between the headboard and the mattress. In the 1 1/2 hours he was awake, though, he did manage to destroy the room. I had to go in and take all the books out, because they were EVERYWHERE and he was throwing them.

The worst thing about the move, however, is the fact that they are getting up earlier. They used to just lay in bed for a while and play quietly, but now the giggling starts good and early. So, apparently we're all getting up at 6:00 now. Well, everyone but Hannah. She finally showed her sleepy head at 10:00 this morning (and only after I woke her).

Speaking of Hannah, she is spending the night at the YMCA tonight for a lock in with the swim team. The rule was that she could go if she wasn't grumpy with us on Saturday. We'll see if that works out...

On a side note: the pool installer is supposed to come on Monday! Yay!

He's in the big boy bed...

Ross is officially sleeping for the 1st time in his big boy bed (in the room he and Reid share). He played, cried and did anything but sleep for the 1st two hours he was in bed tonight. Reid did remarkedly well with this, dropping off to sleep almost as usual. I did hear the two of their voices at a few points, but I don't believe Reid ever left his bed. Hopefully tomorrow night will be a little smoother. I'm sure tomorrow morning will be "fun" -- he didn't go to sleep until about 10:30, which should make for a grumpy little guy tomorrow. We have a planned trip to the grocery store tomorrow. Trips there rarely go 100% smoothly anyway, but throw in a grumpy toddler and it could get really exciting. Good thing Hannah will be along to help with the boys!

Oh, and mommy is still up because she is worrying about Ross sleeping in the new bed. What if he gets tangled in the sheets? What if he falls out of bed? My imagination is getting the better of me...I suppose we'll both be tired and grumpy tomorrow!

Just call him Don Juan...

Today I took the kids to the park and then to the library for story time. We've been going to story time (almost) every week for about 10 months now. In the last 4 months or so, Ross has refused to sit in the stroller for this event. I've had to keep a close eye on him, though, because a couple of times I caught him bopping another child on the head. Now, this is my child who doesn't like to go to new people (seriously, he wails when we leave him in the nursery at church). Today, during story time, he took interest in a little girl who appeared to be about his age. She was playing with the velcro on her sandals, so I assumed that was where the interest stemmed from. He sat in front of her and watched her intently for a while. When it was time to leave and while I was rounding Reid up, Ross walked over to the little girl. I watched as he put his arm around her and gave her a hug. After a few seconds of this, he leaned over and gently planted a big wet kiss on her cheek. Now let's say it all together, "awwww".

As a side note: it appears the boys know how to be nice to other children. They, apparently, just don't know that they need to be nice to each other.

Not a toy...yeah right!

So Reid's speech teacher sent him home with this and a half dozen pages of detailed instructions on how to use it. At the top of the first page it says, "not a toy". Um...yeah right! The person who wrote those directions can't possibly have children -- I mean, it is brightly colored, plastic and noisy. What else could it be than a toy? Better yet, Reid is not to touch the "horn". The child is to sit upright in a chair while the parent holds the horn to the child's lips, lets them blow the horn and then removes it from their mouth. Repeat 25 times. We got to about 10 before Reid was ready to move on. This should be fun...


And because he is just too cute, here is a quick pic of Ross that I snapped this week.

Hot, just plain hot.

It is hot here. Too hot for a pregnant woman. It is supposed to get to 101 today, but there was also 60% humidity this morning. Yuck! I'm tired of being inside and the boys are sure as heck tired of being inside. We're all getting stir crazy and grumpy around here. The good news is that it is supposed to cool off later this week -- we might actually get down to 90 on Thursday.

I'd be willing to bet good money that it will cool off dramatically about the time our pool goes in. You know, that way the water doesn't warm up and we can't use it...

Speaking of the pool, I'm tired of the process already. The HVAC people called and cancelled (indefinitely) on us for a scheduled appointment Thursday. They were supposed to move our A/C unit around to the side of the house, as it can't stay where it is. I'm really hoping they can start the pool install with the A/C unit still sitting there. The worst part is, Jeremy dug the trench for the A/C lines this past weekend. So, the kids really can't be in the yard right now, unless we want them to end up a muddy mess. Why couldn't the HVAC people either have stuck to their schedule or called last Friday?

Reid's Birthday

This is a little late, but here are a few pictures of Reid's 3rd birthday. Reid was lucky to have Grandma & Grandpa Burns at his party. Notice the lovely shiner he got from taking a nose dive off the swing. Ross had a little fun that day, too.

And if I do say so myself, the cake was awesome! Lemon sponge cake with fresh whipped cream and strawberries. Yummy!

Homefront 6?

What does Homefront 6 mean, you ask? It happens to be one of those Armyisms that have crept into the vernacular of our household. And it means that, around here, I'm in charge. But if you know our family, then you really didn't need me to tell you that, right?