Dad's handiwork

As previously posted ... it's been a busy weekend. I just wanted to post a couple pictures while I have the chance, and before the week gets too busy and I forget all about it. Next weekend we will be traveling to Long Island for my sister-in-law's baby shower (her baby girl is due 6 days before mine!) and a celebration of my father/mother-in-laws' 40th anniversary. So things are probably not going to slow down any time soon!

So here is a picture of the awesome pantry/hutch that my Dad made for us and that we installed yesterday. Okay, I had no part in installing it. Chad and my Dad did it all. But I did keep the kids out from under foot. :)

Can you believe how cool it is? And oh so much storage space! I started organizing today, but I need to get more storage bins for all the kids' crafty stuff and my table linens.

The bunk beds were also put together yesterday, and Audrey has been sleeping up there ever since. It looks like someone else is enjoying the bunk beds too! :) I'd post a picture of the whole shebang but we still need another mattress and to set up Carter's stuff in there too. Poor Carter will be living in girly land for a while ... till we can de-girlify it more. Don't think he really cares at this point!

And just for fun ... Audrey "styled" my hair yesterday and took a picture of her own handiwork. She insisted that all the neighbors would think it looked SO cute when we went outside to play ... Don't I look adorable??? haha

I'm going to quit now so that for once this week I can get to bed by 11 pm. I feel like I spend half the morning trying to wake up these days!

Change is in the air ...

This week has made the arrival of our baby girl seem a WHOLE lot more real.

For starters, I scheduled a "birthday" for her. It seems a little strange to me to pick something like that, but such is the life for the c-section mom. So ... July 16th it is. Why that day? Well, it had to be a Tuesday or Thursday (the days that my OB practice does their "scheduled" sections), and it's right before my due date of July 20th. (I also prefer even numbers, but I'd rather not get into my weird idiosyncrasies ...) I'm really not in a big hurry for the baby to come out super early either. I guess I just don't really mind being pregnant, and I want the baby to be fully "cooked" so to speak. Plus I need all the time possible to get my act together. There are less than 7 weeks left till delivery day! Yikes.

Meanwhile, we have been busy nesting around here. While Chad was off for the week, he painted our bedroom. I still have a lot of work to do there, including ordering some new bedding and putting stuff on the walls. The kids' bunk beds came the other day, and Chad put them together this morning. Audrey is at this moment spending her first night on the top bunk ... and oh so excited to be up there! Carter is still in his crib since we have yet to get another mattress for his bottom bunk. (Yet another unfinished project ...) And this afternoon my Dad and Chad installed our new pantry/hutch that is taking up most of one of our kitchen walls. It has SO much storage space. AND it is beautiful, and handmade by my Dad. AND it matches the rest of the kitchen. AND ... did I mention all the storage?? (Having 2 and soon to be 3 kids in this modest home makes me absolutely SWOON for storage!) :)

If only I had more energy and kid-free time, I could get so much more done... but it is what it is right now. So we are plodding along and trying to get as much done per day as we can.

Oh, and to throw a monkey wrench in it all ... I got my results back from that darn glucose test, and my sugar levels were elevated. So now I have to go get the 3 hour test. I am SO not looking forward to it, although as one wise friend pointed out - when else am I going to get 3 hours to myself? ALL TO MYSELF. So I'm hoping to at least get in some reading while I'm there. :)

I'll try to post some pictures of our "updates" soon. But I can't promise anything right now ... :)

Willow Valley Fun!

So, since we are expecting a baby smack dab in the middle of this summer, Chad decided to take a week off now so we can do a few fun family things before it gets too crazy around here. One of the things we decided to do was to take an overnight trip to Willow Valley Resort in Lancaster. I had heard that they had a great indoor pool and kids water park, so even though putting on a swimsuit was not high on my list of priorities, I knew the kids would LOVE IT so off we went. They have some really good packages that include meals and such ... especially when you go in the middle of the week. We all had a great time! Audrey even cried when it was time to go because she really did not want to leave.

Anyhow, we arrived on Thursday, and the first item of business? Jumping on the bed, of course!

Next item of business? Check out the pool!

Carter doing what Carter does best in water ... SPLASHING!

Audrey checking out part of the water park.

AND .... more splashing ... big surprise. You should see our bathroom after he gets out of the tub.

We took a brief hiatus for checking out the facility, eating dinner at a local pizza place, and playing at the playground, and then we were back to ...

You guessed it ... swimming again.

By this time, everyone was way tired so off to bed they go. Well ... it took Mommy sitting next to Carter (aka the little instigator) but eventually they fell asleep ... at 10 pm. Shortly followed by Mommy & Daddy. Where do they get their energy?

The next morning we had a big breakfast at the "breakfast smorgasbord" and then once again, you guessed it, we were off to the pool. The kids couldn't get enough :)

Mr. "Up till 10pm and up at 7 am" is getting tired ...

Chad did this cool action sequence of Audrey jumping in the pool:
She is becoming quite the fish lately!

Hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day weekend!

I think I'm losing my mind ...

I apologize ... this post is very "stream of consciousness"...

...so today I was FINALLY going to do something I have been putting off for a LONG time. No really, I should have had this done 5-7 weeks ago. Drum roll please .... it's my favorite pregnancy test ... the dreaded glucose tolerance test. When I was pregnant with Audrey, I almost blacked out at the midwives office during this test (the problem with drinking that incredibly sugary disgusting drink is the blood sugar DROP shortly afterward) so I have some lingering issues with it all, I suppose. :) Anyhow, finding the time to do this has been tough. I sure didn't want to bring my beloved but wiggly 2 year old along for the 1 hour wait! And I feel like I have asked too many people to watch my kids lately (and I'm saving my favors for AFTER the baby, haha!), so I don't know, maybe I was hoping I could just skip it? Pretty please? I have to admit I am a little lax about everything this time around. Anyhoo, at the last appointment, the doctor says - "Can you go take this test... Please? Like, this week?" Okay, that was 3 weeks ago now, but this week Chad is actually taking vacation so I can go. I have no excuses. So I figured I'd go while Carter naps, Audrey "rests" and then Chad could finish painting our bedroom with few interruptions. So I leave the house around 2 or so ... then vaguely recall - doesn't the lab close around 3pm? Would I have time to do it? Maybe if I hurried .... so as I am walking from the car to the hospital, I remember ... I don't have my paperwork from the doctor's office with me. (Although I DID remember the orange syrup stuff that has been in my fridge for about 3 months now!) I decided to try to plead my case since we live literally down the street from the hospital and I could run home and be back in 5 minutes flat, but the nurse in the lab was having none of that. I guess she actually wanted to go home on time ... how dare she! :P So ...I went to the car and promptly burst into tears. I am so .... pregnant! What about this situation makes me want to cry?? It makes me laugh thinking about that now. I think I'm losing my mind ...

More information about my day than you ever wanted to know!! :)

The "graduate"

Oh so sad, I am (and beginning to talk like Yoda?) .... Audrey's preschool days are over. Not just for the summer. She won't be going back ever - since she'll be off to kindergarten this fall. I sure am going to miss my drives to Preschool in the Valley. It is an absolutely beautiful drive through the beautiful countryside of Chester County. I half wish that I had signed Carter up for next fall (but then when I think about driving a newborn and Carter off to preschool first thing in the morning, I think otherwise...) I plan to send Carter when he's 3 1/2, but that is another school year away. :(

Audrey had such a great year at preschool. Her teacher was the greatest. Really, she was. She's not going to be back next year and moms are up in arms! :) Audrey really blossomed socially this year as well and made a lot of friends, some of whom will be in her kindergarten too!

On Thursday, the kids had "graduation." It was very simple yet very adorable. The children marched into the sanctuary wearing little graduation caps, then they sang a song. Audrey said that the song was a surprise, but that it kind of sounded like "I have the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart" (... any guesses as to what they sang? haha) The pastor gave a "commencement address" of about 5 minutes (these are preschoolers, you know). Then each "graduate" went up to receive their "diploma". I wish that I knew how to do video on this blog, because Audrey very cutely skipped right up to her teacher to receive her diploma :) This is the only graduation where she'll get away with that ...

Audrey with her friend Kessa and Teacher Mindy

And all too soon, she'll be off to "big school"... then junior high ... then high school ... then college ... (sniff, sniff!) Please don't grow up TOO fast!

Chad is taking off this next week and we're planning to have a "staycation" of sorts ... some projects around the house, but some fun stuff planned in the area too. I'll keep you posted!

Dogwood Festival 2009

Okay ... here is my obligatory post about the Phoenixville Dogwood Festival. This is so eagerly anticipated by the kids here in this neighborhood that you can almost feel the block pulsating with excitement! There's not too much to say - as in previous years, there were rides, friends, and ice cream - what else could a kid want? I'll mostly leave it to the pictures to tell the story!

The bumblebee ride is usually the first ride we go on ... it's a favorite!

All the neighborhood kids - they always seem to find each other and stick together!

Waiting, waiting, waiting (It was kiddie night so some of the lines were kinda long, not that the kids noticed. They were busy being silly with each other!)

Carter's favorite ride - the swing that was already in the park and totally free!

Kid-isms

One from Carter:
The other day we were over visiting our friends the Wagners and after dinner we all had ice cream cones. Carter had an especially cute little bitty cone, just his size. He took a couple licks of ice cream, looked up, and declared it "da-yis-is!" (aka "delicious"). I had no idea that he knew that word! How cute is that, especially since most of what he says is gibberish?

Now one from Audrey:
The other week we were driving home from the Reading Phillies game. As we passed by the Limerick Power Plant (also known as the nuclear cooling towers, for those of you who don't live around here), Audrey looked out the window and said "Look Mommy! Cloud makers!"

We all got a laugh out of that one!

Mommy's Day

... because calling yesterday "Mother's Day" just doesn't seem to fit our family right now. No one calls me "mother"! I'm just good ol' Mommy, and I'm going to hold onto that for as long as possible.

I had a nice day with my family. I got to sleep in until almost 9! I KNOW! UNHEARD OF! But the kids were out late the night before so they slept till probably 8:30 or so too. I had a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs and cinnamon toast, and off to church we went. Chad had declared the day before that I did not have to cook anything :) so he brought home Chinese food for lunch (I am loving Chinese these days ...) then in the afternoon Audrey and I had ice cream cones together while Carter napped. I even got to lay down and rest too! In the evening we went to have a picnic with friends and the kids played happily with their buddies till the sun went down and everyone was dirty and tired and content... and full of more ice cream cones. Gotta love summery days!

On Saturday afternoon we and my brother went over to my parents' house and had a little early Mother's Day celebration with my Mom. Chad helped my Dad with a little landscaping and then we all went out to eat at Applebee's. I have to say, not to wish time away ... but I can't wait for the day that the kids sit nicely in the restaurant and eat contentedly. :) In our present day scenario, Carter is squirmy and requires constant distraction, and Audrey gets overly excited and talks way too loudly ... but at least they aren't sullen teenagers who look like they'd rather be anywhere but with us! It just would be nice to talk like grown-ups and have an uninterruped conversation though :)

And here's what I would say to my Mom in that uninterrupted conversation:

"Mom, thanks for all you have ever done for me. Thanks for believing in me as a kid, a teen, a young adult, a wife, and a mom. Thanks for loving me despite my character flaws and selfishness (which I hope have improved somewhat since my childhood...) I now understand how much patience you had to have each day as you raised me, but I also understand how deeply you love me too, since I'm now walking the same path ..."

Love you Mom! And I am so thankful that God has given me with Audrey, Carter & a baby girl to raise. I am so blessed!

My babies ...

...and the reason I now drive this. :)

Happy belated Mother's Day to all my Mom friends out there!

Muffins with Mom

Yesterday was "Muffins with Mom" day at Audrey's preschool. Each child had made a folder with a painting on the front, and a "gift of words" on the inside. This was mine ....


I think she wrote about the banana-chocolate chip muffins because she and I had just made them together... the truth is that right now I like to eat EVERYTHING! Especially ice cream, mmm, ice cream ... I'll be back in a minute ...

It's so fun to see Audrey and her classmates in their own little environment. I love that she gets so excited that I am coming to her class .... I gotta treasure this part of childhood because I know one day she will be embarrassed to walk through the mall with me. :)

And just for fun, I'll post this picture. I found Carter walking around the house wearing my sunglasses today ...

Most random post. Ever.

I am having the hardest time getting my bloggy act together lately. It feels like time just went into fast forward for me. Last week we had a quick visit with my in-laws who were here from Minnesota, we bought a new (used) minivan, I had a doctor's appointment, I was a "mystery reader" at Audrey's preschool, I put a scratch on thenew minivan (more on that later), I went out two evenings in a row with friends, I made $85 selling extra stuff at the Charlestown sale, etc, etc.

All this activity totally exhausts me these days. I can't believe that I used to go out on work nights and stay out till 2 am, then get up the next morning by 7 am to get to work the next day! Now I stay out till 10pm and I am wasted the next day!!! Oh, those were the days. Then again, I also wasn't pregnant back then (or even married) so I guess I have an excuse these days to be totally, absolutely lame. :)

Well, I totally planned on having a post and pictures of my cool new minivan ... but alas, every time I had time to take a picture, the van was parked in the garage, and now it will be parked in the garage all this next week since it is raining cats and dogs around here. Oh well, you all know what a Honda Odyssey minivan looks like anyhow ... there are only like a gazillion parked at the grocery store every day. Mine is silver. Use your imagination. :) And here's a shout out to our friend Eric who works at CarSense ... we had a GREAT experience there. If you're in the market for a used vehicle, go there!

Speaking of the garage back there ... I had a small mishap with the van & the garage ... on the third day of ownership. Eek. The short story is that we have a small garage ... which leaves about 2 inches leeway on each side of the van as you back it out. Literally. I am still a bit petrified every time I have to back this thing out, but anyhow, despite my caution, I scraped a bit of the front side of the minivan on the way out. I said out loud, "Oh no, Daddy is not going to be happy about this one ..." From the back Audrey pipes up in an anxious voice "Mommy, is Daddy going to say that he's never going to be your friend again???" (I guess this is the worst thing you can say to someone when you're 5 years old!)

Well, Chad did NOT say that he would never be my friend again, and in fact he was pretty good about it. The best part? Mostly the scrape was paint from the garage that had transferred onto our van, so he was able to buff it right off. Honestly, you can't even tell anything happened unless you look REALLY closely (or unless you're Chad). :)


So ... oh yeah, by the way ... I'm pregnant. I know, I keep forgetting cuz I'm too busy to remember that this baby is coming in about 11 more weeks. AAAHH! Just kidding - how can I forget when my belly feels like it's about to explode? I am definitely feeling pregnant these days. But despite my distraction, I am getting excited! A friend at church recently had a baby, and when she brought him to church, I thought "That's going to be me soon! Yippee!"

Here I am last week (around 28 weeks). After Chad took this picture, I said "Do I look as tired as I feel?" And he said "Umm, yeah..." Keep that in mind as you look at the bags under my eyes.


On Sunday we went to Audrey's preschool "Spring Sing" at Great Valley Presbyterian Church. She did a great job and was so excited to sing! Too bad this is the only picture I took before the batteries died in my camera ... fortunately we have video of it all :) At this point, she was not interested in Mommy being obnoxious with the camera, and was far more interested in the cake and goodies in the fellowship hall ...

Well, Chad is home now and we're talking and then watching 24. Sorry for the randomness. I have a feeling this is how my blogging might be over the next year ....