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 ....

Spring is here (or is it summer??)

Today was the official start of "spring" in the Smith household.

First of all, we went to our first baseball game of the year at the Reading Phillies. It is usually a really fun place to go ... however, not as fun when it's 90+ degrees outside, your seat is in the sun, and your kids are melting. And melting down. My friends Patti, Brianne & I spent most of the game out in the concourse area with our little ones, so at least the company was great! :) And I tried Dipping Dots for the first time with my kids. :) I know, lame.

The other "first" of today was the first day of outdoor water play! Carter got a "wacky waterpillar" sprinkler for his birthday, and since his birthday is in JANUARY, this was our first opportunity to use it. The kids were so excited. And soon half the neighborhood was out to join in the fun.

Then we had another first for the season - first fat lip from a facedown fall into the pavement ... poor Carter. :(



We have one other "first" to share from this weekend ... but I'll wait on that one and keep you in suspense .... :) Tune in later this week!

Little swimmer

I finally broke down and signed Audrey up for swimming lessons.

I've been putting this off for a while now. Partly because getting swimming lessons around here means joining the YMCA. And despite the fact that the Y is a "non-profit" organization, it is pretty dang pricey to join the Y ... at least for us it is. In fact, I only joined Audrey at this point because that was the cheapest option.

I've also been putting it off till now because I was afraid that Audrey would HATE it. She is my kid who never liked water on her face and I just didn't want her to have a bad experience with lessons, and then have it be an ordeal. I wanted to wait till she was really ready. Well, now that she is 5, she is much better about getting wet, and much more "brave," and she actually WANTED lessons. And I feel like at this point she just needs to learn for safety's sake, if nothing else.

Well. To my delight, she LOVES swimming lessons. In fact, the first day she went, all she talked about (to anyone who would listen) was how she was taking swimming lessons, and they were so fun ... even how she got her own special "credit card" at the Y (also known as an ID card). She spent the next few bath times giving Carter his own "swimming lessons." (He is happy to stick his face in the water and loved her "lessons"...)

I have loved watching her at her class! Every week she gets a little more courageous and tries something a little more difficult. ("Mommy, next week I'm going to jump in only holding on to one of the teacher's hands!") It makes me so proud, because it is all initiated by her. I am not having to push or prod or coerce her into it, she just wants to learn. I'm so glad I waited!

Little ducks in a row :)

Pretty much every picture I took includes this big ole smile on Audrey's face!

Learning to float

Getting ready to jump!

My sweet girl!

Easter

As usual, Easter came and went quickly this year but I am so thankful for this holiday, when we can take time to reflect on Jesus' sacrifice for us and His victory over death. It always moves me to tears when I think about the love that Jesus showed for me in that act of ultimate humility. I am glad that I will get to thank Him in person some day.

This Easter we traveled up to Long Island to visit Chad's sister Molly & her husband Josh. My in-laws were also there for a visit so it was even better.

So here are a few photos ... as you can tell some of us were more cooperative with picture-taking than others :/ Life with kids, I suppose!

Bribing Carter with cookies in an attempt to get him to
cooperate ...

It worked for one picture ...

It worked for two pictures ... (although then his sister was acting silly)

.... and, then it stopped working.
But Chad's parents look great, don't they??

Molly & Josh ... sorry, multiple cameras going so they are looking elsewhere.

Molly & I with our 6 month pregnant bellies. Our baby girls are due 6 days apart!
And there is my other little girl, who wanted to be in the picture too.

I love this picture of Audrey & Grandpa. She spent quite a bit of the weekend attempting to "beat him up" (don't worry, he was asking for it!) She had a lot of fun with her Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Molly & Uncle Josh.
Oh, and she is now begging us for a Wii so she can play Rock Band, since both Chad's sisters have one. I just wonder how long it will be until we fall victim to our culture ...

Hope you all had a blessed Easter!

Easter Fun

I tried out making my own "video montage" ... I thought it might be an easier way to show a bunch of pictures, rather than posting them all separately. There are pictures on here of our family dyeing Easter eggs and of our neighborhood Easter egg hunt. So hope this turns out okay! Enjoy!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Hello Kitty

Diesel finally found a place where the kids can't get to her! :)

HA! Smart cat.

Hives, hives and more hives...

Audrey has hives. Not a few little red dots. Massive, itchy, red splotches covering her body from head to toe. The doctor thinks she is probably allergic to amoxicillin. I wanted to say "great, thanks, I just pumped her body full of that poison that you gave me for the last 10 days." Anyhow, it takes amoxicillin up to a week to get OUT of one's system. AND, it can take up to 6 weeks to totally be rid of hives.

The good news is - at least it's not contagious, although I did find one stray hive on my cheek last night. I called it my "sympathy hive." Personally, I think it just may be stress related ...