Going on a date!

D and I are going on a date Saturday!! We only have a few hours, so I'm not sure what we're going to do. I thought about dinner and a movie, but we only have from 5-9, and we can't drop the kids off till 5 so I'm not sure we'll have time for both. Plus, my kids go to bed WAY before 9, so maybe we'll just go to dinner and then pick them up early. That doesn't sound like much of a date though.

___________

So, my weekend away was fun. I remembered that I don't really like bars though. Or, at least, not bars that are REALLY crowded, smoky and noisy. So, yeah, all bars I guess.
I still had fun though. We hung out and went shopping, had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, which was YUM but a LONG wait. We went out downtown and had fun dancing. It was an eventful night. There was good conversation, good food and fun!

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I just signed up for this ad thing, where they put ads on your page and send you money or something. I don't really know how it works, and I'm not sure yet how I feel about it. If everyone hates it, I think I'll take it down. Am I even supposed to be talking about this? I have no idea.
Sorry...

____________

I have tried to give up coffee and I have failed. I thought I could just go back to drinking it a few times a week, but have found myself drinking it every day. Huh.
I'll try again.

____________

/most boring post ever.

8 days past

I took a pregnancy test this morning and it was negative. I'm only 8 days past ovulation, so, again... duh.
I've already failed miserably at NOT getting my hopes up. I feel a little weird too, and analyze every "symptom," feeling, and thought.
We really didn't do anything to influence any gender, one way or the other. I just found I didn't care so much, and that if we're meant to have a girl - we will. And if not, then we'll have another lovely boy.

In truth, I "blame" (for lack of a better word) my mother for me wanting a girl in the first place.
She calls me, or I call her, every day. Often more than once.
We get along, we're friends. I see the way D and his brothers DON'T have that kind of relationship with their mother and it makes me sad. That's not to say that my boys won't be friends with me when they're grown ups, but typically boys gravitate towards their wives families, in my experience. It's not ALWAYS true, but it often is.
I guess I'll just have to be very good friends with their wives.

Silent Sunday: My Blessings in Pictures

Grandma

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the weekend! Better yet, it's a weekend away! It's been a long, long week. The kids were sick, then I was sick and D was working late. I put the kids to bed by myself every day this week, except for today. Today, D took a sick day which was nice in some ways and ANNOYING in others. (PS - I need a boss who offers sick days.)

Everything is getting on my nerves. Husband, kids, dog, cat, chores, laundry, weather.
I really need this break. And when I come back, I'm going to seriously try to find a reliable babysitter or ask my parents to come down for a few days so D and I can take a little vacation together. I've been realizing lately that we need to have more couple time. If I wait for things to slow down, they never will.

Have a great weekend & see you Monday!

Weeelll

We decided to stop not trying for the month and so I guess we will see what happened sometime next week. I suspect I'll know by Wednesday.
I'm trying not to get my hopes up because:
1- we were NOT trying for part of the month and just not NOT trying for the rest, so it's not like we WERE really trying. (making my head hurt...)
2 - It's the FIRST month.
3 - I think my hopes are already up. I'm already thinking about baby names.

On the other hand, my brother's wife and 2 of my good friends have had recent miscarriages and struggles with getting pregnant. I worry about how to tell them when it does happen, this month or not. I can't stand the thought of hurting them.

I'm going on vacation!

Well, kind of! I'm in a meetup group for moms and I've been organizing a weekend away. We're going to Nashville for one night this weekend!
There's only 7 of us going, but we're carpooling and sharing hotel rooms so it's really a pretty cheap trip. I think I'll be able to spend $100 or less easily.

What could be nicer than a weekend of outlet shopping, eating out, going out and sleeping in?
One with no kids, that's what!

The kids will be here with D, and I'm sure they'll have a great time. I can tell he'd rather me stay home, but he's out and about enough that he knows I need it too. I guess I am a little nervous. I mean, I've never left the baby overnight and the only time I've left the other two overnight was when I was in the hospital giving birth and 2 nights away last year with my sisters-in-law. So, it doesn't happen often.
However, the boys are all sleeping pretty well lately and I need to get away while I can!! I can't wait!

I do expect some interesting stories and possibly "where is the xyz?" while I'm gone, but it's going to be SO much fun!

Silent Sunday: My Blessings in Pictures

family

The days are long, but the years are short.

Everyone knows that life is short, but we take it for granted that we will be here tomorrow. I'm guilty of this myself.

Next year I'll take a vacation for just D and I.
Soon, we'll go out for a date.
I'll pray more/read more/exercise more...
I'll lose weight - starting tomorrow.
I'll start going to church regularly again, just as soon as it's more convenient.
I'll do something fun with the kids, tomorrow, instead of hiding in the bedroom when the day starts to feel l.o.n.g.

So many of our sentences start or end with, "when the kids are older" and everything is always later or some day and next time.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to wake up and find out that there is no later. No more chances to do the things that you might regret missing.

It's a struggle to live in the present and enjoy it every day. The mundane details of life get in the way. It's not like every day can be filled with meaningful experiences and once in a lifetime opportunities. I mean, you have to pay bills, clean the kitchen and empty the trash. The kids will fight, the car will break, you'll have crappy days. That's life; the good and the bad.

But, when my time is up, I hope that all the people I care about know it. I hope that people will say, "She had a good life." I hope that I got to everything I meant to do and enjoyed most of it. Most of all, I hope that I live a LONG life and get to see my kids grow up and become parents. I hope I get to spoil my grandchildren. I hope to never forget to tell the people that are important that I love them, but I also hope they know it through my actions before I say it.

While I pray that I'm around for many, many more years; all of it has to start now, because it's important. When things matter, you make the time.

You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it. ~Charles Buxton

Signs

Sooooooo, my mom was SO convinced that I was hiding a pregnancy from them that it started to mess with my head. We were just up there visiting and she was just absolutely convinced I was pregnant (she doesn't even know we're trying soon - so I thought...) and I had to keep TELLING her that I'm NOT pregnant and secretly thinking that maybe she was right and I was wrong. heh
I actually took a pregnancy when we got home and SURPRISE! It was negative. (duh)

Want to hear something weird? D and I went out to dinner sans kids one night while we were there and started discussing the "4th baby thing" as we like to call it. We have decided to go ahead with the "4th baby thing," but still talk about it and think we might be a leeeeetle bit crazy. Anyway, I joked that maybe we'd have twin girls (since I always wanted 2 girls) and...
I kid. you. not. TWIN GIRLS ran right by our table.
And then I said, "Maybe that's a sign?" and then? They ran by again.

Weird.

If we actually got pregnant with twin girls I might fall over from the shock. hehe


In truth, I don't think that was a sign that we'll get pregnant with twin girls but I do feel like I've seen LOTS of signs lately that are telling me to let go. Stop worrying about this and let God take control. Stop avoiding, and embrace that this IS the right time. I honestly feel like God is telling me to trust Him, and I've never felt that so strongly before. If you aren't religious it probably sounds like a bunch of hokey, but it's hard to deny the feelings that I'm having.
So I'm letting go.

Bogged down!

I just got back from a short family visit (where I had little to NO Internet for FIVE DAYS - not that I'm counting!) so I am currently bogged down with google reader posts, emails and message board topics that are all screaming - UNREAD! READ ME! READ ME!
SO, I might be skimming. If I don't comment - sorry!!!

Pictures coming soon!

My first-born & Not-So-Silent Sunday

Dear d,
I can't even begin to describe how much our life has changed since you entered it 4 years ago. You helped us grow up, grow together and, most importantly, become a family.

Birth Day

We always knew we wanted to be parents, and we both secretly hoped for a boy. We had your name picked out when you were just a dream in our hearts. You have been everything we ever dreamed for; smart, funny, adorable and sweet. You gave us trouble (when you refused to sleep for over 2 years!) and you gave us laughs (your obsession with balloons, then cars, then batteries)!!

1st birthday

You love animals and have always had a gentle spirit towards them. In return, they adore you.
Your teacher at school is amazed at how smart you are, and there are many days when I am too. When you use a big word (correctly) out of the blue, it always make me wonder how you know these things. When you use one incorrectly, it makes me laugh.

2nd birthday

Ah, laughter! You enjoy making us, and especially your brothers, laugh. There's nothing you won't do to make others happy. I guess you got your people pleasing gene from me. We'll do our best to teach you how to balance that with your own needs as you grow.

3rd birthday

You are a sweet, sensitive boy who loves your baby brothers. You take care of them. You are my little rule follower, always knowing where the line is, even if, sometimes, you decide not to stop there. You are a competitive spirit and you have an inquiring mind. At the tender age of 4, you can already use a screwdriver to replace batteries and take apart toys to see how they work.

How does this work?

You are truly a child now, and no longer my little baby. I can scarcely believe that 4 years have gone by since the first time I looked into your eyes. I know that someday you will grow up and move away, but I can't think of those days right now. Right now, you're still my funny little boy; sweet, smart and loving. Happy Birthday d!
Love always,
Mama

Yes and No

Oh, my heart and my head go to war some days.

My heart sees a baby and goes "WANT! LOVE! NEED!" and my head thinks, "I'm so busy, I need to lose weight, I want to sleep, and be done with diapers and go out and oh, they're so much work!!!" and my head goes, " But, look at your sweet boys! They're best friends and look how cute and I know you won't regret it! Also, WANT!!"

My heart is definitely winning.

Donuts!

Over the weekend, my children were begging for donuts. I felt sick and sad and didn't want to go to the store so I decided to make some. I've NEVER made donuts before, and we RARELY eat donuts, but they turned out so well that I decided to share!!


Here's what you need:
3 cups biscuit mix
1 cup milk

Mix together until it's the right consistency for kneading and rolling.


Optional toppings:
Powdered sugar
cinnamon
milk
butter
cocoa powder
sprinkles

Mix, knead, roll and cut out donut shapes. Have the oil heating up while you do this. When the oil was just right (I tested it using a donut hole) then put in the donuts. Don't walk away because they get done fast! When one side is golden brown, flip it. I put mine on a towel, to get the extra oil off.

You can use any topping you want, or none. They're good both ways. We tried powdered sugar, a powdered sugar and milk glaze, and a white and chocolate frosting (butter, milk, powdered sugar and cocoa powder).

They were a hit!

Silent Sunday: My Blessings in Pictures

Brothers



And SPRING!

Spring Cleaning

D was gone for rugby today, from 6AM TO ?? (it's now 8:20 and he's not home, so who knows...)
It was a beautiful day (80 degrees!) so we played outside a lot and when the boys took naps I went on a little adventure in my closet.
I have to admit, it had gotten bad in there. REALLY bad. Like, I couldn't even find my shoes because there were so many clothes on the floor. (and I have a lot of shoes!) It didn't occur to me to take a picture till I was halfway through, but now I'm kind of glad I didn't, because... embarassing!!!

Here is the floor, halfway through. The clothes are already separated into 4 piles.
1 - Give away/Sell. (not pictured)


2 - Stain removal. These will go into the sell/give away pile if I can't get the stains out.


3 - Belong in dresser and not closet.


4 - Hang up in closet/Keep. (No... I don't have anything against hanging up clothes. Why do you ask?!)


Just try and imagine all 3 of those piles piled on top of my closet floor. I could hardly open the door. (I know! I KNOW! )

Here is the after!! I can find my clothes! I can find my shoes!! I even separated the clothes into short sleeve/long sleeve/pants/dressy sections.
My closet always USED to look like this - I don't know what the heck happened. I don't plan on letting it get that bad again!



There you are, my lovelies!!

(PS - shoes line 2 other walls too. heh)

While I was at it, I decided to tackle D's closet too. His didn't look anything like mine, he is WAY NEATER than me. He does, however, have a little problem with getting rid of things. I weeded out jeans and t-shirts that he's had since high school. Yes, he can still wear them but it doesn't mean he should. Holey jeans and faded beyond recognition t-shirts? Bye bye!!

After:

Hey!! I found a baby in there!!

It's sad when your husband has more clothes than you do. I think I still have him beat in shoes though.



The give away/sell pile. FYI - it filled up NINE trash bags, not including the comforter.

Absentminded Professor

I must say, D is a fantastic husband. Why, on Friday night he stayed home with our 3 kids PLUS 2 other kids so I could go out to dinner with a friend. That's 2 almost four year olds, 2 almost two year olds and a 9 month old. All by himself.
He didn't even whine about it.

He is smart, (he can truthfully say he's a rocket scientist!) practical, hilarious and great with the kids. He's also pretty hawt, if I do say so myself. However, one of his major flaws is that he cannot remember things. ANYTHING.
He doesn't remember his mother's birthday. He doesn't remember that d gets out of school at 1:00. (So picked him up at noon instead. *sigh*) And, he can never remember what time anything is supposed to start, and so, is perpetually late.
Just this week he has done several things that make me shake my head in disbelief.
Monday:
He picked up a movie and 3 things on our grocery list at the store on his way home from work. He got home and couldn't find the movie. He left it in the cart at the store. Luckily, someone found it and returned it for us!
Tuesday:
He forgot his rugby bag at home and I had to take it to work for him.
Wednesday:
He set my large plastic cup on the still-very-hot, flat top stove. IT MELTED. Big surprise. He was all, "But it wasn't on!" and I was all, "But I just finished making dinner 5 minutes ago!" *sigh* (We got the plastic off the stove. The cup wasn't so lucky.)
Thursday:
I made him a VERY detailed list to take to the bakery and order cupcakes for me to take to d's school next week and a small cake for his birthday party. It was ridiculously detailed, like this:
Cake - white frosting, Lightning McQueen, cake - white or strawberry, check on filling price, write: Happy 4th Birthday d!, feed 25. Cupcakes: one dozen, Thomas the Train, all the same.
Pick up for both: Next Wednesday, the 11th.
We talked about all these things last night and yet, I knew I had to make a list if I didn't want to show up and find a Scooby Doo cake and pink cupcakes. Aaaaaand...
he just called me from the store to ask when we wanted to pick it up.
So, I should be grateful that he is willing to do that errand for me, but it gets to be so much work just making him a list! You should see the grocery list!

Milk: Last aisle, organic, 2%, gallon, check price and expiration date
Graham crackers: Cracker aisle, not name brand, bottom shelf farther down are the cheaper ones, get 2 boxes...

You get the idea! These are just things he should KEEP IN HIS HEAD! I have sent him to the store no less than 5 times where he couldn't find something and decided they just didn't sell it anymore. Yes, I'm SURE they stopped selling oatmeal.

While this is definitely not the worst trait in the world, it can be very frustrating. Luckily, it also makes me laugh hysterically.
I've actually seen my almost 4 year old tell him that he was putting dishes away in the wrong cabinet.

Want to guess which one was right?

Napkin Rings

I was inspired by Swistle's napkin post and decided to make colorful napkin rings for my plain cloth napkins. Some elastic, some multicolored beads, tie it up, and voila! Done!


I made 10 different ones, but if I had a lot of time and a lot of beads, I might make sets so that I had several blue, several green, etc. They look kind of gaudy all together, but they won't be altogether so I think it hardly matters!

And so it begins...

Well, we are not trying for baby this month and although we weren't super careful I am pretty sure that we didn't get pregnant. Still, I was curious and took a test this morning. It was negative; no big shock. What WAS a big shock - was how much I wanted it to be positive. Strange how an idea can grow up around your heart when you're not looking.

Gender Guiding: Timing

There is a whole slew of information about timing s*x to achieve either a boy or a girl.
For a girl, you should have s*x every day until about 3 days before ovulation. Then stop. Don't have s*x again till after you're SURE you ovulated. Or, ever. Because you're likely to be tired from all that work earlier in the month.
Also, you don't get to have an *rgasm, apparently. Trying for a girl sounds like about as much fun as the "girl diet."
D is thrilled with this revelation, he feels it speaks well for him that we have 3 boys. Men!

The theory is that the boy sperm are faster but the girl sperm are stronger and live longer, so you want to give the girls a chance to reach the egg by ensuring more of the boys don't make it.

For a boy, you should have s*x as close to ovulation as possible.

This theory is the one that a lot of people swear by. My problem with it is that I don't have a crystal ball so I can't see 3 days into the future to know when I'm going to ovulate. I've been a charter for years, so I have a general idea, but I think the timing needs to be a little more accurate. In any case, perhaps we'll try it.
I've been feeling pretty "eh" about the whole thing, because I'm not sure I really care if we have boy or a girl. Then, when we were at the store yesterday, I saw so many cute Easter dresses. (yes, that sounds completely shallow, but it's not just about the clothes...)
SO perhaps we will try this method, or attempt it, in any case.

Silent Sunday: My Blessings in Pictures

Almost 4 year old memories