Recap

I'm so far behind in my blogging, it's not even funny.  Emerson started dance class two weeks ago and preschool this past week, so we've been adjusting to a new schedule two days a week.  She loves her new preschool teachers and so far loves dance class (tap and ballet followed by 30 minutes of gymnastics).  She's literally the only one in her class, so it's been basically a private lesson the past two sessions, but I think we'll be forced to find another class time soon.  As soon as I can find the time to go through my pictures and videos from her first class, I'll post them. 

I'm starting to finally feel like I'm coming out of the woods with my morning sickness.  This is pretty much when it ended with my other two, so each day that I feel better is fantastic.  This was by far the worst thing I've ever had to go through... basically being sicker than a dog for 8-9 weeks is ridiculous in itself, but then you add two little ones to keep up with, and I didn't know how to do it some days.  Thankfully I had friends who continued to invite me to playdates so I wouldn't become a complete hermit... Cristin, Leslie, Kelly, Bryn, you are lifesavers! 

We'll find out in about 3 1/2 weeks whether we've got a boy or girl in there.  I was leaning girl initially, but lately it's a little more boy.  Today I sat down and wrote down each of my pregnancy symptoms (symptoms isn't exactly the right word, but you know what I mean) and put them into a boy & girl category, according to whose pregnancy it reminded me of.  I'm literally 5-5 at this point.  So it'll be a nice suprise either way when we find out!

Found a cute video of the munchkins watching the sprinkler hit the front door... taken about a month ago.  Just ignore the fact that Jax is dressed for what looks like a winter night in July.  Crazy boy is a wild man in the crib, and we do keep the house pretty cool at night.  I could listen to their giggles 24/7.  Makes a momma's heart glad. 

Happy Saturday night to you all.

A Bug Straight from Hell

This thing was on the front porch two days ago when I went out to get the mail.  I didn't see it until my way back in, and it was eye-level on the wall.  Have you ever seen anything like this?  It's about 3 inches long and truly evil-looking.  Initially I took a piece of mail and poked at it a bit, and it had the nerve to snap its front pincers at me.  That's all it took to hack this momma off.  I'll spare you the gory details, but let's just say this monster didn't go down without a fight.  I did some research on Google (after ending its life, of course), and it's called a dobsonfly.  I call it the fly that should never have stepped foot on my front porch. 

Weekend in Nashville

Oh, how I love my siblings & their spouses.  And oh, how I love their children.  We all congregated this weekend at my brother's house outside of Nashville and had a really, really fun time.  Emerson and Jax survived the 9-hour car ride (we stopped each way in Little Rock for the night to break up the trip), and our little adventure was well worth it. 

Here's the weekend in pictures.

Em & Jax a little unsure about starting our voyage on Thursday.  Well, technically Emerson's a little unsure.  Jax is just chillin' with a fish face.

Both Friday and Monday mornings, I took the kids across the street from our Little Rock hotel to Waffle House in their PJs.  My current craving for eggs and toast was satisfied, and the kids had a great time. (And when I say current, I seriously mean current.  As I type, I'm eating two eggs over easy on toast.)  Here Jax is trying to flag down our waitress who asked multiple times if she could take him home. 

We finally made it to Jace & Liz's house around 3:00 on Friday.  Between my tinkle/eating stops, I thought we'd never actually make it there.  Here's a picture of all 6 cousins together.  From bottom left corner: Parker (5), Avery (14 mos), Jax (16 mos), Vance (13 mos), Emerson (2 1/2), Addison (3 1/2).  We quickly figured out that feeding the kiddos their meals first was the best way to get everyone fed and keep them happy. 

Here are Emerson, Parker and Jax on our way to the Nashville downtown library for a puppet show.  Or maybe it was on our way back following Uncle Jace out to their newly purchased 5 acres.  It's an awesome piece of land that will be a gorgeous site for a new home in a few years. 

Five of the cousins (plus sis Miley) at the courtyard fountain outside the library. 

Momma and Jax catching some down time.  Thankfully I'm wearing black so you can't tell how ginormous my belly is already.  And I edited the picture to cut out a large section of my thigh.  You are welcome.  Speaking of my belly, one of our waitresses at an IHOP asked if she could touch my belly.  At only 14 weeks, it was a little weird, but she didn't seem to care.  I'm glad I'm not one of those girls who doesn't like to be touched during pregnancy... because my belly gets touched.  A lot.  By the end of each pregnancy, it's a supernatural freak show that people can't turn away from.  It's like it's got its own magnetic field.

   
















Emerson and Addison dancing to a Wii game.  Addie's getting some serious air (she does have wings on, after all), and Emerson tries unsuccessfully to do a head stand.  That's my girl.

These last two make me verklempt because I can't believe how quickly the babies have grown.  Every time we get together, we're going to try to get a pic of them in their diapers.  And then eventually in their undies.  Until it gets weird. 

Randomness

Last night I turned on the light in our bathroom to start getting ready for bed.  As I surveyed the counter and vanity area, I had to chuckle.  How is it that so many random items can collect in a master bathroom?  I saw a wooden ABC toy, an OU gym bag, a straw beach hat, a vinyl patch kit, and a kite.  Seriously. 

My kids love to join me in the bathroom each morning and brush their teeth.  Jax will yell "TEEEEEE" as loud as he can and open the top drawer to find his toothbrush.  And throughout the rest of the day, if I don't keep the door to our bedroom shut, he will sneak into the bathroom, take out his toothbrush, and carry it around with him.  I remember Emerson being the same way, but she would yell "GEEEEE" until she mastered the 'T' sound. 

This morning we went to get the oil changed on the car.  Waiting for a car's oil change seems like a minor thing until you attempt it with two small children.  The place I go is kind enough to have a kids' Lego table in their lobby with two flimsy plastic chairs.  Luckily there wasn't anyone else waiting in the lobby when we got there.  Within minutes, Jax had fallen back in the flimsy chair and hit his head on the floor.  While I was tending to his screaming, Emerson managed to get her flimsy plastic chair on top of one of the waiting room chairs and sit in it.  I still have no idea how she did that in seconds.  By now the waiting room had 4 or 5 middle-aged men all watching the entertainment that is my children.  Next up?  Jax falls forward out of the chair and gets a fat lip.  Again, I'm tending to his screaming, and Emerson walks up to a man and asks, "So what are you doing today?"  Thankfully he had a good attitude about it and played along for a little bit.  Geesh, it was a crazy 30 minutes. 

Next entertaining moment?  Chick-fil-A for lunch.  We were in the play area and a couple of older boys had their shoes on, so I politely asked if they would take them off so as not to step on little ones' fingers, etc.  One of them retorted back that his mom said he didn't have to, then he jetted out of there to tell on me.  The mom was in plain view of the play area, so when the boy pointed me out, I motioned that I was concerned for the little ones' fingers & toes.  She seemed to understand..... or so I thought.  He came back in still wearing his shoes with a smug look on his bratty little face (sorry, I was hacked at this point) and started being really agressive.  Another mom called him on it and told him to calm down.  He again ran and told his mom.  Well, now Mother of the Year decides to march into the play area.  She looked at her son and YELLED, "Are there moms in here who are getting onto you?  Because I am the ONLY ONE who scolds my son."  Then she walked out.  The four of five of us sitting in there had a good laugh about that one.  That poor boy's teachers.  And friends.  And co-workers.  And spouse.  Because you know that poor child will never be forced to take responsibility for anything he does, and he will always be coddled and made to think he's special for some reason. 

So now I'm thoroughly tired and going to take a nap.  Next up on the agenda for today?  Taking Boomer to the vet for yearly shots.  Let's just say Boomer has been known to get out of a muzzle during shot time. 

God help us all. 



  

Blue flip flops

Jax has a pair of blue flip flops from Old Navy that are just about the cutest things I've ever seen.  They're not the easiest things to walk in, and he always ends up losing one in the hallway before we make it out to the car.  Still I can't help but put them on him once or twice a week.  I think he knows by this point to just indulge his mother and not put up a fight.  I've trained him well. 

I saw Daddy's blue flip flops in the closet last week and smiled.  His size 12's seemed so big compared to the ones I'm used to putting on the fat little piggy toes.  I had to take a picture.

Love, Love, LOVE this video

BooMama had this on her blog last week sometime, and I thought it was so good.  The lyrics perfectly describe the journey of marriage... listen closely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtTa81LyuQM