I love long weekends!

My mommy makes delicious desserts!!

We're having a good weekend. I was so exhausted on Friday so we ordered pizza and had salad from a bag. But I did make a delicious Apple Strudel that Andy, Luke and I enjoyed. Wilson didn't care for the cooked apples. We'll definitely make this easy recipe again! While it was baking Andy and I made our to do list for the weekend. It had 15 things on it, to which the next day I added at least 6 more things. It keeps growing - BUT we keep crossing things off too! Andy and I split up who was doing what so we can hopefully finish up the final things before Tyler Wade arrives. We have already managed to complete 13 things from the list! Go us! Still have several left but I know we're getting a lot accomplished and we still have tomorrow. Saturday morning Wilson had a t-ball game. He is playing fall ball right now and he is doing so well! He was up to bat first for his team on Saturday and it didn't phase him one bit. He is on the Brown Bear's team. Here is a great action shot of our big boy!

Yesterday after t-ball I took the boys swimming with my mom, Terry, Cara & Co. It was fun. The pool closes tomorrow so it was our last swim. I got there and realized I didn't have my bathing suit bottoms (pregnancy brain) so I called Andy and he graciously brought them to me. The water was cold but it felt so good! The boys had a great time swimming with their cousins. Then I came home and took a nap with Luke. It was just what I needed. My feet were propped during the whole 2 hours which was just what they needed! Last night after dinner we went and got our new piece of artwork framed for the living room. I can't wait to post a picture of it when it is up hanging on the wall. We've been wanting a new one for a while but realized we had different taste when it comes to what we wanted hanging on our wall. Andy found this great print of light shining through trees online for 20 bucks and we both liked it. I won't tell you how much it is costing to get it matted and framed. They even gave us 50% off - though our coupon was for 40% off... It's going to be really nice though and it is neutral so it will be hanging on a wall of our home forever!!

I have started reading Twilight, as recommended by my team teacher Jenn. I'm over 100 pages in so far this weekend. I'm sure she'll be proud of me! I'll let you know what I think when I'm done. Later today the boys and I are going over to Mom's to watch the big game and eat dinner together. Tomorrow we're celebrating Silas' 2nd birthday! I hope you are enjoying your long weekend as much as we are!

Pregnancy Brain

Two examples of how well my mind is working lately:

On Monday (I think) I walked out the door without getting my car keys off the hook. I always grab my keys on the way out the door. I just walked out, closed the door, and realized I didn't have keys! The door handle was locked so I was locked out. Thank goodness for cell phones! I called Andy's cell several times and the house phone several times. Couldn't get him to hear the phone. When I leave (6:45) everyone is still asleep. Our air condition wasn't working so Andy couldn't hear the phone due to the fans. I finally got Lottie to bark a few times then called again and Andy answered the phone. It was pretty embarrasing to tell him I locked myself out of the house! He had to come open the door and bring me my keys. Thankfully he wasn't mad and didn't ask questions!

Today I was going to put in my contacts. I opened the left side. Didn't see anything in it. I kept carefully looking for the contact. I didn't know where it was. So I opened the right side. There were two contacts in there. What was I thinking when I took them out last night??

Ultrasound Update

Had a great ultrasound of Tyler today! He is so cute, I'm very ready to hold him and meet him! He is still measuring 2 weeks big. His estimated weight is 7 pounds 4 oz at almost 36 weeks pregnant. My Dr. still says "the baby is huge!". I'm not dilated. Here is her recommendation- we're not sure what to do. The house is divided right now. I'm definitely one to follow a doctor's recommendations!!

She recommends that I have an amniocentisis next Thursday to see if his lungs are mature. She said, if they are mature I would be induced the next day. If they were not mature we would wait for nature to take it's course, not inducing before 39 weeks. She said the baby will only get bigger, and the complications of an amnio now aren't a big deal because it will be fine to go ahead and deliver if a complication arises (ie: fetal distress, go into labor, or water breaks). I also have plenty of amniotic fluid. The solution to all of the above complications is to deliver the baby and he would be 37 weeks. I point blank asked "Is this what you recommend?" and she said yes. She is a very good OB. She is looking at the whole picture- the baby's safety, my safety, etc. I think she is afraid he'll get so big that it will be difficult for me to deliver him. What should we do???

Try it Tuesday

My team teacher Jenn, has an Aunt who blogs. I'm linking on to her Try it Tuesday blog update today because I have found the best popsicle ever. On Sunday, our friends Matt & Olivia came over. Olivia is pregnant as well and due in November. We warned them that the house was hot, but they were welcome to come by for a visit. When they showed up they had these popsicles. We all sat in the Living Room with a fan blowing, eating these popsicles. They are SO good. Later Sunday evening I had another one - because I was so hot. We didn't have A/C, remember? And Monday night, even though we had A/C I had to eat another one. They are so refreshing and fruity and delicious. I have tried 3 flavors: Blueberry Lemon, Strawberry Lemon, and Strawberry Blueberry. They are all so tasty. I don't have a favorite! The only flavor I'm not interested in trying is the Strawberry Orange becauseI don't care for orange flavored things. But that was what Andy picked and he really liked it. Get yourself an end of summer treat- try these fabulous popsicles. Let me know what you think!

I think it's time to have this baby...

The other morning Wilson and Luke both had a stuffed animal in their shirt, being "pregnant". Today Andy shows me these pictures he took of Wilson and Luke. Wilson is the doctor. He is doing an ultrasound (with water) on Luke. Luke didn't pee his pants, it's the "jelly" from the ultrasound. Wilson has been to 1 ultrasound with me this pregnancy! The jelly they put on my belly really sticks out in his mind I guess. Several times since he has wanted to put jelly on my belly (lotion) here at home. I think they've had enough pregnancy time, I'm ready to not be pregnant so they can play other things!!

Reason to Celebrate!!

A new heating unit!

Our glorious new A/C unit. Isn't she pretty?!

We have air conditioning! After 12 days without air we are feeling GREAT tonight!! Thrilled to have a new heating and air conditioning system in place at our house. A few frustrating things happened with the company. We were supposed to have gotten the new unit on Friday, but they gave our appointment away while our financing was processing. Andy mentioned that to them today, that it was frustrating to deal with the extra days of heat and they said "oh, well we could have brought some window units over". HELLO?? Why didn't they offer that to him on the phone last Thursday? Another problem, when they were installing they told Andy that our current thermostat wouldn't work with the new unit. They didn't figure that into the cost and this was going to add $200. He let them know he felt this should have been included in the estimate. So they told him he could go to Lowe's and buy a programmable thermostat and they would install it. So he got a nice one for $100. The final complaint we have is that they drilled a hole in the wall of our newly painted hallway bathroom. I can't believe it. I mean, we're paying professionals and they drill a hole in my bathroom wall?? They didn't tell us about it either. Andy was with the boys in their room reading and he saw what happened, saw them walk in the bathroom to see if it had gone through, etc. When he mentioned it to them they acted like they didn't know it happened. We JUST finished this room! Now it has to be patched, primed and painted there. Arrgghh. Sorry for the complaints. It's just like Andy said. We're you're paying as much as you do for a completely new system, you expect it to be done right. And by right we mean with an accurate estimate, no miscellaneous holes in the wall, and done when they tell you it's going to be done. So enough complaints. We truly are happy to have a new unit and to actually have A/C. It's just that today was a little frustrating!

Church Carnival!

Last night we had a GREAT time at our End of Summer Days festival at church. There were 3 inflatables, a craft tent, carnival games, cheap food, a concert, and a drive in movie. Wilson and Luke played on the inflatables non-stop for at least 30 minutes. Wilson tried all of them, Luke stayed on the obstacle course one and did it over and over and over. Then we took a dinner break and enjoyed hot dogs, chips, and water. Later the boys had snow cones, shared cotton candy, and popcorn during the movie. They both made sand art, Luke got his face painted with a doggie and both won prizes at the duck pond. The praise band concert was really good and so professional looking. Everything was free! The food was priced at cost. This was such a good outreach event. Our church really pulled off something wonderful. The movie started once it got dark and Luke and I only stayed for a little while. It was getting late. The gave away glowing cross necklaces and flashlights for the kids. They also gave away t-shirts and between songs they launch t-shirts from a potato gun. It was a great time! Oh and Andy was in the dunking booth for 20 minutes- there was a line of youth there to dunk him. Also Wilson, Meghan, Lily, and Danny! Luke was worried about daddy going in the dunking booth. He cried the first time daddy was dunked. Then Poppy helped him walk up and push the button to dunk daddy. Hee hee!!

My Belly Fits in a Bowl!

Poppy's Birthday Pictures (a little late)

Poppy turned 59 last Sunday! We had a nice lunch for him after church. We grilled out hamburgers, hot dogs, and steak for Poppy. We had hashbrown casserole, fruit, and chocolate mousse pie. It was lots of fun! We gave him a picture of Wilson and Luke in a magnetic frame for his fridge and an invite to dinner every Thursday while he is in his temporary bachelor state. Mimi is in Florida teaching, Katie is in Florida at college, and Poppy is here finishing up his state job to retire. He also just retired from the Marines.

Updates from the week

- Still no A/C. For some reason they gave away our Friday appt while our financing was being processed so now we'll be getting our new unit on Monday. The house feels good right now. Yesterday it was so miserable we had to get out!
- Wilson decided to play fall ball (t-ball) instead of soccer. He has his first practice today. Hopefully he'll enjoy it - he's already wanting to be on the same team as Spring with the same coach and the same team mates. That boy sure doesn't like change! I've talked to him about his new coach etc so pray that today goes smoothly.
- Tonight our church is having an end of summer carnival. The boys are so excited- inflatables, carnival games, food, and a concert by our praise band. Carnival starts at 5pm, concert at 7pm. Everything is free except for a small charge for food. Come if you can!
- I'm finding a new long term sub for maternity leave. I'll be calling her today. The sub I had lined up has gotten a full time job as an assistant. She really wanted full time work so I'm happy for her. Pray that the person I'm calling today is able to be my long term sub because if so, I've got a lot to tell her in so little time.
- I'm tired of swollen feet, waddling, people looking at my HUGE belly, and having to explain when I'm "due". My due date is Sept. 26. I have an ultrasound on Wednesday because Ty is measuring so BIG. After the ultrasound my doctor is going to check to see if I'm dilated at all. I'm also guessing at that point she'll tell me our plan- I know nothing right now other than what she said 3 1/2 weeks ago, that she didn't want the baby to get too big- so she didn't think she'd let me go much past 37 weeks. So my prediction is that we'll have a baby during the week of Sept. 8-12. In 2-2 1/2 weeks. Who knows!! That is the 37th week...
- We still have a lot to do to be ready for Ty. His room is a mess with everything pulled down from the attic. I had a long list of other cleaning things I wanted to do. Today is a day I can actually get some things done since I don't have to work all day. When I get home from school I'm so worn out and tired and swollen that I just can't do anything other than spend time with the boys and make dinner. Hopefully it won't get too hot in the house that I can't get anything done today.

Enough for now!!

Still no A/C...

Oh my gosh. I am so hot. It is 83 degrees in our house. We have several fans on. Andy went and got my parent's old exhaust fan so that should help. Thankfully, we'll have A/C on Friday. 3 more days and nights. At times I think I'm melting! It's made me grumpy too. Sorry, Andy. We decided to replace the whole system- the air condition guy said our heating bills will be cut in half. We have 6 months interest free to pay off as much as we can. Then we'll figure out how we'll pay off the rest. (Keep your fingers crossed that I pass National Board Certification in November). My next paycheck will include teacher's 3% raise and my step up for another year of experience on the pay scale. We're hoping that will allow us to pay more towards the new unit as well.

Other news, Poppy's 59th b-day was Sunday. I have pictures but it's been so busy around here. Hopefully I'll get them up sometime.

My feet have started swelling. It's very uncomfortable- they feel very tight. And it gives me anxiety. Don't know why. I jsut know they're not supposed to do that so it makes me worry. I've been trying to prop them up as much as possible in the evenings and have even iced them.
Off to bed...

Happy/Sad

The last few nights at dinner we've all shared our happiest and saddest moments from the day. It's been good and Wilson has easily been able to participate. Luke needs a little assistance. It's pretty cool to hear what they share though. I enjoy hearing Andy's too, my man of few words. After dinner I had my hand on my lower left side under my belly because it's hurting. Luke looked up at me and said "Is Ty going to fall out?". It was funny. I said no, it just hurts. Then he said "You need a stool to catch Ty on?". I laughed! I guess he thinks the baby just drops out of me and lands on a stool to be caught.

A/C, Poop, Emails

Like the title? Here is the info:
Poop- I've spent at least 20 minutes today and yesterday cleaning poop. NOT FUN. Luke is having trouble with potty training for #2's because he doesn't like to sit on the potty. The last couple days he has had loose bm's. So poop accidents coupled with that is not fun to clean up. My hands are so dry from all the hand washing. I think I'll use some Satin Hands!

A/C- Andy had the AC guy come by today. It's the motor. A motor costs about $400. We replaced said motor about 4 years ago. It's a temporary fix because the heating/cooling unit is original to the house. About 37 years old. So the whole thing needs to be replaced. That costs about $4000. So we're left with a decision. Throw away $400 and save money to replace it in the spring before we try to sell the house. Or SOMEHOW??? come up with money for a down payment and finance the rest to get the whole unit replaced now? That would save us $ on our heating this winter too. Going without AC? Not really an option b/c I'm coming upon my allergy season- ragweed. I usually don't spend much time outside in August-September because my allergies go crazy. Hmmm... We just financed the siding since the wood is rotting and it had to be done. We have to figure out if we can afford to finance this now too.

Emails- Yesterday and today Andy sent me a quick email at school. They have made my day and let me know what the boys are up to. Today he also told me the A/C guy was coming to check the unit and did I want him to put the meatloaf in the crockpot? YES!! So I came home with dinner mostly made! It was so thoughtful and today he even attached a picture of Wilson reading to Luke in the "bird nest" that they built. It's the little things in life that make me happy and keep me going. Thanks baby for thinking of me and sending me those little updates to get me through my day! I love you!

I Survived...

the first day of school! It was pretty uneventful, went by pretty fast, and only a few kids needed firm reminders on the first day! I managed to get through the day. The worst party - my back. It hurt so bad by the end of the day. I did sit a lot. But it's all this extra weight that has landed in the front of me that is hard on my back. I forgot how much walking and standing I do at school. And like I said, I tried to sit whenever I could. We walk a lot around the building over the course of the day. I sat down through recess which teachers are not supposed to do and I let my team supervise my class on our track lap (wellness policy) so I could sit on the bench. Didn't think I should do that 1/3 mile! I got home at 4:25, even though there was a TON of stuff left to do at school and laid on the couch until 5pm. On my left side. That helped my back a lot. I was then able to get up. I noticed I was feeling really hot. Told Andy and he must have gotten hot becasue a while later he said it was 77 degrees in the house. Now it is 78 degrees. No air conditioner. 34 weeks pregnant. No air conditioner. PROBLEM??? We had dinner at Qdoba and then Luke and I came home. My small group isn't meeting tonight so just Andy and Wilson went to church. I'm here at home waiting for bedtime, for the boys and me! And it's hot! Hopefully I can make it through 2 more days this week.
*Dr visit yesterday- I have an ultrasound scheduled for 2 weeks from today to see if Ty is still growing at such a rapid rate. She'll also check to see if I'm dilated at all. No other news.

Summer = OVER

Last night Andy was at work and the boys and I were hanging out at home. In my mind I thought - "what can the boys and I do to enjoy our LAST night before I go back to work?" Here's what we did.

Called my mom, picked her up.
Grabbed a burger at Sonic using my nifty card I bought from Gayla.
The boys got icecream from Grandma at Sonic!
Went to the cemetary to feed the ducks. (I was almost attacked by 1 duck, it flew at me!)
Dropped Grandma off at home.
Went to church to let the boys play at the playground.

We had fun, all for under $6!

School Update- My math units for my team are DONE for maternity leave! I have 3 (really good) math units revised and copied and handed out to my team before school has even started with needed transparencies made and all. My room is ready. Tomorrow is meet the teacher. If we could stop enrolling more kids I'd be set. Keep having to add the newly enrolled student's name to EVERYTHING. School starts on Wednesday, come on people! Get on the ball!

Taco Bake

I don't know if this recipe has any other "real" name or not, it's one I learned from my SIL, Stephanie. She made it for all of us at her house and we all enjoyed it. This is my second time to make it at home. This recipe is a layering recipe, using taco meat, crescent rolls, and cheese. The first time I made it at home I added tomatoes to my side. Today I kept the tomatoes and added black beans. You could really made this however you want- with salsa, cilantro, sour cream, refried beans, corn, etc. You could add layers or mix in different ingredients. So here is how it works.

Get a dish and lay crescent rolls in a single layer on the bottom.
Add your meat layer- here you see taco meat and black beans mixed together.

Then I added tomatoes for me.

Topped it with cheese.

Another layer of crescent rolls. (Blogger is turning this picture on it's own.)

Bake! I have it in the oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until the crescent rolls are done.

Enjoy!

School Shopping

I took Wilson school shopping on Thursday morning. Stephanie watched Luke for me (THANK YOU!!) so we could have some quality time together. He had to come along to my maternity conference at the district office where I teach first, but thankfully, that conference lasted all of 12 minutes. So we were off! We quickly stopped at Farmer's Market since we were downtown and bought corn on the cob for the Beach House Bash. Then we went to the mall. He wanted to buy his new tennis shoes first. We went in and looked at several pairs (I looked, he wandered around) and chose 2 to try on. One pair he chose was so ugly! Thankfully he liked the pair I liked better after trying them on. Then we were off to find a backpack. We walked in the next store and I saw the boy backpacks. I held one up, checking the size (didn't want it to be too big) and he was across the store looking at something else. He saw the one I was holding up and yelled "Yes, camo, that's the one I want." I loved shopping with Wilson! Quick. Easy. No indecisiveness! So we bought the backpack and the attachable lunchbox to match. I decided to get him the lunch box because I was planning on buying him an outfit for the first day of school, but on our way shopping I asked him if he wanted a new outfit for the first day and he said NO. Fine with me, he has plenty of clothes! And I already knew what he'd wear on the first day if we didn't buy anything so I was ok with that! The last thing we did was eat lunch. He decided he wanted to stay at the mall and play in the kid's area then go eat at Chick-Fil-A. (he made the day so easy on me!). So he played for 10-15 minutes and then we had lunch in the food court before going to get Luke. It was fun!

Beach House Bash!

Cara planned the Beach House Bash for all of us planning to go on vacation together next summer so that we could choose a beach house together. So, last night we all brought something to contribute to dinner. It was yummy! Grilled chicken, asian cole slaw, corn on the cob, green beans, and bread. After eating we watched the power point of 9 beach homes that Cara and Jason found for us as possibilities. It was fun! We narrowed them down and chose this house - Elephant Walk - for our vacation home NEXT summer! We booked it last night so it is official. It is huge! There will be 10 adults and 6 children. I'm really excited about the pool becasue it has a kiddie pool attached! Definitely something to look forward to (and save $ for!). Then we celebrated my dad's 55th birthday with cake and presents. Happy Birthday Dad! Today is his birthday.

Still Kickin'

What? You've missed my posts? Sorry! Life has been BUSY. School is taking over and summer is over. Here is what has been going on:
-Worked all day Monday, first day in my room by myself without kids. Got a lot done. Missed the boys and Andy though! Came home and when Luke woke up from his nap he wouldn't speak to me or let me near him. He was mad at me for having been at work!
Tuesday- Had a successful parent orientation, spent the day with Wilson and Luke.
Wednesday- Worked all day labeling 1,549,399 things with kid names. And I'm. Not. Done. Do you non elementary school teachers know how many things we label??? It is ridiculous- names go on so many things. The entire morning and part of the afternoon was spent on writing out names. I still have to put these names onto different things too such as notebooks, folders, desks, supply tubs, etc. Not done. Met the boys at the park along with Mimi, Poppy, Lily, Trey, Meg, Danny and Steph for pizza and playtime. Came home pretty exhausted.
Thursday- Today I'm taking Wilson school shopping! He's getting new shoes, a backpack, a placemat (something they sit on at preschool), maybe a new outfit and then out to lunch at his restaurant of choice. I also have my maternity conference this morning. Today is my Pa-paw's 80th birthday! Happy Birthday Pa! So tonight we're going over to celebrate with cake.

Baby Ty updates:
-Still huge
-Thrown up twice this week
-Lots of backaches.
-Plenty of clothes for 0-3, 3-6! The baby shower gave Ty some nice things plus I've gone through the tubs of what we had. Now just need to get them washed.
-Andy set up the crib and changing table, pulled down the carseat, bouncy seat and swing. The mobile is up, we're getting closer to being ready!

Big Brother Class

Wilson had a great time at his big brother class today at the hospital where I'll be delivering Tyler. He was supposed to bring a baby or stuffed animal so he brought his baby Mac. When we got there he colored a picture that said "I'm the Big Kid". Then he made an art project for Ty. Next he sat on the carpet with the teacher and the other Big Kid's to talk about what it's like for mommy being pregnant and what it will be like when the baby comes home. Then they got a bag of goodies- a surgery mask, hair net, and shoe covers. Wilson was too embarrassed to put these on in his class but he put them on as soon as we got in the Jeep! Next, they learned how to put a diaper on their babies. Last, we went to the baby nursery and saw 3 new babies in their bassinets and then the teacher showed them a recovery room where mommy stays for 2 nights after having the baby. I think this was very beneficial for Wilson because I know he doesn't remember the hospital from when Luke was born. He was only 2 years, 6 days old himself! Plus, he was pumped up by the teacher about how cool it is to be a big brother. He was pretty interested in seeing the stump from the umbilical cords and was able to see one on a baby in the nursery. He said he enjoyed the class and had fun!

Bakin' a Cake!

I'm making Andy a cake today as a thank you for all the help he's given me with setting up my classroom. It's a Reese's Cup Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake. I found it on Annie's Eats. I'll link the recipe here. When I saw this entry on her blog I knew this would be a cake Andy would love. He pretty much loves anything with chocolate & peanut butter! While making the cake he sampled the batter several times and we all sampled the frosting. I don't even like frosting but this was GOOD! Luke helped me unwrap all the candy to decorate the cake. He couldn't lay down for his nap until the cake was finished! I'll let you know how it tastes after we cut it!

Edited to Add:

Yummy! The cake is so fluffy and delicious! I even enjoyed the icing. I think you could do any type of icing you like with this delicious chocolate cake. Andy's parents were over and enjoyed eating it too. We still have a lot left. I hope Andy's sweet tooth is up for this!

Rules & Consequences

Ok, after reading this post you can just refer to Andy and I as Super Nanny. Just kidding! We definitely don't have this parenting thing all figured out...this is just another attempt that I'm kind of proud of! Andy and I sat down one evening a couple weeks ago and determined our rules. We didn't want more than 4 or 5. We came up with 5 rules which you can see in the picture. Then we discussed and figured out our consequences for breaking the rules. As they need a consequence we X out the one they've been given so they know what they will lose next. It goes in this order: Time out (5 min Wilson, 3 min. Luke), lose treats, lose TV or Toys, early bedtime, and finally a spanking. So far Wilson has gotten up to losing treats and Luke has gotten up to time out. The picture icons really help them to see and understand the consequences.

I ordered this cool hanging responsibility chart made by Melissa and Doug from Amazon. The top half has the boys responsibilities. Wilson's are: pick up your toys, get dressed, brush teeth, and get ready for bed. Luke has to clean up his toys and say please and thank you. Which we have explained to him includes answering mommy and daddy when they talk to you. He likes to ignore what we say to him so we're working on that. We haven't decided what they will earn for having smiley faces on their responsibilities...The first day Wilson earned 2 smiley faces, the next day he earned all 4! So needless to say it seems to be helping. We've tried so many different tactics. I hope this one sticks! It should since it is pretty cut and dry- the expectations are known, the rules are specific as are the consequences. So, I say we're off to a good start!

Cool Contest

Click on this link to win a fabulous, light-weight stroller. I've entered to win. Hey, if you don't have children, enter to win for me! Why this stroller sounds so great is that you can push it with one hand, fold it with one hand, and it has great tires for steering. Anyway, click the link above to enter to win yourself!