That’s right dear friends and readers. I’m finally getting around to doing the give away I promised two months ago. I bet you got tired of waiting, but no worries… the waiting game is coming to a close. Keep a look out tomorrow for the details on how to play and how to win. It’s going to be super simple! And I’m hoping that my final decision on what I was going to give away is something anyone could enjoy. That was part of the delay… I wanted to be able to appeal to any readers I might have so I was wrecking my brain off and on for several weeks until finally I had the simplest “Ah-ha!” moment I could have had. Why is it that the simple solutions always take so long to click?
At any rate, I’ll be posting in the next 24 hours! Check back!
Fer-fer: Proper Noun The term fer-fer once derived from the name Jennifer when her younger brother was a toddler. “Fer-fer, will you tie my shoe?”
Don’t ask why I decided to put the Fer-fer tag line. I’m not entirely certain myself. I guess I have my siblings on my mind. A lot of it boils down to watching the relationship between X-man and Lil’ C. Often they remind me of me and my brother and sister. Allow me to explain.
On more than one occasion (actually nearly once a day at the minimum) I’ll be in the living room or the kitchen and notice that the boys have gotten quiet. Shortly after Lil’ C will come in and ask me something like, “Can we go to the pool, Momma?” or “Can we have ice cream?” or “Can we watch a movie?” Since I know that Carter hasn’t quite grasped the concept of “we” I know precisely who came up with the idea of sending little brother in to do the asking. Nice move. Not a new one. haha. I think it must be previously programed into our system as an older sibling to send the little one to ask questions. I mentioned this observation to my brother when he was over one evening and he told me he didn’t remember me ever doing that. I refreshed his memory: “Ohhhhh. Yeah. I do kind of remember that now.” tee-hee. I’ve busted X-man on this a couple of times, all with a smile on my face. You know X, I used to send my little brother to ask if we could do things. Nice try but Momma remembers that play. He just smiles, laughs, then shrugs his shoulders as if to plead the fifth. It’s okay. I’ll allow them their right of passage.
The boys exploring at Fort Donelson, Tennesee May 2010
The boys both went back to their father’s for part of their summer time visits this evening. Lil’ C was so cute when it came time to go. He protested. He was adamant that he did not want his shoes on and that he wanted to stay home. Then he came to me and said, “Brother come with me!” No honey. Brother can’t go with you tonight. He has to go to his dad’s house and see his other momma and her baby belly. “Oh” Then he went to get his Piglet doll, his teddy bear, and came out with a Precious Moments bunny that I bought when I was pregnant with X-man. “Brother gave me this to take too! These are my babies. Brother come with me?” No honey, brother can’t go with you. At this point he proceeded to throw all three babies onto the couch, climb up there himself and proclaim “I don’t wanna go! I want brother! I stay home!” *sigh* He has officially hit the tough age. The age where he understands that when he leaves he’s leaving people behind he’d prefer to have with him at all times. ESPECIALLY his big brother. Lil’ C adores his brother and I hope that never changes but I know there will probably come a period of time when they will hold animosity toward each other. For now, I record these moments of pure love in hopes that my boys will read it one day and remember what they can of the unconditional love they felt towards each other.
The battle ended with X and I having to walk out to the car with J and Lil’ C in a less than polite move of deception. “Get in brother. Get in the car. We go bye!” He screamed as they pulled away and X stayed behind at home with me. X: “Aww. I feel bad now.” It’s okay X. Your brother just loves you and is learning that sometimes he has to go places without you and then he misses you. He has a picture of you at his dad’s that he carries around when he misses you. And he does. J let’s him keep it on the fridge then Lil’ C can go look at it or get it anytime he wants.
I remember this stage with X, only it wasn’t a sibling he didn’t want to leave. It was me, his Momma. Because his father and grandparents lived 600 miles away in Michigan his trips away were usually scheduled for a month to two months at a time until he was school age. There were a couple of times his dad called me and told me to go ahead and come early because X was so distressed and constantly asking for me. I know it wasn’t that he was having a bad time, just that his security was me. As he got older he grew more capable of dealing with his trips and knew that he’d always return home and I’d always be waiting there with a hug and a smile on my face.
These days we all live in the same town and only a matter of minutes from each other. This is great for the kids. Even when they are with one parent or the other, they know that whoever they are missing is only a phone call and a quick drive away. They know we can all go to soccer games, doctor appointments, or school events at the same time. My boys are fortunate to have family that loves, adores, and supports them. Two sets of parents that look out for them and love them. I know it all sounds kind of cheesy when I go on these tangents, but I’m a firm believer in trying to look at the positive over everything else and I know without a doubt that my boys are loved not only by me, but the extended and “extra” family they have acquired. I am sincerely thankful that X-man has a second mom that cares about him and that I am able to talk to with ease about anything concerning his well being. I’m thankful that she and I can shoot each other a message and share any concerns for anything the other has noticed that the other may or may not have noticed, or simply to compare notes on something.
I honestly hope that anyone else out there who has children in a “fractured” family can find the neutral ground to turn it into a completely functional co-parenting structure. Without a doubt it all comes with its ups and downs. Without a doubt it can be trying at times, emotionally. But, without a doubt it is a positive example we are able to set for our children that water can be left under the bridge and life can move forward with time and healing.
I am in no way an expert on this subject, nor will I pretend to be. As I said, it of course comes with its ups and downs. But I’ve experienced the extremes of disagreement and battling. I can assure you that life is much more peaceful now, for me and the kids.
And I am thankful. Thankful for a husband that understands, respects, and supports all those “awkward” times we’ve gone through to find a comfort zone where the boys father’s can come over and talk, or I can sit on the phone for an hour with one of them if the need arises (and sometimes just because it helps keep the lines of communication open to maintain a friendship). He is gracious in his respect towards both when they are around and generous in his involvement and interest in the well being of the kids.
I realize it has been several weeks since I did a Thursday Thirteen. In fact, I’m not sure that I’ve even done one since we found out that we are expecting Baby #3. This Thursday Thirteen is going to be about…. wait for it… yeah, pregnancy. It’s a Rants and Raves kind of day, so here we go…
Rave: no…. Rant: no… 50/50 haha. Gas. Bloating. Yeah. The existence of gas and bloating is a major Rant. Some of my favorite foods can send my stomach into a frenzy and make me swell like a Macy’s parade balloon float. The attached Rave? I have a darn good excuse for those occasions when I’m just a tad less than lady like with my timing. The boys think it’s absolutely hilarious when I “step on a barking spider”.
Rant: Mood swings. Contrary to what my husband may or may not think, *wink* I do not like getting snippy for no apparent reason. That poor man has gotten his head bitten off more than once or twice when I normally wouldn’t have said a word.
Rant: Uncontrollable crying. It is RIDICULOUS! This insurance commercial comes on the other day. The kids and the mom are joking about all those annoying things “dad” does that they won’t have to deal with while he’s gone on his business trip. Then a screen comes up with “But what if he didn’t come home?” I looked at DH Cam, at the t.v., back at DH and I had to hide my face as I broke out into tears. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen the commercial but that particular day I was just a leaky faucet waiting to happen.
Rave: Having a darn good excuse for requiring a milkshake every couple of days (or every day… depending on the week). “But… baby really wants a milkshake!”
Rant: An absolutely horrific gag reflex. Seriously, can it stop?? It requires absolutely nothing to trigger. It comes out of nowhere. As soon as I wake up, I gag. Eating food? Gag. Smell something (pleasant or not). You guessed it… gag.
Rave: Lil’ C had been doing darn good with his potty training since I’ve been pregnant! We’ve made huge advancements. I think seeing mommy get sick (literally) while trying to clean up his #2 from his undies convinced him using the toilet was a better idea.
Rant: Lack of energy. I could probably take three naps a day and still sleep 8 hours at night. Actually, I have taken two in a day and still slept 8 hours so I doubt three would be pushing it. I’m in my 2nd trimester now so this is supposed to get better… soon.
Rant: Dry, itchy skin. I don’t recall this being a problem with either of the boys until the final two months. My legs itch almost constantly. I have to use lotion a couple of times a day on them to find relief. Yes, I’m drinking lots of water. I keep ice water in my cup and keep the cup next to my chair.
Rave: I really like picking out baby names. I don’t think I’ve slipped and mentioned names on here yet, and I’m trying to hold off a bit longer, but I will tell you we have a girls first and middle name picked out. We only have the first name picked for a boy at this point.
Rave: Ultrasounds. I think they are just the neatest things! I love getting a peak inside and seeing how much the baby has changed since the previous viewing. Our first ultrasound the baby was 6 weeks on the dot and looked like little more than a beehive hanging around. Our second ultrasound the baby was just shy of 13 weeks and we could make out the head, back, arms, and legs. So cool. This coming Tuesday (July 6th), we are going to get to look at that little bundle again at 16 weeks… in 3D! It will be the first time I’ve ever seen one of my kids in 3D via ultrasound and I’m excited… nevermind the fact that we’ll be finding out if it’s a boy or a girl! WOOT!
Rave: Family excitement for the bundle of joy on the way! It’s infectious! We’re so blessed, and the kids are all so blessed, to have supportive family that is as excited as we are for this new little addition. We’ll be getting a DVD of our ultrasound Tuesday and I’m sure it’s going to get played more than a time or two. haha.
Rant: Middle of the night trips to the bathroom. Increased fluid intake plus increased fluid production equals at least two wake ups to dash to the bathroom. Good thing I sleep on the side of the bed right next to our bathroom door.
Rave: My fantastic husband who is super supportive, goes to the doctor appointments with me, helps me out around the house, picks up food cravings for me, and takes care of me when I’m moody/sickly/tired. But especially, because he is so sweet and always trying to find the baby in my belly. I think it’s adorable. I love him!
Where did I leave off yesterday? I knew I should have checked before I started writing… Oh! I left off at shopping… and I almost forgot to include that we decided to go to that near mandatory tourist stop, Joe’s Crab Shack. This was a first time experience for all of us, and I dare say that if you ask my husband you’ll find that he fell in love. DH is a seafood fan. When he opened the menu I was pretty sure I started seeing drool run down his chin. He ordered some huge basket of food that had everything from corn on the cob to crab legs in it, and he got to wear one of those bibs. (X and I might have giggled a little when the waiter tied a bib on Cam.) Yes, I got the souvenir tie-dye shirt before we left (with $5 off because X and I solved the word puzzle on the wall).
Time to pick up on Tuesday of our trip to Florida. Tuesday was a full day at Sea World’s new water park, Aquatica (I think it opened in 2008… but check out their website by clicking HERE and it will give you the details). This was a huge splurging day for us as the waterpark was the main thing that X-man kept talking about wanting to do while we were coming up with our list of things to do in the months leading up to the vacation. We rented a Cabana for the day and I assure you I was glad that we did. The Cabana had curtains you could close on all sides, 2 loungers, 4 beach chairs, a table, private locker, private fridge stocked with 16 drinks in a combination of water, soda, and tropical punch (any of which you could trade out for other options), a ceiling fan to bring in some air circulation, and shade (courtesy of those curtains). We also got arm bands that gave us the “VIP” treatment which boiled down to 20% discounts on food and merchandise at the park. We dined at Banana Beach Cookout with the all-you-care-to-eat ALL day plan which meant unlimited trips back to the buffet during the day… fantastic deal when you have a husband that eats like mine does. The buffet had hamburgers, hot dogs, fruit, dessert, bar-b-que, chicken, veggies, and salad. You couldn’t leave the dining area with your food but you could go back as many times as you wanted for refills on your drink and take the drink with you around the park. I’m fairly certain DH Cam got our money’s worth out of the buffet. haha. We ate lunch mid-afternoon at the cookout, then went back and got our dinner a little while before dining closing time so that we got a full two meals out of our purchase.
X-man and DH had a BLAST together as they ventured around to all the big slides that I decided to opt out of with Baby 3 in tow. I enjoyed floating on their version of the lazy river, Loggerhead Lane. My only complaint on this river was that there was nowhere for the unused floats to be placed so they stayed on a constant course which brought some congestion at times. However, it was so neat overall. In two different sections you floated under aquariums and got to see tropical fish and dolphins! The three of us hung out at the wave pool for quite a while and on occasion Cam and I, or just I, would go back to the Cabana and let X-man have his fun while we took a break from the sun. I even managed to steal a 30 minute cat nap at the Cabana while DH and X went to go on some of the water slides.
When we left the park we were exhausted from the walking, the sun, and the play so we went straight back to our condo at Silver Lake Resortto relax the rest of the evening. X-man is a fish out of water so we ended up at the pool again that night, but most of the evening consisted of resting, reading, and watching television. Wednesday was promising to be another big adventure and I had to recoop.
X-man at 8:30am: “What are we doing today mom?”
Me: “Oh… nothing really. I think we’ll just stay here at the condo all day.”
X-man: “Oh.”
Me: “Just kidding! How about…. hmmm… Disney World? Epcot?”
X-man: “YESsssssssss! When do we leave?!?”
I made him wait a full 4 hours before leaving (hey, the park doesn’t even open until 11am and I wasn’t about to wait in line for an hour just to get in!).
I believe he thinks I'm crazy
And so we arrived… at Epcot. DH Cam and I went to Epcot when we traveled to Florida by ourselves in June of 2009 and absolutely loved the park but there was a lot we didn’t get to while we were there (mostly for lack of interest without any kids with us because they were kiddie rides). X-man being with us meant a better excuse to go through those areas and X-man loved it. We did everything from going into our “future” to taking a boat ride through Disney’s greenhouse (they have some seriously neat techniques for optimizing space and produce growth… think… tomato “trees”). Then we ventured into the countries in the World Center.
DH Cam and me (and Baby 3 bumping out my belly)
X-man playing the drums in "Mawahli" at Disney's Epcot
X-man decided he wanted American food for dinner, so we ate in “America” at Epcot (DH Cam and I don’t really recommend their roast beef sandwiches) then ventured around to the rest of the countries. X and I decided we wanted to get some chocolate from “France” and can I just say… de-li-cious! We both LOVED it. Seriously, far superior to any I’ve ever eaten.
Venturing through “Morocco”, “China”, “Japan”, “Mexico”, “Germany”, “Switzerland”, and the “Netherlands” gave us the opportunity to see authentic foods, toys, and various items from each country. I, of course, had to keep some educational factor into the experience so X and I talked about the different things we were seeing, the different foods available in each of the countries, and the different Disney stories that came from each of the countries (ie. Snow White from Germany, Aladdin from Morocco, The Three Caballeros from Mexico, etc.). X was surprised to learn that The Smurfs also came from German stories.
As nightfall approached we decided to “set-up camp” in “Japan” to wait for “Disney Illuminations”, the firework, music, and light show. AMAZING! It was by far the most breathtaking firework display I have seen in my life. I was crying by half way through and X-man never took his eyes off. I could go into great detail describing what we saw, but it’s really just not the same as seeing it for yourself. Just know that I HIGHLY recommend the experience if the opportunity ever presents itself.
We apparently went on a really good day because the crowd wasn’t overpowering, we hardly had to wait in lines, and when the fireworks were over it took us a mere 10 minutes to walk from “Japan” on the opposite side of the park to the entrance, and make it back to our car. Within 20 minutes of “Illuminations” ending we were back at our condo and recouping from the day’s adventure.
Of course I have about a hundred more photos I could share, but I’ll spare the bogging of your browser. Nice, right? Stay tuned for Part 3 of the Summer Adventure series.
This summer has been full of activity, surprises, and life changes. Most everything has been nothing but positive and exciting. I could probably write one incredibly long entry about those adventures but I’m probably going to split things up a little. First, since I don’t really remember if I’ve updated with all the information and since I know I have been slacking with my updates, DH got a position with a local company as a supervisor. That has been one HUGE change for us. Fortunately when he was hired the company was willing to work with him on the vacation we had already scheduled and paid for a year in advance so we were still able to take X-man on his “big boy only” trip. I was able to get an extra 8 days with DH without him having work to do… I assure you that is something I was looking forward to because even on his days off from his full time job, it seems there’s always something else he needs to do whether it’s a side service job for someone or a self imposed project he has going on.
On June 4th we hit the road at 9pm for an overnight drive to our final destination: Orlando, Florida.
Our first day we napped, hung out in the hotel pool, went to eat at Carraba’s Italian Grill (can we say calimari?), and headed over to Wonder Works. Wonder Works was basically a children’s science museum with exhibits on most any scientifically related topic. X-man and I both experienced laying on a bed of nails; DH, X-man and I took turns putting our hands in water that was kept at the temperature equivalent of the ocean the night the Titanic sank to see how long we could endure the cold on just one small portion of our body; the three of us experienced a 5.3 earthquake; and we played music on a floor piano (think 80′s movie starring Tom Hanks, “Big”). X-man really enjoyed himself and I’m pretty sure DH had a good time experimenting with the helicopter flight simulator. As for my experience? I was glad that X had a good time, but honestly I was disappointed with what we got for the expense. When you have some reference points for comparison Wonder Works really fell short of the mark for the price they charge.
Some of our favorite Children’s Science Museums (kid tested, mother approved):
At any rate, our Sunday in Orlando consisted of a previously arranged meeting which brought about a new change for us. In the end we moved from Comfort Suites Maingate to Silver Lake Resort. What. A. CHANGE! We’re talking, we went from a damn, musty smelling room with little printed cards about the bugs that are present, but harmless to…. a condo with a kitchen, whirlpool jet tub and stand up shower in the bathroom, washer, dryer, living and dining area, etc. Needless to say, we were happy with the upgrade. We spent that afternoon relaxing in the pool, playing in the game room, and chilling in the condo.
Monday… rain, rain…. and more, you guessed it, rain. So… shopping, walking, shopping and more… shopping. Can I just tell you I LOVE outlet store steals! DH Cam and I found Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores last year and got some seriously fantastic deals on clothes for the kids, so we hit the shopping center again this year. We decided to go check out Orlando Premium Outlets while we were shopping. I managed to find some major deals at the Motherhood Maternity store there including a great pair of cool weather pajamas I’ll be taking to the hospital with me when I go to have Baby 3.
It’s the first day of summer and the weather is proving it with sweltering heat and a heat index well above my tolerance level.
Welcome to week 14 of my pregnancy! I’m already waddling like a penguin instead of a mother hen. The past several weeks have brought a lot of changes physically, mentally, and emotionally. I’ve ridden quite the rollercoaster from the moody/irritable/snap everyone’s head off to the cry-at-the-drop-of-a-hat. I keep pinching a nerve in my back that leaves me wanting to do nothing more than lay in bed. And the last three days has been an on-again, off-again headache. I gained 5 lbs then I lost 4 lbs. I went from wanting to sleep all day, to hardly sleeping at all, back to sleeping fairly normal, but wanting a nap mid-afternoon. One day I don’t want to see or talk to anyone, and the next I want to be surrounded by people.
Yes, I’m pregnant. lol. DH and I got to see our little bean on an ultra sound last week. It was an unplanned ultra sound, but when the doctor couldn’t find the baby’s heartbeat on the portable doppler he wanted to get a picture to make sure all was fine. I’m no skinny-mini, but I am fairly well built so he was just a little surprised when he couldn’t find the heartbeat. All was well on the ultrasound and we found that my placenta is in the anterior position, meaning that the chunkiest part of it is at the front of my uterus and was acting as a cushion preventing us from hearing baby. It also means it’s a bit harder for me to feel the baby move around. By this time with both X-man and Lil’ C I was able to feel a movement or two a day, but I’m lucky if I can feel Baby 3 a time or two during a week. At least I know that all is well in there and I am thankful for that.
Edit: Obviously I posted this a few days after I wrote it. What can I say? I’ve been easily distracted and haven’t stayed on task with many things for very extended periods of time. haha.
Welcome to week 10 of my pregnancy! YAY! I’m a quarter of the way there! And, guess what? I’ve felt the baby move a few times in the last few days. I was ready to cry when I realized it. Of course, it’s not like I’m noticing acrobatics at this point. It’s been a few minor little bumps that feel more like when someone is walking by you in a crowded store and their arm just barely grazes yours. But, it’s there, and I feel it, and I think it’s awesome. I felt Lil’ C right about this time too. X-man was just a couple of weeks later, but he was my first and I was being told it was impossible that I could feel him so soon. Apparently not, as my doctor said it was very possible considering the way my body is built. So YAY for feeling baby 3 move! I’ll just start referring to baby as “Baby T.”
I have this feeling inside me that we’re having a girl. I may be wrong, and if so then that’s fine too, but … I guess we’ll find out in about 7 more weeks. Since I’m self pay and don’t have to worry about what insurance will or will not cover at this point, I’m going to ask the doctor to let me go ahead and do an ultra sound at 16 or 17 weeks to try and see gender, then just schedule the 20 week ultra sound at around 22 weeks. I’m IMPATIENT about this! HAHA!
I’ve been so ridiculous and looked up all the online gadgets that do “gender prediction” (more than once each… because I’m spastic like that). Then if we go back to the difference in my symptoms from the boys and this pregnancy. I’m probably just looking for the answer I want. haha. HEY! I need some balance for all the testosterone I’m surrounded by in this house!
The kids and I went to see Shrek Forever After in 3-D this past Tuesday. It was Lil’ C’s first movie experience (aside from Shrek the 3rd when he was about 6 months old… appropriate, yes?). He LOVED it. He was adorable with his little 3-D glasses, his excitement was infectious, and he behaved amazingly well. X-man and I mostly enjoyed the movie, but have decided that 3-D is not our thing… we both felt queasy when the movie ended and as this was the second 3-D we’d seen, and the second time we felt that way afterward… we’ll just assume we found our correlation.
DH Cam is loving his new job, aside from cursing the inconsistent schedule of the last two weeks and some machine issues last night that were headaches on top of his lack of sleep. He hasn’t quite figured out that he can’t keep a completely normal daytime schedule during all of his days off then pull 24 hours of being up his first night back to work each week. He’ll learn. He’s a smart guy like that.
I’m still adjusting to the overnight shifts when he is gone and I have to go to sleep alone. However, I’m adjusting very well to having the entire bed to myself. Going to sleep alone sucks. Sleeping alone… not so much.
He’s also loving the new pick up he bought this week. Once he sets his mind to doing or getting something, it happens. And he says I’m in control of finances. BAH! He’s planning on doing some modifications to the truck after spending countless hours on forums about his particular year, make, and model. Thanks so much to the people who have posted all those pictures with their pimped out trucks. My husband didn’t really need help getting big ideas. He’s a Hen man, and they don’t have trouble coming up with their own ideas. hahaha. I keep poking fun, but I’m glad he’s so happy with his choice. It was well deserved. Next up on vehicle purchases? Something big enough to fit the soon-to-be five of us without having to strap one of the kids to the luggage rack on top of the vehicle. I don’t imagine people would take to kindly to seeing X-man or Lil’ C riding around and getting extra protein as they swallow bugs hitting them while we drive 65 down an interstate. I suppose the other option would be to put X-man in the back end of the Montero, but then he might have the chance to hold a note up saying, “Please save me! I’ve been kidnapped!”
That last bit, I must admit, is inspired by a true story. I worked with a man at a grocery store up in Michigan when was 18 and pregnant with X-man. I only remember his first name, Al. When I had to work until close Al would share these stories of his childhood that would just about have me in the floor laughing. He and his brother were raised near New Jersey, or in New Jersey, I don’t remember exactly. One time his parents were taking them to the beach and as they drove down the NJ turnpike (I hear it’s a vicious road by way of traffic congestion) they decided to put their hands behind their backs to make it appear as though they were tied up, then pretended to bang their heads on the windows. When they realized someone was looking they would mouth “HELP ME!” I can only imagine how mortified their parents would have been if they had actually been pulled over by cops alleging they were kidnapping their own children when they were actually taking them to the beach to enjoy some family time. haha.
On that note I’ll end for now, and I hope to get around to writing again sooner, rather than later. I hope everyone has a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend with family and friends. 3pm on Monday is the national time of silence for remembrance of our fallen soldiers who died protecting our freedoms.
I’ve been so negligent! I’ve considered writing on numerous occasions but it just feels… overwhelming at times. No big shocker there. Making food feels overwhelming most days. ha.
Alright, so week 10 is upon me and the little bun in my Hen oven. I had a check up Friday and all is well. Despite the fact that I feel like my stomach is protruding and I’ve not been making completely healthy food choices, I’ve only gained 2 pounds. Sweet! And, summer is upon us, the end of my 1st trimester is getting super close, so my activity level will escalate. I might even manage to shed a few fatty pounds and trade them out for muscle tone. Who am I kidding? ha.
I’ve been staying home for two weeks and I absolutely love it so far. It doesn’t hurt that I have a super fantastical husband who grumbles not a single negative word to me when I’m being a lazy bum. Fortunately in the last week or so I’ve found a bit more energy and managed to catch up on all those things I had been neglecting. Except mopping. I can’t seem to bring myself to deal with the smell of pinesol. Eh. We don’t eat our food off the floor anyway, right?
I’ve really enjoyed my days at home with Lil’ C. He has been so super sweet and I really believe he’s happy being at home with Momma. My only complaint is that as soon as X-man gets home from school they seem to be at each others throat. In the last week we might have managed one whole evening without bickering and whining. *sigh* It’s a sibling thing. I remember what my childhood interactions were with my siblings. We fussed about things at each other all the time, and it wasn’t until we all were getting older that we forged much happier interactions. I bet it was all that fussing we got out of our systems growing up. haha.
DH started his new job this past Monday. They’ve really had him all over the board with his hours to work and I’m having to adjust just in a different way than him. I didn’t realize until his first overnight shift just how much of a “security blanket” he is to me. I couldn’t get to sleep until late the first night and I practically got no sleep last night. The kids are out of town for family events this weekend so at least it didn’t hurt that I went back to sleep for a nap and didn’t get up until after 12noon. Hubs is off work tonight and he couldn’t seem to stay asleep this morning, so we’ve gotten to spend most of the day chatting it up and dinking around the county.
I see a new drive in his eyes with his new job. He is enjoying the fact that when he leaves work, work doesn’t follow him home, and he’s finding that he has a true purpose in the environment of the facility. He can see the potential for growth within in the company and already has goals forming for himself over the coming years. Nevermind the security of the benefits and his salary.
We went to dinner out in the small town I grew up in tonight and as we sat there we were able to enjoy discussing the changes ahead of us this year. We just feel so blessed and are so excited for all of the positive things falling into place. Not to mention our new bundle of joy on the way.
Well, hubs is playing a game, but I’m gonna see if I can’t distract him so I can play one of my games or we can play a game together. I hope everyone has had a good week, and has a great weekend!
I came across some awesome giveaways today, and I wanted to share them with all of you! Who doesn’t like give aways???
First, go to helloky.com (just click on that); you’ll get to check out a review on the Sleepy Wrap from a few experts (kiddos) and get up to four chances to enter to win your very own.
Then, OH how I wish I could take the drive, BABIES is going to be shown in Bowling Green, KY this coming Thursday, May 20th at Greenwood 10. Go to THIS website to find out more… AND enter (up to three times) for a chance to win one of four great prizes!
One of the things that stood out to me when I was afforded the opportunity to participate in an interview with Director Thomas Balmes, was that he said (loosely) regardless of the culture, no matter where in the world the babies were being raised, they all hit milestones about the same time. His specific reference was to their first time looking directly at the video camera at 8 months, when they seemed to realize they were being watched.
Following is a video of MommyCast Co-Hosts Paige Heninger and Gretchen Vogelzang sharing their thoughts about BABIES and how the milestones that babies reach are the same no matter what culture or part of the world.
It makes sense, doesn’t it? You can discuss the development of your child with your friend who is Korean American and raising their own child surrounded by their family’s culture and belief, but the kids are still developing the same way. Do you have a specific story you could share? Leave some “Chicken Scratch” in the comment section and share with the rest of us.
He’s planning on doing some modifications to the truck after spending countless hours on forums about his particular year, make, and model. Thanks so much to the people who have posted all those pictures with their pimped out trucks. My husband didn’t really need help getting big ideas. He’s a Hen man, and they don’t have trouble coming up with their own ideas. hahaha. I keep poking fun, but I’m glad he’s so happy with his choice. It was well deserved. Next up on vehicle purchases? Something big enough to fit the soon-to-be five of us without having to strap one of the kids to the luggage rack on top of the vehicle. I don’t imagine people would take to kindly to seeing X-man or Lil’ C riding around and getting extra protein as they swallow bugs hitting them while we drive 65 down an interstate. 
