Charmed

Ok, I was not looking for compliments on the previous post, but I'll take'em! Y'all are too sweet.


On to the story of the day.....Lucky Charms. Admittedly, I am a fan of this cereal. I think I've confessed this before. Scott brought some home yesterday as a surprise for the kids (believe it or not, they are milk free) and probably also for me. I woke up this morning and enjoyed a large bowl full knowing that as soon as Addy saw them, I would not hear the end of it. Of course Mary Ella rolled out of bed last and made the predictable request. Sure enough, as soon as Addy saw them she started repetitively say , "more, more, more". I put some in a bowl and a couple of minutes later she comes back with an empty bowl again repeating "more". Well, Mary Ella was still eating and to avoid the fit, I gave her more thinking "surely Mary Ella will be done by the time she finishes this one. " Everything is "monkey see, monkey do." If someone has a snack, Addy feels she needs one too. I continue cleaning the kitchen and, again, a couple of minutes later Addy is in the kitchen requesting more. Ok, now I have to finish the kitchen, so yes, I cave and give her another round. I finally get the morning chores done and head out of the kitchen to find the oat pieces spread all over the living room floor and office. So I guess she had gone, dumped, and picked out all the marshmallows. That's my girl. Those sugary morsels are just too much. This just fits my theory that I have to start the day with a clean kitchen b/c other messes are made when you ignore these sweet little creatures. If I start with a clean kitchen I'm behind by only 1-2 messes, otherwise, I'm behind 3-4 all day. Therefore, the kitchen must be clean and floors picked up before I go to bed at night. IF I get lazy for 1-2 days (and I do), my house literally looks like a bomb went off inside of it leading me to doubt whether those lazy days were worth it. It is amazing how this works. I wonder, does anyone else feel this way???

Speaking of sweets and charms. Mary Ella wanted to feel the baby move yesterday, so I exposed the belly and gave her the opportunity to do so. The baby was moving quite a bit and Mary Ella's amazement was very evident. She leaned down to kiss and hug Molly Kate via the belly and proceeded to sing "Jesus Loves Me" to her. Oh what a sweet moment it was. Earlier, we were reading some of her Bible stories and the question was asked, "If you could wish for anything in the whole world, what would it be?" Mary Ella responded, "My new baby sister. She's going to look just like me and be soooooo precious."

Addy also has a preoccupation with my enlarging belly. I'm not sure if it is another case of "monkey see, monkey do" or if she is perceiving something big is about to happen. The other day, she came a lifted up my shirt (as a mother, nothing is sacred anymore), rubbed my belly and an idea hit her. She ran to get something and returned with a fork. I thought, "that is odd". She then lifted up my shirt again and poked my stomach with it. I have NO IDEA what association she was making, but I had to laugh. It was as if she was saying, "Put a fork in her mom, she's done...." It was too funny.

Summed Up

So let me tell you what has been going on down here on the Gulf Coast these last couple of weeks. As I wrote previously we started with a Labor Day weekend trip to Horseshoe Bay, Texas to spend some time with my grandparents and extended family. Three of us cousins had our first children within 4 months of each other, then proceeded to have our second children in as many months. So we all have children close in age which keeps us on our toes and also creates the ideal recipe for well-entertained, but very fatigued children after a few days. See what I mean....

This picture brought back so many childhood memories knowing this is what we all must have looked like after playing hard all weekend. All intertwined and so precious. Sadly we were missing one cousin who also has a son quickly approaching two. I'm sure he'll be in the mix soon!

We had a wonderful visit with my grandparents who are truly and inspiration to all of us. They just celebrated their 60th Anniversary in May. We are so blessed to have them in our lives and they just love seeing all these Great-Grandchildren around. They might even be snickering a little as they see these precious children do to us what we did to their daughters :).

We came home on Monday only to leave on Wednesday for an anesthesia conference at the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort. We had made the decision to not take the kiddos a long time ago. This always produces a little anxiety on my part, but I knew some rest would do some good. I got my last "travel" permission slip from my doctor and we headed out dropping Mary Ella and Addy Scott at my mother's on the way out. Another point of anxiety. You see, my mother has her house filled with all sorts of special things that little hands could easily break. I just knew I'd return to a few stories about precious heirlooms lost and I didn't. However, I'm sure my mother wouldn't tell me anyways. I may never know.

On to the trip....it was SOOOO nice and relaxing. Remember my fantasy "coffee experience"? Well, this came pretty darn close. I'd get up in the mornings, Scott would go to his meetings, and I would go get the newspaper and Starbucks. I would sit on the porch in a rocking chair reading for two hours. Ahhhhh! Of course, I took advantage of the spa to get a manicure and pedicure. My doctor said "no" to the massage...bummer! By afternoon I was sitting poolside next to a continuous waterfall. Ahhhhhh! The looks you get has a pregnant person in a bathing suit are humorous. Fortunately the relaxation time totally trumped any insecurities I had about being in a bathing suit. Scott did join me in the afternoons.

I definitely think I deserve "brave points" posting the picture above. Only 4 1/2 weeks to go, so the countdown is on! While I was poolside, I had some time to reflect. Although I was at the "adult only" pool most of the time, it was very clear I was a veteran mom on vacation.

1. I skipped over the gossip and fashion magazines to buy the Good Housekeeping, Southern Living and Family Circle.

2. I was the only one without an iPod. I think I've missed about 10 years of technology advancements. I'm glad I didn't show up with my Sony radio headphones. That might have been really embarrassing.

3. The fact that I didn't care about looking like a drowning sea turtle in order to get sun on my back.

I know I thought of more, but right now my brain is doing well to retrieve those tidbits.

Bottom line is that Scott and I really enjoyed the down time, but reality is, we missed our kids like crazy. We left Sunday morning after a great breakfast and hugged our kids by 12:30pm. Addy usually tries to pretend like she's not smiling to tease us, but she couldn't hold it in. She was grinning ear to ear and we got a big "MOMMY...DADDY" from Mary Ella. Ahhh, safely back in our arms thanks to grandparents. Sure, we spent all week breaking Addy from waking up at 5:45 am (normal wake-up is 7-7:30am) and we had our fair share of "grandparent syndrome" moments, but it sure was nice to have some rest and relaxation.

Yes, we did dodge a rapidly formed hurricane on Wednesday. I went to drop the kids off at school and there was a note about "inclement weather" on the sign-in sheet, so I went on to my doctor appointment and did the big weigh in after my hog adventures over these last two weeks. I quickly went home vowing to leave the cookies off the menu and made myself a turkey sandwich. I sat down and decided I'd actually watch the noon news. I rarely turn the tv on during the day. Anyways, "Tropical Storm Warning" flashed across the screen so I made a few phone calls to others who were just as clueless as me, then headed to the store. We only got a few bands, but nothing severe...thank goodness. Otherwise, the laundry is as "done" as it is going to get and our children are back to their somewhat predictable selves. So things are good.

Scott is on call tonight and I don't want to stay up late like a usually do (for no worthy reason), so I think I'll say night-night to all and try to catch some zzzz's.

By the way Geaux Tigers and Houston Texans! I love watching most sports, but this time of year is always my favorite!

Whirlwind

Wow! We have been very busy! We went to Horseshoe Bay on Lake LBJ (North of Austin, Texas) for Labor Day weekend and came back home on Monday. Scott and I turned around on Wednesday and left for a conference at the Hyatt Resort in Lost Pines, Texas (just South of Austin) leaving our kiddos with grandparents. We came home yesterday to excited, yet fatigued children and today I'm facing mounds of laundry and "catch up" activities. So we just wanted to let you know we haven't dropped off the face of the Earth. I'll write more about our adventures soon. Now, on to my "list" while the kids are at school :).

Sister love

Need I say more????

Just too much

First, 6 1/2 weeks to go! We are getting more and more excited about meeting Miss Molly. She is large enough now to feel the roundness of her skinny legs and knees from the outside. I find myself having to push her leg back in when she gives me an extra hard and prolonged foot shove. Mary Ella asked me this morning if it was time for her to come yet, so the anticipation is definitely getting more intense. How wonderful it is to see Mary Ella so eager to have another one of these little creatures!

Speaking of Mary Ella, I can't even begin to tell you how delightful she has been. She is really showing off her sweet heart and we are encouraging her and acknowledging her efforts every step of the way. I had this sweet conversation with her the other day:


Me: Mary Ella, I can tell you are working really hard to be respectful and nice. Thank you so much.
Mary Ella: Yes, I'm really sweet
Me: I've always known you are.
Mary Ella: Yeah, God stays right here (she pulled down her shirt collar pointing to her chest).
Me: That's right and when you are respectful and nice that makes Him so happy just like it makes us happy.
Mary Ella: Uh-huh, and He's going to stay in there with Heaven, Chelsea and Caleb.
Me: You're so right.


Now, I may have forfeited the mothering award again when it comes to Addy. Poor thing has been following me around fussing for the last week. I thought maybe she was having issues with starting school or maybe she's going through a "phase". I even looked in her mouth to see if she was teething. As a mom, you attempt to find any excuse for persistent whiny behavior and sometimes, out of desperation, I give a "blind" dose of ibuprofen just to see if that works. However, this time around I didn't do it. I've just dealt with the fussiness. Then today, it became too much. I stuck my finger in her mouth thinking "Surely, there are teeth coming in somewhere!" Wouldn't you know....AT LEAST four molars are coming in....poor baby! I quickly made my way to the medicine cabinet for some Motrin and proceeded to apologize profusely for missing this. After the Motrin, she was so worn down she fell asleep while sitting in the grocery store cart. Ugggh, I feel guilty.