The wizard of oz

After we got home from the Rockies fest, we ate lunch, hung out for a bit reading books, and then Abigail and I were off for Lucy's birthday party. 

The whole way home from Lucy's party, Abigail was yawning like crazy and I told her she could either nap in the car right then or nap at home since we had a late night ahead of us. She didn't nap in the car, so honey laid down with her after we got home and she took a little nap from 4-5 or so. Then it was off to August moon for dinner with the Hilliers. Abigail was still a little groggy and weepy (she's lightly emotional when tired) but did just fine once everyone got there. 

Dinner was wonderful and delicious as always. That's kind of our place that we always go before plays. We had a blast hanging out and talking to everyone. Brady was awesome and stayed in his high chair the whole time and Abigail ate a ton of food and even what I couldn't finish on my own plate. 

This is the first time we've intentionally brought Brady to a play with us. Last time (for shrek), we planned to take Abigail but got a babysitter for Brady. Well, he's never super excited about babysitters, but turns out, he's inconsolable when he's alone with one without even Abigail to help him.  For shrek, I ended up having to run home between dinner and the play to grab him and take the babysitter home and being Brady with us and he was actually great during the whole show. So this time, I asked my mother in law to get tickets for both kids. 

Brady did great until it started and then he was freaked out because it was so loud and the actors were all fighting and yelling. "I want to go home" happened instantly and frequently but I gave him a binky and eventually he stopped talking so much. ; )  There were a lot of scary and jumpy parts where he would crawl to my chest and clutch me while he burrowed his head in my neck, and then as soon as they passed, he wanted to turn around on my lap to watch the songs and whatever. 

My mil took him during intermission to get cookies and he was all about that. 

Both kids were all about those cookies. 

The second half of the show was interesting for me because I have no recollection of the second half of the movie! I need to watch it again! Anyways, my favorite part of the experience was probably when Brady would ask to sit on Chris's lap so honey was holding a kid with each arm and it was so precious... No pictures of that though because it was while the show was going on. 

All in all, it was a big success and a really fun night out. On the way home, we kept asking the kids if they were tired (it was almost 10:30) and Abigail kept yawning and saying yes, meanwhile Brady was all "no sleep! I wanna play!"  The best was that Abigail kept responding em very calmly to him each time saying "Brady, yes, we need to go to sleep when we get home. It's really past our bedtime."  

And they both passed out as soon as we got them to bed. Whew! 

Rockies fest

To be truthful, I have no idea what Rockies fest is, but I think we had tickets for it because it probably comes with the season tickets.  Well, it was something to do, so we grabbed the kids and headed to coor's field. 

Wii dancing. Brady was a statue the whole song and Abigail was mesmerized by princess jasmine (prince Ali song) and barely moved, but made a few poses in slow motion speed. Christopher and I were cracking up. 

Bean bag toss. 

Guess the number of baseballs. 

Dig for Dinger (the purple Dino mascot). It was ahuge thing of shredded crinkly paper and you had to find little eggs in there. Abigail inherited my childhood luck (I was always really really lucky as a kid) and got a special egg so she got a big Dinger stuffed animal and Dinger bobble head. Brady got a Dino the size of a marble which was only fitting because he wouldn't go near the paper. 

Throwing. 

Giant connect four. 

When I scrolled through my photos and saw this, I did a double take because I thought it was a picture of me. That doesn't happen often (mostly due to clothes and scenery) but this time it happened more than once. So so weird to experience. 

Brady... Put your face in... But put your hands down... No, not out the hole, down like by your belly...

Okay sure. That's good enough. 

And that's a wrap. 

We did a family photo booth thing. Brady insisted on wearing the headband with shrek ears. Sadly, the glasses didn't last long enough for us to make it in the photo booth. 

Brady, try not to get so into it next time. We're too distracted and overwhelmed by your enthusiasm. 

Snow covered field. With geese. 

Brady thought this Mickey was the coolest thing ever. 

Like couldn't stop talking about it. It's funny what stands out and appeals to kids. 

And as predicted... We brought one umbrella stroller and it was occupied nearly the entire time and at least 70% by Abigail. Brady just wants to walk. 

And walk. 

And walk. 

And walk. Literally the whole way to the car. 

Honey and I just laughed while he continued to push Abigail... Lady Catherine de Bourgh. 

Ps- how do you like my festive Rockies wear since I didn't want to stretch out any of my Rockies tshirts or hoodies. ; )

It was a fun free thing to get out of the house on a Saturday morning. 

Two is perfection

Brady is at the best age. He is so cute and hilarious and adorable and I can't get over it. 

The last few days, he's been wandering around the house all "I want honey..." and while its normal for him to want and ask for his daddy all day from the second he wakes up, it's new that he's referring to him as "honey."  ; )

Also, he cracks me up when he wears other people's socks...

Seriously.  So cute. 

More production

Y'all, I'm so excited... I had another productive day today. I'm getting a grip on my life. Interacting with my kids, having more patience, organizing and cleaning, play dates for Abigail, making a hot dinner (who cares if it was frozen enchiladas that I'd made forever ago, I actually remembered to thaw and bake it in time for dinner!) and staying on top of laundry and dishes. I'm feeling so accomplished right now! 

First things first, last night I sent honey to Walmart to replace my car battery. He jumped my car (Sarah had warned me that her car battery was low and might not be enough to charge mine which ended up being the case) and then took it to Walmart, along with a random car battery our neighbor gave us when he moved (we really are magnets for free stuff, they gave us a brand new pack n play, camp chairs, a shop vac, and a ton of other stuff). So even though it wasn't the right battery for my car, the Walmart guarantee sticker on it let us exchange it for the right battery and we only had to pay $20 out of pocket. Also, Walmart has free battery installation and recycling. Woohoo! 

I also had honey pick up a car charger instant jump pack thing. I didn't even know those things existed until john got one in November or December and I knew I wanted one. But I never got around to buying one and we could have used it twice this month alone! It requires that you charge it once a month, but I think that's totally worth it to know that if my car battery dies then I won't be stranded or in a bad situation if it is night time or I'm alone with my kids or whatever and I need to flag down a sketchy man to help me. Christmas money is great because sometimes I don't know what I want at the time and then I remember something like this. So merry Christmas to me! I am soooo excited about this. 

Elle came over for a bit this morning and then Lucy came over to play from 2-4 which was great because Brady was napping and I could just work on stuff around the house and Abigail was totally happy and occupied (she was thrilled to get out of quiet time today and I was glad to give her a break from it). Elle is into more boyish stuff so when she's over, she and Brady and Abigail play cars and trains (and his time a lot of kitchen), and when Lucy comes over, it's all dressing up and doing hair styles and playing dolls and pretending about princesses. 

I won't lie, I was so impressed with how well Lucy did Abigail's hair. They were adorable together. 

Meanwhile, I cleaned our bedroom and worked on this huge pile of junk ice been collecting in this spot of my bedroom (it's not gone but it's currently significantly better than it was! 

I went around the house and replaced a few burned out light bulbs. Abigail's closet has had no light for at least a month so I was determined to replace it. Well, this light was a pain! I somehow completely dislodged it from the ceiling, and tangent Google helped me to actually get off the glass dome part (which flew to the ground so hard while I yelled "CRAP!" as loud as I could. Ugh, eventually I got it fixed. While I texted Sarah about "this is why Chris and I hire things out... We aren't handy... We can't do it) because ugh... I was so over it. 

And after Lucy went home, I found that the previously spotless playroom now looked like this. Do other people have kids clean up before they go home? I normally do, but Abigail refused this time to ask Lucy for any help so she skipped along home and then whined about having to do it all herself. Why?!

Anyways, we got it all cleaned up and my house is looking better than it has in months.

And honey got home early tonight and we had such a good night. We've got a packed day tomorrow so we're all pumped. 

brady's haircut

from november 17th...

my thoughtful mother in law was so kind as to watch my kids for me while i went to my 12 week appointment.  when i came back, she fed us all lunch and gave brady a much needed hair cut.  the boy is adorable.  i can't get over his face.

after brady's haircut, i got to snuggle my precious little niece.  it's not often that i get to snuggle a baby (what's with babies being so squirmy?!), but hallie had a diaper rash and was just feeling under the weather so she happily hung out in my arms for probably 45 minutes.  i loved every second of it.

and here's my favorite picture of little baby hillier.

it was a good day.

21 weeks

How far along:  21 weeks  (1.22.15)

Total weight gain/loss: 11 lbs - i've been 126 pretty consistently the last several days

Maternity clothes:  yes... shirts.  i've been wearing pretty much only maternity shirts lately or regular shirts that have the gathering on the sides.  maternity shirts definitely make me look bigger than non-maternity shirts, but at least then i look big and pregnant, not smaller but beer bellied.  i bought a black bella band from old navy this week and have worn it once.  i borrowed and used one pretty much every day when i was pregnant with abigail, but with brady i didn't have one and got along fine.  so this time i wasn't planning on getting one except that it was half off and only $8.50 and in the size and color i wanted so i just went with it.  i tried it out one day with my super small target skinnies (i ditched those during brady's pregnancy when i was just single weeks along) and it worked really well.  much better than the borrowed one i used to use, but i think this one works better because it's an extra small and is super snug and secure.  sooo, here's hoping i don't have to wash and wear the same pair of maternity jeans every day later in pregnancy since i can use this on my regular jeans and have some more variety.

Sleep:  pretty horrible.  mostly because i came down with a horrendous cold and can't take anything for it.  so i've been up blowing my nose every hour of the night and doing my best at attempting to sleep sitting up (so i can breath).  also, i think it's because my cold has kept me half awake and messed with my sleep cycles, but my pregnancy dreams have been beyond bizarre this week.  like i couldn't even begin to describe them because they are so weirdly intricate and so far off from anything resembling reality or normal life.  the plus side, i slept through the night (11:30 to 7:30) so i think i'm getting better!  i had several nights of a stabbing sore throat and then several more nights of congestion so bad i couldn't breathe and gagging/coughing when i would sneeze or blow my nose (because i was so stuffed up) so just regular congestion is a welcome sight!  the best news through it all though is that my days haven't been too horrible.  not sure if that's just because i'm comparing them to my nights which are so much worse, or what... but really the days have been totally manageable and i haven't wanted to die.  

Best moment this week:  i don't think there's been just one moment, but honestly, the whole week has been just great!

Movement:  just the same that it has been.  i'm feeling stronger and more frequent quicks and punches though.  thankfully, a few less rolls this week and i'm getting better about focusing on something else and not thinking about how uncomfortable it is.

Food cravings:  eating has been great. is that obvious by my weight gain as of late? ; )  i'm wanting more variety of foods lately and more and more often lately i'll sit down to eat something and it will taste better than anticipated (whereas i used to make a meal, take one bite of it, and be completely repulsed) which was super great when i was eating french dip leftovers from our freezer and spaghetti leftovers from our fridge.  we've been eating out a lot (because jan and feb are just like that for us and we've got a lot of gift cards and other stuff going on) so that's probably also contributing to my weight gain.  friday night we went to outback (i got french onion soup and a steak and mashed potatoes) to use our last outback giftcard and i've got to say it again... texas roadhouse is so much better than outback!  the bread, the salad, the steaks, the serving sizes, etc.  i do like that outback has french onion soup... but everything else is better at texas roadhouse.  anyways... we'll be back to those gift cards for the remainder of the year so no worries for my pregnant, steak loving self.  sunday night we went to the hilliers for dinner (so we could have a family history lesson after) which was delicious and i got off easy only needing to bring a salad (romaine, mandarin oranges, craisins, and pecans with poppyseed dressing) and kelsey made a deliciuos chocolate fudge and reese's peanut butter cup cake.  monday afternoon was mlk day and the boys went skiing and then to the office while klaudette, kelsey, and i (plus kids) went to red robin (since johnny carinos is closed now... so sad about not getting a wedge salad) and i got the turkey blt with avocado on a croissant and it was wonderful!  it really hit the spot!  monday night we went to seasons 52 for a work dinner thing with stacy and her husband and then brent, klaudette, bri, and kelsey and while it was good (they make what's in season and everything is under 450 calories), i would have loved a good 2000 calorie dish from cheesecake factory.  ; )  anyways, i ordered the shrimp pasta and honey got the salmon and we shared... both were delicious.  anyways, i've been doing very little cooking and a lot of eating out and my belly is growing exponentially as a result.  also, i normally only like cold cereal during summer months when it's warm outside and virtually never eat it during the winter.  this past week... oooo i've been loving cold cereal!  it's my first thought when i wake up in the morning.  i've loved cookie crisp, life, and frosted flakes.  maybe next week i can like something with a little nutrition in it?  but don't worry, i'm still eating tons of eggs... just normally for lunch now since breakfast is all about the cold cereal.

Symptoms: nausea has been almost non-existent this week and only at night.  other than that, pregnancy dreams, and thinking about food a lot more than usual, i haven't been experiencing pregnancy related symptoms.

Gender:  my goodness, i'm so excited to have a little baby girl!!!  i need to go through those bins of clothes from abigail in the next month or so.  there are SO MANY little girl clothes and i know we don't need them all.  also, i've noticed with my kids that i would much rather repeat a favorite outfit than put them in things i love just for variety.  does that make sense?  so i need to get rid of dated, stained, worn, etc. clothes that i know i won't put on my child and give them to someone that will appreciate and make good use of them.  that'll be a big job though.  i'm also trying to think of ways to transform brady's nursery into something that looks girly again.  also, i'm so wishy washy about the future bedroom setup for our kids and if i really want abigail and brady to share a room.  i wonder if i could put a crib in abigail's closet and keep all else the same... she's the deepest sleeper and a better listener than brady.  hmmm i wonder if that would fit...

What I miss:  not worrying about my weight.  i know i'm technically on track as i have bee with my previous two pregnancies, but for whatever reason, i can't get that through my head, and i already feel myself beginning to wonder (as i did both times before) if i'm gaining too much too fast (it always comes in spurts) or eating too much unhealthy food or a not balanced enough diet.  the guilt and worry that comes with knowing your food choices are affecting another human.. one that is developing inside of you.  all of that being said, my food choices are never influenced by these thoughts... it's just the thoughts and worry themselves.

Milestones:  being on the other side of 20 weeks.  i'm worried at how fast the next few months are going to fly by so i'm trying to just soak up all the wonderfulness of being pregnant and enjoying my two kids.
Theme: the week of i think my belly popped even again... it's really huge to have so many weeks to go.
What's different this time around:  with both previous pregnancies i'm pretty sure i was decently consumed with thoughts of food by now... this is looking to be the same.  

Extra:  i'm thinking we should get a minivan before this baby (instead of before our fourth as we'd previously planned) so i'm looking into that.  i also feel like i'm somewhat nesting already but i can't tell if it's actually that or if i'm just wanting to get organized and get my life in order because it's the beginning of the year, or mostly likely, because i don't feel like crap anymore and am anxious to get my hands on a good organizing project.  anyways, i need to sort through girl stuff, research minivans, research and buy a five year food supply for five people, keep thinking of the different possibilities to configure three kids into two bedrooms, and eventually tackle the basement mess that somehow happened when i was experiencing a few months of morning sickness.

1.27.15 at 21 weeks 5 days

1.27.15 at 21 weeks 5 days

How many times can my car battery die?

On my birthday (mid November), I left the lights on and my car battery died. When we came back from Costa Rica (New Years day), it was freezing cold and our car hadn't been driven in ten days... And the battery was dead. For the last week or two, the battery has seemed weak when I've started my car (that's what initiated the "we should just buy a new car" conversation leading me to research minivans) and has been getting worse. This morning, I loaded up the kids and... My car battery had died. 

My friend Sarah came to the rescue... Mid-workout. 

Sadly, jumping didn't work. So I dropped Sarah and her kids and Brady off at her house and took her car to drop Abigail to preschool. And now I'm just watching kids while Sarah showers. 

Do I get any mom points for this?  I was sooooo ready to just head back inside and tell the kids sorry about no preschool or library today. Dangit honey for telling me it was worth it because Abigail loves preschool so much. ; )