Joys Of Pregnancy

Well, I'm past the morning sickness, nausea and debilitating headaches that accompanied the first trimester and have moved on to the joys of nosebleeds and heartburn that grace the days and nights of the second trimester. And I'm starting to have more pressure on my bladder and lungs. But the trade-off is that I can now feel the baby moving (playing soccer? practicing karate?) all the time, which at least makes all this stuff seem like it's for a reason. (And his brother is infinitely helpful in insuring that this little guy knows all the moves, since he seems intent on keeping regular practice times on my lap, where he kicks from the outside).

By this time around, I'm familiar with the drill. But I have the priviledge of knowing now what I didn't know the first time around: It's totally worth it! The end reward more than makes up for these few months of discomfort. I know the moment I see this little man, the path to get here will be nothing but a dim memory.

Now, if you'll excuse me, there is a bottle of Tums calling my name.

Orphans

Ruth and Jeff somehow got on the subject of orphans the other day. That was a new word for Ruth, so she asked about it and Jeff explained. Ruth voiced her concern over this with this question: "What do they do without grown-ups to get things for them?" In my mind, I picture this meaning, "Who gets the cereal off the top shelf, because I can't reach that even when I stand on my stool."

Volunteering

On Thursday afternoons, I leave Weston with some friends for a few hours, and then I spend some time up at Ruth's school. I am the "folder stuffer" for Ruth's class. And when I finish with that task, I go down and vounteer in the library until the end of the school day. My job consists of reshelving books, checking books in, checking books out and answering questions for the kids. It's so fun to interact with the kids and get to know more of the people up at the school. One thing that does disturb me, though, is how very many scary books there are, and how those are the most sought-after books--and I'm only there when the 2nd and 3rd graders are there. First of all, I just don't think those books have much educational value. And further, I just don't think kids that young (or really any age) need their heads filled with such scary thoughts. What is the benefit of that? If you're just looking for entertainment, surely there are better choices. So, now you all know where I stand on scary books. I didn't really mean to turn this post into a rant, but it's just so disturbing to me and I couldn't help myself. I do relish my time up at the school, though, and I'm so thankful that I have that opportunity.

All Is Vanity

Maybe once a year (or more like every 2 or 3, if I'm really honest), I begrudgingly set about the task of cleaning up my vanity area and the surrounding cabinets and drawers. Today was that day. Every time I undertake this task, I am absolutely amazed at how many products I find. And the purpose of each and every one of them is my own raging vanity. This one will make me smell better. That one will make my skin softer. Things for hair, nails, skin, lips, etc., etc. Now, raise your hand if this reminds you of your own vanity area? Come on, now, I know I'm not the only one. So as not to embarrass you further, we'll go back to me. (But I know you're out there). And the point is: all is vanity. And everything seems to be partially used up. Many things finally made their way to the trash can today. But today, as always, many things went back (more neatly, granted) into their hiding places with a promise from myself to check there first before buying anything new. But I'm honest enough to know that I will probably not be able to resist the siren song of the beauty aisle. And the real crazy thing is, I'm not really a product fanatic. Or a beauty nut. I just like to try new things every now and then, and they just add up over time. O.k. that's it. The point is, I have a lot of stuff, but it's more organized now.

This Vanity Insanity Moment has been brought to you by the letter (and the question) "Y," and the number "2," as in "2 Many."

Weszilla

With Jeff and Weston on vacation last week, and Ruth at school everyday, our house stayed remarkably clean. In fact, I don't think there was one day when I felt overwhelmed by mess. There weren't toys on the floor or books scattered about--no misplaced sippy cups and very few dirty dishes. This week, it's a different story. I think I've already run the dishwasher three times in the past two days, and I absolutely could not keep up with King Destruction today. He was ripping books off the shelves like his life depended on it. And when I asked him to stop, he toddled off to the playroom and immediately emptied the ball bin in the middle of the floor. "Don't like that, Mom? How about if I pull everything off Dad's nightstand?!" he seemed to say. It was just one thing after another, and I realized what I didn't miss about this little guy while he was away. It's a good thing he's such a cutie, and that he says adorable things like "Ho-Hay" (okay) when you ask him to stop doing something and "Lub-oo" (I love you), followed by a 'Zilla-sized hug!

Country Music

Jeff and I love music from almost every genre, but we especially enjoy country music, in part, because it's hilarious. Everything from the twang to the rhymes to the subject matter, even some of the outfits the musicians wear. It's absolutely great! I suggest that the next time you want to laugh, even if you aren't a huge fan of country music, you flip your radio to the local country station or turn on CMT or GAC for a few songs. It shouldn't take too long to come across one that makes you giggle.

Honey-Dos Done

Jeff came home from Vegas ready to tackle some of the honey-dos on our ever-present list. He ran the weed-eater today and our yard looks so much better! While he was at it, he and Ruth found a dead rat in the yard, which completely thrilled me! He also came across a beautiful spider lily, which Ruth picked and put in a vase on our table. Jeff also installed our new door knob, which has been on the list for at least six months. Now we can actually close the door without having to lock it, so no more taking guests prisoner! And finally, he fixed a swing on the swingset that has been giving us some trouble. It's great to check things off the list, but it's even better to have my honey home!

The Boys Are Back In Town

Our boys got back around 12:30 this afternoon, and we are soooo glad they are here--and I think they were pretty glad to see us too!

Fun Friday

• I had lunch with Ruth at her school today (at 10:30 am!) for the first time. That was really fun! Nothing makes a Kindergartner more popular with her friends than having her mom (or any grown-up, for that matter) have lunch with her. (Ironically, nothing can make a junior high kid less popular). I opened half a dozen milks and syrup packages and answered innumerable questions about everything under the sun. I loved it!
• I had a pedicure--(Thanks, Mom and Bill)! It was a very relaxing hour and I now have beautiful red toenails, which make me feel pretty!
• I cleaned off the desk in my bedroom, and I can actually see the desktop now! I feel like my life is a little more under control now!
• I talked to Jeff and Weston on the phone. I CAN'T WAIT for them to be home tomorrow! I miss them bunches!
• I deposited a Body Dulce check in the bank!
• I took Ruth to Half-Price Books and we cleared out the clearance rack! I bought the children 22 books for $17. Included was an almost-complete set of picture dictionaries, which Ruth specifically asked me for so she can make her own dictionary. She loves to copy words out of books. She makes thematic lists (animals, foods, etc.) and sometimes she also likes to illustrate the lists. I figure there are definitely worse things she could do with her time. I also got her some new reading books, since she's goes through them so quickly and our supply of "new" books was getting a little low.
• We ordered take-out from Chuy's, rented a movie and had another girl party.
• Ruth read to me, and I read to her.

It was a fabulous day and a great start to the weekend!

Ouch!

Slammed my finger in the door. Fingernail is turning purple. Burst vessels on pad of finger. Hurts like heck!

Almost Official

There have been some pretty exciting things going on with Body Dulce lately, and it's starting to feel almost official--which is sort of weird because it's just some idea I had a few months ago. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, Jeff and I met with a designer to talk about labels and overall marketing appeal, to basically make the product appear more professional. He got back to us with his first round of ideas today, and there were some things I really liked. So much there that was just beyond my brain to come up with! Also, I made contact with someone who works at a salon this week--(Thanks, Linda!)--who is interested in the scrubs, and there may be some potential to sell them in her shop. And, the pedicurist who works there is also going to try them out as a part of her pedicure routine, so that's really cool! In the meantime, I have had a steady stream of orders--still mostly from family members, but, hey, that works for me! This whole adventure is just so fun! I'm so thankful for the opportunity to pursue this, and I'm thankful to all the people who have encouraged me and helped me along the way. I still have a ways to go, but it's good to be going in this direction. Hopefully, sometime after my web guy gets back from his Vegas Vacation, we'll be able to get the site up and functional. I'll keep you posted as we progress. In the meantime, if you find yourself in need of a little pampering for yourself or a gift for someone else, you can contact me directly. (wink, wink).

Ruth's Book

Ruth came home from school today and set to work on a project up in her room. After a while she came down with this book, which she made entirely on her own. I thought it was fabulous, but for those of you who may be having trouble with the translation, it reads like this:

Page 1: My Book. By (bi) Ruth.

Page 2: This is me. I am a human (huemin). This is my brother. (My buthr this is).

Page 3: This is my room.

eRATication

A couple of weeks ago I discovered rat poop in a rarely used stroller. My hope was that is was something leftover from long ago. But, I knew then that a garage-cleaning was in order. Then, I started hearing munchy-crunchy-scratchy noises coming from somewhere near the drain of my bathtub, and that put me over the edge. My dear, sweet, super-hero mom volunteered to help me out, and so today we set to work. I want to tell you up front, this was no small under-taking. As happens, things have piled up. But this time, there weren't just our things, there were rat things, too. All over the place. It was awful and disgusting and horrible. But, we successfully cleaned out the garage--from top to bottom and left to right--and we put out enough rat poison to kill a small city of rats. We also filled up one large garbage can, one fair-sized box and a 5 gallon bucket with trash. And we hauled off two full van-loads of stuff to Goodwill. It wasn't just a cleansing of the garage, it was a cleansing of the soul. I just feel lighter. And I will sleep peacefully, knowing that if I happen to hear crunchy-munchy sounds at 2 in the morning it will be because the rat has found our poison and not because he is trying to figure out how to break into my bedroom and eat me while I'm sleeping.

Mostly Just The Girls

Well, we saw our boys off to Las Vegas this morning. They'll be there all week, with Jeff working part of the time and the two of them having a ball with Mimi and Grandpa. Meanwhile, Ruth and I are here, enjoying our girl time. I took her to Portuguese class today, and then we had lunch together at Wendy's. This evening, we rented a movie and ate our junk-food dinners in the living room, followed by ice cream. After the movie, Ruth finished her sixth book (of 7) on her third poster, and then I read a book to her. We had a great time just hanging out, and I think Ruth is thrilled to have me all to herself again for a while. She's funny. She did acknowledge that, even though this was a girl-only party, there was one boy present (referring to our little Tater). "But," she said, "He's hiding." "And, anyway, he can't really see the movie because his eyes are closed and he's in your tummy, where it's dark." So, this week, it's just us girls and one hiding little boy.

You Should Have Seen The Other Guy...

See that fat lip? The pictures don't really do it justice. It's a good one. We were at a little shin-dig at Jeff's office today, and the kids were running around having the best time. Weston was doing everything he could to impress a lovely little lady around the age of two. And he was doing fine, until he fell on his face...literally. There were lots of tears and a little blood, but no teeth were lost, thank goodness.

Popular

When I dropped Ruth off at school this morning, kids were calling her name from every angle. They all wanted to be the first to say good morning to her and they all wanted to sit next to her in the hall before the bell rang. Then, as I was giving Ruth a hug, one of the little girls in her class came up for a hug of her own. After I hugged her, she began telling me all kinds of fascinating details about her life. (Like, "Oh, your having a baby?! Well, my mom is going to have twins...and we already have one baby! It's really going to be busy!) The whole experience sent me home with a smile on my face. Then, when I picked Ruth up from school, the same little girl (now my best friend) about lost her arm in a waving frenzy. It's fun being popular.

the one where I explode from eating too much cookie dough

The pregnant belly wants chocolate chip cookie dough. Well, the non-pregnant belly wants cookie dough, too, come to think of it. But at our house the general rule is: the pregant belly gets what the pregnant belly wants. (Not so for non-pregnant bellies). Tonight, it was chocolate chip cookie dough. I mixed some up, filled a cereal bowl, grabbed a spoon and set to work. I did manage to show some self-control by not eating the entire bowlful, but I certainly had plenty. And that's all you need to know. I'm sure my doctor will be quite pleased with me when I go in to see her tomorrow. I prefer to look at it like this: educating my child on the very best life has to offer from a very early age.

Kindergarten Envy

Weston has really been sad to leave Ruth at school everyday...or at least sad to leave her backpack at school. So, I thought I'd be really clever and let him take his own backpack. He very proudly slung it over his shoulders and marched into the school like he owned the place. When we got to Ruth's classroom, I told him to give Ruth a hug and say good-bye. He hugged me and dutifully said "good-bye," and then took his place in the hall with his sister. That's when I realized that it wasn't leaving Ruth or her backpack at school that was making him sad. It was the fact that I wasn't leaving him at school.

Sea World Saturday

Better Frame Of Mind

I'm so sorry for my negative post on Friday. I think I have come down with a minor little bug, so maybe that explains the tiredness and bad attitude on Friday, but still, that's not really like me and I didn't want to leave that unresolved. We went on to have a very nice weekend. Pictures will follow.

Pooped

Tired. Exhausted. Beat. Wiped Out.

See also Grumpy. Moody. Annoyed.

I simply must go to bed now.

Hooray for Homework

All week, Ruth has been beside herself with excitement at the prospect of bringing home homework today. So today, the minute she walked in the door after school, she exclaimed that she had homework to do and she immediately got to it. She was so excited the whole time she was working on it--although she did admit that it was very easy. She wasn't supposed to turn it in until Monday, but she finished it all in about 30 minutes, so we just slipped it back in the backpack for her to return to school tomorrow. I really hope her enthusiasm for homework holds up over time, but I seriously have my doubts. I just can't see her coming home from high school doing a homework chant and dance.

Getting Handsome

Jeff had a business dinner tonight so he came home from work to hang with us for a while and to change clothes. When Ruth saw what he was changing into, she said, "Wow, Dad! Why are you getting so handsome?!" I personally think he's handsome all the time, but for Ruth clothes truly do make the man.

Precious Moment

All the moments that we have with our children are precious in their own way. But some moments are precious precisely because they are so rare. These moments come into our lives unexpectedly and go quickly away. And they are to be treasured completely and whole-heartedly. I had just such a moment with Weston today. He and I both had a hard time getting started today, after the long weekend and with the sky dark with rain clouds. Around 9:00, we went into the living room to read some books. I was lying on the couch and Weston was on the floor. After a while I noticed that Weston wasn't looking at books anymore, but was lying on the floor singing his "sleepy song." I was just watching him and thanking the Lord for such a sweet little person to love, and wondering if I ought to scoop him him and take him to bed, when he glanced in my direction and made eye contact with me. His face lit up and he toddled over and climbed up on top of me. He laid his head down on my chest and immediately fell asleep. And with my heart full of love and joy, I quickly fell asleep as well. We stayed that way for just about an hour, and it was absolute bliss. You don't get moments like this with your children very often, and for me it was truly precious. I'm so thankful for that moment, and I sincerly hope that the next time I have an opportunity for such a moment I recognize it for what it is and take full advantage of it before it slips away from me forever.

Pictures From The Wedding

As Promised...

I promised pictures and stories when we arrived back from our trip, and I am making good on that promise. The pictures have been posted in the form of a slide show in the post just before this one. The story is this:

During the reception, I took Ruth to the bathroom, where she desperately needed my assistence since she was wearing a mini-wedding dress. She even told me, "I'm a little Lindsay bride." Then she asked me why Jonah and Lindsay got married. I told her it was because they loved each other and wanted to spend their lives together, just like Daddy and I. I then told her that she might even decide to get married some day. To this, she immediately balked and said, "Oh no! I'm not getting married!" "O.k." I said, "You don't have to if you don't want to." She let out a deep sigh and said, "Really? I thought you had to." I don't know if she thought she was going to shock me by going against what she was "supposed" to do or if she truly thought at that moment that marriage just wasn't for her. I do know that she loved wearing that mini-wedding dress, though, so if the right guy comes along (way, way down the road) she might just agree to marry him despite her protests.