you know you're pregnant when...

every time you get ice out of the refrigerator the little leap frog guy starts singing the "A says A and A says A, Every letter makes a sound A says A and A" song. If you have kids you know what i'm talking about. So the baby apparently loves it already because he's making sure i hit it every time i get something out of the freezer!!

The kids had a good day today. I had a doctors appointment so after swimming they went to a friends house then to lunch with some of Jeff's co-workers. After rests we went to the pool. Heather's practicing swimming "backwards" and is sure that she has the backstroke down (kind of). Charlie had fun just jumping aroudn in teh water and seeing how long it takes for me to get him as he was floundering around...Then Jeff came and we headed to the diving board where Heather gleefully jumped off then not so gleefully did several belly flops in attempts to dive. Charlie decided he would go off with Jeff who actually threw him into the water. He loved it but by jump 7 or 8 was willing to jump in by himself. With a lifejacket he can jump in and swim to the side on his own! The kids and Jeff stayed for a few extra minutes while I headed home to get dinner ready and rumor has it that jeff threw them into the air for flips into the water...

A funny thing--yesterday we were making zucchini bread from our garden zucchini's and the kids were having a good time helping. We got them out to eat them and Heather exclaimed taht they were yummy with charlie shiming in "super yummy!!" Yeah for a good use of zucchini!!

whew!

That's about all I can say about our busy weekend! Friday morning Heather had swimming and "learned" how to "swim backwards". Her teacher had a smaller class and attempted a backstroke demo for Heather--she's willing to try but really has no clue! Then we ran errands which included looking for "school supplies"--a pencil case being the key element of excitement. The kids took rests and then we went to the pool for a while before coming home and watching a movie for an early night. yesterday was the really busy day! We went to a birthday party which was really fun despite the rain. It was supposed to be an outside swim/jumpy castle party but the rain prevented that from happening :-(. the kids still had a great time playing together, watching presents be opened, eating lunch and especially cake. We headed up to a "real" shopping area to get Heather a "new outfit" which of course turned into several. We started at TJ Max and surprisingly found a few things that Heather liked. I never find stuff there but there were some sets that were reasonably priced and cute. Of course most was "fall" pants and t-shirt deals so we didn't find that "first day of school" outfit. We moved on to a mall with the higher end kids stuff--gap kids, gymboree, children's place...and of course found a cute first day outfit which was much out of my price range but well within Jeff's!! So he paid for it and heather happily carried her bag out of the store. She has her dad's taste in clothes (which is good from a style standpoint, bad from a price!!). We rode the carosel and went into a few more stores. Penny's was having an awesome infant sale--$2 for summer rompers and onesies so I picked up three things for the baby to wear next summer. I need to take out clothes and see if we're going to hit the seasons AT ALL right with Charlie's stuff from the first year or so...Then dinner and home, both kids fell asleep on teh way and Jeff shortly after we got home...

Today has been busy as well but we haven't left the house. First we cleaned a bit, then jeff set up a tent and the kids played in their rooms while I worked on reports and he took a snooze...then Jeff set up a great outdoor water park with 2 sprinklers, the kids pool with a "diving board", and a slip and slide down our little hill. By the time I got out there the kids and our neighbors and Jeff were all soaked and having a great time! No slip and sliding for me but everyone had a good time--even the neighbors dog who was subjected to the pool and water dumped on his head! Now I think the other three are asleep after a hot morning in the sun...

hot summer days

We started off today heading to swim lessons. Heather did great and got both arms out of the water doing the crawl with her feet kicking. By the end of the 2 weeks she may have it down! After that we headed to a lake nearby with friends. The kids had a good time playing in the sand, the water and playground. It was REALLY hot but being in and out of the water they lasted for a long time. On the way home they fell asleep within a few minutes. We had neighbors over for a spur of the moment dinner and then they played games with the kids and then we all took a walk. The kids have an amazing amount of energy left for having had such a busy day. A highlight of the evening was the kids telling knock knock jokes which involved anything which wanted to go down the slide but couldn't and in the door but they went to the house and then took a walk....they tell the longest knock knock jokes ever which make no sense and then crack up hysterically or wait of an appropriate response. Jeff googled some knock knocks so maybe they can be funny in a legitimate way!

swimming to start and end the day--that's the life!!

We had a busy day yesterday. So busy that I was too tired to write at the end of the day!! Heather had swimming in the morning and did really well. I was worried when we saw that she knew all the kids in the first class that she wouldn't want to do a different one but it worked out well. She fits right in with 3 of the kids and the other 2 are WAY better and a few years older. I then took the kids to a friends house and did a 3 hour glucose screen--I was borderline for the 1 hour test so I got to do the long one. The kids had a great time at Hunter's house and I finished up a report and watches part of a bad movie that Jeff had downloaded. Then we made dinner for a friend who just had a baby and headed off to deliver it and go to the pool. It was almost empty and we played tag, jumped off the diving board, and played all over the place. The kids were worn out by the end of the busy day!

Only two more weeks 'til school starts so we have to enjoy all the days!!

kids, kids, kids

Yesterday Heather and Charlie had some friends over for the WHOLE day!! They were so excited to have them come over and really loved having time with them. We set up a "water obstacle course" and the kids ran through the sprinkler, slip and slide, and jumped into the pool over and over. After that fun the kids played inside with each other and did a pretty good job. Heather and Charlie were thrilled that they could stay until dinner and we also got some quality park time in. Jeff came home and suggested that we go out for dinner to celebrate his flight commander of the quarter award--he's going to have to get a new shelf at his office for all these awards that he's getting!!

Today I get to do a 3 hour glucose test (drink syrup and sit in the lab for 3 hrs) and the kids get to play with yet another friend! Heather's going to try swimming lessons this morning so we'll see how it goes. Her friends are in teh first class but the second is less busy and a little more for kids who are more comfortable with the water. more later...

tired, tired, tired

That was the theme for yesterday and today for us! Yesterday Heather got up around 8 but charlie slept until 9:45!! Jeff and took turns napping throughout the morning and early afternoon as we both just felt like lumps. I guess the heat and activity from Saturday wore us out as much as the kids. Today we took it easy in the morning and then did an early pool trip since we weren't going to be able to go later in the day. After we got home and had lunch ALL three of us fell asleep and took good naps. Of course now it's 9:15 and we're ALL still up...We had two of Jeff's co-workers over for dinner who are deploying this week and next week which the kids really enjoyed. They love having friends--ours or theirs--over to hang out ;-)

girls night and waterpark day!

Last night I got to go out to dinner and a movie (Mamma Mia) with some friends which was really nice. The movie was good and made me remember some really good times from college--although we never had those moves when we first got together!! It reminded me of how important friends are and how much I appreciate those that I have and MISS those that are not here!! Anyway it was fun.






Today we went to a waterpark and the kids had a BLAST!! They had a kiddie spray part, larger part with slides that were for anyone, a lazy river, a wave pool (crowded!!), large beach/pool area, and some bigger slides that the girls weren't big enough to go on. We met up with friends there which was great because the 5 year olds could do their thing and the 3 year olds could do what they wanted (which was not often the same thing). Heather was a big fan of the slides at the spray part and then moved on to the bigger slides with dad and seemed to have a lot of fun there as well. Charlie really seemed to like the beach/pool area at the end and the spray part with little slides at the beginning. He got really tired and kind of petered out but was not too grumpy about it. Then we went to dinner and headed for home. Now Jeff gets a little boy/single people time with some friends who will be leaving for Korea and Afghanistan. Unfortunately we dropped him off about 10:20 but that's still early when you're pretending to be young again (and with those that actually are)!!

almost the weekend

This week has been so crazy I can barely keep track of the day! Tuesday and Wednesday I had an extra 4 and 3 year old which kept us busy. We went bowling with friends yesterday and then to the park after. Charlie bowled a "smash"--his version of a strike (still knocking down all the pins at once!) and Heather tried a new style of putting her fingers in and launching the ball down the ramp. She bowled a 70with the bumpers so I guess it did OK. At the park Charlie got stung by a wasp which at first was not cool but then he cold show people how brave he was and let them see the little red dot.

Today we played around the house in the morning then went to meet up with friends for lunch after a quick trip to the post office and then K-Mart on the way home. We picked Charlie up some "extra thick" underwear as well as ones with plastic lining (those would sure motivate me to use the potty so I didn't have to wear them!!) to see if either of those will help finish off the task. Once home we rested a bit then went to dinner at "the club" as Charlie calls it and then to the pool to close the place down. Heather wasn't as great at swimming but still went off the diving board without a life jacket and tried to swim around the pool on her own. Charlie was more fearless than before and would launch himself at me or manage to get to jeff with a few breaths in between sinking. He did 5 up and downs (touch the bottom, push off, take a breath, repeat) which he was very proud of.

heather is braver than her mom!!

We went to the dermatologist today--Heather and I. It was hard to hear that she wanted to take the (i forget what she called it--it basically was a little blood balloon that formed probably as a result of some sort of scratch or sometihng) thing off and mentioned novicane, cutting, etc. that is the same as removing a mole. With the thing so close to Heather's eye I was very concerned about if she would sit still and the doctor assured me that she would have help holding her still and it would be fine--much easier than anesthesia or something of the like which they couldn't even do in her office. So on we forged, both Heather and mom stressing out a bit. heather did great. Less struggling than I expected and she was pretty relaxed about the whole thing. The doctor brought in the "holding team" to brace her head, arms, and legs, but I don't think the latter two had a lot to do. She sat pretty still and did scream when teh novicane was in (5 sec.) as we all want to when someone numbs us, but lay still with her eyes closed while the doctor did the removal and then pretty still while she did the burning thing that they do to close up the injury--except that it makes that buzzing sound when they do it so that was a bit scary--mostly for me who didn't get to close my eyes for fear of looking like a baby...after it was over Heather said taht it really only hurt for 5 seconds like the doctor said and commented on how brave she was (much more so than I was)!

Charlie's funny moment for the day was driving over to our friend's house for lunch charlie was asking about how fast we were going and if it was what the police man said to go. He commented that sometimes daddy (who got a ticket in OH) goes faster than the police man says and that, "daddy is not a good driver!" It was really funny :-). We have two friends over for the day and night and most of tomorrow so our house is full for the rest of the day!

off with the jacket

and for anyone who thought we actually wear jackets in MS in teh summer you must be crazy!! We're feeling the heat (although the last few days have been OK) and so we hit the pool. Luckily Jeff joined us and challenged Heather to some distance swimming the length of the pool. She really had fun doing that so she did the "swim test" to be able to go off the diving board without a life jacket. She propelled herself through the water (think of that friends episode where Pheobe runs "free" with her arms flailing all around and her legs going sideways but put it in the water) to pass the test. On to the diving board where after two jumps with jeff near the "landing spot" but not touching her she announced that she no longer needed help and did it without him too close (but close enough for my comfort). Now my pool trips will be much more stressful as I'm sure she will think she can do it on her own. Jeff taught Charlie a new game where he stands in the 3-4 foot (over his head) and bounces off the bottom of the pool, comes up for a breath and then does it again. So far he's made 3 touches with two breaths in between. He LOVED it! We came home for the kids to find two cucmbers that were almost a foot long each that had been hiding in the garden. Whew!!

Tomorrow Heather has to go to the dermatologist for a "Nevus Flammeus" according to our base doctor which has grown near her eye. It looks like a raised mole that is red rather than brown. We get to see tomorrow what they say about it. I'm sre it won't be a fun visit and Heather is already sure that it will hurt (which it definitely will if they take it off)

easy weekend-clean (er) house

Well we had big plans for the weekend including spray park, pool, and lots of fun but friday night (2:30 AM) Heather got sick and charlie woke up at the same time...with two calling for mom Jeff stepped in and handled the puker (he is soooo much better with that than I am--I'm likely to join the sick kid if I'm standing there trying to be comforting!!) and I got Charlie back to sleep. As a result we took it easy saturday, playing games and watching extra cartoons...Jeff cleaned the van and I worked on some of the house while the kids were relaxing. That afternoon Heather felt better so she and Charlie and Jeff played with the hose and in teh yard while Jeff cleaned out the Honda so we can sell it (sometime) soon. He also was so motivated to spray the whole outside of the house to try to counteract teh spiders which would like to be our new pets. After a movie the kids crashed and slept all night in their rooms--yes I realize that it should not be an accomplishment that at 5-3 they are doing that...

Today we worked on the kids rooms, well really Jeff and the kids worked on teh back while I bonded with laundry, dishes, sink, etc. The kids rooms are now pretty clean and they were very helpful with putting their stuff away and sorting through it. After naps and a grocery store run (me) we headed to the pool. Unfortunately our pool trips are getting shorter and shorter. This one ended when we got there and they blew the whistle for break before anyone could jump in. Five minutes later they cleared the adults out of the pool before clearing out the poop...then we were all told that it would be at least an hour before we could get in :-(. So our last 3 pool trips have probably totaled 15 minutes MAX in teh pool. It takes us almost twice that long to get ready to go...Back home the kids played in their pool and washed the car before coming in for dinner, a project from grandma's project box, "I remember grandma said whenever i'm bored I can just get a project out" piped out Heather...now Jeff's reading books and they're off to bed :-)

slow summer days

We had slow days yesterday and today. We took it easy in teh morning yesterday then met up with friends for lunch and pool. which turned into a quick dip for me and two jumps in for heather and charlie before a thunderstorm came through. we were waiting it out but then Heather said she wanted to leave. Turns out she wasn't just hot because it was hot outside but she also had a fever :-(. So we took it easy yesterday evening and all of today until Jeff got home and took the kids to the library. Despite not feeling well Heather and Charlie played really well together for most of the day. We played some games, Heather did some "reading" out of the first hooked on phonics book and has pretty well mastered the -at, -an, -ap, -ag, and whatever other -a- we covered so far. She gets so excited when she can figure words out. we're on to the -ig, -in, -it or whatever other ones come next...

charleston and the chicks have flown the coop

The rest of our charleston stay was great! We got to go to our friend Matt's new bar which seems to be doing really well. It looks good and he seems to be enjoying the new endeavor. We're also working on his blog but that's another story...the kids had a great time playing with Aidan, Matt and Alana and Kip. It was really nice that they all were willing to play with the kids and actually seem to enjoy the time with them. We spent part of Saturday and Sunday playing at the beach. Sunday and Monday Jeff and Heather got up early to look for shells which Heather really enjoyed.

We returned on Monday and have been taking it a little easy and enjoying pool time. Heather has suddenly been willing to put her face in the water and really make attempts to swim. She went 3/4 of the way across the pool and when Jeff helped her out she was mad that he let her get so far without help (but he said that she did great!!). She's really enjoyed playing with friends at the pool and now will spend as much time as allowed jumping off the diving board (with a lifejacket) and swimming for the side. Although Charlie always says that he doesn't want to go, as soon as we get there he wants to get right in. He likes to jump off the side (with or without a lifejacket) and will do it on his own with a lifejacket and does not want any help. He likes to play "tag" with jeff or try to swim to me before Jeff can get him.

The biggest news of the day happened when Jeff and Heather got back from the pool and said that our birds were trying to fly. We went out and watched the 5 chicks hop/fly across the yard to some undisclosed location. The mamma bird would fly out and give some encouragement and the babies would hop or fly to where she was. It was so cute and amazing that earlier when I peeked in on them they were just laying in the nest and had not even attempted to get out. They just grew up so fast :-) We hope they come back to the bird feeders that we have out to visit and remember the nice home we provided for a week or so.

playing in the sand

We are having a great time at the beach!!

Happy belated 4th of July

Well at the last minute (well for me the last minute) we decided to drive to Charleston, SC to see some college friends. Most of Weds and Thursday were spent trying to get ready to go, laundry, activities, food, etc. together. We left Thursday and drove part way, the rest of the way on Friday getting in around 2. We knew we were at the right place based on the line of 1 lane traffic to get onto the beach :-). We met up with our friends Kip (drove from TN), Matt and Alana, Andrew and Jeralyn and their kids for late lunch and to hang out for the afternoon. The kids had a great time with their new friend Aidan who is Heather's age. We swam in the pool for a bit then had dinner and walked (a small hike for the kids who did great) to the beach for fireworks. It was a laid back day and although the kids were wound up from being in the car for a long time they did pretty well.

we got pets (5!!)

Don't panic for those who think I'm crazy by the header. We don't REALLY have pets but I was rewarded for my chaotic back porch as well as an attempt to clean it for Jeff's office to come over for lunch. I took a box which I thought was just shells and put it in the shed. After the lunch I went to the shed to try to clean stuff out a bit and heard baby birds. I thought they were just in teh shed until I looked at the box and out of a hole in the side noticed straw/leaves in the "shell" box. I moved the box back to the table and saw that amongst the shells was a nest. After getting a flashlight and hearing the birds chirp I called for the kids and we looked at 5 open mouths that were waiting to be fed!! We left them alone and I kept an eye out for the mom and dad that had been hopping around the table every so often but I hadn't realized WHY they were there. Fortunately they returned and the kids are enjoying seeing them bring worms to their babies and hop into the box. They don't seem bothered that we look at their babies from time to time either. I'm not sure if this was a reward for NOT cleaning or FOR cleaning but it's pretty cool to have 5 baby birds as "pets" for the time being :-)