My first baby boy nursery...

After lots of hard work, it's such a fun reward for me to show you the nursery! Who knew that switching Ruby's gender neutral room, with the same bedding, and a few tweaks here and there would take so many hours to put together? But like I said...it was all worth it. Until he is old enough to begin destroying his room like kids eventually do...I shall walk past it and stop and stare and smile..because it is for sure the cutest room in the house!

Can you tell how tiny that little onesie is??

We'll be calling him Henry at first most likely...
but this is a four post hanger...perfect for Ruby and Hank too:)

Isn't it only fitting that his bedroom is the only one in the house with a view of our neighborhood cows? :)

My grandma rocked her five babies in this exact chair! When I had Daphne she had the wicker re-caned (sp?) and gave it to me as a gift. What a joy it will be for me to say I rocked all four of mine in it too!!

At my shower my cousin Jill's mom, Kathi blessed us with I think five pairs of the cutest baby boy shoes ever! With a few hand me down pairs and a couple other gifts, I think this son of mine has more shoes than his sisters did as an infant. Don't tell the girls!

I like to stare at this too...it probably won't stay so organized.

Jill, who is having her baby girl the very day before our baby is set to arrive...made this cute quilt for him and I!!! Can you believe my surprise that she was able to summon up the energy for such a labor of love?? Love you Jill!

The girls are already arranging his toys...Maisie was tickled that the horse was riding the duck!

Be still my heart....

Major Victory

Today Maisie and Daphne were scheduled to go to VBS. Maisie hasn't really been keen on the idea, but I was set on getting her there somehow. One of her bestest preschool friends would be in her group and I knew I wanted her to at least TRY it.

Well, last night she was in tears at the idea. And Daphne and I both woke up feeling really sick, so I easily gave up. She didn't want to go to begin with and if Daphne wouldn't be there, then forget it.

But then 15 min before VBS would be starting her and Ruby were busy playing and fighting over Henry's new car seat. She started to whine about the day and how she was going to be bored. So I just said, "Well, I'm probably going to be sitting in this chair all day, but you have the opportunity to go do something really FUN at VBS or make your own fun here." To my surprise she quickly decided she wanted to go!

We got ready in 10 minutes and were out the door. I was so tickled by her sudden change in enthusiasm. Of course once there it took some major mom encouragement and I had to stay awhile til she was able to let go of me. But with the promise of a trip to see Smurfs at the end of the week (if she goes all 4 days) ... we both had something to look forward to!

She did it! And I cried a lot of proud tears in the van on the way home. Maisie is really making huge strides this summer. Mike and I are over the moon about this little girl in our lives.

Too Lazy for Pictures

I always feel like blogging our life, but the step of downloading the pictures makes me procrastinate.

So here's an update on our life sin photos:( But someday I'll want to remember these trivial notes on Summer '11.

In no particular order...(I just love no one is grading me on my blogging compositions!!)

1. Cleaning the house is going really well - very slow - but it is getting done gradually. It is a shame that the cleaning I did in June will need re-cleaning by the time the baby comes! Seriously though, a few weeks ago I was feeling super anxious about the tasks and the limited time..but God intervened with a huge PEACE about it all. Plus He keeps sending angels my way out of the blue whom take the girls for a short amount of time here and there and that is how anything is getting done. Thank you most recently to Gpa Mike, Gma Julie, Beth, and the winner is definitely my hubby Mike!

2. To piggy back on #1, it really is tricky "nesting" when you have three kids and it's summer so none of them are in school. But the angels above and the supernatural peace I referred to, have allowed me to compartmentalize the preparations and the daily summer fun! We have been having numerous play dates, visits with family, and swimming/swimming/swimming at a local OUTDOOR pool we joined this summer. The best is when we finish and the local ice cream cart is sitting waiting for the kids. I live vicariously through them as they choose their artificial flavored treat.

3. On that note - my girls and I are TAN! Maisie has the cutest tan lines from her tankini...she wins the bronze award for sure. They are such water babies.

4. The girls and I set up the baby's crib the other day...we rocked out to our fun "It's My Party" cd with oldies like, "Rockin' Robin" and "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"...and accomplished our goal. The crib was cleaned and assembled and I seriously couldn't have done it without their help. I love including them this time.

5. On a frustrating note - we have mice in the garage and fleas in the house. First time EVER in this house...right before I give birth...seems unfair, right? I may have to ask Mike for an exterminator for my baby shower gift.

6. I'm sick of having to prick my finger twice a day for months on end now to check my blood sugar. I just wish I could eat what I want and enjoy all the sweets of the summer. Praying that I won't have to deal with it after the baby comes:(

7. Last but not least, a little guy named HENRY is on my mind. What shall his middle name be?

These are the ideas so far: Tate, Greer, Cook, McCall, Michael, James. Too bad we won't be having any more boys to use them all up!

Letters

I grew up with my parents ending certain conversations with one of these statements:

"I'm gonna write them a letter!"

"You oughta write them a letter..."

"I may just write them a letter..."

Those letters may have had the purpose of expressing frustrations or praise. I'm not sure how often they actually followed through with their intentions...but it still became ingrained in my brain.

Do you remember my post titled, "Just Shoot Me" ? You know...the one about how I returned video rentals to the wrong video rental store. Well, I was so frustrated with myself, but also so pleased with my blog version of the story...that I decided to ask for some grace.

I printed my blog post and added an explanation and plea, saying it was an innocent mistake and how I would be so pleased if they would remove any fees involved. I folded the letter and placed it in their return slot.

Then a month or so passed. I forgot about the letter.

We visited the above mentioned store on Friday evening and when I reached the check-out desk, she read a note on my account. It said that since I had gone to all that effort to write them, they had removed my late fees. Yay - it paid off! And don't you know I will rent from them again and again...so hopefully it paid off for them too. That is why I remain a local video store renter and not a netflix, cable, or red box user. I really am a dinosaur in that area...and I have a whole blog post composed in my head about that subject completely.

Well anyways, I made ground a little bit financially with my letter in that situation, but my pregnant brain continues to do damage. I received my first speeding ticket on my way to McCall a few weeks ago. So now I'm up 5 or 6 bucks at the video rental store and in the red 300.00 for speeding.

Maybe another letter is the remedy? Or maybe I'll just pay up and know I learned a good lesson.

Puddle

Today I walked into Mike's office to grab something and I found this sitting on his computer.



For many reasons today, this warmed my heart.

Joy in 3's

How much longer will I be able to dress them exactly alike? As I washed the girls' matching July 4th outfits tonight, it occurred to me that those days are probably numbered. Maybe one or two more years? And that's only because Daphne is so amicable.

This is the second year in a row that Pam has bought them matching attire for the 4th. Once again we started the evening's festivities with our favorite ice cream shop - "Ice Cream Alley". There's always a huge line that evening, so while Mike and Pam held our spot in the "queue" and Mike Sr held our spot lakeside, I took the girls for a little photo shoot.

And that is where my title comes into play...JOY. Pure joy, I tell ya. Those three girls in matching outfits, whom all LOVE to pose...my pregnant hormonal heart could have just burst. For a moment the fact that they can be demanding, whiny, and testers of my patience in daily life was forgotten and they were just my pride and joy. Not to mention that their outfits screamed patriotism and pure American summer fun...forget it for this sentimental soul.





















God Bless America and my three sweethearts!

S.L.O.W.I.N.G....down

How do you SLOW down when there's still so much to be done, and your kids and your social life is used to FAST...and yet..your body is saying STOP?!

I have SO much to blog about, and a few cute pictures to share...but mostly the pictures are in my head, because I haven't done a lot of permanent capturing. It's all in here (I'm pointing to my head and heart right now).

And yet I am really tired these days. I keep trying to tackle huge to do lists so that I can rest, but maybe that will never happen because I can't seem to get through the lists before a new list starts. But some things are behind me, like school days (for awhile), moms group (for awhile), and a recent big garage sale undertaking.ou

If I was brave enough I would ask everyone who was attending a baby shower for me, to instead come help me plow through piles here. BUT then again...please don't show up at my door, cause I never would honestly let you IN.

Mike and Daphne are gone for a week and I am doing the single parent show. I don't know how women out there do it - seriously! By the time we get to bed time, I can almost taste the freedom and it is so needed that I get really cranky. Although, I have suffered through crankiness in the late afternoon in hopes of wearing them out for an early bedtime - that rarely works here. Even yesterday they were BEAT, and I laid them down at 7pm..but don't think the last one retired til 8:15pm.

M got up to go potty, to fix her special tent (I was sitting in the hallway playing policewoman), get new books, and lastly to come downstairs, once she realized I was gone to say she was scared and I forgot her song. I was so frustrated that I snapped a lot and I'm not good at always keeping my thoughts in my head. I went up and sang the saddest fastest rendition of Amazing Grace (which felt horrible to ruin that song!) and then came downstairs.

Then GUILT...so I packed up my weary body one more time up the stairs to apologize and she was already asleep. So I woke her up and said, "I'm sorry I was so grumpy honey. I am just SO tired but it was wrong. I love you". She gave me a big neck hug and a sleepy, "That's okay mommy. Now I have to get my rest - I'm so tired". Those were her exact words.

And all was well in the world again.

I'm so glad my kids are so forgiving, because I'm not the mom I want to be right now.