Back from VA

We picked the boys up a day early from my parents because one little boy had gotten particularly homesick and needed his mama (Landon).

They are glad to be home, but had a blast in VA. And we are glad to have them back...although we both just stared at each other in disbelief of the madness of 2 wild boys trying to readjust being home and having rules and boundaries! We're all in a retraining phase this week.  :)

Weekly Update: 18 Weeks

At 18 weeks, baby girl is about 5.5 inches long and weighs almost 7 ounces. She is the size of a bell pepper.

I'm starting to feel her move more and more, and multiple times a day. They aren't just little flutters anymore...there are some full-out kicks and jabs. She doesn't seem as active as the boys were but that may prove to be different once I am further along.

No big changes since last week... still on NVP medicine and still have lower back pain and heartburn. I am hungry all the time (I'm trying to snack on good things like fruit but sometimes I just want a bag of potato chips). I am starting to notice that I am making more trips to the bathroom during the day (hence all the work bathroom selfies below) but only having to get up once at night. I am still an emotional wreck. I cry way to many times over things like TV shows (has SYTYCD been a little more emotional this season for any of you? No? Just me?), news articles, songs, anything...

Two weeks to go until I am at my half-way point!

Cool Aunt Angela

The boys spent yesterday and last night at my sister, Angela's house and I fear they will never want to come home!

The day got off to an interesting start as Landon had an allergic reaction to her cat (I didn't know he was allergic to cats!) - within 30 minutes of sitting with her long-haired Norwegian Forest cat, his eye became red, glassy, and swollen almost shut. He also began coughing and clearing his throat constantly. After putting the cat outside and giving Landon Zyrtec and eye drops, he was back to normal.

They went swimming and came back to check out Angela's boyfriend's police car and uniform. She sent me videos of them both saying "Pull over!" in the loudspeaker of the car. When I talked to Carter on the phone, he was very excited to tell me all about Jimmy's police uniform, including his "shiny badge."

They also got to sleep in a fort in the living room overnight.

Like I said, they are never going to want to leave Aunt Angela's house. She is SO COOL!

Vacation in Virginia

I dropped the boys off at my parent's house in VA on Sunday where they are staying the week. They've got a busy week planned and are getting to spend a lot of time with their cousins! My childhood church has VBS from 9:30-12 each morning and the boys are really enjoying that. My step-mom told me that Carter's teachers have told her that he's raising his hand and answering questions in his class. They've got plans to spend the night with my sister and head over to their pool one day. They are spending some time over at my brother's house as well. They've ridden the combine and golf cart and I'm sure getting seriously spoiled.

I did get a phone call at 10pm last night from my Daddy. He said that the boys were having a hard time going to sleep and wanted to talk to their mama. Their little voices are so sweet over the phone. I miss them terribly. I was really looking forward to this week...and am enjoying some aspects like not having to pack lunches, pack YMCA camp bags, bath time, taking kids to school/camp, etc. But I really miss them and miss not having them in the house. I actually miss the noise and the chaos. I miss being able to steal one more kiss from them as they lay sleeping in their bed at night.

Until I have my babies back, I will just have to savor the phone calls and pictures sent to me like this one...

Carter's Preschool Graduation

Carter graduated from preschool (although, technically he will still be going there until school starts the last week of August). They had everything set up on the back playground, but with an impending thunderstorm (there was thunder and some raindrops...that never amounted to anything more), the parents and staff quickly moved everything inside and crammed into a tiny classroom. But nonetheless, the Class of 2014 graduation luau carried on!

My step-mom, Rhina, and niece, Gracie, drove down from VA to watch my sweet boy march in in his cap and gown, get his diploma, and sing a few songs.

He was very proud of himself and did pretty good of staying true to his plan of "being very serious" on stage.  :)

Weekly Update: 17 Weeks

The baby has grown quite a bit over the past week. At 17 weeks, she is 5 inches long and weighs 5 ounces. That's 0.5 inch and 1.5 ounces since last week! She's the size of a turnip.

Theme of the week...HEARTBURN.  Every single night when I sit (upright) on the couch about an hour before bedtime, I get terrible heartburn. It doesn't matter what I eat or what I don't eat, I always get it. I pop some Tums, but usually go to bed with a burning chest. I'm just hoping the old wives' tales are true and this little girl will be born with a head of hair!

I've also had some lower back pain that shoots down the back of my legs, hip pain, and swelling that makes my feet hurt so bad (it's been HOT, y'all). It's been a rough week for me. I'm just kind of tired.

I had a regular OB check-up today and everything checked out fine after I FINALLY got in to see a doctor that I wasn't planning on seeing. After waiting an hour, they put me in with a different doctor so I could have my 10-minute check-up. Heartbeat was there and good. Weight gain was there...not sure if it was "good" - I'm not really keeping up with it this time around. Imma get fat. I gained 56 pounds with Landon and 50 with Carter. It's going to be a lot.

No picture this week...I'm too lazy, even for a selfie. But Carter's graduation post coming up tomorrow includes a picture of me at 17 weeks.

Until next week...

Bible Teachings

Carter (who cannot read), looking at a Bible last night:  "Mommy, it says right here...you should love your brother because I loved you."

Bam. I win at parenting.

Father's Day 2014

We started celebrating Daddy on Saturday night at church - fun pictures were made and all the dads were given bacon on their way out. What dad doesn't want bacon? And yes, my church gives out bacon for Father's Day. My church rocks. #HopeDadsRock

The boys and I let Daddy sleep in a little on Sunday morning, then snuck upstairs to wake him with breakfast in bed (cinnamon rolls and juice). The boys showered him with cards (homemade and store-bought that I let them pick out themselves...more on that in a minute), a lucky bamboo plant shaped into a heart, a coupon for 5 lawn care services (no grass cutting for 10 weeks!!!), and a Pokemon card deck that Landon made.

I let the boys each pick out a card from the store for Daddy. After trying to buy 2 granddad ones, I finally gave in to Carter's choice. The outside had two hamburgers on it. The inside read, "Nice buns." Yup. I read it to him. Explained what it meant and he insisted on getting it for Daddy. Then proceeded to run around all morning saying, "Happy buns!!!" Crazy Carter!

Then we headed over to my aunt's neighborhood pool for some swimming, pizza, and family time. (Salt water pools rock.)

We finished up the afternoon with a nap for Daddy, showers/baths and soccer for all, and a nice dinner at Neo-China where Carter ended up soaking soy sauce in lettuce because all of the dumplings were gone.

Breakfast, pool, nap, sports, dinner out - sounds like every Sunday in our house. But hopefully, Daddy felt especially loved and special on this Father's Day. He is our rock, our foundation, our center. And we love him so very much!

The Apple and the Tree

My aunt recently sent this picture of me in 2nd grade. What do you think? Can I claim Landon?

Weekly Update: 16 Weeks

The weeks are starting to fly by!

I am now 16 weeks pregnant. My princess is the size of an avocado (I'm looking at one right now and it's blowing my mind). She's 4.5 inches long from head to rump and weighs about 3.5 ounces. She's about to go through a growth spurt where she'll double in weight and add inches to her length.

I'm still on medicine for nausea and vomiting. It works wonders! I've started to get some pains shooting down my lower back and legs. And my legs and feet have been achy and tired lately too. Luckily, I have two boys that like to rub lavender lotion all over my legs and feet. But overall, feeling pretty good.

I've been able to feel her move about once a day for the past week. It's such a wonderful feeling! The boys are ready to feel her from the outside.

We're STILL contemplating a name. I'm ready to have that nailed down. I pulled all of my regular clothes out of my closet and drawers, packed them up, and replaced with maternity clothes. (Nesting, much?)

I have a regular OB checkup next week and my next ultrasound with the genetic OB in about a month. We're taking the boys to see their little sister on the big screen (they don't know yet - we're keeping it a surprise).

I haven't made any purchases (besides a cute wipe pouch) but my friend, Amy brings me a new girly outfit every time I see her.  :)

Until next week...

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

Landon is a worrier. He always has been so last night's conversation should not have come as a surprise to me. I don't know how we got on the topic (usually these conversations pop up out of the blue) but I'd like to do my best to recreate most of the conversation...

L: I don't know what college to go to. What colleges are there?
Me: Well...there's NC State. It's like North Carolina's version of Virginia Tech. And it's close to home.
L: I want to go to the college you went to.
Me: Well...I went to a college for girls only. But NC State is right across the street from Mommy's school.
L: But I don't know what kind of job I want to have.
Me: What do you think you'd like to do?
L: (starting to panic) I HAVE NO IDEA!
Me: Ok. Well you have plenty of time to figure it out. Like 14 years.
L: NO I DON'T. I have to know what I want to do before I can even pick a college.
Me: Ok, buddy. It's ok. We'll figure it all out. You like math and you're super good at it. How about a job where you have to use math.
L: Like what?
Me: (googles "jobs for people good at math") What about an accountant?
L: What do they do?
Me: They deal with money.
L: I DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH MONEY!
Me: What about a math teacher?
L: NO! I don't want to teach.
Me: Do you want to work with people or...
L: I want to work alone.
Me: Okaaaaaay. What about an engineer? You'd make a really good engineer. And NC State has a really good engineering program. You can design cool stuff. And I think they make good  money.
L: I don't want to be super rich. And I don't want to be poor. I just want to have enough money.
Me: Ok. (looks at google some more) Oooooh...what about an astronomer? They use math for cool space stuff.
L: WHAT? I DON'T EVEN LIKE TELESCOPES.
Me: Ok. (looks some more) OH! HOW ABOUT A METEOROLOGIST? Like Eric at the Y. You love weather.
L: (getting teary-eyed and extremely panicked) THEY HAVE TO TELL PEOPLE THE WEATHER. AND I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO DO THAT.
Me: Well, you'd learn how to. Or you wouldn't even have to tell people the weather. There are lots of jobs in meteorology that do other stuff. You could study earthquakes or tsunamis or the oceans or rocks.
L: Where would I learn to do that?
Me: Well, Eric went to NC State.
L: What? Do I have to go to NC State for everything?
Me: (stares)
L: I can't do that. Those aren't fun jobs.
Me: Ok. Well let me google fun jobs. (googles "fun jobs") Ok, the first one is a Ferrari instructor and that's just not feasible. Ok how about a pilot? Uncle Craig is a pilot.
L: WHAT?!?! AND CRASH INTO THE OCEAN? NO!
Me: Ok. How about a firefighter?
L: I AM NOT BURNING UP IN A FIRE.
Me: Buddy, we'll figure it out. You need to get through elementary school, then middle school, then high school. And as you start taking classes in middle and high school, you'll figure out what you like to do and what might be a good fit for you. You have plenty of time and we'll help you.
L: I'll be a janitor.
Me: What? You want to clean up people's pee and poop and maybe even puke?
L: They don't do that.
Me: Landon, janitors clean toilets.
L: Oh. I don't want to do that!
Me: We'll get it figured out, buddy. Don't worry so much. Let's think about everything you are doing this summer!
L: I NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT I'M GOING TO BE AND WHAT COLLEGE TO GO TO!!!
Me: We'll get it figured out, buddy. We'll get it figured out. Time for bed now.


May I remind you... he's only 8.

End of 2nd Grade

Tomorrow is Landon's last day of 2nd grade. He is looking forward to his summer of YMCA camp, the beach, a week in VA at Nannie & Papa's, and a week at the lake with his BF, Clark. Sounds like a fun summer! He did make sure to bring home lots of math workbooks though so he can have a little fun doing math during the summer (he did not get his love or ability of math from his mama).

Today, I visited his class for student-led conferences, where he showed me a sampling of his work from 2nd grade. They also had an in-class award ceremony where he was nominated "Most Charming" (#helpme). His teacher also read a list of things that his classmates had to say about him (you can read that below). Needless to say, I am most proud of my Prince Charming. Cute, smart, nice, helpful, and a good friend - I couldn't ask for more.

I loved sitting and talking to him and his friends. It's so fun to see him in his element. And what a wonderful 2nd grade teacher - Mrs. Hall.  It's been a great year!

Independence

My boys are growing up. They no longer want to go with Mommy into the ladies' room when we're out and about. (And honestly, Landon is probably getting a little too old to come in.) So when I am alone with them, I grit my teeth and allow Landon or (gasp) both of them to go into the mens' room alone. I impatiently stand outside of the door waiting, waiting, waiting. And listening very intently. And watching the men that walk in there like a hawk giving them a look like I KNOW WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE AND I WILL TEAR YOU APART LIKE A LIONESS. Their instructions are: (1) Do not talk to anyone (except each other). (2) Do not look at anyone (except each other). (3) If anyone tries to touch you, scream to the top of your lungs. (4) Help your brother with soap, towels, etc., Landon. This includes small restrooms like at ChickFilA, but also larger ones like at the mall.


So I stand there, with a racing heart, waiting for my world to be right again...both of my birds under this mama's wing.

Girly Stuff

Every time you see your best friend and she gives you stuff like this, it's hard not to be excited about having a girl.

Too Many Girlfriends

Landon's teacher sends home a weekly update with any grades from the past week, a report on conduct and work habits, and any other notes that she'd like to send home. Landon's always has great grades and "talkative" marked (the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree).

We received our final weekly update this week and I saw this note:

::sigh::  Lord, help me.

Weekly Update: 15 Weeks

I celebrated my 35th birthday yesterday, so I guess now I am officially of "advanced maternal age." Blah. Blah. Blah.

At 15 weeks, this little girl (it's growing on me more and more every day) is about 4 inches long and weighs approximately 2.5 ounces. That's the size of an apple!

I am still craving salt like nobody's business and it's starting to catch up with me a little bit. I had my first experience with swollen feet last Tuesday night (granted...I had eaten 4 pickle spears and drank about 2 cups of pickle juice that afternoon - bad idea, btw).

I am starting to get antsy about choosing a name. Christopher and I have a short list but just haven't been able to commit to anything yet. And he can tell you...it's driving me nuts!

I am really enjoying this pregnancy (with the help of medicine for NVP) and trying to savor each little moment and milestone.

Birthday Wish

My only birthday wish is that I can be as cool as this kid...

Landon VS Wool E. Bull

Christopher's employer, Bayer Crop Science, sponsored last Saturday night's Durham Bulls game (a local MiLB team) and thus, we scored 4 free tickets and awesome Bulls baseball caps. Our seats were at the wall in right field and we yelled like crazies for all of the lefties to hit a ball to us (we didn't catch any...come to think of it, I don't think any came our way the entire game). However, Landon did get to run the bases in a competition against their mascot, Wool E. Bull at the end of the 1st inning. My baby - out there on the field with all of the players and stadium rooting him on, his name over the loud speaker, and all captured on the big screen. Obviously, it was an awesome experience for him, but his mama was pretty dang excited. He made Wool E. Bull work as he rounded those bases pretty fast, but ultimately crossed the home plate first (thanks to the short stop who tripped Wool E.). What a great night followed by some late night discovering at The American Tobacco Campus in Durham.