7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 5)

--1--

It's been a weird -- and itchy -- week. Jonathan and I woke up Tuesday morning covered in an extremely itchy rash. My first thought was that we had a reaction to something we ate. But, I couldn't think of a single thing out of the ordinary that we had eaten in the last day or so. The rash continued to spread throughout the day so I called and got Jonathan an appointment with the pediatrician and I was already scheduled for an appointment with my OB for the next day. Both the pediatrician and the OB made the same diagnosis; Jonathan picked up poison oak on a cub scout nature hike over the weekend and transferred it to me. But, that diagnosis didn't sit completely right with me. My rash was actually worse than Jonathan's and it was all over me, like I had rolled in the stuff instead of just picking it up second hand through casual contact. The next morning (Thursday) the pediatrician called to say that Jonathan's strep culture had come back positive. So, it turns out that both of us have strep (not poison oak) and the only symptom is the itchy rash! Weird.

So, just be aware that strep can present itself in strange ways. I also remember that the daughter of a friend had strep a while back and her only symptom was a stomachache. You just never know.

--2--

My kids go back to school in less than two weeks. Texas has a law that public schools cannot begin classes until a week before Labor Day, but that doesn't apply to private schools. Our school seems to beginning early than any of the other private schools (August 13th). But we also will be done in May and I really appreciate the extra time we get off around Easter.

How do you homeschooling moms decide when to start up school again?

--3--

We had a wonderful family vacation at a Texas lake last week. Most of Eric's side of the family was there and we were even blessed with a break from the sweltering heat we have been having this summer. It was a very simple vacation; no major events were planned, we cooked all our own meals and it wasn't very expensive. Still, I am so thankful that we are able to do it. We very rarely had vacations when I was a kid growing up. If we did travel, it was usually to see family. But, for a long time money was very tight and even the trips to see family stopped (all of our family was far away in Nebraska and Colorado). So, I really appreciate even these simple vacation experiences that we are able to give our kids.

--4--

If your looking for a good movie for you and your hubby to enjoy one evening, I would recommend Bottle Shock. Some of my favorite actors are in it (Bill Pullman and Alan Rickman), it's based on a true story (but isn't cheesy) and both Eric and I enjoyed it. It can be so hard sometimes to find a movie that both the husband and wife like, so I thought I'd pass on this recommendation!

--5--

According to my allergist, about a third of pregnant women have their allergy symptoms improve during pregnancy, a third stay about the same and a third get worse. Unfortunately, I am in the later group. I have to say, some times I am amazed at the copious amounts of snot that my nose is able to produce. Seriously, if scientists could come up with a way to use snot as a fuel source, I'd be a billionaire and would be able to power at least half of the Houston metroplex.

--6--

I apologize for #5!

--7--

My 20 week ultrasound is scheduled for August 19th. Will we find out the sex of the baby? I don't know. I guess you'll have to check back in and find out! :)

Make sure you click over the Conversion Diary where Jen is hosting 7 Quick Takes Friday!

A very different pregnancy

This pregnancy has been very different than any of the others. I'm not just talking about how I feel physically this time around, which has been a daily adventure, but my mental state has also been very different. I was trying to articulate the difference to Eric the other day when I said, "I completely aware that I'm pregnant, but I seem to forget that I'm having a baby."

Does that make any sense at all? I think life has been so insanely busy lately that I've hardly had the opportunity to relish the idea of a new baby. I can recite the litany of pregnancy symptoms that I have been dealing with, but I have barely given a moment's thought to names or godparents or what it will be like to hold a newborn once again. I feel guilty because I often forget that there is a child, a living soul, residing in my belly. In previous pregnancies, I was much more aware of the life growing within me (I'm now almost 17 weeks along).

I hope that these feelings will change soon. I'm now feeling Button move, which is a wonderful reminder of the baby in my belly. Also, I'm beginning to look forward to school starting again and our lives falling into more of a routine. I don't think we'll be any less busy, in fact as meetings and organizations begin again we will get even busier, but there will once again be a predictable rhythm to our days. I'll be able to look forward to quiet times in my day where I can think and plan, anticipate and pray. I think I just need to a little time to myself so that I can fall in love with this precious, new baby.

The House

Here are the long promised pictures of our new house in all it's cluttered, recently moved-in, still unpacking glory. Let me take you on a tour.

Here's the living room. There is no carpet on the first floor; it's all laminate and tile. The wall with the fire place was painted with a very dark brown faux finish. I think the previous owners must have paid a professional to paint it, there was at least four different colors used and one of them was metallic. I felt a little guilty covering it up, but the fact is that I hated it. To me it looked like someone smeared poop all over the walls (sorry for the graphic description!) and it made the whole house feel very dark. I opted for a soft creamy color instead. It's much lighter, brighter and more soothing.


If you ever want a very clear picture of just how messy a room is, try shooting it from above. Eeek!


This is the breakfast room. It also was painted the faux poop brown. I painted it a pale sage green. Except, I think it turned out too pale, you can hardly tell there is any color at all. I think we may repaint it a slightly darker shade.


Here's the kitchen, also formerly poop brown. With the dark cabinets, counter tops and flooring, it felt like a cave.


It's now the same color as the breakfast room. The cabinets are very nice custom cabinets, 42" high in a cherry finish. They are beautiful! But, honestly, if I could have my way I would paint them white. I know, I know, to paint such cabinets would almost be a sacriledge and Eric has already vetoed the idea. But, I just love light, bright kitchens! It will take me awhile to get used to all the dark.


Here's the dining room that will serve as our office. It was a dark green with some kind of purple glaze sponged over it (yuck!). They even had the trim painted black! This room isn't finished being painted yet, but it's now the same creamy yellow as the living room.


Here's the master bedroom. It's in need of some decorating TLC, but I love this room. It's hard to tell, but there is actually a window seat. Sweet!


This is Elizabeth's room, her very first room of her own. For her birthday (which was the day we moved) she got new bedding and we painted her room first (it was a little boy's room with red and blue verical stripes). When I finally buy a rod, there will be curtains at the window and hopefully soon we'll find something to put on the walls.


Here's the boys' room. It's hard to tell from the picture, but it is actually very large. I plan to paint the walls a pale blue.


This room will remain a guest room even after Button's arrival. As you can tell, it used to be a little girl's room. I can't imagine how much time it took to paint all those dots! It's very cute, but way too much for me. I haven't decided on a color for this room yet but it will be a light, soothing tone.


This is the game room (I must say, it is awesome to have a game room!) There is a faux finish in puke brown (not much better than the poop brown that was downstairs) on the walls and I think I'm leaning toward a pale blue in this room, too.


On to the outside. Here's the awesome porch I mentioned. Even in the extreme heat of this summer, we've enjoyed sitting out there first thing in the morning and when the sun is setting. It's so peaceful!


Here's the entire front of the house including the scraggliest, most pathetic tree ever. Eric has spent hours researching trees and which type would be best for shade trees in our area. This house is completely lacking is shade and we hope to plant some new trees in both the front and back yards in the fall.


Here's the kids' favorite feature of the house. The previous owners left this awesome playset in the backyard for us. They play on it every day!


Here's the one little vegetable bed that we've made so far. I picture 4 to 6 of these lined up on this side of the yard eventually. With all the sun our west-facing backyard gets, I can't wait to see what kind of vegetables we can grow!


I have to say again how very blessed we are to have this house. Our old house sold so quickly because it's in a niche market of houses that are moving right now (small, one story starter homes). And, because the rest of the housing market is depressed, we got an incredible deal on this new house. I never thought we would be able to afford a home this big and nice. I am still in awe at everything that has happened in the last three months!

I hope you enjoyed the tour. Could you answer one question for me though? Would it really be that horrible to paint the kitchen cabinets? Just curious.

7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 4)

--1--

I'm working on getting pictures of the house for you all. I go to start taking pics, but I can't make myself do it when there is clutter everywhere, even though it will be more honest to do so. I'll get them soon. Either I'll get the house picked up or I'll just swallow my pride. :)

--2--

Speaking of taking pictures, we've been so busy for the last two or three months that I've hardly picked up my camera. I've really missed my photography hobby. I posted a picture on my flickr account for the first time in a long time today. It felt really good.

--3--

One of our first tasks once we got all moved in was to build a small vegetable bed. We moved out just before our old garden started producing and we really want to try to get a small garden going for the second half of the summer. We've only planted one thing so far: basil. We have fallen in love with fresh basil and use it in a bunch of different recipes. I also found a recipe for freezing pesto (you have to blanch it before freezing otherwise the basil will turn black) and then we get to enjoy it throughout the winter months. Even the frozen pesto is far superior to store bought and it is much, much cheaper.

--4--

My pregnancy nausea is completely gone now and the first trimester fatigue is even beginning to fade. I feel like my brain is emerging from a three month long fog. I've been more productive in the last two days than I have been in weeks!

--5--

We love Jelly Telly! It's a website created by Phil Vischer (the founder of Veggie Tales) and everyday has a new 30 minute Christian based video. It's humorous, educational, inspirational and a great occupier of kids while mom tries to get a little housework done. My kids sing the songs all day long and they can now even recite the books of the Old Testament in order all the was up to Chronicles. Check it out!

--6--

I love two year olds! They are so cute, are learning so fast and are constantly coming up with something new. I'm enjoying Gustin so much right now! When Elizabeth was two, I was pregnant with Gustin and extremely sick and, unfortunately, I don't remember much of her two year old shananigans. I'm loving every minute of it this time around!

--7--

I thought I would be sad leaving our old home. All three of our kids were born while we lived there and we made so many memories. When we left it for the last time, we gathered as a family and Eric led us in a short prayer of thanksgiving for that house, for all our blessings and for the new family who will be living there next. It's a wonderful memory that I will cherish. But, I wasn't all that sad. It's hard to be sad about things we're leaving behind when we have so many wonderful things to look forward to. We have a fantastic new home and another baby on the way. God is so very good.

Whew!

Well, we made it. We're all moved into our new house, and thanks to our wonderful extended family, half of it has been repainted and we're mostly unpacked.

I thank God everyday for this house. Not only are we so much closer to school, church and Eric's work, the house is also much bigger and has so many amazing features that I love. For instance, this morning it rained (so desperately needed, we haven't seen rain in months!) and the kids and I sat outside and watched the rain from our front porch. Yes, a front porch! I've always wanted and nice big front porch and now I have one and it is so completely awesome!

I could go on and on about our amazing new house and how greatly God has blessed us, but the truth is that there is still so much to do and there's not much time for blogging. This morning I've been on a mission to track down my kitchen wall clock, envelopes, my recipes and our family portrait so I can get it hung over the mantle. So far I'm 0 for 4. Time to go dive back into the boxes!

We're moving in four days...

... and the house is maybe 35% packed. Eric says were at least 50% done but I think that is being very generous. And, about two days ago my nausea stopped almost completely. Praise the Lord! Now it's time to really get to work.

Next time I post it will be from our new house. Yippee!

Good news

I had a follow up ultrasound today and everything looked perfectly normal! No more bleeding behind the placenta and Button looks like every baby at this stage, basically like a large gummy bear.

Thank you all so much for your prayers! It's such a blessing to have such great bloggy friends!

Too quiet around here

The kids are at their grandparents house this week - all three of them. I've been getting a lot of things done this week: packing, birthday present and maternity clothes shopping, errand running, etc. Eric and I even went out on a couple of dates and caught a movie (Star Trek, I thought it was awesome!). It's been a really nice break and very relaxing.

But, it is way to quiet around here! I really miss my kiddos, especially Gustin. It's so much harder to separate from the little ones. But, very uncharacteristically, the kids have actually been talking to us on the phone when we call, which helps, and I'm going to pick them up tomorrow. I really can't wait to have them back home!

So, we have one more night of freedom tonight. Eric and I have big plans, which will probably include falling asleep in front of the television while watching the basketball playoff game. We sure know how to live it up!

On diapers and duct tape

Gustin does not like to keep his diaper on. He's very adept at removing his clothes and then his diaper and running through the house naked. It's been an ongoing battle for months now.

At first I thought he might be ready to potty train. So, every time he pulled off his diaper, I'd sit him on the pot and encourage him to go. He'd happily sit there, not go and then hop off, happily flush the toilet and go streaking through the house again. We've tried this over and over again, but he could just care less about potty training. He just wants to run around all day in the buff.

But, the accidents have become a problem, especially on our brand new carpet. I've changed my methods now and instead of focusing on encouraging potty training, I'm doing my best to get his diaper back on him as quickly as possible to avoid accidents.

Gustin is a very sneaky and persistent little guy, though. He will not give up! And, he's added a new feature to his shenanigans. Every night after we put him to bed, he pulls off his pajamas and his diaper and ends up falling asleep with a bare bottom. So, when he wakes up in the morning he and his sheets are soaked. Desperate to end this cycle, Eric taped Gustin's diaper on him last night with that blue painters tape. I think he went around the entire diaper with tape at least two or three times. This morning when I went to get Gustin, there was no sign of his diaper, he was again naked and the sheets were drenched.

Tonight I think we'll pull out the big guns. We're going for the duct tape. I may have to cut his diaper off of him in the morning, but I'm determined to keep his diaper on him through the night!

An update

We are still very busy around here. We have a contract on a new house (that I love!) and have been doing inspections, etc and we're starting to pack for the move at the end of the month. This entire house selling/buying process has gone so smoothly that I know God's hand must be in it. I am continuously amazed at how perfectly everything is working out. We are so thankful for everyone who has been praying for us!

I had another OB appointment yesterday with an ultrasound. I guess an early ultrasound is standard practice these days. Button looks healthy but something did show up on the ultrasound. There was some bleeding behind the placenta. My doctor said it is common and usually is not a problem but it could also be a sign of a threatened miscarriage. I'm supposed to go back for another ultrasound in two weeks and I'm supposed to take it easy in the mean time.

I know I've asked for a lot of prayers lately, but would you please continue to pray for Button and for a healthy pregnancy? I'm trying not to worry about it and leave it all in God's hands, but it's hard.

On the nausea front, I've actually been feeling a little better the last couple of days. Normally that would be very exciting, but with the threat of a miscarriage, it makes me wonder if it's a sign that something is going wrong. My pregnancy symptoms are not gone (which I know would be a bad sign) but the nausea is less. Is it possible for morning sickness to go away before the 12 week mark (I'm at 8 1/2 weeks now)? In my last two pregnancies, morning sickness lasted until 19 and 22 weeks, respectively. Of course, it was much more severe during those pregnancies as well.

If anyone could share stories of their own personal experiences with morning sickness, I would appreciate it. I just want to know that what I'm feeling is normal!

Thank you!

Hopeful

I had my first prenatal appointment this week. My doctor tries to be understanding, but I think he really thinks NFP using Catholics are a bit loony. We got into a discussion on the theology of the Catholic position on contraception. I wish I had been more articulate, but I don't think anything I could have said in a 5 minute conversation would have done much to change his mind anyway. It was an interesting discussion, though.

While talking to him I mentioned that in my last pregnancy I was extremely ill and that so far this time I only had some relatively mild nausea. I was waiting for him to give me some assurance that that was a good sign but all he said was, "Oh, but it's still early." Gee, thanks.

But, I'm still hopeful. I've had symptoms for a week and it hasn't been too bad. I'm taking that as a very good sign.

However, the fact that my pants are already getting tight when I'm only 7 weeks along is not such a good sign. :)

We sold our house!

I think St. Joseph was working overtime! Thank you all for your prayers! It was on the market for only 12 days. I'm so thankful that we won't have to keep a perfect house anymore and no more dinner time showings. We still have to get through inspections, etc and will probably close at the end of June. Next we're switching into looking mode. I hope we can find a great house in our price range as quickly as we sold this one!

In other news, so far my nausea has been relatively mild. No vomiting or dry heaves and I've been able to function almost completely like normal. I so hope it continues this way! I can't remember exactly, but I think I was sicker than this at the same point during my pregnancy with Gustin. Thanks again for all your prayers! You guys sure are effective prayer warriors!

One more thing. I don't know if I've mentioned it before on this blog or not, but we always nickname our babies while they are in the womb. Jonathan was Young'un, Elizabeth was Squirt and Gustin was Peanut. Within minutes of finding out we were pregnant, Eric named this one Button. I guess now I have a new belly Button. :)

An announcement and a prayer request... or two

We have a lot going on right now. Having the house on the market is a full time job. I have it "show" ready by 9:00 in the morning and then each time we leave the house throughout the day, I have to make sure everything is perfect in case someone comes by while we are out. So far, the response to our house has been good. We've had a showing or two almost every single day and we even got an offer. But, the couple changed their minds because our house is a little too far out from the city for them. Still, I see it as a good sign.

The decision and the preparation to sell our house all went very fast. But, we prayed about it and felt confident that this is the path that God is leading us down at this time. There were so many reasons to sell now rather than a year or two from now. One of those reasons was that I wasn't pregnant yet. So, I bet you now know what the announcement is that I referred to in the title. Yep, I'm pregnant! We found out a little over a week ago, one day before we put the house on the market. We are very excited about this baby!

But, I'm also rather scared. I've mentioned before that in my last pregnancy I got very sick. As in about as sick as it is possible to get. I was so sick that I was unable to function in any capacity.

Yesterday the first twinges of nausea began. If it progresses like last time, it will continue to get worse everyday until it gets completely unbearable in about two weeks. My one hope lies in the fact that this time we will be able to afford the expensive nausea medication. I so hope it works! With Gustin we could only afford the cheap medication and it only helped minimally.

So, will you please pray for me, my health and the health of the baby? Also, please pray that we sell this house very quickly. I don't know how much longer I will be able to keep up with the work involved with having the house on the market. Also, Eric and I are supposed to do a talk for a married couples group at church a week from this Friday. The thought of speaking terrifies me but I also really want to do this talk (we'll be relating the story of Eric's conversion and how it affected our relationship with each other, God and our marriage). Please pray that I am well enough to speak.

Thank you in advance for your prayers,

Sorry for the lack of posts

Don't worry, I still exist! We've been super busy around here and it's getting busier. We just decided to sell our house (yes, in this economy we must be crazy!) so we can move closer to the kids' school (about a 30 min drive away). Hopefully, everything will go smoothly.

Here's a (slightly) interesting story about our decision to sell our house. We had been talking about the idea for a little while and finally decided to meet with a realtor to find out what price we could expect, how long it would take to sell, etc. We figured we would make a decision based on what the realtor said that day. So, somewhere on the blogosphere I stumbled on the novena to St. Joseph that was to begin the day we were to meet with the realtor (the same day we were going to make our final decision on selling) and end on 9 days later on his feast day (May 1st). Well, we took it as a good sign that the saint famous for helping people sell their house seemed to already be working for us! We met with the realtor and began the novena as a family the same day. It was a beautiful nine days praying together as a family excited about a common goal.

By the way, what is the deal with burying a statue of St. Joseph to help sell your house? I've heard people talk about it and how it works miracles but not much more. Can someone fill me in on the details?

Happy Valentine's Day all!

Elizabeth and I made chocolate cake for Eric while still in our bathrobes. Fun stuff!


I hope you all have a blessed day with your families!

AWOL

So sorry that I haven't been posting much lately. Life has been changing and my blogging is having to change along with it. Some of the changes are very good, like my new photography hobby that has been so enriching. And, some of the changes are just part of life as a wife and mother of three growing kids. Extracurricular activities and Eric working lots of overtime lately have upset my normal routines.

But, I will continue blogging. It may be sporadic for awhile, so please bear with me. Blogging will find a place again in my life and in the mean time I am continuing to read all of the blogs of all my wonderful friends. Thanks for sticking with me!

A day at the beach

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, so after church we packed up the kids and headed to the beach for the afternoon. It was sunny and temperatures were in the 70s. What a fun day!

I took my camera (of course!) and took over 700 pictures. 700! I was shooting like a mad woman! At least I was until I made the mistake of switching lenses while on the beach - a very bad decision - and I got dust inside my camera. I will never make that mistake again! Now I have to go research how to clean it properly.

But, we did have an absolutely marvelous time. This is really a great time of year on the beach. It wasn't too busy, parking was easy and shells were plentiful. Galveston still has to a long was to go to recover from Ike. Some businesses are completely repaired and look untouched, but next door there will be a huge sailboat marooned in the parking lot far from any water. It's a very odd sight.

I'm sure more pictures will come soon!

7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 3)

Jen at Conversion Diary is hosting 7 Quick Takes Friday. Make sure you go and check it out!

---1---

This post was supposed to be for last Friday's 7 Quick Takes. It's taken me over a week to finish it (I started on January 5th!). So, just pretend it is Friday, January 9th and it will all make sense.

---2---

Jonathan was back in school this week after the Christmas break. We got up early Monday morning and I stumbled through the morning routine. My how quickly our bodies forget how to wake up before dawn! Eric took Jonathan to school, as usual, and about 20 minutes after they left I got a call from him.

"Are you sure Jonathan has school today?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Well, no one is here."

Oops. My bad. School didn't actually start until Tuesday.

--3--

Since Jonathan didn't have school on Monday, I had all three kids with me for my weekly grocery store trip, and things went pretty well. Jonathan helped me retrieve things from my list and Elizabeth and Gustin sat fairly contently in the cart.

At the end when we were checking out I noticed an older lady waving to me and rushing our way.

"There's a baby with no shoes!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "I bet these are his."

And, in her hands she held Gustin's shoes.

"I found these all the way over there," she said, indicating the far corner of the store.

What a sweetheart! She found the shoes on the floor and then searched the entire store until she found who they belonged to. I never even realized that they weren't on Gustin's feet! I must have a grocery store guardian angel. Doesn't it just make your day when you are the beneficiary of an unexpected kindness from a stranger?

Note to self: Never again buy velcro tennis shoes for a one year old. They are easy to put on, but are also way too easy to take off.

--4--

Eric worked late several days this past week. And I mean really late. Like he crawled in bed long after I went to sleep. And, you know what. I didn't whine about it. Not even once. I'm making progress!

--5--

Gustin got this cool new tricycle for Christmas. What he doesn't know, though, is that it was really a gift for me. With the cool handle, I don't have to bend over to push him around on his trike. I can even steer it by turning my handles. Isn't that cool!?! It absolutely rocks! No more back aches for me!

--6--

I received my first pair of capri pants over Christmas. I'm probably the only mom in the world to have never owned a pair.

I have to admit, I've never really understood capri pants. I'm a shorts girl. I'm most comfortable in them. At least when it's hot I am, which is about 9 months out of the year around here. If I'm not wearing shorts it's probably because a) it's cold or b) I haven't shaved my legs. In either case, I want my legs completely covered and capris just don't do that.

So, what do I think of my first pair? Well, I had to shave my legs to wear them and it's January so the bottom half of my legs were cold. I'll have to revisit them in the summer time and see if I like them any better.

--7--

I love my reusable grocery store sacks! I finally bought some and they function so much better than the plastic bags. They can fit about 15 plastic bags worth of groceries in 5 of the reusable ones, they're easier to carry, they don't rip and I don't end of with gobs of plastic bags all over my house. There is just one hiccup, though: remembering to take the reusable bags into the store with me in the first place. So far, I remember only about 20% of the time. Someone needs to invent a device that automatically beams the bags from my house to the grocery store because relying on my fuzzy mommy brain just isn't working.


Done! Whew, I did it! Hopefully, my next 7 Quick Takes will be a little more prompt!

I will post here again soon, I promise

I've actually been working on my 7 quick takes for 7 Quick Takes Friday for the last week and I'm still not done! I'm trying to be a good blogger. I will get a post done...eventually. Don't give up on me!

Picture of the Day: The wonder of a child

I love his reflection in the window.