mood swings...

so last week the kiddos started school. there were a few tears on tuesday from gus. on wednesday the entire family took both cats to the vet...and while walking into petsmart with them tallulah broke out of her busted up kennel (being held together by bungee cords) and took off running in a huge, super busy target/tjmaxx/ross/petsmart parking lot. on thursday gusgus was super sad when i left him at school.

and me? zero emotion. like woman of steel. like not a tear shed at preschool last week. not even with a sobbing gusgus clinging to my leg. after tallulah took off i let out a loud, inappropriate for the audience "sh*t!", but then i was seriously waving my cat of 8+ years good-bye. i mean really. if clay hadn't been there & super fast to react, what was this gigantically pregnant mama with 2 preschoolers in tow with another cat gonna do? run & catch her? i don't think so. i even went so far as to think, "so this is the end, huh. at the parking lot of the vet...where we are attempting to keep her healthy & fulfill our pet owner responsibility."

the kids survived. g was even sent home with a note that had the happy box checked under 'mood'. tallulah survived too. luckily my rockstar super fit, fast, runner husband caught her. in the 105 degree heat, i might add. in a parking lot. he must really love me.

then, all of the sudden today, the weepy me is back. a girl in luci's 4 year old class was near hysterics today when we dropped luci off. she looks a bit like my friends daughter, so i think maybe that is why it got to me. i was nearly in tears walking out of the preschool today. for someone else's child. under circumstances i know nothing about.

and it was a looooonnnngggg afternoon. the kids were bonkers. clay has his big annual proficiency check the next two days. he was studying and i was trying to keep the kids calm. ha (i'll be writing a 'worse than a blizzard post' tomorrow, i think). after dinner they were beating each other up and i decided it was time to rotate to the playroom until bedtime. the lu put on her cinderella ball gown & gloves (for the gala, obviously), and twirled around. then she picked up a phone. and told me to call her prince. and i pretended to talk to him (asked him his name, how old he was, and would he wait 20 or so years please before taking my daughter) and this suddenly weepy mama was at it again. watching my pea twirl around, thinking about her really meeting her prince someday. and suddenly i'm sobbing & lu is looking at me wondering what alien has taken her mama away and yet i just keep sobbing. 'why are you talking that way mama?' ugh, just cause i love you so, so very much my lu.

so consider yourself on notice family & friends...my moods are a-swinging!

so i didn't post last night.

instead, i stayed up until midnight finishing projects around the house i'd started and left 85% complete. i had attempted a very ambitious stencil project above the fireplace mantel...i'd finished the 'easy part' and it was quite sloppy looking & had been anything but easy. so last night i stayed up & just painted the whole thing one solid color. and i like it well enough. and i love that it is done.

so...i was exhausted today. and it was literally 107 degrees outside....i'm not even talking heat index (109, in case you are interested). so i did.not.step.a.single.foot.outside today. except to feed & water my super hot fat cat.

so anyway. i'll leave you with a few old photos i've just uploaded from my phone. cuz i decided to do that today while lying on the playroom floor watching my kiddos play with every.single.toy.in.the.room.

this one is actually from a few days ago. luci's friend allie eats whole apples (per the lu), so lu is on a whole apple kick. and you can guess who else wanted 'myyyne ayy-pple' then.

me & the lu...this one must be pretty old i think...it looks like a winter top.

and my face has that 'i've been running' look...not that 'i'm pregnant' look.

finding out there was to be another :)

i'm 28 weeks almost, so this would be from about 26 weeks ago.

the lil lu details

see, part of the problem is that i'm using my old work computer now, as our old personal laptop is a quickly sinking ship. and this laptop doesn't have a photo card thingy. so i have to use clay's new desktop to do photos. which, as we all have gathered, doesn't happen all that often.

so i'm making a pledge to post everyday, even if it is just a short blurb. cause i'll forget all the funny lil details of life that i absolutely LOVE going back & reading from prior years if i don't get them down.

so without further ado...i present the lil lu details...

-background: lu was curious about the little lever on the sink faucet that makes the drain plug, so i had explained how one could use that to 'make the sink a bowl'. she also was curious about the two handles for the faucet (one has a red circle for hot on it, the other blue for cold), as our old house had the one handle that you just pulled straight up. funny lu details: i find her last week drinking water out of the sink she had 'made into a bowl' with a straw. when i asked her what she was doing she excitedly told me that she was 'mixing colors! red & blue make warm!'

-she's been wearing regular panties to bed now for almost two weeks with ZERO accidents.

-she's started hitting herself in the head or pulling her hair when she is frustrated :( we encourage hugging of stuffed animals instead (per the pedi) but she seems to prefer inflicting physical pain on herself.

-she picks out every piece of her outfit, every day. rarely do they match. but that is okay.

-for the first time since she could barely walk she's not taking gymnastics. just dance this year. and she seems just fine with it. she 'practices' dance for at least an hour a day.

-she loves her some friends, but things can go downhill quickly. the 4 year old set has an amazing level of drama. her besties are allie, clara, keeley, & margeaux.

-she's super into my little pony right now. we have to play my little pony every.day.

-she loves her lil brother, but she loves him most when he does exactly what she wants him to do. which is happening less & less these days...

-she sleeps from 8pish to 6:30aish on average i'd say. many days it feels like less, and very few days it feels like more.

-she's finally into bows, braids & headbands. that she picks out, of course.

-she wears shoes & socks all day long. inside & outside.

-she prefers long pants to capris, shorts or dresses, although some days (not many) she surprises me.

-she's still a great eater. she loves her some broccoli & cheese, carrots with sauce (ranch dressing), peas, corn, pretty much all meats & cheeses, pastas, etc, but her favorite meal by far is a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.

-her favorite snacks are the salty ones...she LOVES super salty popcorn. she also loves yogurt smoothie drinks.

-she is getting really good at coloring...no 'scribble scrabble' (that is what her new teachers must call it?) for our girl anymore. just 'small strokes' she says.

-i'm reading the love languages for kids book...and i'm pretty sure her primary language is quality time. if i'm with her but not fully engaged you can be sure a melt down is soon to follow. so i've been working hard on incorporating her into helping me with my daily tasks so she feels engaged even when i'm just getting housework done. it usually takes a little longer, but the reward (a happy, confident pea) far outweighs the extra time it takes.

-she's started reading me stories at night. she thumbs through her little princess memo pads that she's scribbled in & makes up a (usually nonsensical) story. i kind of love it.

-she's SUPER excited for sweet baby to join us in november. every few days she asks if it is getting closer to thanksgiving :)

i'm sure there are tons more, but in the spirit of moving forward i'm going to publish & add things as i remember them.

first days of school...pre-k 4 & toddlers day out!

my peas started school this week...meet the teacher last week went well so i wasn't too worried about how the first days would go. and they were great.

lu started on monday and jumped right into her big kid 4 year old a beka curriculum...it is quite a bit more structured & academic than last year, but she thrives on structure so i think it'll be a good fit for her. she attends everyday but wednesday from 8:30a-12:00p, and eats lunch at home (woohoo for not having to pack lunch everyday!) . she's enjoyed it all week, but today she wasn't that into going before we left...although no tears were shed. she earned three 'happy sticks' and got to pick out something from the 'treasure chest' (3 sticks for good behavior in 3 days of attendance is pretty good i think!!) so that was the highlight of today.

he wasn't into a first day of school photo...

gus is in the toddlers day out program for kiddos 18mo-2years old on tuesday & thursday from 8:30a-12p. he's the third oldest in the class of seven kids, which will eventually grow to nine. one of his teachers is ms. j - lu's teacher from last year. he's in lu's old classroom so i think that helps...he recognizes the fish, the sink, etc. he did great on tuesday...he was SO excited to wash his hands in the big kid sink that he barely had time to tell me good-bye! today was a little different though as he knew what was coming...as soon as we got to the door of his room he started crying...and forget about that sink today. ms. j assured me he was soon fine & had a great day in spite of the rough start. she said he only cries at drop off, and then at pick up when the first parent shows up. he eats lunch at school, which is a good thing since he's usually totally sacked out by the time we get home. yes, he's one of those kids i thought i'd never have who falls asleep in the car & stays asleep while you put him in his bed. it's nice :)

interestingly enough, both of my very early rising children slept in until 8a (at which point i woke them up) on their respective first days. it never fails that the only time they sleep in is when i'm counting on them to be up!

and so you'd think i'd have all of this free time now, but on monday gusgus was super needy & a bit lost without his big sis around. on tues & thurs when i have the time all to myself i seem to keep uber busy with OB appointments, dentist visits, grocery shopping, and general errand running. although today i did have brunch with a girlfriend & that was super nice :) i'll have more of that, please!

it's not writers block...

it's just that time is flyin by my friends. the hours are limited and the tasks are endless. all wonderful tasks...tasks of a full family life coupled with having just moved into a new home. but i have to spend my energy wisely, and lately it's been spent on trying to make this new house our home while still giving my 3 peas & often traveling husband what they need. it's a tall order most days, but my chin is up and i'm marching on. happily, most days.

we took a long overdue trip to indiana to see the pierse family (g's first time!). it was lovely. grandma pierse made luci a homemade winnie the pooh cake & then the next day she got to have an ice cream cake! we had a great time and wish it wasn't such an ordeal to travel the distance. it'd be so nice to do it more frequently.

we got home on a wednesday at 2p and closed on our old house at 4p that day. so we are again the proud owners of just one home. it feels good. and our old house is in good newlywed hands...just the kind of people who are going to love it & keep it a home...not just a house.

the next morning (thursday) clay left to do a stint with the navy for 8 days. on friday my oldest dearest friend jenny came to visit. she worked hard (did my laundry, painted my dining room, took my kids to ikea with me...) and we SO enjoyed her company. luci told her she loved her & gus was looking for 'enny, enny' for days after she left. i love ya girl. thanks so much for coming.

then i was on my own from sunday afternoon until thursday afternoon (it was a long 4 days) when grandma & grandpa pierse arrived for their first visit to the new pad. clay got home late thursday night and much to his chagrin i put him to work right away...picking up furniture i found on woodlandsonline. it was no fun to dive right back into house projects, but with my growing belly there are just fewer & fewer things that i can do on my own. a HUGE thank you to clay & grandpa pierse who moved & assembled furniture MANY times. and to grandma pierse (& grandpa) who watched the kiddos for HOURS over multiple days while i repainted the kids' bathroom...it was a serious sunshine yellow that i just couldn't stomach. i'm much more of a neutral paint kinda girl. that said i TOTALLY underestimated how hard the painting of large-ish bathroom with 4 doors, a window, a shower & a mirror would be. um, yeah. it took FOREVER. but the 'atmospheric blue' color that it is now fills me with fresh peace, so i think it's worth it in the long run.

and so here we are. today was the last day of summer school for the kiddos. BONKERS. next week is a 'home week' with no activities except for a playdate at our house with some friends. we haven't had many people over since we moved so it'll be the first for most of them. fun times. we have a few doctor appointments (fun glucose test for me & my sweet boy) & a meet the teachers (for the regular school year) on friday but other than that we'll just do whatever we feel like. it'll be nice, i'm sure, and then nice to get back into a more structured rhythm once school starts. can't help it, i'm type a. i like a rhythm.

yet i know not to get too comfortable in said rhythm...see that 101 days over there? um, yeah. 'nuf said.