Seven things

I've been tagged...write 7 things about yourself on your blog. Meme's, tagging, whatever...it's basically a chain letter for bloggers. I hate chain letters, and only participate if it is entertaining...and even then I never pass it along. Call me a party pooper.

I'm going to make an exception this one time, though. Because I haven't written in so long, I thought I'd just use it as an excuse to update this stinkin' blog. So here are 7 things that have been happening at our house since I last posted:


1) Valentine's Day was AWESOME. Andrew had a blast at school and enjoyed the small gift and candies that he received. As our holiday tradition goes, he is allowed to eat as much candy/junk as he wants for the day. February 15, at 8:00am, Andrew asked if he could have another Valentine's Day sucker. I told him after lunch, and Andrew sighed dramatically and said, "I miss Valentine's Day." Jeff and I didn't get each other any piddly gifts...we went all the way and ordered ribs and ice cream from Cincinnati. I had a doctor's appointment that night, so he fed the kids and put them to bed and we gorged ourselves in peace and quiet. We ate our ice cream in front of the tv, watching a DVD of a funny comedian. Lovely. We liked it so much, it may become OUR V-day tradition.

2) We got a new car!!! My nesting troubles are quickly being swept away. We took advantage of Jeff's parents visiting and took an afternoon to buy a mini-van and sell our Escape. I would post a picture of the van, but you've seen it. Every third family in America has it. Mine is a 2008. It is "Mocha"...which is a lovely word for brown. A milky coffee colored brown. A cool color...but hard to find in a parking lot. And as much as I loved my Escape...this car is luxury. Love it.

3) This 3rd trimester has been HARD. I've always said that I suck at the first half of pregnancy and I ROCK at the second half. Apparently that only applies when you DON'T also have a toddler. My back is in such agony from picking her up and carrying her around and playing on the floor...I can't even tell you. We are watching so much tv, nothing is really getting done around the house, and I dread even the most dull outing. And I still have 7 weeks to go!!! Yet I have constant reminders that it is a blessing to be this far along in pregnancy. So I'll try to keep my mouth shut (sorry Jeff...that doesn't go for you).

4) Andrew has been handling the slow down in our lifestyle quite well. Perhaps too well. He is becoming quite the slug. He doesn't want to play games anymore and he fights me on leaving the house. Today he didn't even want to go to school!!! But I'm beginning to think he's just fighting a cold, since he got home from school and requested a nap.

5) Lily is growing up so fast...I should know this from experience, but I find myself amazed and delighted just as if she were my first child. Truly, there are no bounds for love. She is walking everywhere...and now trying to go faster and faster (usually when there is a rambunctious 4 year old chasing her). She learns new words every day, and amazes me with her comprehension. She cannot read enough books to satisfy her, but if you read them "wrong" she gets very frustrated. She literally read me one of her books yesterday. It is about 6 pages long and has a face shot of a baby making a different emotion on their face on each page. Then there is one word to describe it. I don't always read the words...because I get bored. So she got frustrated with me, grabbed the book away, opened it by herself and pointed at each of the pages, "Yu-cky", "Tink-y" (stinky), "Uh-oh", and proceeded to tell me the correct word for each page. Smarty pants.

6) We have had lots of visitors the last two weeks. Weekend before last, my in-laws came and finished the basement! So now we have walls up, paint up, and flooring down. Now it is Jeff and my responsibility to put up shelves or something so we can have a complete play room. Amazing. My folks came 2 days after Jeff's left and helped me clean out closets and get other odds and ends finished. My mother even swept my bathroom floor...where we were breeding a 4th child out of dust, fuzz, and hair. Now THAT'S love.

7) My husband is amazing. I don't write much about how incredible he is because it is cheesy and no one really wants to hear it but me. But he is amazing. I am not performing well (see #3) at my normal duties, so he comes home to a messier than usual house, rarely cooked meals, bored kids, and there is little recreation to look forward to after the kids go to bed (sorry parents...TMI, I know). But he never says a word, never complains, never shies away from taking the burden from me. Marriage is rarely 50/50, but Jeff is carrying more than his fair load...and has been for a while now. And probably will be for a while longer. He slips in a sarcastic comment here and there and more than his fair share of groping, so I know he remembers what it used to be like. I just hope I am expressing how grateful I am to have a partner like him. Makes it a little less scary to have a 3rd...because I know he'll be right there with me.

Okay, so that was my lame-o update. I hope to get back into the swing of things and post a little more.