I’ll tell you what…buying a vehicle from another state is a very detailed business.
It feels as if I’ve been on the phone and internet constantly for the last two days, trying to make sure we have all our ducks in a row. But, hopefully, everything is now set, and we will have no difficulties getting the van in Michigan or transferring the title in Ohio.
Good thing our God is a God of details…
So about 4 months ago, it became apparent that we needed a bigger vehicle. Or would need one, shortly after the arrival of NLS. I know, we’re pretty observant like that…
But, at the time, for a number of reasons, it just wasn’t one of the highest priorities. After all, we had months before NLS arrived, and our current cars worked just fine for what we needed. So no use rushing into something (including a car payment), right?
Okay, I’ll be honest, I was a little more nervous about it than that…at least some of the time. I mean, we can squeeze 3 car seats into the Jeep (which was the plan for now), but it wouldn’t be ideal for any length of time. But we have been without car payments for a long, long time. And going back into debt to get a good minivan just wasn’t a comfortable idea either.
So, I decided that I just wasn’t going to worry about. I couldn’t change the circumstances. And God knew we needed a good vehicle. So I would wait for him, pray about it (at least when it was starting to bug me again), and see where things went.
Then, in the summer, my sister’s friends in Michigan let it be known that, as they are moving to England to work with the youth there as missionaries, they would be selling their van. Karen filled me in, and she mentioned me to them. And then…nothing. So I figured either they found someone else (closer to them) to sell it to, or they still needed it while they were making final preparations to leave.
And things returned to our non-van normalcy. I continued to just let it go. The right van would come at the right time.
Apparently, this week was the right time. The friends in Michigan mentioned their van again. Karen mentioned it to me. I mentioned it to Eric. He asked for other details. So last night, I sent a Facebook message to ask if the van was even still available.
It is. And it’s perfect. No, it’s actually better than perfect. It’s just so far above what I was expecting, it’s amazing.
Things like this…
And so, as of this weekend, assuming we can totally work out the details of meeting them in MI to actually buy it (which seems to be happening…no surprise there), God has provided exactly the vehicle I wouldn’t let myself hope for. He’s pretty amazing…
Happy Tuesday!
Front Page
Headline: Night Terrors: Not Fun
Synopsis: So, I’m pretty sure Alex had a night terror last night. I wonder if some of the last couple of weeks’ sleeping issues have been those. Even when I thought it was gas or constipation. Who knows? But anyway, he woke up after being asleep for about 2 hours just screaming; I went and got him, but he kept screaming. For his dad mostly. It was kind of heartbreaking to hear. Anyway, we did our best to comfort or whatever, and after about 10 minutes (felt like 25 to me), he settled back down and slept the rest of the night. So I looked up night terrors while Eric was getting him back to bed. And yep…that description pretty much matched. I hope we aren’t going to do that on a regular basis. *shudder*
Headline: Family Fun Day
Synopsis: We spent yesterday with my family in C-ville for my SIL, Debbie’s birthday party. It was, overall, a really fun day. Everyone was in a good mood, the babies all got good naps, we played outside for a couple of hours, we chatted and laughed and generally just enjoyed the day. Oh, and my mom made lasagna…yummy!
Headline: Making Progress
Synopsis: So the preparations for NLS are slowly moving along. I am getting boxes sorted and cupboards rearranged. I think Eric is going to help me move up the rest of the boxes I need to sort through today (at least I mentioned this to him last night). Poor guy…for him all this prep just means hauling things up and down multiple stair cases. Good thing he loves me! 
But still, it feels good to have some things on my pre-baby to-do list crossed off!
Health & Wellness Section
Headline: Cold Season Hits Home
Synopsis: Erin has been quite the fountain of snot this weekend. And she has an irregular, but still harsh-sounding cough. So we didn’t do nursery yesterday or go to a party on Saturday night (I just couldn’t take germs to infect strangers’ kids). But she’s sleeping okay, so hopefully it won’t last too long or transfer to Alex just as she finishes it (or to me just before I have to give birth…wouldn’t that be fun?).
Headline: Toddler Developments Are Fun…Mostly
Synopsis: The twins are certainly doing all sorts of fun things these days. Erin is picking up (ie, repeating) words left and right. Alex knows a lot of words that he won’t say for another two weeks. We love to watch Mommy write words (mostly Alex, Erin, mommy, daddy, papa, gramma, etc), and Erin is started to almost recognize them when I write them down. They love pushing their strollers and playing with balls outside. And of course, swings and slides just make their day. Oh, and the other day, we discovered that they love to carry and fill buckets with “nature” when we’re outside…too cute! Then, on the other hand, we are also struggling to share, and we don’t do well when we don’t get our way. The fit-throwing is certainly not a mommy-favorite event. But as I think that’s all part of childhood (and being human) we’ll just keep addressing those one day at a time.
Technology Report
Headline: Mommy Gets iPod Touch
Synopsis: As a reward for my work on the book project I had this summer, I decided to buy myself an iPod Touch. I was going to just get an ereader, but then, I realized as I talked to Eric about it, that all I would be able to do on it was read books. And for a just a little more money, I could get all the capabilities of both big ereaders (nook and kindle), plus a bunch of other stuff. So Eric went with his brother on Saturday and picked one up for me. He’s helped me set it up and link it with his Touch (and my dad’s, too, I think). Those two spent a lot of time looking at 3 iPods yesterday during the party, comparing and downloading and such. But so far, I think I’m going to like my new toy. And I have a B&N gift card to spend on ebooks for my new reader. I’m very excited!
And that’s the news for now…happy Monday!
So I had my 37-week appointment today. Nothing much to report. No progress from last week, but she’s still head-down, still happily moving around.
Looks like the current plan is to give her every chance to come by herself. My last already-scheduled appointment is the day before my due date. So if I’m still not moving forward, we’ll schedule a c-section for the end of the following week, giving her a few more days to come on her own.
Of course, I’m seriously hoping she won’t just hang around, but really, we’re really only 37 weeks, so anything can happen between then and now.
And that’s the update!
that after 3 weeks, we are still dealing with some gas/poop issues for Alex. I think it’s more gas than anything else, really. He’s getting daily (and sometimes twice daily) doses of “white stuff” but he’s still waking up in the middle of the night. I’m wondering now if it’s related to the switch from baby yogurt to regular yogurt. They love yogurt, but they really don’t need the baby stuff anymore. I may have to try a kids’ yogurt and see if things improve at all. Any suggestions of not-too-sugary kids yogurt?
The other day while we were outside, Alex discovered a cricket on the trunk of a tree. He followed it as it crawled along the bark. And just as his little fingers closed to try to catch it, it leaped off the tree. Which he totally wasn’t expecting. So then he burst out into squeals of laughter. Too cute…
Erin now imitates both clocks (tic-toc) and bells (ding-dong). Both are done while tilting the head from side to side, but tic-toc is a little faster. Otherwise, they sound pretty much the same. But it’s still adorable to see her do it. And I did get her doing “Itsy-Bitsy Spider” on video the other day. One of these days I’ll figure out how to post videos and show it to you!
I got some toddler-sized cups for them to use occasionally with water so they get more practice drinking without sippies or straws. I have no intention of letting them quit using the covered cups anytime soon, but I find it’s helpful to introduce the next step long before it’s time to move on. It makes the transition so much easier.
We went to story time at the library today. It’s not the best one around, I know. The lady who runs it is kind of more annoying than good. Other libraries do better. But at this stage, I’m not driving the extra time to the better ones. I’m just not up to it. Besides, the little kids just like the stories and songs, so it’s not really a big deal. And the twins need the experience being in a room with other little kids.
Speaking of being in a room with other little kids…on Sunday evening, we had a social time for our church’s small group. The nursery was down to one spot left when we got there, and as I have two kids, that didn’t really help me. So I just took them to our room. One of the other nurseries filled up, too, so Emily (who’s 1) also joined our chat session. There was a TV cart in the room and the lowest shelf was totally empty. So at one point, the twins were sitting on that shelf. Emily came over and sat down so that Erin was in the middle. Alex looked around Erin at Emily with a “who’s that chick?” look on his face, started to walk away, and then went back and grabbed Erin by the hand. He dragged her all the way back across the room to where Eric and I were sitting. I guess Erin’s already got somebody to rescue her if she ever needs it! Love that…
Okay, I’ve got to change the stinky diaper on the child standing next to me. Yes, it’s Erin, if you were wondering. And I’m holding my breath from the stench while I finish typing. So off I go…happy Tuesday!
Today, the high here is only supposed to be in the mid-70s. Which means this morning was actually chilly.
So today was our first day of jeans and jackets when we went outside.
And can I just tell you…I fell in love with my adorable little children all over again. In their little long pants. With their little fall jackets. Running and playing and picking “cherries” from the trees and shrieking with laughter on the swings.
I wish I could have taken actual pictures of them to show you. But the camera was inside and we were not.
So instead, I’ll just have to keep my own little snapshots in my memory.
And keep this post to remind me to take those snapshots out sometimes and remember how much fun this time of my kids’ lives is. And how much I’ll miss it when it’s gone.
Happy Friday!
As much as I love the look of a clean, white toilet, you’d think it would motivate me to clean my bathrooms more often. But nope! However, we did get bathrooms cleaned recently, so I’ll just enjoy it while it lasts…
Alex may be officially past his poop issues of the last week or so. Never thought, years ago, that I’d be cheering for a stinky, gooey, poopy diaper!
You know how, when you’ve been out of the habit of daily time in the Bible, and you first get back in, things seems to get worse, not better. That’s me this week. Which probably means I need to get back to God more than I realized!
I’m going to bake banana bread today. Mmmm…
And hopefully, when I bake this bread, the little flies that have been attracted to the three not-so-yellow bananas on my counter will go away. That would be nice.
Had our 36-week appointment yesterday. All is well. Happy heartbeat. Good measurements, bp, weight, etc. She still seems to be head-down (thankfully). And we’re dilated a whole, whopping 1 cm (with little, if any, effacement). But at 36 weeks, that’s totally fine with me. Don’t really want her popping out too early, after all! And I now have weekly appointments scheduled for the rest of my pregnancy. It’s crazy how far along we are…
My children just got really quiet downstairs. That usually makes me nervous. Must go check on them…happy Thursday!
The Sunday of Labor Day weekend we had a party for my dad’s 60th birthday. I mentioned this. I also mentioned that Alex was constipated and pretty cranky that day. At moments, it really wasn’t pretty.
But we gave him some Milk of Magnesia that night, and later the next day, he managed to, shall we say, clear some of what was plugging him up. Problem solved.
Or so I thought.
As we got to the end of last week, though, I realized that Alex hadn’t had another “real” poop all week. Some little “turd-lettes” as Eric calls them. But nothing significant. And he hadn’t been eating as well as normal. And he was waking up fussy 2-3 times at night. In fact, for the last few days, he was up between 5:30 and 6:00 am. I’d get him back down for an hour or so, but our mornings were starting way to early!
Then, it struck me that perhaps the problem wasn’t totally resolved. Yes, I know, it took me days to put all the pieces together. But hey, I finally got it.
So I gave him Milk of Mag. again yesterday before nap and again at bedtime. When we were playing after dinner, the poor little guy started to be obviously uncomfortable. He’d grunt and work for a bit, then get fussy and come running to one of us. We kept him entertained and told him to keep trying. Finally, we started to smell something. It wasn’t a sweet smell, either. And sure enough, right before bed, he managed to finally get out what was bothering him.
And he slept all night. And so did I. Lovely!
So I may give him the M.o.Mag. again today just to make sure we don’t repeat this episode next weekend. And hopefully, we can move past this. No pun intended.
Poor little guy!
Yep…it’s official. Eric has definitely earned the Husband of the Year award this weekend.
Too late, I realized that Friday’s post probably sounded more depressed/down than it was meant to. But Eric stepped up anyway, in a big way.
He came home on Friday asking what exactly I wanted to get done for NLS’s arrival. And when did I want to start. Turns out, while I’ve been bugged by the lack of progress for her arrival, apparently I forgot to mention it to him. Or actually ask him to help me get started. Oops… So I made a list on Google Docs and shared it with him, so now we both know what exactly I want to get accomplished before the baby arrives. Lovely!
Then on Saturday, he was ready to jump right in. We moved dressers and rearranged furniture (okay, he did). We tore almost every room in the house apart to some degree and then slowly started putting it back together. Thankfully, my parents came up and helped some, too. SO nice of them. And by the end of Saturday, we had a place for NLS to sleep. We had the twins’ room modified as necessary. We had the great room rearranged so that there’s room now for a baby swing and baby toys in the near future. And we got to have dinner with my parents. And they took the twins for a walk after dinner which gave me time to clean up the kitchen, including sweep and swiffer the floors. And then, my mom helped me bathe the twins before they drove home.
Oh, and on top of all of that, Eric vacuumed multiple rooms in the house, entertained the twins at various moments, cleaned the master bathroom, and went and picked up the pizza for dinner.
See…husband of the year!
But it gets even better. Because on Sunday, he helped me make dinner. And helped entertain the twins (which took some doing as Alex was pretty cranky at times). And totally handled the evening/bedtime routine while I worked in the nursery at church for AWANA.
Seriously, the man is SuperDad. And I ended the weekend much more on top of things than I was at the beginning of the weekend…pretty much thanks to him. Love you, Eric!
Happy Monday!
(PS – Erin’s cold is getting better already…apparently, it’s a short-lived one, thankfully!)
Here’s some of what’s new in our world…
1. Alex is now officially a daddy’s boy. His position as such was already pretty much assured. But in the last two weeks or so, it has become clear that he wants his daddy. All the time. For whatever beef is, at that moment, distressing him, only Eric will do. Now mostly, this is just plain adorable. He wants to be snuggled up on, next to, or generally near to Eric. He wakes up unhappy, calling for his daddy. Once Eric comes home from work, that boy is his little shadow for the rest of the day. Yep…definitely cute.
On the other hand, this has begun to present a small problem for me. Because, you see, he only wants his daddy. I’m not really good enough for some things anymore. He wakes up at night (typically, I respond so Eric can sleep), but he’s not calling for me…he wants Eric. And given that Eric is at work from about 7 am to 4 pm, that is a huge chunk of the day where calming a crisis now takes twice as long. Because I’m not daddy. And once Eric gets home, Alex actually gets a little whinier…just because Eric is now there to hear it. So it does get a tad wearing after a while.
2. Erin officially has a cold. Her nose is running like a faucet today. She’s got a little congestion in her throat. She actually ran out of voice last night before bed. It does not, so far, seem to be impairing her ability to play or function. But she is definitely whinier today. And needier. Which means that Mommy was very happy for naptime!
3. I’m almost 36 weeks pregnant. We have less than one month (give or take) until NLS arrives. And I have NOTHING done. Not one thing is ready for her arrival. Call it nesting if you want, but I really am feeling the pressure to get stuff done. And it’s hard for me (Little Miss Independent) that I can’t do most of it myself. But since we’re pretty much not planning to travel for the next few weeks, maybe the weekends will provide lots of opportunities for getting stuff done. At least I hope so!
4. Also, at 36 weeks, I’ve hit a plateau. The last 10 weeks seem to take forever (WAY longer than the first 10), and I’m only halfway through them. So even though the GD hasn’t been terribly difficult this time around, I’m tired of eating like my blood sugar hates me. And I love veggies and salads. But I’m getting tired. And even though we have almost no issues this time (carpal tunnel, swollen feet, heartburn, PUPPPS, etc), I’m ready to be on to the having a baby, instead of waiting to have a baby. But I guess that’s normal. And we’ll recover in a day or two and finish out pretty normally. But week 35 has been a little tough on me.
And that’s about all that’s new that I can think of right now. So enjoy your weekend! Happy Friday!