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!

So at almost midnight I was lying, wide awake, planning a Xanga post that I am not writing (I’ll share it tomorrow).  Instead, I got thinking about Xanga.  And you guys.  And (given I’m 35.5 weeks pregnant (read “hormonal”) and it was midnight) I got suddenly nostalgic.

See, suddenly I was thinking about the Xanga that was, like two years ago.  When I had all these ladies whose blogs I read everyday, and who read mine.  It was like their houses and apartments were suddenly transported to a single street (Xanga Rd., I guess), and we were all neighbors.  We chatted on each others’ front porches (yes, even the apartments had them, I guess), and we watched out for and prayed for each other like an old ’50s neighborhood.  Except our neighbors included Paris and Australia and lots of various states.  

And I missed it.  And you guys.  And those connections.  A lot.

Of course, I totally understand why those times can’t last.  We’re all different than we were two years ago.  New houses, new jobs, new babies, new blogs.  We’ve moved on to other neighborhoods and other adventures, and Xanga takes time we just don’t have.  We’ve reconnected to people in real life, which is good.  And of course, a lot of you are still around, just more silently than before.  And that’s okay.  In fact, I wouldn’t want life to just stop where we were because I know that where a lot of you are, right now, is a really great place. 

But last night, I missed you. I thought of you ladies, some of whom I haven’t “seen” in months or have only seen in passing on FB, and I prayed for you.  I wondered how you are doing.  And I got misty-eyed (remember those hormones?) as I wished, for just a minute, that we could have some of that back.  

Call it nostalgia for the good old days or whatever you want.  But it’s where I was last night.  And why I knew a post about Alex needed to wait another day.  Because you were on my heart.  And I wanted you to know.

And now, my own life (in the form of 21-month old toddlers) is calling.  Hope to “see” you around soon.  Happy Thursday!

It was a good, busy weekend.  I was pretty beat last night.  

Saturday was spent at a birthing class. Lots of good info…exactly what I was hoping for.  And since my parents babysat for us, and we ate lunch “out” (at the hospital cafeteria), it was like a date.  I know, kind of sad, but still it was a good day!

Sunday was my dad’s 60th birthday and we had a family party.  Good times.  Except that Alex was constipated and kept getting cranky.  But there was enough distraction that it was tolerable.  And it was good to just hang out with everyone.

Monday was spent mostly at home.  We played with babies.  And I ran to the grocery and to Carters.  Huge sale…got 25 items for $100.  Nice!

And then, since that’s all I have for an update…I thought I’d do some pictures of what we’ve been up to this summer.  Enjoy!

Yikes!  I thought my week would be a bit easier than last, but honestly, it’s been such a blur that 1) I can hardly remember what all we did and 2) I haven’t had time to blog.  

So here’s the quick recap of everything I can remember…

Monday: I think we ran errands, mostly for birthday stuff.  September is an unusually full birthday month in our families.  At one store (Office Max), Alex flipped out in the entry.  As if the double sliding doors freaked him out.  But we’d just been to Michael’s and later went to Target, both of which have double sliding doors, and he was fine.  Apparently, he just doesn’t like office supply stores.  Weird.  Also, made plans to hang out with friends on Wednesday.

Tuesday: Went to Meijer.  Some friends came over for a bit in the afternoon.  Alex had a massive meltdown before dinner.  Thank goodness for Eric’s help.

Wednesday: Went for a walk, then to my 34-week appointment.  All seems well.  My doctor actually said, “It definitely looks like there’s no practical influence of diabetes on your sugar readings.”  Um…thanks, I’d noticed.  Got home.  Friends came to play.  This is a college friend…one of my favorite people in the world…with all 7 of her children (age 8 and under) and her MIL for extra help.  We had a blast.  The kids did great (hers and mine).  Good times.  After twins’ bedtime, Denae came over to work through the Twins Club newsletter that is supposed to go live today.  We worked until almost midnight.  But we were productive.  Nice!

Today: We stayed home.  Went for a walk and played outside.  Alex fell down and skidded on his face on the sidewalk.  He’s fine, but it’s a lovely scrape.  Came in, got snack, watched some TV, had lunch, twins are down for nap, chatted with Karen, now online.  

And that’s where we stand!  I now much go continue work on the newsletter which is not ready to upload in any way, shape, or form right this second.  So…happy Thursday!

Can I tell you…I think I heard angels singing “alleluia” when I finished the last sentence of the book project about 4 pm on Sunday afternoon.  It’s not done.  But it’s in someone else’s hands for a week or so.  And I am very, very thankful to not have to think about making commitments or word counts or whether a certain illustration is good for middle school/high school students.  

I spent most of the weekend on this project.  As in, like, 6 hours on Friday (after Eric left with the twins) and over 7 on Saturday.  Plus another 3-ish on Sunday.  That’s a long, long writing haul, I can assure you.  

Fortunately, the twins did fantastically at the farm without me.  As did Eric.  Though he was pretty beat when they got home.  I did miss them, but it helped to have a project to work on so intensely.  Actually, it surprised me how hard it was to wave goodbye as they drove away.  Still…I didn’t have time to dwell on their absence, so that was good.

By Sunday, I was pretty brain-dead.  I think God knew I couldn’t handle a sermon at church.  So instead, we heard a report from the missions team that just got back from Malawi.  There were videos and short challenges.  And it was so good.  Good for me to hear.  Good to be reminded of.  Good to see our church making an impact.  Just good.  Kinda like God…amazing how he works like that, isn’t it?

Anyway, except for the 3 hours of writing in the afternoon, we didn’t do much.  Eric introduced the twins to the sprinkler.  Alex LOVED it.  Erin…not so much.  But she did enjoy running around in her diaper and “doos” (shoes) for a bit.  And then my parents came up and Karen & her clan came over, and we all ended the day eating supper together.  It was fun and crazy and just the perfect way to end the long weekend. 

And that’s where things stand.  We’ve run some errands this morning.  I can now put together my dad’s b-day present for next weekend.  He turns 60 this year!  And I finally fix some books that Erin ripped a couple of weeks ago.  And I bought more salt so our food won’t be inedibly bland.  I know…the last might have been the most important…

Okay, off to eat lunch while the twins are napping.  Happy Monday!

And what a week it’s been.  I’ve canned, baked, done laundry, played outside, cleaned up A LOT of poop, and tried not to let the clutter swallow us whole.  And that was beside the chatting with Eric, the writing, the stolen moments to relax a bit, and a good bit of chatting on the phone. 

Tonight, I think Eric is going to try a trip to the farm with the twins, but without me.  I know…should be interesting.  He’s got a thing out there tonight (opening a time capsule they put together in HS), but with the writing, I can’t go.  So he’s going to take the twins so I can write.  And we figured a dry run of a night without Mommy would be a good thing since in a few more weeks, it’s going to happen for sure!  But I’m also fairly certain this is the first time the 3 of us have been apart since they were born.  I’m sure they’ll do fine…we’ll see how I do!

Unfortunately, we were up at 6:30 this morning…all of us.   I am sort of thinking I’ll take the twins to the zoo for a couple of hours this morning.  I may even pack a light lunch to give them before we head home.  That way, when they crash in the car on the way, it won’t be a big deal.  We’ll see how that goes, too…

Oh, and we’ve decided to postpone buying a laser engraver for a bit.  With NLS coming in just a few weeks, we decided that now was not the best time to make that investment.  So we’re going to give it six months and then see where things stand.  

And that’s pretty much life at this point.  Have a lovely weekend!

Still pregnant (which is a good thing, really, as I’m only 33 weeks )

Still writing.  Like crazy.  

Still playing with my children. 

Still looking for self-adhesive pages…got them at WalMart the last time, but this time – no such luck.

Still dealing with diarrhea.  And sore, red bottoms.  Poor little people!

New…color wonder markers for the twins.  SO lovely for mommy!

New…size clothes for the kids this week.  It’s nice to have shirts that aren’t too short again!

New…the regular meltdowns caused by having to share.  NOT fun…

Done…with canning applesauce for this week.

Done…using up the fresh peaches (mostly).  I made pies yesterday. 

Done…with all the things I was thinking to put in a post for today.

Happy Wednesday!

That is where I am these days, though I’m definitely better this morning than I was on Friday night!

Apparently, the combination of normal life+toddler twins+third trimester has had me pretty close to my line of “what I can do” all at once.

But I’m also working on a book for some friends.  Don’t get me wrong, the writing has been good for me.  The practice of using words to say just what needs to be said.  Of thinking of examples.  Of putting my brain on focus-mode for an hour or two at a time and seeing chapters come together.  Yeah, it’s been really good for me.  I need to start being more diligent in writing all the time, I think.

BUT

The added pressure of this outside project has used up the last, teeny bit of reserves I had.  And maybe a tad more.

So I’ve been pretty depleted.  Getting everything done, but barely.  With nothing left. 

Not such a fun feeling, really.  

Thankfully, the book project is a short-term (though insanely busy) one.  And thankfully, we only have about 7 weeks of pregnancy left to go.  In other words, the tunnel is a short one, and the light at its end is pretty clear.

Still, it’s been kinda rough for a week or so.  And I only realized in the last few days, just how rough it was getting.

Thankfully, the farm weekend was actually relaxing (mostly) for me.  Though poor Alex was not feeling great and struggled with diarrhea both days.  But as he really just wanted his dad to hold him when he felt really bad, and as my MIL was happy to pick up all sorts of slack for me, that reality didn’t add to my stress much at all (expect that the poor little guy felt so bad).

But we made it home last night and all slept soundly in our own beds.  Alex seems to be doing well so far this morning.  And we don’t have a lot planned for the week.  Nice…

So even though “maxed out” may be the norm for a few more days, I’m pretty sure we’ll survive.  Though it would be nice to figure out, sometime before I die, how to find the balance between bored and maxed out!  If any of you have the secret, fill me in, will you? 

Happy Monday!

Just in case you were wondering…my favorite candy is M&Ms.  Which may or may not help you guess NLS’s name.  But there you go…

And speaking of NLS, my 32 week appointment today, all was well.  Measuring spot on, happy little heartbeat.  The twins did marvelously (though they looked at my doctor pretty suspiciously the entire time).  So yay for us!

The rest of the news…

I have tidied the kitchen some today and swept the floor.

We’re off to the farm this weekend

I am absolutely running out of “high enough” places.  Apparently, just now, my phone was not actually out of reach.  I just looked over the loft railing and asked, “Do you two have my phone?” At which point they both giggled and took off running, bumped into each other, and headed into the room under the loft (out of my sight).  They are pretty entertaining.

Today is my parents’ 38th wedding anniversary.  Yep, they’re awesome!

Happy Thursday!