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<\/p>\nThat’s how long it feels since I’ve written. Gotta work on that. I have tons to write down and just can’t seem to get the 15 minutes (or more, with interruptions) it takes to get it done. Alas.<\/p>\n
Still, for what it’s worth, here are some of the events of life (in no particular order).<\/p>\n
1. Megan turned 2<\/p>\n
So Meg is now officially “big” – or at least she thinks so. She loved the birthday hoopla, helping make cakes and decorations. She was in absolute heaven when everyone sang to her. It was really a fun weekend, even though she did have a cold. <\/p>\n
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2. Laundry<\/p>\n
The return of cool weather has brought the return of Mount Laundry. Part of that is the weird mix of sizes and warm\/cool clothes that it takes to keep my kids correctly dressed these days. Because apparently, shorts are not a good indicator of how much taller my kids had gotten over the summer so our pants from the spring are tending to be about an inch (or more) too short. It’s quite funny sometimes. But also, three kids+potty training+misc. accidents = a lot of laundry. I thought I had one load of kids laundry yesterday…turned into 3 full loads. Sheesh! I can’t even get to Eric and my clothes; it takes a load a day just to keep the kids clothes clean. Unfortunately, Eric ran out of important things this morning, so I must, must get some of our clothes washed today!<\/p>\n
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3. The New Barn<\/p>\n
My brother-in-law has brought the family farm into the 21st century. As of this month, his new milking barn<\/a> is online, complete with two robotic milkers. Really, they’re “voluntary milkers” since the cows choose when to be milked, but since a robotic arm with camera and laser sights finds the udder and completes the milking process, it’s just fun to call them robots. It’s really quite an accomplishment for the farm. They are the second farm in Ohio to install them, and the first to actually build a barn to house the whole system (feeding, milking, resting). So they’re kind of a showplace for the entire state. And it’s a huge change from how “it’s always been.” They milked in the old parlor, twice a day every day, for 61 years. Which means, for the first time in his life, Alan will be able to leave the farm for more than 6 hours between milkings! So we are super excited for him and for the completion of the whole 4-year process!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 4. New Adventures<\/p>\n We’ve started lots of new things this fall.<\/p>\n Megan got a toddler bed, which she loves. For weeks (and probably even now), she wanted to show everyone who walked into our house her new bed that Daddy built for her (he just assembled it, but hey, she’s 2). She’s also getting her two-year molars. NOT FUN. She is the worst teether of all three, and it’s been weeks and weeks of her waking up 1-3 times every night. I’m ready for these teeth to GET HERE already!<\/p>\n Alex and Erin finally moved to their 3-year old Sunday school classroom and started Cubbies at church this month. They LOVE them. They were so ready to be challenged a bit more and they have so much fun with the activities and songs and everything. It’s so fun to watch them move into a new phase like that.<\/p>\n We did not get them into preschool this year, but I am trying to do more preschool-type activities with them. So we do preschool storytime at the library and have “worksheet time” once or twice a week. They love the tracing and pre-writing activities. Erin’s been working on writing letters for a while by choice, but Alex is eating up the learning process, too. <\/p>\n Also new for us is the transition to playing more without direction. It’s so great to have 30 minutes or more, most days, when all 3 kids play together without needing me to watch or create games for them. They play pretend (even Megan), dress-up, do puzzles, create climbing\/jumping activities, play hide-and-seek, etc. They are fun to watch, for sure.<\/p>\n We also have a neighbor girl who comes over once a week or so to play with the kids while I do some things. She’s not quite old enough for babysitting alone, but she’s perfect for a “Mommy’s helper” situation. The kids LOVE Hannah, and they can’t wait for naps to end on Wednesdays so that she can come over. And it’s nice for me…one week, I got my kitchen mopped and another time, cleaned my bathrooms. Woohoo!! (Her mom told me later that she was totally amazed how happy I was to mop my floor…but seriously, I was ecstatic! <\/p>\n 5. Third Trimester<\/p>\n We are now in the final trimester of this pregnancy – 28 weeks tomorrow. I have no pictures of myself really. The best I can do is one from Meg’s party. But it’s at least a shot of where we stand.<\/p>\n About a month ago, I was having a lot of trouble with my hips and with baby boy sitting very low, but both have gotten a lot better. My hip still hurts when I work too hard, but he’s gotten a lot more active, so he doesn’t tend to just hang out right at the bottom of everything. Super nice of him, I know. We don’t have a name for him, though Alex is still convinced we’ll be calling him “Little Alex.” I tried to dissuade him of that idea a couple of weeks ago, but his meltdown was pretty intense. So I think we’re just going to have to let him keep thinking that until we have an actual name to offer instead! <\/p>\n Anyway, I’m sure it won’t take 13 more weeks before I’ll be ready to be done with the whole thing. And I haven’t had my diabetes test yet, so I haven’t had to start that routine again yet. <\/p>\n And that’s about all I have right now, I guess. We are still just trying to survive each day (which is hard when I’m pregnant and tired), but most days we have a rhythm that works. And always we have a God who walks with us through the dailyness of life. And a Daddy who comes home every night. And a home and warm water and blessings well beyond what we deserve. So really, it’s a good, good life. <\/p>\n Happy Wednesday!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" That’s how long it feels since I’ve written. Gotta work on that. I have tons to write down and just can’t seem to get the 15 minutes (or more, with interruptions) it takes to get it done. Alas. Still, for … Continue reading ![\"laughing\"](\"http:\/\/s.xanga.com\/images\/laughing.gif\" "\\"laughing\\"")
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