It's been a busy household the last few weeks. Holy week is a very busy time for Jon, so my job is to make sure he gets fed and out of the house on time every night during that week and do what I can to make his life easier. There have been lots of fundraisers and meetings in the last few weeks between doctor appointments and grocery runs and church activities and a couple of dates. (When you have free babysitting, you can't pass up a date night.)

I've been working on freezer meals. I don't have a ton, but a good number to get me going anyway. The kids and I made some brownies and I froze some of those, too. I've been trying to declutter a bit and organize the house, though I'm not sure how much I've accomplished. I went through the freezer and inventoried everything. I'm also in the middle of the winter/summer clothing switch, which makes for extra bins and piles sitting around until it gets hot.

I moved Leah into the boys' room a couple weeks ago to get her adjusted in there. It's going just fine. Despite her constant jabbering for up to an hour after she goes to bed, the boys are tired enough to sleep through it. I hauled some baby stuff out also. My mom is coming to repaint the baby's room this weekend, so I have that taped up and our room has acquired extra stuff. It will be nice to have that done so I can start organizing the baby stuff a bit.

Jon has been able to spend a day here and there outside. He's got a few things planted in the garden. We're getting some much-needed rain right now, so this weekend is probably out for planting anything else.

May 15 is our scheduled date for baby to come, so we're just under 4 weeks. Since Leah was 3 weeks early, I'm trying to be ready at any time. I even have the kids and myself semi-packed. The boys are losing patience waiting for this baby. I think they'll be happy when they can actually see baby. Ben is quite adamant it should be a girl. Finn doesn't seem to care either way. Leah will just be happy to have her own baby all the time. And so we wait.

Just a little blip about something I find amusing:

When Ben was younger, he called Finn "Fifi." We're not sure how that came about, but it's what he did. He doesn't do it anymore and hasn't for a few months now, that I can remember. Now Leah calls Finn "Fifi." She can pretty much say Benny-at least I can understand what she's saying-but prefers Fifi to Finny. Again, not sure how that came about, but I thought that was pretty cute. There must just be something about that name.

Finn has always paid Leah lots of attention and loved on her, and she's giving it all back. Sometimes he's annoyed by it, but overall he really likes it. Those two are going to be dangerous when they get a bit older.

Weekend in Minneapolis

We spent our weekend up in Minneapolis. We started out Friday morning, beating our 10:00 a.m. goal by 45 minutes. We couldn't check in until 3:00, so we headed to the Mall of America, where we showed the boys Lego Land and all the kids enjoyed playing Legos. We walked around what used to be Camp Snoopy with all the rides. I have no idea what they call it now, though they sold out (in my opinion) and everything is Nickelodeon themed. We also enjoyed some Cold Stone ice cream before heading to the hotel. Good stuff, my friends. We had pizza and enjoyed some pool time in the evening. The boys were so excited to go swimming and ride on the glass elevators. They got to push the buttons. I think these were the highlights for them.

Saturday we headed to the Science Museum. They had a special exhibit on pirates, where they had a pirate ship to walk through. It got a bit long for them since there was a lot of reading for the adults. Finn got to touch a gun, which he thought was pretty cool. They talked to a pirate and got to see real treasure. That took a good portion of the day. We spent a couple hours recouping at the hotel before heading to Rudolph's for ribs. There was good food and tons of it.

Sunday morning we went for a quick swim before checkout since we didn't have time on Saturday. We briefly stopped at my sister to see her and her kids before we left town. It was a very exhausting weekend but quite enjoyable. It just wasn't long enough. Ben is ready to go back to Minneapolis.

We finally got a real snow tonight, possibly lasting into tomorrow morning. The boys wanted to go out as soon as it started snowing. It's been a nice, peaceful snow with big flakes and it's kind of nice to see everything white. It's been wet and muddy out. Though I also can't complain that the kids have spent a few days riding their little cars and trikes and playing in the sandbox this month. It's just been an odd winter.

In other news, Leah is starting to talk a lot more. She loves her Sesame Street characters and seems to be learning them quickly. Ben didn't watch a lick of TV at this age because he hung out with me while I worked. Maybe I'm just lazy. But hey, they could be watching worse things, and I think the boys are actually learning from Sesame Street. She's more and more girl and definitely has a little attitude. She keeps up pretty well with her brothers-gotta do whatever they do.

I have also started potty training with Leah. She loves to sit on the potty and is my most eager learner. I thought I'd give it a shot, even though she's only 19 months, and I'm just gonna stay with it (given her enthusiasm) and hope for some good progress before this baby comes. I feel like I've been in potty training mode for 2 years and I hope I have ambition for the 4th one. Don't they just train themselves after a while?

We're looking forward to a couple nights in a motel coming up. This is our "winter vacation." The boys are looking forward to swimming and riding in the glass elevator, not necessarily in that order. We're getting together with Jon's family to celebrate a milestone birthday of his dad and I think we're all ready to get out of the house for a couple of days.

Have a good weekend!

I really could have sworn that I blogged at least once in January, but apparently that is not so. I remember sitting down one night, and then someone called and I never got to it, I guess.

We've gotten one good snow in the last few weeks. The parking lot was cleaned out and made for a big hill for the kids to climb on and sled down. We enjoyed plodding all over the empty lot across the street one morning, which also made for a great nap day for Leah. The snow is mostly gone now after a couple of beautiful, warm days. Our snowmen slowly melted and the sticks are left laying on the ground. The kids got to play in the sandbox on February 2. Not too many times I could say that.

Jon was at a conference last week, which left the kids and I to contend with each other. They did very well and it was only from tiredness that Ben had a couple of breakdowns. It helped to go outside, and Tuesday we went with a friend to the play area at a mall and out to eat. That definitely broke up the time. It was great when Daddy came home on Thursday, though. The kids were all very happy to see him, as was I.

On Saturday I went to Dordt College for their annual Day of Encouragement with a few members of our congregation. We all enjoyed our sessions and each took home knowledge, ideas, and tools we will use, for church or in our personal lives.

Baby is doing well. I had another good doctor visit on Friday. We are at 25+ weeks and I am very thankful for a healthy pregnancy. The boys are anxious for spring when the baby will come. I've told the boys that baby can hear them, so Finn likes to lift up my shirt and talk to my belly. Apparently baby told Finn today that he will come in the spring, so it's official now. It really is going fast, and I suppose we need to start talking about names before time completely gets away from us. We also have to make decisions on room arrangements, probably sooner rather than later, just in case baby comes early like Leah did. There's always something to do.

It's bedtime now. Have a great week!

Ultrasound

Jon and I enjoyed a nice quiet hour during the ultrasound. We had a good report from the tech so far that things are functioning well. Baby was moving a bit while we watched. I find it so amazing that we can watch the blood flow through the heart and see the little bladder fill up on this tiny little person. What a wonderful gift God has given us!

We had a little bit of snow yesterday which pretty much turned into slush. The boys went out for about 20 minutes and then they were done. But they got to be in the snow as it came down, which was exciting for them. Otherwise it's been pretty brown and generally in the 40s-definitely an odd December. I'm just waiting to get dumped on since there's plenty of winter left.

We pray for a safe and happy new year to all!

Here's To Better Health

The kids and I have been fighting bad colds for a couple of weeks now. Thankfully Jon hasn't really gotten it. I think we're on the home stretch. Each day I use fewer tissues collectively. We had our Christmas program last Saturday, and thanks to a wonky CD player, I ended up playing piano instead of singing. I'm thinking it may have been for the best. I hope to be ringing in the new year with better health, which means I'll be getting a full night of sleep.

Jon and I are hoping to actually go on a date this week. Our 9th anniversary is next week and we'll be going in different directions. We thought about it last week, but I definitely wasn't in the mood to go out with a box of tissues. I'm looking forward to a few hours away.

We enjoyed a quick Christmas celebration with my family a couple weekends ago and hope to with Jon's family in a couple weeks. We opened presents at home on Sunday afternoon. The kids are still enjoying their new toys. Sometimes the novelty wears off quickly with them. Now I have to go through the older stuff and see what I can pack up for a while.

We have an ultrasound tomorrow. We won't find out the sex of the baby, but it's so fun to see it and affirm that everything is growing and functioning well. It's amazing to watch the little heart beat and watch the movements. I've been feeling the baby move in the last week and it's such a wonderful feeling. It also assures me that things seem to be going okay in there.

There's my random update. Have a good week!

I was trying to figure out what to write about to our adoring fans. We are again in the midst of Christmas stuff, for lack of a better word. We have upcoming family gatherings and Christmas program at church in a couple of weeks. The boys will both be in that this year. I'm curious to see how Finn does. He won't say his lines for me, but I have a feeling he'll be up there giving 100%. Finn turned 3 a couple weeks ago. At some point I will put pictures up, but I'm still working on Ben's birthday.

My parents were able to come celebrate Thanksgiving with us. We had a fun time with them, as always. The kids always enjoy seeing their grandparents.

We bought my parents' van and are absolutely loving it. It's so nice to have a little more room and to be able to get all the kids in the vehicle and then strap them in. My favorite part, though, is the remote starter, which I've used many times already as it just keeps getting colder. The kids seem to like it, too. The boys are way in back together and they have a bit more room for their stuff. I like it because they can't irritate each other or Leah like they used to. We could definitely see God in the midst of this as the van was offered only a few weeks before we found out we were pregnant. We would have spent our winter van shopping or we wouldn't be going anywhere as a family come May. So we were very thankful for that.

I had a checkup this week and baby is doing well. I think I'm starting to feel a bit of movement, which is always exciting. We're just over 17 weeks. The boys are still trying to grasp the timeline of when baby will come. I've told them when winter is over, so hopefully that will suffice for now. They keep going back and forth whether they want a boy or girl. Leah loves babies, and I think she will be a little mommy, maybe overly helpful and loving. I look forward to see how they all react. Ben has been acting out a lot lately, so I hope he's over that by May and doesn't get worse when the baby comes.

Those are my thoughts for today.

I've tried a few times now with no success to upload photos of Ben's birthday from August. Out of frustration, I haven't taken the time to actually write anything. Our big news is that we're expecting baby #4! I'm about 12 weeks now, and I'm busy enough that it's already going fast. I'll try to get a baby ticker in the margin, but I can't promise anything.

We took the kids trick or treating on Saturday night. We basically go to a few people we know, we don't make a big night out of it. This also limits how much candy they get. The boys really enjoyed it since they remembered it from last year. Leah is enjoying the results of it. Any amount of candy is great to them.

Our time outside is getting less and less. Jon spent a lot of time with the kids last week raking. I took them outside today for half an hour and I was ready to go in cause I was cold. Time to break out the hot chocolate, I think.

Not much else exciting here. We look forward to Finn's birthday in November. It's hard to believe he's going to be 3. Sometimes I just want them to be babies again.

Summer or Fall?

It's officially fall, but I'm not really sure what season it is. It's been a few weeks of fall weather. We had a very windy day this past week and lots of leaves came off the trees along with some big branches. This coming week brings the forecast of 70s and lows of 50s, which makes me think we might be outside a bit more this week. I am enjoying the turning of the leaves, going to the orchard and getting fresh apples, no more weeding in the garden.

Life seems to be pretty mundane, which is why I haven't posted much lately. Ben started going to a Wednesday night church organization. He loves it and I think it's a good social outlet for him. We have to look into preschool for him come spring.

Leah is almost 15 months. That's so hard to believe. She keeps up very well with her brothers and definitely stands her ground. I had to buy some hair stuff to keep her bangs out of her eyes. Her hair just keeps growing.

Jon tried a different rib rub this weekend than he's always used. They were the best ribs we've ever had! The kids loved them, too, and I had to actually save the last couple for Jon today or Ben would have had them gone.

Thus ends my rambling for today.

I've been meaning to get pictures of Ben's birthday on and talk a bit about that, but seeing as how I haven't done it yet, I figured I should write something. I took the kids to the doctor today for Ben's 4-year checkup. He's fine and dandy, though apparently he's quite a wax maker in one ear. The doctor couldn't even get to his eardrum, so I have to put drops in and take him back in a couple of days to get it checked. Quite interesting. I was thinking as we drove out of the clinic parking lot, this is the first doctor visit in a long time that we haven't had to stop and get some kind of medicine for somebody. As I was thinking this, Ben says to me, "Mom, do we need to stop at the pharmacy?" I guess that's become routine for him, too.

Finn has been doing very well with the potty. Of course we have random accidents, but those are few and far between. I'm enjoying not changing or buying so many diapers, and it cuts down on the garbage quite a bit. It's a wonderful thing.

Leah loves to jabber. She is saying "Dada" now. She also started staying "up" tonight. Just when you think your house can't possibly be louder, along comes another talker. I can't complain, really. I love to hear the noises my kids make as they play (minus the screaming). At least I know I have nothing to be concerned about.

On that happy note, I'm off to bed.

Anything Goes

I've been thinking of a couple of things to write but have been hindered the last few nights to do so. My title has to do with the following story:

Tuesday I took Leah to get her blood drawn for a lead level-just routine for her 1-year checkup. Per usual, she got a cotton ball with a bandage over the puncture site. So after this, we headed over to Walmart to pick up a few things. When we got there, she was picking at the cotton. I could see a wisp of it sticking out from the bandage and thought nothing of it. Then she opened her mouth and out came a big ball of cotton. I just laughed. She must have decided it wasn't very tasty, but she had to try, right?

I just love this stage of her life right now. Despite her eating everything in sight, she says hi to everybody and is just a pleasant baby generally in the store. She smiles and will sometimes wave to people. When we're at home, I'll say goodbye to her and she'll wave as she walks away from me without looking back. It's one of the cutest things she does. I had another story about her, but I can't think of it right now.

We went to Famous Dave's tonight to celebrate my birthday tomorrow and Ben's birthday on Monday. I think that's our favorite place right now-that's our go-to for birthdays. But everyone loves it and you get a variety of food, so why not? My little Ben is turning 4 and I don't think I can afford him anymore. Some meals he eats more than I do. I just can't believe how big he's getting and the things he knows now. I'm going to attempt a Winnie the Pooh cake for him-if it comes out badly, you won't be seeing pictures of it. He asked for a Sesame Street puzzle on his cake, but I'm not that talented by a long shot and I wouldn't ruin a real puzzle for that, so he'll have to settle for Pooh, which I'm sure he'll be happy with. Wish me luck!

A Joyful Week

This week we had the privilege of attending a day of Jon's family reunion. We headed up to Minnesota on Tuesday morning and arrived late afternoon. We got settled in, let the kids play in the sand, enjoyed some supper, and headed out for a game of kickball. This is a pretty big family and there were a ton of little kids the boys' ages, and it was so fun to watch them play kickball and learn how to run bases. My boys did a lot of running across the field randomly. I think we all lost our supper calories laughing. After putting the kids to bed, we played cards.

Wednesday morning we headed out to the beach. The kids spent a lot of time playing in the sand and swam for quite a while. Leah and a little girl her age fought over a big beach ball. Leah let out her signature glass-breaking scream and they both ended up in tears. It actually was pretty funny. That was really our whole morning and the kids had a blast. We had some lunch and packed up the kids for home. Although none of them napped well, we let them stay up a bit later on Wednesday night since they sat in the car all afternoon. Leah was up at 8:00 and the boys got up at 8:20 on Thursday morning. I think they were tired. I also believe that's the latest Finn has ever slept. Overall, we had a great time, and it was good to reconnect with some and get to know a few more.

Another joy this week is that when Finn got up from his nap today, he decided that he was going to learn potty. We've had a couple of accidents, but so far he has told me 3 times that he had to pee, and he went! I am very excited. I wondered if I started Ben too early because we worked a long time, but Finn also has a good example in Ben, so who knows. Finn also has been adamantly refusing and Ben was very willing. So that was my excitement for the day. A few months ago he pooped in the potty and I thought we were on our way to potty training, but that was a solitary incident. Here's hoping for quick success and fewer diapers...

Feel the Breeze

We've had a few wonderful days of window-opening weather. There's a nice breeze flowing through the house with a great smell to it. We've been able to eat BLTs with tomatoes from the garden, and we were given a few bags of sweet corn. All I can say is, Yum. I'm freezing some of it, which I've never done myself, but I have had the privilege of eating the fruits of other people's labors. It's a bit of work but definitely worth it. I'm finding that doing it in stages is working the best for me. There's no way I can do it all at one time. Thankfully after doing one batch and eating other things, I've found room in my fridge for the many ears remaining so I can take my time.

Leah had her 1-year checkup on Monday. She was 20 lbs 12 oz and 31 inches. It's amazing how fast babies grow in the first year. Poor girl had an ear infection and got 4 shots. Plus she was tired. She slept for 3-1/2 hours when we got home. I'm sure the ibuprofen helped that along a bit, but she needed it. She was definitely a happier baby when she got up. At least she won't remember this stuff.

I guess the corn won't husk itself, so off I go.

Life's Little Joys

I have a couple of stories about Finn, who is without a doubt the most energetic one of this family. He definitely keeps me on my toes, and you never know what he'll say or do next.

I took the boys with me grocery shopping yesterday. I had lots of stuff to get, so I didn't put them in the cart. Of course they promised to behave, but after all, they are 3 and 2. So off they went running up and down the aisles. And the thing is, if Finn didn't do it, Ben wouldn't. That's just the kind of kids they are. So I specifically stopped Finn and told him he would be in the cart if he didn't stop running, which is his worst nightmare at the store. A lady in the aisle turned to me and said, "He must be your energetic one." I thought it was kind of funny that even though they were both running, she picked him out.

Last night Finn woke up around 11:00 with a very stuffy nose. Jon and I were both up a couple of times to help him. He refused to keep a tissue in bed with him and asked me to take him downstairs. I figured I might as well because I wasn't getting any sleep. So we went downstairs and I put the TV on, thinking he would kind of daze out as I rocked him. I dozed off for a while at some point, and a few times I asked if he was ready for bed. He said no. At 12:30 I told him it was bedtime and he went readily. Guess what time he was up? 7:20 this morning. This kid needs to live somewhere else where people don't sleep, cause the rest of us sure need more of it.

We got some kid-sized ice cream cones, so tonight I asked the boys if they wanted an ice cream cone after supper. They both said yes. So I got them ready and handed them over, and Finn said he didn't want ice cream, just the cone. He's never done this before, and I'm not sure where it came from. He ate the cone plain and was happy with that. Leah enjoyed his cone with ice cream in it-she ate the whole thing.

We find ourselves laughing at Finn often. He's goofy and he knows it. He's got great comedic timing and knows just how to make us laugh. What a joy he is!