Just a Little Baby Update and Adoption Update

First adoption. I’m sure most of our friends thought that we had dropped this off…but alas, no. We’ve been trying to get our physicals done for our homestudy. Mainly the paperwork. And don’t we all love going to the doctor. Fortunately, at my last ob visit, my doctor took my forms and I got them back from him this week. I’ve now given Mark the mission of going to the doctor after work on Tuesday. Wish him luck. He’s used to all this and has to get a physical every year or so for work, so it’s not a big deal for him.

And Baby #5 (or Johnny…whatever) is moving and grooving and giving me a few jabs here and there. I”m right at 17 weeks and yes, that is early to feel the baby move. However, I’ve felt all our babies move right around this time. I thought it might take a little longer since I have, ahem, extra baggage, but nope, I can feel him just fine. I’ve never really felt the “butterflies” feeling but it’s usually a roll or push or little kick or jab. And yes, I know the difference between gas and moves, so don’t think I’m overreacting. Even Mark felt Zoe move right around 16 weeks. She kicked him pretty hard one night and he felt it through clothes and covers. So, I’m not exaggerating. Only a 23 more days left to vote on whether the baby is a boy or girl.

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Football Season and Various Sundries

I just have to say I am one of few women that I know who enjoys a good NCAA football game…and a good high school game if it’s my dad’s team I’m cheering on.

We were getting ready for the Bama game (which was not very good and the officials and commentators drove us crazy) and Liam yelled at the television (I have no idea where he gets the idea to yell at the tv…definitely not from me):

“You guys are going home.”

It was pretty funny because Boston College had pulled it out to win in the last forty seconds, so really, they were all about to go home. And, of course, because we laughed, Liam had to say it over and over and over again.

Lots of new and exciting things happening here. Okay, not really. Except that Mark got my plants in the ground (I pick them/he plants them…I like this set up). I started a Bible study on Saturday mornings and think it’s going to be great. Finally ordered a maternity pillow that should keep some of my pregnancy induced insomnia at bay…but only if we can keep my knee from hurting and my mind from racing.

And our big thing is we are seriously looking at getting a larger van this month. A local credit union is offering a good interest rate, so Mark is cautiously looking into getting one now instead of in January. I’m doing the legwork for the van search. Mark gets to do all the negotiating, discussion with bank and dealers and such. Again, I like this set up! But please, all 11 of my friends and family, pray for wisdom as we go through this car buying process again. At least, our current vehicles are paid for which is a little lighter load to bear.

Our friends were over last night and didn’t notice the olive oil spill. Phew! Zoe had a blast singing a song that she and her friend had made up. They sang it over and over and over and over…again. Apparently, this song came from being the first and only ones in Sunday school for a little while last week. Really, it kind of tickled me to see Zoe building up healthy and fun friendships. She’s really growing up and enjoying being with other girls more.

This was just going to be about how cute Liam was, but I digressed. Oh well!

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In His Steps

Josiah wants to be just like his big brother. Case in point: Josiah decided to play in the pantry while I prepared lunch (of course, I’m standing right there). No harm, I thought. Then Ace came to get the plates on the table announces, “He spilled it.”

Josiah had grabbed the olive oil and opened the bottle (which I’ve now realized is very easy to do) and poured it on the floor. As I’m trying to clean it up, he tries to stand in it. What a beauty!

All this on the day that we are having a new family from our church over. Lovely…gotta run do the bathrooms before I have the kids clean up.

And, it’s nice to see I have seven loyal readers…I didn’t count Mark and me…judging by the votes on what the baby is.

Now, I really must go get the flyswat from whoever has it.

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Josiah’s 15 month Check up

Went today for Josiah’s 15 month check up. He’s doing excellent on the chart side of things. He hit a growth spurt and is filling out and up.

He has this skin thing in his mouth where the side of his mouth is still connected to his gums on the upper side. Kind of like the thing in the front (which he also has and has taken care of some of it by trying to climb the bunk bed) where the upper lip is connected to the gum just above the teeth. There’s a medical term for it but I didn’t write it down because it’s not serious. Anyway, Dr. B looked at the sides of his mouth and said surprised, “I’ve never seen that before!” Well, well…I’ve stumped our most trusted and experienced pediatrician…way to go, huh! Dr. B felt like it wouldn’t really cause any problems except with foods that may be a little sharper. She did tell us to check with the dentist to make sure nothing else needed to be done about it.

His speech is very little but he’s still got a few more months before we start talking about him needing some extra help. That’s why I like Dr. B…she is very laid back about things but knows when to jump in and take action. Alright enough bragging!

We are going to try a little soy milk and yogurt to see if we can get some calcium in him. He just absolutely refuses milk, even with chocolate or strawberry mixed in. Of course, he’s always been weird about what he drinks and really prefers water over any other drink (yes, even juice…wouldn’t take it at all when we introduced a cup).

He’s doing great though and here are his stats to prove it:
Weight 26 lbs 2 oz (75%…was 40% at 12 mths)
Height 33 inches (90%…not sure how much up from but he’s grown taller)
Head: 19 1/2 inches (97%)

I found his Trick or Treat costume at Wal-Mart today for $10! He’s going to be the cowardly lion. It’s for 12-18 mths but I tried it on and it fits, barely. Don’t worry, I’m still making Ace’s (tinman) and Liam’s (scarecrow) costumes. I’m also adding the red bow to Josiah’s to make him extra cowardly.

And another thing…check out Safetytat. I ordered some for our adventurous Liam and got them in today. They are temporary tattoos with your phone number (cell or whatever you designate) on them so if you get lost in a crowd they can find you by calling the number. I’ve been wanting to get them but haven’t had the chance, until now. With Liam always taking off and Zoe sometimes in Lala Land, I think they will be really useful.

Don’t forget to vote in the poll to your right as to whether we’re having a boy or girl…all in good fun!

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New Artist Alert

Okay, so he’s not new. It’s Phil Joel! Formerly a bassist for the Newsboys (which I just found out). I found him through girltalk blog post here. I just downloaded the cd and all I can say is, WOW!!! Very good music and the kids and I both love it. From his website, deliberateKids: “…deliberateKids teaches core spiritual principles and strong Biblical truth.” If you are looking for ways to teach your children how to authentically worship God and love doing, this album is definitely a must! I found this album with several of his other ones on itunes.

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Woohoo!

Just checked the box office ratings and Fireproof came in 4th. It grossed 6.5 million. I believe that their previous movie (the Kendrick brothers/Sherwood Baptist), Facing the Giants, grossed a total of 10 million. Wow! What a blessing! Don’t forget to go see it if you haven’t already. Highly recommended!!

More later. Battling a cold (with a yucky headache) so taken it easy this afternoon. Stay tuned…

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Good Recommendation…Bad Review

Got our stuff at the landscape place today and hope to have it in the ground next week. Definitely count on “after” pictures but I’m infamous for forgetting “before” ones.

Mark and I just got back from a date to see the new movie Fireproof. This was a great movie! The best role Kirk Cameron has played in a long time (except for his father role and his work with The Way of the Master…but those aren’t acting roles). Anyways, it was really, really good and the best movie from the Kendrick brothers. Very well done. Very well acted (especially since the overwhelming majority of the actors were volunteers). I didn’t notice the “cheese” that can go along with Christian films which was wonderful. So if you can go, go. Mark and I really thought we were going to have to wait to see it next weekend. We had plans with some friends but last minute a child got sick on Thursday. While she was better today, we didn’t want to risk any of ours (or me, which is always the case with the stomach bug) to get sick. So, a friend watched our kids and we’ll watch hers tomorrow when she goes to see the movie with her husband. Fair trade…’cept I have twice as many kids as she does!

Anyway, after the movie, we headed to get something to eat and went to the closest Subway since that isn’t really a “kid” place to eat (meaning my kids wouldn’t enjoy it but Mark and I do). The employee preparing the sandwiches was unbelievably rude. The couple in front of us scooted down to the middle of the display case and the employee all but yelled at them to move back and told us not to move. When she finished with the customers ahead of the couple in front of us, she came back to them and continued to berate them about moving ahead. She told them that they needed to stay at the front of the case so she could prepare their sandwiches as they placed the order. I asked Mark if he thought maybe her neck and body were messed up so she couldn’t turn the less than 45 degrees needed to talk to the customers. She continued that the only reason to move down the line was if (and only if) they were ordering a cookie. At that point, I looked at Mark and told him that I didn’t want to pay to be yelled at. I’d only do that at one place…The Varsity, in Atlanta, because their chili cheese dogs and orange drinks are sooo worth it! He agreed and we left and ate a nice Southwestern style restaurant across the street (which was understaffed and a little behind but good and they were decent). So there’s a bad review for now. If you live near me, email me and I’ll tell you which Subway it was. Not all of them are bad, I know. I’ve eaten at some really nice ones, but this one…the employee was so rude. That’s hard to take and I didn’t feel like being rude since we’d just come from a Christian movie and all (I’m trying, just keep praying for me ya’ll!).

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Gardening for Dummies…that’s us!

Mark and I have now admitted, we are Landscaping/Gardening Dummies. Hence the reason we live in a city…and also the reason our yard looks like my dad’s head (sorry daddy).

However, this weekend there is a nice big sale at a local wholesale nursery. And this year, I have a neighbor who is a landscaping pro! So S came over with his family yesterday and looked at our yard (like he doesn’t see it everyday driving and walking the neighborhood, bless his heart) and came up with a few plant ideas that I possibly couldn’t kill and wouldn’t look like they were thrown there.

Mark’s doing church stuff this weekend, so I was going to brave the sale alone trudging to and fro with 3 gallon plants and a double stroller and a 4 and 5 year old who would rather run around the plants since all of them are outside. Yea, that would be fun. My sweet husband came to the rescue and nicely asked S if he could get our plants (I told him to even offer to help with gas money) and he’s agreed.

I’m still going if something happens with S’s plans. My yard is begging me to.

Right now my goal is to get our big front bed done and have it tie into the addition so the addition doesn’t really look like an addition. Make sense??? Yea, not to me either but I have a rough drawing and orders on where to plant/transplant.

So, Mark and I were talking about it last night and discussed how much we don’t know about gardening, basic plant care, and even lawn care (remember my dad’s head…sorry again daddy). I told him that this was yet another sign we were not inclined to go “agrarian.” Wish we could, but just not smart enough right now and definitely happy where God’s planted us…I just hope that “His stuff” grows!

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What’s Up with the Cat???

Champ, our youngest of two cats, has been acting really weird lately. Keep in mind that he’s around 11 years old…no spring chicken, so he’s set in his ways. Well, Saturday night, he came to our room about every two hours to meow. Not just once, but several times…enough to get me awake.

So Sunday night, not to be outdone by his antics the previous night, Champ decided to sleep right up against Mark and purr every time I moved. He hasn’t slept with us in several years (at least since kids). And his purr sounds like a freight train (especially when it’s right near your ear.

Then to top it off, last night, he decided that right smack on my head is the best place to sleep. I’m just not a cuddler, especially with a cat that has not really wanted to cuddle much at night in a loooong time. I also get hot really easily at night. This didn’t bode well with me, and I tried to move him three times (he was also purring right on my head) before I gave up and flipped around. That worked fine until something woke me up and I panicked trying to figure out who moved the door and what happened to our bathroom. I was also incredibly hot because my feet were not next to the fan (yes, I know I’m weird, T can back me up though!). So, I answered the call of the bladder and returned to sit on the edge of the bed for a little while until I cooled off and decided the best option was to lay on the floor. As I got a pallet made on the floor, Champ decided it was time to get up and roam the house. I got to sleep in bed peacefully until Mark left for work and Champ decided that it was time to drive me crazy again.

I haven’t had this little sleep since Zoe was a newborn and had colic! If I don’t get sleep tonight, I may just go a little more crazy!!

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