Appointment Today!

I saw my nurse practioner this afternoon. We talked about the pregnancy, how things are going and she measured me. I'm measuring just where I should and even though she poked around quite a bit with the doppler, she only found one heartbeat! I have an ultrasound in 5 weeks which will tell for sure, but it does seem that there is only one in there. Here's a fresh picture of me and "my bump". Enjoy! This is at just 13 weeks. I get really big, really fast!

Saturday Afternoon

Well, since I've received static from someone about how long it's been since I've posted, I thought I'd send out a little update. There's not much to report. Jim finished up inservice for the 12th time. He is teaching English 7, 8, 9 and Latin 9 and 10. He'll be directing Anne of Avonlea this fall as the fall play. They'll pull in talent from the Schaeffer Community in different aged roles, so it will be a great show!

Evan had "Meet the Teacher" day yesterday. We loaded all three kiddos up just before 9 and went to meet Mrs. Sandie Hansen. She's in her 11th year of teaching first grade at Schaeffer. They have two sections of first grade, he got the older of the two teachers. Sandie is really excited to have Evan in class since she's been hearing Evan stories from Jim for the last 6 years! :) I think she's up for the challenge of a young first grader who not only taught himself to multiply, but plays chess and manages to either beat or get into stalemate most of his opponents!

When Evan starts first grade, Aidan moves from pull-ups all day to underwear all day (pull ups in bed only!). He knows this and is excited to get started! He decided to wear pull ups several months ago. He thinks that diapers are for babies, and pull ups are for big boys. I guess underwear are for really big boys! He also got a terrible diaper rash yesterday, so I'm using that as a springboard for how nice it will be when he doesn't get an "owie bum" because he'll be dry.

Toby is plugging along. He's talking up a storm and has lots of friends at nursery. Over the last 2 weeks he's decided it would be okay to go into nursery without crying which is a huge relief for Mommy!

Mommy, uh, I guess, I'm just working on keeping up. I've discovered that if I don't get enough sleep I get sick feeling during the day. I'm almost 13 weeks along and have put away all my non-maternity clothes in favor of long full t-shirts and panel pants. I like the newer shorter maternity shirts, but have so many maternity clothes I hate to buy new ones just for the next 6 months! I'll probably scout the end of season garage sales and try to pick up a few new ones just to freshen up my wardrobe for the fall/winter months!

Well that's our news. I'll write again sooner than 2 weeks from now! :)

Babies and Bikes

Many times while watching my babies learn to walk I have had the thought, "Why does God give babies the ability to walk before they have the sense to know exactly what to do with that skill?" You know, babies walk and fall, crash into stuff and get into trouble all at the same time! Well, it does appear that Evan was blessed with the ability to ride a two wheeler much the same way. He rode, fell off, got frustrated with himself, but never gave up and before we knew it he was riding down the sidewalk away from the house. And fell and knocked out his front tooth. So, as you've read, we got that fixed the other day. Now, tonight Jim was watching Evan test out his new skills from the upstairs window. Sure enough, Evan ends up riding down the sidewalk on his face. So, now Evan has a bit of a fat lip left from last week, a scraped up place on his forehead, cheek and eyelid. So, the bike is back in the garage until Evan gathers up enough courage to tackle the challenge once again!

In other, less dramatic news, we had the first meeting of our MOPS steering team this morning! I'm thinking about getting excited for the new year. Once we stop with the training stuff and get on to the nuts and bolts of what the MOPS year will really look like I'll be all geared up and rearing to go! I'm the creative activities coordinator for our group. I initially gave myself the title of "craft chick" but after serving my second year as CA coordinator was promoted by some to "craft queen". Works for me! If you have any ideas for crafts in the theme "Fresh Air: What Every Mother Needs" send them my way! Oh, and here's a shot of Aidan!

Update on Evan

This morning we loaded up the three boys at 7:00. We dropped the two little ones off at Grandma and "Bumpa"'s house for the morning while Evan and I went off to the oral surgeons. His appointment was to be at 7:30, but of course, they were running late (already??) and he went back at 7:45. The doctor talked to him about the different options for anesthia and Evan chose the "space mask" option. (General anestheia by a mask, no injections.) 45 minutes later I had him loaded up in the van on the way home! 45 minutes after that he was on blankets on the deck playing chess with his chess club buddies! He had to take a couple of breaks to throw up, but went right on back out to chess. When he was on the recovery table with his mouth full of gauze his first words were "can I still play chess?" :) My little chess nerd. He's having peanut butter and jelly sandwich, teddy grahams and a popsicle for lunch. I think he'll be fine! :) Thanks for the encouraging words and prayers this morning. The doc said that he did great and didn't fuss and fight like some kids do when they're nervous.

Oral Surgery

Tomorrow (Friday) morning at 7:30 Evan goes in to the oral surgeon to have his tooth and it's root removed. Should be fun...

What an evening

So, Evan's first bike riding freedom ended in emergency dental. He smashed his front tooth in on the sidewalk down the street. Broke it off at the root. I have to call oral surgery tomorrow to have it removed because he broke it up so high in the gum that the regular dentist won't touch it. He has a fat lip and a funny talk, but we think he'll be okay.

Boundaries

We moved into this house in January 2002. That summer I spray painted "boundaries" on the sidewalk. One near the alley so Evan wouldn't ride his big wheel into the alley and one just on the other side of the driveway (a total distance of maybe 20 feet). Each summer I have expanded his boundaries. Last summer I let him ride around the corner of our lot to the front door. Today I expanded his boundaries again. He can go from the line near the alley (since the alley is used for traffic I don't want him in it!), around the corner of our lot and to the following corner down the block. I just looked out the window and saw him talking with a little girl in front of our house that he's already met in his expanded world! He pointed to me in our front picture window then extended his hand to shake the new little girl's hand! They're riding around the boundaries together, him on his bike (with his dorky looking red helmet) and her on her scooter. Sooooo cute!!!! I just found out that her name is Sara and she's 9! I think they live around the block. If they're the family I'm thinking of her dad came and fixed our dishwasher once...

Big Day at Our House!

Well, today was a big day at our house. Both of the big boys had momentous events. Evan discovered that he can indeed ride a two-wheeler, no training wheels! He hopped on it for me and rode right on down the sidewalk. Aidan also got to go to his first birthday party! Well, not exactly his first, but the first one where he was invited, Brothers and I weren't, so he got to be dropped off and picked up later! He had a great time and was so excited!

Well other than that, no new news! I have my next pregnancy check up on the 28th. They should be able to hear the heartbeat at that one. Yeah!

Fun Evening with Friends

Last night we had the Sedarski family over. In an earlier post I wrote about us going over to their house for dinner with their 7 kids! They only brought 6 of their kids because the oldest one was in the Dominican Republic on a mission trip with their church. Anyway, they came over around 6:30 for dessert. I put out an ice cream sundae bar complete with caramel, homemade hot fudge sauce, bananas, brownies and whipped cream! It was a big hit and they wanted my recipe for the hot fudge. You can get it at www.clubmeadors.blogspot.com later today...

We had a great time just chatting and letting the kids play. Their children are incredible. They get along great not only with my kids, but with each other as well. They're polite and helpful and the house and yard looked better when they left than when they got here...and I'd cleaned house before they got here! They'll make good friends.

Summer Days

Yes, we're all still alive here! I don't know how many people read this thing, but if you do, sorry I haven't updated. I had an awful week with morning sickness. I'll leave it at that! Evan had his first BCC yesterday. That's Backyard Chess Club. :) He had a good time, but only one child came. Oh well, it was the first one and we're doing it every Friday in August, so hopefully others will come next time! Aidan just said good bye to his buddy. Today is washing day for his best friend Teddy Bear Blanket. That thing was disgusting! Toby is toddling around like a nut. I think he's teething. He also has a mean mischevious streak in him. Here's a picture of him at his best! He'll go up to Aidan, take away Teddy Bear Blanket, run away and laugh! What a naughty little brother. :)

Well, today I feel well enough to hit Walmart. I haven't been grocery shopping for almost two weeks. I asked Evan if he wanted me to get his school supplies for him or if he wanted to go with me and pick them out. He said as long as I got cool ones and no girl ones I could just pick them out. That takes care of that! :) Leave a comment if you would, I'd like to know how many people actually read this thing! :)