First Prayer

Since Spence had the poops and threw up yesterday and Coleman's cough is back, I stayed home from church with them this morning. We had our own church! We chose four Bible stories to read and played some games that went with them. When we were finished, I asked Coleman if he wanted to pray. He thanked God for just about everything imaginable! It was so sweet. Then I asked Spence if he wanted to pray. I was surprised when he said yes! Here is his first prayer:

Thank you God for Mommy, Daddy, Coleman, Spencey. Thank you for Nana and Poppa and going to their house. Thank you for our papers.

Isn't that sweet? I'm so glad we have a God that we can worship whenever we want, wherever we are!

The Boys Are Back In Town

The boys spent Tuesday through Friday at Nana and Poppa's house. Our house was so quiet! I had a doctor's appointment, went to my last day of mentoring, ate in front of the TV, worked on the boys' scrapbook, got the baby book ready, stayed up late, slept in, cleaned under my bed, went shopping, went to the grown up side of the Library without incurring any dirty looks, didn't eat any McDonald's, cleaned out closets, and gathered up clothes and took them to Good Will. Thank you Nana and Poppa for giving this worn out Mommy a break! They got back last night around 6:00. Then today Spence has had diarrhea about 8 times and puked once. So much for easing back into the Mommy role! And we're pretty sure Coleman's sinus infection isn't gone, so we'll probably be heading back to the doctor Monday. Hopefully we can get everyone well soon! Whatever their condition, I'm glad to have the boys back!

My Two Year Old's Creed

I imagine that every morning Spence wakes up, and before he yells, "Mommy! Mommy!" he lays in bed and repeats this creed:

I am 2 years old,
therefore I must act like it.

If it is in one piece, I must break it into two.

If it is up high, I must find a way to climb up to it.

If there is a bottle with a pump, I will pump it with all my might.

If it is nasty, I will touch it as much as possible.

If Mommy wants me to eat it, I must utterly refuse.

If Mommy does not want me to eat it, I will try my best to get her to change her mind.

If water comes out of it, I will see how much water I can get out of it before getting caught.

If it's creamy, I will smear it on my face.

If my brother gets it first, I shall yell that, "I was playing with that!"

If my brother builds it, I must tear it down.

If asked to go to the bathroom, I should say, "no" then immediately pee in my pull-up.

While doing all this, I must look as cute as possible.

I am two years old. That is my excuse.
If Mommy looks frazzled at the end of the day, I have had a successful day.
Tomorrow I may choose to act completely different.

Oh what a joy to have a happy, healthy, lovable 2 year old! He brings many smiles to my face and grays to my hair every day! I love you Spence!

Coleman Gets His Groove On

Thursday night was Coleman's end-of-year program at his school. Let me take you back to December, when they had a Christmas program. Leading up to the program Coleman kept telling me, "You can't make me sing." I told him no one would make him sing, and I just prayed that he wouldn't cry or run off the stage! The night of the program, Coleman stood in his spot, looking forward, face frozen in the most serious gaze, arms glued to his sides while all the other children sang and clapped and had a merry ole time.

He's been telling me since I found out about the program that he was going to sing this time. And he did! He sang! He did motions! He will not admit that he had fun, but I think he did. Here are videos of two of the songs his class sang. You are welcome to watch them, but they are mostly there for Grandpa and Grandma and Nana and Poppa. Enjoy!

The Week in Pictures

I promise the next post is about Coleman's school program! Grandparents, sorry it is taking so long to get the videos up.

The boys are really enjoying their sidewalk chalk. Coleman wrote his and Spence's names.

Spence with his teachers on the last day of school

Coleman with his teachers on the last day of school (He loves them, he just doesn't love being told to pose for a picture.)

At the park after school

"Now that you're not wanting a special picture to treasure for all time I'll smile for you!"

And because I love to laugh at myself and the belly, I've included this shot of Spence and the baby watching Coleman's program!

After the program

Some Unrelated and Off the Wall Comments

I'm stuffing my face with pretzel Goldfish and chocolate chips as I type this. (The ratio is 1 goldfish to 3 chocolate chips.)

I've walked by a belly up roach in the dining room about 67 times today. Every once in a while I notice his legs twitching and think I should just stomp him and get it over with. That would mean a disgusting roach crunching noise followed by me having to clean up nasty roach guts. I'm seriously hoping this is the same roach that has been playing peek-a-boo with me in the pantry every night for the last month. I'll keep you posted.

I have never experienced more beautiful mid-May weather in South Texas. Our Sunday School class had the most perfect picnic after church (I had put off planning what to take all week because I seriously could not imagine myself sitting outside at a park at noon) and last night we slept with our window open! Yes, you heard me correctly. And today I sat outside with the boys while they played with their new sidewalk chalk. Amazing!

Today at the doctor's office (I have a lovely sinus infection) I ran into a lady I taught 2nd grade with about 8 years ago. She had never met my little angels. She still hasn't met my little angels. They promptly turned into little devils when they saw me talking to someone I knew. Coleman was making weird noises and pointing to the ceiling repeating the word, "Lights! Lights!" and Spence was running around the waiting room spitting on the leather chairs.

Woo hoo! Without even counting them out, my Goldfish and chocolate chips came out perfectly even!

Did I mention I have a sinus infection? I'm sore from coughing, and yeah, like I need one more thing keeping me up at night! (I'm up to 3 potty trips per night.) OK, enough complaining.

Tonight was the finals of Dancing With the Stars. Even though I haven't been discussing it on here, I have been watching every week. The best three dancers were in the finals, and I think either Gille or Melissa should take home that Mirror Ball Trophy tomorrow night!

While checking out at the doctor's office today, the lady said, "Your copay is $35. Oh, wait, you have a credit! I'll put that toward your bill." I didn't even look at the receipt until I got home. I'm not sure exactly how you get a credit of $.94, but I guess $34.06 is better than $35. I'm still not convinced that her enthusiasm over my credit was fully justified.

This is the boys' last week of school. (Goodbye free time. You'll be missed.) Tomorrow they have parties, then Thursday is the end of the year program. Coleman will return to the stage! I cannot wait to see what happens this time. If you remember, his Christmas performance was less than stellar. He tells me he's going to sing this time. We'll see!

The roach has been, um, dealt with. I'm celebrating by having some more pretzel Goldfish and chocolate chips.

I stayed up late last night finishing my library book, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. (Going to the library with a 4 year old and a 2 year old is not a leisurely event where you have time to browse and find the perfect book. It's more about finding any book that looks halfway interesting in the 30 seconds you're given before the child-free adults start giving you dirty looks to get back to "the kid section." Actually, I have no idea if they give dirty looks or not. I never make eye contact with anyone when we venture over to the adult side. All this being said, I really enjoyed the book, so the movie will have to move up the queue on Netflix!) So, I'm off to bed, after I go spray some of that $60 nasal spray into my nose.

What's Behind Belly #1?

34.5 weeks

Something is hiding in this picture. Can you guess what it is?

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Here are some random things I'll mention while you're guessing what is hiding:

The shed is really coming along! Brian said he needs about 5 more hours of work to get it done. I'm so close to parking in the garage I can almost smell it!

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Several months back I asked you to pray for a girl named Belinda that is a part of our playgroup. She was about 24 weeks pregnant and had to go on bed rest because of some complications. On Thursday she delivered a healthy baby girl who weighed 7.2 lbs at 36 weeks! I know they took the baby to the NICU right away, but I don't think she was going to have to stay there very long. Praise the Lord! I can't imagine being confined to bed for that long!

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OK, enough stalling. Have you guessed what's hiding in my picture?

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A watermelon!

I've heard it looks like I've got a watermelon under my shirt, so I wanted to see if that was true. I guess everyone was right! It's about the same shape! Check out the shoes. I've been accidentally leaving the house in these recently. Oops! I looked down the other day in the store (yes, I can still see my feet) and had them on. I figure not many people are looking at my shoes, just my watermelon.

What's Going On?

Not much, besides hanging out with these two adorable boys. They look nothing like the naughty type, do they?


When it was time for Spence to get up from his nap today, Coleman went upstairs and opened his door. He came running down yelling that Spence had done something bad and had something on his face. I was pretty sure I hadn't left any Sharpies lying around in Spence's room, so I couldn't imagine what it was. This is what I saw when I entered the room. (Click to get a better look.)


He had climbed onto the dresser and was wiping diaper cream all over his face and hands. It was even between his teeth! That's the nasal aspirator he has, I'm assuming trying to suck cream out of his nose. We don't use the changing pad anymore, so I think it's time to pack it away and store the diaper cream in the bathroom!

There are big changes coming our way, aside from a new storage location for the diaper cream. Coleman has made the transition to all underwear, all the time. He's been wearing underwear for the last year, but I just couldn't bring myself to let him sleep in them. When we ran out of pull ups last week, we made the switch. Did you know urine doesn't just soak into the sheets? It travels up to the pillow, saturating all the stuffed animals in its path. It's all good though, well, except for the pillow. I've never had much luck putting pillows in the wash, so today I went and bought new pillows for the boys. I also bought waterproof covers for the pillows and the twin mattresses that will go on the bunk beds. The beds should be here in the next week or two!

Also, Spence has been showing some interest in the potty, so I bought some pull ups for him. We're going to start a sticker chart and try to take potty breaks throughout the day. I don't hold high hopes for this, but it's easier to take him to the potty if he's wearing a pull up, so we'll see.

I'll leave you with this face. Who couldn't love it?

An Etiquette Lesson

I feel so blessed to be pregnant with my third child. I know there are many women out there who would love to be pregnant, so I hope that it never comes across that I am complaining about being pregnant. I've just heard so many comments (I'll call them "inappropriate") during this pregnancy, that I thought I could put a humorous spin on it and give some good advice to those of you wanting to bring a smile to a pregnant lady's face, but not knowing what to say. All of the comments below are ones, or are similar to ones, that I have heard in the last few months.

You've all heard, "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all." Well, some people just throw that sage advice out the window when they encounter a pregnant woman. For some reason they feel the need to make some comment, any comment, and apparently put no thought whatsoever into how it's going to come across. I like to think that I have a pretty good sense of humor and can handle most of the things people throw out there. However, I fear that some of these hasty speakers will one day encounter Pregzilla. She's hormonal. She's exhausted. She's hot. She's carrying around an extra 30 pounds that's killing her back. She's looking for a bathroom. She's heard one too many comments about her belly or gotten that, "Oh honey, you're still pregnant?" look one time too many. She's going to blow. I feel like I have something to offer people. I'll call it...

A Lesson in Etiquette When Dealing with Pregnant Ladies

One should never say or do the following:

• "Any day now?"
• "You look like you're about to pop!"
  
• "Wow? Did you swallow a watermelon?"
• "It can't be comfortable walking around like that!"
• "That can't get much bigger!"
• "What are your plans this weekend? Going to the hospital?"
• "You still haven't had that baby?"
• "Are you sure you aren't having twins?"
• "Do you ever get scared that there are two in there?"
  
• Furrow your brow in disbelief upon hearing that the arrival of the baby is still a month away.
• Give a googly eyed look at her belly.

Here is what I think you should say or do:

• "You look beautiful!"
• Feel free to bump the A/C down a few degrees
• Give her the seat directly under the ceiling fan
• Share your chocolate bar
• Point her in the direction of the nearest restroom

I'm sure most people who make comments from the "no no" list don't mean to be rude. Nobody wants to make a pregnant chick cry. They just aren't thinking. And of course we all speak before thinking at times. Hopefully after hearing so many potentially insulting words I will think before I choose my words in whatever situation I find myself. And hopefully I've given you something to say or do when you see a mommy-to-be! And no worries, I'm laughing about all the comments I've heard. I haven't smacked a single person...yet.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to Mom and Rita! I could not ask for more wonderful mothers in my life. You both bring me so much joy and teach me how to be a better mom. I am thankful for your love, support, and prayers!

I am also thankful for my sweet husband, Brian. I couldn't be the mom I am without him by my side. It means so much to know he appreciates everything I do and supports me daily. And also for my boys. Without them, I wouldn't know the greatest job that ever existed. I pray to be a better mom each and every day. To lead them to Christ with my actions and words. I love you guys! And I love this little one that is apparently training to join the circus! I can't wait to meet him or her and see those feet that keep punching my belly into strange shapes!

I would love to have a great picture of me and the boys from Mother's Day to share with you, but that just wasn't happening today.



I'm also praying for several moms I know who have lost babies this year, for others who would love to be mothers but are not, and for those whose moms are no longer living. May God bless each of these women today and give them peace. May I be constantly reminded how blessed I am and not take a moment of motherhood for granted!

Too Pooped For Words

Creative Games

Coleman is my little creative genius. At least that's what I like to think. I can't do a lot of active things with the boys at this point (belly.. too... big), and it's getting too hot to go outdoors. So Coleman has been creating some new games. His latest is called Basketball Tricks. This one is perfect for me because I can play it while sitting on a bean bag or in the computer desk chair. He even retrieves the ball for me after each shot. The rules are simple: Coleman comes up with a trick to do with the basketball goal and I have to try to make a basket while he's doing the trick. Once I master a trick, I move up to the next level. The tricks get harder! Some of the "tricks" he does with the goal are spinning it around, leaning it forward and backward or from side to side, or turning it backwards so I have to shoot over the back of the goal. Then there are other tricks where he waves his hands over the basket, lifts and lowers a broom under the basket, or sticks his head in and out of the basket while I try to shoot. The trick here is that he tries to knock the ball out of the basket, so even if I make the shot, he can still knock the ball back out. Some of the tricks that he comes up with make me laugh so hard I can hardly shoot!

The broom trick
If I make the shot, he tries to knock it back out with the broom.

Here you can see he succeeded in knocking the ball out.

Trying to knock my shot out with his head (we have to use our softest ball for this trick).

"Mommy, you shoot and try not to let me catch it in the basket!"

Spence watches all this and even takes a few shots himself. Pretty soon it will be him coming up with creative games! These boys keep me entertained for sure!

Mother's Day Tea

Several of the older classes at Coleman's school invited their moms to a tea party this morning to celebrate Mother's Day. I had a great time eating breakfast with Coleman and talking to some of the other moms. It's also fun to see Coleman interacting with his friends. But the best part was letting him eat lots of sugary treats and then leaving him with his teachers!

At the Mother's Day Tea Party
See that Hershey's Kiss? The promise of getting it is the only reason Coleman is smiling!

Coleman and two of his friends

I Want To Be Just Like Mommy When I Grow Up

And here's a funny conversation I had with Spence while putting him to bed. We were sitting in the rocker reading stories and my stomach kept growling.

Spence: Mommy, you tooted!
Mommy: No. My tummy is growling.
Spence: Oh. (thinks for a minute) The baby is growling?
Mommy: No! Just my tummy!

I'd love to get inside a two year old's head and figure out all his thoughts on the baby. First, he thought he could see it if he looked hard enough through my belly button. Now he thinks he can hear it growling! I told him our baby doesn't growl because it's a nice baby.

Coleman has asked how the baby will get out. I just told him I'll go to the hospital and the doctor will take it out. "But how?" he asked. "She just knows how to get it out," I replied.

How to Fight the Minjas

Coleman and Spence fighting the Minjas (Coleman's word for ninjas)

More moves to mutilate minjas

After the minjas were defeated, Mommy made them pose for a sweet picture

I feel bad when I go several days without posting anything, but most days I'm too exhausted to formulate a rational thought, much less write something anyone would be remotely interested in reading. So lately I've been trying to grab the camera and take a few shots of the boys doing something silly. I've figured out that posting a picture of the boys can give you a glimpse into our lives without me having to put forth much effort. When I say that out loud I sound really lazy! OK, so that's a little embarrassing. I'll go ahead and tell you about our weekend so I don't come across as a total loser.

Friday I took the boys to a birthday party at one of those bounce house places. I was honestly a little freaked out thinking about taking them to a place where swine flu germs could be lurking on every surface, but I stuffed a large bottle of hand sanitizer in my purse and went. The place was in a small community outside of Sugar Land (Jumpin' Jacks in Needville for any of you locals) so I felt better than if this was one of those giant places in Houston where tons of other potentially ill kiddos might be. The boys had a really good time.

Saturday all the guys went to Home Depot to buy supplies to start building a shed. I am all too excited about this project because upon completion of aforementioned shed, I will be able to do something I haven't done in ages - park my car in the garage! With the electric car project and other ongoing house projects there hasn't been any room in there. I have not been given a completion date on this project, but I feel pretty sure that someone will hear about it if I have to lug a baby, two little boys, all their junk, grocery bags, and other paraphernalia from the driveway through the 110 degree heat to the front door when I could be parking in a garage. I'm just sayin'.

Saturday night we got a babysitter and went out to dinner with our friends Scott and Jennifer. We went to Buca di Beppo, somewhere Brian and I had never been before. It's an Italian place that serves family style, so the four of us ordered 2 entrees and split them. We also ordered salad and two appetizers. We had a two hour dinner, then took a romantic stroll around Target. It was so nice to have adult conversation and enjoy a leisurely dinner.

Sunday Brian took my place for nursery duty just in case anyone brought their sick kids to church. I found a pew in the very back so I didn't have to feel self conscience about sitting while everyone else was standing then sitting and standing then sitting the whole service. There I go with the laziness again. But sometimes I get so winded that I can't sing if I have to keep standing up. I'm pretty sure God understands. By the way, our pastor has been preaching a wonderful series on Heaven. I've had to change some of my old ways of thinking, and it's been great! If you are interested in listening to any of these sermons, click here. The first sermon in the series was on March 22.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week! And if you haven't added your guess to my baby pool, click here!

Boys Being Boys