I am an organizing machine.

This week, I have been focusing on finishing up the last bits of organizing and sorting that need to be done after moving into this house.  I am a bit slower than I was when we moved to Colorado due to being pregnant and all, but I finally organized all of the girls' clothes in the basement.  We have sooooo many tubs of clothes.  And, since it looks like this baby I am growing in my belly is also a girl, I wanted the clothes to be sorted and ready for each girl as they grow into and out of sizes.  I also have a whole area in the basement dedicated to a future garage sale.  And, I have been trying to get the tubs of holiday and house decorations and random things I've kept put together as well.  Needless to say, I may  be already nesting.

 My parents are coming to visit us next week!  Our first visitors in our new house!!!!!  It has been a great motivator to get the rest of the things on the walls and get the crap out of the guest room that we hadn't gotten around to yet.  The girls are so excited.  We are going to have an early Thanksgiving meal with my sister and her husband while our parents are in town.  We haven't had a Thanksgiving together since 2004.  I'm sure you can imagine how happy my mom is about getting to see us all together.  My sister came over for dinner the other night and we made up the menu. Turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, corn, ham, pies, cobblers...a super traditional Thanksgiving like what we would eat when we were little.

After my parents' visit, our dear friends Kim, Chris, and their daughter Kayleigh are coming to see us the week of Thanksgiving.  We're going to order Chinese take-out on Thanksgiving day.  It was their idea to not make a huge meal.  I heart them.

 The weather here has been gorgeous lately.  Highs in the low 80s and high 70s.  The girls are constantly outside playing and digging and riding bikes.  That is one nice thing about living in Texas--the weather allows for a much longer amount of the year that the girls can be outdoors.  I've been trying to get the front of our house looking nice.  I've decorated for Halloween and am tackling the flower beds that have been sorely neglected.  But, there are some rose bushes that are fighting to grow and one of them actually decided to bloom!  See:

 There is a nursery near our house and I think I am going to pay them a visit and see what I can plant that will grow at this time of year.  There is also an old tree stump that had tons of weeds and vines growing around it.  It looked like a garbage pile.  I went and attacked it a couple of weeks ago and found that the tree is trying to grow back.  It's just a baby, but I've decided to leave it and see how it does.  I also have tons of wild Purple Queen growing everywhere around my house.  I love it.  The butterflies love it.  I'll have to take some pictures and show you.  The purple flowers are so delicate and beautiful.  I can not wait until spring so I can plant away to my heart's content in the garden.

I plan on taking some pictures soon of our house and giving you all a virtual tour.  Hopefully by next week, it will be picture worthy.  I did want to show you this though:

It's the play area we created by the living room. Julia is not one to let me leave her sight, so I knew that putting all of her toys in her room or making a play room upstairs would just be a waste of time since I spend most of my time in the kitchen and living room area.  But, we created a nook in the corner between the living room and dining area for her enjoyment.  She actually loves it.  I want to get a rug to lay in the middle, because she usually brings the toys she wants to play with to the living room because there is a rug there.

Today is story time at the library and Julia said she might go and sit with the kids on the circle rug instead of sitting on my lap or by my feet.  I'm starting to lose my lap, so hopefully she works up the gumption to sit closer to her peers.  It's still so amazing to me how completely opposite of each other my girls are.  Elisabeth would have been right up front answering questions and telling the other kids her name.  Julia won't let go of my hand and rarely smiles.  Makes me wonder what this third kid we're having is going to be like.  Will she be a mixture of the two girls?  Will she be the opposite of both of them?  I am only 5 months along, but I am dying to meet this little person I am growing.

When Evan leaves, things fall apart.

I don't know if you are aware of this or not, but when your spouse leaves for an extended period of time, things that normally would never happen, happen. It's true. Last week, Evan was gone to Virginia (the state) for a class. He left Sunday morning and things were going smoothly until late Tuesday afternoon.  That's when Elisabeth asked if she could go play at a friend's house down our street.  I said sure.  About 20 minutes later, I hear her come in and take off her shoes.  As she's headed toward the living room, I ask her if her friend had to stop playing.  "No. I came home because I fell out of a tree."

Elisabeth and the friend were playing in the girl's tree house (it's actually more of a platform).  They were trying to decide what to play when a bird in the tree flew towards Elisabeth, she panicked, and she fell backwards out of the tree.  It was a good 9ft drop.  The friend asked if she was ok and Elisabeth told her she needed to go home.  When she fell, she fell on her right side, hurting her leg and she hopped all the way home.  Mind you, Elisabeth did not tell me all of this when she walked in the door.  She wasn't crying or freaking out; she's just weird and has a high pain tolerance.

Well, I asked her how her leg felt and she said sore.  She couldn't put any weight on the right leg and after half an hour (and calling Evan and Kyle for advice) I decided to take her to the emergency room around 6:00PM.  At 10:30PM, we finally got to go home.  Elisabeth was examined and had x-rays done.  Nothing was broken, but she definitely had some trauma to the leg after such a big fall.  They gave her some crutches and told me to give her tylenol and sent us home saying to make a follow-up appointment with her pediatrician on Friday.

Well, Ebeth, who obviously is not a complainer about pain, was coming home crying after school about how much her foot hurt.  The ER doctor said she'd probably slowly start to use her foot by the weekend, but by Thursday night, there was no improvement and I was worried that we were making her worse.  When we went to the pediatrician on Friday, the doctor asked if Elisabeth had been given crutch training.  I said no. She was not pleased.  Turns out, Elisabeth needed to be taught how to put some weight on her bad foot with the crutches in order to allow her to slowly start using it more.  She also learned how to properly go up and down the stairs (I had been telling her the opposite of what she should have been doing, but since I've never used crutches, I had no idea) and she learned some foot stretches to help her muscles.  By Sunday, she was walking around crutch free!  I am so glad we went back or the follow up appointment.

Also, while Evan was gone, the girls had a dentist appointment.  This was Julia's first trip to the dentist.  She was nervous.

But, thanks to my sister, who suggested the dentist to us, the staff and dentist were fabulous with her and she was a super patient.  They gave her cool sunglasses so the light wouldn't bother her.  They also had Toy Story 2 playing so she'd have something to distract her.  She was told her teeth were clean and perfect.

 Ebeth was also told her teeth were fabulous except for one cavity that she is having filled this week.  Elisabeth LOVES the dentist, which is why she insisted on keeping the appointment even though it was the day after she fell out of the tree.

 Besides endless doctor appointments (cause I had my own baby doctor appt too), my car's brakes decided to take a dump, causing me to have to take them to Just Brakes.  Don't worry, it wasn't just that pads needed replaced, but that my right back caliber needed to be rebuilt.  I was carless most of Thursday and part of the morning Friday.  It was awesome.

But, Evan came home late Friday night and now all is right with the world.  Elisabeth's leg is better, my car is fixed and Julia has outgrown her tricycle and is now on a training wheel bike!

 She is super proud of herself.

Now that my week from hell is over, I can focus on the important things...like Halloween and Elisabeth's 9th birthday next week and the fact that my parents are coming in a week from Thursday!

Virtual Coffee

Hey, you guys!!  Thanks for coming over for some coffee.  For once, it is actually cool enough to enjoy a hot cup of coffee!!!  The highs for this week are in the mid to low 70s and I am excited for them.  I have some long sleeves that I'd love to wear.  I told Julia she'd need a jacket for dance class this morning and she was shocked.  "Why?!  It's not hot today?"

This girl goes out and rides her bike every morning.  Obviously, she's getting a bit big for that tricycle, but she loves it so much.  We have a bike with training wheels in the shed that used to be Elisabeth's.  We're going to get it out this weekend and make sure it's working right and show her how to ride it.  I think she'll love it.

So, Evan is gone for the week at a JAG course in Virginia (the state).  The girls are missing him like crazy.  It's all they talk about.  I printed off a calendar for Julia and we've been counting down the days until he comes home.  It's been easier this time with him gone because Julia is older and almost completely self sufficient.  Last year, when he was gone in July for 2 weeks, it was rough.  Julia was still super intense and I couldn't be out of her sight for a minute.  Now, she's a bit more independent and can be in a room near me and just check in. A lot.

Do you realize that Halloween is in less than 2 weeks?!  I love Halloween.  My girls are going to try on their costumes this weekend and make sure we have all the things they need.  Julia is going to be her favoritest doll, Pink Baby.  My mother-in-law made her dress and she is so excited.  She's going to take Pink Baby with her when we trick-or-treat.  Elisabeth is going to be Hermione from Harry Potter.  We are going to finish the 4th book tonight and the movie is in the mail and should be here today, so we're going to watch it this weekend when Evan is home. I have really enjoyed reading the series to Elisabeth.  She's so into the story and loves to predict what's going to happen. I bought her her own HP book collection for her birthday.  She doesn't know it yet, but I am pretty sure she's going to scream with excitement when she opens them.  But, I am only going to give her the 4 books we've read and then as we finish the last 3, I'll give them to her so she can reread them as many times as she wants.  She asked me if she could keep my books in her room.  Um, no. Those are mine (aren't I such a first child?) and I have 2 more kids I have to read the series too.  Then she asked if she could take mine with her when she moved out.  I laughed at her.  Now, it won't be an issue because she'll have her own.  Julia has already asked if I will read Harry Potter to her when she's bigger.  I am looking forward to it.

I have been wanting to make some cut-outs to put in the windows for Halloween for a couple of years now. I got the idea from my Martha Stewart Halloween magazines (dude, that lady has some FABULOUS Halloween decorating ideas).  This year, I finally got around to making them.  We have so many windows, I was excited to take advantage of them.

I am super excited with how they turned out!

The owl is in Julia's room.  She has a witch's face in the other window.  Elisabeth wants to make her own owl, so I've left her some black posterboard for her to draw on.

Evan's been calling every night on our "big" phone.  We finally got a landline so Elisabeth could call her friends in Colorado without having to beg to use our cellphones.

Oh, you noticed that it's a rotary phone?  Yep!  It was mine from when I was little.  We've been saving it for when we would eventually have a landline again.  The girls love it.  And, the sound quality is WAY better than cordless and cell phones.  We love it.

Well, it's time to take a very excited Julia to her dance class. That girl loves dance.  Signing her up was one of the best things we've ever done for her. She smiles a huge smile the entire time she is there.

Thanks for stopping by!!  I'll see you next week!

Fire Station and Oktoberfest

Julia has recently acquired a love of all things having to do with fire fighters.  Well, I guess this interest started last year when we went with Elisabeth and her class on a field trip to a fire station in Colorado Springs.  But, lately, Julia's interest has peaked.

At the library on base, the story time librarian told the kids that some firefighters were coming to read books and talk to them during National Fire Safety week.  Julia was beyond excited.  She talked about it for weeks.  Then, when the day actually came, she wore Elisabeth's fire hat and told me all about how we couldn't be late (which? we are rarely late, thankyouverymuch).  The fire chief read stories and then one of the fire fighters showed the kids how he puts on his gear and what he sounds like with his mask on.  Julia, who never ever sits with the kids on the rug during story time because she prefers my lap or sitting by my feet, actually sat in the circle.  She also turned to me to loudly declare, "Mommy, this is so cool!"

When it was over they all got to color a picture of a fire truck and received their own fire hats.

As they were leaving, the fire fighters told the kids that on Saturday, the fire station was having an open house where the kids could come and climb the fire trucks.  You'd have thought it was Christmas morning with how Julia's face was beaming with delight at the idea of actually getting to visit the fire station.  We'd already planned on going to Ft Sam Houston's Oktoberfest on Saturday, so we made a day of it and started with the fire station first.

They had a band playing at the fire station.  Julia got her groove on:

Now, here's where my Julia is so different from her big sister.  Julia, when actually presented with the opportunity to explore and touch the fire trucks, totally turned into the shyest child alive and shut down.

Elisabeth, who barely cares about such things, was climbing up in the seats and taking pictures with her camera.  

When it was Julia's turn to sit in the fire seat, she about started bawling her little eyes out.

So, we very slowly and calmly walked around the fire trucks.  We didn't make her touch anything if she didn't want to.

And, like we knew she would, after a few minutes she started to warm up.

She even got excited and started smiling and asking questions.

After the fire station, we headed over to the base's Oktoberfest where they served German beer (much to Evan's delight) and schnitzel and pretzels (much to my delight).  The Army's polka band was playing in the biergarten tent.  Julia danced and clapped and found it just a bit loud.

Then we headed over to the kid tent for games and prizes.  (Do you see my uber cool 8.75 year old in her sunglasses?  She cracks me up.  Oh, and she has a sucker in her mouth, not a small cigarette, which is what it looks like in every picture I took of her.)

                                      

                                      

Julia declared it the best day ever.

Today.

Today is one of those days where I could do a bunch of things and be super productive, but first I'd have to find the get-up-and-go needed to do said things. 

Today is also one of those days where Julia needs to talk all day to me about every little thought going through her 3 year old mind. She does this while following me around everywhere.  Some day, I will totally get to use the bathroom solo again...someday...

(This little bird sits on my kitchen window sill with two of his little friends.  They make me very happy when I'm washing dishes.)

 Today is one of those days where I don't feel pregnant, I just feel like a giant monstrosity. I will be five months along next week.  How weird is that?  This pregnancy has kind of flown by...probably because it's my third one and I kind of feel all "been there, done that".  Of course a pregnancy that flies by quickly in the beginning will probably drag those last couple of months and then the baby will be here before I know it.  I'm anxious to meet this baby.  I'm wondering how it will differ from it's big sisters personality-wise.  Do you think this one will talk less? Yeah, I don't think so either.

                                             
 Today is one of those days where I miss being in Colorado. I miss being able to just call my friends and say, "Dude, I'm  bored and I'm coming over in 5 minutes." I also miss the mountains. I am trying really hard to give Texas a chance, but when you're heart belongs to another state, it's hard.  This weekend I think we'll do some more exploring of the city.  I'm trying to take advantage of the loveliness that is Groupon and visit new places and try new things.  Now that it's not so hot, both girls have been outside more and have befriended the countless neighborhood children.  Even my shy little Juju has been initiating conversations with the kids she meets.

 Today is one of those days where I'm not saying "no" to much.  Can  we read a million books?  Sure.  Can I go outside and play in the rain?  Yes.  Can we build block towers?  Of course.

Today is one of those days.  How's your day going?

The Playground.

In less than a month, Elisabeth will be 9.  (Please be aware that you will get the year blog post with pictures of her much younger and me weeping about how my first baby could possibly be so big.)

I think one of the hardest things about parenting a soon to be 9 year old is explaining to her why some people choose to be unkind and that some of these people are her peers.

Ever since Elisabeth was a toddler, I have been drilling it into her that we don't pick on others.  When she was 4 and in day care, there was a boy (who had been in the 3 year old class I taught) who was still having problems potty training.  One of the girls in the class told all the other kids not to sit by him in center time because he was gross.  Elisabeth came home and told me what the girl had said and that's when I started talking to her about kindness and respect.  The little boy was probably one of the sweetest people you'd ever meet.  He was a ray of sunshine.  I asked Elisabeth how she thought the little boy felt when no one would sit by him. I told her what has become my number one parenting mantra: "You don't have to be friends with everyone, but you do have to be kind."

If you know my Elisabeth, you know she has a big heart.  She's never met a stranger.  And, until Julia started walking and talking and showing us her own personality, we'd never really seen Elisabeth be frustrated or unkind. (Siblings tend to bring out unknown characteristics in each other.) (And siblings of good friends...like Peter...right, Rach? :)

For the last couple of weeks, Elisabeth has been coming home from school with playground issues. It turns out that another girl from a different class has been unkind to Elisabeth for playing with a mutual friend.  She's been whispering (loud enough for Elisabeth to hear) rude comments about Elisabeth when she walks by.  She's been telling Elisabeth that no one wants to play with her. And, as of the last couple of days, she's been seeking Elisabeth out to sabotage what Ebeth is playing or to try to hurt her.

Of course, Evan and I are concerned.  I've been giving her some tools to use (telling the girl how you feel; ignoring and walking away; standing near a grown up so the girl won't bother her), but when it starts to get beyond normal girl squabbles and pettiness and into bullying, then we need to take it to the next step.  Elisabeth is going to ask her teacher to talk about her playground problems and I emailed the teacher last night.  Thankfully, her teacher is marvelous and I know this will be nipped in the bud.

But, what about next year?  What about in junior high when it seems that it gets even worse?  What about in high school? How do you tell your child that some people just suck and there's nothing you can do about it?

I am thankful that Elisabeth is comfortable talking to me and Evan about her problems.  She said one of the girls asked why Elisabeth was tattling to me (Elisabeth told them that I said not to hang out with them if they couldn't be kind).  Elisabeth said, "I'm not tattling. I'm telling her my problems and she's helping me."

This is when I wish I could just keep her home in a bubble. But, even if I kept her home in a bubble until college, she'd encounter these same bullies in the grown up world. At jobs and in parenting groups and at social functions, those bullies are still alive and lurking.  They are still just as mean and it hurts just as much.

"Mom, if they don't like me, why can't they just ignore me?"

I don't know sweetie.  But, please know that so many more people love you oodles and oodles and bunches and bunches.  You are a good person and it is their loss.