project 365: day 151

...and after!!!

Complete with labels!! :)




And now I am caught up with project 365 so the "day" actually corresponds to the day we're on and not some random day in the near past. :)

project 365: 150

My linen closet (which has needed to be organized for, oh, a year and four months), before:

I got a little mojo back...

..but I'm in a bit of a scrapbook lull. I'm sure one of these days I'll get a bee in my bonnet and make like 15 pages in a day, but for now I'm happy with these two. :)

project 365: day 138

She dragged the hat rack (previously owned by Noah) out of Alexander's room and right into the middle of the hallway, because of course that is the very best place to display one's favorite shoes, right? :)

project 365: day 139

In her Robert Frost stage. See it sitting behind her?? For a few straight nights it went to bed with her (and once she tried to bring it in the bath too). She "read" it to her dolls, constantly intermingling the words "Robert Frost" with her two-year-old speech. :)

project 365: day 140

Bathtime = pull out the plug time (and hide it in ducky's head). :)

Usually we have Claire sit at the plug-end to deter him (which doesn't always work), but this night I bathed him alone. And out the plug (and water) went! :)

project 365: 141

Swimming and lunch at Auntie Susan's house!!! :)

project 365: 142

We spent a few hours getting up some shelves on our empty walls today, woot!!

Yes, her room really is that pink. :)

project 365: day 143

Of course Elmo needs to be tucked in too!!

See? She's obsessed with beds. :)

project 365: day 144

Every night at seven the drip goes off.

And every night at seven, Alex finds the puddles. :)

project 365: day 145

Yay for Mondays when Daddy gets to stay home!!

We've been waiting to go outside until after dinner now (this is of course the second time, because we have probably already been outside in the afternoon to dip into the pool), because the heat is bearable then. :)

Alex usually goes straight to the swing. onto which he climbs and scares his mama when he almost rolls off onto the rocks below.

Claire usually wants to walk around the cement border, and then she wants to watch Daddy hit the tennis ball around.

And then Daddy usually challenges Mama to a friendly tennis match (minus the net- hey, we improvise), which soon turns into a competition, which Mama never wins. :)

It may have lots of weeds (and potential for greatness that I eventually hope to tap into), but we love our backyard. :)

project 365: day 146

How we have been spending our afternoons:



Drinking water straight from the hose, optional. :)

project 365: 147

Reason #813 I know Claire is mine:

I walked into the kitchen this morning and saw this. My special dark-chocolate-mint-fair-trade chocolate bar with two bites taken out of it. She had seen it in the cardboard box on the counter and opened it, the little choc-a-holic!! I've got to keep an eye on her. And hide my chocolate better. :)

project 365: day 28

The girl has been into beds lately. Creating them, that is. For instance, yesterday (thursday), she brought five blankets and five pillows from all over the house into the kitchen while I was making dinner, and set up little beds. "One for mama, one for daddy, one for claire, one for alex and one for the baby in mama's tummy," she told me.

The funniest thing was today when she wanted me to lie down next to her in the living room. So I made a little bed for myself. She looked at it and said,

"No, Mama, that doesn't look bery com-forble. Let me do it." :)

project 365: day 149

All of a sudden, his sippy cup is not enough for him. Whether it is the freedom to gulp or just the feel of his hands around the entire cup (and not just the little handles), he was smiling and laughing and wanting more more more water in this little cup (that used to contain mustard, by the way). :)

I don't know what to do with myself.

It is 3:45 pm and both kids are still sleeping.

WHA???

I don't know what to do so I'm just rambling on here, hehe.

Trying not to be too hopeful.

I'm going on two nights with more than seven hours of uninterrupted sleep, woot to the woot!!

I'm hoping this is the new norm.

Shoot, I hope I didn't jinx it. :)

random pet-peeve

Why is the flat bedsheet always WAY longer than you need it to be, but not NEARLY as wide as you need it to be??

Seriously, I just folded at least two feet worth of extra/unused bedsheet underneath the mattress at the foot of the bed, meanwhile, there isn't even enough to fold under on either side!! What the heck???

Let me tell you, this is particularly irksome when a certain bed-buddy, who shall remain un-named, ahem, Noah, steals covers.

Other people don't get this either, right?

project 365: 137

Caught in the act!! Ripping into Christmas boxes filled with tissue paper and very breakable decorations...this is why we keep the door to the laundry room closed at all times, ahem, Noah. :)

We're also considering just leaving those Christmas boxes in the laundry room until next Christmas. Lazy, we know. :)

project 365: day 136

Noah was on prom-duty this year (well, actually he covered for a fellow teacher who had made vacation plans), which meant I had a lonely evening to myself after the kids went to bed. I watched Ugly Betty on Netflix and scrapbooked. Bonus: he brought me home some roses. :)

project 365: day 135

First swim of the summer!!!

Noah is teaching Claire how to swim this summer. Right now they're working on kicking. :)

Alex is content to just float in his life jacket and hang on to whomever is with him at that moment. :)

Mama has yet to go in. :)

project 365: day 134

His favorite place in the backyard, sitting up on the (broken) swing, watching us all do whatever we're doing. :). He and Claire are the only ones who can sit on it without their bums hitting the ground, hehe.

blah blah blah

Rembering what it feels like to be 7 weeks and 1 day pregnant:

- so bone-weary I don't even have the strength to pick up Alex, let alone Claire, whereas a few weeks ago I could lug them both around no problem.

- like my favorite foods are SO not appealing (i.e. chocolate and avocado, luckily tomatoes are still being consumed in healthy quantities)

- like my clothes are just a little too tight. Bloating. :(

- meat (particularly raw and particularly poultry) is such a turn-off. That one just started today, when I pulled out some chicken for dinner and decided instantly that it was pancakes instead for dinner. :)

Last week I actually had a really great week. Monday, Tuesday and even Wednesday the kids treated me by waking up at decent hours and with more happy sounds, less crying, playing together happily, accepting the food I fed them and in general not being too fussy. I was so pleased, thinking, I can totally handle three!!!

Then Thursday came and I was so exhausted I actually had to stop on the side of the freeway to pull myself together when I was driving home from my mom's house.

Then came Friday, another good day, full of playing outside before it got too hot, a Target and Best Buy run to see if I could find Ugly Betty season two (I couldn't), and "date night," i.e. we watched Austin Powers after the kids went to sleep.

Saturday was awesome. We drove a couple of hours to have dinner with Nana and Grampa, Brendana nd Nathan, and the Long and Corrales families. The kids slept in the car and Noah and I talked the whole way. Love those car talks. :)

This morning Noah got up with the kids and I woke up at, wait for it, 10:30. Lazy mama. I'm not going to lie. It felt good. :)

Even though I feel like collapsing in bed or on the couch more than I feel like running around and dancing with the kids, I know we are going to be fine with three. Seeing the ultrasound picture every time I go into the kitchen makes it seem so real, particularly now that I'm not showing yet. In some ways January seems a long way away, but I know from experience that it will be here so soon.

And to be honest, my arms are already aching to hold this little one. I'm ready to introduce Claire and Alexander to their little brother or sister. I'm ready to see if this third one is a boy or a girl, if he or she looks like me or Noah. I'm ready to be outnumbered. Hehe. But I'll wait. :)

Me: Do you think the baby in Mama's tummy is a girl or a boy?
Claire: A GIRL!!
Me: And what are we going to name her?
Claire: Um, maybe Sid?
Me: Sid?
Claire: Yes! Sid the Science Kid! Or maybe Sophie, or Becca...

Hehe. She really likes Sid the Science Kid, which happens to be on when I take my shower in the morning. I can assure you, Sid is not in the running. :)

Me: Come on Claire, b-e-d-t-i-m-e!
Claire: WAIT! Where's Robert Frost?

Hehe. She has been obsessed for the past three days with a small book of Robert Frost poetry. When she "reads" it, every other word is "Robert Frost." And last night, no joke, she cuddled with the book in her sleep. :)

Feelings

I was feeling a bit overwhelmed this morning, wondering how I would be able to handle three kids when I sometimes feel so inadequate with just two.

We have been sick lately, which means fussy babies, many more nighttime wakings than usual and one cranky mama.

I just didn't know where a third baby would fit into the mix. I mean I only have two arms. :)

We went to Target (boycott lifted momentarily!) and I wondered how I would be able to handle a third during outings that are filled with constant reminders to hold hands in the parking lot, repeated ministrations to not touch the food in the bulk bins (that was actually at Whole Foods, and I ended up buying the darn piece of nut candy because I felt guilty putting it back), and hushed pleas to stop eating the plastic bread bag.

Naptime came and I literally collapsed on the couch in exhaustion.

I woke them up an hour and a half later to go to my ultrasound appointment and silently cursed my failure to change the time to later, because now I had a clingy and crying baby boy and a little girl who hadn't napped at all in that hour and a half, and who was energetic and happy at the moment but who I knew would become undone around dinner time (I was right).

Getting them into the car reminded me of my daunting predicament to figure out how to fit three carseats in that backseat.

Alex slid out of his stroller seat, getting stuck on his way past his little tray. Claire stood up on her chair. Both opened doors and cabinets. All while I'm sitting on the table.

The technician was very friendly and helpful and not at all annoyed. She even helped me squeeze Alex out of his stuck position and strap him back in.

But then I saw that little flashing white on the screen. I know that flash. Too faint to hear, barely visible, it was my new baby's heartbeat. And in that moment I knew. We would figure it out. It will be overwhelming at times. But it will be amazing and wonderful and blessed and perfect too.

We can do this!!

Click to make it bigger!! The baby is that tiny white blob on top of the white donut, hehe. :)

project 365: day 132

Come afternoon/evening, and I am plum exhausted. A nice big sheet on the grass sure did the trick yesterday though, as Mama got to rest on her bum a bit and kidlets got to soak up some sun.

I did, however, have to get up long enough to take this picture. :)

project 365: day 131

"I scrapbooking Mama!"

It's her new "thing," and of course, I don't mind. In fact, I'm probably encouraging it, hehe.

She even has to say "Goodnight scrapbooking!" when she goes to bed. :)

just another manic monday

Well, no picture-of-the-day yet (it has been taken, just not uploaded), but I wanted to pop in and talk about my day.

Two sick babies + morning sickness that has always reared its ugly head at night = not a good night last night :(

On the bright side, Alex slept in a bit, so Claire and I got some one-on-one time which I suspect will become increasingly rare with this new little b.o.b. (baby on board).

Oma came over to watch the kids while I went to my doctors appointment for a suspicious mole. Diagnosis: Not anything too urgent to worry about, but he will want to remove it after BOB is born.

Took advantage of my kidless state and stopped at Takahaski on the way home. You know the strawberries are going to all be tens when you can smell them walking up to the stand!! They were, by the way, along with the avocadoes, cherries and tomatoes I bought. Gotta love local, organic produce. :)

Surprise! A new netflix in my mailbox, so I spent most of naptime vegging on the couch watching two episodes from Ugly Betty season one (I"m hooked).

Alex woke up a bit early from his nap, and we got a whole hour just the two of us, which I (and I hope he) loved. We watched the goings-on of our quiet street from the front window, read books, practiced some signs, and ate some strawberries.

We woke up Claire at 4:30 and snuggled for a bit until she woke up completely. :)

We made rice and roasted some broccoli to go with our last batch of leftover chicken from Saturday.

Daddy got home from a successful day at work!

Three of the four of us ate dinner. One of us was a bit repulsed by the smell of the meat (but later I ate it cold in a sandwich and it was delicious!) and just watched.

We played outside for about 20 minutes before baths. Alex climbed up on the swing and watched as daddy and mama played tennis without a net, while Claire rotated between ball-girl and swing-pusher ("gentle, Claire, gentle!!" from me as she pushes with all her might and Alex squeals his head off.) :)

Baths.

Stories.

Teeth.

Songs.

Snuggles and bed for mama and the boy. Daddy and the girl play "soccer ball" in the hall.

More stories and "oh no, Daddy's gonna get me!!" for Claire. (It's our routine. Her and I read stories, after which she jumps into my lap and I say, loud enough for Noah to hear, "oh NO!! Daddy's going to get you!" at which point he sneaks in and pretends to be a "scary tare-ter (character)". Kisses. Lights out.

Dishes/grading for the parents.

More Ugly Betty/video games for the parents.

Every twenty minutes Alex wakes up crying and wanting to snuggle (still not feeling well, coughing, etc.) and Claire softly sings to him from her room to make him feel better. My favorite part of the day. :)

Hang up laundry to dry.

Get ready for bed.

Update blog.

Now I'm off to bed...goodnight! :)

project 365: day 130

Well I had a great Mother's Day!! I slept in until 10:30, and woke up to a card from Noah and the happy sounds of he and the kids playing and laughing together. :) We all played (kicking the ball, building towers, reading books, singing songs), until it was lunchtime and then naptime. Then Noah played his game and I read for awhile...then took a two hour nap (I tell ya, first trimester is exhausting...), hehe. Then it was outside playtime until dinner, then baths, reading stories, and bedtime, whew! Unfortunately both kids have a bit of a fever and congestion and cough. I hope they feel better tomorrow. :(

Happy Mother'sDay!!

now that the family knows...

...the world wide web can know too!!

Oops, we did it again!!!! :)

Camera happy :)

project 365: day 129

I couldn't decide which one to use for this day's picture, that is until I saw this one of Alex. This is so him at this moment- really taking off with his walking, so proud of himself. Where last week I could maybe force a few steps out of him, today he stands up by himself and just goes! He's still a bit unsteady which makes for an adorable drunken sailor walk, hehe!!

Gotta love thos little arms up for balance and the foot turning in, hehe!! :)

project 365: day 128

ok, ignore the hideous coloration and lack of crop-age, and what do you see? A little girl learning to play soccer. :)

After snuggling with Alex and putting him down for bed, I opened the door to this display of sportsmanship. Daddy teaching Claire a new sport. My favorite part was how every time Noah kicked it to her she would say "Oh, good one!" Hehe. For the moment she has her Mama's clumsiness, but also her Daddy's determination. FUN!!

And now I'm off to put together my enchiladas for tomorrow's par-tay!!

project 365: day 127

I vaguely recall, in a state of half-sleep/half-wakefulness, Claire telling me to "Smile Mama! I taking your picture!"



And now I have the evidence. :)

project 365: day 126

Mama's little garden helper (with my used gloves on inside-out, hehe). :)

project 365: day 125

Tuesday = Fun With the Dietmeyers Day, which usually means a long walk and a stop at the park after naps. Today we decided to shake things up a bit (and get use of our yearly pass), and go to the zoo!

There were lots of kids there on field trips, and we were able to hit every single exhibit, including the wolves which I never knew were there!!

A worker told us that most of the flamingoes are nesting and that they expect baby flamingoes in two weeks, so we would like to go back to see them. I bet they are too cute! We also saw little teeny baby goslings at the pond which were adorable and clumsy and fuzzy. :)

You can't tell from this picture, but Claire's dress is covered in beautiful Mexican embroidery in honor of Cinco de Mayo, hehe. We also had Mexican for dinner, because, hey, why not? We could eat Mexican every night!!! :)

project 365: day 124

Little Buddy had his 15-month check-up tpday, and all is well!!

Here are the vital stats:

25 pounds, 13 ounces
30 inches long

And everyone was laughing at his "mad-scientist" hair (I just could not get it to lay down!!)

circus!!

It was a couple weeks ago, and I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures from our time at the circus!!


Claire, Nathan and Zachary

Nana and Claire, holding a yellow flower lovingly picked from the grass by Nathan

Still got that flower...



A sure sign of a successful trip!