Swimsuits and Octopuses

We went to one garage sale on Sat., just to say hi to friends, and I STILL didn't manange to get out of there without spending any money. But hey, everything was 25 cents, so I didn't spend much. I got this funny swimsuit for Evan--I thought he might balk at wearing it, so I told him it was his superhero outfit (they've been watching The Incredibles a lot lately) and so he proudly wears it and shows his muscles.
The boys played in their pool for a while this morning and my friend, Brooke, brought us some homemade cinnamon rolls...mmmmm!

(This picture makes the event look a lot more relaxing for me than it actually was--there was a lot of yelling "Sam!" "Evan!" "No!" from my chair in the shade.)

Uncle Jack (Jeremy's brother) showed up and the boys had a lot of fun playing with him. Here they are with their new Army guy stuff (another purchase at the garage sale).


The big headliner for dinner tonight was these spaghetti "octopuses" that 2 friends posted on their blogs this week. You thread uncooked spaghetti noodles through pieces of hot dog and boil them until cooked.
I love that I put whole wheat organic pasta into...hot dogs--what an oxymoron. Sam wasn't too sure about them, but Evan gobbled his up (well, mostly the hot dog parts).

I actually made the octopuses tonight because I made chicken/broccoli alfredo for the grown-ups and didn't think the boys would like it (because they never like the real food I cook), but then they came and joined us at the table and had some. Evan had 4 servings, and both of them were like, "Mmmmm, this is SOOOO good. Oh, mom, you made a GOOD dinner. YUMMY!" It was ridiculous--just like the scene in the movie What About Bob.
I think they were just putting on a show for Uncle Jack--we'll see how leftovers go today.

And here are goodnight kisses for Baby Annie!

.

Cutest Boys on the Beach

I started to give the boys haircuts today and then Jeremy took over. I think I was being too impatient with their wiggling, but he had sympathy--he knew that they were probably itching from all the little hairs falling on their faces and bodies. Now Sam won't be able to wear his mohawk to church for a few weeks :(. Here's some pictures of them being tough guys and sweet brothers.


We went to Lake Mary today with MOPS--it was perfectly overcast but still warm, so I wasn't miserable (except when I braved going down to the water's edge in my swimsuit with Evan, ready to swim and then Sam had to go poo which meant leaving a disappointed Evan by the water's edge and clomping up the hill to the outhouse--those are the greatest mother moments, aren't they?) I couldn't help admiring my kids all day--they are just so cute with their little manly buzz cuts and cute cars swimsuits.
(Don't you love the drool suspended below his chin--people still ask me all the time if he's teething--he's over 2 years old!)

(This is Sam and his friend, Sophie. They were playing that their shovels were chemical rockets. Don't ask me how they came up with that!)
.

Black Widow Spider Sandwiches

Getting ready for the baby has been making me notice how...MALE my other two children are. They just want to play guns, make sound effects, ride bikes, wipe snot on the couch, and one-up each other with how far they can jump off the bunk beds. And in reference to the blog title, Samuel got Evan to eat his sandwich last night by calling it a black widow spider sandwich. Other days their sandwiches are rocket ships or sailing boats.

They have been getting into all the baby's stuff that we got down from the attic...here is a picture of them playing with one toy: It is their tunnel or house to hide from bad guys. They also like to pretend the bouncy seat is a race car and they giggle at each other when they sit in the baby bathtub with their legs hanging out. They are in for a rude awakening when this baby comes and claims her territory.

We had a little hospital stay this week for Evan's croup. He was a sick little guy. I wish I had had my camera to take a picture of the humidified tent he had to sleep in--he was Bubble Boy! I can't believe how many hours I held him on my lap while waiting for doctors or food trays or to be released...God helped me not to be too uncomfortable, I think! Though I did think we could just kill two birds with one stone and just have the baby there while we were at it. Being at the hospital reminded me a lot of some of the frustrations I have had when giving birth to the 2 boys...everybody coming in and saying something different and not seeming to communicate with each other, the bad timing of the "shift change" when it seems like you are forgotten for 2 hours and then new people come in who don't seem to have been told what's already happening, etc. Jeremy and I decided that that there should just be big rules posted on the walls and red lines painted on the floor where you are not supposed to go--that way everything would be clear. Instead, I feel like they try to act like a full-service hotel and offer to do everything, and then breathe through their noses and act exasperated when you try to do something for yourself because you feel forgotten. Like, "Okay, you can go home now!" and then, "No no! You can't walk to your car, you have to wait for a wheelchair--we'll HELP you out" and then you have to wait for another hour for this HELP that you don't need. And are we allowed to get juice boxes out of the fridge for ourselves, or are they just there to tantalize us but remain beyond our reach...I'm just not sure. But I am the paying customer! Anyways, even in the midst of Evan's sickness, he asked me with his raspy little voice over and over to watch "bad guys" on t.v. I couldn't convince him to watch HGTV or cooking.

I had another baby shower on Thurs. with church ladies and felt very blessed. Here is a picture of the sign my talented friend, Sarah, made:
I felt silly slamming on my brakes and reversing and then lugging my pregnant self out of the car just to take a picture of it, but it was so cute! And, I like the sign behind it advertising the horse property that our church owns and desperately needs to sell...it helps place the picture in this time of our lives. Anyone in the market for a 14 acre horse property, by the way?
This is a picture of me in the baby's room--I was getting worried that I would suddenly have the baby and have no real picture of me pregnant, so I had Sam take one...I think he did pretty good! My friend Mariah came over on Friday night and we watched "The Business of Being Born" to get prepared for her to help me during the baby's birth. It was eye-opening for us, and I recommend it...but probably only to my female friends (if you know what I mean) who are of child-bearing years. Those who don't fit that category would probably think "TMI!!!" in parts of it.

Well, seeing as I woke up at 2:45 am this morning in a panic that I wouldn't get everything done that I need to before the baby is born, I probably should go get to work. I went out to get some things for the baby yesterday, but came home with ice cream, hair dye, and Nerf gun darts...signs that life goes on even when you are awaiting a big life-changing event. Now I get to clean up little suction cup marks off of all the mirrors and windows because Jeremy likes to lick the ends of the darts to make them really stick. BOYS!!! I got the hair highlight kit because I want to put a pink streak in my hair (so I need to lighten it, first) in honor of the baby girl. I got Crystal Light to do the pink (my sister and I did it in high school and it really worked!). I felt silly standing in front of the Crystal Light display for a long time trying to decide what "flavor" I wanted to dye my hair--it had to be a good color pink, but also a flavor that I would drink, since I had to buy a whole package of it. I chose Raspberry Lemonade. Besides dyeing my hair, I need to clean this house...so I better get to work!
.

Too Impatient and Sleep-deprived to be Clever

Well, the title says it all...no wittiness from me today, just the latest news. It's hard to be witty when you feel like this because this is who slept in your bed the night before(well, not much sleeping took place because Evan was barking like a seal and wheezing all night).

The first topic is that I am super impatient to have this baby and get on with life--but then I get stressed out because there is too much to do before she comes! Like deciding on her middle name (please no suggestions, though). The last few days went by fast, which is good--my mom came for a visit and we were busy the whole time. We went to the 4th of July parade together and met up with some MOPS friends. Here is a picture of us there while we were still nice people.
As the parade progressed, the people behind us purposefully sent their kids (big kids) to stand in front of our kids and get all the candy and block our view. The mother bear in me came out, and the grandmother tiger came out in my mom as we kept asking them to sit down or move over and their parents kept telling them to go back and stand in front. I can feel my blood pressure rising even as I write this...I have such territorial parade/public event stress about saving seats or being cut in front of--it goes back to my Disneyland days when people would come 2 minutes before Fantasmic! would start and try to sit on the laps of total strangers who had patiently saved seats for 4 hours and then threaten to punch me when I asked them to move or told them there wasn't room. The boys had fun and didn't seem to notice, and that's all that matters (so I say).

Later, Sam wasn't feeling well, but he and I had our hearts set on watching fireworks. Both shows started late and the weather didn't look great, but I couldn't bring myself to say we weren't going to watch fireworks. I must be reaching some point of maturity, because I didn't drag everyone out...Sam cried a little when I told him we weren't going, but then I THANKFULLY remembered the pop rocks he had gotten at a birthday party the week before. We did "fireworks" on the patio and then watched the fireworks show on PBS...Samuel could hardly keep his eyes open, so it's a good thing we didn't drive to the live fireworks.

My friends from MOPS had a shower for me on Monday night--it was really sweet and I felt loved. My friend, Keri, hosted it and used Mary Engelbreit as the theme...it was cute!

One of the activities was a Mary Engelbreit coloring contest--I couldn't believe that the ladies actually got into it (I think they'll play any shower game because they are happy to be having girl time without their kids, eating tasty treats).

I found myself asking a lot of them their labor stories because I am realizing that I don't know what it's like to go into labor naturally, since I was induced with both boys. My friend Mariah was there, and she was listening intently, too, because I have asked her to be with me for the delivery. I hope she wasn't freaked out! Here is a picture of me with my friend, Sarah, who is due a few days after me.
This is one of the few pictures you will see of me pregnant because I keep deleting them because I don't like them. Sam actually just came up to me with his toy camera, saying "Cheese" and I found myself feeling self-conscious.
I sure enjoy watching moments like this when my mom is visiting:
If you notice the title of the book, it is "Baby Makes Five." She got it for the boys and they read it many times...and everytime I heard her read the part about the baby "always pooping, crying, needing to be held" etc. I found myself feeling a little less impatient for the delivery. But just a little.

Now, I think I will go make No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies, because if you have been reading my blog for any amount of time, you have learned that chocolate makes everyone feel better...especially grouchy mommies.