Pumpkin Patch

We continued the tradition of a camping trip/pumpkin patch weekend with Nanny and Poppy last weekend (minus two special people - Chelse and Tylee). It was a pretty chilly weekend but that didn't stop us. We headed over to the lake Friday afternoon. Nate and Poppy got the camper set up and then Nanny and I headed to town to get some groceries for the weekend. We made it back and cooked some hotdogs over the fire. I should say Nate and Poppy cooked some hotdogs over the fire - it was too cold out for the rest of us. Nate had to work on Saturday so the two of us came home that night and then I got up and went back over Saturday morning.

The kids were ready to get out of the camper for the day so everybody got around and we headed to the pumpkin patch. The have a big stock tank filled with corn (known by our family as the "corn pool," not sure of the technical name) but I have to say, it is the definite highlight. They also have some farm animals, a little kiddie area with the corn pool, a little caterpillar train, a hayrack ride, a corn maze, and of course, the pumpkin patch. The kids and I went on the hayrack ride, Braylee and Brax rode the little caterpillar train, played in the kiddie area for a long time, and picked out some pumpkins. It was a fun day but it was only about 50 degrees outside so we cut the visit a little shorter than we normally would have. Rather than just heading back to the camper, we decided to go to Pittsburg and get something to eat at one of my favorite places - Freddys! It was delicious!!!

We got back to the camper and did lots of puzzles, played Uno and Yahtzee multiple times, and colored more than anybody has ever colored in one weekend!!! It was a little crowded with 4 kids and 3 adults in a camper so the kids got a little restless at times. For the most part, they were wonderful! It would have been great had the weather been a little warmer for us but it was a great weekend regardless. I love that the kids have such a special relationship with not only their grandparents, but also their great grandparents!

Speaking of such great grandparents, my 78 year old grandpa (Sorry Poppy for disclosing your age!) would not let me sleep on the floor. He thought that since I was 16 weeks pregnant, sleeping on the floor would be uncomfortable for me and gave me the bed. Guess who slept on the floor instead???? You guessed it.... Poppy! Can you believe that!!! Not only did he sleep on the floor, he slept on the floor with Brax! :) I tried to protest but he was having no part of it. Thanks Poppy, it was greatly appreciated although completely not necessary! :)

Birthday Girl!

My little girl turned 7 years old at the end of September! 7 years old!!! I was ok with 6 but 7 just seems so old! I remember thinking last year how 6 wasn't old but that 7 seemed so grown up and dreading the day she turned 7. Well, the time has come!

She was so excited and had started a countdown in about July. She was having a sleepover for the first time. She only got to choose 4 friends so it was a small sleepover but she loved every minute of it. I have to admit that I kinda enjoyed it mysefl even. She was even a nice big sister and let Braylee stay too!

They had lots of fun and didn't stay up too late. We made shirts and then she opened her presents. She got a bracelet kit so that kept them entertained for quite awhile. We did cake and ice cream and then settled down to watch a movie. They were all asleep by 11:30 and didn't get up until about 8:00 the next morning. No one had to go home in the middle of the night so I considered it a big success! She had a blast though and can't wait until her next birthday sleepover!

We celebrated with family on the evening of her actual birthday. She got the Nintendo DS she had been wanting (along with some accessories) plus some other really neat stuff too. We had cake and ice cream. It is always fun to have all of your family together in one place so we enjoyed the company!

Once again, I can't believe my little girl is 7 years old! I just can't get over it. She is growing up, that's for sure. Happy Birthday sweet, sweet girl! We love you!

New friends

In case anybody may have noticed, Brecca had a birthday last week. I am going to do a post on it but it takes forever to upload pictures (I have hundreds to upload!) and I just haven't had the time! It should be coming in the (hopefully) near future! But until then....

Brax has two new friends, Jack and Jim. Jack and Jim are imaginary! It is so funny because both girls have great imaginations but have never had an imaginary friend. Yesterday, he was throwing a ball against the wall and fielding it (yes, we allow that!) and he kept saying, "Oh my gosh Jim!" Finally, I said, "Who's Jim?" and he informed me that Jim was hitting the ball and he was really good. They both play baseball for the Jayhawks. Jack and Jim spent the rest of the day, evening, night, and all day today with us. He plays with them and talks to them just like they are actually here with him. They even slept with him last night - one on each side! It will be interesting to see how long they are here for but so far it seems like they are staying awhile!

OB Appt - 13 weeks

I had my OB appointment last Thursday and got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time! That is always an exciting moment. Especially when you have been throwing up for a good 7 weeks and yet you have no proof that you are really expecting! It makes the bad days worthwhile. :) Everything looked good and I have lost 17 lbs to date. Nothing really to be concerned about, considering I have 17 plus lbs to lose! Now if I weighed 110 or something I am sure he would be a little concerned but for me, it's all good! I did have a Urinary Tract Infection which is pretty typical of my pregnancies. He gave me an antibiotic for that and suggested I get some Miralax for constipation. I had tried Milk of Magnesia a couple of times with no success so it was time to try something different. Sorry if TMI but I want to document everything!

I have also been taking less and less of my Zofran. I think I have decided that it doesn't really affect the way that I feel. It does seem to help with the actual vomiting (lots of gagging and dry heaves instead of the vomiting) but I am not entirely sure that dry heaves are better than just vomiting in the first place. The only time I take it is if I am going to be subbing that day. A teacher throwing up in class???? I am sure I would never live that down!

I figured I would be over this by now but it is still hanging on! Nothing sounds good to eat and smells are hard to handle. Nate and the kids have been eating out a lot because I can't even stand for him to cook anything in the house! I am 13 weeks now though so I am expecting it to be completely gone within the next few weeks. I am hopeful it is already beginning to taper off a little bit! I guess we'll just have to wait and see....

I should be cleaning

I really should be cleaning my house! It is awful. And when I saw awful, it is an understatement. Last week I went to Wal-Mart and stocked up on cleaning supplies. I honestly hadn't been to Wal-Mart in about 6 weeks. Believe me, that is a long time! Especially when you have been sending your frugal husband who comes home with a 4 pack of Charmin to last a family of 5 for 2 whole weeks. I told him that I usually by the 12 pack and we barely make it. He was just trying to save money! I had to exlpain to him that now we would have to buy two more 4 packs which would total about $10 when we could have originallybought the 12 pack for $7! And we would have gotten 3 extra rolls. OK, enough about the TP! It's in the past!

By the time I made my trip to Wal-Mart for my supplies, I was too tired to use any of them. This 4th baby thing can really wear a girl out! So, today is my first free day since last Wednesday and I had big plans. Why am I sitting here blogging rather than cleaning? My problem is that I always just get so overwhelmed. I just don't know where to start. I threw in a load of laundry and then started the dishwasher. Oh, and I put Braylee on duty cleaning the back door with some Windex! And now, here I sit. My sisters strategy is to do one room at a time. Clean the kitchen and put everything that doesn't belong in the kitchen into the living room. When the kitchen is clean, move into the living room, cleaning as you go, and put everything that doesn't belong in the living room into the computer room. You get the idea! I just don't have the motivation! Brecca is having 5 first graders spend the night on Saturday night for her birthday sleepover so I better get busy. But then again, do 7 year olds really care if your house is messy????

Brecca's gonna kill me!

Someday Brecca is going to hate me for posting this but I definitely don't want to forget! Last night she came home from Youth Group at church and immediately pulled down her pants right in the middle of the living room. Here is our conversation.....

Me: Brec, what are you doing?

Brecca: Checking for poop stains.

I looked at her panties and said...

Me: Oh, nope, you look clean. There are no poop stains in there.

Brecca: Oh, well it certainly felt like there was!

Bad blogger

Ok, It's official! I am a terrible blogger. I have the best of intentions, I really do...

September is a busy month! Nate, Brecca, and I all celebrate birthdays in September. Last weekend we had a fish fry out at Nate's parents for his birthday. He and the kids had been catching fish all summer and saving them for the big birthday party. I have to admit, I am not a big fish fan but everybody else seemed to think it was delicious! Dave is a great cook so I am sure if he made it then it was great! Julia even brought her mom to town for a couple of hours. She turned 94 a few months ago and is still in great health. The kids enjoyed seeing her and I think she enjoyed the evening as well! The weather was beautiful and I think everybody enjoyed themsleves.

I survived my sub jobs the last couple of weeks and seem to be feeling a little bit better. I have some bad days but at least now I have a few good days mixed in. That is progress! The kids are so excited about the baby and Braylee's teacher told her at school that the baby can hear her talking to it so now all three of them have to talk to it everynight! I love to hear the things they say to it. We will definitely have to try to get it on camera at some point.

We have had a fun weekend this weekend! I hate to see weekends end. Friday night we went to the high school football game. We invited Poppy down to go with us. It was a good game and the home team ended up pulling through at the last minute and scoring the game-winning touchdown! It was pretty exciting! Poppy took Brax home for the night to surprise Nanny. She said it was the best surprise she has had in a long time! :) Saturday, Brecca went to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. She rated it one of the best days of her life so I would say she enjoyed it. We had smores Saturday night out at Dave and Julia's. They were pretty tasty - I had to sample a couple to make sure they were good enough for the kids to eat! This morning we went to church and Brecca was presented with a Bible. She was very excited about it and even wanted me to help her look up the scripture when the time came! :) This afternoon we went to my moms and had a little early birthday party for me. My brother and his wife were in town and my sister came too. Nanny wasn't feeling well but Popster was there and of course my mom, Nate and the kids. They even got me an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen!!! It doesn't get much better than that.

A great weekend makes Mondays that much harder but I guess it makes us one day closer to next weekend!!!