Thursday, October 20, 2011

Go Ahead...I dare you!

I found this AWESOME idea here.

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As a full-time-stay-at-home-homeschooling-mama I have found that boredom is more often present than I anticipated. Especially on those out-of-the-blue-freezing-days, or raining days, or days when we just get a little tired of the same ol' thing. So I found this Boredom Jar, and I just had to share.

Grab any old jar - I, of course, chose a mason jar. I've said it before, we're a lil' bit country 'round these parts. ;) Cut out the "I'm Bored" label and fasten it to the jar with a hot glue gun. (I found after trial and error, that putting two large globs of glue on each end of the label and wrapping it around the jar worked best.)

Then, print out the "suggestions" on fun paper. Next, cut out all of the "suggestions." There are some truly GREAT ones!


 Nice!

Sigh. A grammatical error. So, I added the apostrophe. However...this was my FAVORITE boredom buster. I don't think you'd hear, "I'm bored," for a while after this one. :)
Another one of my favorite suggestions. Especially around this time of year!

Then, Ella Beth and I folded all of the strips and put them in our jar.

The finished project:

And, my favorite part - the lid. It's just daring you to say it.  

Go Ahead...I dare you to say "I'm bored!"

Put it in a safe place, and break it out any time it's needed. :)

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Hey, Baby!

I had a doctor's appointment today, which included an ultrasound. I know I'm not the only one out there, but I just l-o-v-e having ultrasounds. And, I'm lucky enough to have another one next Friday, too. :)

Today was the first time since this pregnancy started that I walked away from a doctor's appointment content, happy, and with a smile on my face. We had a really good appointment. :) We had to wait a few minutes (shocking at a doctor's office, I know) - and this preggo mama was hungry. Lucky for me, I packed a snack! I ate a big granny smith apple while we waited, and it was just what the baby ordered. When it was time for the ultrasound, the little booger was very active - I'm talking moving and kicking and waving all over the place.

It. Was. Amazing.

The baby looks great. Heart looks great. And my uterus seems to be starting to absorb the hemorrhage. So, all in all, it was a great appointment. Three months in the waiting, but worth waiting for.

This ultrasound picture isn't the clearest, but since this sweet baby was doing gymnastics the entire time, it's actually pretty good! The two little white "dots" above the belly are actually the feet kicking. (They are attached to legs, but they were moving SO fast that they seemed to disappear here!) The baby looked to have really long legs and feet...obviously taking after its mama. ;) There was one time when the baby actually stopped moving for about 3 seconds and seemed to wave at us, and then started back doing somersaults. Silly little pickle. :)

Thank you for your continued prayers. I am still considered "high risk" at this point, but like I said earlier...I left the doctor feeling confident and really happy. And that was a really good feeling. :)

Monday, October 17, 2011

Multitudes on Monday

573. cheeseburgers

574. pickles

575. delicious smelling body wash

576. going to bed early

577. working out early in the morning

578. beautiful fall weekends

579. pumpkin farms

580. good friends

581. hay rides

582. allergy medicine after said hay rides ;)

583. hearing Ella Beth sneeze in her sleep

584. kiddos' new pajamas

585. Chick-fil-A chicken biscuits - yum!

586. successfully camping in the backyard as a family

587. making lasting memories

588. starting new traditions

Psalm 69:30 "I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving."

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Landon's Lizard Friend

Landon loves lizards. And the boy can catch them! If you know how fast lizards can run, then you know how impressive this talent of his is. ;)

The other evening while we were playing outside, Landon caught a little lizard. We don't know if it was from the shock of being caught or what, but this little guy decided to hang around for a little while. Landon was tickled to death!

Caught it!
Now the lizard caught Landon!
And then it decided to hang out for a while.
Landon l-o-v-e-d it!
Ella Beth thought about getting in on the action. But as soon as the lizard tickled her hand, she dropped it.
So, Landon just picked him back up and the lizard resumed it's position. And it stayed here for a very long time. Landon walked all over the yard and played in the sand and rode his bike - all while toting around his new little friend. :)
Now, I'm not a lizard fan...but this one is kinda, a little bit, maybe a tiny bit cute?!?

The joys of having a little boy who is all BOY!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Multitudes on Monday

462. Zofran

463. Saltine crackers

464. yard sale money

465. finding baby clothes that I didn't know we still had

466. friends who lend maternity clothes

467. homeschool schedule flexibility

468. warm corn casserole

469. homemade pizza

570. celebrating our dear friends' daughter's baptism

571. hearing Isabelle say, "The water was so warm!" (in the baptismal pool)

572. watching and listening to Ella Beth sing worship songs in the big auditorium at church - she has no abandon to her worship :)

1 Timothy 4:4-5 "For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer."

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Pregnancy So Far

Oh pregnancy. We don't get along so well, no matter how hard I try. And this go 'round has been tough. Besides the emotional havoc that rears its ugly head each day, I am also dealing with the worst All-Day-Sickness ever. Zofran is my friend, but it's not a life saver. It curbs the nausea and it keeps me from throwing up multiple times a day, but even with it I am still nauseous - it never actually goes away. Last night I was so sick I kept dreaming I was throwing up. Between actually running to the bathroom and dreaming that I was running to the bathroom, I woke up exhausted. But, that's supposed to be a good thing......right?!?


I'm 11 weeks pregnant.

Sick? Uh, I think I covered that. ;)

Maternity clothes? Not yet. But soon.

Showing? To myself and Ella Beth, definitely. Most other people who didn't know I was pregnant would just think I need to lay off the doughnuts. I'm certainly getting "thicker" in the middle.

And, speaking of doughnuts...Cravings? I am craving EVERYTHING that is unhealthy. Of course my stomach won't let me eat much, but I have been craving hamburgers like nobody's business. And chicken fingers, Taco Bell hot sauce (same craving with Ella Beth...weirdest craving ever???), french fries, doughnuts. I guess it's a good thing that I have been so sick; otherwise I would have gained a LOT of weight already.

So what do I eat? Lots of crackers. And whatever else I can when I get hungry but not sick. Which isn't often, so I'm not eating too much right now.

Tired? Umm, is that a rhetorical question? Oh yes.

Names picked out? Yes, but we're not telling yet.

Are we going to find out the gender? Most certainly! We are all planners in this family.

How are we going to tell the family the gender? We are going to have our next door neighbor, Leia with yumiyumcupcakes.com, make "gender reveal" cupcakes. We are going to keep the gender a secret until Thanksgiving and then let Ella Beth and Landon eat the first two cupcakes in front of the family to reveal the baby's gender. Can't wait for that moment!

Gender guess? I'm torn. This pregnancy is so much like my pregnancy with Ella Beth (I'm just much sicker), but the heartbeat was closer to Landon's - so I really don't know what my guess is.

Preference? No. Just a healthy baby. I can think of pros for a girl or a boy. Of course, Ella Beth wants a baby sister and Landon wants a baby brother. :)

Room situation? Two kiddos will have to share a room. We can't decide who it will be though. We may put the baby in with sister or brother, or we may let Ella Beth and Landon share a room for a couple of years and let the baby sleep alone. Can't decide - there are pros and cons to both!

Favorite pregnancy moment so far? I have two. 1) Hearing the kiddos tell everyone that "Mommy has a baby in her belly." Even strangers in the grocery line! 2) Ella Beth and Landon "popping" babies out of their bellies a few times a day. :)

So that's about it so far. Hoping to feel better soon, and I'm still battling anxiety with prayer. Things haven't changed on the hemorrhage front, but I'm choosing to trust that God's hand is on this sweet one growing within my womb. I am so thankful for the continued prayers of friends, family, and strangers. I have received cards in the mail from Sunday school classes of people I don't even know, and I am still just in awe of how we as Christians really do come to each other's aid and pray for one another. So thankful.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Multitudes on Monday

451. a dedicated husband who works hard to provide for our family

452. warm PJs on chilly mornings

453. the calendar turning "Officially Fall"

454. October 1st ringing in with officially fall weather

455. Ella Beth and Landon talking about their growing bellies :)

456. hearing them talk about whether the baby will be a boy or a girl

457. relaxing weekends

458. time spent visiting family

459. celebrating Scott's grandma's birthday by eating Japanese

460. our chef tossing Landon bite after bite after bite of rice until Landon finally caught it in his mouth

461. hearing Ella Beth read a book to Landon

Romans 7:25 "Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Christ Jesus our Lord!"