Randomness

• How come people have to steal? We went to Freddy's today to get groceries and other things. Hubby needed new white undershirts. When I got them home and opened them up to wash them, there were only 2 in what was suppose to be a package of 3! Ugh!! We decided not to even worry about it, as I didn't want to have to explain myself to customer service and get the "uh huh, whatever you say" look from the cashier!
• How come you nest so late in pregnancy? I'm a procrastinator by nature. I'll be the first to admit it. I've had tons to do for months now, but I've just piddled in each project. I wish I had the zest for cleaning and organizing that I have now at about 20 or 25 weeks. Doesn't it make more sense to have that nesting instinct then.....no big belly in the way, no backaches, no extreme tiredness because you can't sleep at night, hmmmmm!!!
• Speaking of nesting.....I think my Hubby was doing the same thing this weekend. Completely rearranged the garage, moved stuff to the shed, vacuumed the floor in the garage, painted the shoe bench, laid new entry carpet in the garage. Our garage is beautiful right now!!!
• August is here. The rain has arrived. Not all the time but definitely more than we've had all summer. Less sunshine....boo hoo!! More unpredictable.....ugh for family coming up to visit. Fall is just around the corner.....ouch!

Momma Sap

Oh Monkey....thank you for coming and crawling in my lap today. I was dusting the baby furniture, and you came, blankets in tow, to nestle in my lap for no reason. You must have known your Momma needed a snuggle because you don't often do this without me prompting you. We sat there and played with your piggies, tickled your tummy, and you even enjoyed a good back scratching (you take after your Daddy there). It was everything in my power to stop the waterworks from erupting!

They erupted big time on Wednesday when you fell asleep in the chair with me before naptime. We had read our books (Duck in the Truck, Boo Boo, and Goodnight Moon are our standards right now) and were singing "Twinkle, Twinkle" when I noticed your little head swaying with each rock. Sure enough, you were already snoozing! I picked you up and nuzzled you close. It took everything in my power to put you down in your bed and leave the room. I would've stood there forever with you sleeping so peacefully! My tears were getting all over the place though.

Momma doesn't mean to cry at such little things this week. I just can't believe you are such a big boy now! I know you are going to seem so much bigger next Wednesday when your little brother arrives. You'll always be my baby though. Even when your 18 and going off to college saying "Aw Mom, not the tears again"!

I'm just a big Momma Sap right now!! And you make my heart go pitter-patter when you do such sweet things!! I love you so little man!

A break??

Pregnancy hormones.....ahhhhh......their killing me!

Suffice it to say it was a "pain in the butt" weekend.

The straw that broke the watershed......my warmed-up chicken dumpling leftovers dropping out of my hand and onto the floor.....shattering the bowl so hard that I found fragments clear across the kitchen on the counter top!!! I couldn't stop the tears....I tried for Monkey, so he didn't have to see them. He turned around from his chair looking at his Momma with these huge eyes saying "bope, bope" (broke, broke). I had to reassure him that everything was okay including his silly Momma. I don't know if I was more upset about losing another bowl in my dinner set or losing a warm dinner to the floor. I couldn't even call in the dogs and have them clean it up....ugh!

Nine more days until these pregnancy hormones go by the wayside!! Nobody's counting, right?!

Although, then come the postpartum hormones!! Ugh...to be a woman!!

19

You look so much like a little boy in this picture Monkey. No longer a baby!

You are becoming independent much to your Mommy's dismay! In the last week, you have learned how to use "no, no". Actually, it's pretty cute right now, but I'm sure that will change. You have also taken to telling us when you are "poopy". Not every time but almost. So we ran out and bought a potty. You like to stand in it to turn the bathroom light on/off or set your bear on it!! No hurry little man, we'll do it on your own time.

So many new things this last month.

So many new things coming this next month.

You are officially going to become a big brother! I know that you are going to be the best big brother ever. You have such a big heart! You are going to love on your little brother. I just have this feeling.

Nineteen months is going to be a special month for you Monkey!!

I love you so, so very much, forever and always, to the moon and back!!

Battles

You are such a strong-willed little man. You always have been.

Lately, you have been testing the waters though. Really testing the waters.

Mommy partly blames on your head cold from last week and the fact that you were WAY off schedule because family was in town (we all know how that goes). I also partly blame it on being almost 19 months old (sniff, sniff, sigh). And that things are changing around here with your little brother due to arrive in 12 days.

But this is not how I envisioned our last few weeks together to go. You know, the last few weeks before all of our worlds are rocked by the arrival of your little brother. It was suppose to be fun-filled days with your occasional toddler tantrum sprinkled in.

Not toddler tantrums multiple times a day. Battling with you during diaper changes every time. All of a sudden your throwing a battle to have your hands and face washed after eating.....where-o-where did that come from. Just this afternoon before nap you ran behind the recliner and would not come out when I asked you to. You just stood there and grinned at me as if you knew how difficult it was going to be for me to fit my belly behind there to come get you. But come get you I did, and believe me, it was not fun for me either.

Who turned you from Happy to Grumpy dwarf? I would like to have a short little chat with them.

I'm sorry that it's confusing around here lately and that you aren't feeling up to 100% yet. I only wish I could change all of that for you. Maybe it's my fault for "envisioning" how are last few weeks together were going to be. Maybe I set myself up for this.

All I know is that your strong wills are getting the best of me, and it makes Mommy sad. Can my sweet, happy boy come with strong wills too?

Please-o-please with sugar on top and a strawberry too!!!

Long Looks

We live in a neighborhood full of kiddos. They all play so well together!! Monkey is the second to youngest (the youngest is 3 months and the next oldest is 3) of 16 kids on our street. They are great at including him when he scampers over to see what the big kids are doing. They recently have even been ringing the doorbell to ask if he can come out and play!! So sweet!

He loves to be pushed in his car by them and digging in the dirt with someone other than Mom. I love it because it gives me a chance to sit down and read a few pages in my book or just watch from afar.

But, his little face is always so long when they decide to move on to the next house and play. He just sits there and watches until he can no longer see them, waving his little hand, and saying "bye-bye". Breaks my heart every time. He never cries just looks so sad that they decided to go do their big kid stuff, and he's not old enough to follow along!

Someday you will be able to join them Monkey....riding away on your bike or scooter. I know it seems so far away, but it will be here before your Mama is ready. I will wonder how the time went so fast and be thinking that it seems like just yesterday you were a little boy waving bye-bye as the big kids rode off.

Secretly.....I can wait a long time for that day Monkey!

Stuck!

This is Shiloh, our chocolate lab, who didn't come running for her dinner last night! Usually she can't sit still on the deck because she is so excited to eat. I automatically scanned the yard and didn't see her. I went into panic mode thinking she had dug out under the fence and was out running free.



I rushed in the house to get Monkey and the leash. We were going to go walk the neighborhood and hopefully catch up to her. I took one last look in the backyard and happened to hear her whimper from somewhere. I looked down to find her wedged underneath our new shed. And when I say wedged I mean stuck in one position without any room to move at all. Don't ask me what possessed her to do this. She has always been the one to get herself into predicaments that she has trouble getting out of!



I immediately called my husband who was still an hour from getting home from work. So I started digging. I could only dig a little bit with the shovel until it wouldn't fit under the shed enough to do any good, so then I started to dig with my hand shovel.....yep 36 weeks pregnant, bent over, on my hands and knees with "tons" of help from Monkey and Sam, our other lab who was overly concerned that his sister was not going to get out. I'm sure we were quite a site...Monkey and I with our hand shovels and Sam with his front feet all of us bent over, buns in the air, attempting to dig out Shiloh who I was now silently cussing in my head.


When I was about to give up because she was not budging, my father-in-law and his brother showed up!! It actually took a floor jack lifting the shed off the ground to get her out!!!!!!!!!! Ugh! Boy was she a happy girl when she was out though. Running around and rolling on the ground!! I'm sure I was a site for sore eyes covered in dirt, sweat running down my face, and hair flying everywhere! Thankfully she escaped unharmed.



I can only hope she learned her lesson!