The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play

Last week it rained.  And rained.  And rained.  I can't really complain about it too much since we didn't suffer near the devestation that our friends and family back in Pennsylvania experienced.  But it was certainly enough to put a damper on things... and to keep us cooped up in the house.

Jack is really in to Dr. Seuss right now.  Every morning he'd wake up, look out the window and start reciting the first few pages of The Cat in the Hat. 

The sun did not shine
It was too wet to play
So we sat in the house
All that cold, cold wet day

I sat there with Sally
We sat there we two
And I said, "How I wish
we had something to do."

To wet to go out
And too cold to play ball
So we sat in the house
We did nothing at all

So all we could do
Was to sit, sit, sit, sit
And we did not like it
Not one little bit

Usually he starts breaking off right about the "bump" part, but hey, not bad memorization for an almost-3-year-old.

This is how Jack plays hide and seek.  And even if he wasn't easy to spot, he can't stop giggling enough to make the game worthwhile anyway.

So we caught ourselves saying how we wish we had something to do many times this week.  And unfortunately for Jack, The Cat in the Hat never showed up.  He was stuck with a tired, pregnant Mommy.  And not that there aren't enough puzzles, books and games to keep us occupied here in the house.  But it was just the thought of being trapped that made things difficult.  And the fact that it was dark and gloomy most of the day.  And typically these would be perfect days to cuddle up with a book and cup of hot tea.  Or spin a few projects off the sewing machine.  But things just don't work that way with little boys.  At least, not while they're awake.

Jude was having way too much fun with the mirror, so Jack had to step in and take things over.

By Day #3 Jude was getting antsy.  He raided the coat closet, dug out his galoshes, and carried them over to where I was sitting after dinner.   Then he turned up his eyes, handed me his boots and said, "Uh, uhhhh?"  Which translates to "Please Mommy, can we please get out of the house?"  And I couldn't resist because I knew exactly how he was feeling.

Especially since I was hoping that seeing his mom and brother having fun out in the rain would convince Jack to finish off the last three bites of his dinner. And it did.

Can you tell they're brothers?

Soon the three of us were inhaling cool, moist air and enjoying a bug-free yard for once.  Jude immediately jumped into the rain-filled inflatable pool that was left out over the weekend and you could hear the water sloshing around in his boot for the rest of the evening.

And Jack taught himself how to open an umbrella.  Over and over again.  And each time he "poosed a butt-en" anyone standing within a 5 foot radius got sprayed with rainwater.  Too fun.

Guess who got tasked with closing the umbrella every 20 seconds?

So we spent a fine evening in the drizzle.  A perfect prelude to "tubby night." 

Dumping the water out of his boots.

And thankfully we woke up to sunny skies on Saturday.  And a chance to get back to what we do best ... get bug bites.  Okay, just kidding. 

What I meant to say was "Sharing and being kind to others."

Okay, okay, just kidding about that too.  Currently, Jack is only in to toys that Jude is playing with at any given moment.  He'll be all about riding the tricycle ... until he sees Jude having fun on the Handy Manny quad.  Or he'll be perfectly content in the sand box, unless Jude starts laughing too much on the slide.

And currently Jude is really into the slide.  He's worked up enough courage to go down by himself.  As in, Mommy wasn't paying attention and he just slid right on down and off the end and landed on his rear in the dirt ... all by himself.

But it takes him a bit of a pep talk to get there.

He'll sit at the top and think over his next move very, very carefully. 

And just when you think he's about to go, he changes his mind. 

Meanwhile a line of anxious, small children has piled up behind him (okay, maybe just Jack, but it might as well be an entire line).

Until inevitably his hand slips, he loses his footing and ends up "falling" down the slide.

He's pretty proud of his newest accomplishment.

So yes, we're thankful for the sunny skies.  And slides.  And bugs.  And ample opportunities to learn to share and take turns.  And most of all, we're thankful for two little boys who are learning more and more about what it means to be a brother. 

These two are awesome!

35 weeks on repeat

Well apparently I enjoyed my 35th week of pregnancy so much, we decided to repeat it.  At my last appointment I had a lengthy discussion with the midwife about my dates and, after an even longer time trying to decipher my military clinic ultrasound records, it was finally determined that Baby is due October 11, not October 5.  With the new date I'm now measuring right on (instead of the two weeks behind I was at my previous appointment).  And so, while I'm confident the new date is more accurate (which is important if you want to deliver at the birthing center), I'm not so thrilled that we're now encroaching on Jack's birthday territory.  In fact, I'm willing to carry this baby an additional week, if it means giving the kiddos a few extra days between celebrations.  Ugh, two babies born within the same week is so not my modus operandi.

35 weeks, the first time

And neither is this whole changing dates thing when you're down to the last month.  I've got myself utterly confused now.  I have to think extra hard when someone asks when the baby is due.  And I can't do that reverse psychology tell-yourself-you'll-have-the-baby-late-so-you're-not-disappointed deal because there's a very good chance this time around that labor could start "on time."  To make matters worse, there's a family wedding on October 9 in LBI and the entire clan is renting a beach house for the weekend.  Since that's the "baby could come any minute" time zone, chances are we're going to be missing out.  And the whole idea makes me a bit grumpy.

35 weeks, the second time.

But the Little Miss remains unphased.  She's happy and healthy and pushing her way around in there just the same.  And other than a little swelling in my left ankle and the occasional sharp, shooting pain on my left pelvis, I don't feel too bad either.  I'm just really running out of space in my middle.  Helping Jack in and out of his underwear 20 times a day has lost its luster.  And I about drowned Jude in the bath whilst trying to rinse his hair out.  I just can't get a good angle over the edge of the tub anymore.  My husband gives me a hard time about the ice cubes that fall on the floor and never get picked up.  What can I say?  It's ten times easier to wait until they melt, throw a towel on the floor, and swish it around with my foot than it is to actually bend over and pick them up.  Maybe we really do need a dog ...

This little guy is reallly going to miss his "seat" in a few weeks.

But despite all the weird pokes and little inconveniences, I truly love this stage of pregnancy.  I'm obviously with child, no one has to guess any more.  I feel her little life within me every hour of the day.  And I am consantly reminded of the miracle - the gift - of life.  It's an honor to carry a child, so why not throw in an extra week while we're at it?

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Just a little note about 35 weeks for those of you who are interested.  This is when I start my little herbal regimen - 5-W.  This was recommended to me by our first midwife in Virginia Beach and even though my current midwives haven't heard of it before, all the herbs it includes - Black cohosh root, squaw vine herb, dong quai root, butcher's broom root and red rasberry leaves - are recommended by them during the last weeks of your pregnancy.  And they gave me the go-ahead to use it again this time.  5-W stands for 5 weeks, because you take it the last 5 weeks of your pregnancy.  It supposedly supports the reproductive system, tones your uterus and helps prep your body for labor.  This article explains some of the benefits of 5-W.  Some people claim to have shorter, timely labors because of this supplement but both my previous labors were 23 hours and 12 hours long, and I had one baby a week early and one a week late, so I can't attest to this myself.  Also, I've never gone through a pregnancy without 5-W, so I honestly can't say it if makes a big difference or not.  I do know that I've had two great deliveries, two great pushing experiences and two great recoveries.  I've also had several friends who have taken it with similar results.  Maybe it was the 5-W ... maybe not.  But it might be worth a shot if you're at the end of your pregnancy!  The product is manufactured by Nature's Sunshine, but like most items, I've found it to be cheaper through Amazon.  And that is my 35 weeks two cents!

Rainy Day DIY

We just wrapped up a wonderful, relaxing Labor Day weekend with Jon's parents.  I'm sure there will be pictures and stories to come, but today it's dark and rainy.  And between the sludge running down the side of my yard, the pile of dirty dishes in the sink, and the box full of autumnal decorations sitting in my living room that I haven't yet found the motivation to actually put out ... I'm going to do a post that involves as little creative thinking as possible.

Now that's not to say that I haven't been feeling creative.  Oh, I have!  You should see Baby Girl's nursery ... too bad you can't.  Gotcha, haha!  It's not done yet, but we're getting very close!  Pictures will be coming soon.  But once you do see it, you'll know what I mean.  Hubby thinks Etsy done went and threw up in there.  Except I did it all myself (and with a little help from Marmie).  Needless to say, I've been spending countless hours in front of my sewing machine and totally loving it.  But sometimes I need to step away from the nursery for a bit - like when Jude is taking a nap in there.  So I found another area to focus my craftasticness on, my other baby - the DSLR.

I got a new camera for my birthday last year and I think it's been one of my favorite presents to date. I'm not really in to photography, and I can't edit for the life of me.  But I do love taking pictures of my kiddos!  And for that it has served me well.  So this year I got a prime lens that I'm also enjoying.  The only problem is I can't fit my camera, extra lens and all my accessories in my camera bag.  Actually, it wasn't really a problem. But that scratchy, black canvas camera bag didn't have anything going for it anyway.  All I needed was a good excuse for a cute, new camera bag... that could also double as a purse ... or maybe triple as a diaper bag.  Something like this.  So cute, so functional and oh so much more than I should probably spend on a bag.  So I put it on my Christmas list and prepared to wait out the next 3 months.

But then my mother-in-law and I took a trip to the mall and I discovered this amazing little store called Charming Charlie and immediately I was drawn to a mustardy yellow handbag retailing for a fraction of the price of my coveted camera bag and I thought to myself, "Why can't I just make my own camera bag?"  So I snapped a picture of it to take home and show my husband so he could go out and buy it for me for Christmas or something.

But my sneaky MIL was way ahead of me, nabbed it when I wasn't looking and presented it to me as a gift that night.  *awesome*  It didn't take long for me to look up a few DIY camera bag tutorials online and work out a plan of action.  If you're interested in making your own there are good instructions here and here.  Or you can just kinda wing it like I did.

Take one Charming Charlie handbag.

And a half yard or so of 1/2" foam, material and velcro.  (This is what was left after my project).

Measure the inside of your bag and cut foam to fit.  Cover foam with material.  Add velcro.

Put it all together and slip it in your bag.

Load up with camera and accessories.

You can either velcro/attach the foam insert to the inside of the purse or just have it sit freely in there, which is what I did.  So I can have a "normal" purse anytime I want!

And wa-la.  I think this cost me a total of about $3 (not including the bag).  I love it and now I can sleep well knowing my camera is safe and cozy too.

And in case you're wondering what that funky strap thing is on my camera, well that's Project #2.  MYO Gathered Camera Strap.  I'm not sure why I decided I needed to do this.  I was at a children's consignment store the other week and saw some there on the made-by-moms shelf which I thought were super cute.  And they were $15.  Apparently my craftiness is motivated by sticker shock because I got home that night determined to make one myself.  So I found this blog and knew this is what I needed to do.  I've never done a ruffle or a gather before, but I wanted to for the nursery so this would be good practice.  I ended up following the ruffle instructions on this blog because it seemed so much easier (and it was, and now I'm a ruffle maniac!).  And then picked back up from there.  I also didn't use fleece on the inside of mine. I just used a thick, soft material I had leftover from a crib bumper I disassembled (more on that later!).

So did I manage this with minimal damage to my wallet?  Oh, you know it!  Since the material was all scraps, the only thing I had to buy was ribbon.  I'm estimating this project was less than $2-3 and about an hour of my time.  The only downfall is hubby claims he won't be picking up my camera anymore.  This is funny because I don't think he ever picked up my camera before it had a floral, ruffled strap cover.  *sigh*  But the best part is, not only do I have a cute, comfy neck-strap, but I also have a fast, easy way to ID my camera at holiday functions.  No more of those "ahhhh who changed the settings on my camera" moments that occur when you unknowingly attempt to use someone else's gear.

So there you have it, two fantastic Christmas gift ideas to get crackin' on for that special photographer in your life (yes, I did just mention Christmas shopping because it IS September and we DO have a baby due next month!).  Unfortunately, I don't think either of the Uncles would appreciate a pursey camera bag or ruffled camera strap.  If you're experiencing a similar lack, perhaps one of these other DIY projects would work better.  I've had success with all this past month (okay the jury is still out on the mole repellent but I'll list it anyway):

DIY Changing Pad Cover

DIY Mole Repellent

DIY Laundry Detergent

DIY Cloth Laundry Detergent (I'll have to get back to you on this one, I wasn't so impressed the first time I used it, but we'll give it another shot soon)

DIY Natural Cleaner Orange Infused Vinegar

Shhh, just don't tell my siblings about my mole repellent and laundry detergent gift baskets I'm working on for Christmas...

Here's to a glimpse of the sun tomorrow!

Earthquakes, Hurricanes, and Man Made Disasters that start with "J"

Well, in case you haven't heard, last week was a little crazy here on the east coast.  Hubby was out of town again, visiting all sorts of places around the country.  Meanwhile I was holding down the fort and feathering the nest.  Actually, I was busy admitting last-minute applicants into my program.  You know, talking on the phone with all the panicked people that decided they wanted to start grad school after the semester had already started... yeah. 

So both boys were napping and I had just hung up the phone when the rumbling started.  I stood up, shocked that my toddler had finally attempted to get out of bed and run laps around his room.  And then I realized the shaking was much more than even my Jack could create.  And it wasn't stopping.  By the time I made it out of the office into the dining room all the dishes in the china cabinet were rattling.  I reached my hand out to keep the candlesticks from falling over.  And now, looking back, I have to wonder why my first thought wasn't to run upstairs and throw myself over my boys.  Apparently the candles were more imminent.  But hey, this was my first earthquake and I had no idea what was going on!

It seemed like it would never end and, once I guessed it had to be an earthquake, I kept wondering how much worse it would get.  Finally, the rumbling died down.  I checked on the boys and both were still soundly sleeping in their beds.  And then I opened the front door and actually talked to two of my neighbors, who were standing outside their doors as well wondering just what had happened.  It was a crazy experience to say the least.  Too bad Jon missed out.  He didn't even know anything had happened until he got out of his meeting in Florida an hour later and glanced at the news.  He had nothing to fear though, I had everything under control!

But I was still very glad to have him home in time for the upcoming hurricane.  A girl can only handle so many natural disasters on her own.  Unlike the earthquake, we actually had a fair warning that Irene was on her way.  And thankfully, she wasn't as bad as we had anticipated.  At least, not in our neck of the woods.  We actually ended up going out to dinner in the middle of the hurricane.  The boys were driving us crazy and I didn't feel like cooking.  So we put on our galoshes, busted out the umbrellas and went to Chipotle where there wasn't even a line!  We got home just in time to hear a huge limb fall on our roof and shake the entire house.  But thankfully it didn't cause any damage.  We never lost power for more than a second and didn't have any flooding.  Now tree branches and leaves ... we had plenty of those.

For the first time since we moved I was actually not so thrilled about our yard.  It's taken us days to clean up the mess.  But I have a feeling this is just a taste of what we're going to see this fall.

The view from our yard, the hole in the trees is where our house sits.

The boys and I got right to work Saturday morning.  It was still a bit cloudy and windy, but the fresh air was good for us.  The kids actually weren't much help at all.  Jack kept running through the leaf piles and Jude just kept running off.

 I came across a suffering baby mole in one pile of debris and was skittish the rest of the day.  I was certain I was stepping on baby birds or that snakes were crawling over my toes.  So when Jon momentarily forgot my current state and requested I pick up sticks before raking the leaves, I decided to put in my two minute notice.  I stuck to managing the man made disasters my two boys were wreaking inside the house, and Jon spent the next few days cleaning up the yard just the way he wanted to.  And that is why there is a very large pile of leaves behind our shed and next to that a very large and neatly stacked pile of sticks...

Picking up sticks isn't what it used to be.

So yes, Tropical Storms Jack and Jude have taken over the house.  I don't know if things have gotten worse, or if I'm just having a harder and harder time keeping up.  Just this evening we have decommissioned the dining room rug, a wedding gift we bought ourselves with gift cards.  After 2 years of constant scrubbing I'm done waging the war over dinner-on-the-floor.  After Jude threw his bowl of yogurt last week I realized that he's not so different from his brother and the best thing to do at this point is give up.  We've had a bare floor under the table for a total of 10 minutes now and I've enjoyed every second of it.

Not-so-neat Jude.

I was a little nervous about managing the two little tornados on my own this week, so thankfully Marmie and Poppa were willing to lend a hand.  Three days after bringing Jack back from Grandy Camp they were back in our guest room (which is officially complete I might add!).  And the best news is they didn't come empty-handed.  Marmie had spent the whole time in-between cooking and baking so that I would have a freezer-full of goodies come Baby's arrival.  It's been difficult not to delve into the stash too early, but I'm happy to say I have never been this prepared for a child's birth before.  And I still have 6 weeks to go!

Good thing Poppa was around to help Jude fix the stove.

Marmie and Poppa kept the boys occupied so I could get some work done.  They spent some time hunting down bugs in the yard:

And there were also plenty of bike rides and trips to the park:

But the highlight of the visit, at least for me, was a trip to the local beach.

Sister and I needed some Vitamin D.  And I was just longing to sit in the sun with a good book.  Thankfully the grandparents made it happen.  After playing in the sand and water and enjoying our packed lunch, Marmie and Poppa managed to get both boys to sleep under some shady trees.  They have the grandparent touch!  And so I scored a quiet hour on the beach with just a book and the sound of lapping waves.

Speaking of waves, this was the bay and obviously not very turbulent.  Perfect for little boys just getting their feet wet.  I was so happy to see Jack enjoying the water again. 

He even got his face wet a few times and came up saying, "I okay, I okay!"

We practically had to drag him out when it was time to go. 

And while this guy can't quite stand on his own in the water yet, he was more than content sitting by the water's edge and filling buckets with sand.

He's definitely becoming more independent and even ventured down the beach on his own on several occasions. 

But he also likes to be close to his Mama.  I wonder if he's even noticed that he can't get as close to me as he used to.

Oh Jude, you are in for a big surprise in a few weeks!