Beachin' It

Today we met Macie, Meela and Kamryn at Great Grandma's house to spend the day swimming. The kids had such a blast together swimming, splashing, picnicking, digging, and swinging. A play date is never complete at G Gma's without a swing on the hammock. Cassidy was pretending she was napping for awhile, I think just so she could have it to herself. Jack enjoyed being the 'dam master' (self imposed title) in the sand and muck, creating rapids that he affectionately named dead man's body 'because there are bodies laying around from people who didn't survive' *yikes imagination*, and channels for the water to flow through. When it came time to swim out the the raft, I was so glad that Skinny Minnie Macie is not as big of a wimp as I am when it comes to cold water. She took the cold like a champ as she helped the bigger kids get to the raft while I life guarded the littles as they splashed on the shore. (btw: doesn't she look great? :) ) No hot summer day is complete without an ice cream cone. GGrama knew just when we were at about our limit, and saved us with yummy strawberry ice cream cones. And of course no outing is complete without a Lucyism: Cass, are those itching bi*#!*^% mosquitoes bothering you again?

Kam quite enjoyed dumping cold water on herself, and when I told Cass to try it, this was her response to me:

really, mom? you want me to dump this on myself?

Smokin' Smoker Craft

Our newest toy:

We got a great deal on a boat that we just couldn't pass up. We spent many hours yesterday cleaning it up. We plan to take it out for the first time this weekend! It came with a huge 3 man raft to pull behind that is about as big as a king size mattress. I have very little experience on a boat, so I have a lot to learn from Andy. He is pumped to have a boat to fish with, to pull tubes, and maybe someday skiiers. I love being in the northwoods where there are so many things to do outside in the summertime. (Winter's duration still has to win me over...)

Cassidy.... *sigh*... the little ragamuffin preferred to lay on the dirty blacktop in a puddle rather than help the rest of us wash.

a letter to baby

Dear Little Man,

Yesterday Daddy, Lucy and I went to your ultrasound! It is amazing how much they can see on a scan like that. Lucy was in awe to see you and to get to hear your heartbeat, which she likened to a horse galloping (and also demonstrated around the office--very cute and innocent). It was so neat for me to see you move from the outside as I felt the same movements on the inside. Your heart, brain, spine and body parts look perfect. Doctor Bentley even commented that you were "well hung" when we determined you were a boy. (Something that almost make me fall off the table I was so shocked.) Doctor did tell us there is a chance your tummy is a little too large- she said maybe 25% larger than she'd expect. It could be that you were laying funny, and the image was distorted, it could be that you just have a big belly like Lucy (j/k), it could be that you had just drank a lot of fluid, or it could be that you have something called a duodenal atreisa, where the opening of your intestine isn't quite large enough to let fluids pass at a fast enough rate. If that is the case, you would need to have a procedure done to make that opening bigger after you are born. Otherwise you would vomit all the time, and not be a very happy camper. We are praying for the first option, and have faith no matter what the outcome that you will grow to be a healthy, happy boy, loved by your family and extended family more than you can ever imagine. We will have another ultrasound in 4 weeks to see what your tummy looks like then. I have faith that you will be healthy. You are just beautiful and I felt the bond I have for you strengthen more than you could ever know. I am so excited to be able to care for and raise another little boy. Jack is almost 7 now and I practically forgot what it is like to have a 'little' little boy. Your sisters are enamored with you and already talk to you through my belly. Cass is excited to be a 'big sista'. Lucy is all ready to care for you and Jack is excited that he and Dad will no longer be outnumbered by girls. Grow strong little man. We love you and pray for your safe arrival in only 4.5 short months.

Love,
Mommy

Evening the count

We are very excited to announce that we will be welcoming a brother in November!

Hooray! (Lucy was holding on so tight to that balloon to make sure she doesn't lose it... it is actually tied to her ankle she was so paranoid about it.)

The sweetest profile I've seen in awhile:)

And very obviously a boy!

Nerves

Tomorrow is a milestone in this pregnancy. It is our 20 week ultrasound. I will finally get to see the little guy (or girl) who loves to poke me all the time. (I actually felt it from the outside yesterday.) While this has always been something I have looked forward to, history has set me up to be a nervous wreck. The past few weeks, in anticipation, I feel like I have been crabby and apathetic. I try to remind myself what Andy would tell me: 'Why worry about something you have no control over and before you even have to worry about it?' It works for a while. I am trying to think positively but I find it comes in waves of feeling good, then waves of my stomach dropping out. What if this baby is not healthy? continually runs through my mind. Then I receive comfort as I remember a distinct impression I had in response to a prayer I said one particularly bad freak out day "this one will be healthy". And I remember that I will not be given more that I can handle- a promise from our Father in Heaven. And then there was the woman I met at the Minneapolis Temple this weekend who helped me with a zipper. When she noticed it was because of my belly that the zipper was hard to zip, she emanated this special calming spirit, then told me how I would be so blessed for the choices I was making. I could feel that her comments were directed towards the pregnancy and the baby- as this is what was on my mind, in thought and prayer as I was there. I think there was a reason she was the one I happened to ask for help. As I go back and read these experiences I know that I must rely on faith- that I will get through. That darn human nature just likes to kick in!

At this moment, I don't really have a feeling one way or another for what the sex of this baby will be. (Guess I have been concentrating on other things too much...) I had stronger feelings towards boy at the beginning, but some girl thoughts lately. Lucy predicts a girl ("since Auntie Jenny had a boy, this is a girl"), Cassidy wants a "gul" and Jack has no doubt in his mind this MUST be a boy. When one of my friends asked Andy what he wanted he responded "a baby that sleeps".

I'd have to say this point in pregnancy is a breeze (minus the worrying). I haven't really had any braxton hicks yet (I thought I was having them all the time with Cass at this point). I wonder if it is because I am still zumba-ing (versus no exercise other than walking pushing a stroller when prego with Cass). I am finding that I get winded when walking up the steps and when exerting myself- annoying. Makes it harder to keep up with my kids! The sickness is all gone, as is the crazy cravings, and I feel pretty normal. I am really thankful for that. Baby moves all the time, so I haven't had a freak-out in relation to that, thank goodness. Oh, and I don't think I have grown immensely larger following that growth spurt around 13 weeks. (My friends may beg to differ with me... they always ooohhh at my belly when I walk into zumba... I kinda like it though... shhhhh).

St. Germain Flea Market

I love to rummage, and to be honest, the garage sales in Rhinelander are lacking. To say the least. I have tried going out to a few and have been greatly disappointed at what I have found-- a lot of crap mixed with baby stuff, (I have an ample amount of both) and I am usually in search of something antiquey. Enough was enough so I packed up the girls (Jack was still at summer school so I was without one of my whiniest shoppers... another bonus) and we snuck away to the St. Germain Flea Market. It is held every Monday and there are typically 400+ vendors. They have everything from plants to pillow pets and other "new items" to those items I am more interested in: antiquey, primitive, rummage goods. I just know that there is a gem hidden within someones pile of stuff if I look hard enough. And for me the search is half of the fun. You could easily stick me in an antique mall or at flea market and turn me loose for a day (kid free, of course). I would be in bliss for every second. We came across a few of the usual vendors that seem to have the type of goods I am searching for, but none of them had anything I considered a deal- or that I couldn't live without.

Then I found the B'artique stand.
A new vendor. Actually an artist who uses recycled tin ceiling tiles, and metals from old homes. COOOOL Stuff. Art. I. WAS. IN. LOVE. And my girls were angels stuffing their faces full of kettle corn while I relished in "the search". For at least 30 minutes. Many of the pieces were out of my price range. Dang. But I was able to secure a few smaller pieces that will proudly hang in my bedroom. I am keeping my eye on this artist-(I got his card and 'liked' him on FB) I have a feeling as there are some renovations done around this home, that we may be securing a few more larger pieces. (A girl can hope, anyway.)

I just love that warn, primitive look.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

The last few days

We had a busy weekend. It started with a visit from some cousins. We cooked out, played outside and then took a trip to Briq's Soft Serve- at the site of Historic Jet's Dairy Bar. The kids loved that the smallest cones were as big as their heads (practically). They had sprinkles and the girls were in heaven. I was surprised how much ice cream a small kid can pack in... I guess I shouldn't have underestimated.

Friday was actually our 11th wedding Anniversary. I loved the note I got that morning as I woke up. It read "Happy Anniversary. 11 years- WOW we are old". To celebrate had a sitter and went out to dinner and a movie with Macie and Vij on Saturday night, after a day full of disc golfing and playing at the park. I feel so blessed to have found someone like Andy.

We got some great news on Friday. My sister and her family welcomed Brady Matthew that day- making June 17th a great day for another reason. I haven't gotten to see him in person yet(breaks my heart!!) but he looks just as adorable as his siblings:) I just love this picture of him and big brother, Carter.

Pai nolish

My two year old has a thing for 'pai nolish'... known to the rest of us as nail polish. Earlier this spring, I painted her toes for the first time. (Up to this point she did not sit still enough for me to do it and I was afraid in an impulsive moment she'd run off and drag her wet nails on the carpet.) She has since proven herself and is absolutely in love with polish. If there is a chip, she insists (until it is fixed) that I touch it up.

I can't resist cherry toes in fancy sandals!

Lucy has taken to funky colors lately. Her choice this time: shimmery royal blue. And a friend introduced me to this shatter polish that goes over another color. I love it because that means I don't have to be as particular about how the base color looks--which by the way is getting harder to do with this belly getting in the way.

Watermelon Girl

Pictures just because it was 95 degrees and all you wanna do when it is that hot is eat watermelon, run through the sprinkler, oh and pose for your mom. (And because I happen to think she is so darn cute and pictures capture her spunky personality so well!)

OT Mom

My schooling in the area of Occupational Therapy is coming in handy. I have always been aware that Jack has been less than neat in his writing and pretty careless and lacking in interest when it came to many fine motor tasks. It was like pulling teeth trying to get him to color a picture or simply write a letter when he was a bit younger. Now that he has had a decent amount of exposure to letters, writing, and art projects requiring fine motor tasks, he is willing to take a little time to do them now. His kindergarten teacher commented in the beginning of the year how he would do pretty much all he could to side step fine motor tasks like cutting and detailed picture coloring. We have discussed it various times over the school year, and she brought up an interesting point, which I think has some validity. She questioned his vision- and when he got his glasses. (He was 3 when he got them) and together we hypothesized that perhaps his lack of vision when he was young discouraged his exploration of fine motor tasks simply because it was hard for him to see what he was doing. Would you want to do something if you couldn't see what you were doing, and it was really hard? It honestly make a lot of sense in explaining a lot of the "behaviors" we have seen. Long story short, there is a good chance that his slight delay in fine motor coordination today likely is due in part to the vision deficit he had when very young.

With summer upon us, I felt is was important for me to be proactive this summer to avoid losing the skills he has, and to hopefully practice and improve upon them as well. He has surprisingly taken well to this idea and is so far cooperating nicely. We are going to have a chart with goals for reading and fine motor tasks for each week and there will be a prize (like a McDonald's cone) for completing his tasks each week. It is kinda neat to be able to use some skills I learned in school. I think we are going to try our cutting skills out on the grass and dandelions soon. An activity incorporating hand-eye coordination, bilateral hand skills, finger and hand strengthening, and fun all wrapped up in one:)

The zoo and silhouettes

The kids and I are visiting Grandma and Grandpa Africa and Jenny, Matt, Elaina and Carter for a few days. It has been 6 long months since we have been down to Milwaukee. Although Rhinelander is our home now, everything here still feels so comfortable and familiar.

The kids have been really enjoying playing together. When we first arrived Elaina ran over to me and yelled, "Auntie Katie!" I picked her up and kissed her and told her how much I missed her. She replied, "And I missed .. Lucy!" Carter and Cass have been found on a few occasions tucked away in a corner reading together. And they play great together when Cassidy is not expressing her dominance and 'older kid' status (because she can with him) by stealing a toy away.
One place we have missed tremendously is the Zoo! When we lived 10 minutes away we were here weekly if not bi-weekly in the summer. We all had a blast walking around and seeing the animals and stopping at the misting stations to cool off. It was 90 degrees!? We have not seen that in Rhinelander yet, although Andy said it was nearly that today up there too.

Jack is officially done with school and it has been just great having him home with us. He has been very loving and more patient than usual. I relish him holding my hand and leaning into my arm affectionately. He was my little shadow at the zoo today. We rode the train together near the front because Jack wanted to be near the engine, as the rest of the group headed to the back since the girls wanted to ride there. It was nice to have some one on one time with him- and I could tell he really appreciated it too. I realized I am going to have to make more of an effort to have some special time with him. I wonder if perhaps some of the tantrums we have been seeing (which have gotten much better in the past few weeks- thank goodness) are him expressing his desire to have more attention. *wake up call* I was happily surprised that he was even willing to let me take a few pictures of him without complaining.

Right by Grandma and Grandpa's house is a pond full of frogs and this time of the year, tadpoles. It is a favorite destination for the kids that we will visit at least a few times while we are here. Jack and Grandpa discovered some ceramic gnomes that someone placed near the pond and Jack was just not so sure that they were not real. He couldn't stop talking about them so I went with to see them. After we threw a few rocks and they did not move, he felt a little more sure that they were fake. At the pond Grandpa did a good job making sure no one fell in.

There is also a big rock the kids love to climb near the pond. I discovered that evening that I could get some pretty neat silhouette shots with the kids standing on the rock.

Lucy, Elaina, Carter, Grandpa, Cassidy and Jack

And then I had the genius idea. Jen and I should show off our profiles on the rock! I really thought I was showing a ton, that is until I stood next to Jenny who is very ready to have baby #3.

nudges

I have started feeling those tender little nudges-- the ones I have longed to feel for a long time. The ones that confirm there is life growing and changing inside of me. I'll be honest, I have done my share of worrying, and these little nudges which are becoming more frequent, help to ease some of those feelings. They make me so excited to meet that little person, who babycenter.com tells me is approximately the size of an avocado right now. I don't think there is anything more magical than feeling life inside of you- and knowing that you are taking part with God in the creation of an actual person. This is when that bond that was evident the instant the plus sign showed up increases a notch... when I long to see that little face and hold that little body in my arms and when I just wanna hug my own belly. I am soaking up every moment of this fragile miracle.

Jack's last day

I can't belive that today was Jack's last day of kindergarten! It seems like it was just yesterday I was a weepy mess sending him off on the bus for the first time. He has learned so much and changed so much this year. It is so exciting and scary and sad at the same time. I want him to grow up and learn and become independent but I also find it so hard to let go of my baby. He'd probably be emberrased if he knew I was blogging this but I still relish the chance to hold him like I did when he was in infant, (even though his legs hang off about 4 feet) and take a deep breath of the wonderful aroma in his hair. I sometimes watch him sleep for a minute- so peaceful and sweet -and marvel at the person he is becoming.

this is how Cassidy followed me out to see Jack for his last time off the bus

of course I had to run and get the camera!

winning combination- tuck this one away!

The night Cassidy decorated my carpet with her fruit punch laden-vomit, I thought to myself how fun it would be to get all the red out of the creme carpet. That night, I thought I had gotten it all out and was pretty happy with myself. Then morning came and reality set in, as there staring me in the face was the pretty pink outline of what occurred the night before. I tried a carpet spot cleaner. No luck. I mentioned it to my mom, aka the magic stain genie who can get anything out, and she went to work. Today I had an email with the following instructions:

Mix a few drops of dishwahing soap with water in a spray bottle. Saturate the spot. Warm an iron to medium heat. Place an old towel over the stain.Place the iron on the towel for a few minutes. The carpet fibers will release the color.

I have to admit I was a little leery of putting a hot iron on my carpet- even with a towel barrier, but I figured if the magic stain genie thought it was worth a try, I should too. And just like magic-- it worked! It really did take a few minutes for the iron to heat the carpet enough to release the left over red fruit punch vomit residue (yuck!) but now it is GONE! (And I didn't just let the iron sit there for more than like 20 seconds... I moved it around, checked it, and rubbed it with the towel some to help the process along too.)

Hopefully you'll never need to worry about red vomit on light carpet. But if you are reading this, chances are good you have kids, and chances are good your kids will spill something red on your carpet someday!