Less than 2 weeks.

Less than 2 weeks.

I have said it multiple times just in the last few days. To friends, strangers, family, and more strangers.

I have a rather large belly that draws lots of attention.

Men that say, "You look like you are about to burst!" (and that was 3 weeks ago). And "You got 4 kids in there?" (that was from a friend--no hurt feelings here!).

Women that empathetically say, "You look great!" And "You totally don't look like you are that close to delivering."

Either being empathetic or lying. Fine with me either way.

Most people questioning whether or not I will actually make it to my c-section date. Heck if I know. I just really don't want my water to break in church. Or Albertson's. Those are the things of my nightmares.

So I am trying to figure out what I can wear to church that fits and maybe is "slimming." Is that an oxymoron for a 9 month pregnant girl?

I am thinking I might do an over-the-top hairstyle and possibly garish makeup. Anything to draw attention away from my belly.

Or I might tape a sign to my shirt that says "Less than two weeks!"

Or just waddle on into church.

Have a few moments to worship God. Thank him for baby Hank. Praise Him for the children I already have.

Then get up and go to the bathroom (again) and put my feet up so that I might still have ankles.

In a little while.

I will be back to post soon. I have been playing with a camera and photoshop and looking at blogs. And being 9 months pregnant, and cranky and impatient, and down right hard to live with. And trying to finish lots of projects around the house. And growing out of every single maternity piece I have. And praising God for black, stretch, yoga maternity pants.

Rhody, Rhody, Rhody. . .

I did a post about Bo and his birthday and Lainey and her first day of school so it only seems natural to post about my middle child today. Good thing he has given me a lot of material lately. And when I say lately, I mean in the last 24 hours. Precious child.

We are all adjusting to our new school schedule. Everyone is getting up earlier. We are going down for naps or "room time" earlier. We are eating our gourmet dinner a little earlier. (part of that one is true). And we are going to bed earlier. Get what I mean?

Rhody still takes a nap sometimes and has room time sometimes--depending on how tired he is. Yesterday, he woke up so early that I just knew he needed a nap. I sent him up to his room and told him an exact time (i.e. 3:34) that he could come down. He is a little new to this "reading the clock" thing. This summer Lainey told him what time it was and when it was time to come downstairs.

I remember thinking yesterday afternoon that I was surprised that he wasn't sleeping during his room time. I could hear him walking around a bit. But then I started reading, talking on the phone, watching the food network. I am such a multi-tasker! :) I wasn't paying attention.

Realizing that it was after the appointed time, I went upstairs to tell Rhody he could come down and as a treat could watch the Ranger game tivoed from the night before.

This is what I saw when I rounded the corner of the stairs.

He fell asleep on the stairs. Seriously. The front door was wide open in front of him. The tv was on. I was talking on the phone. None of that bothered him. I am not sure exactly how this happened because he doesn't know either. 

Grab another nomination form for mom of the year and put my name on it!

I did wake him up because I was a little afraid he might wake up and roll down the stairs. Not a fun way to wake up from a cat nap.

*******

Today we went to the mall with Jenny and the girls plus a friend. I realized AFTER this trip that maybe I shouldn't take the boys to the mall in my current pregnant state without a stroller or some other straight jacket contraption for Bo. 

I can't chase him. And he doesn't obey. Not a good combination. 

I don't know why he doesn't obey. I seriously have questioned myself (ourselves), "Did we forget that chapter of parenting with him?" 

But this post is about Rhody so I digress.

Rhody wasn't much better at the mall but doesn't run with lightning speed away from me.

On the way home, Rhody mentions that he has gum in his hair. 

Because that is what I was hoping to do when I got home with these two awful and precious little boys. Figure out how to get gum out of his hair.

I did google it to see if there was some new awesome way of combining olive oil and mayo plus flax seed to get gum out of hair with ease and comfort. No such thing exists. 

I got the peanut butter out. Here is Rhody with the gum--coated in peanut butter.

After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, we got both the peanut butter and the gum out. He got in the shower to get the smell out of his hair. I think it is all gone.
I could go on and on but I need to put my feet up and I think I might be getting carpel tunnel syndrome. I actually don't even know how to spell that!

Happy Birthday Bo!

Guess who had a birthday this weekend?

Gobby made another fabulous cake for Bo. He wanted a sports birthday party. Actually, he would say he wanted a baseball party, then he wanted a football party, etc. We interpreted it as a sports party. But he definitely wanted a pinata! He wanted to "whack" something really hard! Gobby provided that as well!

Can you tell how awesome that cake is? Bo loved it!

Bo has several girl-friends that came to celebrate with him! Emma, Kylie and Mary Elizabeth (gee gee). Precious girls. They preferred the snacks and the cake to the sporting games!

Teaching him to say THREE! He started saying he was 2 1/2 about a week after  his birthday last year. We will see what happens this year.
The "big" cousins! (we missed sam and jack!)
Enjoying the cake and ice cream with Davis!
We love you Bo! You are full of energy and life. You challenge us constantly and make us laugh even more. Can't believe my baby is three!

First Day of 1st Grade!

Monday was the first day of school for Lainey and her friends! She was actually pretty excited about going back to school. The reality of homework and exams won't hit for a couple of more years--I hope!

Lainey and her brothers bright and early Monday morning. 

Only decent family pic from the morning. 

It was bright and early for Mommy and Daddy as well. 

Lily and Lainey ready for school! Lily started Kindergarten this week. She was thrilled (and so was Lainey) that she got Mrs. Barnes this year! 

Lainey and Addie again this year. They planned out their outfits a week or two ago! Lainey was disappointed not to be in Addie's class again this year but is holding out for 2nd grade!

Mommy and Lainey (and baby Hank). I generally shy away from pictures right now. However, I figure one day Hank or the other kids might actually want proof he is my child.

Lainey and Daddy. Kyle will start taking Lainey to school every morning now. It is a special time for them. Plus--Mommy doesn't have to get a bra on and leave the house.

Lainey sitting at her desk in Mrs. Ratliff's class. We are thrilled to have Hanna as Lainey's teacher. I have known Hanna (and her husband Ben) since she was a Young Life kid at Lake Highlands. She will be a great teacher for Lainey!

She had a good first day. She told me all about it. Her least favorite part was recess. She said it was just too hot and she walked around way too much. I mean she is a delicate flower!

What kid says recess is the worst part of the day!

I will definitely miss Lainey during the day. I am once again a "boy mom." I love that role too. She just seems so big! 

Birthday Getaway

My birthday was this week. 

I am not afraid to say that I am 37 now. 

It seems weird to see that in "print." It looks older than I feel. Well, older than I feel when I am not pregnant. I feel about 87 years old sometimes. But that is another story.

Kyle planned an overnight, in-town, getaway for just the two of us. The kids stayed with my mom and dad--they were pumped. We went to Hotel ZaZa. Pretty swanky, huh?

We started by having lunch at the Dragonfly restaurant at the Hotel. It was delicious! We had the place to ourselves. I was just happy not to order off of the kids menu and to not have to keep a 2 year old in his chair constantly. 

The Dragonfly Restaurant

Hotel ZaZa

Look at these awesome draperies in the lobby. Huge!

We ate--a lot faster than we needed to. It's hard to get used to taking your time while eating a meal. Then we walked over to a little shopping center. I saw a Texas Rangers store and knew we needed to go in--just to see. 

Just to see that everything was so expensive. And that Rhody would have loved everything. Anyway, we picked up some birthday dessert while shopping (not at the Ranger store!) and headed back to the hotel. We did get a couple of small things for the kids--that Lainey was unsatisfied with because she doesn't like baseball.

Here we are waiting for our room to be cleaned. Kyle wasn't happy about that but once again I was fine just sitting there in the absence of questions and whines and tears. Just fine.

This is our room. Not a great iPhone picture but you get the point. It was a concept room or suite. Each one is different. Ours was called West Indies. It was decorated with that theme. Very cool and comfortable.

That's the overnight bag that Kyle got me for my birthday.

\ I was in desperate need of a bag! It is great. 

Here is the dessert that we picked up. One for each of us and one to split. Remember, it was my birthday! Unfortunately, I have been on a 3-day pass for desserts on my birthday. As my dad would say, "I gotta get back on the program!"

We went to Coalvines for dinner that night. We sat outside (open to the inside behind me) and enjoyed a part of Dallas we never see! It felt like we were out of town--without the price of airline tickets or a couple of tanks of gas!

Dinner was delicious. 

It was nice to getaway with Kyle and do nothing. It is a funny thing that what is a great gift to me right now is getting away and doing nothing. Putting my feet up a lot (no shopping). Watching a movie (not PBS). Eating a dessert and taking my time at a meal. I felt cared for and loved spending some alone time with just Kyle. He is my best friend and we have a great time together. 

Happy Birthday to me! 

Thanks babe!

Band of Brothers

I have two boys--right now. I will have three and then I will have new observations about my three different boys. 

But right now I have two very different little boys.

Rhody and Bo. Rho and Bobo. 

They don't look very much alike. They have totally different features and different builds. They do have the same coloring and a similar haircut so they look more like brothers right now. 

But I am thinking more of their personalities and temperaments.

Rhody is kind, tender-hearted, quick to smile, loves to laugh, loves baseball, cries easily, scared of dogs and masks, and loves lots of hugs.

Bo is feisty, quick-tempered, funny for his age, likes people to laugh at him, surprisingly sweet with babies, likes baseball (hockey may be more his sport), aggressive, stubborn and fiercely independent. 

We went to a playground today with our fun friend Brandon. There was a fireman's pole at the playground. It is about a foot and a half from the ledge of the playground. It requires a child to reach out with their arms and then leap (a little) onto the pole to slide down.

The boys differences were so apparent in this little playground experience.

Brandon went to the pole first. He quickly and easily jumped on the pole and slid down to the ground. 

Rhody followed him and stood on the edge and looked at the pole and quickly called for me. I knew he probably would. He started saying, "I can't do it. I need your help."

I came over and talked him through it. Encouraging him and supporting him the first couple of times he jumped onto the pole. He then started saying, "I did it! I did it! All by myself!" (sort of Rhody)

I walked away and they went down the pole several more times. 

Then Bo noticed the pole. He went up to the ledge and leaned out to reach the pole with his hands. (I was quickly at the base of the pole) Bo immediately starts yelling at me, "I do it myself Mommy!" I have to convince him to let me just put one hand on his belly while he jumps. He isn't that tall and he can barely reach the pole on his own. 

Of course, he doesn't care about any of that. He wants to slide down that pole. The big boys did---so he must! He does learn how to slide pretty quickly. I never felt great about him leaping to the pole without me near.

Rhody left that part of the playground for a little while and then came back to the pole. He got to the ledge and started saying, "I can't do it!" He so quickly forgot how he was just doing that same pole, all by himself. I had to remind him several times that he could do it.

Rhody is not a natural risk taker. He is cautious.

Bo is a born risk taker. Caution is an unfamiliar concept to him. 

I am grateful to have both boys. There are good and hard things about both of their personalities. God can use both of them and their given gifts and talents and personalities in huge and different ways! 

Sometimes one personality is easier than another. But the goal of parenting is not to have "easy" kids or an "easy" time parenting. (this is me giving myself a pep talk!) I love them so much. I love how different they are. I desperately want to encourage them to be the boys (and then men) that God wants them to be. Not who I want them to be. My selfishness and desire for comfort and ease will get in the way. I might miss something in them because it seems to hard to "control." 

Yes, it would be easier if Rhody didn't cry at the drop of a hat. But I can already see a wonderful, tender side to him that I would hate to squelch. 

Yes, it would be easier if Bo didn't want to do EVERYTHING on his own. But God could grow him into a wonderful leader one day.

My friend Jenny just said the other day that she has hope in the fact that God is bigger than her parenting skills. I echo that truth. (not about your parenting skills, jenny--about mine!)

This is the best, most rewarding, exhausting, and thrilling job anyone could ever have. 

I can't wait to meet my newest little one.

If we could only come up with a name for him.