House News and More...

We are in the process of refinance our mortgage. We are dropping 1.375 interest points and will be saving $100 a month. Also, we will be doing a bi-weekly payment plan where you pay half your payment every other week. This results in an extra payment every year, making it a 24 year mortgage instead of a 30. This decision was in conjunction with one that we will be adding on to our house next year instead of selling.

I had my diabetes screening yesterday. If my sugar was too high, I have to go back and do a three hour test (ick). I took advantage of the hour wait to go into the health library and read up on food allergies. I read scary stories about people actually dying from inhaling the steam of shellfish.

Mr. yet-to-be-named son #4 has lodged himself into a very uncomfortable position under my rib (for me, he is probably nice and comfy.) that's where his head was during my ultrasound 8 weeks ago and I was hoping by now he would be in the preferred head down position.

When we picked Isaac up from Children's Church last Sunday, he was playing Candyland with his teacher. He said he enjoyed it so we bought the game. Of course that means we have already played countless number of Candyland games. The other night, when they were asking for yet another game, I stacked the deck so Isaac would win right away. Certainly I'm not the only parent to do that? :D

We ate 10 pounds of strawberries last week.

Tag!

I've been "tagged" by Andrea to answer some questions.

Here's the scoop on how to play: I pick 5 occupations out of the list below and post my answers. Then I tag 3 other people to post their answers on their blog. If I tag you, and you don't want to be a part of this, then that is okay. Just let me know and I'll tag someone else.

The "questions": If I could be a scientist...If I could be a farmer...If I could be a musician...If I could be a doctor...If I could be a painter...If I could be a gardener...If I could be a missionary...If I could be a chef...If I could be an architect...If I could be a linguist...If I could be a psychologist...If I could be a librarian...If I could be an athlete...If I could be a lawyer...If I could be an inn-keeper...If I could be a professor...If I could be a writer...If I could be a llama-rider...If I could be a bonnie pirate...If I could be an astronaut...If I could be a world famous blogger...If I could be a justice on any one court in the world...If I could be married to any current famous political figure...

My answers:

If I could be a doctor...I would love the studies, I would love fixing the ailments, but I think the patients would annoy me.

If I could be a justice on any one court in the world...it would definately be our U.S Supreme court. I would base decisions on our constitution, not selective global opinion as is the current trend.

If I could be a professor...I would not waste students time by regurgitating the textbook back verbatim (I had WAY too many profs do this). Textbooks should be a tool for education, not the whole toolbox.

If I could be a musician... I would play the piano. I can play beginner music but I would love to play much much better.

If I could be a gardener... I would grow watermelons....lots and lots of them.

I tag Sandy, Beth and Heather.

3 Months

3 months from today is my due date! I can hardly believe it. There has been so many new babys in church lately, it makes me so excited to have ours. Sammy was very interested in a newborn yesterday at church, I hope thats a good sign.

I have the orders to get my gestational diabetes screening, I need to get that done sometime in the next week. Its not fun, you have to drink nasty syrupy stuff than wait around for an hour before they draw blood. When I was pregnant with Elijah, Isaac threw up in the waiting room while we were waiting.

A little update on Sammy. He is doing much much better. He has gained the weight back he lost and is running around like usual. He hasn't thrown up in two weeks, and his poops are pretty much normal. The dr. said they will hold off further testing if he continues to do well. All the stool samples were negative (normal).

Also, on a previous post about Osh Kosh I mentioned that you can use their coupons online. I was wrong about that, you can only use them in their stores.

The Tale of Two Haircuts in One Day

First of all, let me say i'm a bit embarrased to write this. I never ever thought I would do something like this but sometimes you don't know how you will react in a situation until it happens. It started innocently enough yesterday morning when I decided to get my hair cut. The first inkling of trouble happened when my usual hairdresser wasn't there. I decided to take a risk and went with somebody new. I showed her where I wanted the layers to start and how much to cut (start layers under my chin and make it about shoulder length). It looked awful. I felt like a mushroom, all round around my face with one ugly long bottom layer (think Carol Brady). It made my round face look 100X rounder, add that to be 6 months pregnant. I went home, nearly in tears and desperately tried to find a way to wear my hair that didn't look hideous. As I left to pick up Tanya to go to the mall I told Jeremiah "i'm going somewhere to get it fixed" only halway serious. After moping around the mall a few hours I decided I was really going to get it fixed. I got in right away at Regis and poured out my story to a new stylist. When I took my barrettes and pony tail out and saw again how ugly my hair was, I was so glad I decided to get it fixed. She understood exactly what my problem was, and managed to turn it into a flippy style haircut. Its pretty high maintence, not something I would usually go with but I will deal with it for a few months until my hair grows out. After the baby is born I can get my usual body wave. So, I hope you all don't think me shallow and vain for paying for two haircuts in one day. I just couldn't deal with my last trimester of pregnancy and an awful ugly haircut too. Thats my story.

New Haircut 

Isaac reading to his dinosaurs. 

Questions I'm Throwing Out to the Wind

1. Why do boys destroy everything?
2. What are we going to name this baby?
3. Just how much food will these boys eat when their teenagers?
4. Should we add on or sell?
5. Should I get my haircut?
6. Is rap and hip hop the same thing?
7. Does Tide Coldwater work better than regular Tide (in cold water)?
8. Is there a book out there that would be my absolute favorite, only I don't know about it?
9. Does putting sunscreen on my face everyday prevent me from making vitamin D (if i'm wearing long pants and a jacket)?
10. Don't people know that strawberrys don't ripen after they are picked?

Me: Isaac, your really pressing my buttons
Isaac: (in genuine confusion) Where are your buttons?

Hodgepodge

First, Sammy appears to be feeling better. His poops are almost normal again, no word on the stool samples yet. Praying it doesn't return, we thought he was back to normal last week for a day or two.

Second, regarding my agenda this week. I finished my curtains and put air in my bike tires. Okay, okay Jeremiah put air in my tires. We went for a bike ride last night, and i'm happy to report that i'm totally comfortable riding a bike even at 25.5 weeks (almost six months) pregnant! I still have to make that pizza dough, but I need to get freezer bags first.

Third, if you live near an Osh Kosh outlet, you need to get on their email mailing list. Two weeks ago I got a $10 coupon (no minimum purchase), and this week I got a coupon for an extra 25% off any item which is great since they are always running 40-70% off sales. Actually, I think you can use them online so technically you don't even have to have a store near you.

Last, but definately not least, a huge thank you to my Aunt Nancy who picked up the Gymboree outfit I had my heart set on at her local store. My local store had neither the matching socks or the newborn size in stock. I can't wait to see him in it.

Kind of Silly If You Ask Me

I was reading in our paper this morning about a local activist group that sponsored a billboard noting that the majority of TC voted for John Kerry. WHO CARES???? Whats next? How about each separate township declare who they voted for, or even better... each neighborhood! Oh wait, maybe every street should post a billboard declaring who the majority of residents voted for. The election is over, done, finished. Wouldn't their time and money be better spent focusing on future elections??

Everybody who lives here knows that TC is a liberal city, do we really need a billboard to tell us that?

Thank You Pizza Hut!

I was delighted to find out that homeschoolers can enroll in Pizza Hut's Book It! program. I'm enrolling Isaac for next year (deadline to enroll is June 10, 2005).

Belly Issues (updated at end)

Only its not my belly, its Sammy's.

Four weeks ago Sammy started having diahrrea and vomiting. Of course you assume a simple virus. Two weeks later it was still happening, since most virus' should be gone withing two weeks I brought him to the pediatrician. The Dr. said that even though its been two weeks he still suspects a virus and it should start getting better, if he is not better in a week than bring him back. So a week later he seems to be getting better so we don't bring him. Than over the weekend it returned with a vengeance, which means tomorrow will be four weeks of diahrrea and occasional vomiting. Also, his poor little belly will bloat right up putting him in obvious discomfort. Its back to the doctor today. I have a feeling it might be another food issue, possibly Celiac Disease. So any prayers for Sammy's belly and that we can figure out the cause would be appreciated.

*The doctor decided we will start with stool samples to rule out virus, bacteria, and parasite. If those come back negative we will move on to more testing, including a blood test for the Celiac.

Whats On My Plate This Week, and More...

I have a lot of stuff I want to do this week. I want to make 3 batches of whole wheat pizza dough to freeze. I bought some beautiful material to make new curtains for the living room. I have a couple books I can't wait to start reading (Safely Home by Randy Alcorn and The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger). I want to get air in my bike tires so I can take a few bike rides while my belly still allows it.

Of course there are the routine things. My daily walks (one with the boys, one by myself). Laundry blah blah blah. Church and lunch/play dates with friends and their children. Of course, i'm not sure how much I will actually get done. I should get lots of reading done since I sit outside for hours at a time while the boys play.

I also wanted to share about this book I got from the library (I hope everybody has access to a library as great as ours). Its called Color Me Beautiful by Carole Jackson. It talks about how to find your color palet (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) and what colors are right for you. I knew I was an Autumn, as are most redheads, but I wasn't 100% sure on all the colors that look good on Autumns. I have always noticed that Isaac looked terrific in olive greens and browns while Elijah and Samuel look smashing in blue. Isaac is an Autumn while I am pretty sure Elijah and Samuel are Summers (maybe Springs?). Anyways, its a fun book and worth checking out.

Five Things I Learned Recently...

1. When your 20 month old wakes you at 6:00 a.m yelling "poo poo!!"... its not going to be pretty.

2. A half tank of gas can last two weeks if you have an awesome husband who rides his bike to work.

3. Cookies you bake for no reason at all will turn out perfect, cookies you bake to bring to a get-together will not.

4. Jiffy muffin mixes are awesome in a pinch (and very cheap).

5. American Idol is boring when the theme is showtunes.

Book Review Time

I thought I would do some reviews on the books I have read in the last month or so.

First I read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I read the special edition that contains beautiful photographs of the paintings, buildings and other artifacts mentioned in the book. As a novel, it is a great, page-turning mystery. However, the author states many controversial things about early Christianity, Jesus, Constantine, and Mary Magdalene. Which is why I read Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code by Bart D. Eherman afterwards, and I would recommend that anybody who is tempted to believe all (or even most) things that Dan Brown states in his novel read it also.

A while back on Sandy's friend Jenn's website, I heard about The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. Since I recently read Jane Eyre, this book sounded interesting. I'm so glad I heard about this book! It was so entertaining and fun to read. The heroine, Thursday Next solves crimes in an alternate universe which in some ways is very similar to our life now, in some ways very different. I will definately be checking out the rest of the Thursday Next books.

I also recently finished My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. In the words of Randy Jackson, it was "a'ight". Not a must read, but it wasn't hard to finish either. Its about two sisters, the younger was conceived to provide umbiblical stem cells for her sister with luekemia. It became much more than that, and she basically became a living donor for her sister. It has a very good twist at the end (something I like). However, I found lots of it to be unbelievable and there was one particular unresolved issue that didn't sit well with me.

I also re-read Anne of Green Gables for the 1oth time or so. I wish there was a way you could erase a really good book from your mind when you want to read it again, so its like your reading it for the first time. All I can say is that if you haven't read this series yet, well...what are you waiting for??

I'm always looking for a good book suggestion, so don't hold out on me if you have one! :D