Graduation

I'm almost a month late posting these graduation photos. Things were hectic at home and I knew if I didn't just come home and do it, it wouldn't get done. Sure enough I didn't do it and well, here I am almost a month later finally getting around to it. Graduation day is a memory of mixed emotions. We almost never made it there. The Wednesday before we had a birthday party for Lucas and when we got home Benjamin was up all night puking. Night one of no sleep for me.The next few days and who was sick when is pretty much a huge blur to me now. But I will say that Lucas and Jeremy both ended up super sick with this violent stomach bug. No one slept at all Friday night and so come Saturday morning everyone was beyond exhausted. Jeremy was weak from not eating, but both boys seemed to be feeling okay. So we headed out. 

We were a few blocks from school when Jeremy realized that he left our tickets at home. So I dropped him off and headed back toward home when he called to say that he ran into Brigham on the elevator and he had enough extra tickets for us. So we headed back again. As I was pulling around in the parking structure, I found a front row spot and pulled in. The lady totally yelled at me for it and I calmly tried to explain that I'm on bedrest and not supposed to be doing too much walking, so when I saw the front spot I took advantage of it. She wasn't having any of it, so I got a bit firmer and basically told her to deal with it and walked away. 

As luck would have it, we ran into Mack and Susan in the lobby and we were able to get seats with them. We weren't allowed to save seats, but Etta and John had gotten lost of their way there and I didn't want to deal with trying to find them in a crowd afterward so we saved them seats anyway. Luckily no one said anything to us. We were pretty early so it seemed like forever until things got started and the pharmacists were the last ones to enter the building, which made it seem even longer. 

But finally they were there. And Jeremy was the 5th to last one.

I brought coloring books and paper and the iPad for the kids to keep them quiet.

It worked for a little bit. Then I busted out some M&Ms

I don't remember now, but I think this guy gave the one speech. It was funny and he made a lot of references to music. There were a lot of laughs.

Finally!

Oh my gosh...he's graduated!

Checking out that DOCTOR next to his name! Woot Woot!!!

5th to be seated also means 5th to exit.. bummer

But who cares because he did it!!!!!!

So while we are waiting, Lucas gets sick again. Etta was going to take him to the bathroom but I saw the look on his face and pointed to the trash can. By this point I was seriously so beyond exhausted that I was a total grouch. She didn't so much as have the lid off the trash can and he was projectile vomiting inside it. Poor kid! Thanks Etta! It was so gross. I knew if I went over I'd start puking too just from my gag reflex being so sensitive....so I stayed away! Several times they tried to kick us out because they needed to clean up inside and finally I snapped at someone explaining that my child was sick, and I was NOT about to take him out into a crowd so he could puke all over happy people celebrating. We would leave when my husband got there to carry him out. One of the men was nice enough to say a little prayer for Lucas, which he seemed to really appreciate. 

Finally Jeremy found us, and we were able to snap a few pictures before heading home. 

Mack and Susan

Dad and Mom

John and Etta

Our family :)

Take two. Poor Lucas did not feel well at all. These are the best we could do.

Benjamin was in a really good mood though. At least someone was!

Jeremy had to carry Lucas to the car

Wearing daddy's cap...he tried his best to smile. About twenty seconds later he was sound asleep.

It was a crazy whirlwind day. I'm glad we were able to attend and that I didn't get sick! And I'm mostly grateful for Jeremy's hard work and dedication to his school work AND family over the past four years. It wasn't always easy, but looking back it was so worth it. Now he starts his new job in just four days and we are headed toward good things!

No More Training Wheels!

Yesterday Jeremy told Lucas he would take off his training wheels today. I was a bit nervous as he's been raised in a condo and hasn't really had much access to practice riding even with training wheels. But in the few weeks we've been here, he's really figured it out and been zooming around the neighborhood and circle out front. Benjamin has too! 

 

The boys found a worm in the driveway and Benjamin was going to relocate him to the flowers.

Training wheels are coming off!

Our cats are loving having a house too... lazy bum hanging out in the shade.

Benjamin was pouting that he didn't get his training wheels off too

"It's not fair"

"Don't take my picture...delete it!"

So I was fully expected a scene out of a movie. Where Jeremy would be holding onto the back of his seat and they go running down the street and Jeremy would let go and Lucas would keep going. Yeah, that's not exactly how things worked out. He was heading down the driveway so Jeremy could help him and the next thing I know he's riding down the street. I totally missed getting it on film! Jeremy never had a chance to hold the back of his seat. It all happened so fast it was a bit sad.

To celebrate we took the boys for shaved ice! Our favorite Texas treat! 

Lucas got Spiderman (which he didn't end up liking and traded Benjamin for his)

Benjamin had Quicksilver which was very light and tasty.

Jeremy and I both went for our usual Tigers Blood with cream. YUM!!!!

There are three or four stands that we know of, but our neighbors (who are awesome!) told us about "The Pink Stand" we totally both assumed she called it that because it's pink, but no...that is what it's called. Look at that list of flavors and all those notes in the window are all new flavors.

Three happy boys!

Of course the red dye in mine dyed my teeth, lips and tongue red. Haha. Lovely picture.

There is another stand with the same prices around the corner from our house and it looks as if it supports the local schools...it's painted in school colors and logos. So we will try out that one next time. I'm pretty sure all shaved ice tastes about the same if you get the right flavor. And personally for us, we'd rather support the schools. But for today trying out the Pink Stand was super fun and I'm thankful we had an awesome excuse to do it!

This video is attempt number 3

Benjamin was so sad that Jeremy took his training wheels off... after this they went right back on :)

Week 16 Belly Shots

Week 16: Avocado

There haven't really been any exciting changes in the past week to report. Except that over night my uterus doubled in size and I can no longer comfortably sleep on my stomach. Shucks! I think that once I adjust to the size I'll be able to a little more but it's pretty tender right now from the growth. 

Benjamin keeps asking when the baby will be here and I was counting the months. I still have 5 1/2 months to go, and for some reason that made me really happy. This pregnancy seems to be creeping by super slowly, and I'm loving it. I know with this being the last baby that I want to just enjoy every day. 

.....

How far along? 16 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I haven't been obsessing about my weight...but I think I'm still down about 7 or so pounds.

Maternity clothes? Yes. 

Stretch marks? Not any new

 

Sleep: I'm tired all the time! I thought the second trimester was supposed to be the trimester of boundless energy?! So far, not the case, but I haven't been super busy with unpacking still and it's been pretty hot here which can be draining physically. I rest a lot, and sleep about 10 hours at night, although I've been having bizarre dreams so the sleep is not of good quality.

Best moment this week: Realizing that my uterus is catching up with my big belly

 

Movement: Yes. I feel the little wiggle worm every day now. Not constantly still, but it used to be if I was laying on my back, and this morning I even felt movement while doing dishes. LOVE THIS!

Food cravings: Nope :/

 

Labor Signs: Thankfully no

 

Belly Button in or out? In..getting more shallow by the week

What I miss: Nothing

 

What I am looking forward to: Getting new insurance and finding out the baby's gender :)

Weekly Wisdom: None, sorry

 

Milestones: Baby can hear my voice now, the boys are excited about this and have been more chatty told 'her'. Baby is now about 4.6 inches long and is weighing in around 3.5 ounces. The baby is big enough that it is possible to hear the heartbeat with a stethescope. Awesome! Baby is also developing eyelashes, eyebrows and hair and well as forming taste buds. 

 

.....

 

Week 15: Naval Orange

Week 16: Avocado

The House: Game Cabinet

I think it's fair to say we like games. We don't play them often enough though. We are all hoping that with Jeremy around more, and actually being able to USE our kitchen table, that games will become a more regular part of our routine. Because we love them! 

The TV armoire that we had in the living room in the condo was much too large. It was tall and HEAVY! We knew there was no way to move it without disassembling it first and so one night Jeremy spent three hours doing just that. The problem is, we got used to having the TV sitting on a smaller table and fell in love with how simple and clean it was. So upon arriving here, we decided to just keep that set up. Jeremy was ready to chuck the armoire, but I just see so much storage when I see this beast of a piece of furniture. 

So I had him build it and put it in the office so I could store the games. It's nice to be able to have them organized. Before we had all of them in the bottom cabinets and we would have to practically pull everything out to get to what was behind it. Now... I can just grab and go. It's very exciting! 

The top section that used to be for the TV. I broke the back board, so it's just open to the wall now.

 And the lower cabinets with the kid games.

 .....

While I'm at it...here are a few pictures of the unfinished office. The previous owner of this house left behind a desk in the sun room, which we use as a play room. It took up too much space, and wasn't really usable out there, so I unpacked most of the boxes in the office yesterday and moved the desk in here so the boys can sit at their own desk to write, color, play on their little toy computers...etc. We obviously need to get them a chair!

 My desk :) It's nice to have space! In the condo, the filing cabinet was under the desk meaning the printer had no where to go but ON the desk. It's so wonderful to be able to have them NEXT to the desk now.

A view from the door. It's still a work in progress...the window coverings are awful! But they will stay until we can afford something new. There is still a bunch of boxes that need to be put away as well. But one thing at a time. I spent a good four hours in here cleaning and putting things away, and now I'm burnt out.

The House: Part 2

The boys and I went out this morning to get some more soil to plant some more seeds.We ended up at Lowe's where we found pretty pink flowers on clearance for $1...so we bought four. We got home and planted, ate lunch outside, colored with sidewalk chalk and then watched as the afternoon sky turned black. So we cleaned up all our lawn toys and headed inside for the afternoon. But not before I snapped a few pictures to share with you. 

Our entry way as you walk up to the front door

Our pretty new pink flowers. I know it's not much but we also filled the planters with seeds, so we are hoping in a few weeks to have some more color :)

We put one of these on each side of the garage

Our backyard is really just a back deck. But it's huge! And so far it's been perfect for our needs. When you step out the back door, to the right the boys sandbox and sand toys

And to the left is the massive shed (Jeremy LOVES having this!), the water table and more kid stuff. Not to mention a chair with a cushion missing (It was drying but I didn't notice until I uploaded these pictures).

Everything here is a work in progress including the boys toy room. To the right is the kitchen, puzzles, music, workshop, balls, and lots and lots of costumes!

The left side is more of the junk corner for now. Besides their drawers of toys it's just a big pile of things that need to be put away including the train table that needs to be reassembled.

Mantle (With some extra junk piled on the fireplace...oops)

The corner dresser which houses all the dvds and wii games :)

Bombay desk

TV Console

Couch view one

Couch view two

Tables behind the couch

Entry

Whole entry from the living room

Living room from the entry

Door on the right is a coat closet. Doors on the left lead into the office, and the door straight back goes to our bedroom.