School is in session

Clothing is optional.

What I'll miss about summer

The boys will start school next week.  Brady will be at the top of the preschool in the 4's class, going 4 days a week and eating lunch at school with his friends.  Jackson will finally get his wish of going to his big brother's school.  Let's see if he is as excited when I actually drop him off and leave him next week.  School will be great for everyone, but there will be lots to miss about the summer!  Here are a few:

-Lazy mornings in bed: A 9 am start time won't push us out of the bed too quickly, but I have so loved lazing in bed with my boys this summer.  Both boys love to hop in the bed each morning and snuggle up while daddy gets ready for work.  I love it more.  Brady and Jackson are usually up early in the 7 o'clock hour, but sometimes we don't head down for breakfast until close to 8.  And not needing to rush out the door has been nice.  Combine a baby to deal with (who might not be so good at relaxing in the bed), lunches to make, and three kids to get ready to head out the door, and Fall might bring different looking mornings.

-Pool time:  We've had a great time at the pool this summer.  Its the first summer since kids that I can have something that resembles a relaxing time poolside.  Its been fun to watch Brady learn to swim and the pool has brought some much needed pregnancy heat relief during this hot summer.

-Warm clothes weather: Clothing has always been a challenge in our house.  Mostly, because Brady, and now Jackson, actually care what they wear.  I'm reminded that last year, Brady, king of layers, would insist on wearing shorts underneath his long pants each day.  Jackson has begun to pick his clothes out each day, and between the two kids and working with multiple layers, socks, and coats, I'm just not sure I'm ready for Fall/Winter. 

Neighbor time: Every day, when Brady wakes up from his nap, he requested so play date with his best buddy Micah. It's so lovely (for all of us) when Micah comes over because he occupies my boys, sometimes for hours! Gracie is his sister and she helps too. While we will still have play dates with Micah, the school year brings a busier schedule (though I don't imagine the requests will waver). 

-Brother time: Yes, they will certainly still get lots of brother time, but it will decrease with Brady in school 4 mornings a week.  And with some very notable exceptions, they are very sweet together.  I wish I could tape record their conversations.  A few I can remember:

The other day, Jackson was telling Brady that some toy or another was his.  Brady's response:  "Jackson, its our toy.  Ours. You really need to start getting better at that."

Jackson watching Brady go poop in the potty.  Like, literally, all up in his business watching the poop go in the toilet.  "Brady, you need privacy?" he asked when the job was complete.

This afternoon, Jackson kept asking Brady, "Why?" after everything he said.  "Jackson, quit asking why??!!" he exclaimed with frustration. 

Oh, the sweet irony.

Goodbye summer... on to the next adventure!

PSA

"September 8th"

"Good"

"No"

"Either one is good"

"Not really, but I will be!"

These are the responses I give about 10 times a day to friends, acquaintances and strangers.

If you need a key of the questions, they are below:

"When are you due?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Do you know what you're having?"

"Are you hoping for a girl?"

"Are you ready?"

I'm not complaining, people are nice. I'm not sure I'm ready for the baby, but I'm ready to move on to a new set of questions!

Happy Hoot Creations

I have been a delinquent blogger this past month, and most of it I blame on my newest endeavor, Happy Hoot Creations. I started this "business" on a whim. I'd been making some signs for my church's bizarre sale and couldn't really reach a stopping point. And since you can only hang so many signs in your own house, I thought I may trying selling a few!

Business has been good! Which means a few things: 1) Free time has been completely consumed with painting. 2) My hands/nails are a sight for sore eyes 3) I go to bed much later than I always plan to 4) The wood cutting guys at Home Depot turn and go the other way when they see me coming. 5) My dining room table is not for dining. Here's what it looks like:
 

Home Depot: We do some serious damage at this place.  Damage to the wallet... not damage to anything else... yet.
 

My version of nesting has not been anything to do with getting my house ready or preparing for our new arrival, but  frantically beginning and finishing orders as they come in.  Starting a business 6 weeks before I was due was not how I would map it out, but as they say, it is what it is. 

Here are a few of my favorite creations. I like to think I'm getting slightly more effective, but each one is still a labor of love, emphasis on labor.  I need to hire an assistant just to rub my back while I paint.  I've made a lot... here are some of my favorites!

 

 

Foot fault

I'm amazed it has taken this long to warrant an x-ray for Jackson. From a young age, Jackson has loved to make his mom's heart drop with his love of jumping off of everything and anything. Couches, beds, chairs...those are some favorites.  Though it's added some grey hairs to my head, Jackson has always seemed to know his limits and we have avoided major catastrophe.  All good things must come to an end though, right?

Friday morning, we made the 30 minute drive to the birthing center where I will be delivering.  Afterwards, Brady wanted to "do something fun" so I took them to the mall nearby to play in the kids area.  This area has a ton of things to climb on, and I spent the first five minutes telling Jackson not to jump off various play structures.  He came to a pretend stack of books about 2-3 feet off the ground, asked if he could jump, and I gave the stamp of approval, knowing that he's jumped off things that high frequently.  3 seconds later, he is lying on the ground crying, unable to even limp over to me.  After it was determined that he could not bear any weight, we drove to the pediatrician.  On the way there, Brady told Jackson that he was "really lucky" because he was not going to get a shot at the doctor's office.

Feeling like we hadn't met our quota of doctor's bills for the day, we hit up the orthopedist and got x-rays, which showed no fracture.  So we had to wait it out, no pun intended, since Jackson would not put any weight on his leg.  Saturday showed slight improvement, but Jackson wouldn't take more than a few steps and everyone's frustration level was pretty high.  I love Jackson, but I do not like carrying him everywhere.  Sunday was better, though I think Eric's patience with the patient wore pretty thin by the end of the weekend.  Today, if you ask him, "What did daddy say?" Jackson will dutifully respond, "No whining." That doesn't mean he will actually follow through with that command, but after being told that all day, the message got through.  Eric may or may not have been happy to go back to work today.  Although we paid Eric a visit at work this morning.... here is a video of Jackson's current walk.

It is pitiful, but cute.

Brady is still highly active, however, and is willing to make up for Jackson immobility with activities of his own.  This afternoon, before we took a dip in the pool, Brady and his friend played some tennis.
 

His brother participated in his own way.  By eating all of the oranges.

His foot may be busted, but his appetite has not wavered!