1. Like I wrote about last week, the whole "moving nine hours away" is quite a tough pill to swallow. Luckily, I've had the whole "getting our house ready to go on the market" to keep me distracted. Ack! I'm exhausted! Typically I love a good home improvement project. It's just that I usually tackle them one at a time and not all at once. Thank goodness for good friends. On Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, we were lucky enough to have people available to watch the boys so Mark and I could attack our to-do list full on. My knees were a lovely shade of brownish-purple after crawling around for five hours on the tile floors painting all the woodwork we have in our entryway and hallway. I don't want to be too picky, but man, it would be marvelous if our next house came pre-painted. I could easily go another ten years or so without picking up another paintbrush.
Ok. I know that's a bit much. 'Cause Lord knows that when we do get a new home, I'm going to have tons and tons of ideas floating through my mind for how to decorate it and of course, paint must be included. (Dear sweet father...yes, that's that's you, Mark K. Hefferly, that I'm talking to...surely you won't let your bound to be largely pregnant daughter do all that painting alone...)
Where was I? Oh yeah. This house. I must say, I've never seen it look so lovely. I've always been emotionally attached to this place. It's the first home I ever bought. It's where our family began. The only home Kolbe and Rudy have ever known. I can say with one hundred percent certainty that I'll cry when I lock the door and drive away for the last time. But I'm glad we made her look pretty for the next owner. And I hope they love her just as much as we have.
She offically went on the market on Tuesday afternoon and has already had two showings. Hopefully that means that she'll sell quickly, but we'll see. I'm not foolish enough to think that selling a house is easy these days. Say prayers for us!
2. In the midst of all the home improvements, meetings with the realtors, photo sessions for our house, cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning, escaping while people came to look...little Rudy Markie, the birthday boy, had his two year check-up. Wouldn't you know, our little fella is now thirty-four-and-a-half inches tall and weighs twenty-seven pounds! What's more shocking for us is that he's directly at the fiftieth percentile for both categories. I suppose we have gotten so used to seeing Kolbe struggle to even make the chart that it catches us off guard every time we're told that Rudy is not short. Not skinny. Not tiny. Just right down the middle of the road with his cute little football player body. With Dada being on the shorter side, it was easy to assume that all of our kiddos would be short, but hey, I'm five-seven! I'm pretty sure that's on the taller side of things for a girl. We definitely aren't going to have any Uncle Mikeys (6'3") in our crew, but I guess fifty percent isn't too much to ask for!
Oh, and at his appointment we also found out that he has an ear infection. Doh! Yes, I picked up my certificate for Parent of the Year afterward. This was after saying that I had no concerns, no problems, etc. In my own defense, both of the boys had that nasty runny nose/cough type thing going on for about a week. And it really seemed to clear up. But I suppose his little ear decided to hang on to it a bit. No fever. Not particularly fussy. Oh well. Poor little Roo. Soon we'll be back to our regularly scheduled lives (I hope.) and I'll try not to miss things like ear infections.
3. On to the other child. We've got a situation brewing.
Let me just start by professing my love for nap time. I love nap time. It's my one to two hours each day where I can relax and collect myself. It's usually by noon when I'm near breaking point and ready to snap. But that lovely little break just brings me back to my neutral state and ready for the afternoon. Not to mention that it's my time to work on my little sewing business. In fact, I think throwing myself into my sewing is exactly what helps me mellow out. Nap time makes me a better mom for the boys. I need it.
But apparently Kolbe doesn't think that he does anymore. In fact, yesterday he decided to forego his nap all together. Mark and I shrugged and assumed that he would just go to bed early. Nope. He carried on and on and on.
Can I just say that this is unacceptable!?! Uh, hello!!! I'm fixing to have another baby! I need a break! From you, Kolbe Alexander! I love you enough to know that I need a break from you at least once a day. Really, I'll be a better mama for you because of it.
And before all of the advice and suggestions are thrown my way, yes, I know I can inforce a quiet time. Or make him lay in his bed and "rest." The problem right now is, he shares a room with Rudy. So when Rudy is sleeping and Kolbe is in there doing shenanigans, neither one ends up sleeping. And if he does his "quiet time" in any other room in the house, it limits what I can do during my quiet time! Would it be greedy to hope for a game room in our new house!?! You know, some place that I could put the little wild man so he can have quiet time without waking Rudy (or the new baby for that matter) or interfering with my completely necessary break? A mom can only dream.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
TTT: Season 2, Episode 6
1. Oh so much going on right now. Overwhelmingly much. In fact, my mind is just about exhausted from thinking about it all and my body feels the same way from responding to it all.
Mark and I made the decision this past weekend to accept the job offer he received from the neurosurgery group down in Houston.
So it's official; we're moving.
To be fair, I do have to say that it is a wonderful job offer with a great group of doctors and PAs at a thriving practice that just so happens to be very near my parents in The Woodlands. Anyone would jump at the opportunity. But to be honest, I don't think we were ever planning on moving that far away. But at this point, what it comes down to is we need a job. We're adults. With three children. It's not like we just got out of college and we're bumming off our parents until we feel like mustering up the motivation to go get a real job. This is serious business here and our family depends on it. With all that goes in to accepting a job in the medical field (licensing, contracts, privileges, numbers...all that random stuff that I don't know much about) it's not like Mark can just accept a job and start tomorrow. It's quite the lengthy process and if we didn't go ahead and pull the trigger now, we would have gotten ourselves to the point where we'd run out of funds and be in a really bad way. So it was time to just muster up the courage and do it.
I've moved before. (Of course I have. I'm an Air Force kid.) So that "how in the world can this possibly work out? how could we possibly just start over?" type feeling comes to mind but I know the answer to it. It really will all be ok. Mark, on the other hand, has lived in Lubbock his whole life. Aside from the year and a half he quasi-lived in Midland for PA school. So for him it's even more overwhelming. Oh yeah, in addition to the whole starting-a-new-job thing.
And then there's the thought of leaving all of our friends and family.
Heartbreaking. Really, really heartbreaking.
You set up this whole life for yourself and can picture yourself doing certain things with certain people and just growing old in your own little world. And then to think of leaving that world and trying to start over in a new one...it's just scary. And sad. Trying to find new friends. And missing our old ones. Really, no one can replace the ones we love here in Lubbock. And we'll never try to replace them. And again to be honest, I'm really quite thankful that we actually have family here in Lubbock. I grew up never being very close to my dad's side of the family and Mark grew up hardly knowing his dad's side of the family at all. And I've always said since day one that I will not let that happen with my kids.
And I mean it with my whole heart.
Kolbe and Rudy have spent the first couple of years seeing their paternal grandparents typically once a week or every two weeks. Obviously, that will no longer be realistic, but I have my heart set on making sure that it doesn't ever turn in to a once-a-year type thing. So we will always be coming back. As long as they are here, we will be back. With the added blessing of getting to see our friends too. And Lord willing, they (family and friends) will be willing to come see us too. I was just telling Mark the other night that I look forward to times like when his parents come down to visit and we get to take them to an Astros game or the zoo or something else fun. Where the boys' memories with their grandparents will be something special...and not just "going over to G-ma's because Mom and Dad had a dinner they had to attend." And getting to come up to Lubbock for Christmases. Or summer vacation. Heck, Lubbock was the site of pretty much all of my summer vacations as a kid! God knows as an Air Force kid I never lived in the same city as my grandparents!
Anyway, I could and probably should have just written an entire post about this whole moving thing. It's on my mind pretty much 24/7 now-a-days and is what our world is revolving around right now. Getting our house ready to sell, getting it on the market, hoping the right buyer comes along, finding movers to move us, finding a new house, figuring out how all of these things are going to line up with Mark starting his new job...oh, and that whole thing of being roughly halfway through my pregnancy. It's daunting, I tell ya. The whole thing. Like I've said before when just thinking about the prospect of it: for every happy, there's a sad. For every scary, there's an exciting. For every broken heart, there's a brand new start. For every up-ahead, there's something behind. How do you see both and feel ok with your decision?
2. Guess what today is? February 10th. The second anniversary of the second time I fell in love at first sight. On this morning two years ago, I contemplated just how I'd be able to love someone as much as I loved my fifteen-month-and-one-day old little baby. And a little after noon on that day I learned just how easy it would be. The moment five pound, eleven ounce Reagan Mark was born is, to this day, one of the sweetest, purest moments of my whole life. One of the best flooding of emotions I've ever experienced. And falling in love with him over the past two years has been nothing shy of spectacular. So this morning, the things I love the most are that he still lets me cuddle him. Still lets me kiss on him. Still melts my heart with his smile. Still is a mama's boy. So sweet. So curious. So endearing.
Honestly, if it weren't for his paci-obsession, he'd be the world's most perfect child.
Just kidding, little fella. You are perfect--paci and all.
3. Like I mentioned earlier, as of tomorrow, I've reached my halfway point in my third pregnancy. Numero Tres will be a whopping eighteen weeks old. Yes, I know. The halfway point is twenty weeks. But with my previous two thirty-six week pregnancies, eighteen weeks means I have just eighteen weeks to go till I've reached that point.
You know, the one where I better be ready for anything to happen. Like wake up in the morning with my face so swollen that it's hard to open my eyes. Considering I feel no different, blood pressure does the strangest things to my body. I keep praying that maybe, just maybe, I'll make it to at least thirty-seven weeks this time. But really, I won't be sad this time if I don't. I do my best and that's all I can ask of myself. Besides, my two thirty-six weekers did fabulous. And, heck, my body sure thanks me for skipping out on that whole last month!
But overall, this pregnancy is flying by. Could I really be halfway there already? Where is time going? Actually, I know the answer to that, and it's not exactly going to slow down any time soon. I suppose my body changes won't either. So far, I'm still sitting at just two pounds of weight gain and very little bodily changes, but there finally is a noticeable baby bump hiding under my layers of winter clothing. (ok...I know it's pretty much only noticeable to me...) I like to think that instead of gaining weight, the baby's umbilical cord continues on past the other side of the placenta and has a vacuum attachment that is sucking all that "extra" off my thighs that I've wanted to get rid of. Now wouldn't that be a medical miracle! Right now it's just kind of that awkward transition phase where the normal "skinny" clothes are too snug but maternity clothes look absolutely ridiculous. Where "baby bump" looks and can be more easily seen by the naked eye as "muffin top." So, in that regard, I really haven't minded the sub-zero temperatures around here. A good excuse to leave that button undone and throw on a comfy sweatshirt. And really, I can't complain about my little muffin top right now...it's starting to have more and more movement inside of it... which is never a bad thing.
Mark and I made the decision this past weekend to accept the job offer he received from the neurosurgery group down in Houston.
So it's official; we're moving.
To be fair, I do have to say that it is a wonderful job offer with a great group of doctors and PAs at a thriving practice that just so happens to be very near my parents in The Woodlands. Anyone would jump at the opportunity. But to be honest, I don't think we were ever planning on moving that far away. But at this point, what it comes down to is we need a job. We're adults. With three children. It's not like we just got out of college and we're bumming off our parents until we feel like mustering up the motivation to go get a real job. This is serious business here and our family depends on it. With all that goes in to accepting a job in the medical field (licensing, contracts, privileges, numbers...all that random stuff that I don't know much about) it's not like Mark can just accept a job and start tomorrow. It's quite the lengthy process and if we didn't go ahead and pull the trigger now, we would have gotten ourselves to the point where we'd run out of funds and be in a really bad way. So it was time to just muster up the courage and do it.
I've moved before. (Of course I have. I'm an Air Force kid.) So that "how in the world can this possibly work out? how could we possibly just start over?" type feeling comes to mind but I know the answer to it. It really will all be ok. Mark, on the other hand, has lived in Lubbock his whole life. Aside from the year and a half he quasi-lived in Midland for PA school. So for him it's even more overwhelming. Oh yeah, in addition to the whole starting-a-new-job thing.
And then there's the thought of leaving all of our friends and family.
Heartbreaking. Really, really heartbreaking.
You set up this whole life for yourself and can picture yourself doing certain things with certain people and just growing old in your own little world. And then to think of leaving that world and trying to start over in a new one...it's just scary. And sad. Trying to find new friends. And missing our old ones. Really, no one can replace the ones we love here in Lubbock. And we'll never try to replace them. And again to be honest, I'm really quite thankful that we actually have family here in Lubbock. I grew up never being very close to my dad's side of the family and Mark grew up hardly knowing his dad's side of the family at all. And I've always said since day one that I will not let that happen with my kids.
And I mean it with my whole heart.
Kolbe and Rudy have spent the first couple of years seeing their paternal grandparents typically once a week or every two weeks. Obviously, that will no longer be realistic, but I have my heart set on making sure that it doesn't ever turn in to a once-a-year type thing. So we will always be coming back. As long as they are here, we will be back. With the added blessing of getting to see our friends too. And Lord willing, they (family and friends) will be willing to come see us too. I was just telling Mark the other night that I look forward to times like when his parents come down to visit and we get to take them to an Astros game or the zoo or something else fun. Where the boys' memories with their grandparents will be something special...and not just "going over to G-ma's because Mom and Dad had a dinner they had to attend." And getting to come up to Lubbock for Christmases. Or summer vacation. Heck, Lubbock was the site of pretty much all of my summer vacations as a kid! God knows as an Air Force kid I never lived in the same city as my grandparents!
Anyway, I could and probably should have just written an entire post about this whole moving thing. It's on my mind pretty much 24/7 now-a-days and is what our world is revolving around right now. Getting our house ready to sell, getting it on the market, hoping the right buyer comes along, finding movers to move us, finding a new house, figuring out how all of these things are going to line up with Mark starting his new job...oh, and that whole thing of being roughly halfway through my pregnancy. It's daunting, I tell ya. The whole thing. Like I've said before when just thinking about the prospect of it: for every happy, there's a sad. For every scary, there's an exciting. For every broken heart, there's a brand new start. For every up-ahead, there's something behind. How do you see both and feel ok with your decision?
2. Guess what today is? February 10th. The second anniversary of the second time I fell in love at first sight. On this morning two years ago, I contemplated just how I'd be able to love someone as much as I loved my fifteen-month-and-one-day old little baby. And a little after noon on that day I learned just how easy it would be. The moment five pound, eleven ounce Reagan Mark was born is, to this day, one of the sweetest, purest moments of my whole life. One of the best flooding of emotions I've ever experienced. And falling in love with him over the past two years has been nothing shy of spectacular. So this morning, the things I love the most are that he still lets me cuddle him. Still lets me kiss on him. Still melts my heart with his smile. Still is a mama's boy. So sweet. So curious. So endearing.
Honestly, if it weren't for his paci-obsession, he'd be the world's most perfect child.
Just kidding, little fella. You are perfect--paci and all.
3. Like I mentioned earlier, as of tomorrow, I've reached my halfway point in my third pregnancy. Numero Tres will be a whopping eighteen weeks old. Yes, I know. The halfway point is twenty weeks. But with my previous two thirty-six week pregnancies, eighteen weeks means I have just eighteen weeks to go till I've reached that point.
You know, the one where I better be ready for anything to happen. Like wake up in the morning with my face so swollen that it's hard to open my eyes. Considering I feel no different, blood pressure does the strangest things to my body. I keep praying that maybe, just maybe, I'll make it to at least thirty-seven weeks this time. But really, I won't be sad this time if I don't. I do my best and that's all I can ask of myself. Besides, my two thirty-six weekers did fabulous. And, heck, my body sure thanks me for skipping out on that whole last month!
But overall, this pregnancy is flying by. Could I really be halfway there already? Where is time going? Actually, I know the answer to that, and it's not exactly going to slow down any time soon. I suppose my body changes won't either. So far, I'm still sitting at just two pounds of weight gain and very little bodily changes, but there finally is a noticeable baby bump hiding under my layers of winter clothing. (ok...I know it's pretty much only noticeable to me...) I like to think that instead of gaining weight, the baby's umbilical cord continues on past the other side of the placenta and has a vacuum attachment that is sucking all that "extra" off my thighs that I've wanted to get rid of. Now wouldn't that be a medical miracle! Right now it's just kind of that awkward transition phase where the normal "skinny" clothes are too snug but maternity clothes look absolutely ridiculous. Where "baby bump" looks and can be more easily seen by the naked eye as "muffin top." So, in that regard, I really haven't minded the sub-zero temperatures around here. A good excuse to leave that button undone and throw on a comfy sweatshirt. And really, I can't complain about my little muffin top right now...it's starting to have more and more movement inside of it... which is never a bad thing.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
TTT: Season 2, Episode 5
1. It's been a crazy busy week for The Asmussens. Involving a hospital visit (for my ribs), a flight back to Lubbock, a job interview in Dallas, a sonogram, two other doctors appointments (for me), an evening of 103 degree temps (for Kolbe), a doctors visit for him (involving barfing during a throat swabbing), and plenty of snow and near zero temperatures. We like to keep it interesting. But the best part of all during all of these shenanigans was seeing this guy's little face:
Is it just me or do those 3D sonograms make babies look so much more real!?! I swear he looked like a little squirt just a month ago...and looked so much more like a real person on Monday. I've said all along that I knew he was a boy. Not because I feel the same as with my other pregnancies or have progressed the same. 'Cause I haven't. It's been slightly different. I just knew. And sure enough, I was right! I have to admit, I've been kind of sad at the number of times I've been asked if I was "disappointed" when I found out that it was another boy. Honestly, to Mark and me, it's not another boy. It's another baby. Another child. And we're happy that God has blessed us with him. Not to mention the fact that we have enough boy stuff to raise an entire football team and enough experience to get him through at least his first three years of life! How could I be disappointed when God has given us the grace to raise two boys so far and sees us fit to raise another? How could I be disappointed when I've been blessed to be able to have babies and so many others haven't? And don't you know I had four brothers to love on me growing up (and I'm pretty sure they haven't stopped!) and now I'll have four fellas to love on me in our very home. What can I say? I'm a very blessed girl! We haven't picked a name yet for this little guy but we know that he'll fit right in with our little family. He's got two big brothers that can't wait to get their hands on him!
2. Which brings me to a great conversation that I had with Kolbe this week. He is so thrilled that he's going to be a big brother again soon. At first he began with insisting that he wants to give his baby a bath...without mama's help. He took it to another level on Monday after we got home from the sonogram and he knew for sure that he was now having a brother. My good friend, Melanie, watched the boys while I was at my appointments. She has two precious little girls that are right around Kolbe and Rudy's ages and also keeps a baby boy during the day for a friend of hers. The conversation when we got home went a little like this:
Me: Are you excited it's going to be three brothers now?
Kolbe: Mama, Miss Melny has two girls, Molly, Ellie, and one boy baby too.
Me: Kolbe, that boy baby is not Miss Melanie's baby. She just watches him during the day.
Kolbe: Where's that boy baby's mama?
Me: Well, his mama goes to work. She takes Zach over to Miss Melanie's house in the morning and then she goes to work and then she comes and picks up Zach after she gets off of work. Miss Melanie just takes care of him during the day while his mama is at work.
Kolbe: Mama, when our baby gets here, then I want you to be a dada and go to work and me and Rudy will stay home and take care of our baby all by our elfs.
Me: Oh really! You think you could do that? What would mama do?
Kolbe: You would go be a dada and go to work. Me and Rudy will watch the baby.
Me: Ok, well we'll have to talk to Dada about that one.
SO entertaining how his mind works. How he's starting to perceive things. I love his eagerness to take care of his new brother. His desire to be responsible. I love that he perceives himself as someone capable of doing all that caring for a baby entails. And I find his perception of me "being a dada" in order to be able to go to work fascinating. Apparently he hasn't caught on that being a dada is something only a male can do. I guess right now he knows that he has a dada and he has a mama and his dada is the one who goes to work. And if I went to work, well then I'd have to be a dada too. So smart and clever, yet so much ahead of him to learn at the same time. He makes a fantastic biggest brother.
3. I figured out the cleverest little trick yesterday that I'm just too excited about. For months I've been trying to figure out a way to get hairspray off the tile floor in our bathroom. Let me start by saying that I'm admittedly a hairspray fanatic. No, I don't have huge Texas hair. But I have thin hair. Lots and lots of thin hair. And the only way to thicken it up (and sometimes to reduce static) is to give it a good coating of hairspray. Most people use hairspray to hold their 'do in place. I do this sometimes. But usually, I just spray a good coating on and then literally brush it out. You know, to distribute it properly and thicken it all up. So needless to say, plenty of hairspray has accumulated on my floor over the past few years. And when I clean the bathroom, I often make the mistake of of attempting to mop the floor. Instead of getting them spic and span, I end up with a sticky mess. So usually I just avoid mopping all together. And here we are, nearly six years later and these tiles aren't even the same color as the tiles in the other bathroom. Even though they're supposed to be. But a while back Mark accidentally left his glasses on the bathroom counter during one of my spraying sessions. Needless to say, his glasses got a thick coating of hairspray and he wasn't too happy. We had some random alcohol swabs sitting on the counter (from God only knows what) so I ripped one open and cleaned the glasses. Sure enough, the hairspray came right off with little to no effort. So last night, I decided to get my Cinderella on. No, not the part where she dresses up in a ball gown and gets swept off of her feet. The part where she's on her hands and knees with a scrub brush and a bucket of water. Oh, and a monster-sized bottle of rubbing alcohol too. And wouldn't you know it, tile by tile, I poured a little alcohol on, scrubbed it with my little brush and had a spotless floor in less than thirty minutes. Some of you are probably rolling your eyes thinking duh! Did she seriously not know that rubbing alcohol removes all kinds of stuff!?! Seriously. I didn't. But I'm thrilled that I figured it out! I had tried all kinds of stuff before to no avail and was wondering if I'd just have to rip the whole floor up and re-tile it! So pumped! And also cringing that something so domestically boring could excite me so much. Good grief!
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| Uncle Andy says he's destined to be a priest...already making the sign of the cross! |
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| Actually he spent most of the sonogram trying to get his thumb into his mouth, but I'll hold on the thought that he might be a priest some day. |
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| To most of you, this probably looks like a bunch of blurs on the screen. But to a woman who is on sonogram #25 or so (for real) of all boy babies, I knew what this was without the tech having to tell me. |
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| Profile shots are my fave. Pretty amazing, huh? |
Is it just me or do those 3D sonograms make babies look so much more real!?! I swear he looked like a little squirt just a month ago...and looked so much more like a real person on Monday. I've said all along that I knew he was a boy. Not because I feel the same as with my other pregnancies or have progressed the same. 'Cause I haven't. It's been slightly different. I just knew. And sure enough, I was right! I have to admit, I've been kind of sad at the number of times I've been asked if I was "disappointed" when I found out that it was another boy. Honestly, to Mark and me, it's not another boy. It's another baby. Another child. And we're happy that God has blessed us with him. Not to mention the fact that we have enough boy stuff to raise an entire football team and enough experience to get him through at least his first three years of life! How could I be disappointed when God has given us the grace to raise two boys so far and sees us fit to raise another? How could I be disappointed when I've been blessed to be able to have babies and so many others haven't? And don't you know I had four brothers to love on me growing up (and I'm pretty sure they haven't stopped!) and now I'll have four fellas to love on me in our very home. What can I say? I'm a very blessed girl! We haven't picked a name yet for this little guy but we know that he'll fit right in with our little family. He's got two big brothers that can't wait to get their hands on him!
2. Which brings me to a great conversation that I had with Kolbe this week. He is so thrilled that he's going to be a big brother again soon. At first he began with insisting that he wants to give his baby a bath...without mama's help. He took it to another level on Monday after we got home from the sonogram and he knew for sure that he was now having a brother. My good friend, Melanie, watched the boys while I was at my appointments. She has two precious little girls that are right around Kolbe and Rudy's ages and also keeps a baby boy during the day for a friend of hers. The conversation when we got home went a little like this:
Me: Are you excited it's going to be three brothers now?
Kolbe: Mama, Miss Melny has two girls, Molly, Ellie, and one boy baby too.
Me: Kolbe, that boy baby is not Miss Melanie's baby. She just watches him during the day.
Kolbe: Where's that boy baby's mama?
Me: Well, his mama goes to work. She takes Zach over to Miss Melanie's house in the morning and then she goes to work and then she comes and picks up Zach after she gets off of work. Miss Melanie just takes care of him during the day while his mama is at work.
Kolbe: Mama, when our baby gets here, then I want you to be a dada and go to work and me and Rudy will stay home and take care of our baby all by our elfs.
Me: Oh really! You think you could do that? What would mama do?
Kolbe: You would go be a dada and go to work. Me and Rudy will watch the baby.
Me: Ok, well we'll have to talk to Dada about that one.
SO entertaining how his mind works. How he's starting to perceive things. I love his eagerness to take care of his new brother. His desire to be responsible. I love that he perceives himself as someone capable of doing all that caring for a baby entails. And I find his perception of me "being a dada" in order to be able to go to work fascinating. Apparently he hasn't caught on that being a dada is something only a male can do. I guess right now he knows that he has a dada and he has a mama and his dada is the one who goes to work. And if I went to work, well then I'd have to be a dada too. So smart and clever, yet so much ahead of him to learn at the same time. He makes a fantastic biggest brother.
3. I figured out the cleverest little trick yesterday that I'm just too excited about. For months I've been trying to figure out a way to get hairspray off the tile floor in our bathroom. Let me start by saying that I'm admittedly a hairspray fanatic. No, I don't have huge Texas hair. But I have thin hair. Lots and lots of thin hair. And the only way to thicken it up (and sometimes to reduce static) is to give it a good coating of hairspray. Most people use hairspray to hold their 'do in place. I do this sometimes. But usually, I just spray a good coating on and then literally brush it out. You know, to distribute it properly and thicken it all up. So needless to say, plenty of hairspray has accumulated on my floor over the past few years. And when I clean the bathroom, I often make the mistake of of attempting to mop the floor. Instead of getting them spic and span, I end up with a sticky mess. So usually I just avoid mopping all together. And here we are, nearly six years later and these tiles aren't even the same color as the tiles in the other bathroom. Even though they're supposed to be. But a while back Mark accidentally left his glasses on the bathroom counter during one of my spraying sessions. Needless to say, his glasses got a thick coating of hairspray and he wasn't too happy. We had some random alcohol swabs sitting on the counter (from God only knows what) so I ripped one open and cleaned the glasses. Sure enough, the hairspray came right off with little to no effort. So last night, I decided to get my Cinderella on. No, not the part where she dresses up in a ball gown and gets swept off of her feet. The part where she's on her hands and knees with a scrub brush and a bucket of water. Oh, and a monster-sized bottle of rubbing alcohol too. And wouldn't you know it, tile by tile, I poured a little alcohol on, scrubbed it with my little brush and had a spotless floor in less than thirty minutes. Some of you are probably rolling your eyes thinking duh! Did she seriously not know that rubbing alcohol removes all kinds of stuff!?! Seriously. I didn't. But I'm thrilled that I figured it out! I had tried all kinds of stuff before to no avail and was wondering if I'd just have to rip the whole floor up and re-tile it! So pumped! And also cringing that something so domestically boring could excite me so much. Good grief!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
TTT: Season 2, Episode 4
1. Three Thought Thursday comes to you live from The Woodlands, TX this week. Technically we're supposed to be travelling home today. But of course, we're not. You might remember this incident from last year. The one where we travelled to Houston for Kolbe's Shriner's check-up, got stuck here because of a snow storm in Dallas and went through a bout with the stomach bug with Rudy while here.
Funny how history loves to repeat itself.
We're here for Kolbe's Shriner's check-up. No snow storm in Dallas, but it looks like we're staying an extra day. 'Cause guess who decided to barf all over the kitchen table last night? You got it. Rudy. He's had horrible gas ever since we arrived and some not-so-savory diapers as well, so we really weren't surprised when the ginger ale and banana decided to reappear. Ugh! Maybe I need to call Shriners back and demand that we not come to a check-up in January next year. We're cursed!
2. Beyond taking care of a sickly little one, I've been somewhat ailing throughout this trip as well. I'm not sure if I cracked a rib, bruised as rib, pulled some major muscle or what. Yes, leave it to me to wound myself on an airplane of all places. As our plane to Houston was taking off (you know, the full speed pressing-you-back-in-the-seat phase of the flight), the lady across the aisle from me who was holding her baby glanced over and said, "Oh no! She just dropped her paci under your seat! We have to have that!" The mama in me jumped at her sense of urgency and quickly leaned over the metal arm rest to reach for the paci. I could see it under the seat...just inches from my reach. With the speed of the plane fighting against me, I decided to go for it and stretch just a tiny bit farther to see if I could get it. Until I heard a pop in my ribs that were pressed against the metal arm rest. I shot up instantly while the man behind me finally made the effort to lean forward and easily grab the paci for the distressed mom. Immediately I knew something wasn't right. And it hasn't been ever since. I haven't gone to a doctor or anything, because really, even if I did have a cracked rib, there's nothing they can do about it. And it wouldn't exactly be easy to take x-rays being pregnant. It has gotten worse and worse as the days have progressed, to the point where even little movements hurt, which leads me to believe it might be more muscular. Dealing with it has really taken it out of me. I'll probably go to the doctor once we're back in Lubbock, especially since that bone density test a while back showed my less than stellar bone strength. But again, ugh! Why does it always have to be something!?!
3. Time for another listen into the ever-so-entertaining musings of our Kolbe (whose Shriner's appointment went fabulous, by the way):
It's so funny how conversational Kolbe is becoming. Mark and I went to dinner the other night and returned back to my parents' house to find Kolbe on the couch with my mom.
Me: What have you been doing, Kolb?
Kolbe: Oh nothing. Just hanging out.
Me: Really. Just hanging out, huh.
Kolbe: Yeah. You know, just doing stuff. Sittin' round.
Or the way he perceives things:
(One day Mark bathed Kolbe in our bathroom and apparently made the mistake of just using our shampoo instead of the baby stuff. Of course, it "burned" his eyes...)
Me: (grabbing the baby wash) Come on Kolb, let's wash up.
Kolb: Is that one hot?
Me: The soap?
Kolb: Yeah, is it hot?
Me: No, it's just soap. It's not hot.
Kolb: But will it burn?
Or the fact that he's well aware of "rules" and tries to create some of his own:
Kolb: Look, Yah-wuh. (Laura)
Me: Uh, excuse me? You call me "Mama." Only Pinkie and Pa can call me that here.
Kolb: How 'bout I call you "Mama" when your hair is down like this and I call you "Yah-wuh" when your hair is in a ponytail.
As always, sheesh!
Funny how history loves to repeat itself.
We're here for Kolbe's Shriner's check-up. No snow storm in Dallas, but it looks like we're staying an extra day. 'Cause guess who decided to barf all over the kitchen table last night? You got it. Rudy. He's had horrible gas ever since we arrived and some not-so-savory diapers as well, so we really weren't surprised when the ginger ale and banana decided to reappear. Ugh! Maybe I need to call Shriners back and demand that we not come to a check-up in January next year. We're cursed!
2. Beyond taking care of a sickly little one, I've been somewhat ailing throughout this trip as well. I'm not sure if I cracked a rib, bruised as rib, pulled some major muscle or what. Yes, leave it to me to wound myself on an airplane of all places. As our plane to Houston was taking off (you know, the full speed pressing-you-back-in-the-seat phase of the flight), the lady across the aisle from me who was holding her baby glanced over and said, "Oh no! She just dropped her paci under your seat! We have to have that!" The mama in me jumped at her sense of urgency and quickly leaned over the metal arm rest to reach for the paci. I could see it under the seat...just inches from my reach. With the speed of the plane fighting against me, I decided to go for it and stretch just a tiny bit farther to see if I could get it. Until I heard a pop in my ribs that were pressed against the metal arm rest. I shot up instantly while the man behind me finally made the effort to lean forward and easily grab the paci for the distressed mom. Immediately I knew something wasn't right. And it hasn't been ever since. I haven't gone to a doctor or anything, because really, even if I did have a cracked rib, there's nothing they can do about it. And it wouldn't exactly be easy to take x-rays being pregnant. It has gotten worse and worse as the days have progressed, to the point where even little movements hurt, which leads me to believe it might be more muscular. Dealing with it has really taken it out of me. I'll probably go to the doctor once we're back in Lubbock, especially since that bone density test a while back showed my less than stellar bone strength. But again, ugh! Why does it always have to be something!?!
3. Time for another listen into the ever-so-entertaining musings of our Kolbe (whose Shriner's appointment went fabulous, by the way):
It's so funny how conversational Kolbe is becoming. Mark and I went to dinner the other night and returned back to my parents' house to find Kolbe on the couch with my mom.
Me: What have you been doing, Kolb?
Kolbe: Oh nothing. Just hanging out.
Me: Really. Just hanging out, huh.
Kolbe: Yeah. You know, just doing stuff. Sittin' round.
Or the way he perceives things:
(One day Mark bathed Kolbe in our bathroom and apparently made the mistake of just using our shampoo instead of the baby stuff. Of course, it "burned" his eyes...)
Me: (grabbing the baby wash) Come on Kolb, let's wash up.
Kolb: Is that one hot?
Me: The soap?
Kolb: Yeah, is it hot?
Me: No, it's just soap. It's not hot.
Kolb: But will it burn?
Or the fact that he's well aware of "rules" and tries to create some of his own:
Kolb: Look, Yah-wuh. (Laura)
Me: Uh, excuse me? You call me "Mama." Only Pinkie and Pa can call me that here.
Kolb: How 'bout I call you "Mama" when your hair is down like this and I call you "Yah-wuh" when your hair is in a ponytail.
As always, sheesh!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Three Thought Thursday: Season 2, Episode 3
1. So pregnancy is finally starting to hit me. Physically that is. Like on the interior. I've been pleasantly surprised at how I really haven't gained any weight yet and am not "showing." How funny...when it's your first, you can't wait to start showing. By the third you're thinking Sweet! My normal pants still button and I'm almost fifteen weeks! Anyhow, I've kind of now reached the phase where the pants still button and I still have no baby bump...until about five in the evening. That's when the button comes undone and a bloated little belly appears. Mark and I did a little experiment the other day. I hopped on the scale in the morning, fresh out of bed. 135. No weight gained. At ten pm, just before I retired for the evening, I jumped on again. 142.5. For real! A total weight gain of 7.5 pounds in roughly fifteen hours! And amazingly, when I weighed in again the next morning, it was back to 135. Now that's some serious water weight! When Mark sees my un-buttoned pants he always makes little remarks like "just bust out the maternity pants!" But seriously, during the first half of the day, they'd look ridiculous. And I'll hold on to my regular wardrobe as long as possible, thank you very much. And as for pregnancy "hitting" me, I think I may have felt one or two slight little kicks or hits so far...and lots of shifts internally. You know, the kind where you're standing there, totally fine, and then all of a sudden the whole uterus shifts and suddenly you feel like you're about to pee yourself. Or someone pinched you on some unknown nerve. Totally familiar feelings, though it's been a long time. Strange and exciting all at the same time. Just a little reminder at how amazing the creation of life is. There is a human being inside of a human being! God is so cool.
2. A little fella at our house sometimes referred to as Rudus Maximus is starting to make a big step in life. Yes, our almost-two-year-old has discovered the art of going potty. With Kolbe, we waited till he was a few months over two and then hit the potty training full on. With Rudy, I've been bound and determined to have him potty trained before the new baby is born. And as of now, I really don't think it should be too much of a problem! We've had multiple successes...and one major stumble...this week. On Friday, out of the blue, he came up to me in the morning saying Poops, Poops! and grabbing his diaper. We busted out the little potty and sat him down. He quickly got off and was a bit scared. Hoping our same trick with Kolbe might work, we turned on Elmo's Potty Time and sure enough, within a few minutes he went! Of course this was followed by a large sum of cheering and praise and I think he genuinely felt proud of himself. He repeated his feat later that afternoon with no insistence from us. Then we hit our little snag. You see, Rudy is a little bit more private than Kolbe. He's not exactly after an audience like his big brother. And sure enough, when he'd tell us that he needed to go, we'd put him on the potty, all of us standing there staring, and the poor guy would end up with stage fright. This happened for several days. To the point where we could tell he was miserable. He needed to go but didn't want to go in his diaper and disappoint us and was too afraid to go in the potty. By Sunday we had to go for the glycerin suppository to help him out. Such a violation. After a few days of clearing him out, he was back on track and has even gone #1 on the potty a few times too. Man, it sure is nice to not have to change poopy diapers! Or smell them in the diaper pail. I've been a little bit of a slacker with just "going for it" and doing the three day potty training like I did with Kolbe for multiple reasons. One, I'm not sure that the pressure method would work that well with Rudy. He seems to be doing well with seeing his big brother go and then modelling the behavior. Secondly, we've been so busy lately that it would be really hard to stay at the house for three straight days without leaving. Plus, we're going on a trip to Houston on Sunday for Kolbe's Shriners appointment. Don't think potty training would bode well with travelling. We'll get to the full-on-undie-wearing-no-more-diapers potty training soon enough. I'm just proud of my little twenty-three-month old! What a guy!
3. The prospect of moving out of Lubbock is becoming realer and realer. Mark has landed two really good interview opportunities over the next two weeks--one in the Houston area and one in the DFW area. And it's such a strange feeling. It's like for every pro there's somewhat of a con.
Wow! A great work opportunity for our family!
Gosh, we could be leaving Lubbock for good.
But we could be moving somewhere new with lots of exciting new opportunities!
But we've be leaving the little house that is our home. Where our family began.
But we'd be moving to a brand new house! And possibly one that doesn't have single pane windows that let all the heat out in the winter and all the cool out in the summer...
But we could be moving somewhere where we have no family or friends.
But we could be moving somewhere where we could meet tons of new people and start a life of our own.
But we'd have to figure out a way to move...soon! (baby-on-the-way makes this one tough!)
But we could be making a great income at a new job...soon!
See what I mean? It's tough. And even tougher when it's a whole family involved. Not just one person. We're still really just trying to listen to God and asking him to lead us to the right job in the right place. Pray for us too, please! It's scary!
2. A little fella at our house sometimes referred to as Rudus Maximus is starting to make a big step in life. Yes, our almost-two-year-old has discovered the art of going potty. With Kolbe, we waited till he was a few months over two and then hit the potty training full on. With Rudy, I've been bound and determined to have him potty trained before the new baby is born. And as of now, I really don't think it should be too much of a problem! We've had multiple successes...and one major stumble...this week. On Friday, out of the blue, he came up to me in the morning saying Poops, Poops! and grabbing his diaper. We busted out the little potty and sat him down. He quickly got off and was a bit scared. Hoping our same trick with Kolbe might work, we turned on Elmo's Potty Time and sure enough, within a few minutes he went! Of course this was followed by a large sum of cheering and praise and I think he genuinely felt proud of himself. He repeated his feat later that afternoon with no insistence from us. Then we hit our little snag. You see, Rudy is a little bit more private than Kolbe. He's not exactly after an audience like his big brother. And sure enough, when he'd tell us that he needed to go, we'd put him on the potty, all of us standing there staring, and the poor guy would end up with stage fright. This happened for several days. To the point where we could tell he was miserable. He needed to go but didn't want to go in his diaper and disappoint us and was too afraid to go in the potty. By Sunday we had to go for the glycerin suppository to help him out. Such a violation. After a few days of clearing him out, he was back on track and has even gone #1 on the potty a few times too. Man, it sure is nice to not have to change poopy diapers! Or smell them in the diaper pail. I've been a little bit of a slacker with just "going for it" and doing the three day potty training like I did with Kolbe for multiple reasons. One, I'm not sure that the pressure method would work that well with Rudy. He seems to be doing well with seeing his big brother go and then modelling the behavior. Secondly, we've been so busy lately that it would be really hard to stay at the house for three straight days without leaving. Plus, we're going on a trip to Houston on Sunday for Kolbe's Shriners appointment. Don't think potty training would bode well with travelling. We'll get to the full-on-undie-wearing-no-more-diapers potty training soon enough. I'm just proud of my little twenty-three-month old! What a guy!
3. The prospect of moving out of Lubbock is becoming realer and realer. Mark has landed two really good interview opportunities over the next two weeks--one in the Houston area and one in the DFW area. And it's such a strange feeling. It's like for every pro there's somewhat of a con.
Wow! A great work opportunity for our family!
Gosh, we could be leaving Lubbock for good.
But we could be moving somewhere new with lots of exciting new opportunities!
But we've be leaving the little house that is our home. Where our family began.
But we'd be moving to a brand new house! And possibly one that doesn't have single pane windows that let all the heat out in the winter and all the cool out in the summer...
But we could be moving somewhere where we have no family or friends.
But we could be moving somewhere where we could meet tons of new people and start a life of our own.
But we'd have to figure out a way to move...soon! (baby-on-the-way makes this one tough!)
But we could be making a great income at a new job...soon!
See what I mean? It's tough. And even tougher when it's a whole family involved. Not just one person. We're still really just trying to listen to God and asking him to lead us to the right job in the right place. Pray for us too, please! It's scary!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Three Thought Thursday: Season 2, Episode 2
1. First Trimester Wrap-Up- Just like that, the first trimester of my pregnancy flew by. I was thirteen weeks last Friday. Fourteen weeks tomorrow. And considering my habit of having babies at thirty-six weeks, I suppose twelve weeks could have qualified as the end of the first trimester. But we're crossing our fingers for maybe making it to at least thirty-seven weeks this time. Maybe. As for how all is going thus far, it's definitely so far, so good. I haven't gained any weight yet...actually lost a pound or two...and no, I don't have a baby bump yet either. I think with Rudy I was definitely showing by this point. But then again, I was immediately back in the saddle with his pregnancy. It definitely was a much longer break for my body to recover with this one. As for weird pregnancy symptoms, really not much there either. I haven't had much of an appetite, though definitely not morning sickness either. No barfing. Just like with my other pregnancies, the only time I'm even slightly tempted to barf is while brushing my teeth. Go figure. Of course there has been the lovely indigestion and chorus of constant burping. Some medical person at a party that Mark and I attended explained that when you're pregnant, the extra progesterone produced by the placenta actually loosens the closing at the bottom of the esophagus, making reflux, indigestion...and burping...much more common. Good times. Luckily, the Prilosec helps a ton. And while the drowsiness has subsided somewhat, I'm still pretty tired. But then again, that might exist whether I'm pregnant or not. These boys could exhaust anyone! So that's that. End of the first leg of the trip. I'm sure there's big changes to come in part two.
2. We haven't had much precipitation here in Lubbock in a long time. Aside from that mud rain. Really, it was a dust storm for several hours followed by an hour or so of tiny sprinkles of rain descending through the dirt floating through the air, thus creating literal mud raining from the sky. With the temp being in the 30s/40s, the local car washes were having a heyday. But anyway, it's so dry here. The kind of dry where when you breathe in through your nose it's actually painful. And Rudy finds my bottles of nasal saline spray sitting around and knows exactly what to do with them. And people with hair like mine loathe the results of brushing their hair, knowing the static explosion afterward is destined to defeat the purpose of brushing. I think I'm having more of a problem with it this year because I actually have long hair in the winter. That, and I have a hard time avoiding fabrics like fleece. Come on! It's cold! Nothing is better than a cozy fleece jacket. Or fleece pants. But long, thin hair does not bode well with said fleece jackets. And have I mentioned that our couches are made out of that micro suede fabric? Also static carriers. And I'm pretty sure my blow dryer is loaded with a static cartridge that blows warm air and static all over my hair when I attempt to dry it. I'm not sure what's worse: the staticy results of blow drying or the dead, limp look of letting it air dry. Thank God for pony-tail holders. And head bands. By summer when my hair is actually long enough to cut for Locks of Love, I'll be busy enjoying my non-staticy flowing locks. But not now.
3. Mark wanted to know if I was going to be writing about how he's driving me nuts. But really, he's not. On the contrary, he's been somewhat spoiling me. Since we've returned from Houston for Christmas break, Mark has been busy searching for a new job, but I think the waiting process is just about to drive him crazy. Really, it's just the stress of the unknown. You see, it takes roughly thirty seconds to email someone your resume and hours...days...to wait for them to reply. He's contacted tens of different leads and has actually had some great potential responses, but I guess it's just a more tedious process than we thought it would be. So for the past few weeks, he's been my right hand man. Meaning the boys and I definitely haven't gotten back to our previous form of "normal" because instead we're doing everything with Dada. Which I certainly don't mind. As I asked him last night at dinner: "How many nights since you've been home with us have I said anything about how exhausted I am or how I seriously need a break from the boys, even for just five minutes?" Truthfully, the answer is zero. With him at home with us, it naturally dispels the parenting responsibilities between both of us. So as soon as he can sense I'm on edge with the boys, he just steps right in. It's nice to make it to the end of the day and not feel like doing a sideline cheerleading touchdown routine once the boys finally fall asleep. Man, it's going to be a tough pill to swallow once he does go back to work. And by then I'm sure I will be big ol' pregnant and naturally exhausted, making the process that much tougher. Oh well. Enjoy it while I can!
2. We haven't had much precipitation here in Lubbock in a long time. Aside from that mud rain. Really, it was a dust storm for several hours followed by an hour or so of tiny sprinkles of rain descending through the dirt floating through the air, thus creating literal mud raining from the sky. With the temp being in the 30s/40s, the local car washes were having a heyday. But anyway, it's so dry here. The kind of dry where when you breathe in through your nose it's actually painful. And Rudy finds my bottles of nasal saline spray sitting around and knows exactly what to do with them. And people with hair like mine loathe the results of brushing their hair, knowing the static explosion afterward is destined to defeat the purpose of brushing. I think I'm having more of a problem with it this year because I actually have long hair in the winter. That, and I have a hard time avoiding fabrics like fleece. Come on! It's cold! Nothing is better than a cozy fleece jacket. Or fleece pants. But long, thin hair does not bode well with said fleece jackets. And have I mentioned that our couches are made out of that micro suede fabric? Also static carriers. And I'm pretty sure my blow dryer is loaded with a static cartridge that blows warm air and static all over my hair when I attempt to dry it. I'm not sure what's worse: the staticy results of blow drying or the dead, limp look of letting it air dry. Thank God for pony-tail holders. And head bands. By summer when my hair is actually long enough to cut for Locks of Love, I'll be busy enjoying my non-staticy flowing locks. But not now.
3. Mark wanted to know if I was going to be writing about how he's driving me nuts. But really, he's not. On the contrary, he's been somewhat spoiling me. Since we've returned from Houston for Christmas break, Mark has been busy searching for a new job, but I think the waiting process is just about to drive him crazy. Really, it's just the stress of the unknown. You see, it takes roughly thirty seconds to email someone your resume and hours...days...to wait for them to reply. He's contacted tens of different leads and has actually had some great potential responses, but I guess it's just a more tedious process than we thought it would be. So for the past few weeks, he's been my right hand man. Meaning the boys and I definitely haven't gotten back to our previous form of "normal" because instead we're doing everything with Dada. Which I certainly don't mind. As I asked him last night at dinner: "How many nights since you've been home with us have I said anything about how exhausted I am or how I seriously need a break from the boys, even for just five minutes?" Truthfully, the answer is zero. With him at home with us, it naturally dispels the parenting responsibilities between both of us. So as soon as he can sense I'm on edge with the boys, he just steps right in. It's nice to make it to the end of the day and not feel like doing a sideline cheerleading touchdown routine once the boys finally fall asleep. Man, it's going to be a tough pill to swallow once he does go back to work. And by then I'm sure I will be big ol' pregnant and naturally exhausted, making the process that much tougher. Oh well. Enjoy it while I can!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Three Thought Thursday: Season 2, Episode 1
1. So I made up my mind, and I'm back! But maybe not as rigorous as the 2010 "season" though. There's a lot going on. Let me explain. I love writing. Heck, I got my degree in English for that very reason! So writing the weekly Three Thought Thursday has really been a joy for me. Not to mention just the mental release of all the weekly build up that doesn't often get let out to anyone other than Mark. I love it. And on most weeks, writing the post has been fairly easy. I usually start thinking about it by Tuesday or so and almost always know exactly what I'm going to write about before I sit down to the computer. But I must admit, there were multiple weeks when I forced myself to get up early in order to write the post. Or found myself at five in the evening on a Thursday realizing I still hadn't manage to write my post. Life is busy as a stay-at-home mom. I think some people picture us sitting on the couch watching soap operas, occasionally getting up every once in a while to get the kids a snack. So not true. Toddlers want and need a lot of attention. They need you to play games with them. Teach them how to pretend and make-believe. Read them book after book after book. Show them how to do all the things that come second nature to us adults. And guess what? Newborns have an entirely different set of needs. Feeding. Changing. Holding. Rocking. Half way through this year I'll be responsible for filling both of these sets of needs. For three separate people. So while, yes, I hope and plan to continue my weekly posts, it's with no New Year's resolution to do it every single week. No guarantees, no guilt if Thursday night arrives and there's no post up and I'm stuck between should I go ahead and go to bed since the boys and the baby are all asleep? or should I try to crank out a sloppy Three Thought Thursday real quick before the baby wakes up to eat again? For my health and the health of my family, I have to make myself choose the first option. So that's that. Sound like a deal?
2. I hope everyone had a great new years! We celebrated our Christmas with Mark's parents on New Year's Eve and spent the day just hanging out, eating, opening gifts, and enjoying each others' company. Oh, and if you have facebook, you probably saw the pic I posted of Kolbe in one of his totally awesome new Power Wheels cars that he got from G-ma. Yes, I said one of them. There's two. A red and black four wheeler was intended for Rudy but he's a little too short to ride it on his own just yet. Both rides are staying at G-ma's right now as we don't have room to store them. Talk about a cool Christmas surprise! Sheesh! And of course we spent New Years Day watching Texas Tech win their bowl game and then bits and pieces of the multiple other bowl games. Love bowl season! And so sad college football season is almost over! Since New Years, we've been busy trying to get back to normal. With Dada home indefinitely right now, it's been fun to get to spend lots of time together as our little family. Though I think Mark might be ready to jump out of his skin. We even all got to go to a sonogram on Monday to see our new little baby. I'm twelve weeks along right now, so we weren't able to tell if it was a boy or girl just yet, but it was so exciting to see the tiny little toes, round little head, and perfect little body of our baby. Just like his/her big brothers were in-utero, this little one was quite the swimmer! Won't be long before I'm getting to feel all of that commotion! Kolbe was totally fascinated by the sonogram process and couldn't believe how the little "camera" worked. Rudy was just along for the ride. We go back on January 31st when I'll be sixteen weeks along. Should know by then if we've got a brother or a sister! (I'm still totally sure it's another boy!)
3. The job hunt continues for The Asmussens. And can I just say Yuck! We knew we were pretty lucky when our first job just fell in to our laps. Really, it required no effort. They pursued Mark and it was a done deal. The second time around has definitely not been as easy. Mark has received lots of "leads" on different jobs that are available, which is awesome. It's great to have friends and references that are willing to back us up. The only problem has been that basically none of these jobs are in Lubbock. There was one that was a possibility, but it ended up being a no-go. Other than that, the only opportunities we've heard about in Lubbock are in fields that Mark isn't really interested in or willing to go in to. So could we be moving? If you would have asked me that question six months ago, I'd say not a chance. But life changes and you have to bend and mold to each situation God brings your way. Being an Air Force kid, I have no problem at all with moving. I grew up doing it every few years. But being pregnant and moving sounds pretty much miserable. And I have to admit that selling our little house would be both challenging and sad. And adapting to a new city, a new baby, and a new family dynamic would potentially be a lot to handle. We like Lubbock and the friends and family we have here and really didn't plan on moving right now. Maybe some day but not right now. But our plans aren't ever exactly God's plans. So we sit here trying to figure out what He wants next for us. Such a hard discernment process. But I know in the end it will all be for the better. Who knows? Maybe moving somewhere new--a fresh start--is just what our little family needs. Like Mark brought up a few nights ago, my dad left his hometown to attend the Air Force Academy and start a life of his own. My mom married an Air Force man and never returned to Lubbock where she grew up. Mark's mom moved away from her little hometown of Dalhart, TX and his father moved away and started a life for himself too. It just seems like the normal pattern of life for many people. I know some people remain in the same city they grew up in and raise their family in the same city, same church, same schools. And maybe that's for us. But maybe not. Maybe we do have to start a life of our own somewhere. We just have to listen and be open to anything. And know that God will get us through whatever comes our way.
2. I hope everyone had a great new years! We celebrated our Christmas with Mark's parents on New Year's Eve and spent the day just hanging out, eating, opening gifts, and enjoying each others' company. Oh, and if you have facebook, you probably saw the pic I posted of Kolbe in one of his totally awesome new Power Wheels cars that he got from G-ma. Yes, I said one of them. There's two. A red and black four wheeler was intended for Rudy but he's a little too short to ride it on his own just yet. Both rides are staying at G-ma's right now as we don't have room to store them. Talk about a cool Christmas surprise! Sheesh! And of course we spent New Years Day watching Texas Tech win their bowl game and then bits and pieces of the multiple other bowl games. Love bowl season! And so sad college football season is almost over! Since New Years, we've been busy trying to get back to normal. With Dada home indefinitely right now, it's been fun to get to spend lots of time together as our little family. Though I think Mark might be ready to jump out of his skin. We even all got to go to a sonogram on Monday to see our new little baby. I'm twelve weeks along right now, so we weren't able to tell if it was a boy or girl just yet, but it was so exciting to see the tiny little toes, round little head, and perfect little body of our baby. Just like his/her big brothers were in-utero, this little one was quite the swimmer! Won't be long before I'm getting to feel all of that commotion! Kolbe was totally fascinated by the sonogram process and couldn't believe how the little "camera" worked. Rudy was just along for the ride. We go back on January 31st when I'll be sixteen weeks along. Should know by then if we've got a brother or a sister! (I'm still totally sure it's another boy!)
3. The job hunt continues for The Asmussens. And can I just say Yuck! We knew we were pretty lucky when our first job just fell in to our laps. Really, it required no effort. They pursued Mark and it was a done deal. The second time around has definitely not been as easy. Mark has received lots of "leads" on different jobs that are available, which is awesome. It's great to have friends and references that are willing to back us up. The only problem has been that basically none of these jobs are in Lubbock. There was one that was a possibility, but it ended up being a no-go. Other than that, the only opportunities we've heard about in Lubbock are in fields that Mark isn't really interested in or willing to go in to. So could we be moving? If you would have asked me that question six months ago, I'd say not a chance. But life changes and you have to bend and mold to each situation God brings your way. Being an Air Force kid, I have no problem at all with moving. I grew up doing it every few years. But being pregnant and moving sounds pretty much miserable. And I have to admit that selling our little house would be both challenging and sad. And adapting to a new city, a new baby, and a new family dynamic would potentially be a lot to handle. We like Lubbock and the friends and family we have here and really didn't plan on moving right now. Maybe some day but not right now. But our plans aren't ever exactly God's plans. So we sit here trying to figure out what He wants next for us. Such a hard discernment process. But I know in the end it will all be for the better. Who knows? Maybe moving somewhere new--a fresh start--is just what our little family needs. Like Mark brought up a few nights ago, my dad left his hometown to attend the Air Force Academy and start a life of his own. My mom married an Air Force man and never returned to Lubbock where she grew up. Mark's mom moved away from her little hometown of Dalhart, TX and his father moved away and started a life for himself too. It just seems like the normal pattern of life for many people. I know some people remain in the same city they grew up in and raise their family in the same city, same church, same schools. And maybe that's for us. But maybe not. Maybe we do have to start a life of our own somewhere. We just have to listen and be open to anything. And know that God will get us through whatever comes our way.
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