In the Mood for Summer

This week has put everyone around here in the summer mood. It's been in the 80s for the weekend and just sunny and gorgeous. The kids have spent some time in the sprinklers and pool and I got in the spirit by treating myself to this gorgeous new nail polish from Sephora (I NEVER buy nail polish, so I figured that even at $9 it was okay). It's called Mermaid to Order and I just love it - of course I don't do painted fingernails period, so it is exclusively for the toes but hey, every pregnant woman with cankles deserves to have pretty toes at least, right?

Mother's Day

I had a very nice, peaceful Mother's Day this year. We decided to skip the usual extravagant brunch because, between Colin and Cecily, it's just more stress (trying to keep them clean and quiet in a semi formal restaurant) than it's worth. We woke up early because (for once) we were determined not to be late for church. We actually got out of the house by 8:45, which must be a record. We stopped at McDonald's for breakfast as they offer a free meal to mothers, and then we went to church. Since we thought we had more time, we actually ended up eating rather slowly and were still five minutes late for church, but that's better than normal, at least. After church we came home and enjoyed a backyard barbecue (after James engaged in battle with the blackbirds over the grill, which they seem to think is the perfect nesting space, no mater what contraptions he contrives to thwart them) - brats, hot dogs, chips, potato salad, and rhubarb cookies made from the rhubarb in our garden. It was super yummy. Then we opened cards and played soccer with the kids. I got to take a little nap in the afternoon while James, Hero, and Ian took the car to the car wash and cleaned it up really good. We're going to be getting a gazebo for the backyard as part Mother's Day/Anniversary/Father's Day present this month - I can't wait. It was a restful Mother's Day spent in the company of those it should be - my kids. Mother's Day was the last first holiday for Cecily to celebrate - she'll be a year old next week, eek!

Best Seat in the House

Cecily's favorite place to sit and hang out just so happens to be Colin's potty seat. It has a removable bucket in it, so she just plucks it out and then sticks one leg in the opening and can sit in there for twenty minutes. It makes Colin so mad too, which kind of adds to the fun (bad mom, I know). We have to be uber-vigilant about making sure the potty seat is always emptied immediately after Colin uses it, or else we might have an icky situation on our hands LOL.

The Last Thing In the World I Wanted To Do Again

The title pretty much sums it up - I just found out yesterday that I have to do the one thing that I dread most during pregnancy: take the 3 hour glucose test. My one hour screen came back slightly elevated, just like it did during my fourth pregnancy, which means I have to do the icky, horrible, terrible 3 hour test. It's a no win situation - I strongly believe that I do not have Gestational Diabetes because it just doesn't make sense given my history and the fact that I have had, every time, babies that at full term weigh in on the smaller side of average. But, GD is dangerous when it's uncontrolled, so it's not something that I can just say, "nah, I'll pass" because it would weigh too heavily on my conscience. I hate, hate, hate this test, for two reasons. Primarily it's because there's this feeling of personal failure. Weight and eating habits are a risk factor for GD. There's nothing like knowing you've royally screwed up because of your messed-up relationship with food (that's a whole other post for another time though). Secondarily, the test is pure torture. It involves fasting and then drinking this super-sugary (blech!) drink and they draw your blood multiple times to monitor how efficiently your body is processing the sugar. By the time I got to the last draw last time (which is about four hours in) I was on the verge of passing out and they could barely find a vein to stick the needle in. I have it scheduled for next week Thursday and James will have to take half the day off so he can take care of the kids. I'm so done being pregnant (with this pregnancy and forever).

For Once, All About Ian

It seems rare to have a post dedicated to Ian, and I suppose that's not a good thing at all LOL. He started his first team sport in April, t-ball. He loves wearing his uniform and he's so cute out there. He really hustles after the ball and is pretty decent at throwing. The season has twice-a-week games and lasts through June. It's so strange to finally be doing quintessientally "boy" activites after so many years of girl stuff.

Cecily Meets Grandpa

The circumstances that brought us to Wisconsin were very sad (we lost my Gramma Stieve unexpectedly) but the visit was most definitely a blessing. Two weeks ago Ceci and I ventured onto a plane for the long trip to visit family. It was a very satisfying trip as Cecily got to meet all sorts of new family members, including Grandpa, for the first time. She was at the perfect age to enjoy being the center of lots of adult attention (not so much for a plane ride though - man, she was a handful). We didn't take many pictures due to the somber circumstances, but I did manage to get a few. I'm ready to make a mid-year resolution: I will not let time get away from me so badly ever again and wait so long to make it back "home" to visit again. Oh, and in honor of Gramma, who was so very loved, James has agreed to my request to give this baby her middle name (apparently the name she much preferred to her first) as a second middle name. The first and first middle names are still a surprise but her full name will be E___ K___ Jane Fife.

Easter (or Christmas?)

Brr, an unseasonable Easter capped off a cold, wet, blustery Spring Break week. I'm not much in the mood to blog as of late, but I do want to get pictures on before it turns into the next holiday.