Where's my deck?

So someone destroyed my deck. They were supposed to just add some stairs on, but of course, visions of grandeur took over and it had to be more. So they took off ALL of the boards and rails and are extending it- although I'm not convinced as to whether or not it will be safe in the end.

A new post.
A likely pair.
Today was a great outside day- temps in the 70's and a nice breeze. Too bad every time I go out I get a horrid sunburn. GAH!
Reese and Carly came over for awhile to play.
I did get 2 new fishes today- dwarf gouramis. They are super pretty and will be a good addition- I can't get pics today because they are scared and hiding. Hopefully they'll come out of their shells in a day or two! I decided I needed to go ahead and get them because the other breeders in my tank are taking over. When I was doing my weekly water change today I found 3 more tadpoles. AH! At least they are happy and healthy I suppose! It took us long enough to get there!!!

Sigh

So this baby isn't coming out any time soon. That's ok really. Dr M I think might be disappointed, but I firmly believe that baby boy can hear all the screaming going on out here and he's like...."No way am I getting into that until I have to!" G HAS BEEN AWFUL. I have no idea where my precious sweet boy went, but he's nowhere to be found. He has to do everything himself which is fine- we have learned to be patient and ALWAYS ask first if he wants to do it. That has helped a little. But if you don't ask.....watch out.

Today I picked out a pair of Thomas socks for him and brought them down (because I wasn't sure if we was wearing tennies or crocs)- a screaming fit immediately ensued because HE wanted to get his socks. I ended up forcefully putting him in his car seat screaming without shoes or socks on. This screaming lasted about 30 minutes or more. After in the car he started screaming that I didn't let him do his buckle, then that he was hungry. I told him he could have a snack, but I needed him to ask me like a nice little boy. He refused. Mira was screaming at him, "JUST SAY PLEASE, GRIFFIN!" Nope. He refused. So I refused. Eventually I start hearing him scream "PLEEEEEEEEASE." In this monster voice. So I stop the car and turn around and ask him, "What?" He refuses to say it to my face. So I keep driving. He screams it again. I stop again- this happens a few times until he finally says it to my face. So I say VERY calmly, "Griffin, you WILL NOT win with me. I am the boss and YOU are not." So the crying stops and we go to the doctor.

This all sounds pretty fun, doesn't it?! Unfortunately- it won't be the only time it happens today. So I'm sure you can see why baby boy is staying in. Who wants to be around that?!

So Dr M says.....yeah....this kid is not getting the clue, but I think....he knows exactly what he's doing.

Happy Easter 2011

So Easter morning was interesting....I got up at 630 because I just couldn't get comfy enough anymore. I came downstairs and hid some jellybeans and watched some DVR stuff. I kept thinking they'd come down. About 830 I went up to shower because we had church at 930! The kids got up and came down to find their baskets without us. Oh well.

We went to church which was packed. We recently found out our pastor has been reassigned which I'm really bummed about, so I really am enjoying his sermons. I also went ahead and committed to leading Bible School this summer. I'm excited!

Here are the kids and mom playing with sidewalk chalk at Grandma Lana's.

And having an egg hunt.

The kids each got a new movie and a few things to do for Easter. They were happy and excited. They have yet to collect my jelly beans. We had a HUGE lunch at Brooks' parents house. I came home not too long after for a nap and then took a long walk. I still really enjoy my workouts, but I get pretty sore afterward. I can tell my joints are really working now. Only about 3 weeks to go!

Musings

I don't have any pictures, and I don't really have a whole lot to say, I don't think....

So Molly and I are selling dad's van finally. I went over to my mom's house to find any paperwork that he had in the glove box about it. Apparently he bought it about a year from this month. Who knew? He drove it for about 2 months....and there are 200 more miles on it than when he bought it. He paid $17,000 bucks for it. WHAT?! So here I thought it was this van worth about 12 grand. I start to get excited about it! I made 2 appointments for it this week. Yesterday I took it to a body work shop to get an estimate for a couple of dents in the passenger side. Only 1500 worth of damage- which I am not fixing because you can't really even see it. So today I took it to a regular shop to get everything inspected and a new oil change. I went to pick it up and the guy says to me, "That van is in PERFECT condition....WHY are you selling it?!" Briefly it ran through my head that we shouldn't- we should sell the car instead and keep this wonderful van....but then I thought Molly would kill me and B doesn't really want to do that....so.... I guess we can ask what it's worth! We are planning to take off about 1500 from what it's worth- the blue book value is actually MORE than dad paid for it- assumingly because he bought it from the people he knew in STJ.

Both Molly and I have been making plans for our inheritance. On my list- a road bike. WOOT! I can't wait to get my hands on a new bike. When I got my bike about 3 years ago I just needed a bike. I had this crazy thought of doing a triathlon- who knew if it would last or not. Well, it's 3 years later and it lasted. I have already paid for my triathlon planned this September. So- apparently this is my thing. Time for a bike that will actually HELP me and not hurt me in my adventures. When I started looking at bikes last year I was looking at really low end road bikes- not the lowest, but something really cheapish, but still better than I had. Well, now that I have an inheritance, I'll be able to get what I really want, and probably all I will ever want. GREAT NEWS! I am pumped. So that's my newest excitement. The rest of the money will go into an account and be saved for finishing the basement. THAT will be an exciting day!

Saw Dr. M today. Tomorrow is full term day.

She says, "All of my may people keep coming in and delivering!"

I say, "Not this one!"

So then she checks me and she says, "Nope, not this one- see you next week!"

Lol. There's that hardy stock I come from playing its card again. We'll see the baby in about 3-4 weeks I'm sure. That's ok. I'm not terribly uncomfortable. Sleep is sometimes easy, sometimes miserable, but over all, I really feel fine, just tired and irritable. I am still walking about 10-12 miles a week on the treadmill and doing pilates some. The only thing I am getting anxious about is getting back on the bike and in the pool to train....and having a REALLY sweaty and hard workout. It'll come.

My eating has become seriously questionable though- today I had....

a banana and a sugar cookie for breakfast.

1/2 a bag (a big bag) of kettle cooked chips, 6 powdered sugar donuts, a bowl full of strawberries, and pita chips with hummus for lunch

and chicken stir fry with brown rice for dinner

and then we went to Baskin and Robins and ate WAY too much ice cream with peanut butter cups, hot fudge and peanut butter sauce.

Good diet, eh? At least I got in some veggies and fruits, right?!

I am also starting to get really achy arms to hold him. Most of the people pregnant with me at work have already had their little boys. And let me tell you- they are ADORABLE. It's making me seriously jealous. But then again.....we still have no baseboard in his room and his wall is lined with crap we need to clean out of his room. The bassinet hasn't been washed and the crib is still in the basement. I haven't tested the pump and I haven't gotten out the bottles (although I cleaned out the bottle cabinet to make room today). So there are things still to prepare...and I can't seem to get motivated. Probably because I know it's not happening any time soon. Oh well. We'll wait.

Griffin is showing his true colors lately and being VERY difficult. BOTH of us are nearly at our wits end with him most of the time. I was reading my posts from just before G was born and yes, this is what children often do before a new baby is born. I can deal with it- as long as it doesn't last too long after baby is here!

Little Smiths Growing Up

Not much going on. Here is M. She is getting way too big. She can read lots of 3 letter words now. She can write anything as long as you tell her how to spell it. She can sound out all of the letters. It's amazing

"Here is my new Thomas shirt!" Griff knows his ABC's too and I caught him naming some letters on the TV today. I guess his preschool is teaching him something because I'm certainly not. I still can't get over that he's not a baby anymore....
Gave little pleco a zucchini. He likes it. Plecos are vegetarians. They eat algae but also thrive when you supplement their diet with veggies or wafers. Well, I found out the hard way that algae wafers are not going to work.....the other fish ate it all up and then wouldn't swim for about 4 days. I thought they were going to die. They are not fans off the zucchini. I guess we'll go this route. Oh- we now have 8 platy fish in the tank now. The 4 originals, baby fishes 1 and 2, and 2 new tadpoles. AH! I'm not sure what I'm going to do if they don't stop having babies.....I guess I'll have to start taking the new ones to the fish store to give them back!

I am going to go with www.littlesmithsgrowingup.blogspot.com. So I'll give you a couple of weeks to get it down and then we'll go ahead and change it. Go ahead and put it in your bookmarks ladies ;)

changing the name?

So- I guess we need to change the name....again. But this time for good I think. Here are two of my ideas.....anyone else have one??? You have to make sure the domain isn't already in use- so if you type your idea with ".blogspot.com" after it- it will tell you that it's either not in use, or take you to the blog that is using it.

growingthesmiths.blogspot.com

smithsgrowingup.blogspot.com

More

I say to Mira, "Go get some play clothes on." She comes back in this. NIIIIIIiiiice. Sigh. I know I'm no fashion queen but really?!

Her face is so pretty I can hardly stand it.
Griffy.
This is ALL he needs. He LOVES the sand box. He could just sit in there all day every day.
35 weeks today. I really seriously don't feel very big. I have LOTS of complaints, don't get me wrong but they all have to do with getting repeatedly SICK, not being able to workout as I would choose, and OCD, not with being too pregnant. And I do have a pretty short fuse, admittedly, but I can turn over in bed just fine, my back feels fine, I can take walks pushing heavy kids and strollers, I still use my treadmill, I do not swell (even if I drink pure chicken broth), my mean blood pressure is 110/60, I've only gained about 21 lbs, I do not have contractions, it does not feel like my baby will fall out when I cough (thank goodness cause there's been a LOT of coughing going on), so it really doesn't feel like a kid is going to come out in 5 weeks. I assume this will change pretty shortly, but so far, so good.

SPRING!!!!

It's almost summer!!! YAY!!!! The true mark of summertime?? DIRTY FEET! They actually look pretty good in this picture- somehow all the dirt got wiped off in the grass!

Dirty FACES!
And sidewalk chalk.
The kids played outside ALL AFTERNOON. I apparently have obtained ANOTHER cold, so I laid down when Griff did. We got up about 3 or so and went directly outside. The neighbors came over and we just watched the kids get filthy. The BEST! (Would have been better with beer, but oh well....) We just came in a little after 7, had a shower, had some tantrums, and now the kids are eating some dinner and crashing in front of the tv. I don't imagine sleep will be too far off- they haven't played that hard for a LONG time.

Almost done!

So all it needs now is a chair rail and a baseboard! Turned out pretty good. The frog tape did a GREAT job! I can't wait to get the furniture in there so I can start getting things organized. Time is getting short!

Another baby. Yep. Right at the base of the alligator skull in the back. I'm starting to wonder what I should do with all of them. I have my heart set on two more fish of a different kind....which means these fish HAVE to stop making babies! I guess maybe I'll start taking them to the fish store?? I really do enjoy having a fish tank. Now that things are all fixed I spend about 10 minutes on it a week. I can use the tap water now, so no more buying water. Once a week I vacuum out about 5 gallons of water and waste in the gravel and add in about 6.5 (about a gallon and a 1/2 evaporates over the week). That's all. It's so easy! The fish we have are really fun to watch and it's a nice addition to our living room. I AM actually glad I went through all that crap to get it up and running!
A silly picture of Griff- we went to see Toy Story 3 on Ice last week and Mira got a Jessie doll. That is her hat.