Scene and Heard Sunday

Not a very eventful week this past week. It's probably a good thing though.

-We bought a new car this week. Traded in our Toyota Camry for a Mazda 5. I haven't even taken a picture of it yet, but I can tell it's going to work out perfectly for our little family. The best part about this car is that it has sliding back doors and captains seats for the car seats to fit in smoothly. It also includes a 3rd row of seats, and the whole back folds down if needed. Joey was pretty adamant about wanting his car seat in the way back, but after trying to install the latch system we realized the way back does not include the anchors needed for his seat. We could easily just use a booster seat since he meets the legal requirements to sit in one, but we invested in a nice harness car seat last summer that will allow him to sit in it up to 85 pounds. Safety first; although I can't imagine Joey will be willing to sit in it once he hits kindergarten, but we can visit that scenario when the time comes.

-I crafted quite a bit this week. I made a present for the assistant director at the daycare I worked for. She is moving up to Bellingham and played such an integral roll in Joey's preschool experience that I wanted to thank her. I made this pencil vase with chocolate dipped Oreo's shaped into apples. Thank you to Pinterest for this idea.



I finally got around to making Joey's travel map for him to hang in his room. It's an on going project that sewing pins and collector travel pins can be added to over time to commemorate his travels.



I also made him this really neat Crayon Wreath (thank Pinterest again). My Mom is notorious for keeping everything, so when we were at her house the other day I dug around in her closets and pulled out a huge box of crayola crayons (from when we were younger) and embroidery hoops from her sewing days (back in the 70's!). With the super powers of a glue gun, this wreath was fashioned together in no time. I am thinking of making monogrammed crayon art for Joey and Baby in their bathroom. I picked up 4 24 packs of Crayola crayons for 39 cents each at the store the other day, so I am in full on kid decorating mode!



-I also am working with Joey on keeping his room and things organized. He just received this HUGE box of Legos from my sister and even though we all told him not to mix any other toy in with the Legos, low and behold he dumped all the contents of his piggy bank and about half of his collection of hot wheels cars into it. Guess who had to go through and sort that out? =)



Last night I helped him clean up his room and put things back where they belong. Beside the fact that his room still looks cluttered, it at least is organized. I immediately took several pictures of his "clean" room. I printed the pictures out and pasted them on a piece of paper and hung it up in his room. This way he has a clear expectation of what I want him to do when he gets sent to his room to pick it up.



-I scored a Babytrend jogging stroller for $10 at a garage sale on Saturday. Actually, my mom scoped it out and I came right over to claim it. The only thing is that they couldn't get the front wheel back on and they gave me full disclaimer that it was "as is." I had no problem with risking $10 for an otherwise good condition jogging stroller. And I knew between the many handymen in my family, one would be able to fix it. The fork was slightly bent, so with a little hand and tool bending, Josh and my Father-in-Law were able to fix it and it works perfectly!

-Yesterday we all headed down to Yelm for a family dinner. Josh's Grandma, Betty flew in on Saturday to visit. Betty is funny in an old lady kind of way. She wanted to watch Jeopardy yesterday, but I had a hard time explaining to here that it didn't come on until 7:30 (it was only 5pm). She argued with me that in California, it came on at 7 and that I was wrong. Here in Washington we do it backwards though. I immediately found the Game Show Network to hold her over until 7 though. Hopefully that worked.
Joey loved talking to her though and showing her all his cool trinkets and treasures. At one point, Robb washed his car in the driveway and almost all of us were out there watching it dry, eating popsicles...except for Betty, she was cold. (It was atleast 85 degrees that day). =)

Scene and Heard Sunday

Wow, I cannot believe how exhausted I feel. I am not surprised, but I suppose at 39 weeks I am pretty much dunzo! Wouldn't this week be a great week to have a baby? =)

-Things have definitely slowed down this week. The 38 week appointment was standard and they didn't check my cervix but I can tell my body is definitely practicing with the contractions. I keep putting off packing hospital bags. It probably has more to do with the fact that I have about 3 outfits that I re-wear time and time again (since they are the only ones that fit) and I don't want to have to pack one away for the return trip home. That being said, I am constantly keeping up with laundry and folding so that everything is orderly when the time comes to give birth.
For the most part I stay close to home slowly getting prepared and re-prepared for baby's arrival. Poor Joey is going a little stir crazy, but he has had no qualms watching Toy Story 3 for the billionth time! Tomorrow I will have my 39 week appointment so hopefully I will find out a little more information with dilation, etc.

-Nursery/Craft Room reveal: It's almost time to unveil the finished product. I spent the better part of this week working on nursery art and putting finishing touches together. I need Josh to hang my magazine holders today and print some pictures out and everything should be done. Of course I could keep going with this room, but then I would never finish it. Here's another little sneak peek for your viewing pleasure.



-I like to leave notes written with chalkboard pen on our bathroom mirror for Josh to read every morning when he wakes up for work. Usually they are motivational quotes, or an inside joke, or just something random. The other morning Josh left one for me that cracked me up. Short backstory: Joey and I do prayers every night. At the end I always say, "I love you all the way to the moon and back." Because we have all been going to bed about the same time Joey does Daddy's prayers for him. Basically they consist of Joey recounting our prayers, but he mixes up the words and songs and sometimes even meshes them together. Anyways, the note on the mirror read this yesterday morning...



It's hard to actually read, but it says, "I lift this all the way to the moon and back, Amen."

Joey mixed "I lift this all up in your name" and our "all the way to the moon and back" saying. Goofy kid!

-On Saturday I attended my friend Lisa's wedding down in Olympia. We've known each other since we were 14 and 15 years old playing club volleyball way back in the day and all the way thru college. It was good to see here and some of our other friends that I haven't seen in quite some time. The bride was beautiful and the ceremony was as well. I have never been inside the Capitol Rotunda, but the mix of marble staircases and the ceremony decor made it the perfect scenery for celebrating a marriage. The reception was held at Medicine Creek Winery and it was fun catching up with some friends there. I have to admit that I was a little jealous that I couldn't partake in the delicious wine offerings.

The beautiful ceremony at the Capitol Rotunda


The Bride, Julia, and I.


Julia and I


-Sunday we headed over to my brother's house for a bbq with his friends and coworkers. Joey loves going over there to see his roommates dogs and to play with toys there. I had my brother take a picture of us and he titled the following photo, "the calm before the storm." Let's hope that instead of a storm we have a couple blustery winds.

Scene and Heard Sunday

-This past week marked my 37th week of pregnancy. My doctor's appointment on Tuesday was the standard, "check my weight, blood pressure and baby's heartbeat" type of appointment. I am curious to see if I am dilated and I did ask the doctor when that happens. Typically he does it at the 39 week appointment, unless I am contracting before then. This whole week I have been having contractions that are sporadic and typically come every other day or if I haven't been drinking enough water, so perhaps I will get checked this Tuesday for my 38 week appointment. Baby continues to move quite a bit, but not constantly like before. Poor boy, he has hardly any room in there to move around!

-On Tuesday Joey had his second dentist appointment in his life. Originally I was taking him to a kids dentist, but found out that my dentist takes kids as well so we switched him over. He did so well there and let them take "pictures" (Xrays) of his teeth; well at least the front ones, he didn't like the things he had to clamp down on on his side teeth. When it came time to clean his teeth he was such a trooper and had to tell everyone that the lady tickled his teeth. He received a "dental prize pack" including a new toothbrush and floss, which he proudly uses every day. He also joined the No Cavities Club which enters him in a drawing every month for a prize for the remainder of the year and a pick from the treasure box. I was so happy that he didn't have cavities. We brush daily, but I always hear stories of parents being completely shocked when their kid's well cared for teeth have severe problems.

-

-Joey has been Daddy's big helper in the yard and garage the last couple of weeks. It is funny because on Josh's day's off I hardly will see Joey because he is so busy following Daddy around and helping him. Somehow Josh was able to snag a UPS hat from a driver and gave it to Joey. Joey loves it, but isn't keen on wearing it all the time. However, with the hot sun, this Mommy made him put a hat on for extra protection on one of the day's they worked outside.



One of the things that Joey and Daddy like to do is have their "watering" time. Since it's summer I have been letting Joey stay up late to wait for Daddy to get home (around 8:15) so that they can go water the plants and the yard. It's become a nightly ritual for all of us and it has definitely benefited our grass and the flowers that Josh and Joey planted a couple of months back. Our Lilies look amazing and they smell just heavenly walking up to the door.



-Thursday and Wednesday were dedicated to sewing items for baby. I am so grateful that I have my Mom and Mother-in-Law to help me. They both know so much about sewing and have been able to help me in areas that I am unsure of. The confidence boost I get from their teachings has really helped me garner a love for sewing. Typically I get frustrated and want to quit when it comes to sewing, but now I feel like I am on some sort of sewing high that I don't want to come down from. I posted previously of the items I made this past week that you can find here.

-On Saturday Joey and I attended a Big Brother/Big Sister class at Tacoma General Hospital. It was geared toward helping siblings understand the basics of baby and some tips on how to help Mommy and Daddy. The instructor took them on a tour of the labor and delivery and postpartum sections of the hospital, plus a swing by of the cafeteria. They also watched a really cheesy and corny movie that had the kids giggling and the parents feeling sort of uncomfortable. At one time the weird guy instructing the video briefly explained breastfeeding and exclaimed it to be delicious and tasty and then licked his lips. We got what he was trying to say, but the early 90's video still warranted some uncomfortableness that only an adult would pick up on.
Joey did so well at the class and not to brag, was the best behaved there. I also may be biased but, the cutest one as well. He learned how to hold the baby and even told unrelated stories of Toy Story 3 and how he hears the babies heartbeat even though the instructor had simply asked if there were any questions. He had the room laughing and at one point a Dad turned to me and said that he thought my son was just so great.



-After the class Joey was invited to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. He's been there a couple of times with my sister, but I haven't been since I was little. It's definitely an interesting place and was crawling with kids. I liked that it was affordable and that it was geared towards the younger kid crowd (7ish and under)so I didn't have to worry about Joey getting trampled by a 10 year old not paying attention. Joey won lots of prizes with his ticket redemptions and I even got to put in a couple of games of Ski Ball.

Joey and the birthday girl, Eloquine.



Joey and Chuck E. playing.



-Yesterday we had all of Josh's brother's over for a BBQ. Uncle Robb had been saying that Joey was ready to take his training wheels off of his bike a week or so ago and I had said that I needed to get him a better helmet before that happened. Well, yesterday Uncle Robb and Andrea came with a brand new helmet for Joey and someone was eager to get those training wheels off and it wasn't Joey.
Although Joey wasn't quite sure about the wheels coming off Robb did such a good job helping him brave through it. With persistent work and help from Uncle Robb and our friend Craig, Joey has started to get the hang of riding without help. He needs assistance getting started with the momentum and he can go quite a ways balancing himself, however he has completely forgotten the concept of brakes and uses his feet to stop himself now. It's definitely going to be a "practice makes perfect" sort of thing, but Mommy and Daddy were so proud of him for getting the basics early on.







Josh made a delicious dinner of BBQ Bacon wrapped Chicken, corn on the cob, and a very tasty Peach Blueberry Crisp for dessert. He loves watching Food Network and really goes all out for Sunday dinners. He reminds me of my Dad though, excellent excellent cook, but they both use every single dish in the kitchen and there is always a much anticipated wait for dinner to be served.

Scene and Heard Sunday

I am not sure if it's pregnancy brain or what, but I have the worst time recapping our week. I literally have to sit down and think for a bit about what happened or I go through my camera to see if I documented any of it. So here's for trying....

-I have laundered and put away almost all of Baby Callon's clothes. With the mix of all the new and adorable layettes I have received and some of Joey's old clothes I am thinking we are just about ready for his impending arrival. I had a box in my trunk for the longest time that I had left at my parent's house of newborn clothing that was intended to be mailed to a friend (but never did). It really was like Christmas in July going through all of it only to discover that it was the perfect array of sizes for baby as I was lacking pajamas in 0-3 month sizes. I also found several pairs of Robeez that were given to Joey as hand-me downs years back that we never got to use.

-I found a really great hospital tour to take Joey on that is offered through the Multicare Health Systems. It's called a Big Brother/Big Sister class that is geared toward 3-7 year old's and focuses on preparing them to be siblings and all the in's and out's of the the Birth Center along with a tour. It also focus on safety aspects through coordinated activities. I am excited to sign Joey up for this because it's been Josh and I's goal from day one to prepare Joey for the realization that it will not be just him anymore. After all, it's been just about him for the last 4 years. =)

-Baby has been moving like mad and it's become one of our favorite things to watch him somersault and twirl inside the stomach. I can also tell that the baby really responds well to Joey because Joey likes watching him move and will sing to him to wake him up and baby responds. One time Joey had his head on my stomach singing to baby and the baby kicked him. At first Joey was upset and said, "he can't kick me...I don't kick him!" It was hard to explain to him that it wasn't on purpose, but Joey got over it real quick.

-Joey and I enjoyed a nice picnic lunch with Aunt Holly on her lunch break at work. I made delicious turkey sandwiches and we ate those while enjoying the hot sunshine. It's nice to go visit her at work (which is quite close to our house)and be able to visit, even if it's only for a short amount of time.


Afterwards, Joey and I stopped by the perimeter fence outside of McChord/Lewis Base to check out all the planes that were parked out by the runways. Joey was so intrigued to watch the planes and the soldiers walking around on the field. Unfortunately no planes took off while we there, but Joey did get plenty of waves by all the soldiers driving right by the fence.



-To round up the weekend we enjoyed a bbq at Josh's parents house. It was hot, hot, hot but good company was had all around. The kiddie pool was brought out and I am not sure who had more fun with it...Joey or Uncle Robb. We also played ladder golf or hillbilly golf and enjoyed great food. Joey had so much fun at Grandma and Grandpa's that when we were getting ready to leave an invitation was extended for him to spend the night which was gladly accepted. Joey had such a good time there that he was upset when I came to pick him up the next day.

Scene and Heard Sunday

What an exciting week that was jammed pack full of fun.

-This week was really the first week where I felt really pregnant. Fatigue has set in big time, but along with that has come a whole new round of nesting. The Crib is set up, thanks Mom and Dad Callon, and some baby clothing is put away. It was funny to watch Josh and my brother-in-law put together the crib, mainly because reading direction is overated and they only had one allen wrench to work with. Little did they know that Joey has a couple of those handy wrenches in his "tool box." The topper was when I warned them that putting the crib together in the front room wouldn't work because those things don't fit through doorways. Let's just say..."told you so!" =)

-Josh and I had been looking forward to Thursday, July 14th for atleast 6 months. Why? Only because it was the final midnight premiere of the Harry Potter franchise. The Deathly Hallows, Part Two was amazing. The movie itself was perfect and dressing up and getting to the theater early to fraternize with fellow Harry Potter fans was fantastic. Pictures and review to come!

-Saturday was supposed to be a girls day with my best friend, Kara. It started off with breakfast with my sister and Joey at IHOP. Holly took Joey with her so that I could go off for a couple of hours. Kara treated me to pedis and lunch at Red Robin. I haven't had a pedicure in a long time, and boy did it feel nice! As we were getting back to Kara's parents house, I quickly noticed my Mom's car and my friend, Paris' car in the driveway. I was surprised with a baby shower! It was a lot of fun and I got a lot of clothes, etc. for little Baby Callon. I felt very loved and very happy to be blessed so much with wonderful friends,family, and coworkers. I didn't have my camera, so I will post pictures later when they are sent to me.

-Sunday was an early to rise, early to bed kind of day. I mentioned nesting and it has transcended to Josh and even Joey a little bit. Closets are being cleaned out by me and Josh is making a mad organization spree of the garage. I had time yesterday to reorganize Joey's room to make room for a desk for his "preschool" we will be doing at home. He was so excited about his new "office" and I have caught him several times just sitting at his desk "taking notes." His only complaint is that he doesn't have a phone like Nancy (my boss/Kara's mom) at work. Perhaps a garage sale will turn up a conference phone for him.
After all the work yesterday, we were all in bed and asleep by 8:30 and were wide eyed and bushy tailed come this morning at 6:30 ready to nest for another day.

Scene and Heard Sunday

-This week went by exceedingly quick. Since Summer has started it seems like time just fly's! We've all waited so long for warmer weather and now that it's here you can almost feel fall creeping up on us!

-We made an important decision this week to withdraw Joey from daycare once I finish up working there. Originally, we intended to keep him there two days a week not only to have some time for himself once the baby comes, but also to have him prep for Kindergarten. The daycare really served it's purpose in getting Joey socialized with others and learning how to act in a group setting. Without PPC, we may never have realized the sensory issues that Joey was dealing with. I am ever grateful to that wonderful place for helping my little guy out so much. But now that I am going back to being a stay-at-home-mom I really feel that it is in his best interest to stay home as well. Of course, socialization and kindergarten prep are going to be a big focus, I also feel more comfortable doing it in a setting where I would be around. We all plan on joining the YMCA as a family and I am looking into co-op preschools; karate class is also an avenue we are looking at.

-Once again, Joey never fails to make me laugh. This week marked three new additions to "Stuff my Joey says."
1. Sometimes Joey ask a lot of questions. One day I exhaustively told him in a joking manner that he asked to many questions. He agreed and said, "I do ask a lot of questions." The kicker though was when I asked him something later on, he said, "Mommy, now you are asking way too many questions!"
2. I caught Joey looking down his pajama shorts the other morning. When I asked what he was doing, he said, "Just checking to see if I have underwear on." Oh really?!
3. Joey has quite the interest in all things Jesus and will quickly recognize Jesus on a cross, or a crucifix wherever we go. The other day, Joey said, "Mommy, Daddy has two cheezits on his nightstand, I put them there." I was really confused about what he was telling me when I looked over to find not one, but two crucifixes sitting on Josh's nightstand. So not "cheezits" but "Jesus'" Got it! I know that we have a couple of crucifixes as gifts and such from our college days, but somehow that kid seems to find them and really feels like Daddy needs to have them.

-Things are slowly coming along with the baby/craftroom. I acquired a desk/hutch from my parents that I thought would be good as a computer table in the room but I slowly realized I was running out of room and that it was too bulky for the space. I removed the hutch part and primed and painted the table part a light blue. The table will be used as a changing table/landing ground for baby diapers and such.

It went from this....



to this....



Josh is going to put a coat of polyurethane on it to seal it up. I am thinking that a chocolate brown diaper changing pad cover will look good on this to contrast the different colors going into this room. Hopefully it will all come together swimmingly!

-This afternoon we went to "The Office" themed birthday party of my brother-in-law, Jason. I have never seen The Office, but did know the answer of Dundler & Mifflin as the company name, so it did win me a candy bar! They had a pinata there and it was funny to see Joey try to beat it and open it up. After a couple of good tries, Uncle Jason came to the rescue to get all that delicious candy from being trapped inside the pinata. =) Joey was a happy boy!

Scene and Heard Sunday

-I am 31 weeks! Where the heck is the time going? The first 20 weeks were like the longest of my life...well really 15 weeks, since I didn't even know I was pregnant for the first 5. Better then not knowing for the whole pregnancy, like on that show, "I didn't know I was pregnant."
I had some mild Braxton Hicks contractions earlier in the week that freaked me out. I never have had them before so I got worried for like 2.5 seconds, but then they stopped and all was good again.

Supposedly this is what the baby looks like this week...courtesy of Babycenter



I only say supposedly, b/c with the amount of movement and kicking that is going on in my uterus, you would think this baby was a 4 legged, octopus like sort of creature who finds pleasure in doing flips and rolls inside me in all hours of the day! Just kidding...I love the all the movement. It's one of my favorite parts of pregnancy. =)

-Nesting has officially commenced! I started on the nursery/craft room this week and let me say...it is looking amazing. Josh's parents have graciously offered up their crib they had for Joey so we don't have to buy a new one, cough (because some unnamed doctor told us that we wouldn't be able to get pregnant on our own, so we subsequently sold all of Joey's baby stuff), cough....excuse me! The crafting side of the room is pretty much complete, now I need to incorporate the nursery side. Here is a sneak peak....



This picture is now out of date though...as that ugly grey desk is no longer grey. =)
The room reveal will happen as soon as it is complete though, which will be in about a month.

-Josh took a short trip to Las Vegas with his buddy, Craig. There they met up with Pino, one of our closest friends who moved to Arizona over a year ago. They had so much fun as evidenced by the pictures and videos that Josh has shown me. I didn't even have to ask to see if they behaved in Vegas. These three boys are like the most harmless hooligans I know!

-Joey had a rough week. His words, not mine and it included all of his toys being put away in the closet for him to earn back. I changed schedules at the daycare and only go from 10:45 to 1pm, before we would start our day there at 7:30. Because Joey is a true creature of habit, the adjustment has not been easy for him, as evidenced by his unruly behavior that included potty words, hitting, kicking and pretty much being defiant. I hope its a phase, because this week was difficult for us both. As I have said before, I am very self conscience of what others think of Joey and of his behavior in general. It is amazing to see the vast difference in his attitude when he is at daycare as opposed to being at home with me. The difference is night and day and I am sure a lot of it is showing off for the other kids in his class.

-But of course Joey is still the little man of my heart and knows how to crack me up. The other day Joey somehow managed to work "boob" and "Jesus" into the same sentence. How you ask? "Mommy, Jesus is in my heart, right next to my boob." And if that wasn't enough, he also had this to say, ""Mommy, is Jesus gonna get big in my heart and make my boobs big like the baby gets big in your tummy?" I cannot make this stuff up, even if I tried!
While I was working in the craft room today Josh and Joey were outside working and playing. I looked out my window to see Joey lying toppled over in our flowers with the bike on top of him. I asked him if he was OK and all he could muster to say was, "I took the turn too sharp." Gee ya think? =)



-And finally, I really have to show off one of my coupon trips from this week at Albertson's.


I got all of this for $2.76!
Last week, there was a deal that if you bought $100 in gift cards you got a $20 coupon to use like cash on your next purchase. I bought several gift cards to use over the next couple of months for places like BabiesRUs, where I know I will be spending some serious money at soon. The only thing I didn't know what that these $20 coupons expired within the week and you could only use one per transaction, so I shopped to my hearts content. For this transaction I was able to get about 6 pounds of meat and the other obvious foods using manufacturer coupons, plus the $20 coupon for a savings of almost 99%!

Scene and Heard Sunday

-Holy goodness I hit the 29 week tomorrow! Things are starting to really creep up and everything is becoming more surreal and more tangible. Not sure why it wasn't before, but now I feel like a little bit of nesting is kicking in plus a whole new wave of creativity and inspiration for all things baby related. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new baby fabric I purchased off of fabric.com

-Creativity is bursting in me in the forms of decorating. My task at hand is to find a way to make our office a nursery/office/craft room without it really looking like the latter two. I am pretty set on having the capabilities of a craft room mainly because my dining room table is more of a driveway for Joey's trains, planes, cars and trucks and apparently does not accommodate my sewing machine or scrapbooking supplies; plus I don't like hauling my sewing machine in and out.

-For the meantime I am sharing my dining room table with toys and meals and whipped up this cute little toss pillow in less than an hour this afternoon. I am planning for this pillow to sit on my upholstered office chair that I don't have yet. =) I love this Alexander Henry fabric and really want to incorporate this fabric for my craft space, but also still have it mesh well with a boy nursery. My dirty little secret with this pillow is that I sewed 3/4 of it and hot glued the seam shut where I stuffed in the pillow stuffing. I never learned how to whip stitch, let alone hand sew and since this pillow won't get much use I said, "why not?"



-Along with all this crafting madness comes a lot of frustration. I scored this sweet, outdated lamp for 5 bucks at a garage sale on Friday. I picked up a $4 can of light blue spray paint and went to work. The first and second layers went on great yesterday, but today when I went to put on the final layer the paint started to crack, completely ruining the finish. I failed to take the time to prime and sand it because I thought the first layer of spray paint would act as the primer and that is where I went wrong. It makes me feel very frustrated because part of the reason I take the time to visit the DIY craft blogs is to be able to do these projects and do them frugally and in my taste. Hitting that bump in the road today felt like a derailment to me. I hate not doing things right and when I make a mistake, it makes me feel timid to try again or try something new. But thankfully I have a husband and a brother who were there to give me the easy fix for a project that should look great when its done. Plus, did I mention the lamp base that is going to be blue matches the blue in the above Alexander Henry fabric?



-Yesterday was my Sister-in-Law, Katy's graduation BBQ. She got her Masters in Library Science and is officially able to be a librarian. Joey and I shot down to Olympia to hang with her and the family. Josh had to work, or he would have been in on the fun too. Joey had such a great time. He is at that age where I can sit down and enjoy conversation and food, while he can run around and play and stay out of trouble....for the most part. At one point he disappeared inside their house and I caught him with his Uncle Jason having a jam session on his drum set. I have a feeling Joey will be musically inclined.



-I realized last week that I was talking about how much I was going to miss my job after it's over next week, but good news! I am staying through the end of July as a very; very part time person. I get to break the staff in a variety of classrooms from 10:45-12:30 daily. This means I get to spend time with the kiddos and I get to sleep in and not be too worried about how much of a night owl I have been lately. Best of both worlds!

Scene and Heard Sunday

This post is brought to you by a very tired Momma.

-I officially have 11 days of work left as the normal classroom assistant for schoolmates. I am starting to get sad, and am hesitant about leaving. Obviously I have to resign, but the kids there have been so amazing and wonderful. It has been one of those jobs that has been extremely challenging and fulfilling all at the same time. I have never had a job where my coworkers have been so nice and the kids are genuinely excited to see you. The great thing about this place though is, that even after I leave, I still get to come back and take Joey 2 days a week and see everyone there. I also have a good relationship with the office that I am sure me volunteering from time to time would be no problem.

-Tomorrow I enter 7 months of pregnancy and I can really start to feel it. Sleeping is difficult. It is almost a requirment to take a nap everday and I feel uncomfortable in almost any position I am in. Of course I will take the discomforts because being pregnant at this point is a miracle and Josh and I can't believe that after 3 years of trying to conceive we would be blessed with a second child; even though all the odds were against us.

-Last Wednesday marked the end of volleyball for me for atleast the year. We won the finals in 3 games...thankfully. I don't think I could have gone anymore games. I am going to miss my teammates, but hopefully I can get back into the swing of things come club season and winter league which both start in January of 2012.

-Josh continues to be such an amazing husband and father. Joey and him like to "work" in the garage and it's becoming a nightly routine for them. He is such a supportive husband and am so thankful for how thoughtful and loving he is.

-I've started full fledged couponing again after a several month long hiatus. The new tv show, Extreme Couponing has really changed the way coupons are being used and the amount of people using them in the area is crazy. It's almost a competetion now. If you want to partake in a good deal you better hope you get to the sale on the first day or get your newspapers before they are all sold out. The whole craze now is extremely frusterating because cashiers are less patient and even if you use a couple of coupons you are lumped into the "crazy" category. I miss the 2.5 years ago when it wasn't so complicated and less people where doing it, but I do love that more people want to save money though. Full price should never be an option. I have stocked up on atleast a month supply of diapers, but not all the same sizes, so I hope to still come across more deals soon. Tonight I am prepping for some good deals to take advantage of after I get off of work tommorow, but sleepiness is really starting to set in!




-The weather is starting to become warmer and Joey and I are getting in as much outdoor time as the heat will allow. We set up a slip and slide into his kiddie pool in yesterdays 78 degree weather, but the slide was neither slippery or slidey, even with water. Oh well, Joey hardly noticed. I like soaking up the sun and watching Joey play. I am so grateful that we have the whole summer to play just the two of us.



-Today was a nice day to rest and relax. We headed down to Lacey for Church with Josh's family and a nice lunch of IHOP afterwards. Joey and I snuggled for a 3 hour long nap and I cooked a delcious dinner of chicken and twice baked fully loaded mashed potatoes. While cooking I realized I was out of butter. I asked Joey if he wanted to go to the store with me real quick and he said yes. He very hurredly got our video camera around his neck and camera bag on his shoulder and said he was ready. I really wonder what kind of adventure/expedition he thought we were going on to the store.

scene and heard Sunday

-For the first time in a while 2/3rds of the family is actually enjoying a weekend without big plans. Josh's work is open today and tomorrow for the Memorial Day Weekend Holiday. Joey and I have just been hanging out. We went shopping for a little bit today and to lunch at Red Robin with Paris. We hit up Kohl's and Joann's. I literally had to convince Joey that buying him new underwear is a good thing. For some reason he was adamant about no new underwear, until I told him that even the really big kids (me and daddy) wear them. I could have spent hours in Joann's looking around at everything and buying craft items but I stuck to some scrapbook paper and a wood plaque and paint for a present I am making for a bridal shower.

-I am still putting together the nursery...in my head. We really haven't done much in preparation for this baby and I am starting to get nervous. I am almost 27 weeks and in 3 weeks we are going on a 2 week vacation so I really am cutting it down to the wire it seems. I've started stocking up on diapers at a price point I am comfortable with, but not too much else is done. I feel like maybe I need an intervention or something or at least someone to force me to stop dawdling. It is interesting to see though how much more prepared you are for the first pregnancy then latter ones. By 27 weeks with Joey, I already had the nursery all ready and everything.

-Josh discovered not too long ago that Little House on the Prairie is on daily on the Hallmark Channel. Naturally I gave him a hard time about watching it at first, but to be honest, it has become one of our favorite things to watch at night. Each episode always has a good story and good lesson. I loved reading the books as a kid. In telling this to my sister and her boyfriend yesterday we got majorly made fun of, but who cares. It's better then the Jersey Shore...right?

-This week will be my last week of volleyball until after the baby comes. We won the league for the 8th time in a little under 3 years and we are going for an 8th championship as well. Next year Nationals are in Salt Lake City, but I am unsure of where we will be in a year from now. I imagine my life will be a lot different and complicated then it is currently. =)

-I can't end this post without a picture of Joey. This kid seriously cracks me up and it amazes me how independent he is. He knows how to pour his own cereal and milk without making too much of a mess and he emulates his dad perfectly while he watches TV and eats.

Scene and Heard Sunday

-We have a new addition to our family. It's called Josh's mustache. I am not sure if I quite have all the details, but he has been growing it for about a month because he lost a bet at work. There is no word when this "addition" will be leaving.


-I finally broke down and opted to do a belly shot. I never did one early on while being pregnant with Joey. As a matter of fact there aren't too many pictures of me pregnant with him...and that is probably a good thing.
I am 18 weeks in this picture. It is weird that some days I seem bigger and like this one I feel there is hardly any bump there.


-Not to be outshone by Daddy's mustache and Mommy's baby bump, Joey wanted to show off his bump/tattoo. I can't take credit for that tattoo or it's placement...that is all my sister's doing.


-I prepared my first seafood dinner last night for my friend Paris and I. It was surprisingly not hard. We stuffed our faces full of crab, shrimp, and lobster. It was buttery delicious. I may have created a monster within myself though. I realized how simple and quick it is to prepare, but the recipes I used called for copious amounts of butter, probably not the best for you.

-Wednesday marked the 6th time out of 7 seasons that we have won our league for volleyball. This team started in September of 2008 and has been going strong ever since. We do travel about 30 minutes up to Kent to play in this league, but have found it offers the most competition. Hopefully we can continue our win streak even with fatty me playing along.

-It really wouldn't be a week without some daycare stories to share.
On Monday I came back from my week vacation and the kids were pretty excited to have me back. We were playing pretend games where I was Queen Mother Keana and I was giving everyone jobs to do which include shoulder rubs and plans to take over the world. Everything was going swimmingly, until the 8 and 9 year old girls suggested we all pretend that I was going into labor and to give birth to my baby. I drew the line there. For some reason, I am not sure these girls exactly realize what goes into giving birth, but let's keep them innocent for awhile!
I ended the week having to talk to two sets of parents because two first grade boys were "practicing a popular Michael Jackson move, and I am not talking about the Moonwalk." It really does surprise me what these kids know at such a young age.

Scene and Heard Sunday

-Yesterday morning, my friend Paris, whom I work with, came over to watch Joey while I went to my volleyball tournament. Joey asked if he could go and I said maybe when Aunt Holly came to pick him up, she would take him. When they came to the tournament in the afternoon, Joey sat with my friend Heather and watched me play. At one particular point in the game he looked at Heather and said, "that's my Mommy, she is awesome at volleyball." I love how Joey is very into making observations as of lately.

-I am starting to feel baby move around a tiny bit. It's hard to tell because I have discovered that I am lactose intolerant this pregnancy and any time I have dairy my stomach is a rumbling and there is major gas build-up which feels similar to baby movement.

-I enjoyed a nice long week vacation from work. I realized how much I miss being a stay at home mom. I resign from my position around the end of June when school is out for the kids. I will miss everyone at the daycare so much, but am so grateful to have had that place as a part of my life, even if it was short.

-On Saint Patrick's Day, my cousin Laura and her husband, Dave were up visiting from San Jose so they came over to my house for a traditional St. Patty's day dinner with all my family. We all had a great time and even though I didn't love my own cooking that particular night, everyone else said they did.

-I am so grateful to still be playing volleyball and doing so with a healthy pregnancy. I didn't play when I was pregnant with Joey and wasn't so active at all, so this time I notice that I have kept the weight down better. I can definitely tell I am slowing down on the court and am having to make some adjustments on hitting, but I am so glad that my team is understanding and that we are blessed with subs, especially during yesterday's tournament. I injured my foot near the arch and am not sure what I did. It feels like a big cramp in my foot, but won't go away; so this week I have to go to the doctors to get that checked out. Apparently your arches can soften out during pregnancy, so I am not sure if this is a symptom or an injury at this point.

-I want to leave off this post with a funny quote from Joey. One night this week I was tucking him to bed when he said,

"Mommy, when I grow up I am going to get big, and my legs are going to get big, and my butt is going to get big and your butt is going to get big!"

Gee thanks Joey! In retelling this quote to Josh, Joey then also mentioned that Aunt Katy's and Uncle Jason's butts would get big too. Ouch! Let's hope his foresight is not on target this early.