Sonogram Today

We had a sonogram today. It was good timing as far as I'm concerned because I needed something to help me be excited about this little one. It's not that I don't love him - that's never been the case - I just wish I could keep him in there another year or so to give Aulora some more time to grow up. (Yes, I would be willing to be pregnant for another year.) My hands are so full as it is and it's scary to think that we're about to add a newborn to the picture. I can only hope that he is as easy going as Aulora has always been. After she was born, I got a lot of sleep and plenty done because she slept so much. It was almost like not having a baby. So maybe by the time he's not sleeping so much, Aulora will be a little more independent and all will be well.

It was good to see his face, seemingly looking right at us. Seeing two arms and two legs was reassuring, as I had been having thoughts lately about what I would do if he was born with only one leg or arm. There was also plenty of amniotic fluid, which is good since Aulora had to come early because there wasn't enough fluid. We saw definite boy parts again, so Joshua Clay Sullivan it will be. He will be at least the fourth generation to carry the name Clay on John's side.

He measured about 9 days ahead of my due date. Is he big? Is my due date off? We don't know. If I have to have a c-section, it will be scheduled a week and a half before my due date also. So the bottom line is that I'm feeling the pressure to get things ready. There's so much to do and I don't have much control over most of it. I have to be patient and wait until bunk beds can be put up and baby beds assembled and things brought out of storage. But John promised he would do it when this semester if over in about 10 days. So yea! The hold up hasn't been him, but other things. Yet we decided today that the other things would have to be overlooked before long because it HAS to be done so we can be ready.

After the sonogram appointment, John and I shared lunch at On The Border (a restaurant we really missed living in SA) and then walked through the mall for a little while holding hands. It was nice, except for the stylish shoes I was wearing. They look much better than they feel. I even wore my hair down today (quite the rarity) so walking around the mall just had to happen.
=)

That's all I've got......

Guess Where I Live Now...

I have no idea what my daughter has seen that she's talking about vampires and witches, but I didn't want to forget what she just said to me...

She drew a picture for John's mom and was explaining it to us. She said Gran's house been blown far, far away to the place where witches and mommies and vampires live. All I want to know is why I live with the witches and vampires. What's that about??? I've been very sweet and I NEVER yell. =) Really.

Speaking of Our Smell

A posted about our smell. Funny, because I've mourned the loss of our smell. Silly, I know, but it's important to me. We don't have our own house now, so we don't really have our own smell. Not that the smell here is bad, but it is not ours.

On Sunday night, I was finally unpacking the boxes of the kids' clothes and putting them in their closet. When I opened each box, I was greeted with the familiar smell of home. A, I wish I could bottle it up for me and you both. It was enough to make me cry.

Here are some of my favorite things to create my own unique smell:

• Candles, of course! Burn them often.
• Reed diffusers from Pier One. Choose one scent and stick with it.
• Fragrant bars of soap in your drawers.
• Sachets from Kirklands. Again, choose one scent and make it your own. Put them in drawers, in the bathroom, where you keep your mail. Everywhere! =)
• Dryer sheets in your drawers. (It's a wonder I have room for anything else in our drawers! Ha!)
• Good laundry detergent and softener. Always use softener. Suavetel is great and affordable.
  

Ok, that's it. A doesn't believe me and never has. She thinks I'm keeping some big secret. The truth is, I like the smell of her house. I like to smell the clothes she's given Aulora when I'm missing her. And that's a lot here lately. =(

The Joys of Motherhood

I've had a shot, guzzled a nasty orange drink and had my blood drawn twice all in three days. It's a good thing I love my kids. They're about the only reason I would do this yuck stuff.

Puberty at 7???

John David reached quite the milestone on Sunday morning. He woke up with his first pimple. Right on his nose! His whole face has been itchy lately (allergies plus living with dogs, I think) and he keeps rubbing his nose and eyes. It's pretty funny when he comes home from school with lead and marker ink all over his face. Anyway, we talked about the importance of keeping hands off the face and washing really well. The next morning it was mostly gone, thankfully. The funny thing is that he was quite proud of his pimple, as if it were an accomplishment. Funny guy.....

A Wish Come True

Wendy had a poll not too long ago about what kind of help we would like around the house - maid, nanny, cook, or landscaper. I voted for a cook and, well, not to brag or anything, but I have a cook now. =) Hahahaha. My mother-in-law is a great cook and despite my urgings that she does not have to cook for us all the time she does! Of course, I help out but still - she rocks. Woohoo! That's all.......

Note To Self

I never, ever want to have a pedestal sink again. They're pretty, yes, but soooo inconvenient. Now that I have one big counter in our bathroom and another big counter on the kids' side I think I'm going to be spoiled. Plus, I've never had so many drawers to fill in a bathroom. Most of the kids' are empty, and since we don't have a dresser or anything in our room yet, I'm using some of ours for socks and underwear. Pretty classy, huh? Aulora really likes to pull them all out though so there's often panties strewn around the floor. Oh well......=)

So Much and Still Nothing

There's so much going on and so much change, but I still feel like I have nothing worth taking the time to post. All the goings on are mundane - things like unpacking, making phone calls, canceling accounts, finding new doctors, doing laundry, homework, and housework, and the list goes on.

Today is grandparents' day at John David's school so all day long at least one of his grandparents will be with him. They were having donuts for breakfast (yea! that should be great for his behavior!) and then going to chapel and later on having a catered lunch. His grandma was very proud to be going with him and I think he will be equally as proud. He's had a happy face 3 days in a row so he's doing well. I don't think he liked his punishment on Monday when his behavior was less than happy face worthy, to say the least.

Aulora is settling in and seeming much happier now. She doesn't get mad when we go upstairs and close doors to keep her from going down. She's not afraid of the dogs anymore, even when they bark. She gets right in their faces and has learned to say "dog". If they try to get her snack from her highchair, she points at them and says, "No dog!" She also figured out how to say "Julia", "Bubba", and "Mamma". Do you know how long I've waited for her to say my name? She started saying "Da" and "Dada" months ago. I was smiling so big when she said my name!

Julia and I are going to make blueberry muffins today. (Kylah's blog spurred this thought.) I had to promise her something to do so she wouldn't cry when her grandma went with John David to school. It worked great and it was our special girl secret. She delights in having secrets from her brother, although she tells him sometimes so she's not too trustworthy yet.

My family is coming here for Thanksgiving next week! It's going to be one big dinner! I'm not sure yet if we're doing any black Friday shopping yet. Last year was so awful and I'm don't know if I've recovered yet. We are closing on our house on Monday though and I'll have some money for Christmas shopping. So tempting......

My cousin's cousin, who is also the sister of my friend here in WF, just won Emeril's stuffing contest on Good Morning America this morning. It was so cool to watch her and her sister on tv. They got to fly to New York for the show where the winner was announced. Her name is Holly and she did so great! So if you happened to catch the show this morning, you got to see my new friend, Jennifer, standing beside her sister.

That's all I've got. Really.....

(I guess I had some things to post after all. Whether or not they were interesting at all, I don't know. Sorry........)

It's a New Day

I realized yesterday that I've been pregnant every time we've moved. How ridiculous. There should be a law against that.

John and I left Thursday morning and I dropped him off at school where his truck was. I headed on to the house to keep packing. Work, work, work. Dinner at Bonzai Garden looking rather trashy. Oh well. It was so good I didn't care. =)

Friday morning. Work, work, work. How much stuff can one house actually hold and still look neat and clean? Amazing. Work, work. John and I share a lunch at Logan's where our check is picked up by an anonymous person. Very nice. Run errands. Sign some papers. Buy some boxes. Blah, blah, blah.

Drive a little trip with A. That was a needed break and it was great hanging out with my friend. It ended too soon though. =( Work some more while trying to hurry and catch up on my favorite shows on DVR before I don't have them all anymore. What pressure! John and I both slept on the same twin mattress on the floor. We were both so tired it was ok though.

Saturday more of the same.....talked to my best friend from growing up. She just got engaged and I'll have a little more than 2 months after the baby is born to fit in a bridesmaid dress. Oh boy! Anything for her though. She's absolutely amazing.

John had an online test due by midnight so he hurried to do that while I worked more. We were supposed to go home that night but I was too tired to make the drive. Aulora was sick though so I knew we needed to go. We went to bed planning to leave first thing the next morning. But then John got really sick during the night as we were again sharing that twin mattress. So fun! He was sick all the way home and still is. So is Aulora (as evidenced by all of her bedding drenched in throw-up from last night) and John's mom.

I was past my limit last night as I hurried to help John Davied do a turkey project that was due this morning, feed the kids, go to Walmart, and do a little laundry. I set Aulora on the chair right beside me to pick up crayons. I got distracted by another child trying to eat junk food and turned away. Aulora fell flat on her face on the hard stone tile. She was screaming and the other kids were still telling me what they wanted. I could have been committed at that point. Really. Thank goodness my sister-in-law, Kara, was here to help me some.

Today is a new day. I took a shower, put on a little make-up, and even ate some breakfast. John David was on time to school, turkey project in hand. Aulora is sleeping with Daddy and Julia is playing. Now I just need a brownie.....or a cherry limeade. Meems??? =)

I miss all of you so much and wish I could have brought you with me......

Sorry, Sarah......

......but we definitely win the most crud award. I hope you're not too disappointed. I know I am.

Half Way Done

We're here, kind of. I think we're more than half way done with the move. We still have to go back home to get the rest of our things and clean the house, but most of our stuff has been moved.

Living in a 2 story house with a 13 month old is NOT fun! =) Baby gates are useless because of the design of the stairs and railings so we've tried things like big chairs and stuff, but she's too smart. Nothing has worked so far so I have to constantly keep an eye on her. And of course, the stairs are what she wants. She can go up just fine, but the problem is she can't go down on her own. So I can assure you that I will never buy a 2 story house for ourselves.

John David loves his new school and I've been very impressed with it so far too. His teacher is very organized and the curriculum seems to be a little more aggressive which I like. I'm so embarrassed to admit that I had to ask John for help when I was helping John David with his homework. Isn't that just sad? Some of the directions just weren't very explicit. Apparently, the type of stuff he was working on is something girls typically have a harder time with than boys. Hmmmm. Maybe so. John David understood much faster than I did. What really tripped me up was how many "faces" a pyramid has. You don't see the whole thing, only part of it. In my mind, I thought it would have 3 sides, plus the bottom. But no, it has 4 sides plus the bottom, giving it a total of 5 faces. This fact was very obvious to even my 7 year old, so why did I not get it? Can I blame it on being pregnant?

Julia gets to go to preschool 2 times a week from 9-2 and she loves it. I'm really glad she finally gets to do that. She's been waiting for school a long time. Poor Aulora gets bored with no one to play with. I guess that's why she likes the stairs so much.

I found a hair bow shop today that all of you mommies of little girls would go crazy over. Super prices and a huge selection. They even do custom stuff on the spot if you bring them an outfit. My new banker let me in on that secret. I never even found a place this great in Dallas!

That's it for now. When things get settled down some, hopefully I'll get back in the groove of posting often......

Update

Just a VERY quick update, as I'm still under great pressure to get moved this weekend.....We weren't able to come home Thursday late afternoon as we had planned due to an all day meeting we had to attend today in Abilene. Sooooo, I'm behind a day and a half. Enough said about that. =)

The guys are using their muscles to load lots and lots tonight and tomorrow while I hurry to try and finish all the packing. It's amazing how much stuff you have without realizing it! I think I could fill a full size U-haul with just our kids' stuff though. They have SO much! This weekend's move is concentrating on stuff going to storage. (long story, don't have time to explain) We'll have to get the rest next weekend, I guess.

Anyway, all is well, just very busy..... =)

A Smile on My Face

I don't know why, but early this morning, while I was still in bed, I remembered something that made me smile. You know that old pick up line that goes something like "Did it hurt?....When you fell from heaven." When John and I were first married we like to change pick up lines so they would compliment ourselves instead of the other one. (Yeah, we're that lame.) John used to always say, "Did it hurt?" Of course I would answer, "Did what hurt?" And he would say, "When I fell from heaven and landed on you." Then we would both laugh and laugh.

That made me smile to myself this morning so I thought I would share so I could have a happy post! =)

I'm taking the kids to our new city today so I'll miss all of you at RTP. I hope it's lots of fun! Whatever will it be like without those two Sullivan children running wildly around? =) Take lots of pictures to share later, please! Especially of A as an egg!

Another Last

I just rocked my baby girl in her room for the last time. It's the same room I rocked my first baby girl too. So many sweet memories. I'm not sure why I even bother with makeup these days. I just keep crying it all off..........

Sorry my blog is full of sadness lately. It's just hard to leave so many people and things and memories. Soon it will be happy again. Promise.

Box Tip

If you're ever in the market for boxes, check behind all the stores in the Bed, Bath, and Beyond shopping center. Whoa! It was a box jackpot! =) I finally had to stop because my van was packed.....

Pudgie Boy

My brother came to town last night. I wish it was just for a visit, but no, there's more. He came to take our Pudgie dog. It's really his dog, but for the last several years we've had him.

John and I have tried to think of ways to get rid of him plenty of times. Whenever he happened to escape out of the gate we would joke about moving before he came back. Or locking the gate so he couldn't get back in. Of course, we were just joking. He's a great dog - as far as dogs go. His only annoying feature (more annoying than normal dog things, I should say) is that he likes to dig. So the grass in our back yard was slowly and methodically turning into big uneven piles of dirt. But he rarely barks. And he killed his share of backyard intruders (see picture below for an example). And he loves my kids. They LOVE playing outside with him and making him "soup" and feeding him "coconuts" (pecans) and making him chew on sticks. He's their "country dog" - you have to say that with a really thick Texas accent.


But we can't take Pudge with us. So my brother has come to take his rightful place as dog owner and Pudge is leaving for Austin with him this afternoon. I'm going to miss that stupid dog. I will probably even cry. In fact, I did cry yesterday when John David and I were outside talking about it all. I didn't want Little to see though so I changed the subject and went back inside.

All the goodbyes are so hard. This is like taking a really long time to pull off a band-aide. Maybe we should have told everyone we were moving the day before. That would have been quick and way less painful. My hormonal emotions really need some hellos instead of goodbyes. Sigh........

Seven Years Ago......

I was a brand new mommy. Wow. It's what I had wanted to be my whole life! I cannot begin to think what our lives would be like if we had never been given our sweet "Little" that Saturday afternoon. Things would probably be quieter and cleaner - little boys have to have lots of tiny toys and make lots of noises when they play, you know. We would also have more money - all those tiny toys cost a lot of money.

As I sit here thinking back on that day, it's not so hard to remember since I have another "Little" kicking me and wiggling around. I remember how anxious I was to meet him and yet so sad when I could no longer feel him moving within me. I remember how indescribable that moment was when I first saw him, heard him, and then finally held him. What a monumental moment for a girl only 20 years old. I remember when they took him away to take care of some "boy business". I felt so helpless to protect him and I cried and cried until they brought him back. And then I cried some more.

I remember all of his beautiful dark hair. I loved to brush it over and over. He lost all that hair and was bald later on, but that was ok too. I remember his wonderful smell - no doubt the best smell in the world. I remember how tiny he looked and how his tiny little clothes were huge on him.

I remember the red roses my husband brought me. He was so excited that day - he had a little boy! He's never been anything less than the perfect daddy. What a treasure our children have in him. One day they will understand that.

All of the sweet memories are wonderful and I love to think about them. Usually, I get out the scrapbook and cry a few tears. I can't do that this year because it's already packed away for the move. =( But, the moments we have now are equally as wonderful. What a handsome, intelligent, creative, humorous, loving boy we have.

No, he does not fit the mold and he most certainly does march to the beat of his own drum. But isn't it better that way? Isn't that what the world needs? How can you be a world changer if you are the same as everyone else? Thank you, Jesus, for this precious gift. We couldn't ask for more.

Catching Up

Aulora started walking on Friday afternoon. Real walking. She had taken a teeny tiny 1/2" step before but nothing more. On Friday, she took off across the living room rug to go to Julia and the toys. It was so exciting! Even though she's #3, it was still amazing to watch those first little steps. She was smiling so big! I hollered for John, who happened to be home since it was a Friday. We spent the rest of the day trying to entice her to come across the room. I've yet to capture it on video. I'll try soon.

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In other news, John David and Julia's favorite new thing to play is "electric eel" or "giant squid". One of them will be the sea creature and the other one will try to capture it. They capture it by putting a big storage tub on its head. Often, Aulora is the electric eel. She never volunteered for this, but they decided it would be fun. I don't think she agrees. She doesn't like that tub on her head or being put inside of it - unless they push her around like it's a train. Then everything is fun again. I just can't help laughing when John David is the eel though. It's pretty comical to see him in the tub flailing his arms and legs (he's electric, remember), as Julia pushes him around.

They have really been playing together much better lately. It's fun to watch them be creative together. They are currently making Pudge (our dog) "soup" outside. They accomplish this by adding all kinds of outdoor things to his water bowl and then stirring it up. Poor Pudge. Good for him his days with us are numbered. My brother is coming to take him home to Austin. It's his dog anyway. I'll miss ol' Pudge though.

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We signed some papers for our house today. Not "the papers" to close, but the papers agreeing to the offer. We have a home inspection on Friday that I'm not looking forward to. I just keep thinking about how this house is 25 years old and that they might find some huge horrible thing wrong that we have to pay to get fixed. Yuck. On the other hand, if there was some humongous thing wrong, we would probably know about it, right. Yes, surely.

I'm to that stage now where most things I do could be "the last". I do that every year when it's nearing New Year's Day. I can't do a single thing without constantly thinking, "This is the last time blah blah blah." Mundane things. Like stopping at a particular stop sign or seeing a bush. My poor brain is so overloaded right now! We are:

• Changing Jobs
• Moving
• Moving in with family
• Having another baby
• In the middle of birthday season for our kids! Party planning!

Just a little stressful is all I can say.

Whew.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

"Help! Help!"

Judging from Farmer in the Dell's last post, I think she can really appreciate the following story. As I've admitted before, I often hallucinate at night. Last night, I'm proud to say wasn't a hallucination at least, but I don't think it was any better.

John came to bed after me and I was already sound asleep. He did, however, jiggle the bed enough getting in that I woke up just a little and went back to sleep. I dreamed then that when he came to bed, he left the hall light on by our room and it was really bothering me. He wouldn't get up to turn it off so I had to do it. (I was definitely dreaming though because I didn't actually get up like I would in a hallucination.) In my dream I got up and for some reason all the switches were in the garage so I had to open that door and go out there. When I opened the door, a boogey man was waiting for me and he grabbed me from behind so I couldn't see him. He immediately tried to cover my mouth so I couldn't scream but I was determined to yell for John.

At this point I let out the loudest, weirdest holler ever. I woke myself up yelling, "Help! Help!" It sounded like a dying cow though. John started shaking me asking what was wrong. I told him my dream and then he asked, "But why did your voice sound like that?" I answered, "Because that man's hand was over my mouth." We both busted out laughing at that moment. I'm still laughing now. I wish I had a recording of my voice yelling. You would pee your pants. I think we laughed for a good 15 minutes or so. Every time we finally stopped, one of us would start again. My stomach hurt when it was all said and done. My husband was kind enough to point out that I must really be out of shape if a good laugh makes my muscles hurt.

I seriously just can't stop laughing about all of it. So I'm smiling big today. Even though today is the day the packing must start. Bleh. I don't even know where to start. Suggestions???

You might be a redneck if.......

......this sign is in your front yard. I saw this on the way to HSU. I can only hope that this is "creative advertising". I would like to dedicate this post to Steve. He never could say "fire". It always came out "far". The funny part was that he thought he was pronouncing it right and everyone else was wrong. What a good laugh he always gave us as we tried to come up with ways to get him to say fire. =)