A recap of our summer so far...

I am in the worst mood ever and felt the need to document it here, since I don't feel like complaining over the phone to anyone...they just tell me I am pregnant or whatever.

First though I will do as my therapist says and write a few good things that have happened over the last months. First, Mallory no longer has a binky. I had been contemplating getting rid of it for some time...I just didn't want her to be completely heartbroken. Braydon got his taken away too early in my opinion and he didn't stop talking about it for a year. I did a little research and asked around, and one night I told John I was going to cut the end of it off and see how Mallory reacted. She sucked on it for a second, got mad, threw it down, and told us it was broken. I suggested she throw it away if it's broken. She then took it to the garbage and threw it away. She has asked us for it, but I remind her that she threw it in the garbage and then she doesn't say anything. It's been 5 days, so hopefully this is a good sign!

Second, John got a new job! He was hired by Hill AFB as an intern for the remainder of his bachelor's degree. The pay is almost the same as his old job, and he only has to drive ten minutes. Plus they completely work around his school schedule. I feel really good about the whole deal, and a lot more secure with him working for the government.

Third, my pregnancy is going well. Baby's heart rate is good, her U/S looked good, and I have been measuring correctly. She moves differently than Mallory did, she almost feels like she is kickboxing in my belly!

So, now I can complain a little. This pregnancy has been way more painful than my first. My back is hurting all the time, I've had a horrible cough (that's just part of a cold, blah blah blah), and my hips hurt so bad when I am trying to fall asleep. Then if it's a particularly bad night with the hips I limp the entire next day. Everything seems to be annoying the crap out of me. I cry often, mainly when Mallory frustrates the heck out of me.

My sister is kind of annoying me. She is due in 2 weeks, and I don't even think it will help. She is having a boy, and so she is constantly rubbing it in that she is having the "first biological grandson" like I even care. She calls me with these idiotic questions, and she has already had a kid!!! She is constantly comparing herself to me weightwise...which is just something you don't do! She doesn't have any friends and she got fired from her job when she was about 4 months pregnant. Since it was kinda impossible for her to get another job, she hangs out at my Mom's house every night. She puts me on edge and I end up being really mean to her, then my Mom looks at me like I am so unsympathetic. I have started to just avoid going there. So basically I hang out in our little apartment all day since I hate the heat and I don't have any extra money to do anything. Oh, and we don't have cable.

Oh, and apparently I am not supposed to even buy anything for this baby, since it's another girl and we already have anything. Besides the fact that we don't have the money. I have come to realize that the reason I love shopping is because it makes me feel better. I wish we were rich! I think I was destined to be poor, though.

We started potty training Mallory and while she has gone on the potty a few times, I think it was by accident. I just really, really DO NOT want to be changing 2 kids diaper's and still wiping another one's butt once a month. And while I didn't actually potty train Braydon, he seemed to understand the whole concept a lot more than Mallory has so far. Every time she goes in the panties she immediately comes to me and says she needs to sit on the potty. Is this progress?

So now I have to go get ready for work. Hopefully I don't get any tips tonight in loaves of bread. Yeah, that's right. I had a table this week that left me no money, just a coupon for a free loaf of bread. I am sincerely hoping that they accidentally took the CC slip that had a tip written on it. And I also hope that none of my tables wants to have an in-depth conversation concerning my pregnancy.

Is it May already?

Aargh, I am so bad at this blog writing thing. Ok, so I need to make a commitment to write at least one a week.

What's new? Well, we are expecting again! John and I decided to start trying or not not trying as we like to call it, in January. So, we will be welcoming a new addition to our family in November, right before Thanksgiving-ish. I have a great doctor, which is such a relief. I have also seen and heard the heartbeat, so I am sleeping a little easier. Now we just wait. In June we should be finding out the gender. Everyone keeps asking me what I want, and honestly, I really don't care. I know that sounds cliche, but it doesn't really matter. I am just hoping for a healthy pregnancy and baby. So far I have had a touch of the queasies and really bad allergies. I feel like I am already sticking out, belly-wise, but no one can tell. I just wonder if they always thought my tummy was that big.

Mallory is still growing like the proverbial weed. She is getting easier and easier to understand, also! It is really entertaining to listen to her sing her favorite songs and dance up a storm. She loves "KidSongs" and her favorites are "Jeepers, Creepers", "Oh, you Beautiful Doll", "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer", and "Five Little Monkeys." Usually she only picks up a few words or lines from each song and then blends them into one musical montage. Mallory also REALLY likes playing in the dirt/sand. Grandma Hanner got a sand box and she will sit in there for hours, which is fine by me! She is a bit stubborn and has had a case of the "no, mommy's" which drives me nuts, but I guess it's just that age. She is learning her ABC's and 123's and is becoming quite better at them. She can count to ten, but always, no matter how persistent we are, forgets 3. Not sure what she has against the number 3, but whatever! She is also learning colors and is starting to really grasp the concept, I think. She can name tons of animals, though, and knows their different sounds. She has become more aware of other people's feelings, or I guess their actions. Whenever someone is crying or looks sad she tells me and wants to know why.

Braydon is a ton of fun and comes up with the best lines! The other day he didn't want to nap, so he asked if he could help with chores instead. He is a big help, and very competitive with Mallory, which can sometimes work to our advantage. Grandma Hanner gave him a new batman motorcycle, and he told me, "Grandma Hanner must like me a lot, since she gave me this batman motorcycle." It was very cute, he came up with that all on his own. He also asked me if the new baby would come home with him to his Mommy's house, and I just had to chuckle. I mean, only a kid would come to that conclusion, but I can see how it made sense to him. He can also write his initials! What a smarty pants.

Work is going great. I am down to 4 shifts, and soon will be down to 3. It is just too hard on my back to work a double on Sunday, but I am sad to let that shift go since it is a good money maker. I guess people still go out to eat, even if the economy sucks. Fine by me!

My next big project? Finishing some scrapbooks. I haven't updated since *gulp* 2005. I think my last pages were of my college graduation! And that does not even include my trip to the United Kingdom.

Florida

I am back from my vacation and feel like I need another vacation. Rephrase...I need a vacation with no children. Not my children, not anyone's children. In fact, maybe a vacation with no one but myself.

I sound so glum. Our trip to Florida was fun. We went shopping alot which was great. Except Mal wanted to "I walking" the whole time. "I walking" is her walking alone, no hands and no leash. No bueno. So we had to cut some trips a little short. We drove out to the beach, but it was rainy so we just looked at the water and all the crazy nice condos. On Super Bowl sunday we went to Sarasota Jungle Gardens. My Grandmother worked there in the 60's which is kind of neat. It has beautiful gardens, a flamingo pond (it was mating season so there was some serious squaking), tropical birds that will sit on your shoulder, alligators and reptiles, and cool animal shows. I was able to hold a baby alligator, and Mal had another fit because she was not old enough to hold him as well. She loved the parrots and the flamingos.

The day after the Super Bowl we went to Tampa to check out the stadium. My sister wanted to do this, not sure why, but whatever. So, in the pouring rain we took pics of the day after the super bowl. Let me mention that I didn't know the super bowl was in Tampa this year and I didn't even realize it was the week I would be in Florida until a few days before I left. I decided day of to root for the cardinals.

The weather was nice to me, but my Aunt said it was rather cold. Mallory was able to wear a tank top and shorts one day! I actually sweated a little bit. Then a "cold front" moved in and we were back in jeans. By cold front, I mean temps in the 60's.

We hung out with Great Grandpa...he will be 90 in a few months. Hard to believe! Anyway...now I must finish preperations for Mallory's 2nd birthday. This is even harder for me to believe.

Hi everyone! I'm finally back. I guess I could say that my busy life has taken up all my time lately and made it impossible for me to write any blogs. The truth is...I've had writer's block. I still feel like I do, but I need to write something, even if it turns out to be super boring.



We are leaving for Florida in 2 days and I still have nothing packed! My house is a wreck and I just can't keep up! Help.



Mallory is "growing like a weed." It seems like an outfit that fit last week is too small this week. It doesn't help that children's clothing has no sizing standards. So, I can't just take out all the 24 mos...half of them still fit. Ugh. Braydon seems to have shot up in the last few months as well, but his clothes were all too big anyway, so now they fit just right. ;)