Pray For My Husband

So they say that your brain cells shrink when you're pregnant. This I believe. I went off the deep end ditsy both pregnancies. Unfortunately for me, they never "unshrunk". Or at least, if they did, they moved themselves to my waist line and hips and then quadrupled in size. Let me share a few recent stories....

Taking Kaitlin to school is quite the ordeal. I have to get her out of the car, get the umbrella stroller out, put my nephew in the stroller, put the sling on, put baby Dougie in the sling and then tromp through the grass to get indoors to sign her in. It's a hastle, but it works for us. It just so happens that the "school" is right on a street which means that you have to back out into the road (and into oncoming traffic) to get out of the school. Last week I dropped Kait off at school and then headed out the door to load the boys back in the car. Baby Doug has to be loaded first so as not to get mangled in the sling while I try to get Wyatt out of the stroller and into the car. So, Baby Doug got buckled in, and, as I was doing so, the person next to me started their car. Not wanting to park the stroller with my nephew in it next to the exhaust fumes to be permanently disabled as it ate away at his brain cells, I parked the stroller behind my van, unbuckled him, and took him to the side and loaded him into his car seat. Yeah, you can see where this is headed, can't you. Minding my happy dumb business, quite pleased with myself for having lived through the whole dropping off ordeal another day without going insane, I started the car and backed myself into the road. "My, what a funny sound the van is making. That can't be good" I thought to myself. I was completely backed out into the street before it dawned on me that I had NEVER PUT THE STROLLER BACK INTO THE CAR! I quickly pulled back into my spot, hoping that none of the other mothers had noticed my idiocy, and walked out into the middle of the road to collect my belongings and put it away. Let's just say the stroller hasn't quite folded the same since.

This is my husbands all time favorite though.....(well, other than my walking smack into the center of his mothers sliding glass doors at our last family thanksgiving. We're talking perfect face imprint on the glass and all.)

At the entrance to our road is an electric pole which people LOVE to hit. It's like a car magnet or something. Someone hits it at least once every other week which sends our power out of commission. On a good day it takes an hour or so to get the power back, but if it's during a storm it can be four or five hours. A few weeks ago one of these incidences occurred. It occurred minutes before I started to cook dinner. We were going to have chicken fajitas and my meat was all thawed, my vegetables cut, and my stomach rumbling. Fifteen minutes and dinner would be served. Then BAM. No power. Of course, it was raining, so I knew dinner was not going to be cooked on the stove. Wanting to avoid spending the money to go out to eat, Doug and I began discussing possibilities for a home meal that didn't need cooked. No bread, so sandwiches were not an option. There wasn't even any milk to have a cereal dinner. Then I had a flash of genius, we could cook on the grill! Something simple of course, but still, we could cook. So I ask Doug, "hey, could you boil a pot of water on the grill?" "Sure," he says, "I guess we could. Why?" At this point I was quite proud of the stroke of genius I was about to unleash, saving us all from a night of hunger."Because I have a package of hotdogs in the refrigerator. We don't have power to heat them in the microwave but we could boil them on the grill!" It was literally five minutes before Doug could compose himself enough to point out what I had just said. I think the saddest part is, however, that he had to point it out at all.

Pray for my husband. He has to live with this.

Passing on the blogging bug

I am proud to announce the arrival of our newest blog member: Beth R. VanZant, born Wednesday, August 21st, 2007; weighing in at ???lbs, and approximately 5ft 3in. tall, at http://bethvanzant.blogspot.com/. Go check out her blog and see what the Lords been doing in her life. Welcome to our blogging circle circle, Beth! We love you!

First day of school...

I can't believe Kaitlin is already old enough for school. Being a parent really does make the time fly by. No wonder we age so fast! I truly feel so blessed, though. She had no tears as I told her goodbye, just excitement! How good God is to make an emotional day for Mom a little easier.

Kaitlin's "school" is a voluntary pre-K program that the state of Florida has implemented. It's only three hours a day; just long enough for me to drop her off, load the other two boys back up in the car, drive home, unload the boys, and then re-load the boys back in the car, drive there, unload the boys again, and pick her up. Now time is REALLY going to fly! I haven't quite yet figured out the best way to tote a 3 month old and an 11 month old in and out of school twice a day. By the end of the month I'll be a pro at it though!

In the end, the first day of school went fantastic. Kaitlin had a great time and made a new friend that she described as wearing "a purple shirt, a necklace" and was "beautiful and sweet". She keeps asking what day will be computer day at school. Kids these days!

Here she is, all ready to go to school!

The baby cousins love each other. I'm so happy they get to grow up together! What a handful taking care of both of them, though!

How to clear a beach...

It has become tradition to go to the beach when Dad and Mom come into town. In fact, this is the ONLY time that I go to the beach. So much so that Kaitlin refers to it as "Grama Marti's beach." Today, however, was the last Friday before school starts and we were expecting the beaches to be crowded. So, we sent Dad in. Needless to say we had a nice, quiet spot to sit and enjoy the waves.

New perspective to an old pastime...

It's been a long time since I've spent any substantial amount of time on the internet, which is probably for the best. However, since we have recently joined the world of those who feel that not having access to the internet makes our lives comparable to living in the dark ages, I might as well take advantage of it! Grace and Mom have twisted my arm into starting a blog, much to the dismay of my husband who realizes that this will limit his access to the computer. That's what he gets for marrying me. =)

Dad, Mom, and Joel are all here in Florida visiting me. It's been great getting to introduce them to the newest member of our family, baby Doug. He's been on his best behavior for his grandparents. I hope it's not just a phase!

Kaitlin, who is now four, has been having a blast but has come down with a cold. I am contributing this souly to the junk food her grandpa has been feeding her and the late hours he has kept her out. Is this all grandparents or just hers?

Looking forward to keeping in touch with everyone on a more regular (and highly convenient!) basis.