Postponed

I saw my doctor today and we decided to postpone my induction. So, right now I'm scheduled for next Friday the 8th, but that could change as well.

The hardest thing about this is trying not to worry about what will happen if I go into labor, with the hospital an hour away and no family closer than 4 hours away to keep Kellen and Bonnie. It is hard to ask for help, but we are blessed with a new church family that have been so loving and welcome.

So, stay tuned for updates. Who knows what could happen? Exciting!

What we've been up to...

Kellen and Bonnie had lots of fun playing in the good rain that God brought our way during hurricane Dolly. True to form, K was done playing in about 20 minutes due to being wet and having grass on his legs, but Bonnie had to be dragged kicking and screaming inside when it was time to come in. She loves life.

The sweet ladies from our new church hosted a shower for us. We are blessed. Those of you who've been asking for a "tummy shot," here you go. 38 weeks, for the record.
Bonnie helped by taking some of the presents around so everyone could see.
And now I guess I'll go to bed. Next week at 12:05 AM I'll probably have some company. And I look forward to it.

House Update and a Cat Name

Now, some of y'all must have been praying really hard because a second offer came in on our house which was better than the first one. So we took that offer and just hope that everything works out for the planned August 13 close date. We won't be making any money but will be losing less.

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Just as background, we have no pets and have no plans to get pets for a few years. But, we now have a name for any cat we might get in the future. I read a book with the kids called "Guess Who Lives Here." In the book, the little boy has a cat named Silkie. Each time we've gotten to that page, Kellen tells me that when he gets a cat, it will be named Mexico, which both Josh and I think is awesome because I have no idea where he heard the word Mexico. So, in the future, if we aquire a cat, he or she will be named Mexico, in honor of Kellen at age 3.

Back to Life

Josh went back to work today, and other than the kids begging me to play "Professor" (the Wii game Big Brain Academy) with them all day, since I'm not as fun as Dad, life is back to normal. Well, except that Josh came home for lunch and then was home by 5. That will be over in a few weeks.

We have another tentative contract on our house. No papers have been signed yet. Please pray that this one will work out. Not that we don't enjoy owning and maintaining two houses, but you know, we hate to be selfish.

August 4 is 2 weeks from today, if anyone is keeping track. I go to the doctor Wednesday, but it'll be just a normal "listen and measure" visit. My final visit should be next Friday, when I'll find out if I need to check in the hospital Sunday night the 3rd or Monday morning the 4th.

Have I mentioned that August 4 is the first day of two-a-days?

If you don't normally read Josh's blog, check out the latest Bonnie story. Just as background, the book "Sticky People" that he's talking about is basically a book about how gross little kids are. She cracks us up, but needs a little work on her manners.

A Recipe

I'm almost sure this will be the last time I take the time to post a recipe on my blog, but I had to share this one with you because it's yummy, pretty healthy, and my kids will eat it (they're pretty picky, but Kellen will even eat broccoli if it is in this recipe). The trifecta. Also, the leftovers are great.

Sesame Noodles with Chicken and Broccoli (Kellen calls it Peanut Butter Noodles and Chicken)

Makes 4 generous servings

1 bunch of broccoli, cut into one-inch florets

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup hot water

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons Oriental sesame oil

2 teaspoons sugar

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper, to taste*

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast pieces, cooked and cubed or shredded

1/2 box pasta**

1. In a large saucepan of boiling water, cook broccoli until bright green and crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain into colander and rinse until cool; drain well.

2. Combine peanut butter and water in a blender or food processor; mix until smooth. Add soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, garlic, and red pepper; blend.

3. Put cooked chicken in a medium bowl; add peanut-sesame sauce and toss to coat. If you have time, cover and let marinate in the fridge for 2 hours.

4. Cook and drain pasta. Add pasta and broccoli to chicken/sauce mixture. Toss and serve slightly chilled or at room temperature.

*I leave out the red pepper if kids are eating, and Josh and I just sprinkle the spicy stuff on our own servings.

**I use Barilla Plus rotini. Bonnie is not a big meat eater and that kind of pasta has extra protein.

Pictures

Last week we took advantage of some free tickets we had to the Bayou Wildlife Park in Alvin. It was an interesting experience. Riding the tram
Um, fun?

This is Bonnie's newest trick, crossing her eyes on command. Talented, I know.
And here are some pictures of Kellen and Josh the week of July 4 in Lubbock.

You know you're cool grandparents when you have not one but two blow-up waterslides. No offense to any other grandparents who may not have even one blow-up waterslide.

Still Here

I just realized I haven't posted in 9 days. Whoa! I know y'all were on the edge of your seats waiting for an update from the Trinity valley. The biggest reason for no post is that I've been in a big hurry trying to catch up on my scrapbooking (and I use the term loosely - anyone who can get 5 pages done in one evening is not a real scrapbooker - but I digress). Anyway, I'm trying to get pictures in books, and I'm less than a year behind on Kellen's - woo hoo!

I saw the doctor today and everything is well and normal. The best news was that I didn't gain any weight the past two weeks. I go 2 more times at most and then baby time.

If you're just here looking for a kid story, I have to tell you that tonight Kellen told me that I'm his "best mom in the world." Yeah, I know, the past 4.5 years flashed before my eyes: morning sickness, labor, lack of sleep, strong-willed baby, strong-willed toddler, terrible twos, etc. Those sweet words made it all worth it. And don't think I won't remind him he said that when he's 15. Seriously, though, Kellen has really become my big helper. He can do lots of stuff for himself, for Bonnie, and for me, and he's going to be my little right-hand man when Noelle gets here in a few weeks.

I'll try to post some pictures in the next couple of days.

The countdown is on...

August 4 is four weeks from tomorrow (Monday). I think it will feel like four minutes. I'm getting excited about meeting Noelle. I look forward to seeing her little personality and finding out what she looks like. I'm also looking forward to seeing my ankle bones again.

We still haven't settled on a middle name. 

I guess it's true what they say about the non-firstborns. I haven't read any baby books to see what her development is every 2 days. I haven't obsessed about getting her room ready (Bonnie is still in the crib). But we understand what she will bring to our lives in a way that I never could while I was pregnant with Kellen, having never had children. We look forward to loving her unconditionally, appreciating every stage of babyhood and toddlerhood and knowing how fast they pass. So, the third-born has that much going for her. Her parents know that she will sleep through the night soon enough.

Seriously?

I'm all in favor of quick and easy, but have y'all seen the commercial for paper plates that advertises how much of a better mom you'll be if you're running in the sprinklers with your kids instead of doing dishes?

Doing dishes = bad mom. Uh-huh.

Trip

We left last Friday for our little summer vacation. We got to San Antonio in about 4 hours, deposited the kids with my dad for the night, and left for the Hootie concert. We waited in line for about 45 minutes but did get seats (and I use the term loosely). The concert was good. The band played lots of their old songs and some of their new ones. Josh has all their albums so I was familiar with most of the music. We did have to put up with the things you would expect going to a concert in a renowned Texas honky tonk, but overall the crowd was pretty tame. It was fun, but of course would have been more fun to me if it was in an air-conditioned place with cushioned seats. Picky, picky.

The next day we met Josh's family at Schlitterbahn. Bonnie and I avoided the rough stuff, but apparently there are no age restrictions on rides because Kellen and Josh did some of the "red" ones.

Kellen headed home with Josh's parents for the week (yes, I cried), and the 3 of us went to College Station Sunday night to check out the staged house. We also made it to church and missed those of you who weren't there.

So here's some pictures of the weekend. I wish I could figure out how to put them in order, I mean I could if I wanted to take 2 seconds to figure it out.

Our house. It never looked like this when we lived there. I guess we're tacky.




How to confuse a 2-year-old? Take her to her old house which looks totally different. The poor thing was looking in all the closets for her toys.
At Gruene Hall:

Josh with one of the band members. He could tell you who. Darius did not make a public appearance without security.
This was as good as it got for pictures of the concert.
Gran and Bonnie at Schlitterbahn. This was the only picture I took that day, but I think it's such a cute one.
Another house picture:
We have really loved having Bonnie by herself this week. I had planned to start potty training, but I tried it for a day and decided to go back to diapers. I just don't have the energy right now, and she's not really ready. She was fine with going back to diapers, so we'll do it in a few months when things have calmed down (do they ever?) after the baby is here. Anyway, Bonnie is getting spoiled (especially by her daddy) and loving every second of it. I'm also getting spoiled because she will actually play by herself.

I had a doctor's visit this morning, and everything is going well. I am officially scheduled for induction on Monday, August 4. The doctor mentioned something about how babies sometimes come early, but I don't think he knows what he's talking about. I don't have time for her to come early. August 4 is just fine, thank you very much.

Josh flies out tomorrow to spend a few days with his family and bring Kellen home on Saturday. My mom is coming down this week to hang out and make curtains.