Septemberness

A year or two ago I made a fun wreath that you can change out with the seasons. Well, this year spring has stayed up until a this week when I finally bought one I have been eyeballing for quite some time. I almost kept this one up because it was mostly now a home for spiders and probably would have gone well with the Halloween decor but it had to go. 

I remember when I first got my iphone which was about a year ago, I decided I wasn't really going to let my kids use it, I'm horrible I know. But I had had a ipod touch and they were addicted to it, would wake me up at the crack of dawn begging to use it, would whine when they didn't get to play, ask over and over if they could use it. It was so dang annoying.  I was kind of glad when I lost it.

So when I got my phone I put a password on it and now mostly use it for work stuff, gps, taking pictures, putting some notes on, and actually texting people which I previously hadn't done for the first 29 years of my life. Yes, I do let the boys use it some times but it is a treat, usually has a limit and they have to earn it. That is unless there is an emergency like distracting them during a shot or for Max getting his nails clipped which for him sure sounds like he's getting a shot or two.

But they both know I occasionally send messages to people and can even pictures. One morning while Levi was at school, for some reason, Max really wanted to send some pictures to people. The first one was to Nese. Who knows why he decided to make that face. Being tough maybe? Then the second was for dad to show him what he was doing. Maybe he was bragging or he might just think dad plays with shoes all day and wanted to show the fun things he was up to.

Last week was national talk like a pirate day and if you went to krispy kreams you got a dozen free doughnuts if you dressed up like a pirate, so the boys rifled through their costume box and found some appropriate pirate gear.

All went pretty well though we definitely shouldn't have waited until after all the kids were out of school to do it. The machine was broken down and the line was pretty long. Also all the sprinkle doughnuts were gone, they are the boy's favorite, especially Max's because he pretty much only licks off the chocolate and sprinkles, but they some how survived. Levi ate a whole doughnut before Max and I had even had more than two bites. That kid sure can pack it in!

And of course the soccer practices and games. I am definitely not used to driving kids around to school/sports activities. In my family we never did it as kids, except an occasional dance class once a week for a year or so but other than that we didn't really do much outside activities until we could take a bus and get ourselves to and from places in our teenage years.

Just call me a soccer mom. On this trip Max had fallen asleep and Levi really wanted me to take a picture of him because he knows Max hates them, I obliged and Levi was supremely happy about it because he thought he was being so sneaky. Stinker.

Our Monday morning. Overall I really like our school schedule because we start off gradually on Monday's with only Max in school in the afternoon making sure homework and such is done, three days of insanity and me driving around, then nothing Fridays except for the homework and chores. I love it and the boys do too, probably because it means a little more precious Lego time.
This time they were telling elaborate stories which I recorded. I love listening to them tell stories because they are completely random and even come with character voices.

For FHE we went to Target to look at car seats. Didn't get one but I had to get all this. Vanilla tootsie rolls are the best ever, I love Lego minifigures and I couldn't not get talon shaped salad tongs. They were all too awesome to pass up. Jason mostly rolled his eyes at me.

I finally went through baby cloths and stuff in case and to get just one more thing off my ever lengthening to do before baby comes list. Max got into the 'baby drawer' which had previously been his toy drawer and found some binkies. He was so excited because he has heard me tell stories about how much he loved his binkies and would always say 'I miss my binkie' when he thought about them or we talked about them. So this was his first reaction when instead of finding his toys in the drawer found baby cloths and some pacifiers.

Levi was enraged because he said they were for baby and Max was getting germs on them. Oh kids. They will be properly washed and I'm sure we'll get some new ones. Hopefully Max won't steal them all.

Levi has been doing a great job at school, reading like a pro but needs work on writing and spelling so we were reviewing his spelling list and made a game of it.

My sleepy boy on the way to pick up his big brother and go off to preschool. I was surprised he wasn't angry when he woke up, he can be a little on the grumpy side when that happens. Just like me.

Friday since there was no school and I was all caught up on work, not house work, but other work, we headed off the the library which made Levi supremely happy. He loves looking at books there. We first went off to find some reading ones for him then because he kept sitting himself down to read in the middle of the aisles I settled him in at a table while Max and I went off in search of a few books. I think if I weighed our bag it would have weighed well over 60lbs. But we all love it and we leave books out on the coffee table a few days so the boys can pour over them. Even though it's only been a few days I think we are about halfway done with them.....

I love, love, love to see the boys read, especially when Max snuggles up to his brother and Levi starts reading to him. It's so dang cute.

I don't know what it is about kindergarteners but Levi went from tearing up 0 pairs of pants in preschool to about 8 pairs by the end of the kindergarten year. I don't think 1st grade will be any different. Three weeks in and already one pair down. This is why Ito pay much for boys jeans.

I asked him to hold still for a picture (he was quite proud of it) then he decided to show off his ninja fighting skills.

He totally gets them from me.

Early

It's 5:30 and I've been up for an hour. My brain just won't shut up! I tried to relax but I just keep thinking and thinking and thinking and it's hard not to stop. I've already been up for an hour and saw no sleep in sight so I gave up even though I went to bed late and have to be up soon. Should make for a fun day. Oh well.....

I can't believe I only have just over 4 weeks left. Almost a month. That's 30 days. I'm very excited but at the same time terrified because of the change. Also because while I have already had two c-sections it is definitley something I am not looking forward to. Needles make me cry, I hate being poked and prodded and examined all the time and with 4-5 days in the hospital their is definitely going to be a lot of that happening. Then even with that there is a big recovery at home. And I am positive I have gall stones, which I have had for about two years, which I have been too stubborn to get looked at but have an appointment soon which I am pretty sure they will tell me I need taken out (just a guess) but they have been getting worse and the pain is horrendous, worse than labor. So I don't know what's going to happen with that.

Also logistics of the boys. When Max was born it was a lot simplier, Levi was not yet two and we just had to send him off to grandparents and hung out at home but now I am trying to figure out two boys at two different schools which is tricky, and that's if all goes to plan, which it might not.

Then there's getting stuff for baby which I still haven't really done for who knows why. We had gotten rid of a lot of our baby gear because some were just trashed after two boys so we need a car seat, probably a bassinet, a stroller...... I've gone through the cloths and while there's still a bunch of hand me downs from the boys a number of things didn't quite make the cut after two and so need some of that. Then there's the diapers and the wipes and all that other stuff. Ahhhhh!!!!

And I've been working like crazy with my shop to get things ready so I can kind of take 'a break'. Though I would still be selling things I would have simplified pieces, with less time involved in making them and will have a bunch of items I've already made ready to ship. All so when baby comes I mostly just have to make some simpler items and ship but this requires a lot of time and prep on my part (like 6-8 hours a day minimum). If it was during the summer I would just close shop but baby is coming right during the holidays where I make about half my income for the year which would be extremely helpful because c-sections, gall bladder removals and new mini vans don't just pay for themselves. And it could all be for not because I might freak out and have to close shop anyways for my own sanity. Who knows.

The house needs to be cleaned and not just picked up cleaned but cleaned and de-junked cleaned because I am pretty sure if I don't do it now it won't happen for a year (this could be the nesting mom in me, but I know that it is mostly true). My big goal is to get that chair lift taken out and sold if possible, because it hasn't been used in years and is a royal pain in the butt, especially with a baby and baby carrier. I remember.  My office is trashed but I am working on cleaning it bit by bit. And I did rotate the boys cloths but Levi keeps getting bigger and though I just changed cloths to an 8 (yeah, he's 6), he's growing out of some.

On a funner, less stressful note, both boys have been loving school and doing well. Levi's teacher came up to me and said "Let me tell you about your brilliant son," and proceeded to tell me how impressed she is with his reading which is at minium a grade or two above his own. She said she had a reading lady come in to help kids and Levi kind of just rolled his eyes (in a good way) because the books were way too easy and simple. He like s a big old story and has been on chapter books for a while. She said during reading time he helps the other kids and sometimes reads to them. It made me proud. While he's an awesome reader we did talk about ways to improve his writing which is not great, probably below his grade level even.... but we're working on writing and spelling. I figure he'll get the spelling thing down and it will click like reading did for him and we are working on those fine motor skills which just comes with practice. I think piano will help too which we are working on.

Max has been loving preschool and with the exception of one rough day he's always so excited to go and play with the other kids. His teacher told me he made a friend who he sticks to like glue. Today they hugged to say good bye. Max will often wait for him in line to go places so they can be together. I don't see it (because I mostly just drop off and pick up) but I can imagine how cute it is. She says he is doing very well and gets along with everyone. I like that he's getting to be a little more independent and confident.

This is how my brain works. I saw this quote online which I find very applicable.

If you ever want to know what a woman's mind feels like, imagine a browser with 2,857 tabs open. All. The. Time.

Yup. Sounds about right.

The Green Frogs and Golden Lions

It's soccer time! For the first few weeks the weather was awesome, almost too warm, now nice and rainy. Except not the nice part. Normally I don't mind the rain but to do soccer practice/games in the rain no fun. Even for us watchers.

These pictures are from both boys first games of the season. It was really tricky because they both had a game at the same time on the same field (it was a huge one broken up). How do people with multiple kids in multiple sports/activities do it? You just get it done I suppose.

 Max's team name was the Green Frogs, they are all very cute. He was nervous heading up to it to kick but he got it and was so proud of himself when he did. 

 

 When I thought about Max in soccer I thought he would be a lot more timid on the field than he actually was. He is didn't seem afraid of the people and ball as I thought and he got right in there and was pretty serious about the whole thing.

 Lately the boys have been very into Ninjago, basically Lego Ninjas, though I have tried to keep them reigned in a bit. But they like to put their ninjitzu skill to the test with they can. It is hilarious to see, especially on a soccer field.

 He totally went after it.

 Now for Mr. Levi and the Golden Lions.

Levi is now in the 6-8age group teams. He has gotten a lot better this year and while he still likes to run/skip he has a bit more determination and aggressiveness (in a good way) this time around. I think it's that all the other kids are a bit more serious about it which helps. 

This time around they had goalies and he got to be one.

 He even intercepted and blocked a number of times.

 He also showed off his Ninjago skillz on the field.

 I don't think their team won that day, it really is tricky getting to see both games at once, but I think there was only one goal made by the other team but Levi seemed happy regardless.

Soccer Practice

We've been in school and soccer mode for the past couple of weeks. This year is Levi's second year and Max's first. They were both pumped and so was I because I knew they would love it.

Max has done a great job listening to his coach and he has been getting really into it. I was actually kind of suprised because he's a little more timid in public situations but when it came to playing he gets really into it.

I didn't get to see Levi as much as I would have liked because I am only one person and and can only be so many places at once. But he is doing well and has definitely improved from last year and has a lot more confidence.

Goal! He got really into it.

During one of the practices a huge rainstorm began in the middle. Max tried to tough it out but didn't last as long as a lot of the others so decided I would make a good umbrella. Lucky for him the belly blocked a good amount of rain.

Random

Everything dump. I wish I had more time to do things how I want to. Ah well, it is what it is.

Life has been keeping me busy and very tired. I'm almost how I was at the beginning of my pregnancy which is dead tired even after a full nights sleep with only a good few hours in the morning and much of the rest of time is spent in a far too tired and sore state.

Also baby moved his way down a couple weeks ago and has been facing head down for a while getting ready, though the big date was 2 months away when he turned down (I felt the day he did it, crazy ninja boy). This didn't happen with the other boys until a few weeks before, they were all up in my rib cage making it hard to breathe. Now I have not much of that but a TON of very painful waddling and sitting and getting up. I'm sure it's hilarious to watch or just pathetic. I feel old and somewhat helpless and unable to do what I used to do. My feet are giant, I can't bend down well and every time I try to sit, lay down or be somewhat still this little guy thinks is time to party. Ahhh, the joys of pregnancy. And it seems like pretty much everyone I know is kicking it in the exercising/losing weight/getting healthy department and I'm just over here getting bigger and bigger trying to make it to the end (though on a good note I have only gained 8lbs so far!) I was running at the very beginning but then pure exhaustion set in, then summer, now I'm larger than life. At least that's what I feel like.

But I must say I am excited to meet my little ninja, though not right now. I don't know if I could handle if he came early. Hear that you?! Don't even think about it.

Other than that all is the same as usual for the most part. Well kind of, but it seems crazy is our normal lately so I'll just roll with it.

We finally decided to redo the 'master bathroom' I say master in parenthasises because while it is attached to our bedroom it is super tiny. But it is ours. Now this bathroom has been in a sorry state for years, even before we moved in. When my grandpa got sick and we moved back to Oregon when Levi was a few months old I took over most of the house cleaning duties at their house (we were living with my mom at the time). I remember cleaning that bathroom, it was a beast. One day I spent, no joke, an hour and a half just trying to get the shower looking good and white or something close to it. Didn't happen and it made me so mad! The bathroom is mostly origional from the early 70s with a newer (meaning mid 80s) sink and awesome floral wall paper so it was in bad shape even underneath the extremely dated decor.

Anyways, when we moved in we quickly found out we couldn't use the shower because it leaked into the garage so we stopped. We knew something needed to be done but it's a weird situation because it is not our house and of course didn't want to pay for a big bathroom remodel on a house that wasn't ours and my grandma wasn't in the position to pay such a large amount of money once and it wasn't a priority so we have just been living with it. Mostly we just used it for the toilet and I used the vanity area to do make up and brush teeth.

Well.....the toilet began to shift and kind of get lopsided and so something had to be done or we needed to stop using the room completely and deal with it after baby. Luckily we just sold our car and had a decent chunk of change and decided to go with it and that work desparately needed to be done and that we needed to take care of it (partially because the front bathroom needs work too, not quite as much as the front but a lot and so we needed at least one working bathroom for whenever that happened).

Once it was decided and by that I mean a few hours later, I could hear Jason who had started to tear things apart. It all needed to be gutted. The base floor, for some reason, had a layer of particle board which is kind of like a sponge when it gets wet. No good. So more and more and more ripping until things were down to the studs. But I was so extatic because whatever happened would be better than what we had. Ahhh......

Now Jason has redone the dry wall, put in the shower, lights, vanity, floor and working on figuring out the plumbing. All and all it is nothing terribly fancy but it is definitely the nicest bathroom I've ever had in a house (or apartment) I've lived in.

Nice hole in the floor, you can see right to the garage. Hello cooler.

The boys are so different in their sleeping habits. Levi is pretty good about going to bed and realizing when he's tired and the need to sleep. Max not so much. He'd play all night long if we let him. So lately I have been letting Levi start out sleeping in our room and later in the night Jason will move him to his bed. Well since work has started on the bathroom it's not very quiet and I had told him to go somewhere else. He chose under the dining room table.

Soccer practice! Lots and lots of that going on. I feel a little bad because they are both now playing and I feel I need to be more with Max because he's younger and a little more nervous about what he's doing (though on the field that boys pretty aggressive). I try and see Levi as much as I can. Oh how do parents of lots of kids do it? I suppose you just do what you can and make it work. 

I have been slowly deep cleaning the kitchen, mostly to get rid of stuff. I had the boys help me clean out this cupboard. I threw a whole garbage bag of stuff away, things I had never used in the time we've been here. It's a good feeling. The boys thoroughly enjoyed the empty cupboards and playing hide and seek in them.

Sometimes the boys play so nice together.

Our Fridays have now become movie nights and we pretty much always either make or buy pizza. Levi loves it and gets a little miffed if we don't. Here he told me he was sleep eating.

Someone at Jason's work had a birthday so they celebrated with one of those huge super chocolaty cakes from Costco which Jason got to bring home. Max, the chocolate king, was immediately draw to it and had to protect it. Oh, and check to make sure it wasn't poisoned. I think he ate more cake than pizza that night......