What a nice Monday

You know, I don't think I ever would have thought I would say that I enjoy Mondays or even could enjoy them. To me, weekends were all about relaxing, sleeping in, being with family and friends....and then come Monday, you have to go back to work, or doing some sort of work and waking up early again. Now, while we still do a lot of family stuff on the weekend, I sometimes look forward to Mondays because I get back to a little routine where I have a few minutes here and there of peacefulness and not have to worry about running to the next event.

Yesterday, I was blessed with a wonderful babysitter (Thanks Tracy!) while I went to work on the house stuff. Just little things that I haven't really wanted to do, but still need to be done. But because I did that, I was able to catch a nap with Trevor. So I felt very well rested for his T-ball game last night. But it sure was HOT.

Trevor has also gotten better at listening over the past few days, making it seem like it was a little phase he was going through. Although he could be coming down with a cold or something.

I'll have to give you a little update as to the conversations T and I have been having. It's been nice to have conversations with him and get a little glimpse about what he's thinking about at the time. It sure is fun!

Busy Weekend

Wow....we had an activity-filled weekend. I still am worn out.

Friday evening we walked up to the brand new Perkins that is up the street. It was pretty packed, but we didn't have to wait long. I had some yummy strawberry pancakes. I don't know why, but I never even consider making breakfast-type foods for dinner. I should. They are really good! Friday late evening, Tracy and friends picked me up to go to the nearby Casino. Strangely enough, Tracy forgot her ID, and we didn't think they would let us in. But the guard said that as long as she knew she could not win a "jackpot" they let her in. I thought her luck would end there, but nope. She won over $150, just by playing Blackjack. Everyone that came either ended the night even, or ahead so it made for a very enjoyable night for all. Oh, and we had a great dealer for most of the time as well.

Saturday, Russ and Trevor spent most of the day cleaning out the garage. Now we can park both cars in without worrying if we are going to hit anything when opening our doors. And now, Trevor loves it when we take the cars out of the garage so he can bike in racecar style! Thank goodness the humidity has gone away for the time being. It is still warm outside, but it isn't horribly hot in the garage.

We then went to the Mega Mall for dinner at Bubba Gumps and to ride on some rides. Unfortunately, Trevor didn't seem tired enough to take a nap at his nap time, but by the time we were at the mall, he was pretty worn out. So it was a bit of a struggle to do much of anything. But he knows, we'll go back again another day.

Then yesterday, Russ and I got to go golfing with some prospective members of our golf club. They were very nice people to meet and play with. I hope they join and we continue to see them around! Again, with the humidity down, it wasn't too sticky, but still pretty hot. I drank a LOT of water, but by the end of the round, my back was not in good shape. I might just have to take Tuesday off of golf. And I'm pretty sure I'm done with 18 holes of golf until after the baby. Funny thing though, I still played well!

So today is Monday.... we'll see what today brings. Most likely I'll be napping. But I think I deserve it ;-) That's all for now!

Just another phase

I have been witness to a lot of phases for Trevor. Sleeping a LOT, not a lot of sleeping. Eating anything, or eating practically nothing. Wanting to do what we ask, and disagreeing with everything we ask.

So for all you moms out there, as I'm sure you know already, I do have a lot of thoughts on making sure that your kid stays as consistent as he/she can because you are staying consistent. Through various shows like Dr. Phil or the multitude of Nanny shows, I have learned that consistency is key. I have also learned that talking about expectations beforehand and after activities also helps them with their behavior. They need to be able to predict what will happen if they behave any way.

The reason I'm writing this, is more as a reminder to myself. Because I think a lot of the little setbacks Trevor has had in his behavior are due to the lack of routine that he has in the summer (in addition to the vacations/trips we have been taking).

What is very nice to see though, is his continual development with language and understanding. No matter how frustrating. He now really likes to argue his way out of doing something, or argue the reasoning behind why he should or shouldn't do something. It's no wonder he has a stubborn streak in him, as he must have gotten it from a little on both sides of the gene pool.

The most recent occurrence was yesterday at the mall. We were in a place that has a little play area for kids. Before we went there, I explained both the schedule of what we were going to do at the mall, as well as if he was a good listener and behaved, he would get a treat at the end. (in this case a decaf caramel cooler from Caribou Coffee - yum for mom too!)

The schedule worked out nicely. He was very well behaved at the one store I had to go to, and before we entered the play place, I again explained to him that he needed to be gentle with the kids, and keep his hands to himself. He lasted about 45 minutes. Another mom brought him over to me (because I couldn't see him on the other side of the area) and told me he was not being nice to the other kids.

While in some situations, he gets a warning, I think he now depends on this "warning" before he really gets into shape. And in my eyes, hitting does not deserve a warning. Things like listening and doing what I ask are something to get warnings about. So when I told him we were leaving, he immediately tried to throw a fit saying that we were supposed to get coffee, and he wanted to stay, etc. After about 3 minutes of this, he finally gave in, actually helped me put his sandals on, and walked out with me to the car peacefully.

When we got back into the car, I talked to him again, saying that he did not behave with the other kids at the play place. If he ever hits, pushes, or hurts his friends, we will leave. I know we dealt with this earlier this year, and if I remember correctly, after just a few times of knowing what was coming if he did hit, you could see him restraining himself when he wanted to grab a kid.

So anyway....that's my lesson for myself next time. Be consistent and immediate. That's all for today!

I may be pregnant, but I'm not stupid

First off, sorry about the videos not working...they are fixed now, so enjoy!

So yesterday I was very pregnant. I had a few pregnant moments. Big one was I forgot how much your balance changes when you are this pregnant, and when I was running around after Trevor, I slipped and fell. I came down hard on my leg and hip, but no injuries except maybe to my ego. I fell in front of my mom friends. Whoops.

Then last night, I got all ready for bed, fell asleep and then woke up to Trevor saying he was ready to go downstairs. I went to put on my glasses and noticed something strange. Um....I forgot to take out my contacts. Whoops. There goes that pair. I'm pretty sure they are old anyway, but still. I guess I'm really pregnant.

However, just because I have a preggo brain, does not mean that I have no ability to smell when something is "fishy". I've always seemed to have this ability. Granted, I might actually be a bit too cautious because I do know a few people that do those pop-up ads that say "click here to get a free X-box" or whatever.

Anyway, what happened to me was that I have become a helper with my golf friends if they ever would like to sell something either on ebay or craigslist. I have a lot more experience with ebay than I do with craigslist, so I'm much more aware of the ebay scams than I am with the craigslist ones. Thankfully, I have a mom friend that is VERY helpful in that regard.

So most recently, I was in touch with my church to help sell something on Craigslist. I just posted it on Monday, and immediately someone got in contact with me. From the start it was a little fishy, and I ran it by my "expert" friend and she informed me to watch out for the scam that involves someone overpaying you with the expectation that you will send that extra money to someone else.

So things were going along, and I had hoped that if this was a true scam that seeing that this actually involved a church, and not me, that maybe they would grow a conscious and disappear if it really was a scam. Guess not. This morning, I got the email that said that they were sending in the check an extra $3000 that we are supposed to send to the "moving company". Good grief. I just hope the church person that I talk to isn't upset. I also hope that by giving out the church's address they aren't subject to mail scams or something.....

What ever are people thinking???

I tell you, this baby KNOWS

First off, I would like to say a big THANK YOU to my brother Kevin for helping us out in a pinch last night. Had it not been for him, I would not have gotten to go golfing (Again, I did really well). Russ got called to a court case to testify and we did not line up anyone to babysit. I hope he did well for you, and didn't give you any problems! So Thank You again!

So I had a thought last night. If I had the ability to converse with the unborn baby at this point, I think I have an idea of how it would go: (For your reference, I affectionately refer to the baby as Kermie since I do not know the sex, and Kermie could be a boy or a girl ;-)

Me: "Is everything going ok in there?"

Kermie: "Yes Mom"

Me: "Because you know this pregnancy has been so different than with Trevor, I just want to make sure you are doing ok."

Kermie: "I know mom, it's that second child syndrome or whatever. I will always be compared to Trevor because that is the only experience you've had before."

Me: "Ok, well like I said, I just want to make sure everything is ok."

Kermie: "Well, I had heard that you were getting a bit doubtful, so I decided to help you out a little bit. Did you notice how active I was for you yesterday?"

Me: "Oh yes."

Kermie: "And what about last night? You thought for some reason I COULDN'T wake you up on the middle of the night?"

Me: "You are right Kermie....I shouldn't have doubted you."

Kermie: "And I thought I'd make sure you remembered you were pregnant and in the last trimester."

Me: "Yes, I did get that message too. And while I don't think my back thanks you, I for sure remembered after feeling that. That's the other thing I should have remembered - you jinx yourself as soon as you mention how good things are going. I learned that with Trevor."

Kermie: "Ok mom, well it sounds like you got the message. See you in a few months!"

Me: "Thanks again, and glad to hear things are going well."

T-Ball sure is fun

Sorry I didn't get these on earlier. It takes a while to download and edit the movies that we get. So these two videos are from last week's T-ball game. (one is Elizabeth and Trevor, the other is of Trevor batting)

Check out this video: T Ball



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Notice how he is working much more on the technique of hitting the ball (not hard), dropping the bat, and running to first base. Actually this last week, he remembered how to hold his hands on the bat, and hit it a bit farther, so it's fun to notice that he is really coming along!

As far as other things going on with us, we've finally had a weekend where nothing was planned. We were able to run a few errands, and organize the house, but basically had a low-key weekend. Thank goodness we are going to have a few of those coming up in these last weeks before baby #2.

The weather has gotten HUMID which while for me isn't uncomfortable, more just tiring. I'm thinking tonight I might just watch golf and play when I feel like it. We'll see though. I'm going to try to extra-hydrate myself before I leave to see if that helps any.

So for now, I'm going to leave it at that. I'll write more about today after I see how golfing goes.

The Trevor and Elizabeth Short Video

Check out this video: Trevor and Elizabeth



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And what a nice day it was!

I'm so glad that I didn't jinx myself by saying that it was going to be a better day yesterday. It truly was! We went from music class, to playing outside, to lunch, to making brownies, to visiting church, to nap, to dinner. All without a single meltdown or big tantrum. I've been struggling with how to get T going when we need to go somewhere, and what I just tried was setting the timer. Saying that when the timer goes off, that's when I'm leaving. I'm hoping he sees it as a little game, but whatever it is, it worked yesterday. He went to the bathroom and put his sandals on himself in usually under 2 minutes.

After dinner last night, Russ and I were able to get out to play Euchre. It was a late night, but very fun. It was a gorgeous night, and we got to play outside. We finished 2nd place..... and had great adult conversation. Just what I needed! Now I just need to catch up on sleep and I'll be good to tackle the rest of the week!

Today is a new day

Well, yesterday was not a very "good" day for Trevor and I. Nothing really that I want to dwell on, but just to say that it's tough to have those days and remember that it's only temporary.

This morning I had another uneventful midwife check-up. They went over my glucose and hemoglobin tests from last month, and said they looked excellent. I'm measuring right where I should be, and the baby's heartbeat is over 150 as it always has been (old wives tale says that means it's a GIRL). I also made sure to ask about golfing as I've gotten a few questions from people as to how long I can play golf, and as long as I make sure to stay hydrated, I'm good to go as long as I'm comfortable.

So last night I had one of those realistic dreams that are a little perk to being pregnant. It was very odd (at least from my perspective). It started out, that it was towards the end of September, and I was a few days away from my due date. Then, I blinked my eyes, and it turned into Thanksgiving, but we were still in September. I had a baby that I found out was a boy that we had named Eric. I actually was so confused that I had to ask Russ how and when I had the baby. I would also like to put a disclaimer that Eric is not on our list of names, nor would I consider naming my child that. I know too many Erics.

Anyway, Russ had to tell me about how the whole labor/delivery thing went. Because apparently I fast forwarded through the whole thing. He said that I went past my due date and they induced me (again not something I would ever have done by choice). He said I wanted it so we could have the baby by "Thanksgiving".

So I moved past it...and not many other interesting things happened except that my mom and I had a big fight about how I'm teaching Trevor how to swear or something. Which again is odd because I'm not a big swearing person, even when I'm not around kids. I say "shoot" and "darn it all" more than anything else. So I think that is what caused us to leave "Thanksgiving" early.

And that's all I have to say about that.....

Sleeping....who knew it would be this tough?

Being young and oblivious to everything about having babies and kids, I never knew the struggles with sleeping. I have learned, through Russ that I am a very light sleeper, and need pretty much the perfect sleeping arrangement before I will fall asleep. I have and still do prefer to get a lot of sleep. I can function with less than say 7 hours of sleep, but I don't really like it.

Now with Russ, he can fall asleep anywhere at just about anytime. There have even been times where he has been driving after not a lot of sleep where he needs to go and get something to eat or drink to keep himself awake.

Now as far as actually sleeping, or not, I have those bouts where I get horrible insomnia, usually because something is on my mind. And then I also have times where I am tensely aware of Trevor making a peep and listening to make sure he is ok. So all around, I'd call myself a light sleeper.

By this point, it is pretty obvious to see that Trevor has more my sleep habits than Russ's. It takes him probably a half hour on average to fall asleep, given "right" conditions. And if things are not "right" you'd better wear that kid out because he can stay up for hours.

When T was younger, he was always difficult to get to sleep until we learned how to just let him put himself to sleep. But he has always been a napper, and I'm going to keep using that until it causes him to be up way too late.

Currently though, he is going through a bit of a situation..... He hasn't wanted to sleep ON his bed during naps or at night time. He will usually pull the covers off of the bed, and make a big pile on the floor. Add to it that he will sit upright to try to keep himself awake. Last night he was up until 10:30. And then was up before 7am this morning.

Way back when I was younger, my parents always let us come into bed with them if we had bad dreams or such. The times that I have slept with Trevor, it REALLY doesn't work because he tosses and turns, and usually ends up sleeping with his feet in my back or stomach. So I get up even more than I usually do.

I'm pretty aware that this is just a temporary thing. There were a few months in a row where he really had a good sleep routine. I wonder if it's going a little haywire right now because we haven't really had a routine. We've been out of the house on vacation and such a lot the past month.

But thinking ahead to baby #2, I wonder if he/she will be like myself and Trevor or like daddy? If I had to guess, I'd actually say like dad. I rarely get up because the baby wakes me up in the middle of the night. From what I remember, I was up a lot because of Trevor kicking me in the ribs or something.... But I also know that I can't count on it. If anything, maybe we learned a few tricks from Trevor that we can use on #2.

Regardless....I hope the nights fly by....and it isn't as hard as the first time around. Time to make a wish!!!

Fun Summer Times

Tuesday evenings during the summer months is GOLF with the ladies. While the pregnancy makes it difficult to walk the 9 holes that I play, I have continued to play but while taking a gas cart, which is nice.

I had heard that being pregnant helps your golf game, and actually I have had a really good stretch this summer where I've dropped my handicap I believe 4 strokes. Then even last night, I had my all-time best round of 48 last night, and it was very warm and humid. Guess I can still play golf for a few more weeks!

And now for a little story time:

Once upon a time, there were two little kids who met in a mom and baby class. They were part of a larger group of playmates, and from these classes onward, they were able to see each other on a fairly regular basis.

They began to get a little older, and a little more testing of their parents, but overall they were very good kids. The little boy's name was Trevor, and the little girl's name was Elizabeth. There were quite a few days when they were not together, that they would ask about the other friend. Were they going to see Elizabeth today? - asked Trevor. And when they saw each other, lots of hugs and screams were to be had. (And maybe an occasional love pat.)

One summer, they were on the same T-ball team. They began to share stories together. Where they went on vacation.....how they liked T-ball, and the ever-popular how I got this owie.

We will have to watch this lovely pair as they need someone to keep an eye on them.....but we are wondering.....Is there love in the air?

I wonder what came over me....

Who knows.....I think it was my procrastination causing me some guilt. Or the fact that we haven't been home for most of the month. But whatever the reason.....Trevor and I got a lot done yesterday.

First we walked up to the grocery store. At least the hard part of walking is getting there....it's uphill, and pulling a wagon with a 40lb boy isn't that bad. We got out early enough so that it wasn't too hot either. So we walked up, went grocery shopping, grabbed a little Caribou (Caramel Coolers - YUM) and walked back.

Not only did we walk to the grocery store, but I decided to get things ready for a donation run, and vacuum the living room area. I'm sure Trevor was just in heaven because he LOVES to vacuum with me.

And finally, the end to a wonderful day for him.....he got to finally play T-ball. Something he has been asking about almost every day since he played it last Monday. This time we got some video (Thank you Aunt Tracy) but I have to get it downloaded before I can add it here.

So all-in-all a very good Monday for us.....More to come on future events....

Just a Mom's Luck....

So those of you may know, I have a bit of a genetic predisposition to gambling and casinos. It's a bit fun for me to get that adrenaline rush while either playing a game of some sort, or pulling a handle on a slot machine.

Now, with only one exception during this pregnancy have I had BAD luck during my gambling..... I don't even like to remember it, but it is more because it was SO BAD that I'm amazed anyone could have that bad of luck. I was at Cantebury Card Club playing poker because my brother knows that I love to play, and it is an easy Christmas/Birthday gift. Anyway, we were there for I believe close to 4 hours....and in that 4 hours, I won a total of ONE hand. "normal" luck is to win about 10% of the hands...and usually you play I think 12-15 hands an hour....so that's saying I won less than 2% of the hands.....ug...just HORRIBLE bad luck.

Ok so off of the bad luck discussion. So with the exception of that one day at poker, I have been having average to above average luck, which I almost entirely attribute to the child I am carrying. This happened before with Trevor too....which I guess just proves that when people rub the pregnant lady's stomach for good luck, there must be some there.

Last night, I was able to go out and play Bingo. I've only been one other time since being pregnant, and did not win....but I did last night. Not a large amount, just enough to win my money back. But what amazes me is that I play with $20 worth of Bingo cards, and we sit at the same table with two ladies that EASILY had $100 worth of Bingo cards EACH, and they did not get to yell those lovely words.....BINGO!!! (That is the most fun.....and the adrenaline rush that comes with it)

So that was my fun for the weekend.....bring on the week!

Car Rides

Well, we're back. Although Trevor doesn't sleep the best when we are at the cabin, it does make a peaceful car ride back home because he sleeps through most of the trip.

I wanted to write about Trevor's current interest while being in the car. It started probably about a month ago, when he was traveling to Bubba's house (my mom) and she was bringing him back to his house while trying to keep him awake. I think she was just simply naming off all the cities they were driving through, and then saw a lot of water towers that corresponded. I had to continue the game when I took him at the midway point of the trip. I quickly learned where the nearby water towers were for all our subsequent trips, and even if we weren't going in the direction of Bubba's house, Trevor still was asking for the water towers, and which city we were in. He has become such an expert that he can quiz you on what kind of water tower we are coming up to: flat, round, blue, grey, tree, and today we even saw a water tower that didn't have the city name on it, only a strawberry. To which he says "That's so silly!"

Now, I wonder....does anyone make small scale water towers? Trevor is a good kid that likes to replay things he has done. He has one of those rugs with a small town on it and loves to run his cars up and down the streets. So he has on more than one occasion said things like, "There's the Inver Grove Height's water tower." Too bad there isn't really anything that is like a small scale water tower either because he is pretty good at using his imagination, if something looks even remotely like it.

So anyway, we are waiting at home to hear how Russ did in the tournament....and get some dinner soon.

Cabin Memories....

So here I am in the lovely "town" of Hatfield. You know, we have home videos, and I have memories for just about as far back as I can remember in this town. My cousins and I laugh at the memories of us going to the "hot spot" - the ROLLER RINK. We thankfully only have one video of this. But what is funny to me, is that I have a feeling that in a few years, those same cousins and I will be bringing our kids to the same place to do the same thing. I wonder if our parents will come for their memories as well (and to probably laugh at how we have become them....).

As usual, Trevor did not sleep very smoothly last night and during his naps. I'll be thankful when he can at least tolerate not being in the same bed as me because even while Russ isn't here this time, so at least I don't have to share the bed with 2 boys, Trevor takes up more than 3/4 of the bed. Couple that with my pregnancy bouts of insomnia and it makes for a not fun night.

Then, to top it off, the weather has been cool and will be cool again tomorrow. We were here about a month ago, and it was SO hot and nice. Not like it stopped Trevor from swimming today. But it kept me from even having my toes in the water. Brrrr.... We did go for a boat ride, but I am SO looking forward to next year when the lake is up to normal levels. Trevor actually went on a tube ride with Russ last time, so I'm thinking he might enjoy that soon....

So....we're off to wish my dad (Papa) a Happy Birthday.....Have a good one all!

Well Hello there Everybodeeeee

Please excuse the disorganization while I figure out what I want his blog to look like.

Some notes for the newbies that have either never seen a blog, or never seen me write one. I figure I would give some explanation as to what to expect:

• Why Red & Green? - Because my life seems to revolve around those facts....they are a few of my favorite things, and now my family's.
• Why Blog? - Because I want to be able to use what's left of my mommy brain to look back and remember if/when I go through things again with a second or third child.
• Why now? - Because from what I remember, I won't even be able to function when baby #2 enters our household at least for the first few weeks.
• What to expect? Well, I'll have to see what kind of rhythm I can get going....I try to write when I can, more often during the week than weekends. Although be warned, I am a sucker for those QOTD (Questions of the Day) that you can find, so you might be seeing a lot of those if I don't have a lot to say.

Anything else? Feel free to comment and I'll address them at a later time ;-)

Welcome to the Blog

Just using this to test the font color, size, and other things.....