Scenes From a Weekend (Picture Overload)

Misc.

• So it's 6:00 in the evening and I'm... blogging???  Guess what else?  There's NO ONE ELSE IN MY HOUSE!  How weird is that?!  I'm getting ready to leave in a few for dinner with some friends, so Frank and Jacob are having Boys' Night at Dairy Queen. 

• Landscaping is in full swing at our house.  I tore out some Russian Sage (that stuff has roots as thick as my arm!) by the sidewalk and replanted with some Greyleaf Crainsbill.  On the other side of the sidewalk, I divided some lavender into 4 clumps and added some salvia.  On the side of the house, I put in a Sunny Knock Out rose bush, which is kind of a cream color.  I was going for cream/white and purple in front, and if everything makes it- knock on wood- the front landscaping should look pretty good.

• We have a duck.  Seriously, what it is it with the creatures at our house?  There is a duck living in the fountain grass on the side of the house.  It's probably sitting on a nest, but I haven't gotten close enough to check.  Last Saturday morning, Mr. and Mrs. Duck and Mr. and Mrs. Bunny were all hanging out in the backyard.  I did not bargain for all of these animals.

• Yesterday, Jacob and I went to a playdate at the park in Hudson.  We've never been there, but since Jacob will go to elementary school in that town, I like to do things there when we can.  The little boy in the blue striped shirt in the picture below will be in Jacob's class, and the little girl would have been also, but her family is moving this summer.  Oh yeah, the park also has a cool Noah's Ark...

• You've heard the phrase, "Less is More"?  Well, apparently, it bugs Frank, who reasoned with me for an entire evening that less can't be more.  Less can be preferable, but it cannot be more.  He keeps me endlessly entertained.

• Yesterday was my 24 week OB appointment.  After my next visit, at 28 weeks, I will start going every 2 weeks.  How is it possible that Baby #2 will be here in about 3 1/2 months?!  I've started to get quotes for painting his room, but I kinda need to kick it into high gear if I want to get Jacob's room switched around and the baby's room ready.  I feel like time is flying!

The Cutest Dress That Won't Be Mine

I've been slightly obsessed with maxi dresses lately.  It's a trend I haven't been on board with until this season, but the more I see them, the more I really like them, especially the really casual dresses with sandals.  Plus, it seems like such an easy thing to wear during the last trimester of pregnancy!

I saw this dress from Forever21 the other day and couldn't believe the price tag-- $14.50!!






I hopped on the site to order it but then realized...it's strapless... and I have a two-year old.  This combination could lead to a major wardrobe malfunction.

So if you don't have anyone who tugs at your clothes on a regular basis, order one!  For $14.50, it would be a shame not to!

The Mice Will Play

Backing up to last week, remember how Frank was gone on a work trip last Sun-Tues?  Well, he had to turn right around and leave for work trip #2 on Wednesday afternoon, but this time, Jacob and I went with him!

We were in Fairview Heights, IL, from Wednesday until Friday evening, and we stayed at the same hotel that was hosting Frank's seminar, which allowed me to have the car during the day.

On Thursday, Jacob and I went to the St. Louis zoo.  I was a little nervous about taking him by myself, but I also knew this little trip would kill the whole day.

I forgot our stroller, so we rented this sweet ride for Jacob at the zoo.

We got to see lots of animals, but I think our favorite was the random peacock we ran into- literally!- right outside the bathroom.  It wasn't overly fond of us, and we learned that peacocks make a really loud squawk when they're mad.  (Jacob:" Bird noisy!  Hurt my ears!")

J got out of his stroller and did quite a bit of walking.  He also did quite a bit of stick-gathering.

We rode the zoo train, which he loved, despite his skeptical expression in the next picture.

So you know how most kids would go to the zoo, and their favorite attraction would be an animal?  Not my kid.  His favorite part of the zoo?  The air conditioning fan outside the monkey house!!  Weirdo.

We spent about 3 hours walking around and had a good time.  The walking and the 90 degree weather exhausted us both, but we were entertained the whole day.

On Friday, we had to be out of our room by 11, so Jacob and I found a local park and played there for a while.  While we were at the park, the sky began to get dark, and I had a text from Frank's mom that there were storms in the area.  We had planned to meet Frank's parents at Chuck E Cheese just after noon, but because of the storms, they were delayed.

J and I headed to the mall.  The mall in Fairview Heights is pretty nice, and it was definitely the place to be stuck as the storms rolled over.  After a delicious Chick-fil-A lunch (Why do we not have a Chick-fil-A in Normal?), we mall-walked until Frank's parents were able to meet us.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at Chuck E Cheese, something I NEVER could have done without Gary and Anna.  Thirty minutes in there is about my limit- ha!  Jacob loved playing the games and getting tickets-- he thought they were money-- and he loved showing off for Grandma and Grandpa.

After Frank's seminar ended, we all went out to eat, and we were on our way home. It was a nice little "acation", which is Jacob-speak for "vacation."  (Well, for us anyway... poor Frank learned all he ever wanted to know about bankruptcy!)

When the Cat's Away...

Frank has been in Chicago on a business trip for the last few days, leaving Jacob and I to do a few things we don't normally do when daddy's home.

Like eating fish sticks and french fries.  We're fans; daddy's not.

We also made a trip to McDonalds just to play in the playland.  The weather has been so chilly and rainy that we haven't been able to go outside, and we were (well ok, I was) going stir-crazy.

We even set up a car wash in the bathroom sink

that kind of turned into more of a pedicure/splashing party! (Mama quickly ended that.)

But most of all, we missed daddy, and we were sooo glad when he finally came home!

Our Buddies

On Saturday afternoon, my friend Emily, her husband Matt, and their boys Ethan (4) and Caleb (3) came to visit. They live about an hour an a half away but were in town buying a new car, so it was a great excuse to get together. FYI, they say for lightning-fast service at a car dealership, bring two small children with you and the salespeople will bend over backwards to make sure you're out the door asap! We hung out at our place for awhile before all going to get dinner.

Actually, I think think the same thing goes for restaurants as for car dealerships, since we were in and out in record time! It was so nice seeing everyone, and I love getting the boys together in the hopes of cultivating a second generation of life-long friends.

(A few pics of snack time.)

This and That

• We are very sharing people.  We've now given our virus to my mom, my brother, and Caleb.  It was a week incubation period, which seems strange. 

• Have you ever eaten a Luna Protein bar?  This is your warning never to buy them!  I bought them because I'm supposed to be eating around 70 grams of protein now that I'm pregnant, and these bars had the highest amount of protein (12 grams) for the least amount of calories (170).  However, they taste like chocolatey soap.  I'm not picky by any means, but these are hardly fit to eat.

• I've been experimenting with some other techniques other than time out for Jacob.  When he asks to go  in time out in order to get out of doing something, there's a flaw in the system.  He seems to enjoy being a helper, though, so I'm trying to play off that.  He likes to think he's being treated like an adult (which I can totally remember thinking), so getting choices and a chance to show us what a big boy he is may be the way to go for him. 

• Speaking of acting like an adult, he now wants to read books to us!  It usually consists of him naming the pictures on each page.  ("There's an apple; That a moon; a phone; That's bunny.  He sleepin'.")

 

• I made a strawberry pie this morning, the easy kind with Jell-o.

 

• This evening we're going to an event with my mom's group called "Pizza, Park, and Glitter Tattoos."  They had me at glitter tattoos! We're all meeting at a park for dinner, and they've hired a "professional" who routinely works kids' birthday parties to be the tattoo artist.  There are 95 people signed up!  Between that tattoo-ing, the wind, and the sheer amount of people that are expected to be there, it should be crazy! 

• Anyone else obsessed with "GCB"?  We love that show!  A friend who used to live in Dallas told us that the church and some of the homes really do exist, so that made me want to watch even more. I watch way too many fluffy tv shows-- I need an intervention! 

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