07-25-15 Travel Day

Finally vacation! (It's late, so I will write more tomorrow!)

07-24-15 Good bye old friend

Many years ago I got a cat. He was a special cat. I looked for the largest cat I could find and I came home with a huge white cat named Romeo. I promptly changed his name to Eli. (I know, I know)

He was an awesome cat that loved to talk, cuddle and escape outside. He once escaped into a snowstorm, wandered around the yard and returned twenty minutes later. He had a large pink nose and a flabby belly that bounced around as he ran. He was silly and fun. 

When we hit hard times, we had to give up our kitties. It was a very difficult time, but I found a nice home for him. I've seen pictures of him now and then, and he always looked content. Tonight I learned that he passed away. 

Maybe it's silly to be sad about a cat I haven't seen in years, but I am. I am just grateful that he was loved till the end!

07-23-15 A day of blessings

Notice something about this thermostat?

It is set to 74 and it is 74!!!

Our AC unit was finally replaced and for the first time this summer our air conditioning is working!!! It's been a hot sticky summer in our house, but that is all behind us now! 

This evening, C went on a date with one of our favorite people, Ms. Rebecca, and her daughter. They  went to C's favorite restaurant, ihop.

And they went shopping and rounded off the evening with a trip to Rita's!

Charlotte had a blast and couldn't stop talking about it. She was so happy. Thank you, Ms. Rebecca for loving my kids. We are truly blessed that God brought you into our lives. We love you! 

07-22-15 Soon... Very soon!

07-21-15 This picture

I love everything about this picture!

The oversized head... The wispy hair... The goofy, toothy grin... The over the top enthusiasm...

It really cracks me up!

I can't believe that in exactly five weeks, my little girl will be starting kindergarten. The "too soon-ness" of it all is sinking in. 

07-20-15 Stalling Tactics

It has been a lazy evening tonight. I don't mind really, as today was so hot and the window units have not been able to keep up. So we are having a quiet evening. The kids are playing on Mobigos and Baby E and I have been making faces at each other. There is a timer set and the kids have about four more minutes to play before we all head upstairs. 

I was able to pull them away from their games long enough to force mommy selfies out of them.

Ok, timer is going off! Bedtime! 

I'm guessing difficult bedtimes are a normal ritual for most people with small children. I'm half convinced my kids spend most of their day planning bedtime stalling tactics to use on us the second we tell them it is time to go up. All of a sudden everyone is hungry, or thirsty, or just too tired to climb the stairs! These approaches never work, however they are executed nightly. One current favorite stall tactic is to keep adding things to their list of prayers. This one is particularly tough to combat, because do you really want to be the parent that says, we've prayed for enough already!!! 

Let's see, there is also the changing pajamas technique, the over brushing the teeth, and the I have to go poopy even when they clearly don't need to. 

These are just a few in a long list of interactions that push Tim and I a little closer to madness each evening. Are there any such rituals in your house? What are your kids' favorite stalling tactics?

07-19-15 Cousin time

Have I mentioned that we haven't had working central AC all summer? Well, I take that back, we've had it for a combined total of six days. See, our AC unit is on the fritz and we have been going through our home warranty to get it repaired. The home warranty sends us substandard companies to "fix" the problem, which they never do. After weeks of back and forth, they finally sent someone reputable (and by that I mean some who actually opened up the unit and looked inside.) This company agreed some major pieces, if not the entire unit, needs to be replaced. So now we wait some more. The home warranty company has to agree to the replacement and then wait for the parts. *sigh* 

Fortunately a friend is letting us borrow a couple of window units, which have been lifesavers, especially on days like today. Even with them running all day, though, the house is still registering 78. So imagine our delight when our dear sister and brother-in-law invited us over for dinner to get us out of our toasty house! And of course the kids loved spending time with their cousins. I finally got a sorta semi decent kinda happy picture of all the kids together! When Big E saw C holding the baby and Daniel holding the baby, he looked around and gave Micah a huge hug around the neck because he wanted to hug a baby too. (He has yet to figure out that Micah isn't actually a baby anymore!)

What an adorable crew!

07-18-15 A day for projects...

This is the first Saturday in a long time that we had absolutely nothing planned. What a wonderful feeling! So, we stayed home and did some small projects around the house that we have been wanting to do for some time. Tim cleaned out the outside dryer vent, I did more setting up in the living room. And this evening Tim put up the kids'shelf. They had gotten these large animals for Christmas and our plan was always to decorate their room with them. 

I will admit that I have this irrational fear that that shelf is going to fall down in the middle of the night and land on the kids. Tim laughed at me when I moved their beds out of the way. (He promptly moved them back!) He is absolutely right, but my mind keeps thinking "what if?" 

Before bedtime I packed up the big kids and their tricycles and took them down to the boardwalk to let them ride on the bike trail. I'm hoping that sufficiently wore them out! Now for a quick run to the store and then finishing a movie with my love! 

07-17-15 Farmers Market Night

Wasn't today beautiful? It was the perfect evening to take a walk to the farmers market. Tim took the kids down onto the beach and let them play on the pirate ship and in the water. At first they squealed and ran from the small waves that crashed onto the beach. As time went on, they got braver until they were playing in the water, splashing as they ran. By the time they left the beach they were soaking wet and covered in sand, with huge smiles on their faces!

07-16-15 This place is a zoo

I waited until the middle of breakfast to tell the kids that we were going to the zoo today. Immediately C got a worried look and told me she didn't want to go if the peacocks were going to be loud and Big E kept asking if there were going to be ducks. Not the reaction I was going for. After assuring C that we probably wouldn't even see peacocks, and explaining to Big E that there were cooler animals than ducks at the zoo, I finally got the enthusiasm I was looking for! ;)

We packed up and picked up Ms. Rebecca and started the long car ride to the zoo. We parked in a garage that the website called "two blocks away." Yeah, so DC blocks are nothing like NYC blocks and I'm pretty sure we walked the equivalent of 8-10 blocks... Uphill...

When we finally got there, Big E was very excited to see the fancy trash cans and C was pointing out maintenance buildings. Oh boy!

Once we started seeing the animals it was a lot of fun. The kids got to see their very first cheetah, pandas, elephants, gorillas, bison, zebras, and more. By the end of the visit, I asked them what they liked the best. Big E said "The stinky zebra butt!" (Potty humor comes early with boys, I guess!) But in his defense, we mostly just saw the rear ends of the animals. And C liked the pandas and elephants. 

I was so thankful that Rebecca came with us. There is no way I could have navigated the zoo with all three kids, and I probably wouldn't have attempted it. (Though we did see a mom there with at least four kids under five years old all on her own. I wanted to stop her, shake her hand, and give her a medal!)

My camera battery died literally three pictures into our visit, so most of the pics were taken by Rebecca. 

Zebra butt.

07-15-15 Shhhh.... It's a surprise!

So I haven't told the kids, but I am taking off of work tomorrow and we are going to the National Zoo!! I am very excited about this! The last time we were at the zoo, Big E was more like a "little e" and C was about to turn two.

I'm trying to squeeze in a few more adventures before C heads off to school! This should be fun!!

07-14-15 They're back... And a toe update.

After a very long weekend of the big kids visiting their grandparents, they are finally back! It was such a joy to walk in my door this evening and see them there! C was excited to show off her new pair of shoes and her Frozen pjs. Big E couldn't wait to show me his Minion socks and new shoes. 

After dinner, we rode bikes and took a walk over the stinky bridge. It is so wonderful knowing that all my children will be sleeping under the same roof tonight... Our roof!

I know what you are thinking. "It's been such a long time since Joanna has mentioned anything about her toes. They must be all better!" Unfortunately, dear friend, they are not. After three rounds of antibiotics, they are still swelling up! In fact, a third toe is now in on the action. The doctor wants me to go on a certain antibiotic he is sure would knock it out, but he said I would have to not nurse the baby. (I told him 1-2 weeks of pump and dump was not an option, so we need to figure something else out. ) Here's the plan. I will be taking a combination of two breastfeeding safe antibiotics for the next two and a half weeks to get me through my upcoming vacation. If the infection goes away, great. If not, we will be pulling out the big guns. I will be taking the antibiotic he wants me to take, but I will be taking it intravenously. That means it won't be going through my digestive track, so I will still be able to nurse. However, I will have to hook myself up to an IV line two-three times a day (twenty minutes at a time) for two weeks. (At home, at work, wherever I am.) Hopefully it won't come to this, but I'm willing to do it if it means that I won't have to stop nursing. (Can you tell I'm a huge advocate for breastfeeding?!?) 

So for the next few weeks, these guys will be my buddies. Hard to imagine I'm going to be taking them all of them, but I'm not planning on missing a dose! Let's kick this infection! (Cheesy pun totally intended!!)

07-13-15 An Introvert

I have a confession... I am an introvert that absolutely hates being alone. I can't stand it. So when Tim is working late and the big kids are out of town, I don't know what to do with myself! 

I'm not sure why, but I have never liked being alone. I used to house sit a lot in my younger years, and I always begged friends to stay with me so that I didn't have to be in a strange home all by myself. I thought I'd grow out of it over the years, but I really haven't. 

At least I have Goobs here to keep me company. (Even if he is currently passed out in his rock and play!)

07-12-15 Quiet

With me being away on retreat, it seemed like a good chance for the big kids to visit my parents for a long weekend. I wanted them to have the chance before C starts school. So after getting home this afternoon, it was just Tim, Baby E and myself. We went out to dinner and then took a nice long stroll at the gazebo park. When we finally came in for the evening it was so very quiet in the house. I am thankful for the break, but I do miss them dearly!

07-11-15 Retreat Weekend

This is my second year on the steering team for our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group and it really is such a pleasure to be serving alongside an amazing group of women who have such a heart for this ministry! 

Retreat weekend is an exciting time for the steering members to get together to plan the upcoming MOPS year. Many ideas get tossed about, but in the end we want to provide a place where mothers of small children can come together, find support, grow spiritually and connect to a thriving community of other moms. Our hope in providing this safe environment, is that we create long lasting relationships and opportunities to share the gospel with the women we meet. It really is a wonderful ministry! 

My first year of motherhood was incredibly intimidating, so having a place to go where I could interact with other moms, ask questions, get advice, connect, and learn was invaluable. It really was and is an answer to prayer!

I love this group of women! :)

Most everything that happens at MOPS throughout the year is planned at this table. 

07-10-15 Exciting weekend!!

07-09-15 Eight months

These are the moments I wish I could bottle and keep on a shelf. 

Baby E Is getting big and no amount of denial will keep him tiny forever. 

He turned eight months old the other day. 

He loves food, especially cereal (and the accidental servings of honey mustard!) 

He rolls over and scoots around on his belly to get where he wants to go. 

He sits on his own. 

He wakes up once or twice a night. 

He talks like a gremlin. 

His laugh sounds like a cry. 

He likes to touch your face and pull on your lips. 

He has six teeth. 

He says baba baba when he is hungry. 

He thinks C and Big E are hilarious. 

He loves Ms. Rebecca. 

He is a master at the walker. 

He is starting to give huge, slimy, wide mouth kisses. Perfection! 

Happy eight months, little guy. We love you!

07-08-15 You're going to die...

So this morning I got the kids dressed and sent them out to the van to strap themselves in. When I looked out to check on them, I noticed that C was in her seat, but E was not strapped in. I walked over to the van and that's when I remembered that I had left his car seat with the sitter and it never made it back to my van. I muttered, "Oh no, Elijah, we don't have your car seat!!" and walked away. 

I called Rebecca, who was watching them today, and asked her to come get the kids because I couldn't drive them over without the car seat. When I got off the phone I went back to the van to find Big E crying. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "C told me I was going to die!!!!!" 

So apparently when I walked away the first time, C must have turned to him and said something along the lines of "we don't have your car seat, so you are going to die!"

And the thing about Big E is that in his eyes, everything that C says is gospel truth. She can tell him not to do something and when I tell him he can he cries that he isn't allowed to because C said "no." 

Poor fellow took some convincing that he was not, in fact, going to die. Once we had that squared away, he cheered up. 

This evening we had dinner with my sister-in-law, her kids, and my in-laws! I love spending time with family!