Waiting

Well folks.  Here I sit.  Adam took the girls to the park for a bit and it's quiet and calm and I've been cleaning and doing a few things in the backyard to get ready for Hannah's party...and today I notice I feel a little reflective. 

I had an appointment this morning which pretty much cemented that Little Man can come at any time now.  We are at almost the exact point I was with Abby and so literally any day he could come.  (Although I find myself really hoping he stays in past Sunday so Hannah can have her party chaos free.)  I have cleaned the house, mopped all the floors.  Organized the toy bins and the baby room.  I have organized the hair do-dad drawer that all the girls hair stuff sits in, have washed everything that looks like it needs even a bit of a washing, have packed my bag for the hospital and now we just wait.  I find myself today looking at the girls and our little family and thinking, we are in the final days as a family of four.  It's exciting that he'll be here soon but the dynamic will change.  It's no longer just the four of us.  And I look at how much the girls have changed, and how absolutely beautiful, and funny and loving they are and there's the tiniest bit of you that wonders if you can really love another one as much as you love the two sitting in front of you at that moment.  But of course you know you can and in fact will. :)  And they will be there own little amazing person. 
It also feels right to be done.  I am not looking back or even forward and wondering if there is another in store for our family.  I can say with definitiveness that the answer is no.  It feels like we are right where we are supposed to be, and that's a very great place to be.  Right in line with God's plan for your life. 
As I look at my grey knuckles and joints and as I type with numbness in my right hand and look at all the parts of my body that are swollen to an unnatural size I know this will be it.  The last time a little person lives inside of me and tries to escape before the 40 week mark.  The last time I will be judo-chopped from the inside.  The last time I will be unable to sleep on my stomach due to a tiny person taking up residence there.  The last time I will visit the bathroom what seems like 100 times a day.  And I am OK with that.  More than OK with it in fact.  There's always (I think) some anxiousness in the unknown of a new little person joining your life.  Will the girls be OK?  How will it go in the beginning? (cause you know those can be rough times.) Will he be OK?  But what surrounded the decision to get this guy here makes me certain that "Every little thing is going to be all right."  There was such a constant thought of a person missing from this family that I know it will be great.  God is in control and for that I am most thankful.  So, we wait.  And sometime very soon we will be hugging and smooching on a new baby, brother, son. :) 

Cleaning....with tea bags.

So today I tried this little trick: Mopping Your Hardwoods with Tea Bags.
(I LOVE Pinterest!!) I have actually read this tip on a couple different sites and most call for black tea bags first or green second.  I don't have any black tea at this time so I used green and I have to say overall I am impressed with the end result. 

Of course this method calls for you to be down on your hands and knees mopping in circular motions...so I'm glad the Hubs wasn't around today to see me on all fours in Cinderella like fashion, shining and mopping our floor with a bucket of green tea and a cloth. (I can seriously envision the look on his face as I type.)

  I did the main area just to see if it was even worth continuing down the hall and under the rug or not.  It looks pretty clean and shiny!  I would not do this for every day mopping...probably whenever we move out of this place I'll steam mop it and then follow up with this and for spring cleaning perhaps.  It sure makes it smell good in here though!!
Another site recommended finishing off the tea bag mopping up with a light buffing of olive oil.  Now, without even testing this I can tell this would be an excellent way to finish up ones floors for that extra oomph of shine.  However, I've been on my knees enough today and also I am somewhat reluctant to try this out right now as my mind takes me back to a time my amazing Gramma came and mopped and polished/buffed my mom's floors for her when we were all young, including the front entry way which was wood....some of us almost lost our lives in that entry way it was so slippery and whatever it was she put on it lasted forever!  So I hesitate in aiding in the taking out any of our little family members out at this time with a too slippery floor solution.
Over all though this worked nicely!  :) 

Life Things

I sure have been bad about posting regularly lately...so many times I have thought of things I should sit down and get out so I remember...annnnd that as far as it makes it. Granted I have been occupied. :) These girls....

The good news is the age gap just continues to close between these two as Abby becomes more verbal and expressive and sturdy...the bad news is the age gap just continues to close between these two as Abby becomes more able to express anger (usually by punching or screaming in Hannah's face) and arguments happen quite often.  So hopefully by throwing a baby brother in the mix it will preoccupy them....  ...Ha.  Who am I kidding!?  He'll be just one more thing to fight over.  :)

And this one...Hello!  When did she start looking so much older and grown up!?  She turns 5 in less than a month!  She's so gorgeous...

The other day I needed to take her and Abby baaaadly to get new shoes.  They both decided to outgrow things all at the same time and they literally had one pair of shoes that fit each.  After that trip it became obvious that from here on out all major shopping trips where we need to actually be looking for specific clothing items...will have to be a one on one trip.  Hannah's at a point where we might need to start trying items of clothing and shoes on and she's extremely particular about both so...between miss Picky poo and Abby crazy bottoms the trip was exhausting.  We hit 2 stores and were out less than 2 hours but it felt like a whole day. (Being pregnant does not make it any more easy either)  We did manage to get the two pairs for Hannah she needed and a pair for Abby as well.  But the two love to divide and conquer, this is for sure!

 And then there's this one.  Getting so tall and so gorgeous...and still loves her Mama like no one else.  She still calls me her best. :)  But she's definitely not afraid to let you know how she's feeling and whether or not she likes what is going on.  She's a charmer for sure.  :)

Love em both.  Will be interesting to see how adding a brother to the mix spices it all up. :)

August 2012

August was....

 

Lots of walks 

 Getting closer to meeting brother...

 

 Gardening

 

 A campout with Daddy

 First try at canning things

 

 

Get together with cousins 

 A trip to the Enchanted Forest with Gram and Popsie!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A fishing and river day out.  Hannah did awesome and really learned how to be patient and how to tell when she had a fish on her line.  She was pretty excited.  Neither liked the worm part though. :) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Marshmallows

 Getting back into reading naps :)

 Lots of produce!!

Eatin straight out of the garden 

Sunflowers :)