We are in so much trouble!

Folks, I'm pregnant. I know, you already knew that, but here's the thing... I have been strongly stuck in denial for a few weeks (ok... like 25 of them). But, all of a sudden, I'm realizing- this child is a lunatic. She is in CONSTANT motion. When I sit down, when I stand up, while I'm laying down, when I'm walking- constant, crazy movements. I don't think the child actually sleeps. All three of the other children had very specific patterns of sleep and wakefulness... this one- NOT SO MUCH! Now, either this means that we're going to have one wound up little monkey girl on our hands OR she'll be so exhausted by the time she's born that she'll be super chill. Praying for super chill! I'm looking forward to my next OB visit and the question they always ask, "Have you been feeling the baby move?" Uh... yeah, just a little. ;)

In other news, I think we're having a lazy day- Sweet Pea is already down for her morning nap. Superman is laying,in his jammies, on the couch. Ladybug is laying on the love seat and they are watching PBS Kids and discussing our address. They don't seem to have ANY energy this morning, as normally they are watching tv and doing 6 other things and not noticing when I turn the tv off. We need to get to work on school stuff, but Mommy is super sleepy today too. It's a gray, wet, windy day.. perfect for snuggling and snoozing. See you later!

Blog in review...

I'm trying to find the humorous in life right now and that means it's time for a little "best of" the Everyday Adventures blog. I found this little gem from December of 2007... enjoy! Incidently, if you're new to the blog, Ladybug= my second child. :)


Also, we went to Hubby's family the Saturday before Christmas and on Christmas. A good time was had by all. The kids received a ridiculous amount of toys.
Ladybug got sick.... we had her to the dr. on Thursday and her breathing was really bad... it was really scary for a bit on Thursday, but the medicine seems to working just enough to turn her from mild mannered darling to 2 1/2 foot tall farting dictator. Good news... apparently the "terrible two's" have made their apperance at the Everyday Adventures house. Good times. We're still entertaining the horrific three's on occassion.... Terrible two's, now they're a whopping good time.
Ladybug, aka Dictatorbug, has mastered the art of scaling the side of her crib and flinging herself onto the ground. Repeatedly. This coincides nicely with her apparent freak-out induced insomnia. I will spare you all the gorry details and just tell you that at 4:30 this morning, she was laying on my face, farting and meowing.... oh.. isn't she precious?
Also, she followed me around the house screaming, coughing and demanding that I remove her sweatshirt..... NOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW!!! And, the only way she will sleep is if I stand up and hold her. She scales the side of her crib and refuses to stay in her Dora Toddler bed. I packed the two of them in the car this morning and we took a driving tour of the area, mostly because I hoped they would fall fast asleep and I could utilize some free wi-fi time... not so my bloggy friends.... not so.
As we speak, they are watching tv and I am hiding, like a coward, in the office.... just a few moments of peace before the whinging and screaming begins again... and oh, it will, oh yes.... it will.....

I have sooooooooooooooooo much more I could share, but I'll save it for another post.... Also, you can pretty much count on a LOT more Ladybug stories in the coming year as she is what you might call, extremely verbal..... and completely adoreable and tyrannical. Good times.

What? A post? Shocking!

A few things of note from the Ellis house:
1. Jefferson and I were able to "get away" for a few days for the WeeKirk conference last week. The kids all paid a visit to Nana and Papa's house (God Bless Them!) and returned snottier than when they left. Physically speaking, that is. Also, probably behavior-wise, too.
2. Our friends from Nashville and their sweet little girl arrived on Saturday and we were able to host them until this morning. God Bless Them for not running screaming for the hills after watching the chaos that is our family life.
3. The kids have decided that the new baby's name should be Spiderman. Strange, considering the new baby is reportedly a girl, but Spiderman is definitely a front runner on our list of names. I do find myself chuckling as I refer to our yet-to-be born 4th child as Spiderman in conversation or in prayers.
4. Speaking of the aforementioned Spiderman, she is making me ill, again. I am almost 25 weeks pregnant (6 months for all you non-pregnant folks out there- 15 weeks to go) and I should not be experiencing this junk again right now. I'm more than a little miffed. You can tell that because I never use the word miffed. I am thoroughly enjoying the "feel like you're about to come down with a case of the swine flu after riding a roller coaster underwater backwards" feeling that seems to have invaded my body. Also, Spiderman is extremely active and quite literally bouncing on my bladder and kicking me in strange places.
5. SweetPea visits the urologist tomorrow. Finally. She has been on antibiotics for two and a half months and I am praying for the Dr. to give us some good news about how we will proceed. She has grade 4 urinary reflux and from my reading (ah, yes, google, always helpful to the neurotic, information seeking mother) and my conversations with our pediatrician, it appears as though the Dr. will recommend surgery. Whether or not that is the case, I am praying for a decision of some variety, instead of the hanging in limbo and forcing medicine down Sweet Pea's throat land in which we have been living.
6. Ladybug=Lunatic. I will leave it at that. For now. If anyone knows if distemper shots work on preschoolers, or the phone number of someone who can help a three year old with PMS, please let me know. Here is my mantra for Ladybug right now: I love her. I love her. I love her. (Slaps head against forehead and repeats) I love her. I love her. I love her.
7. Superman is prone to outbursts in response to his lunatic sister's lunatic-ness. I am prone to agree with him, although his ear-piercing screams are enough to send me over the edge I am clinging to.
8. I am reading a wonderful, thoroughly beautiful book that I got at WeeKirk, entitled, "Real Moms, Real Jesus". It is fantastic and I cannot recommend it enough.
9. My parents celebrated their 36th Wedding Anniversary yesterday. I'm so glad they did. :) They flew in an airport over Niagara Falls and my dad got to fly the plane for a bit. Sweet, huh?
That's all for now!

YUMMY!

There was one Oreo cookie left in the package and either Daddy or Mommy thought it would be fun for Eli to try it!


What is this thing?


I think I like it!


Oh, yeah, it's realllllly good!


I am in LOVE!

What? There aren't any more? I'm telling!

AND then, she had to take a bath because she was covered, head to toe in chocolate from her cookie! :) Fun! Fun! Fun!

Week in Review- Dinner

In efforts to be more organized, because can't we all, except Amy O'Brien, stand to be just a little bit more organized?, I have put together my menus for the next three months. Yup, three months. I barely know what I want to eat in the next three minutes, let allow three months, but I felt it would be a good place to start.

Part of the being more organized thing for me is to hold myself accountable to my planning and there's no better way for me to do that than to check in on ye olde blog. So, let's see how a week of menu planning has gone down at the Everyday Adventures homestead:
Sunday- Chicken & Biscuits- Made and didn't turn out well. We ate it anyway. :(
Monday- Out- Oh, yeah, we are pretty good about sticking to this one. Eat 'N Park
Tuesday- Breakfast for dinner- Homemade waffles! Yum!!
Wednesday- Hearty Meatball Soup- Ah, no. How about defrosted Baked Spaghetti instead.Mom forgot to buy several key soup ingredients.
Thursday- Zoo- Also an eat out night by default of not being home.
Friday- Pizza- Nope. Hearty Meatball Soup Yum.
Saturday- Spaghetti & Meatballs- Nope. Leftover soup and neighbor's birthday party

All in all, I think it was a good first effort. Part of planning for me is the ability to have some flexibility. I was asked today how I am able to homeschool and my response was that I have a very structured schedule that I very loosely follow. I have a cleaning/laundry schedule that is allowing me to maintain a somewhat clean, often picked up home that I'm not entirely embarassed to have people visit. That's a lot better than I've been able to say in the past! :)

Anyhow... for the week coming up:
Sunday- Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
Monday- Leftovers
Tuesday- Grilled Cheese & Tuna Melts
Wednesday- Chicken Soup
Thursday- Crockpot Mac & Cheese
Friday- Pizza
Saturday-Ham BBQ, leftover Mac & Cheese

We're going to finish up learning about the moon for school and start a new unit on leaves and autumn. Looking forward to it! We also have MOPS, a soccer game, two appointments and the BIG Ultrasound this week PLUS we're heading over to friends' tomorrow to celebrate Matt's installation AND the G-20 summit comes to the 'Burgh. ANNNNNDDDDD The Steelers play tomorrow! OH, AND Jefferson is doing his first wedding on Saturday. WOW!!