I Spy With My Little Eye Something Yellow & Black

Today, I chaperoned Jenna's field trip to a local kid's production of Henry and Mudge, which I've never heard of until today. Apparently, Henry and Mudge is a book series for young kids about a boy and his dog.

Anyway, I rode the bus with Jenna and had three other little girls to watch over. We passed the time by playing I Spy--you know the game where you spy something and give the color clue and then the rest of the players have to guess what you spied? After a while, we spied almost everything in the bus and apprently had nothing else to find. Then one of the little girls got creative:)

She said, "I spy with my little eye, something yellow and black." We were all baffled. What was yellow and black? Usually you just say one color, but she said two colors! After no one could guess it, she said, it's Jenna's mom's hair! See? Black at the top and yellow the rest of the way down.

For a minute, I couldn't figure out if I was offended or about to bust out laughing. I decided it was totally hilarious because this little girl is only pointing out the obvious---I need to get my roots done!

When I got to the last month of so of my pregnancy with Abby, my hair started growing fast and furious, as well as coming in really dark. I have never seen my hair so dark--it was almost black. The same thing is happening with this pregnancy. The difference is that this time I have pretty light highlights that are a stark contrast to the black coming in on the top of my head.

Looks like I'll be calling my hairdresser soon!

Peas For Breakfast

Vegetables are a battle in our house . . . and sometimes getting my kids to eat them is so taxing. Tonight was one of those nights.

I'm a little out of sorts today due to a stressful string of events (finding out a friend has cancer, nasty insurance salesman, and no time to sit down and relax today) and why I even thought about serving vegetables when Nate wasn't going to be home is beyond me. I mean, really . . . I could have just busted out the mandarin oranges or apples, knowing that dinner would be calm and peaceful because a green vegetable wasn't involved. But no, I stuck to what I had planned for dinner--chicken, noodles, and vegetables (carrots, peas, and broccoli).

Before the girls even started eating, I informed them that they had to eat two out of the three kinds of vegetables in order to A) get dessert and B) not have to eat them for breakfast. For example, Abby could choose to eat peas and carrots and not the broccoli. As we were eating, Jenna took a tiny, tiny, tiny piece of broccoli and put it in her mouth--she told me that she was done with her veggies. I have her one more chance to eat her 2 out of the 3 veggies, and finally had to send her to her room without dessert and the promise of peas and carrots for breakfast. She told me that she was going to throw her dinner away . . . . little does she know that there are leftovers in the fridge ready to be heated up in the morning.

Then there was Abby. She lasted longer than Jenna, but in the end handed me her plate and told me she was fine with no dessert and that she was going to have her veggies for breakfast. Stubborn little thing . . .

So, there you have it . . . I stuck to my guns and my children will be eating peas and carrots and broccoli for breakfast in the morning. Feel free to sign me up for mother of the year--this is either a brilliant idea or one that will crash and burn. We shall see, but I am anticipating another battle in the morning. Thankfully, Nate will be home to back me up. Who knows? Jenna may even be eating her veggies for an afternoon snack.

Any tips on how to get kids to eat vegetables would greatly be appreciated:)

A Pregnancy Update

I have completely neglected my blog lately. I think about things to write about on the blog all the time, but I haven't been taking the time to actually sit down and do it . . . pretty much because baby Jacob is kicking my butt (and my bladder and my ribs).

I have done the morning sickness thing and the kidney stone thing, but this last month of my pregnancy has been incredibly tiring and painful, and I have eight more weeks to go! I am only complaining a little bit here, because aside from feeling yucky, I am incredibly blessed and privileged to be carrying our baby. He just hurts me right now:) I can take it . . . I just wasn't ready for it.

The top of my stomach just hurts. I mean hurts in terms of it feels numb, it feels like the muscles are stretching apart and are so tight they're about to break. Sleeping doesn't go so well because I can't lay on my back, and laying on either side just hurts because the muscles are so sore. I have a few theories on why this is. First, this is my third baby and my muscles just aren't as strong as they were with the girls. Second, he is sitting low and out, which is not how I carried the girls. Lastly, my doctor says that the muscles just get torn apart at the top--which was oh so encouraging to me.

So, I went out and bought one of those maternity belts. I didn't want to and thought I could tough it out, but ended up in Babies R Us almost in tears because I hurt so much and thought they didn't have my size. I'm sure the lady at the checkout just loved me, but she's got to be used to crazy pregnant ladies, right? So the belt is helping, and I am thankful for that.

So life is a little slower around here--well, life isn't slower, but I am. I still have two kids and a husband to take care of, laundry to do, meals to make, stuff to shop for, and a house to clean. I have kids who have activities and playdates and birthday parties. Thankfully, Nate is a super cleaner and helps out immensely around the house, but there's still lots to do. So I am slow, and by the end of the day I am exhausted and cannot even think about doing much else extra.

Overall, I am fine--just really, really uncomfortable. But the baby is doing great. I am gaining the appropriate amount of weight and he is measuring right on. He is moving around a lot and everything looks good. So there's lots to be thankful for . . . and I am. I just need to take lots of breaks during the day, which isn't so bad after all!