More airplanes

Today was the start of a new park for play group. We knew it would be a little cold, but we weren't prepared for how windy it was this morning. We didn't last very long, but managed to have a good time.

After we just got warm, Ben and I went up to Jon's office and had a picnic to watch the airplanes taking off. Ben was so excited by the planes, he didn't notice how cold it was outside.

Tagged

I've been tagged by Prasti to list 6 random things you might or might not know about me. Here's what I've come up with:

1. I am afraid of the dark and our basement. If I need to go to the basement at night, I will either make Jon go for me or make him go down with me and stay there until I'm done with what ever I was doing.

2. I have issues with water spots on the faucets, especially after I clean them. I know its a faucet, which water comes out of. I know its only natural that water splashes on the faucets. I just can't stand to see it and am constantly going behind Jon to dry them after he cooks or washes his hands. I think he makes some extra splashes on purpose!

3. I don't like drinking beverages that have been left out, especially in the car. I thought this was a normal thing. However, Jon often makes fun of me for being thirsty, but refusing to drink from a bottle of water that has been left in the car regardless if its a hot or cold day.

4. I prefer cold weather. I would take a cold, cloudy day over hot and sunny in a heartbeat. (Its not really football weather unless you're cold)!

5. I'm a list person. I make to do lists all the time. Sometimes I have a list at home, work, in my purse or where ever I am. Then I make lists of all the lists I have. Its never ending!

6. I absolutely hate to cook (mostly because I'm not good at it). If Jon wasn't around I would probably have cereal or toast for dinner every night. Jon is going to make me start cooking when I become a stay at home mom and I'm absolutely dreading it. I have no desire to learn, no creativity with meals and no talent in the kitchen. I'll give it 2 weeks before Jon takes over the cooking again!

Well, I hope you learned something about me. Thanks for reading.

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag more or less 6 people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know he or she has been tagged.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

I don't know a lot of bloggers, except the people that Prasti already tagged. I'll have to get back to you on who I'm going to tag.



Oh, we had a doctors apt today. We're finally up to 36cm. I'm 37 weeks today. I'm still not dilated and the cervix hasn't budged. I have had a huge increase in contractions and I've definitely dropped. 2 weeks to go!

Elmo

Benjamin got an Elmo outfit for his birthday from Aunt Corrie. He absolutely loves it. He looked so cute, I had to take a picture to show it/him off!

Pregnancy brain strikes again

I used to think "pregnancy brain" was just an excuse to ignore your spouse or be lazy. However, I've learned that it is very real and very much affecting our household! I don't remember feeling like this with Ben. With Spud, I think I'm losing my mind! I feel like a complete idiot most days. I'm forgetting basic things I do every day at work. I lose my train of thought for no reason. I go to the store for one thing and when I get there, I have no idea what it is. Jon will ask me to do something and less than 10seconds later, I have no idea what we were just talking about! It struck again last night. I found out about a hayride in Strongsville. We got Aaron and Prasti and all the kids together and drove out to Strongsville to check it out. When we got there, about 10 cars were in the parking lot and none of the trucks were filled with hay. I was positive last night was one of the dates for the rides. Turns out it doesn't start until next week. We ended up at Malleys so it was still a great night. After we got home I checked the article, and it clearly states it opens in October! My apologies to the family for driving out to Strongsville for nothing. I fully expect to have a functioning brain back in 17days, but until then, feel free to question every word that comes out of my mouth, nag me about everything, make me write things down and please don't take it personally when I have no idea what you're talking about (even if we just discussed it 5 minutes ago)!!

Genius.....maybe not!

My son spent most of last night running into walls because he made himself dizzy by going in circles. Of course Jon was willing to help!

I think his head is used to all the trauma, so I don't think any real brain damage was done!

36 down, 3 to go

Well, we are at week 36. We had another doctor appointment today and are still measuring at 35cm. The doctor thinks he's evening out a bit. She is amending her original prediction of mammoth to around 7 1/2lbs. However, she did say she is really bad at guessing baby weights. I guess we'll find out soon enough!

Ben has acknowledged the baby a little bit more the past few days. He got to feel the baby hiccup, although I don't know that he understood what was happening. We've had a lot of belly pokes and "hi baby." He's been extra silly and extra playful recently too. I cant wait to see him interact with Spud.

Work of art

For the past couple months, my step dad has been working on painting some animals around the border of Spuds room to match the bedding we got for the crib. He finished last night. The room looks great! Thanks Tony for all the hard work. Here's the finished product:
Ben got some vans from aunt Prasti and uncle Aaron for his first b-day. He has finally grown into them and wore them today for the first time. He was very excited to wear new shoes. His sandals are getting too small. He was even more excited when I told him they were just like daddy's shoes!

Today was our weekly playgroup. Ben and dad spent some quality time together outside last night so I could get over my cold. So, I was ready to get out for a little while today. Ben always has a great time with his cousin Emma (and her snacks)!

Are you kidding?

I know, I'm slacking on keeping up with the blog this past week. We've just been occupied with the little things that get in the way. We had a weekend full of football parties, dresser issues and a cook out. Jon went to Columbus for work Monday morning and didn't get home until late last night. And now, once again, I have a cold. That makes 4 in the past 10months. Its getting a little old. Ben had a runny nose a few days ago, but no other cold symptoms. I don't know if this is from him or just one of those things. Either way, I don't like it!!

We had a doctors apt again today. I'm 35 weeks and actually still measure 35cm (I was 35cm last week). Maybe that means he wont be such a beast when he's born! Even with all the aches, pains and possible contractions, I am not at all dilated or close to going into labor! Its slightly reassuring since my doctor is going out of town at the end of next week, but at the same time, the possibility of going early sounds really good right now! We have our next 3 apts scheduled and then its baby time. The nursery still isn't ready, but we're getting closer. We cant find the dresser we want anywhere. Apparently we picked the most popular one b-c its out of stock until October. We found a changing table on e bay, so we ordered that so we'll have something for those late night changings and we'll get the dresser a little later.

No pics this time, but Ben has been very good to me today. He's been playing hard and letting me rest. We'll post more soon.

The magic of the internet!

We've had a bedroom and a dining room set we've been trying to get rid of for 2+ years. We finally put them on Craig's List today. I got the first call about the bedroom set about 20minutes after it was posted and in 3 hours, we had 3 emails and 4 more phone calls. We sold the bedroom set, had it packed up and out of the house in 5 hours! We even got a little more for it than we expected. While our buyer was here, he said he might know someone who wants the dining room set. I'm so impressed with the turn around. We also posted the "sperm lights" that came with the house. Something tells me they aren't going to go nearly as quick. We just went through the basement and found some old dishes we're going to post too. This could get addicting.

Ben and I went to a new park for play group today. Its a really nice park and its gated, but its big so the moms didn't have a whole lot of talk time. Here are a couple highlights.

"Walmartinization of America"

I had a professor in college that taught my Vice and Organized Crime Class and Child Sexual Abuse. Two completely different topics, but somehow he managed to give the same lecture in each class. It didn't stop with just one lecture. Out of 15 classes, at least 3-4 lectures were titled "Walmartinization of America" Basically, he taught that Walmart is a big bad corporation and is the cause for shutting down many mom and pop stores. This guy really hated Walmart and everything it stood for. I don't think I've met anyone that could hate a store so much (Aaron and Prasti are a close second)! I should have paid better attention. I don't go out of my way to shop at Walmart. I've probably been there once in the past year, but I've never been opposed to going there...until now. Jon and I found a dresser we liked for Spud. Walmart happened to have it for a lot cheaper so we ordered it on line. The top of the confirmation e mail stated we would have it in 10 days. The bottom of the e mail said it would be delivered by 9-9-08. Well, after not hearing from them, I called the store yesterday (20 days after the order was placed). They had no record of me or my order. They gave me the on line number who said they had the order, but have no information on where the dresser is or when it will arrive. After a couple more phone calls and losing some brain cells due to talking to a bunch of morons, I gave up for the night. This morning, I started again and was finally informed that the dresser never shipped, they have no idea why and by the way, its now out of stock! I can confidently say I will never shop at Walmart again. So now we're back to square one with only 5 weeks to go.

Speaking of 5 weeks to go.. I had another doctor apt today. We did another non stress test and Spud passed this one with flying colors! He is doing great and still measuring a week ahead of schedule. He has been rough on me this past week. I've had a lot more aches and pains. While talking to the doctor, she got my hopes up. She told me at 38 weeks we could strip my membranes. That usually causes you to go into labor in 24-48hrs. Since its not guaranteed to put you into labor, its "legal" to do before the 39th week. The risk of lung problems only goes up from 1% at 39 weeks to 4% at 38 weeks. I was starting to consider it, then she remembered I'm doing a c-section and she wont strip them if I'm not going natural. As excited as I am about having Spud, I'm so ready to not be pregnant anymore. The thought of 5 more weeks seems like an eternity. I'm sure that when the 5 weeks is up all the little problems, pains etc will vanish instantly!

Back to Ben. Not much new to report. Other than a day or two with no naps, he's been excellent. We have play group tomorrow at a new park so we'll be sure to get some pics.

Picture of health!

Ben had his 2 year doctor apt today. We heard the word perfect at least 8 times! Ben is at 50% for his height, weight and BMI. We started going through the usual routine of questions...Can he do this or that? Once she heard that he knows all his letters and numbers, she stopped and told us he was just fine! She gave us a few tips to help him transition to the new baby and to help with his tantrums, but basically said the smarter they are, the more tantrums they have! Something tells me that doesn't apply to every child, but we'll go with it in his case!!

I also had my doctors apt today. I'm measuring at 34 weeks (I'm 33 weeks today). She's not sure how much he weighs right now, but said she would be amazed if he weighed less than 8lbs when he's born. We did have to do a non-stress test today. Spuds activity level has been low the past couple days. She did see some movement today during the test, but when he would kick, he would kick off the monitor so they couldn't get an accurate reading. I have to go back next week for another test and then will have an apt each week until he's born. We've got 6 more weeks!

More airplanes

We've created a monster! Since watching the Blue Angels on Saturday and Sunday, all Ben wants to do is look for airplanes. Luckily, Jon works right next to the airport so Ben and I took a picnic up there and had lunch with Jon while watching more airplanes. We saw a ton of them. They were taking off and landing in every direction right in front of us. That is definitely going to become a new lunch time tradition for us.

Ben did take a few minutes in between the action to try on mommy's shoes.


I mentioned a xylophone video in the last blog, but we'll have to wait on that. He doesn't seem to like me getting him on video while he's playing. He probably just wants to perfect his masterpiece!

Happy Birthday, yesterday

Yesterday was Ben's real birthday. After spending part of the morning playing with Emma, we met Jon for lunch. After, we went over to the mall and Ben got some play time on the mechanical cars. After his nap, we headed to Target to cash in his birthday gift cards. Ben picked a xylophone and played it nonstop all the way home (video of that will be coming next time).

Today was the much anticipated start of college football. We spent the early afternoon watching the Buckeyes destroy Youngstown. Fall is definitely our favorite time of year. We've missed our Saturday football parties. After the game, we hung out on the porch and watched the Blue Angels fly by from the air show. Ben loved looking for them.

We ended the night at Layla's house. Her 2nd birthday is 9-3 so her party was today. All Ben wanted to do was play on the swing and slide....shocker! It was a nice night with friends and I think Layla enjoyed all of her presents.

Its that time again...

One of the best things about being in Lakewood (I think) is Labor Day and the air show. Every year all the planes come in for the show and do their practices almost right over our house. All afternoon, the house has been buzzing with planes going back and forth. Unfortunately, its Ben's nap time so he hasn't got to see them yet. At least he's able to sleep through it. They can get very loud.

This morning was our weekly church play group. It was too wet for the beach so we headed to the library. After, we had lunch with some of the moms. It was a full morning of playing.

Happy b-day...almost

Ben's birthday is Friday, 8-29, but we decided to celebrate today. We had between 25-30 people over and Ben had a blast. We had a small cookout followed by cake and LOTS of great gifts. Thanks to Kimmie for bringing over some salads and to Trish for dropping off some chips. We're sorry you couldn't stay, but when you have sick kids, what can you do.
Ben's party actually started on Friday. Pap couldn't come today so he brought up their gift early. Ben got a huge grill/kitchen set. He's been "cooking" non-stop. However, once Emma came over, they seemed to enjoy the box a lot more than the grill. Ben got a lot of fun stuff today like a ride on train, finger paints, tambourine, books and clothes. Aunt Prasti made Ben and Spud matching dinosaur outfits. She embroidered (I think its embroidered, I'm craft illiterate) Big Ben on the back of Bens outfit and Little Spud on the back of Spuds. They are really cute! He also got a pillowcase with his name embroidered on it for his big boy bed from the Brewer family. Jon and I got him a wagon, toy box, rocker and some clothes. Thanks to everyone for coming and for being so good to Ben. We cant thank you enough. Here are some highlights.

Our 3rd bundle of joy

No moms, I'm not having twins! Jon and I adopted a Compassions kid. Compassion International is a Christian organization that supports kids around the world. They make sure they have food, health care, an education and learn about the Bible. They have sponsored over a million kids in the past 56 years. It was really encouraging to hear that many children have been helped, but when you realize that their are still millions that need support, it makes you feel a little helpless. We'll get a packet of information on him in the next week or two and then we can start writing to him and getting to know him.
Meet our newest addition:

Darwin Birthday: December 19, 2002 Age: 5 Gender: Male Region: Central America and Caribbean Country: El Salvador Program: Mensajeros de Jesus Student Center

Its official

We had a doctors apt today and have officially scheduled the c-section. We will be delivering October 15th at approximately 3:30pm at Fairview Hospital.
I'm very excited, but now that its official, I'm getting nervous. We still have a lot to do. We also had a chat with the doctor about some of the problems we had with Ben. Apparently the rules have changed since Ben was born. The only way for a baby to be born before the 39th week (that is not in distress) is if the doctor went to the Western Region Board and petitioned for permission to do so. She cant even deliver us at 38 weeks, 6 days--they are that strict. She couldn't believe that our previous doctor made it a habit to deliver after aversions at 37.5 weeks. It makes me sick that we trusted her and went along with her without doing more research and talking to anyone. It seems like everyone knew how crazy she was except us. At the same time, I can see where people get in trouble. She was a doctor. She should know best and we took her word for it. It makes me feel so much better that she cant put any more kids in the NICU unnecessarily!

Lots of picnics

It was beautiful Saturday night so the three of us took dinner to the Metro parks and happened to find some swings after. Ben just cant get enough of them.Sunday was our monthly church picnic. Ben has been fascinated with buckles recently so he spent a good portion of the night playing with one of the car seats. Once he had enough of that, he spent the rest of the night getting chips and treats from anyone that would feed him.

Kalahari

We got back from Kalahari this afternoon. It was nice to get away for a little while and enjoy each other. We headed out late morning on Thursday. Jon had to work a couple hours. When we pulled in, we couldn't tell just how massive this place was. It was huge! We got there before check in, but they let you go right into the water park. Ben was excited to be in the water, until a huge bucket dumped on top of us about 5 minutes into it. After the shock wore off, he was good to go again and we spent the next few hours swinging and sliding in the water. We didn't think Ben would take a nap on Thursday, but by 5pm, it was clear he needed a break. The room was great. It had a full kitchen, separate bedroom, jacuzzi tub, fire place, dining area and a balcony. Ben got a short nap and dinner and then we checked out the arcade area and one of the dry areas. We finally got him to bed around 9:30, but when we checked on him at 11pm, he was still awake. We woke him up at 9:30 the next morning. It was so nice to sleep in. After breakfast, we headed back to the water. Ben wasn't as happy this time because he got splashed several times and he had enough! Ben and I hung out in the dry areas and Jon got some time to go down the slides, try some surfing and get flushed in the "toilet ride." Picture being spun around in one of those big bowls you drop change in at restaurants until you are "flushed" into a pool. Ben didn't show much interest in going back to the water this morning, so we let dad have some more water fun while Ben and I spent the morning together. With all the water rides, play areas, arcade games, shops, candy stores, restaurants etc etc.....all Ben really cared about was pushing the elevator buttons! Every time we left the room all we heard while walking down the long halls was, "I push the buttons?" over and over and over!
There are a bunch of pics onFlickr.

Going for a ride

Benjamin spent Friday at the zoo with Gram, aunt Prasti, Emma and Ty. They explored the Rain Forest and it sounds like they had a lot of fun. After, they went up to see Uncle Aaron at work. They had the Fed Ex race car there and spent some time checking it out.
The weekend was full of tantrums and time outs. I don't know what happened. He had a bit of a runny nose, so I'm going to blame it on a mini-cold. I don't think I've ever been so frustrated with him as I was last weekend. However, I spent the morning with him on Monday and he was like a completely different kid. If I didn't know better, I would say he's bi-polar! We went for a walk to see grandma and her staff yesterday and Ben had a great time. He held my hand while we walked (we've been struggling with that the past 3 weeks), he got to play with the elevator, he talked to almost everyone--he was great. The rest of the morning was filled with laughing, playing, love you's and hugs. We've had a couple of the normal tantrums since then, but overall, he's been a dream. We're headed to Kalahari on Thursday so as long as we get this side of him, we'll be ok. We probably wont update the blog again until Sunday or Monday, but we'll make sure to have some great pics.

Welcome home Ty

Tyler came home from his summer in Seattle on Monday. We had play group today and got to see him for the first time. Ben was very excited to see his cousin again.

Catching up

I know it's been a while, but we've had a busy few days. Here's a little of whats been going on...

Benjamin spent Friday with uncle Aaron, aunt Prasti and Emma (also known as oo A and at Potti--I'm sorry Prasti, we're working on it). Ben had so much fun with them that he had a mega tantrum (the second ever) when Jon went to pick Ben up. I'll tie this in later...

Saturday, we went to Andy and Barbs house. They had a welcome to the world party for Kyler (previously known as Kyle, we got bad info). Ben had a great time playing with his cousins.

Thanks aunt Prasti for the pics. Unfortunately, something Ben ate didn't agree with him. He woke up at 3am screaming because he had just thrown up. We cleaned him and his bed up and he seemed ok and wanted to go back to sleep, so we put him back to bed. About 20 minutes later he threw up again and did so two more times. He was up until about 6am. This was our first real vomit experience. I'm hoping we don't go through that again for a long time.

While Ben was napping on Sunday, I went shopping for a bathing suit. Jon, Ben and I are going on a mini vacation next week to Kalahari. I now know why pregnant women refer to themselves as beached whales! The only good part is I got two bathing suits, both regularly $90 for $27 each. I was very proud of myself. When I got home, Jon headed out to try out extreme frisbee with some friends. Its kind of like football, but with a frisbee. Unfortunately, Jon took another hit and has 2 skinned up knees. His ribs just healed from volleyball!

Monday after work, we all took a trip to the dollar store. We have created Ben's Reward Board. It was recommended to us by a friend I work with and it seems to be a hit with Nanny 911. We are going to start working on a few behaviors we would like to see improved (like the mega tantrum). Hopefully, once he sees good behavior equals fun, we'll all be a little bit happier and calmer.
We were going to show this to Ben Tuesday night, but Jon took his turn at getting sick. He was up all Monday night and spent the majority of Tuesday in bed. Luckily, he is feeling much better today so I think we'll introduce Ben to the board tonight. Lets hope he gets it!