The Groft Zoo – Page 8 – Big Family Life

It’s a Random Post Kind of Day

I’ve still been feeling sporadically like crud and so haven’t resumed posting as promised. But there is a lot of crazy stuff going on today, so a random post would be fabulous! I will be hitting and running with this post all day, so expect it to be disjointed.

1. I woke up this morning dreaming of Einstein bagels and strawberry Shmear. Yum. A quick glance in my wallet tells me this is going to be an unsatisfied craving.

2. On the way to school this morning, Lily reached down and unbuckled Molly’s seat, which then FELL OVER WHILE I WAS DRIVING! Thankfully we had just turned into our neighborhood. But it freaked both Molly and me out. Lily was duly punished.

3. Molly has been in disposable diapers while I have had morning sickness and I am trying to get her back into cloth again. She doesn’t like the bulk after being used to trim ‘sposies, and screeches like a banshee every time I put one on her. And they gave her a rash. So in the midst of trying to rewash the diapers in some more bum friendly detergent, my washer seized up.

4. And I have a lot more laundry to do.

5. Really, a LOT.

6. But I am supermom! So I set up a chain of kids, one to watch the lights in the laundry room, one to relay messages, and one to try to distract both of them, and went to the circuit box. I would flip a switch, ask the next kid if the light was off, he would ask the next one. And we played telephone like that until we found the right switch, and reset the washer. Now hopefully we are on our way to clean clothes. (Knock on wood.)

7. A facebook goodie: This eBook was circulating yesterday and I decided I am going to try to take the challenge. I may not be able to do 31 days to clean with this number of people around, so I intend to take two days for every one in the book. That is more my pace. I hope to blog it, but you all know how that goes…

8. Had a snack of fritos, the laundry load is complete (finally!) SO time to switch loads and start on the family room. I have new slipcovers for my 20 year old couches. If I can get the toys all picked up, those go on TODAY! Before and After pics to come!

9. The family room is mostly done. One of the couches cleaned out and slipcover on, I am going to let Jay do the other one. I’m just too grossed out by the stuff in the crevices.

10. Fed the kids lunch: Toy Story Soup. I scrounged up some leftovers. Checked on FedEx tracking 100 times today, my new stroller (GREEN!) is out for delivery. Can’t wait!

11. Jay got home and was able to get the gunk out of the washer drain. Ew. My husband is a hero, the washer works great now!

12. MY STROLLER ARRIVED. I spent most of the rest of the afternoon putting it together and fiddling with it.

13. Ben’s school concert was tonight, so Jay took him and I got pizza for the rest of us. Now it is time to fold some laundry, clean the kitchen and get the littles in bed.

14. Posy got a 94% on her Algebra test! She’s worked really hard to get there!

Enough for today, my evening will be busy, but I will try to add the pictures tomorrow.

Back Again!

I told you I would be back around 12 weeks and here it is – tomorrow is 12 weeks. Yesterday brought us the peace of mind of a nice, quick heartbeat at the midwife appointment. I had been worried. Even though I still felt nauseated and other lovely pregnancy symptoms, they were so mild (comparatively speaking – no one ever even had to think of putting me in the hospital this time!) that I just couldn’t shake the idea that maybe something was wrong.

I know something still could go wrong, but 12 weeks and a good heart rate are a great start to things and feeling better (mostly, anyway) is wonderful too.

Now, in the past 6 weeks, my house has fallen completely apart and I need to get things back up to par around here.

The first steps are, of course, dinner and laundry. Grocery shopping has been nothing short of agony for the last few weeks, so short trips were all I could handle. But the meals are planned and shopped for now. All I have to do is cook them.

Laundry. My old friend. I have been working on it, a little at a time. We’ll get there. There is always and ebb and flow to that anyway. So we are on our way.

Once those are underway and back up to normal, then it is time to tackle bedrooms. Let’s just say there are some I don’t like to enter anymore. Like ALL of them.

But for tonight. All I am doing is laundry and dinner.

Starting tomorrow, I hope to get the picture a day going again. Baseball is in full swing, so that should provide some good shots.

Hiatus

Our Year in Pictures is going to have to take a little break. I am just too nauseated and exhausted to keep up. I will check back in when I can, but I plan to pick up the project again when I hit 12 weeks, God willing I will feel better by then.

See you soon everyone!

Costco

Paisley doesn’t get her own feature very often anymore. But she is growing up and writing her own life now. Today she went with Lily, Molly, and me to Costco. She has gone often enough before and picked up a few items, but today she outshopped me! She filled her own cart. I just thought that was a big milestone.

After School Treat

Lily had been stuck in the house all week, so after picking the kids up from school today I decided to stop for a treat, ice cream cones and playland at McDonalds.

16

Happy Birthday, Posy! I can’t believe you are really 16 years old. You have gone from a fussy baby, to a rambunctious toddler, to a creative, thoughtful, amazing young woman. You are quiet and watchful one moment, taking in everything around you, and wild and crazy the next, keeping everyone around you laughing. You are going places, my little girl. The world is your oyster.

Kneecap Toast

Lily likes her whole wheat toast slathered in “patella”.

But you will probably only find it in the grocery store as NUTELLA.

Wrong Feet

Lily is insistent on putting on her own shoes. You would think that she could get them on the correct feet at least half the time just by chance.

But somehow the shoes end up on the wrong feet at least 80% of the time. It’s a special talent. She claims they don’t hurt her feet though, I’m sure if they hurt her she would switch them!

Vanity

One of the great mysteries of the universe is how a baby the size of a poppy seed can make me outgrow all my pants overnight.

The bottom box there is filled to bursting with maternity cl0thes that could make me more comfortable. (Plus there is another box just a little to the left that you can’t see.) But I refuse to get them out and wear them. Why? Because this baby is the size of a poppy seed and it makes no sense that I should have to get out my maternity clothes that I am still sick of from the last pregnancy and are horribly out of date since I have had most of them for a few pregnancies now.

I am only 4 weeks along. No maternity clothes yet. Because I don’t want to have to explain to complete strangers that I am not due for 8 more months. So it’s all about me and what I want to look like. Vanity.

I’d like to at least wait until 5 or 6 weeks along. Surely I can find something around here that is not maternity clothes to wear for two more weeks.

The Cat is Out of the Bag

Here is Oscar, he is not in a bag.

So what is the cat out of the bag about?

This:

Poor, picture quality, but easily readable nonetheless.

#9 on the way…

Why do we tell early? While the rest of the world tends to wait until the nice and safe 10-12 weeks to tell, we have to tell right away because I get too sick to keep it much of a secret. And since this body has held so many babies, my belly likes to pop out right away anyway and I can’t hide it. So we share our joy with everyone and hope for the best.

We are due in October, and we are very happy!