it's almost baby time!

I'm WAY behind on my blogging, lots of catching up to do.

Branson's birthday was again bitter sweet, I mean my baby boy turned 2!  And when he did it was like he transitions from baby to toddler immediately.  We spent his birthday just the 4 of us and it was so nice.  We took Branson to the Squeeze In for breakfast, where he got to see his favorite restraunt lady MANDA!!!  Wow he loves her.  And she was kind enough to put a candle in his sausage link (ha!) and we all sang him happy birthday.  He blew out the candle, and then discovered how fun it was so we had to do it again :)  Too cute, really.  That weekend we had a birthday party for him.  His whole family came, plus his friends Wyatt, Mary, Wes and Emerie.  There aren't many better things in life than a houseful of happy, yelling, sugared up kids!!!  We had pizza from Eclipse, Branson's favorite, and then cake from the Biggest Little Cake Shop.  Branson got his very own Mickey Mouse cake.  Let me tell ya, black frosting is a doosy!  But it was so much fun.  I'm pretty sure he was hyped up on sugar for a week straight.

Like I said though, Branson immediately grew up.  He is now counting to 10, saying (most of) his ABC's, singing songs, and holding conversations.  He is also in his "terrible two's", something that 9 months pregnant mommy is having a hard time coming to terms with.  One minute we are happy and coloring, the next we are throwing the tempertantrum of the century for no reason.  I'm trying really hard to just soak it in, and know this is part of the whole process, but some days I feel like sitting in a corner sucking my thumb.  Thank GOD for my husband.  Ryan has really stepped up, especially when it comes to the kids.  He gets up every morning with Branson, and then they take Keenan to school, then Ryan comes home and feeds B breakfast and the animals too.  I can't tell you what a load of my back this is. 

Keenan is doing great too.  He tried out and made rifle team, something not many freshman get to experience.  The kid is a natural shot for sure.  He is very involved in school, and we could not be more proud.  He even marched in the Veteren's Day parade with his ROTC group.  It's a great feeling to have your heart sweel with pride and joy over your kids!  And, did I mention his grades? All A's and B's.  Thats something I sure didn't accomplish in high school (and of course now I'm kicking myself for not trying just a little harder).  We promised him if he got all A's, we would get him a season pass to Mt. Rose.  Even if he doesn't, I know his mom, dad, and myself couldn't be more proud.

The last few weeks have been pretty crazy.  We moved Keenan into the old office, had that room painted and Branson's new room painted.  Next is the nursery, but we aren't in a rush for that.  The baby will be in our room for a while.  It's been fun to wash clothes and bedding, and put together bassinets and swings.  Our house looks like a total kid house now!  I love it.  Baby G will be here in 11 days, we can not wait to meet her.  In other news, Reno survived a pretty nasty fire that actually swept through town.  We were on evacuation warning, and most of Ryan's family was too.  We are so thankful and blessed to have come out compeltely unscathed, something that can't be said for everyone.  Beautiful homes were burnt to the ground, and people lost everything.  I think the final number was 30 something homes damages, and 20 something completely damaged.  So devastating.  It really humbled our family and made us count our blessings.

So I'm starting this blog 5 minutes before I am supposed to leave to go pick K up from school.  I'm simply starting so I can force myself to continue it later, hopefully today.  You see, I'm about to lose my mind.  And this blog is supposed to be about what is going on with ME in my world, right?  So bare with me on this bumpy ride of a blog entry. 

I know everyone says that they are super busy, super stressed, super tired and super whatever else, but if you add up all those things plus adding super pregnant to them, it gets a whole lot worse.  I literally can not sort out the thoughts in my brain.  Half the time I can't even think of 1 simple, silly (and often stupid) word to use in a sentence.  There is so much to get done, and not just the daily so much, I mean SO MUCH.  There is a list I can list on here, and a list too personal to list on here (though, that list would make for a much better read, I might add).  This baby is coming in a maximum of 7 weeks.  We don't even have a nursery.  B is still in the nursery.  And K is still in the room that B is going to move into.  And the room that K is going to move into, the office, is a disaster of half packed boxes, half crap, and half baby stuff that I have no where to put.  Once I get the office cleaned out, I have to get Ryan to move the furniture out and pack up the computers and printers.  Then I have to find someone to come in and paint the room.  Not an easy task, considering 1 whole wall has built in shelving/desk with holes and what not that I wouldn't even know where to begin if I were painting it!  And the color of the office and K's current room is this atrocious greenish brown.  It's so dark, ugly and nasty.  They have to be painted.  Once the office is painted (dear lord please let that be done by the end of the month) then K can move in there, and then we have to do the whole thing all over again with B's new room.  Then, maybe when G is 15 years old, she can move into her  nursery.  Ugh.  Sigh.  But, moving on!  We recently got rid of our dining room set.  The plan was to make the dining room a temporary (loooong temporary) game room.  Well, we've moved 1 piece of furniture in there.  We still need to move the pinball's from the breakfast nook into the dining room, move B's toys into the nook area, move the piano somewhere, and find somewhere to put an office desk area.  I feel like screaming.  And don't even get me started on the garage or master bedroom.  And to top it all off, I've discovered that as much as I love animals, having kids has made me realize I don't really have the time and patience to dedicate to them.  I feel so so so guilty about this, but our dogs are so high maintenance, and quite honestly I'd rather spend my energy on Keenan, Branson, G and Ryan.  I mean, Honey killed a skunk a few weeks ago, and I can still smell it on her.  And she rolls in everything, kills whatever cute animal might be living on our property, and barks and barks and barks.  She especially barks when B is sleeping.  And she wants out in the middle of the night (I'm already sleep deprived), and she gets out into the pasture, or out the front gate, or jumps on all our guests, climbs on the table to eat Branson's lunch.  The list goes on.  I love her, she is a beautiful wonderful dog that I just don't have the time to dedicate to.  

Anyhow.  Add to ALL this (probably seems like a really short list to you, huh?) that I have a super busy 2 year old that undoes everything I do at the house, and a super busy 14 year old that is going in 20 different directions 20 times a day, and I'm pretty sure I'm having a mental break down!  Who is going to pick Keenan up from school after G is born?  Not me with 2 kids!  Can't take the bus, it doesn't stop near our house at 4.  How am I going to grocery shop?  How am I going to make sure K and B feel loved, when most of my time is going to be spent with a newborn attached to me?  How am I going to make sure my family has at least 1 meal a day?  Can't clean the house for a while with a c-section incision, can't drive, AGHHHHHHHH!

I feel slightly better.  And FYI, this blog has taken 3 days to finish.  Record timing really.

PESTO PASTA

So, made a yummy pasta tonight. Ryan is running his big race this weekend in Illinois, so we are having pasta all week.

Tonight I made fussili pasta with fresh veggies and pesto. Recipe as follows:

ingredients:

fussili pasta

2 zucchini

2 yellow squash

1/4 green bell pepper

1/4 red bell pepper

1 cup cherry/grape tomato's

1/2 cup artichoke hearts

pam or olive oil for sauteing

1/4 cup pine nuts

3 tbls prepared (or home made if you have time) pesto

Parmesan cheese to top it off

directions:

boil pasta as instructed. While pasta boils, chop zucchini, squash, and bell pepper into into 1 inch pieces. heat oil in non stick pan over medium-high heat. Add squash and bell peppers. While those cook up, cut tomato's and artichoke hearts in half. Once squash is browned, add salt/pepper to taste, add the rest of the veggies and saute for another 2 or 3 minutes or so. When veggies are cooked and pasta is drained, combine with pine nuts in a large bowl, and add 3 table spoons of prepared (or home made, I personally like home made but didn't have time tonight) pesto. Toss, top with Parmesan and serve!

BABY SHOWER #2

My MIL and SIL threw me and Ryan and amazing baby shower. It was beautiful, with wonderful food and good company. It was much smaller than our first one, but just as memorable.

SEPTEMBER

September is proving to be a crazy month!  Keenan is getting settled into his freshman year at Galena.  Let me tell you, our school system is slightly messed up.  I mean, it's week 3 of school, and the poor kid has had his schedule changed 3 times.  I understand funding is shifted, and not everything is settled before school like we parents would like it to be, but dang this is a lot to keep up with!  Speaking of Keenan, we are so happy to have him here with us this year.  He brings so much light into this house.  He is a wonderful student, delving deep into his love and passion for ROTC.  I can't wait to start attending his competitions and events.  He is a wonderful big brother, playing with and looking after Branson.  And of course, he's an amazing son.  He helps me out immensely, considering my ever growing belly is making it more and more impossible to do things like, bend over and pick up toys. 

Anyhow, back to September.  The month started with me visiting the hospital for kidney stones (*see previous post), and hasn't stopped since.  Our dear friends Adam and Ginger came to visit, and brought their beautiful daughter and cute (but highly anxious) dog Jerry Bear.  They came up last weekend for the balloon races.  The balloon races always bring me to a nostalgic place, but once you have kids of your own it becomes a whole new experience.  We woke up at 3:30, and were at the park at 5.  Branson, Kayla and I'm pretty sure even Keenan were taken by the whole thing.  I think it's safe to say we adults were, too.  After we walked to my moms for her famous pancake and sausage breakfast.  If there is 1 thing (OK, there are many, but this is one of my faves) that my mom is good at, it's cooking and making you feel at home.  The boys dozed off on the couch, we girls (both preggers) sat on our butts and my mom graciously fed us, entertained our kids, and then cleaned up.  I hope one day I turn out just like her.  She's pretty damn amazing.

This weekend is even more crazy.  Chrissy comes in Saturday morning, we are all going out to the air races, then we have a birthday party for Branson's friends (twins! 1 year old!) Wesley and Emery.  Sunday is our baby shower.  I can't believe it's already here.  My dear mother in law and sister in law have planned the whole shebang, and all I have to do is show up.  Our first baby shower was really great, but our house was filled with 60 people.  This shower will also be at our house, but with half the amount of people.  We decided to keep it more intimate, since it's our second, we aren't expecting gifts, and it's more just a celebration to welcome the first baby girl into this family. 

Moving on....the weekend after we go to Walley's through the end of the month.  We will spend a whole week out there with my mom, experiencing the Candy Dance, hot tubs, relaxation and lots more.  We will also be shooting our annual family pictures out there with Jessi Lemay (check her out, she is amazing www.jessilemayphotography.com).  I'm sure after that trip I will have much to report, if not at least great pics.

Oh sh*t.

It happened. The deal breaker. The one thing I SWORE would keep me from ever even thinking about having unprotected sex again. I got kidney stones. Yep. Hospital stay and all. Not fun, just like last time. Last Wednesday I got up at 2 am, took 3 hot showers, and waited as patiently as possible to see Keenan off to school so I could go in and get something for the "GOD DAMN PAIN!". We took Branson to my moms house (woke the poor thing up at 6:30, sorry mom!) and was checked in by 7:15. By 8 I had my first does of morphine. I realized that morphine doesn't do jack for the actual pain, but it did make me pretty much care less about it for 30 minutes or so. The second time I took it in the shot form, and it lasted about 1.5 hours. But let me tell ya, your booty gets sore from being poked every 3 hours. So, we had an ultra sound, they told me there was complete blockage in my left kidney, and I needed to see the urologist. That was at like, 10 am. Finally at 3 pm, someone informed us that the urologist wouldn't be seeing me until the following morning, so I may as well get comfortable. At first I was PISSED. But then realized that it would give me time to hopefully move the stone, and have monitored pain management. My OB checked in later that evening and also let me know that it looked like they would have to put a stint in. Oh hell no. Uh huh. No way. No surgery, and, I've heard those things can be more painful than the actual stone. If that's even possible. I mean, I've never had to labor, but with kidney stones I've mentally written my will every time. The things flippin hurt. Longer story short, I stopped needing pain meds about 1 am, and obviously the stone had moved. Thank god! The urologist showed up sometime around 7 or 8, and I got to go home. 2 nights ago I passed the stone. I have to give it up for testing, so they can see what it's made of. I already know, its just calcium and I'm just one of those people that get them while pregnant. So excuse me, while I go down a gallon of lemon water. And in a few years, when I catch baby fever, please remind me of the god damn kidney stones.

a Branson update

I feel like since Keenan arrived Branson has doubled his vocabulary. He repeats super cute things like, "awesome" (sounds like "awe yum!), "epic", "dude" and more. He is also learning to count, 1 2 3. He has known his colors for a long time, and now identifies everything he can that has a color - Blue sky, red/green apple, purple crayon and so on. he knows probably every animal and their sound, as wells as anything with wheels. He is identifying people outside the family now, not just grandma and grandpa but Mary, Laura, and whoever else we introduce him to. One of the cutest things he just started doing is yelling for Ryan or Keenan. Maybe he got it from me... The other day he grabbed Ryan's face (gently) and yelled "Ryyyyyyyan!" and then gave him a kiss. It melted my heart. And whenever he wants to see his "bubba" he yells "Keeeenan!" down the hallway. I mean. He is only 21 months and the kid speaks better than most 3 year olds I know. And no, I'm not bias at all so don't even go there. He also likes to love on his baby sister. He pushes up my shirt to grab and kiss my belly saying "hi baby". Sweet, sweet boy.

We are still battling most dinner times. Usually he just is too busy to eat. or he thinks he doesn't like something, and then the next day when I'm eating left overs for lunch he helps me finish it. I've taken to sneaking veggies in his smoothies, quesadillas, and mac n cheese. But he is always only offered one dinner with the rest of the family. He really only has an honest aversion to Mexican food. Which is strange, considering we all love it. But he does like things like Thai food, sushi, and quinoa. Pretty amazing, this kid.