Soon & Very Soon

The day is quickly approaching when we will head back to the SBP and see Chip/Daddy once again. I can tell the kids are ready to see him. Streed teared up yesterday and said, "I miss my daddy." Chip has the whole weekend planned out with some good ole family time. I am ready too. Thankfully I have had help and company while at home. I could not have done it otherwise. (Streed came down with pink eye and a fever this weekend--but my dad was here to help me). I am just trying to get psyched up for another month of living at a not-so-desireable location. I have attached a picture of the motel's marquis--I mean, I just must be hard to please with all of these amenities! What more could a girl ask for! Can you believe there are vacancies?

Funny Faces

Ella wasn't trying to be funny. I was just taking a picture of her because she had marker all over her mouth. But, when I laughed at the picture, jealous Streed had to make a face as well.

Super Streed

Streed is suddenly obsessed with super heros. My friend that told me about VBS came over the other night and made Streed a cape out of old receiving blankets. She also showed me how to thread and use my sewing machine...the one I got for Christmas...two Christmases ago. The other night I was too tired to read to Streed so I decided to make up a story. I made up some story about either Super Man, Spider Man or Bat Man. He loved it. "Read me another one", he says. I keep trying to explain that I am "telling" not "reading". I had to tell him more tonight. He loves it and hangs on my every word. He gets so excited when I say, "and then, Streed went into the phone booth and turned into (fill in the blank)..." He has left over fabric on his head.

What the...

On Sunday, when I was having a particularly hard day, I began wondering where Ella was. I found her...in her room emptying a bottle of baby powder all over her floor. For some reason this made me laugh. As you can see, she was also rubbing it all over herself. As silly as this sounds, I think I was OK with it because I love baby powder. If you notice things are quiet and Ella is nowhere to be found, chances are there's trouble a brewin'! Aunt Rob can vouch for me on this. She always sneaks into Robyn's room and digs in her purse.

VBS

A friend of mine told me about VBS at her church that was at night and had a 3-4yr old class. This was music to my ears! I so wanted Streed to go to VBS but due to speech camp and his age the opportunities were somewhat limited. So, she took him the first night and it didn't go so well. Streed is a lot like me (and most first-borns) shy in new surroundings. So, they came home early and I took him the next 3 nights. It went very well. I love our church but I loved some of the kids in his class at this church. There were about 8 in his group and all but two were boys. I took some pictures tonight. Ella thought she was part of the group too. Let me just say she is not going to be shy on the first night of her first VBS!

Nate

Sweet baby on the blanket given to him by his Aunt Anne. He loves it!

Streed

Some of these were taken by me and some by Streed. I think you can figure out which is which

Ella

For some reason I had my camera in my hand when I got Ella up from her nap the other day. I am so glad I did. The light was pretty in her stark white room and she decided to put on a show once she woke up a bit. Since these were taken I have rearranged her room and she has given up her sleep sack. Hopefully soon the room will get painted.

Keeps on ticking

It is 12:20am and I am awake. I do not know why. I have had an exhausting weekend. My friend Leanne rescued me tonight and told me to go relax and stay gone as long as need be. I couldn't relax. I came home at 8 wanting nothing but a bath and my bed. I laid in bed from 9:45 until 11:45 and I just couldn't take it any longer. So, it is now 12:22 and I am still not that tired. You would think I would be crying but no. Just looking at the computer hoping soon I will be able to sleep. 12:23...

The Beauties

I stopped by Mobile the other day on the way to Hammond. It is amazing how pretty things look when you are used to being at the beach project. It was and is nice to be at a house for a few weeks where if there is dirt it is your own dirt. It is nice too to see foliage. The flowers are blooming all over the place and are gorgeous. This was at my moms house.

Mother Goose on Ella

There once was a little girl

Who had a little curl

Right in the middle of her forehead

When she was good she was very very good

But when she was bad she was horrid

What's up with Nate?

Well, his size obviously. Not just his clothing size, but his diapers as well. This week I started putting him in some 6-9month outfits as well as size 3 diapers! He can still wear some 3-6m things and size 2 diapers. It is just that the 6-9's and 3's fit better. Streed wore 6-9m clothes and size 3 diapers his first year at beach project too...when he was 8 months old!

He can sleep through the night although he doesn't always choose to do so. The past few nights he has woken up somewhere between 3-5 looking for some patting on his back. He is usually ready to eat by 6:30 every morning.

He is so content...just what I needed. He is happy to just eat, have a clean diaper and sit in his swing. Ahhh, I love low maintenance. Not because I am lazy, but because I am tired and busy. I love this baby though. He smiles all the time and it is so much fun. His whole face lights up!

Oh shoot

This morning when I went into Ella's room her paci was on the floor. She was standing in her crib looking at it. This is what goes on most mornings. However, this morning she points and says, "Pappy, oh shoot".

Hilarious!

School Days

Today was day three of Streed's speech camp. He has enjoyed all of them so far despite the shows he put on the first few days when I dropped him off. A boy two doors down from us also attends the camp. His dad picked Streed up today so that I didn't have to unload all of the crew. The parking right in front of the building is blocked off due to construction. I have had to walk a good distance the past few days while lugging Nate in his carrier. I literally have a bruise on my hip and thigh from trying to balance out some of the weight.

This week's theme of the camp is the solar system. Yesterday when we were getting in the car Streed said, "that is one of my friends." I asked Streed what the boys name was. He said, "astronaut". I asked what his name was and he said, "space ship". This cracked me up. I don't know what all they do during the three hours but I guess they got new names. Streed is on the green team and had to wear a green shirt the first day. Ella cried the first day he left. He brings his back pack full of supplies--crayons, markers, scissors and glue stick. He loves the scissors the best. They have a lion on them.

Thank you

I love staying up late updating my blog. It is especially nice when I have 15 comments the next day! Thanks for the encouragement!

Added to my favorites

A post to follow later but I just had to share this picture I took of us today. He was cold at the beach and crawled into my lap to warm up. Sweet boy!

Time with Nate

A few days ago Chip had the two older kids in the pool. Nate does not like being out there. I tried to sit under an umbrella but he was just not having any of it. So, he and I moved to the shade. He still wasn't totally content and I was feeling lonely just staring at the kids playing. So, he and I moved inside. It turned out to be a sweet time for he and I. I decided to get out the kids' hymn book and sing to him. He loved it. I make up songs a lot but I enjoyed singing the hymns. Then I got out their children's bible and read to him and showed him the pictures. Then we read Psalm 1:1-3 and I told him that those were the verses I was praying for him. Then we prayed. I hope we can make it a habit of getting that one on one time. I know I need that with all of them. I feel like Ella is the only one that doesn't get too much. Streed usually stays up a little later than Ella and so we read together. I need to think of something for me and baby girl. Our time together is mainly spent spanking and then hugging. Maybe this week when Chip has some free time. Streed is dying to go play Putt-Putt. I will think of something to do with Ella.

Here is Nate when we came in from outside. His eyes get big when we come into our dark room.

Week One: ROUGH

I can't actually say the whole week was that bad. I think that it all just caught up to me by day 6. The days are long. The space is limited. Time to myself is non-existent. Chip takes the kids swimming in the afternoons when he can but all this means is I have time to wash bottles and/or go to Wal-Mart. I should be thankful for going to Wal-Mart by myself. Ususally I am. Not yesterday. I was full to my eyeballs with tears for a good 24 hours. They finally runneth over this morning. We are attending Woodlawn Methodist for the summer and we are all splitting up into various Sunday School classes. Chip and I, and the guys he is leading, are going to an older adult class. I do not know their exact ages. They all have grown kids and our teacher has been married for 48 years, if that gives you any indication as to their age. So, the teacher begins by talking about the differences between today and many years ago. The first thing she says is that when she was a little girl that Monday was wash day and that meant that ALL DAY you scrubbed the clothes on a wash board. Immediately I started crying. I was trying to contain the tears but I could not. I just thought, "I do not have it that bad". Then she talked about how her grandmother had 8 children and had to kill her own chickens. It was a good perspective shift for me. I still had moments of frustration as the day went on but all in all I am better. I went to the beach by myself for two hours this afternoon so that helped. It will now be my Sunday afternoon routine while I am here.

What we do: Part 1

Basically we correct and discipline and redirect all day long. We do all this while we sit outside of our rooms and watch the random people that live, work and vacation here. It can be quite depressing at times. We are working on getting a schedule. The first week is really a transitional time. It takes a few days for it to sink in that you actually are staying here...for many weeks. We have found that the library here has story time just like ours at home. I think we will check that out in the morning. Also, the church we are going to here has a program on Wed nights that Streed and maybe Jadyn can go to. We eat our meals outside on our little table. This also acts as a perfect spot for playdough and snacks.

Occasionally we swim. It is an ordeal though. I have to get siked up to 1)Put on my bathing suit, 2)put on both of theirs, including Ella's swim diaper, 3)lotion them all down, 3)lug all the pool toys out, 4)put on their floats, 5)convince Streed to jump to me, 6)convince Ella to wait until I catch Streed before she jumps, and 7)hope Nate doesn't wake up. If he does, we have to do all this in reverse and head back inside. He can't stand being outside when it is really bright, even in the shade. But, I love looking at this so sometimes we just have to do it anyway.

We also regularly look for baby and papy. These are must haves for Ella to even consider sleep. She is an EXCELLENT sleeper but she must have those two items. After a few stressful moments I am now trying to keep them in her pac-n-play. This isn't always successful. She and Jadyn like to push their strollers around outside. Actually they like to push each others and then fight about it.

Arrived Safe and Sound

After getting our room somewhat set up we went with all the staff to Pineapple Willy's for dinner. The kids got to play on the beach beside the restaurant while we waited on our food. Ella LOVED the sand, so much that she kept putting her face down in it.