OCC Easter Party 2013

We love the annual Easter party around here.  The boys get a chance to warm up their egg finding skills, and I get to partake of the brunch buffet to my hearts content.  It's a win-win.

Tommy was obsessed with his over-the-top balloon giraffe and would not put it down.

The one that didn't get away...

Tom with his best friend from high school and his little boy, E.  E just welcomed his baby sister 3 months ago:


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Baba and P

Cute, huh?  Factor in it was about 35 degrees outside, and my kids actually thought these adorable creatures were scary.  Tommy literally fled the scene, screaming the whole way back inside.

P still thought the Easter Bunny was still a little intimidating, but did inch close enough for a photo.  His brother on the other-hand, was having none of the big guy.

Hello, double chin.  Thank you second trip to the buffet line.

Tommy was done about halfway through the party, yet still refused to hand over his giraffe for safekeeping.

The Boys and My Belly

I couldn't have hoped for better with the boys' ajustment to life in the new house.  Patrick is as sweet as ever, made even more obvious against the backdrop of Tommy's tantrums.  Tommy will go into an all out, laying on the floor, pounding fists and kicking legs, fit at the drop of a hat.  I mean for anything, and anywhere.  At P's school, in the elevator, in the garage.  I just ignore him and hope he'll outgrow it soon. 

Meanwhile, P has taken to singing "She's a Jolly Good Fellow" after grace at meals I've prepared.  This stems from his school class singing it for whichever student brought snack that day.  It is kinda nice.   P is still in full hide and seek mode these days.  If anyone comes to the house, P insists on hiding and having the new arrival find him.  Each day I pick him up from school, he shuffles out of the classroom with his bookbag held up in front of face (like I can't see the rest of his body) and then reveals himself out in the hallway.  This never gets old for him and all the other parents just laugh that it is a daily occurence. 
 
I still need to order Tommy's bed, but he hasn't climbed out of his crib again.  It is at the top pf my long to-do list though.  Saturday morning Tom and I head to the kitchen design center to take a look at the 3-D images that were created of our new potential kitchen.  Can't wait!  We still haven't made a decision as to whether this is something we are going to attempt immediately.  

On this second day of spring, we woke up to a dusting of snow.  Booooo!  It needs to warm up, and soon.  My belly is only getting bigger and I have a ton of gardening to tackle. Speaking of bigger, I had my 20-week check-up Tuesday and all is well with Baby Girl.  I weighed in at 164 (a four pound gain since last month).  I truly thought I would have only  a pound gain with how many calories I have been burning during this move. Par for the course.  Still no difficulties to report with this pregnancy, other than my wedding band has been swapped out for my larger pregnancy band. 

Happy Spring!

With a Little Help From Family and Friends

We are getting there.  Tom estimates one more pick-up truck load from the old house before it is cleared out completely.  I am overwhelmed by the chaos that surrounds us at the new house. Unpacking with Tommy around is like hiring a pack of monkeys as a personal assistant.  We are still finding out things about the house.  For instance, my bathroom (Tom has renounced the pink bathroom off the master and taken one of the full baths downstairs next to his office) has ZERO electrical outlets.  I looked and Tom looked, and there just aren't any. Easily remedied by our favorite electrician.  Also, the toilet in the boy's bathroom is leaking. 

Here is a good "before/after" of our bookcase project.  No kids falling into a stairwell here!  We were so happy with the furniture maker we found.  He was reasonably priced, and finished the project within a week of taking the job. 

BEFORE:

 

AFTER-

 

And here is our master bedroom BEFORE. 

Before we could paint, Tom ripped out the old T.V. shelf that was in the corner- along with a 5 inch chunk of drywall.  He had to cut out the section you see below, install a new piece of drywall, and smooth over the whole thing with joint compound.  Our future flat screen T.V. is going here (hopefully sooner than later) and should cover up any imperfections.

These are a few of the paint swatches I experimented with.  Tom wanted light blue, and I wanted a neutral tan.  Guess who was completely right on this one?

We went with Behr's River Rock that was more of a blue-gray.

It is extremely calming (which I need a lot of these days) and new bedding is on the way!  No more bedroom photos until we are all put together.

I have a baby check-up tomorrow.  I have been taking it as easy as one can during a move, but I still worry about this baby girl.  I hit the mall Saturday and am now the proud owner of some very adorable little girl frocks. 

The highlight of today was an impromptu visit from one of our new neighbors, H, a 15 year-old girl who lives literally next door and seems eager to babysit.  Added bonus:  she brought a plate of brownies.  Yum.

Family and friend have been so generous with offers of help and I am so grateful.
Now I must go wake up Tom off the couch where he is dozing so we can both head to bed.

First Night in the New House

Well, the movers came and went yesterday and we climbed into beds at the new house last night.  It really already feels so much like home.  Exhausted does not quite describe how I feel right now.  The kids are napping, and instead of unpacking boxes, I am sitting on the couch taking a much needed break.  Things were a bit stressful.  My mom came Tuesday afternoon and stayed until wednesday evening so I could finish up painting P's room and start our bedroom.  First coat went up in the master bedroom, but Tom and I were both so tired, we couldn't get the second coat on Wednesday.  So, I finished the second coat approximately two hours before the movers arrived with our furniture.  The good news is I love, love the color.  The bad news- we are going to need new bedding now as our old duvet looks horrible with it. 

Patrick seems very excited to be here and Tommy is starting to understand this is our home now. 

More pictures soon...

Why I am Still Up?

My dear, dear husband, who moved a ton of stuff today, is sound asleep in our bed, snoring like it is an olympic sport.  After numerous elbows to his ribs and no cease fire, I grabbed my pillows and trudged to the guest room.  Thought I would knock out a quick post. It is 12:15 AM.

We have movers scheduled for this Thursday, and we are nowhere near ready to be living in the house.  I haven't even begun to paint P's bedroom or our master.  I had a sitter today for 4 hours and still don't even have one of those rooms fully prepped.  The previous paint job was terrible and I am having to sand, spackle, sand, and then wash down walls.  Feeling a bit frustrated.  Our bookcase, which is primarily built, will be installed tomorrow - can't wait to see!  I am over the renovation phase and would like to move on to the "shop" phase.  I need rugs, curtains, and little pink baby clothes.  Oh, and I need a bed ASAP for Tommy.  I had just put Tommy in his crib for the night and headed to the computer (to sort through a million e-mails).  Tom was telling P a bedtime story and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (it was Robin Hood and Alice in Wonderland before that). 

THUD.  CRYING

I rush into Tommy's room and sure enough, he is picking himself up off the floor, crying hysterically.  No wounds, and he went right back to sleep.  Now I just need to find time to go to the unfinished wood store and have a bed made to match his current furniture (which I have deemed too boyish to remain in a little girl nursery).  He couldn't have held off escaping for just one more month?

Okay, heading to bed now. 
Goodnight.

It's a GIRL!

Baby is doing great and we scoured the gift shop for something pink to bring the boys that would tell them whether they would be welcoming a baby brother or sister.  This is what we found:

We are still in shock (Tom is really in shock- multiple times I had to ask him if he was okay while they finished up the ultrasound).  Every fiber of my being had been convinced this was a boy.  The 21 one year streak of having only boys on my mom's side has been broken.  My mom and my aunts were cheering like the Steelers were in the superbowl.   

After showing the pink Peeps to Patrick, I asked whether he thought it was a girl or a boy.  He guessed boy.  I guess there is a lot of denial in this household today.  I am on cloud nine.  And ready to shop! 

T-Minus 5 Hours

Tom and I are about 5 hours away from learning a little bit more about Baby Pohl #3.  Can't wait to share!  Will post tonight...

Only A Few More Days

Until...

We officially make the new house our permanent residence.  The movers (which I just booked today) come next week. 

Also, Saturday is a BIG day:  Our 18 week ultrasound.  Yes, yes, we are finding out the sex, and I will post it either Sat. or Sunday.  Although I keep referring to baby as "he", Patrick is still referring to his new sibling as "she". 

Too tired to do a real post.  Tomorrow may be a snow day with the storm moving in, so I'll try to jump back on here for some updates if we are forced to give up school and errands.  Hoping the weather isn't as bad as the hype, because my  first photography class starts tomorrow evening!

P.S.  The living room painting is finished!  Now on to the bedrooms.