It's Friday- Let the Crying Commence

If I am blogging at 11PM, and am 34 weeks pregnant, you can bet your booty it is because I am having a crying/pity party.  I am a bundle of messy hormones, and my second born is a bundle of push-my-buttons.  He is soo naughty (all day long, usually).  This afternoon he took toilet water and put it all over my glass shower doors and the wood floor in the closet.  If he gets my chapstick one more time, I will scream.  He drew on my nursery walls.  He throws his toys.  At the grocery store today he kept throwing the food out of the cart.  At Sam's Club the day before, he was pulling P's hair, hitting him, kicking him, and ripping his glasses off while seated together in the cart.  He has exhausted me these last few weeks.  At the same time, Tom's work has kicked into high gear and I have to pretty much run things here solo right up until the baby comes.

Every day, I am either physically exhausted, mentally exhausted, or both.  To really top things off today, my husband ends the evening with an insensitive comment that has pushed me over the edge.  So I cried, while everyone else sleeps. 

Just wanted to let you all know my life is not all roses, or new kitchens, or pretty pink nurseries.  It is also yelling, "NO"

all

day

long,

like a mad, crazy lady.  Someone really should land a house on me. 

Thank goodness for God's grace.  The kids seem un-phased my moodiness.  They still dish out lots of hugs and kisses.  They are pretty awesome.  As for me, I'll make it to 39 weeks, at which time I will morph into a whole new bundle of messy hormones.  Tune in for those posts. 


-Mad Crazy Lady 

Getting Creative

Poor Kim K. - she has been taking so much slack for naming her baby North.  I mean, who will ever forget "Hello, I am North West" ?

So, I started thinking.  The name Tom and I have picked out is so unremarkable to most.  Maybe we should reconsider.  How about these?

Telephone (Pohl)

Swimming (Pohl)

Totem (Pohl) (Thanks mom, this was a great one)

Okay, okay, our baby is safe from a Hollywood name, but you will have to wait until she arrives to find out the real name. 

I have been scrambling over the past week to get enough together in the nursery where we could bring baby home to a pretty room should this girl come early.  We bought no new furniture, so it is a mixture of the same crib we used for P and T, an old, hand-me-down changing table, and the rocker/glider we have had since P was born.  I did splurge on a new rug, curtains, and nursery bedding.

Up until I started organizing/painting, it was a dumping ground for all things baby with pale, yellow walls:

It is by far, the tiniest room in the house, but a perfect little nursery.  It has this cute built-in that I imagine with a cute little bench cushion.  The closet needs some sort of storage since I can't fit a dresser in the room with the rocking chair, changing table, and crib.

The room is so small, I painted it in a day.  The color is Behr's Be Mine.  Of course I had to go pink.

The rug is in, the bedding is on, and curtains have been hung, but I want to finish it off a little more before I post anymore photos.  34 week check-up is tomorrow!

Our New Kitchen

Yes, our countertops were installed Wednesday, and except for the floor repair which will happen Tuesday and Wednesday next week, our kitchen is done! We are so happy with everything and I am loving having countertop space and a garbage disposal once again. 

In case the whiteness of our previous kitchen hadn't imprinted on your brain, here are the before and after shots:

BEFORE:

 

AFTER!

BEFORE:

 AFTER!

 

We love it and more importantly it is done before baby arrived!  A pendant light identical to the two over the peninsula will go over the kitchen sink, but the third light came damaged and a replacement won't arrive until next week.  I have been busy unpacking everything until the cabinets and pantry, but that is going to be a long process. 

Our Family Vacation - Erie, PA

Okay, it was only a 2 day/one night trip, but we still managed to squeak in a family vacation back to Erie, PA.  The two hour car ride was about all this 32 week pregnant mom could comfortably tolerate. 

 

 

 We arrived on Sunday (Father's Day)about noon to cloudy skies (we drove through some rain)  and harsh winds.  We unloaded the kids and trudged to Beach 7 on Presque Isle State Park with all of the toys and blankets.  The wind was so strong, it was blowing sand everywhere, including our faces.  We packed everything back up five minutes later and had our picnic lunch in the minivan.  We couldn't even crack the windows because we timed our trip with the hatching of thousands of these strange flying bugs (Tom thinks they are may flies?) that swarmed our car.

By the time the kids had finished eating, more sun had appeared and the winds seemed calmer, so we shifted gears and headed to the bay to try some fishing.  After an unsuccessful hour, we headed to our hotel, got an early check-in, and hit the hotel pool for 45 minutes before dinner at Smugglers.

Tommy was perfectly content playing with the pliers while Tom and Patrick actually did the fishing.  When he did get the chance to hold Tom's pool, he tangled up the line in about 15 seconds and Tom had to start from scratch.

This year we stayed in the Sheraton Bay Front, which was beautiful and fairly new.  The downside was it had no suites, so we all shared two queen beds in one room.  I got Tommy, and it was not a good night.  The kid kept steamrolling me.  The next morning, as I was wrapping up our room service breakfast, Tommy took the opportunity to somehow open the heavy door and exited the room all by himself .  I heard the click as the door shut behind him and got to him just as he was about to hit the elevator's down button.  He is literally draining all the life from me lately, but more on that later. 



One exhausted two-year-old after a day on the go.  Brown Bear, Brown Bear is far and away his favorite book right now.

The next morning, Monday, we woke up to sunshine and 73 degree temps.  We spent three hours at Beach 7 again, playing in the sand and flying our new kite.  When we arrived about 8:30, we had the entire beach to ourselves.  About 30 minutes later,  a women came with her two granddaughters and (despite there being an ENTIRE empty beach) put her blanket down just fifteen feet from ours.  Tom and just stared at each other in disbelief. 

I was 32 weeks at the time of the trip and feeling pretty good.  It really has been an easy pregnancy and I am hoping the next 5 weeks are just as smooth.

My fearless, crazy one was actually scared to even put a toe in the water.  It was fairly cold, and he was just as happy to dig and have daddy fetch bucket after bucket of water.

Our playground for the first hour until other families started to arrive.

It is hard to imagine that I am going to get even bigger.  Last week I weighed in at around 182 at my check-up which is right about where I was with Tommy at the same time frame.  My C-section has officially been scheduled for the end of July- yippee!

Could it be?  A picture of both boys looking and mostly smiling?  A Father's Day vacation miracle for sure.  We headed back to Pittsburgh around 2:00, but not before the boys tried their hand at fishing one more time.  Sadly, no fish this trip, but two happy boys who slept the whole way home had a blast. 

Congratulations, Uncle M!

Two Fridays ago Tom and I proudly watched as Tommy and P's beloved Uncle M graduated from high school (did I mention that on top of being super smart, he was class president?). What will we do without him around?  We certainly can't move again- Tom had him help move all of our large, over sized items each move.  He tuned up our riding tractor this spring.  He has every tool under the moon.  He is possibly the most helpful uncle in the world, and we are going to miss him (especially two, adorable little peanuts). 

Congratulations M!

Still Here (and bigger than ever)

Since  have not been blogging, you can only guess what I have been up to.

P A I N T I N G

Don't worry, wearing my pink vapor mask.   But tired, tired, tired. 

Lots of posts that need written. 

Soon, I promise. 

Also, thank you's from P's 4th birthday are in the works. 

P.S.  B-Mama, I actually got a thank you card out to you only to have it returned. Apparently, the post office doesn't just know where you live.  I only wrote your name on the front and put on a stamp.  No address.  Pregnancy brain.

Good night for now.

Kitchen Remodel- Week 5

Week five really consists of only Monday and Tuesday - our contractors will not return until the granite is ready to be set in place (they measured for it Tuesday).  Today, the boys and I returned from a road trip to D.C. (more on that later) to find most of my appliances hooked up and working!

Front and center is the huge hole in the center of the kitchen where we need to fill in the missing hardwood floor.  I had to special order the floor and it is scheduled to arrive the week of June 11th.  Then it has to be installed, sanded to blend in with the other flooring, then stained and sealed. 

This little guy is my new love though; The GE Advantium Speed Cooker Wall Oven.  It can operate as a convection oven, microwave, or roaster in addition to a speed cooker, but I doubt I will use it in those capacities much.  My old neighbor got two of these when they redid their kitchen and she highly recommends them.  They bake just like an oven, but this one does it 8 times more quickly than a traditional oven (hence the speed cooker title).  I rolled in from 5 hours on the road and threw 4 fish sticks and half a bag of tator tots in, picked the "frozen fish stick" setting, and hit start (no preheating).  They were crispy and perfectly done in 7 minutes, 30 seconds.  I then made Tom some Gorton's fish fillets in 6 minutes, 30 seconds.  And for a late night snack, I turned the knob to "appetizers", then "mozzarella cheese sticks" and  had crispy, evenly cooked hot mozzarella sticks in just over 4 minutes.    The oven knows how much time for each item based on a huge selection of food items in it's stored memory so I don't have to figure it out.  So far, I am quite impressed with it after day 1.

I also arrived home to find my new sink in the family room.  Tommy of course deduced that it must be a boat of some sort and climbed in (I should have grabbed my camera). 

I am anxious to have counter tops again, but grateful for the temporary sink and especially a working dishwasher.  Life is getting easier.