Please excuse the technical difficulties...

Blogger seems to be experiencing some issues with the Poll feature... so, I've taken this week's down. Hopefully it'll be resolved within the next few days - and you all can start voting again!!

Sweet Dreams!!

 

Family day...

Well, actually all got out as a family today. A morning run to Target for some essentials, then to the playground, and then to the local library for Riley to sign up for a library card and for both boys to sign up for the Summer Reading Program! We even ran into Nana and Pa (geeks that they are) there, relaxing for the afternoon and doing some reading. Pa even got a library card too! (Although I don't know how it's possible that he's a Harrison and didn't have a library card!! Sacrilege.)

Anyway, here's a few from the playground. Click on them for larger versions. The boys had a great time.

Crafts ahoy!!

I've been looking for more summer craft ideas to do with the kids, and figured as I find them, I'll share them with you all as well (since there are a few of you with kids in the preK-K category like me. This one, named the Paper Plate Porthole, says ages 6 and up, but I think with some parental supervision, younger kids would do just fine. Let me know if you try it!!

Find the instructions here.

Fun & easy summer craft idea! Sponge Balls!

Just saw this and thought it was pretty cute, and a fairly "green" idea at that! Uses much less water than water balloons, and you don't have to buy them and have all those popped balloons littering your yard, and in turn the landfills when you clean them up.

Anyway, a fun craft to do with the kids and then enjoy to beat the heat!

Check it out here.

I'm so tired...

I haven't slept a wink - I'm soooo tired, my mind is on the blink... (a very good Beatles song if you're not familiar with it, it's on the White Album)

Anyway, feeling the ravages of lack of sleep at the moment. Got around 4 hours of sleep total last night between 10:45 and 7:30. A very cranky and gassy Liam just couldn't quite settle himself down, and so I got to carry and rock him for hours, and hours, and hours. He was actually very fussy for a while this morning as well, but as of around noon finally calmed and so he's snoozing for the time being.

It's been raining heavily here for around an hour, which is nice and peaceful to listen to. However, counter that with whines and protests from Elliot, and the peace is all but shattered.

Let me share a new photo or two for Liam for those of you checking in for recent photos. He is 3 weeks old today!

Melt in your mouth... and your hand.

So today we told the kids that if they were real good this morning, we'd take them to get a treat at our local little convenience store/quick mart. They have a soft serve window, so we figured we'd walk the roughly 3/4 mile to get there and that would work up enough of a sweat that a nice ice cream would hit the spot. Well, we got there, Nick brought them in, and they both decided on a nice refreshing... package of M&Ms. So, while Nick and I each indulged in an Italian Ice (complete with authentic wooden paddle), the boys ate their candy coated chocolate delights. Then after another 3/4 mile home, we all had a tall glass of iced tea. It was a beautiful day, 80 and sunny, so it was quite a nice outing. Even Liam just lounged in the shade in his stroller.

Of course, Nick and I were pretty much tuckered out by the excursion - so we're just resting now. But it really was a nice little adventure.

2 packs of M&Ms - $2.00
2 Italian Ices - $3.00
Taking the family out without having to pay at the pump - priceless -literally.

Riley has crossed the bridge!

Yes, Riley had his moving up ceremony today, complete with a little bridge that he crossed whilst accepting his diploma. I wish I could share better photos, but many of them came out blurry, a setting must've gotten changed on my camera and most of the shots are lousy. But, I will include the few that came out well, and I can tell you that it was a lovely ceremony. All of Riley's preschool friends and teachers are one of a kind, and have made for such an outstanding learning and growing experience for him. We couldn't be happier about where he was placed, or about how far he's come.

Every student in the class was given a title appropriate to their personality, strengths, etc. Riley was dubbed "The Mayor of St. Francis Hospital Preschool." For those of you who are around Riley often, you know that he has a way of "working a room", and he seems to be able to engage anyone, especially adults in conversation. (The last photo in the album is Riley talking to one of his classmates' grandmother, who he just met today). He also likes to gesture with thumbs up a lot, and he remembers EVERYONE'S name. Soon he'll be kissing and posing with babies. Seriously, though - for months my dad has been calling Riley "the mayor", so this came as no surprise. You should just see Riley at the Kingdom Hall, always making sure to make his rounds and talk to everyone. It's really sweet.

Here's the link to today's photos, albeit only a few. Password to view them is: photos

So that's it, and I'll leave you with what Riley tells me most nights as he's turning in for bed... "It was a good day today."

Oh, I love these cartoons!

For those of you who like cat/animal humor - definitely check out www.icanhascheezburger.com - some really hysterical stuff there. This is my favorite from today...

My little butterball...

Well, the stats are in. I knew that Liam felt a little bigger, but wasn't prepared for these numbers! In not quite two weeks, Liam has gained 1 1/2 lbs., and has grown 2 inches! He is now: 8 lbs. 10 oz. and 21 1/2" long. Guess I don't have to worry about whether he's eating well enough!

Sad but true!

Got these from my Aunt today, and they were pretty true- figured I'd post them here!

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2008 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that
they don't have e-mail addresses .
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if
anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30

(or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )
12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message .
14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

AND NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.

Closing in on the weekend...

Man! Check out you yogurt haters! That is so foreign to me, I just LOVE yogurt, as do my kids.

Anyway, not much to report here. Liam had a not so stellar night last night - ah well. He has his 2 week checkup today, so that should be a fun little outing. We actually all went out as a family last night to get some ice cream, and it was interesting to say the least! Poor little fella was just screaming and screaming for a while, until my brilliant husband discovered that Liam takes after his mama... that is to say, there's nothing a good foot rub won't solve! Yes, Nick gave those little tootsies a rubdown and on both occasions he tried it, Liam calmed immediately and went right to sleep. Let's hope that strategy continues to work! My husband = my hero.

Tomorrow is Riley's moving up ceremony at Preschool. He actually has class all next week as well, but tomorrow they have their presentation and reception at the school. Nick and my parents are coming - we'll be taking video and lots of photos, so check back for those. I bet there won't be a dry eye in the house. Until I remember how much money I (and my dad, who drives Riley regularly) will be saving on gas by not having to haul him 25 minutes away 3 times a week.

So, that's it for now. I'll update with stats from Liam's checkup, but in the meantime it's a beautiful day here and I'm going to go enjoy it with my three sons!

Bye for now. :)

New batch of Liam photos...

Liam - Week 2

Password to view album is: photos

Could it be true?

Do you hear them? The voices singing from above? Do you see the light shining down? Do you feel the earth move under your feet, the sky tumbling down? Okay, okay, I'm getting carried away.

I'm rejoicing because Liam slept well last night, and thusly, I did as well!! He only woke 3 times, for brief feedings and diaper changes, and actually let me sleep. Came at a good time, I was officially starting to get dumb during the day due to lack of sleep. Now, I don't expect he'll repeat it anytime soon, but in the meantime - I'll take what I can get!

HOORAY for me. :o)

Greetings from the land of the bleary eyed...

Holy cow am I tired. Liam (who is 2 weeks old today!) had two somewhat decent nights of sleep last week, but decided to go cold turkey back to his old ways over the weekend. So, I got somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.5-4 broken hours of sleep the last couple nights. Last night he decided that things were really interesting between 12:30 and 4am, and just didn't seem to want to shut his eyes! ARGH.

In happier news, the weather has cooled here a bit, although we're still in the line of fire for more strong storms this week. And this Friday is Riley's moving up ceremony - that should be exciting! I can't believe his preschool career is nearly over. *sniff*

That's it for now, I'm typing between yawns as it is - and have so much to do around the house! Will update more later...

It's good to be a loser!

When it comes to weight, that is. I just added a little weight loss ticker on the left side there, to track how many pounds I drop. I didn't count the 13 pounds I managed to drop in the hospital (though it was the easiest weight I've ever lost!!) - I just started from what I was when I arrived home. So, 5 lbs. in the first week is pretty good, I say. Although I'm not expecting it to go quite so quickly from here on out. But in the meantime, I'll enjoy being in my pre-pregnancy jeans, which I fit into since yesterday - HOORAY!!

A few more photos...

Just a few, but figured I'd put them up anyway. Enjoy!
(a little viewing tip... if the slideshow is going too fast for you, hover over the photo, and a little navigation bar will appear - press the stop button and then you can manually advance with the arrows...also, click on any picture to load a larger version)

My other favorite thing to talk about...

I realize I've been dishing about family and baby a lot lately, but you all know I love to dish about food as well!! Just found this photo and recipe - it might look like cupcakes, but it's actually meatloaf "cupcakes" with mashed potato "frosting" - the red ones are dyed with beetroot extract. The idea seemed a little weird to me for around 10 seconds, but then I thought that it was actually quite intriguing - definitely appealing for kids, and how cute would this be made miniature as appetizers at an event?

If you're interested in the actual recipe - you can go here.

So tell me, what do you think of these? Think you'd ever try to make something similar at home?

Trial by fire...

Well, as if the fiery outside temps weren't enough of a trial, I will literally be having trial by fire today as I attempt my first day alone with the 3 boys. If I can hack 3 boys, in a heatwave, enduring undulating levels of hormones, recovering from childbirth - I can do anything! Okay, enough I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar for one day.

So, I will try to update later to either say "I'm in the weeds!!!" or, that the litmus test is going well. More to come....

A wee update...

Well holy rising mercury is it HOT!! Day one of a heatwave here. Joy of joys. Thankfully Nick got the a/c units in yesterday, so at least things are comfy on the inside.

Liam is doing well, day 5 here. He's starting to get more of a handle on day vs. night, and is more alert during the day. He LOVES his new crib mobile that Nana bought him - which is great because it runs for 15 minutes and gives me nice little breaks to do what I want or need to do. The boys are still definitely getting used to having him around, Elliot is actually quite the doting big brother and self-proclaimed "diaper helper." He also has a little stool that he has pulled up next to the changing table and he loves to chat with me and Liam during diaper changes. Riley is playing it more cool- he's still fairly distant and just content to go about his own business. But, all in all they're doing well, and the requests (mainly from Elliot) to put Liam back in my tummy have waned a bit.

Sleep is still elusive here, which is obviously par for the course. It's strangely easier each time (in my experience), this sleep deprivation thing. Obviously I wouldn't do it by choice, but by now I've just gotten used to it I suppose, and I know it won't last forever. Both Riley and Elliot slept through the night by 7 weeks reliably, and I'm really hoping Liam follows suit.

Well, that's it for now, going to put my feet up for 5 minutes while Liam's mobile finishes. I'll update again soon, hopefully with some new photos.

Stay cool!

Ready for his closeup!

Here's just a few from our first few days with Mr. Liam. I'm still working on a formal announcement to post... but didn't want to keep you all waiting for a glimpse. We'll try to take many more over these next several days. (It might take a minute or so to load, it's loading a slideshow from a remote site - and I'm pretty sure if you click on them they open full size) Enjoy! :)

FINAL SCORE - Boys 3, Girls 0.

Yes, ladies and gents, the last installment has arrived. Version 3.0 is here! I'm going to try and whip up a little announcement with photo later, but in the meantime, here are the details -

Liam Asher
June 2, 2008
(yes, I went into labor the day before I was scheduled to be induced)
10:44pm
7 lbs. 5oz.
19 1/2"

We are home, doing well - but MANY adjustments to be made!! I'll update more later. :)

Makes a great meal!

Now, I've heard of various cultural ways that people handle the placenta. Some bury it, some plant it next to a tree, some eat it. And to each his own. But I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw this graphic the other day about a great no fuss, no muss way to deal with it!

Sorry, couldn't resist - trying to pass the time before heading to the hospital... :o)

So, if this is it....

Please let me know! There's a little Huey Lewis and the News for you all. Try getting THAT out of your head now for the rest of the day.... :)

Well, awoke around 3 with a massive contraction, suspicious something might be up. Took a bath, and contractions haven't gone away yet - but they're not in a pattern yet, so I'm holding off calling the doctor for now.

Will update as I know anything!!