My Neighbors will Surely Thank Me Later for the Entertainment

We are dog sitting this weekend. We have my parent's dog, Zoe. She is a good dog and we have lots of fun with her. The one thing with Zoe is that she is very social and completely unafraid of cars, so when she goes out a leash is absolutely necessary.

Earlier today, I tried to get her leash on her and she wasn't really into that and while I was trying to convince her otherwise she tinkled a little on the floor. So the second time, I think I am going to be alot wiser about this whole thing and try to get her to keep her dribbles inside until we reach the great outdoors. That is where the story begins......

Picture a dog. Picture this dog.

Picture a boy. Picture this boy.

Picture that boy wearing these on his feet.

The same boy that absolutely refused to wear sandals all this long, hot, summer. He decided that today, December 12 would be a much better time to have his naked little toes sticking out of his sandals. Sandals that are probably too small.

Now picture a woman. A woman with this belly.

Picture the boy opening up the door while the woman with the belly is waiting till the last minute to swoop the leash on the dog right as she hops out the door. Picture that not working at all and the dog that should never go outside without a leash is outside without a leash.

Now the dog is running around all over the yard, the neighbors' yard and the street. The woman with the belly is chasing the dog and calling for her to come back. Now the boy in the sandals comes out of the house, forgets to close the door and chases the dog too.

Since the door is open, the cat, the indoor cat, decides to make a break for it. The boy in the sandals sees the cat and starts chasing him instead all while screaming to the woman with the belly "Mama, Mac is out. Mama get Mac".

So around and around the dog runs while the lady with the big belly tries to catch her. In another area the cat is running around and around while the boy wearing the sandals in 30 degree weather tries to catch him.

The lady with the belly may have fallen, but she was definitely not hurt, nor was the belly, only her pride and her knees. Finally the dog was cornered and decided to run inside. The boy with the sandals followed. The lady with the belly came to close the door and then went to the neighbors porch to collect her cat.

Once inside the woman with the belly realizes that the dog never even peed outside.

Thankful for These Thursday

This last week I have been so thankful for many people and things. So I thought I would share a few...

This is a castle that Matthew got as a birthday present from my sister and her family (Thanks guys!). I must admit I am pretty sure I wanted this more than Matthew did (I have been wanting it for months), but now he likes it more than me. This toy has kept him busy for hours (Am I a bad mom if that makes me love the castle even more than I anticipated?). I will also admit that Matthew's cars spend more time in the castle than the knights that came with it do. But that makes sense, cars always drive around medieval castles. The boy loves his cars and they get to play in everything, in fact right now there are a couple parked beside the Christmas houses.

Second thing I am thankful for are all these clothes. My grandma sent these for the kids. I was completely shocked to get a box from my grandma. She does love to buy baby and kid's clothing, but she never sends it in the mail. I haven't bought a thing for the baby girl (her grandmas have though, which I am also VERY thankful for) and I have been thinking lately she will need some clothes (since some people (MOM)strongly feel that she shouldn't wear all blue boy hand-me-downs from her brother that I have stuffed in every closet). Matthew got a super handsome dress shirt from Gap, some football pjs, and a super duper cool coat. The coat also came equipped with an Ipod pocket with a little opening for the headphones, which EVERY 4 year old needs. I can't tell you how many times in the past I have said "Matthew I just wish your coat had a place for your Ipod".

The third thing I am so thankful for is gift cards and those that give them. My sisters and their families came for Thanksgiving and we celebrated Christmas then with them. My nieces got Erik and I gift cards for dinner and a movie (they weren't supposed to get us anything by the way, but thanks girls). So Erik and I had a date night this week. We went to dinner AND a movie. I am not even sure of the last time that happened. It was awesome!

The fourth thing goes with the third. I am so thankful for grandparents that enjoy taking their grandson overnight so that his parents can have a great, free date night (Thanks Mine and Papine).

The last thing that I am thankful for is getting our health insurance all taken care of. Because I am pregnant I have had to get the cobra insurance from Erik's last job because nobody, of course wants to cover a pregnant lady part way through. Thankfully, we were able to just have me covered on that while getting Erik and Matthew on a seperate independent policy because as some of you might know cobra is very expensive. To have that taken care of is such a relief.

Oh and I am also really thankful for bananas and Fudge Rounds too.

I Am Pretty Sure I Didn't Explain It This Way...

Yesterday, Matthew was looking through a book.
He points to a picture and says:
"This is a statue of Jesus. Some people made a statue of Him because He is so great. Jesus takes away all of our sins and gives them to the T-Rex dinosaurs."

Four Years Ago Today....

... my 9lb 10oz chub of love baby boy came into this world.

I cannot believe he is 4! But yet I can't really seem to remember life without my little love. 4 seems likes such a big jump from 3. We celebrated on Sunday with my parents. Matthew called it "the best day ever of my life", so I would say he had fun. I actually bought a birthday cake, which I have never done before, but Matthew is completely in love with those cakes he sees in the store so it was kinda like another present for him. I must say though I will probably not buy another one again because it didn't taste very good. Matthew did love it though so I guess that is all that really matters!

We are having fun playing with some new toys today. New toys are great. And Whac-a-mole is loads of fun, even if you are much older than 4! There may have been a time or 2 on Sunday when the 4 adults were playing the game without the birthday boy.

The Fat Has Landed

Alright, I know some people really enjoy seeing a fat pregnant lady, so I have decided to post a pic for you crazy people that like that sort of thing.

For those of you who never saw me during my first pregnancy, first of all consider yourselves lucky and second of all you should know I was HUGE. I know every pregnant woman thinks they are the size of a humpback whale, but I didn't just think it, it was real. Every part of me was large. My ankles had the same circumference of that of a 30 year old oak tree and I swear even my nose tripled in size. Of course, people were polite and didn't tell me I was ginormous. Instead they said things like, "When are you due again?" and then when I would tell them my due date they would snicker and say "I don't think there is any way you will make it that long." Others would guess my due date and would be about 60 days off.

Now this time around I was starting to get a little cocky. Until about a month ago, I would tell people that I was pregnant and they were shocked at how far along I was, saying I didn't even look pregnant. Then the belly came all of the sudden, bringing with it the fat face that I thought I might be avoiding this time. Matthew always has funny things to say like "Whoa your belly is HUGE" and "Your baby's bubble is getting bigger and bigger, soon it is going to pop". I just hope he doesn't start saying things like that to other people, especially people who aren't pregnant, but he does enjoy talking to strangers so I am sure it is just a matter of time.

Words to Laugh By

Matthew has been saying alot of things lately to crack us up and make us ask ourselves "Where in the world did he get that?". Here are a few.

My Mom was over the other day and we were getting ready to eat lunch. I was fixing a very complex and tasty culinary treat, also known as peanut butter and jelly.

Matthew says: "May I have some peanut butter on my thumb?"

I say: "Sure"

My Mom: "Matthew I can give you some peanut butter."

Matthew: "No thank you, Mama can do it." He then sticks out his finger turns to my Mom and says "Watch and learn."

As I was cleaning the bathroom Matthew enters with his Lightning McQueen phone up to his ear chatting away.

I ask: "Who are you talking to?"

Matthew puts his hand over the phone and says "Daddy". He then continues to talk on the phone. A moment later he sticks out his pointer finger toward me and says "I will play with you in just one minute."

He then continues his conversation with Daddy, which among many things including the following, "Do you want to come over to my place at 6?....Ok. Love you. Bye."

He then snaps his phone shut and says to me "Sorry that took so long."

While Erik was home on his unemployed impromptu vacation, he and Matthew played alot of baseball. Matthew somehow knows a few baseball terms (I think I can thank the Berenstain Bear's baseball book for that).

As they were playing, Matthew takes a few practice swings before Erik pitches and then he swings and completely misses the pitch once it is thrown. Erik is just cracking up that Matthew takes practice swings when we have never suggested for him to do such a thing. Matthew thinks Erik is laughing because he missed the pitch so he turns to him and says with as much attitude as a 3 year old can possess "What? Better than your Mama's sister!".

Grandma and Grandpa's Visit

I am a bit behind and haven't had a chance to post pictures from Erik's parents visit yet. We only get to see them a couple of times a year so we always look forward to spending time with them. We did alot of playing outside, we went to the zoo, Erik's Mom and I did a little shopping, and of course the guys played beans. Matthew did his best to keep Grandma busy snuggling, crashing cars, and making her laugh. I think Grandma's favorite Matthew line was after he woke up from a nap and we were all talking about what a great long nap he took and he said, while pointing to a few spots on his pants "Yeah, and I even slept with these annoying stains on my pants". I am so lucky to have a child who can sleep during extreme stain situations.

Job Update

My hubby is employed! Today is his first day. Woohoo! Praise the Lord!

We are so blessed that he was able to get a job so quickly. Matthew and I really enjoyed having him home though for 2 weeks. It was a great little vacation at home! I can honestly say that I was able to thoroughly enjoy our extra time together without being worried about the future, job and money stuff.

I thought Matthew would be absolutely rotten today because he has been so used to Daddy being home to play with him, but he has been great. He was pretty sure Daddy was going to be, in his words "taying home forever", but he did fine when Erik left. He just had a tiny fussing time about Erik taking the van, he said "Now Mama we can't drive anywhere". We are down to one car since Erik used to have a company car. This has been the most traumatic thing for Matthew. He LOVED Erik's Jeep and I think he is a little worried that if Erik takes the van to work he won't bring it back. He is a little worrier. I have NO idea where he gets that from, haha!

Thanks everybody for your thoughts and prayers!

Crazy Week

So as the title suggests we have had a crazy week. On Monday, Erik came home from work with some pretty stinky news. He no longer had a job. The reason given was that his boss was eliminating his position. I am not going to get into into alot of details, but I will just tell you this was a HUGE shock. Erik just got some very large accounts for the auction, so to eliminate his position seems strange and unfair (ok and dumb too). The situation seems fishy and I will admit I think my man has been wronged.

My husband is awesome though. As soon as he got home he made some calls to anyone he knows who may have a job for him and sent his resume to everyone hiring within a 30 mile radius. On Tuesday, he went to a job fair, had an interview, and got a few more scheduled for next week. Erik is really the best job finder.

We are also very blessed. Through working at the auction Erik knows every car dealer in the area, as well as, many other dudes from businesses that send cars to the auction. Erik has received many calls from these people once they find out about him being let go, offering any connections they may have to finding him a new job. One even said he would have a job for Erik by the end of the week. Now I am not holding my breath, but it is just such a blessing that people are so willing to help.

The really great part about this week is that Erik's parents are here visiting us from Michigan. We have been looking forward to their visit and we are so happy to have them!

I am beyond confident that the Lord will provide, He always has. I am not completely freaking out, so that is certainly evidence that He has already provided me peace that we all know I do not possess during financial trials.
Thank you to our family and friends who I know are already on their knees on our behalf!

The Lighter Side of the Debate

Debates make me really nervous. I get pretty tense before I watch a debate. I am not sure why because I am just watching and I really don't even have to do that.

But I found 2 things kind of funny during the debates last night to settle my nerves.

First off, talk of Joe the Plumber. That might as well be his name now, with the as his middle name and Plumber as his last. I bet this man had no idea that by speaking to Obama over the weekend he would be mentioned in the final debate. Not was he just mentioned once, but I heard a count today that he was referred to 25 times! Joe the Plumber was made a celebrity last night. Both candidates wanted to have the best plan for Joe.

The other thing I really enjoyed was McCain using the word cockamamie. This has been one of my favorite words for the longest time. If I were sitting on the fence that definitely would have sealed the deal for me (please know I am kidding, although my feelings for the word are strong election decisions should not be made because of great vocabulary choices by the candidates). Try using the word cockamamie, it will surely brighten your day and also brighten the day of those around you.

On an unrelated note, have you noticed all this blogging going on??? I think that is 4 posts in 3 days! Definitely a record here. Apparently it is either feast or famine with me. Now I probably won't post till spring 2009, just kidding.

I Love Overalls

Unfortunately, Matthew does not share these same feelings. I have always loved overalls and I put them on Matthew all the time when he was little. I got his overalls out the other day and he was pretty sure he would not wear them. So being the wonderful mother that I am, I offered him 1 piece of candy in exchange for him wearing the overalls all day. Candy is king. The overalls were worn. I had to take a few pictures (or maybe alot of them) in case, this never ever happened again.

A Very Good Day at Target

Last week I bought some pajamas for Matthew and 3 of those Rubbermaid totes at Target. Both of those things happened to be on sale this week. So I went back and got a price adjustment. I got over $10 back! I am just amazed by that. I have always heard of stores giving price adjustments but I have never actually been able to get one. I normally buy things and then 2 weeks later they are on sale which doesn't do me any good. Last week I also bought kitty litter and got a $5 Target gift card, so I used that on my purchases today (more pjs for the boy since they were on sale). I rarely buy anything besides food (oh and kitty litter, of course) so even though I love Target I don't buy much there. Days like today make me love Target even more. I love you Target.
Also on a non-Target note, gas in $2.94! It is really just a great day.

The results are in....

It's a girl! I am honestly just in complete shock. I was really expecting it to be a boy. Don't get me wrong I am very excited, but I have just spent the last 4 years picking out blue clothes and for some reason I just wasn't expecting to see any pink in my immediate future.
Matthew went with us this morning to the ultrasound and he did very well. As soon as the ultrasound tech came out to the waiting room to fetch us Matthew decided he liked her and quickly told her so. He asked her a few questions, always with a polite "Excuse me Dr." to begin his question. He wasn't a big fan of having the lights off or hearing the heart beat which was a bit loud. After the appointment he told everyone who even looked in his general direction about seeing his baby sister jump around in his Mama's tummy. He told Erik later "I am going to tell everyone in the whole wide world about my baby sister".
So I have a video of him doing just that. Erik just got me a new camera for our anniversary and my birthday that takes video so it is all kinda new to me. I am going to try to figure out how to post it. If it doesn't work, all you smart people who know how to do that feel free to comment and instruct me on how to do so, thanks!

What's it gonna be?

Thursday morning we will find out if I will become even more outnumbered and continue to be the lone female in our home or if things will get evened out around here. I am kinda feeling like it's a boy (but what do I know) and Erik and I think it would be fun for Matthew to have a brother. Of course a girl would be fun and different too (and we all know girl clothes are way cuter than boy's). Either way we are VERY excited to find out!
Matthew in the past weeks has been very adamant one way or the other. He was completely convinced at first that it was going to be a girl and refused to believe a baby brother could even be an option. The last few weeks he has alternated between the two, one week he is completely sure it is a brother the next week he is 100% sure it is a sister. This week when asked he says "I think it is going to just be a baby." He certainly can't go wrong with that prediction.

New Dog Walking Venture

Are you tired of walking your dog? Does it just seem like there is not enough time in the day to properly walk your dog? Does your dog wear you out?

Look no further. We can help you with your walking woes. Let Matthew take care of all of your dog walking needs. You will never have to walk your dog again. Matthew has the energy and experience you are looking for.

Here is some photo evidence of his superior dog walking abilities. Matthew has the know how to walk any dog at any speed depending on the dog's individual needs.

Matthew will let your dog run while keeping complete control of the animal.
He will let your dog take a leisurely stroll if that is what your dog wants to do, with time to enjoy the great outdoors.
Matthew can even walk your dog while it naps. Yes, you read that sentence correctly. Your dog no longer needs to lift a paw or even be awake to be walked by Matthew.

**(A note to concerned dog-lovers, don't worry, no dogs were hurt during this photo session)

So call now to schedule your first walk session. First session is free! Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If you are not happy with Matthew's Dog Walking we will probably not refund your money and you can once again walk your dog yourself.

Matthew's Thoughts on Pregnancy

To his grandma: "My Mama has a baby growing in her tummy. I have a puppy growing in my tummy. I can't wait till the puppy comes out so I can play with him."
(I am personally crossing my fingers and hoping that puppy is a Newfoundland because I have always wanted one of those. If my wish comes true though, Matthew is gonna get HUGE.)



About a week after we told Matthew about the baby I wasn't feeling so well. I had already explained to him the day before that sometimes because of the baby I wouldn't feel well. He asked me to play and I told him I needed to rest for just a minute. The sweet child ran to get me my crackers. As he hands me the crackers he says grumpily "What is taking this baby so long?".



I wanted to look up something in my pregnancy book and when I was finished I just put the book down on the end table. Matthew decided he was going to look through it. He came upon a sketch of a pregnant woman. After seeing the picture of a baby actually in the sketched woman's stomach, he looks at me very seriously and says "Um, Mama did you eat a baby?".

Lake Winnepesaukah

Last Saturday Erik's company provided the employees tickets and lunch at Lake Winnepesaukah (yeah that is a crazy name isn't it?). Matthew has been wanting to go there really bad because of course he has seen numerous commercials over the last year for the amusement park. The commercial goes something like this "Happy come on get happy, Lake Winnepesaukah will make you smile". So who wouldn't want to go there, right? Well, the park certainly did make Matthew smile. Unfortunately, the smile guarantee must only be for visitors because the majority of the employees were missing theirs.
So since probably none of you have ever been to this park I will tell you about it. Imagine a park that is a combination of Busch Gardens and Sea World with just a tiny bit of Disney World thrown in as well. Lake Winnie (as the locals refer to it) is nothing like that park that you are imagining, but it does have plenty of rides, funnel cakes, a lake with fish in it, and occasionally they get Spongebob or Dora to visit. More realistically it is like a permanent fair or carnival with 2 roller coasters.
Matthew rode lots of little kid rides, a roller coaster and a scary ride. We all got to ride a train and the paddle boats. They don't let pregnant ladies ride too many things, but I had plenty of fun watching Erik and Matthew.

Here Erik and Matthew are getting on the scary ride. I tried to talk him out of it. I mean he gets scared by some Veggies Tales videos, so I thought this ride would be a disaster. Matthew insisted he wanted to go. So he went plugging his ears the whole way. For some reason he always plugs his ears when he is scared, although clearly closing his eyes would be the better choice. I waited for him to come screaming out of the ride, but he did very well. He came running to me when he got off and said "I was just a yittle bit cared" (or a little bit scared).

This is the big roller coaster. Matthew's first one. You can see him putting him hands up in this picture like he is an old pro.

Matthew's first cotton candy. He later shared with my mom his feelings about this experience, "I had cotton candy. I love cotton candy. I love cotton candy like a brother."

We had a great FREE time and the park lived up to it's commercial claims!

Baby Info

The baby is due February 6th. I think I am about 15 weeks right now. That picture was from my ultrasound at 11 weeks. We don't know yet if it is a boy or girl but we will find out as soon as we can and I will, of course, do a post about that. Since we lived in VA when I had Matthew this is a completely new Dr. and they do things a bit different so I have no idea when the 2nd ultrasound will be although I assume it should be soon.
Erik and I may not know the sex of the baby yet, however Matthew is quite convinced he is having a baby sister and refuses to accept the fact that it could possibly be a boy. I was actually pregnant when I wrote the baby sister post but I didn't know it until a couple of days later, so I didn't lie, I promise.
Thanks for all of the comments on the previous post!

Lots of New Stuff

I have obviously been very neglectful when it comes to the blog. I really don't have a good excuse or I would surely share it with you.

So as the title suggests there has been alot of new stuff going on around here. Not just new stuff, but really good new stuff. Hmmm...maybe lots of new stuff is a good excuse for not blogging-I don't know, think about it and get back to me.

The first new really really great thing is, Erik's job. His job isn't new but basically everything about it is, which is wonderful. Another new thing attached to that is a company car. Getting a new car is great, but getting a new car to drive around that you don't have to pay for is awesome. This means we sold the Lancer, which was the first car Erik and I purchased together. So you might think it was a little bit sad to get rid of it, which it was for a moment, then we got the check which quickly dried my tears.

Erik's new ride

The second bit of news is that my boy is a big boy now! I thought for sure Matthew was going to be sporting Pull-Ups to his senior prom, but it turns out that will not be the case. That news probably deserves it's own post, so maybe I will do one later.

And last, but most definitely not least (in fact it is the most important piece of news).

This is a baby. Our baby! Matthew is going to be a big brother! We are all very excited and feel extremely blessed!

As Seen on TV

Matthew LOVES commercials. Not just the toy and kid kind of commercials, he loves all commercials. He also enjoys memorizing those commercials. In the mornings, he typically watches a show or two on NickJr and that is where he gets his sales material.
Here are a few favorites:

Aqua Globes: "Mama, you need Aqua Globes. You will never need to water your plants again."
The fact that I do not have any indoor plants seems to be irrelevant.

Swivel Sweeper: He says, "I want to play in the backyard."
I say: "The backyard is kinda yucky right now, Daddy and I will have to clean it up first." To explain our backyard is pretty much a ditch and everything from our street (water, leaves, garbage) ends up in our backyard, so we generally play in the front.
He says: "If you had a Swivel Sweeper I would clean it up for you. The Swivel Sweeper can pick up anything."
My Mom happened to purchase this sweeper. When Matthew saw it he hugged it and says "Oh I am so happy to see you Swivel Sweeper."

Green Bags: My little salesman says, "Daddy, stop throwing away your money. Air is not the enemy. With Green Bags you will never again throw away rotten fruits and vegetables."
My Mom happened to purchase these too. (I think Matthew may be selling her on these things) She happened to have bananas in the green bag and a few out. He spots the bananas and says "See the difference in these bananas, Mama. Air is not the enemy."

Band-Aid Brand Bandages: Last weekend Matthew fell in a parking lot and got a cut that was really bleeding so we had to stop at Walgreen's to buy some band aids since we weren't headed home. My Mom ran into the store and bought the first bandages see saw, which happened to be the Walgreen's brand. So, we put the bandage on and later that night Matthew went to bed with it on. The next morning I hear him crying as soon as he wakes up which is pretty odd. I hurry up to his room to see what the problem is. He is sitting on his bed looking at his bandage that got a little roughed up in the night and was no longer covering his cut, but still sticking to his arm and says in a weepy voice "This band aid doesn't stick as well as the leading brand."

His future in sales is looking pretty bright.

Michigan Trip

We went to MI for a week and we, of course, had a great time. We got to spend lots of time with family. We also got to visit Ann Arbor, Erik got to do some golfing, Matthew got to play in the water park Grandma set up in her backyard with his cousins, we ate lots and lots, and I got to visit my best girl Rachel from Spring Arbor (I somehow didn't get a pic of her though, how sad). Matthew also got to go bowling for the first time which he has been begging to do.
Last year I think between Erik's mom and sisters and myself we took about 400+ pictures. This year we kept feeling like we were slacking on the picture taking but still ended up with at least 300. This is hands-down the most photographed week of our year, but we really only get to see each other once a year so we have to make up for that by taking a ton of pictures. (Don't worry I won't share them all)

My New Favorite and Zoo Pics

We went to the zoo about a month ago and for some reason I am posting this now. We have this great little zoo near us. It is pretty small, but cheap and Matthew thinks it is great, so I do too.

This is my new favorite! They are both looking and smiling at the same time! Amazing!

Matthew was a bit cautious about actually touching the animals. Erik took him a few weeks prior on his own and Matthew wouldn't even step into the petting portion, he told Erik it was closed and so they couldn't go in. I think it is possible he maybe remembering a segment from America's Home Videos where there were several clips of crazy things happening to kids at petting zoos.

Matthew wild creature extraordinaire telling us all about animal paw prints.