Ready for the fair

Friday and Saturday are the days I can enter things in the fair. Today I finished my last item for the fair. I have 40 items labeled and ready to go in case Ray ends up entering them for me. I have sewn, crocheted, knitted, and cross stitched items. Things from blankets to doll clothes. This will probably be the first year I don't attend the fair myself but Ray will probably take the kids with his parents one of the days it is open. Everything depends on the little one and when he/she decides to join our family.

Coming Along

I had some bouts with contractions this weekend and it is doing the trick. Today I was dilated to just about 1 1/2. Hopefully I will progress over the next week so that I will be even closer next appointment on the 2nd. That is the day I enter things in the fair so I need to get things labeled so that if I am in the hospital Ray can enter my stuff in the fair.

We went ahead and booked our hotel for December down in Orlando. I use hotels.com so I can get the free night for every 10 nights booked. Hotels.com was having a 24 hour sale on many of the hotels for up to 40-50% off so Ray and I decided to grab up the deal. We got a 3 bedroom townhouse for the four nights we are going to be there and we got it for 50%. Ray's parents and our neice may be joining us. We will have a kitchen and that will cut down on cost since we can make breakfasts and dinners while we are there. After our stay we will qualify for a free night so maybe we will take a weekend trip somewhere next spring.

The kids are very excited to go. We have three days left on our Disney tickets from February and we have to use them by December 23. Timmy has to still be 2 too or we will have to pay for him. We plan on going to the Magic Kingdom again and also the Animal Kingdom. The third day we haven't decided yet.

Ray's brother is coming into town tonight and we will be spending sometime with him this weekend. So our busy season has began.

Visit to Grandma's

Yesterday we went out to Grandma and Papa's. The kids enjoyed playing with their puppies. Sheila really didn't have a boo-boo on her face but she wanted a bandaid when she ran into the wall and daddy complied. Sheila has always been really good with animals.

Timmy is still learning how to handle the puppies. This poor little guy couldn't go anywhere without Timmy holding on to him. When Timmy would hold too tightly the puppy would bite at Timmy's hands (not hard) but that didn't deter Timmy from grabbing on again.

Timmy also liked playing on the rocking horse. Sheila is a little too big for it now but Timmy is the perfect size.

Then the kids played out in the wading pool that Grandma and Papa had just purchased. Timmy didn't play in it long and both were out within 15-20 minutes. But it cooled them off on a hot day.

YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!

Ray just called me and he got his promotion. He got one of the two positions he went up for. Don't know when we will see the actual benefits but at least we know he got the position and it is coming soon.

Word to the Wise...

Don't go to a case lot sale when you are 9 months pregnant. I dropped Sheila off at school this morning since I needed to pay for her lunches. Then Timmy and I ran to wal-Mart to pick up a few things. I decided to head over to the case lot sale at the commissary. Last time I got there around the time it was open and it wasn't bad. When I got there a few minutes after 9 (which is when they open) and had to park far away I should have known something was up. Another expectant mother got the expectant mother parking spot just moments before me. Poor Timmy didn't even get an airplane cart. He was so good though. The line to the caselot sale started over by the produce section at the front of the store and stretched across the back of the store to the doors to the back room. It took 30 minutes just to get in the back room. After I got my loot I left the line just for a moment to check on getting pita bread since all the stores seems to be out currently. None. I go to get back in line to check out and it is backed up into the back room. I decide to sit down for a little bit and talk to the older people drinking coffee. They told me to call 911 (since I am 9 months pregnant) and maybe that will get me out of there sooner. Finally I go back to look for the end of the line. One of the workers was starting to form a second line for checking out and then a nice man let me in front of him since I was so pregnant. I thanked him. When I got up to the front a cashier took me through a self check out since I only had a few big boxes and a few smaller things. Thank heavens for nice people or I would still be standing in that line. It took over an hour and half and half of that time was standing in line.

Caught in the Rain

Serving my mission in Seattle one would think I would be use to driving in the rain. But driving in the rain here is so different than Seattle. In Washington the roads are built to deal with the rain and run off. Here the roads literally become huge puddles if not rivers since the roads are flat with troughs from years of tire wear and no where for the water to drain off. Yesterday, Timmy and I finished up grocery shopping at the commissary. It was sprinkling as we drove in. According to the news forecast we could expect scattered thunderstorms. Arriving at the commissary the clouds were dispersing and the sun was shining.

After an hour in the store we made our way up to the front to discover thick darkness outside and pouring rain. After paying for the groceries we ran out to the van. I had left the umbrella in the van when I saw the sun was shining. I hurried and got Timmy in out of the rain and then gave the bagger an extra tip for the rain. It poured all the way home. So much so that the only thing I could see at points was the tail lights of the semi in front of me. A normal 30 minute drive took closer to an hour. Timmy feel asleep on the way so I left him sleeping in the van while I hurried and hauled the bags in then got him since I knew the rain would wake him up. Of course it stopped raining about 15 or so minutes later and was sunny the rest of the day.

An update on my other news: Congratulations to my friend Amy and husband on their beautiful new baby girl. My brother has learned that he and his wife are expecting a girl at the end of January. My cousin is expecting twin boys around the same time. I have finished several more projects but am slowing down with all my swelling and achiness.

September So Far

This month has been so busy already. It seems like I am not able to get stuff done around the house. However, I did get the swing set up and we moved the kids' car seats to the back. Still need to install the base for the infant car seat in the middle seat. Sheila is excited because she will be sitting behind the baby. I need to start getting my bag packed. I also have finally got Ray to hang up my bulletin board and dry erase boards for the kids. The kids earn points for doing certain chores and then those points will turn into an allowance. Sheila is excited about having her own money to spend. In two weeks when they get their first allotment of allowance we will be having a FHE about tithing. We also implemented a new reward/consequence system in the house. It is similar to what Sheila has in school. We came up with 7 rules and when they break one of those they get a warning. The second time they get a time out and the third time they go from a green light to a yellow. It is a stop light. They start with a green light every day. If they have a green light still at the end of the day they get to pick a treat out of the green light jar. If they get a red light (the fourth time) then they lose computer privileges (mostly for Sheila since Timmy doesn't play on the computer yet) for the next day. So far it has worked well. Timmy got a yellow light yesterday for hitting his sister and so he had to watch her get something out. Hopefully he will stop hitting, scratching, and pulling her hair. Sheila's big thing is whining and tantrums.

I have pretty much finished up Christmas shopping for the kids. Sheila's big item will be bought just before Christmas since we have no where to hide it. I also have most of Timmy's birthday bought. They are not getting anything large (except Sheila's one gift) since their room is overflowing with toys already. But they are getting things they like and will play with.

I had my doctor's appointment today. I am not even dilated so I don't have to go for two more weeks. I never dilated with my other two until I was very close. Sheila I didn't dilate until after I was in labor for several hours. Timmy I was dilated a little bit when they induced me a week early. This one I plan to just let come when she/he wants too. It will be interesting to see if I have shorter labor than 12 hours (my labor with Timmy even being induced.) I sure hope it isn't as long as Sheila's (50 hours.) Everything else is fine. My weight gain has stablized and I am on track of gaining about as much as I did with Timmy although I was hoping for less since I had extra weight when I got pregnant this time.

I hope to get a few more things for the fair (October 5-10) done and labeled incase Ray has to enter them for me. But I am not able to do as much so I am slowing down a bit. I am just doing the necessary cleaning currently. My hands and feet swell constantly now. My hands feel like sausages when I get up in the morning. I try to keep off me feet as much as possible. I work on something for only about an hour now and then take a rest. I am now also congested. I am pretty sure it is from the pregnancy. I have been off and on for several weeks now. I had a cold about a month ago but this time it is different so I am pretty sure it's from the pregnancy. I am ready to have the baby. I don't remember so many aches and pains with the other two but I know this little baby will be worth every bit of it and am grateful that I have had a healthy pregnancy again.