august!

i can't believe how time flies when you have three kids. Bug is now 6 weeks and has gained half his body weight. HA has been working out like crazy so he's getting big too.
Drama and Monkey are in their own beds now. they share a room right now but i think that's helping them transition easier. basically we just tell them its bed time. we kiss them good night, tuck them in, and turn the light off. sometimes they talk for a little bit. but most nights they stay in their own beds and fall asleep. this has been going on for 2 weeks now since Monkey turned 2.
Potty training is still going. Monkey actually tells me when he has to go so i take him and Drama. they get a sticker and we sing a song when they go potty.
i started rewarding them for good behavior with a sticker too and have seen them be more cooperative and even helpful since starting the sticker reward system. Drama even emptied the dishwasher for me. the items that were in the higher cabinets i helped her with. i was impressed that she knew where everything went! Monkey loves to get the little dishwasher cubes and put them in, close the dishwasher and push the start button for me. they also help me with laundry! if they help, the task usually takes longer but if i have the time then i enjoy their help. i wish they could vacuum!

HA was away at drill for the weekend. so a long time friend of mine came from Cali to stay with me. we had so much fun catching up. i miss having her in town!
nothing too exciting has been happening lately. all the days seem to blend in together. we are stuck inside most of the time since its getting up to 114 degrees here. I'm having to focus harder (this heat makes me tired) and be creative to keep the toddlers busy indoors. God bless the MOMS Club! we all have been coming up with ideas to keep our little ones busy together.
i will be leading an un-official La Leche League meeting this Thursday for the first time. its un-official because i have not completed the course yet. been trying to do some homework here and there. its great that this is self paced.
this Saturday the Monkey turns 2. I'm still shocked. but excited as well. i see the little guy he's turning into and i love it.

Boppy babies!!!

Bug

Monkey

Drama

BOPPY BABIES!!

Monkey as a newborn

Bug in his wrap

Drama at her first ballet class

Drama had her first ballet classes. it was a summer program for 3 & 4 year old that were just starting off. it was only 3 weeks. each class had a fairytale theme. they read a book, did a craft and then did basic ballet stuff. a little too basic for Drama who lost interest in the class after the book. she had no interest in waiting in a light just to jump over a scarf that was on the ground. or wait for her turn skip across the room. i was getting frustrated with her not listening and waiting her turn. the teacher would barely get out what they would be doing next and then Drama was running off to do it. i thought i had failed in some way. some of the other moms told me i should put her in pre-school so she can learn to take turns. after thinking about this i realized they are full of it. why would i stick my kid in a class for several hours a day so she could learn to take turns? she's 3! everything that a pre-school would be teaching a 3 year old she already knows. shes sounding out words already. she saw the word "latitude" on the side of a bus and was sounding it out. so if not understanding how to wait her turn is the only thing she still needs to learn at 3 years old, I'm really OK with that. plus i think it would have been better if i just put her in a regular class where she learns more than how to jump. i think she just really wanted to dance. nothing wrong with that.

Monkey will be 2 in 2 weeks! how did that happen? he's officially started the terrible twos. between Drama's "drama" and Monkey's fits expect to put on ear plugs if you come to my house. I'm so excited to throw Monkey's birthday party. guess what the theme is... monkeys! i will be making the cake too.

Bug is getting big. weighing in at 9lb 4oz at his 2 week Dr appointment today. for those of you that are rusty at baby averages, after 2 weeks they should be back to their birth weight. his birth weight was 8lb 3 oz. so he's a POUND more. yay!! he loves to eat. and the funny thing is that he's not eating around the clock either. my other 2 seemed to nurse every hour or 2 hours for the first 6 weeks. he'll sleep for 4-6 hours straight and then eat and sleep several more hours. and he's still huge. what a good baby. and i gotta say, thank God for my wrap! how do mother's get anything done without them i wonder?

new baby

i can't believe that June Bug is 2 weeks old now! he's been such a great baby. he eats like a cow and that has given him some tummy problems. he spits up as much as Drama did. so I'm going to have to watch what i eat and see if that helps him. and amazingly he's a great sleeper. he wakes up once or twice a night to eat and then goes back to sleep. i don't feel very sleep deprived like i did with Drama and Monkey. it helps to have Heavily Armed here. he has to go back to work on Monday. that will be interesting. i will be taking all 3 kids to June Bug's (okay, I'm going to shorten it to BUG now cuz its easier) Dr's appointment on Monday. yay me! I'll be spending more time on the computer next week. promise!

walking to no end

for the past 3 days i have been walking my booty off trying to either keep labor going when it seems to start or get it going when it seems to stop. I've never experienced false labor with my other two pregnancies. i can't believe how frustrating it is. it is painful like real labor, so i think "OK, this is it" and start timing them and start moving around to get progress going. it will last a few hours and then just stop. and i will feel fine, exhausted, but fine.
after 3 days of this walking miles and telling people that this could be it (my mil even came over to help with the kids on Monday so i could focus on keeping things going but labor stopped by 9pm) I've given up. he'll come when he's ready and there is nothing i can do about it. yes, I'm in pain, yes I'm frustrated, but why i think i can decide when my son is born is very strange. i will be waiting for that moment when i can tell Heavily Armed "hunny, its time!" and we'll gather everything together and rush to the hospital. until then i will do what i do every other day. clean, cook, and care for the little ones. who by the way are doing really well. getting over colds now and ready for some outdoor fun!
currently Monkey is obsessed with me reading him books. mostly books about cars and trucks. and Drama is playing with Lego's like they are rabbits who she names strange names and cares for them while carrying them around in a bucket.

one more weekend down

before on left, after on right

i recovered my dining room chairs this past week. HA was gone on civilian business all week so i had the time. Friday night we went to see the new Terminator movie while the children spent time with grandma and grandpa. we figured it might be our last time on a date for a while before June Bug comes. he still hasn't come, so maybe we'll get another chance.

my car hasn't been working well this past week and HA checked it out on Sunday. it has to go to a mechanics this week so I'm using the in-law's car until it can get fixed. THANKS IN-LAWS! your car is a very smooth ride!

Monkey is getting a cold AGAIN. that kid seems to get sick every time the weather changes! its been only in the 90's and windy this past weekend and the Monkey's system does not like the change. soon it will be just hot all the time and he'll at least have some relief.

so basically we are all on high alert as to when June Bug will make his grand entrance. hoping it will be soon. i keep dreaming that he's a Blondie with his daddy's lips, so that would be entertaining. we will have to wait and see. and no, i will not get induced, no i will not be delivering at home (as much as i want to) and i will go as long as i can stand it without pain meds. but it wasn't so long ago that i had Monkey that i had time to forget THAT kind of miserable pain, so we will see. yes, we are done having kids and we are making plans to make that permanent. of course i will be breastfeeding June Bug. and i realized that after i reach my goal of a year breastfeeding June Bug, i will have been pregnant and/or breastfeeding for 5 years STRAIGHT! its been so long that i don't know what it feels like to not use my body as nourishment for a baby! can you believe it?!