up with the frogs

The boys passed out on me at 8pm. I had a mocha at 7 pm (dumb, yes) so here I am at 10:30 pm in a quiet dark house...just me and the very loud frogs outside.

This made me laugh. Maddox found it a few days ago in the garage and wanted to go for a jump. He barely fit!

I remember the night I put it together. Andrew was at work and I set it up in the kitchen then realized I couldn't fit it through the door. Maddox woke up and I stuck him in it and he was mesmerized.

Those are sweet memories.

rain rain, stay awhile!

If you had to tote all this hair around, you would be thankful for cool rainy days too!

Maddox loves it. He tries to get lost in it. He plays a game with me all day long where he takes out my hair band, gives it to me and says "Thanks."

This morning I wished my mom was here. She is my best friend and plus...I had piles of dishes and laundry and a mean nasty headache and a toddler saying "eat eat eat"...and...well, sometimes it is just really nice to have moms closeby.

But God answered my prayer for help! Andrew didn't have to go to class today so he was with us ALL DAY. Heaven!

The rain had me feeling lazy; on top of that, this belly was slowing me down. But I finally registered with Dr. DeCroos, aka the guy who will give me a spinal block and better do a dang good job!

40 days.

I wish I could record Maddox's voice and put it on here (maybe I can?). He will pretty much repeat anything you say now. My latest favorite (his tone is HILARIOUS): "Ohhhh my."

He is becoming such a little boy. Today he got something on his shirt and wanted it off. He then carried it to the washing machine and tossed it in. Looks like I have a little helper now.

sweet moments

Our specialty this week has been breaking things.

1. I broke a gigantic picture frame and spent 2 days finding glass shards.

2. Andrew broke my favorite Yankee Candle. It smelled just like the beach. Bummer.

3. Maddox opened my dishwasher, grabbed a Starbucks coffee mug and CRASH.

What's next? Please God not my anthropologie coffee mugs.

So, this week has been great, other than cleaning up glass.

I am 33 weeks pregnant today. Jude likes to hang a little lower than Mr. Maddox did.

Maddox started his day by having a friend over. Miss Peyton! He loved that she had a purple bow in her hair and she loved that he fed her goldfish. They were so adorable together. They rolled the ball, cooked in his kitchen and shared all his toys. I was so proud of him! He only said "mine!" once. He is going to be a very good big brother, I think.

I enjoyed getting in some girl time with Miss Peyton's mom. We topped off the playdate with some sweets from Cakemaster's Bakery down the road. I ate my whole box of sweets and then passed out during Maddox's nap. Darn those sugar cookies!

Our evening was quiet and mostly spent outside. There was enough wind to keep us from sweating to death and the bugs were few, which is a small miracle.

I spent my moments with this handsome man, laughing...as usual.

And with this little man.

I know. We make the cutest kids.

When he gets grumpy in the afternoon, I make him a smoothie. Tonight it was blackberry peach. Then he gets seconds and we all cuddle on the couch and he is one happy camper. And so am I.

Money and Llamas

Maddox will cry for wipes (or as he says "ipes").
And toilet paper.
He loves to tear them into itsy bitsy pieces, wipe the floor, wipe his head, flush them....
So...we have to keep them out of reach or else we'll end up with a whole roll of tp in the potty and an empty wipes box.
Andrew explained to Maddox today that wipes cost money.
So Maddox found some money. He was pretty thrilled. He waved it around then handed it all to me, each time saying "money. money. money."
I bet he was thinking...
"Look, Mom, I give you this money, you give me endless wipes! Deal?"

This is what bedtime looked like at our house tonight:

Story time on the bed. Of course we are reading "Llama Llama Misses Mama" aka Maddox's current favorite book.

I decided to zone out during Llama and take some pictures. I could recite this book by heart, after all. And on the weekend, book reading is TaTa's job.

Then, we always put Llama to bed in the book box. Goodnight kisses follow. Look at Ta's bald head!

I get in my kiss and then many many more...until Mr. Maddox falls asleep snuggled up on my pillow with his arm around my neck.

HOME ALONE!

I am in the house all alone. This is a rare, beautiful thing...and yet here I am, wasting it on my blog. The boys have been sent on a mission to get some breakfast from ChickFilA...another rare and beautiful thing. I went to bed at 3am (hello insomnia) and was up at 7 with the little man. My body must be getting me ready for the big wake-up call that's going to happen to my sleep schedule Sept. 21.

Yesterday Andrew made a "booboo." He was shaping up his hair outside and the guard fell off...he didn't notice. This is what happened. I laughed so hard. Maddox looked scared, as if thinking "And this man cuts my hair?"

So now Andrew is bald again.

Mr. Clean is back!

p.s. the old print I picked up at Goodwill yesterday is of a C130 - the same plane Andrew works on. Pretty cool, huh?

thrifting :)

Maddox and I like to be on the GO. But it's hard to be on the go when the heat index outside is 115 degrees. That cancels out the park; even the splash pad is too hot with temps like that. Today I decided to get back into my hobby of thrifting. I hit up the local Goodwill. And look, I found the perfect final picture for Jude's room! A super heavy frame and a black and white shot of an Air Force plane. $8. That is why I love thrifting. You find cheap vintage stuff (my favorite) that you probably won't see anywhere else.

We've been spending a lot of time in the nursery lately. Maddox and I dance in there because that's where the radio is currently located. We build things with blocks, too, and talk about baby brother...where he will sleep and where we will change his diapers. Maddox found some baby powder in a drawer and said "baby...butt." It was so cute.

Hello August, You're Hot!

Maddox got one of his bday presents a few weeks early. I give you: THE KITCHEN. He calls it the "'tove" or the "door." He loves it. This is the one toy he will actually play with by himself for a few minutes before he tracks me down, grabs my hand and informs me that the food is "done." Read: come sit down with me, Mom, and eat my food and help me cook some more.

I must admit, it is a pretty great kitchen, complete with a cordless phone, a light over the sink, buttons that make sounds, and even an eye on the stove that makes boiling/hissing sounds when you put the pots on top.

Before we got the stove, Andrew asked "Why does Maddox need a kitchen? He's a boy."

Guess what? Boys cook too!

And now that Andrew sees how much Maddox loves it, he admits it was a great idea. Just like his lawn mower. These are the toys he treasures.

So, the week is wrapping up. I have 47 days left before I get to meet Mr. Jude.I cannot wait to see Maddox's face when he meets his baby brother. I want Maddox next to me in my bed holding his little baby brother (with help of course) and I want a picture of it.

Tonight Maddox watched me make a whimsical flag banner set for Jude's room and he not once touched the flags or the ribbon or messed with the glue. But I am sure the temptation was killing him.

They turned out good. I saw this in a magazine then on a web site and decided to give it a try.

Tonight was another smoothie night (for dessert). Strawberry smoothie, to be exact, with lemon ice. I was brave and let Maddox drink its bright red goodness on my couch. That is what slipcovers are for, after all.

p.s. it's August now and hotter than ever. I had to go to the store today to buy my most hated weekly purchase (tp) and at 10 am I managed to get drenched in sweat just from the store to the parking lot. Anyone else want to move to North Dakota with me?