Modern Technology

Believe it or not, we still have a VCR hooked up. I'm downstairs playing on the computer tonight, and Isaiah is down here with me. He has a few toys in the basement, but not too many. I put in a movie for him - A Bug's Life - to keep him entertained. It's the VHS version since I don't have this one on DVD.

I had to rewind the tape to start it. Irritating! Then I had to fast forward thru all of the previews at the beginning. Ugh.

All I have to say is thank goodness for the Menu button on DVD remotes!

- becky

Too Much

Do you ever feel like you have too much going on? (Rhetorical question - needs no response.)

I thought for sure that I would feel much more relaxed once school dismissed for the summer. WRONG! There never seems to be enough time in the day. My To Do list only seems to get longer and longer. The sad part is, it keeps getting longer because I keep thinking of things to add that I should have gotten done a long time ago.

It's almost like I'm overwhelmed by all that needs to be done. If you know me at all, then you know that I'm not one to ask for help. I don't really like to accept it, either. I have no idea why. Some people might say that I need to get over that. I think it's my independent personality. I haven't always been so independent, but I feel more pride in things when I do them myself. I realize that there is nothing wrong with asking for help.

This must be a confusing post. I just feel like venting, and this is as good a place as any. This is my blog, after all, and I can write about anything I want. Tim's not home right now, and both kids are sleeping. Despite all that needs to get done, I think I'm going to go sit and do nothing for awhile.

- becky

P.S. Beware if you offer to help. You might end up washing our diry underwear. I tend to keep the fun jobs for myself when I do accept help. haha

P.P.S. Please don't analyze me. I just felt like writing what's on my mind tonight. I don't expect, need, want, etc. any words of wisdom or advice.

P.P.P.S. Sorry if this post sounds rude or inconsiderate. I'm afraid I'm a bit of a crab tonight.

Another Week

Another week begins!

The weather was absolutely beautiful this morning! The kids and I were up and ready early enough to walk to church this morning. We stopped at the Express station to get Tim a Sunday paper and myself a cappuccino. Gotta love gas station White Chocolate Caramel! Cheap and tasty!

Our Sunday School class was pathetically small. I have the best teacher in the world (my husband ;-), so I really don't know why more adults don't attend Sunday School at our church. Something to pray about, I suppose... We finished up the Just Walk Across the Room series. Pretty soon we'll be on Sunday School break for the summer. Another thing I don't understand - why does Sunday School stop during the summer months?

Isaiah was playing so well and having such a good time in the nursery that I left him there during the church service. Church is really difficult for me with two little ones, so I didn't feel too guilty leaving him in there. It's not like I do that every week; actually, this was the first time that I let him sit out of church since he was home sick with RSV in January. I'm sure there's no permanent damage.

After church there was a family event - hamburger & hot dog lunch with a juggler. Dan Kirk did a fantastic job! I have actually seen him perform at an assembly at school before. It was really cool to see his show with the Christian element added in. Isaiah seemed to enjoy it, even if he was having melt down periods because he desperately needed a nap (which never happened). Did I mention that Isaiah ate THREE hot dogs for lunch? WOW! I'm going to need to find a second job so that we can afford to feed him!

Not much was happening this weekend. I took my computer in to the Geek Squad at Best Buy. It's official; I need a new computer. The geeks sent me home with a sale ad. The price to fix my computer would not be worth it. To put more money into it when I could buy new for just a bit more makes more sense. The fans are kaput which explains why it continually shuts itself off. So, I'll be computer-less for awhile. We're going to do some shopping around and try to hold out for the Memorial Day sales. My blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, and e-mailing will be pretty sparse from now until I get a new 'puter. (I'm using Tim's right now; he brings it home from the office on the weekends.)

Sorry this is so long. A quick Green Mill pizza update before I go - Tim e-mailed the company pictures of our pizza. They replied back with a very nice apology, and they're sending us 2 coupons for free frozen pizzas and a gift card to their restaurant! Sweet!

Happy week people,
becky

The Pizza

Whenever we visit Tim's family in Minnesota, we like to eat at a restaurant called The Green Mill. Tim was very excited to find their pizza in the frozen foods section at Festival.

But, seriously. What is up with this pizza?

I followed the directions on the box - I promise! This is not the first time this has happened, and they are really kinda expensive for frozen pizza. I would not suggest you buy one.

- becky

Another Week Goes By

I can't believe it's been an entire week since I have blogged. That is very unlike me! We must have been busy.

I honestly can't remember everything that we've done. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were pretty regular days. Wednesdays are so busy right now during Lent. We go to church for supper at 5:30, church at 6:30, and youth or choir at 7:30.

I took the kids to Manitowoc on Thursday to visit my friend Tori from work. She has a baby at the beginning of March. Little Andrew is so adorable! He has two big sisters, Emma and Madysen, who absolutely lOvE him! We're going to go back and visit again this Tuesday. It's always fun to have a friend on maternity leave at the same time. :-)

I took Isaiah to play with the trains at Barnes & Noble. We will DEFINITELY be doing that again! He had a great time! I think he could have played there all day. While I was there, I got him a book about potty training called The Potty Train. The book is fantastic, but now he's walking around saying, "Chugga-Chugga Poo-Poo!" Oh, dear. Hopefully it will just be "choo-choo" in public!

I have only 3 more weeks on leave from work. My time with my kids is going by so fast. It's going to be really tough to go back, so I'm not letting myself think about it just yet.

Mom is coming to visit on Wednesday!!! I am so, so excited for her to see Isaiah and Mallory! We're going to have tons of fun while she is here. Shopping at the outlet mall in Oshkosh, eating A&W and drinking root beer in frozen mugs, taking walks (now that it's a little warmer!), beating her at cards...

I'll try to be better about blogging. It comes in handy for scrapbooking; it helps me to remember when things happen!

- becky

Follow-Up Visit

What a night. Needless to say, there wasn't much sleeping going on at our house last night. I think this is mostly because I was so worried about Isaiah and Mallory being able to breathe in their sleep.

Mallory still is waking up to eat every 2-3 hours. Her weight is up to 6 lbs. 4 1/2 ounces which is really good. The doctor told me this morning to let her rest and wake herself up for feedings, especially since she has been doing this anyway.

Isaiah is eating good, and his mood has been fantastic - unless he's waking up. He's a bit of a grump after his nap, but this is not really anything new.

Both Isaiah and Mallory are hydrated - we're getting wet and dirty diapers from both of them. I'm sure you really wanted to know that. While we're on the subject, Mallory peed all over the scale at the doc's office this morning. Then she peed on me when I was getting her undressed for her tubby. Silly girl!

This is going to be short, but I wanted to give you a quick update. Both kids seem to be doing well, considering how serious some cases of RSV can be. At this point, we keep them inside and let this thing run its course.

I feel like this post is all over the place, so I claim lack of sleep. If I'm more awake later I'll post again.

Family nap time!
- becky

Hangin' at Home

Mallory fits in one of Isaiah's (gender neutral) preemie outfits!

Winter is a great time to have a new baby at home. Who wants to go out in the cold and the snow anyway?

It's hard to have much of a routine right now, but we're adjusting really well. I'm proud to report that the laundry and dishes are caught up. Isaiah and I have had time to color, play with puzzles, read books, and watch Finding Nemo together (several times). Mallory and I spend lots of time together while she's eating, and we nap together while Isaiah is taking his afternoon nap.

Tomorrow we'll go to Bible class. We went to church on Thursday night, so it will be a little bit easier of an outing for us. I want to run to Target once Tim gets home to pick up a few things. I'm going to take Isaiah with me since he loves to go bye-bye so much. (One of my traits that he picked up; I don't like to sit still either.)

- becky

Not So Comfy

Now that I am past that dreaded week 30 of my pregnancy, I am beginning to experience the uncomfortable phase. It is quite difficult to sit up straight. Recliners are most comfortable for me until it's time to get up. That's when I need a shove. I was sitting with Sara (a high school youth at church) and Isaiah for the children's message at church. When it was time to go back to our pew, she nearly had to help me up off the floor.

It's like being pregnant for the first time. When I had Isaiah, I was still at that "I feel great! I could be pregnant forever!" phase. Don't get me wrong - I am in NO WAY rushing this pregnancy. I enjoy every little movement, including the hiccups that I'm feeling right now as I type this. I just enjoy the movements more when I don't have to move around.

The hiccups are hilarious. I only felt them once with Isaiah - the day he was born. It was only when I was hooked up to the monitors that I realized what they were. This baby gets them nearly every day. It feels like a very rhythmic pulsing sensation. Baby must be growing!

Tomorrow is Scrap-and-Craft at church. I have a lot of things to work on, so I am really looking forward to going. I have some miscellaneous things to get done - Isaiah's birthday thank you cards, look up a few addresses for Christmas cards, finish my first of three papers for an independent study class that I'm taking for my WI teaching license, etc. We would also like to get our Christmas tree up this week. So much to do, and it's all fun stuff. Well, except for writing three papers... What do you do? Oh, well. I made great progress this weekend and should be ready to mail off my first paper by the end of the week.

Stay safe if it's snowing where you are. I keep hearing different weather reports for us, and they get worse every time I hear a new one. First is was 1-3 inches, then 3-5 inches, and now it's 6-8 inches (along the lakeshore). With my luck, we won't even have a 2 hour delay tomorrow. What a fun, long drive it will be to work. Note the sarcasm.

- becky

Black Friday

I can't believe it. I actually talked Tim into hitting the day after Thanksgiving sales with me. His parents are in town, so they were kind enough to Booper-sit Isaiah. We are very appreciative because this allowed us to be on the road towards the good deals at 6:15 this morning.

Our first stop was Toys/Babies R Us. We were going after a high chair for the new baby. Isaiah's is the Fisher Price Space Saver which converts to a booster seat, and we're looking to get the same one for the new baby. It's a great chair - adaptable for newborns on up to toddlers. Unfortunately, the high chair was all sold out. This is okay, though, because the line was absolutely ridiculous there!

Next, we walked across the parking lot to Jo Ann Fabrics. I wanted to pick-up a new paper trimmer, and there was an item (won't say in case they're reading this) for Shelby and Holly's Christmas gift from us. Speaking of which, I called Mom just as she was heading to Jo Ann's later in the day - to get them the same item! Good thing I called! Jo Ann's was definitely successful. We ran into a friend from church there who seemed to be able to find some pretty good deals herself.

Parking was a nightmare, so we left the car where it was a walked across the parking lot in a different direction to the mall. We were able to finish shopping for both of Tim's sisters and brothers-in-law, neice, his dad, and a friend. Sears had the best customer service, and it was nice to see them restocking shelves as they were getting cleared out. Target's check-out line system needs a LOT of work for next year's Black Friday sales...

On the way home, we stopped by Menard's to get Isaiah a humidifier for his bedroom. We're hoping to stop his snoring and runny nose. His breathing was a little quieter at nap time today, so hopefully this will help him sleep more restful.

Lunch today was Turkey Dinner leftovers. After lunch, we stopped by Wal Mart, Kohl's, and Aldi. Wal Mart was sold out of my $4 mini-crock pot, but I found a great one at Fleet Farm later in the day.

Wow. I'm tired just thinking of all of the shopping we did today! Grandma Bette kept Isaiah during his afternoon nap, so Grandpa Darrel, Tim, and I did the quick after lunch shopping trips. Somewhere in there today we also hit Home Depot and Steve & Barry's. If anyone has not been to Steve & Barry's and they have children, we got some good 'Going Out of Business' deals on clothes for Isaiah.

The only thing I am disappointed about not getting is the high chair. Oh, well. We'll still get it eventually. We just will be paying about $13 more for it. One missed purchase is not much to complain about, though, that's for sure!

- becky

P.S. Now that it's past Thanksgiving, it's time to turn on the Christmas music! Grandma and Grandpa Seabaugh got Isaiah a Christmas CD set for his birthday, so we swapped out the lullabye CD already. Thank you so much, Grandma and Grandpa! The lullabyes were starting to drive me a crazy! We've listened to them one too many nights over the baby monitor.

It's Official

I think we can officially say that Isaiah is done with his crib. Just like giving up his Nuk last July, he decided he was ready. About a week ago, we told him it was time to go night-night. He led us upstairs right into his new room with his big bed. (Note that I don't call it a big BOY bed. Ugh. That phrase bugs me. I can't explain it, it just does.) We put him in the bed to see what would happen, and ever since then he's been staying in bed and putting himself to sleep. Success!!!

Isaiah taking a nap one afternoon in October - love the toys in his hands! What a cutie!

I can't believe he's going to be 2 years old next Friday. Because the new baby's due date is so close to Isaiah's due date was, I'm getting really nervous. Tim keeps telling me not to borrow trouble.

I was telling my principal about my work-out at the gym on Thursday. I could only walk 1.7 mph. If you don't realize, that is ridiculously slow. She told me not to shake anything up. :-) I've been walking in the cardio theater, so it's not too embarrassing to be walking so slowly. Plus the time flies by when I'm engrossed in a movie. I'm hooked! Between the pool, cardio theater, and ladies only work-out room our new gym can be quite motivating to go to. Add to that Isaiah loves to play there and our friends Jen and Ken are also members, and we're good to go. Jen, we should get a work-out schedule together for next week!

This weekend I hope to finish my first of three papers that I have due for my on-line class. I have to take Wisconsin Native American history to lift a stipulation on my teaching license. History has always been interesting to me, so I'm trying to make the best of the class. I just need to set aside more time to get the reading and writing done. It's an independent study class, so I have 12 months from this past September to finish 3 papers and a one hour exam. My goal is to be done by the time the baby is born.

I also have to take an independent study class on conflict resolution and an on-line class about environmental education. I hope to take one of those while I am on maternity leave and the other next summer. I have to submit my credits to the Wisconsin DPI by January of 2010, so that will allow me to finish in plenty of time.

The house is a wreck, and Tim's at church for a workshop right now. I better go and get things done. I'm going to enlist Isaiah's help in putting laundry in the laundry basket now. He likes to do that. :-)

Saturdays rule!

- becky

Eventful Weekend

It's already been a busy weekend for us, and it's only half over!

Last night, Isaiah stayed home with Tim, and I went to dinner with some friends at El Azteca. We had tons of fun! Ordering my dinner turned out to be somewhat frustrating/comical. Being pregnant, I'm a little picky. I was so in the mood for a beef burrito and a beef and cheese quesadilla. How difficult does that sound? Apparently, it's pretty tough to get tortilla shell, cheese, and ground beef - that's it! No vegetables? Right, no vegetables. The food comes out, and what's in my quesadilla? Mushrooms. I hate mushrooms. Back to the kitchen it goes. About 10 minutes later (seriously, it took a long time - poor Krista had been waiting for her meal to even come out once), they brought back the SAME one! I am not kidding. I opened it up, and it was cold and filled with mushrooms. Let's try this again - tortilla shell, cheese, and ground beef - that's it! No mushrooms? Right, no mushrooms. I waited another 5 minutes or so, and out comes a different waiter with my plate. He put it down in front of me and said, "There you go. Mushrooms and cheese."

Grrrrr!!!! I don't want mushrooms!!! He laughed, and said, "I'm only teasing you!" He sure is lucky I was in a good mood. At that point, I laughed and all was forgotten After all, it tasted delicious! I LOVE the food at El Azteca.

This morning I met Jen at the pool at Gold's for water aerobics. It was fantastic! I am so glad that we renewed our membership. The pool felt great, and it was a really good full body work out. We can't wait to go back again. I'm going to try for Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday classes this week.

Before I left for the gym, I made breakfast. When Tim was clipping coupons last week, he found a recipe for Cheese and Sausage Potato Pancakes. YUM!!! (Isaiah and I just shared a leftover pancake for a nighttime snack.)

Isaiah even tried to use his fork! With our help, he's been getting better with yogurt and a spoon. We guide his hand and let go close to his mouth and he puts it in himself. It's a start, right? As you can see in the picture, he's got the wrong end in his mouth. Oh, well - at least he put the end he was stabbing into his pancakes in. That should count for something.

I've been recording home movies from our camcorder to a dvd tonight. Isaiah has really enjoyed seeing baby Isaiah on the tv. I ask him who the baby is, and he says, "Isaiah!" The movies have me so excited to have another little baby in the house! Isaiah brings us so many smiles, and pretty soon we'll have another special little person to love. I think I look forward to watching Isaiah and the baby together the most. We really are blessed.

Tomorrow is a craft day at church. I'll be teaching how to make a paper bag album at my station. Hopefully we have lots of people attend. It's going to be tons of fun!

We'll be found in the front pew tomorrow. Isaiah likes to watch his dad during church - it really helps his behavior there!

Night, night.

- becky

P.S. I noticed lots of trees with their leaves beginning to change this morning!

Level of Productivity

Why is my last day of summer vacation my most productive? Where has all of this energy been all summer?

Isaiah was kind enough to sleep until 8:00 this morning, so we were able to sleep in a bit. We spent most of the day with Jenny and Kamryn at their house scrapping. Isaiah refused to eat much of a lunch, and he absolutely would NOT take a nap. Given those circumstances it might be hard to believe, but he really was a happy, well-behaved boy. I was able to make a lanyard for my ID badge at work and scrap a little.

My lanyard - this could potentially turn into an embarrassing blog entry at a later date. I've never made one before, and I am just praying that it doesn't break and spill beads everywhere while I'm at work. Maybe God will be merciful and no one will be around if that does happen...

Isaiah (finally) took a nap once we got home. For some strange reason, I did not. I've been a busy little bee picking things up around the house. I'm even on my 2nd load of laundry for the day - woo hoo! Isaiah woke up just before 6:00 and ate a huge dinner! I guess he was finally not distracted enough to eat.

There is nothing more motivating around the house than having to go back to work. I am now going to shut off the computer for the rest of the night so it doesn't become a distraction for me. Good night!

- becky

Under Construction

Is painting considered construction? We're not changing anything except the color on the walls, so I'm not really sure.

Tim's parents were very nice to come up and help with our project. Tim and his dad are up painting Isaiah's new Little Boy room as we speak...er, as I type. We went with a dusty blue color which I think has a hint of purple, but Tim tells me that I'm crazy. We already knew that anyway, didn't we? The room has blue carpet, so that definitely helps to make the paint look blue. Yea, me - I thought to take before pictures, so I'll be posting before and after pictures once the room is transitioned from a guest room to a Little Boy room.

Why stop there? We picked up a tasteful shade of brown called brown bag at Home Depot, and they plan to paint down the hallway and the entire main level of the house (front room and kitchen). I didn't get a chance to get recent pictures of that level of the house before it got all torn up, but somewhere on my computer I have some pictures of when we had the laminate flooring put it. Those will work well for before pictures of that level of the house.

So, tomorrow I have to work. Teachers have to go in for a work day to make up a snow day from last year. The administration picked a Tuesday (weird, I know, but good for long weekend travelers I suppose) for us to work on curriculum work. I was talking with two of my co-workers, and we plan to make the most of the day in preparing for a family reading night at school. Do you like my positive attitude? I'm trying really hard! I certainly haven't missed that long drive to Denmark, though.

While I'm working, Isaiah is going to go over and play with Kamryn for the day. It'll be good to make sure he plans to be nice to her this year. ;-) I'm sure he will be - Jenny and I took the kids with us to a rummage sale last Friday, and he actually blew Kamryn a kiss! So cute! On Wednesday, I'm going in to work again to work a trade off day (giving me a paid day off in the spring), so Isaiah will stay home and play with his grandparents while they are here.

Yesterday, we completely spoiled ourselves at meal times. We knew that we would be eating in for the remainder of my in-laws visit because I'm making a HUGE pot of pulled pork today. For lunch, we went to Pullman's. So good!!! I had beer cheese soup and popcorn shrimp. It was exactly what I was in the mood for. (When I'm pregnant, I crave seafood, but I limit myself to once a week since you're really not supposed to eat it while expecting.) For dinner, we went to Beefeater's. Really good!!! Their spinach dip is out of this world. I think it's the cream cheese mixed it that makes it soooooo creamy. Because I LOVE cream cheese (another pregnancy craving right now) I had a roast beef panini - roast beef, carmelized onions, and CREAM CHEESE. It was all melted and oozing off the sides of the grilled bread. Oh my goodness, it was tasty! Jodie, I want to suggest either/both of those restaurants for Girls' Night Out.

Public schools in Pensacola started back today - I've been thinking of Shelby and Kari all day. It is so hard to believe that Shelby is in 2nd grade already. Kari is still teaching 5th grade - she has the best classroom! It is a really cool set-up with an office and walk-in storage closet that adjoins the classroom next door.

This is a really looooong post. I've had so many vacation pictures that it probably seems as though we've been taking a break from everyday life. Obviously, we haven't been! :-)

Three more things before I go - Happy Birthday, Tracy! And one day late - Happy Birthday, Mark! Aunt Pam and Uncle Mike - Happy Anniversary! We're trying to see when we can get Isaiah down there to see you!!!

- becky

Busy Week

Isaiah and I have been trying to make the best of this week. I have only one more "regular routine" week of vacation left. That makes me so sad! Next week, we will be out of town. The following week is my last quiet week at home with my little Booper. The week after that my in-laws will be in town helping with some house updates in preparation for the baby's arrival. That same week I have to work one day because of a snow day from last year. That brings us to the last week of August when I go back to work. Bummer, man!

I went to swimnastics on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday this week. Isaiah and I went to playgroup at the park on Tuesday, the free movie on Wednesday, and shopping today.

Tomorrow I have all day Scrap-and-Craft. I'm very excited! While we were out today, I stopped at Archiver's and bought Isaiah's scrap/baby book. I also picked up some fun new paper for his pictures. We'll see how productive I am tomorrow.

So, the big question. Am I ready to go back to school? Yes and no. It will be good to get on a regular routine, but I'm going to miss Isaiah during the day so much! At least I have maternity leave to look forward to. The new baby will be here before we know it, and it will be great to watch Isaiah interact with the baby. We are certainly a very blessed family.

I feel like I'm rambling. Sorry for the disorganized post. It resembles my house right now - hahaha.

- becky