Lots of Pictures

So we got back last night from visiting LB. The trip there was full of heavy, heavy rain as was the trip back. Not the best driving experience, but very thankful that we made it there and back safely. The in between part however, was very enjoyable. And I was actually very thankful for the thunderstorm one day as it came right at naptime (naptime for me and the kids) which made it one of the most cozy naps in a long time. So here are the many pictures. I think I was trying to make up for the lack of pictures over the last few weeks.

These first two are of Ellie, Luke, and Ada playing in the morning. Laura Beth has come up with a little "playroom" for Ada to play in because Ada is quite the climber and can get into anything in a second. Notice in the first one how Ellie and Ada are fighting over toys. You would think because Ellie is over 2 years older, she would be a little more understanding of Ada, but not so much.

On the second day we decided to head into Atlanta. We wanted to visit the Georgia Aquarium, but since it was very expensive, we opted for the Imagine it! Children's Museum instead. It was such a hit!! If I lived close to that I would so buy a summer pass. As you can see, there were so many things for the kids to do and there was even a toddler area (very clean) for crawlers to crawl around on. They also had a show (like a three ring circus) at one point which is why Ellie is sitting still watching in one picture.

I am posting this picture mainly because I think it is cute, but also because it is one of the last pictures we took with her long hair. Ever since I knew I was having a little girl, I decided I wanted her to have long hair. But I kind of imagined it a little bit thicker than Ellie's is. And this summer for whatever reason, she doesn't like for me to pull it back much, and it is always in her face. So I decided we would cut it. I was going to take her somewhere and she flipped out. So I made a deal with her that I would cut it myself but she was going to have to sit extremely still for a little while, really more than a little while because I am no hair stylist. But I thought I could cut a straight line IF I could get her to be very still. It worked!! She did great and I have to say I didn't do so badly myself. Don't look too closely, though. So the following pictures you will see her new cut along with her prized possesions from our visit with Laura and her family in Griffin. Laura's mom was so sweet to Ellie and let her pick some eggs that the chickens had laid and also pick a carrot from the garden. She sent them back to LB's house with us and Ellie spent the next two days going back and forth from the refrigerator showing off her carrot, then her egg, then her carrot, then her egg. It was great to see Laura and little Grayson is so, so cute!

These last two pictures are just two more from the weekend, one of Luke thoroughly enjoying his ice cream and the other of Ellie and Ada. We got one more wear out of their matching Easter dresses. But as you can see they are not so excited about taking a picture. I think Ada was about to eat and Ellie just wasn't cooperating. So, that's about it. I started working on this post yesterday afternoon and kept getting interrupted, so I will go ahead and post it now.

Update

More time is passing now in between each of my blog posts. I find myself thinking that I need to post on my blog, or really just wishing that I wanted to. It's almost always been something I really enjoyed doing and looked forward to. But now it almost seems like something else I need to do. But...I really think it is a phase. Anyway, I thought I would give a brief update of what's been going on. A LOT has been going on actually. We had a great fourth spent at mom's house. My aunt Mary Ann came, Sarah came home from Auburn, and Laura Beth, Scott, and Ada were here for the weekend as well. God is so good and I really felt well almost all day. Then came dinner time and the nausea started creeping back. I have never been a huge fan of potato salad, but pregnancy made me a fan that night. It seems any type of potato has been a good thing for my stomach for all my pregnancies. It is so funny how taste buds change during pregnancy.

Things are really starting to come down to the wire for our house. Steven has been working like crazy trying to get all these last things lined up. Hopefully just a few more weeks. I will post some pictures when it's all done. I have made so many trips to Home Depot that all the employees know us. Ellie even knows one of them by name and always says "Hi, Natalie" when we see her. There are so many details I could post about the house stuff except they would probably just be boring details to most anyone unless you are building a house yourself. Except I will tell you that we found lots of mouse droppings and set out traps and caught three mice so far. (Our flooring is not in yet and the house isn't sealed). But as soon as those two things happen we HAVE to take care of that issue.

I really am excited because I think the worst of the nausea is behind me. I still throw up occasionally, but am not feeling sick every moment I'm awake. This morning I was actually feeling pretty well and starting to get hungry so I ate a little of a granola bar and something about it did not set well. I ran to the trash can in the bathroom and was on the floor over the trash and Luke came up from behind and grabbed and hugged me. Ellie immediately came and was saying over and over "Mom, are you okay? What do you need? A towel? A piece of toast? Are you okay, sweetie?" She has heard Steven say all of this and has it down. Anyway, after that I seemed to feel better.

So my mom and dad have taken off to Orange Beach for a much needed vacation (I say must-needed, they did not say that). On a side-note, mom has been working extremely hard to stain our stair treads for the house. She has saved us a lot of money by giving so much of her time (a lot of time-now we know why it was going to cost so much) And since Steven is spending so much time these last few weeks working on the house I thought it might be a good time to go visit LB. So tomorrow we are packing up the van with all three kiddos and heading there. We are going to go tomorrow afternoon after their naps. Mainly because my first doctor's appt. is tomorrow and I am going to try to fit that in before we leave. So, we will be gone until the beginning of next week. I am really excited because one of my best friend's from college, Laura, is from Griffin and she will be there with her 5 mo. old baby boy, Grayson. I have never met him and haven't seen Laura since I was pregnant with Luke two summers ago. I am going to do my best to take lots of pictures while I am gone and will hopefully have lots to post when I get back. Until then, if you are just dying for some pics...please refer to either Laura Beth's blog or my mom's. They have done a better job at that lately than I have.

"Flushable" Wipes

I don't have much time as is often the case these days, thus the lack of posts. However, I do have a quick story which I think is extremely blogworthy.

I think half the families in town have lived in our rental house. So I have heard from a previous owner that there have been some plumbing issues in the past. I got to see exactly what they were talking about yesterday. The night before last when the dishwasher was running I could hear some gurgly noises coming from I'm not sure where. And then yesterday when I was in the shower the water wasn't draining so well. Now, on a normal basis this grosses me out, but when I am 7 weeks pregnant, it is taking everything in me not to throw up. And you know, when you're in a rental house, you first have to call the owner, then get in touch with a plumber. I thought I would try to get to it later, until I ran the washing machine. And then I started hearing gurgly noises coming up from the toilets. And only a few minutes after that, I could hear noises coming from Ellie and Luke's tub and the shower in the master bath. So I went in each one to find standing filthy water. I am gagging now just thinking about it. God is so good and my stomach was doing okay. If it had been Sunday (which was an extra sick day) I would have been over the toilet for sure (or the trash, because the toilet would have only gurgled everything back up). Are you grossed out yet?? Anyway I called the owner and then called Mr. Rooter. When he answered I almost cried and said "Please hurry my shower is about to run over with dirty water". I felt like it was a 911 call and I was talking with a paramedic. Anyway he was there in a hurry and to make a long story short, do you know what had stopped up the system? Flushable "Kandoo" wipes I had bought for Ellie. So, apparently, they aren't so flushable after all. Maybe for a brand new system, but obviously the old rental house plumbing just couldn't handle it. So, no more "flushable" wipes for us. Also, just FYI the plumber said that Scott bath tissue is the only thing you ever should put down your toilet. You better believe that I am taking that advice. Sure enough when I bought a package today, it said on the side "septic safe". My mom was sooo great yesterday. I called and told her there was no way I could go back in those bathrooms and clean everything up and she came over and scrubbed each bathroom from top to bottom. There is no clean like my mom's clean. I also washed sheets yesterday. So last night I went to bed with the smell of clean sheets and Pine-sol. There is no better smell to a pregnant stomach!