Summer Fun

The kids have been having a blast playing outside the past few weeks. When it hasn't been 100 degrees out they've been swinging, playing ball, digging in the garden, riding their 4-wheelers and splashing in their pool. I usually sit in the shade with glasses of water and popsicles, while they tear around the yard squealing with Daddy chasing after them. It's a good thing. ;)

Small Successes

1. Yesterday I was able to start getting our master closet in order. Steve took the door off and put it in the attic to give us better access to the limited space we have. I moved in a large 3 drawer organizer for our shoes and the difference is amazing.

2. There are only a few more things to come out of the spare room before we can start painting! Most everything has been sorted into organizers in their closet and all that remains is a tv stand (we're making inquiries if anyone is interested, otherwise it's going to Goodwill), and a few random things to put away. Yesterday's attic trip really helped clear out the rest.

3. I've found a better way to keep the downstairs reasonably tidy through the day. We've instituted times through the day to go around and have the kids pick up their toys; before nap time and bed time and before we leave the house for errands or outdoor play. We've also installed a retractable gate between the kitchen and living room. Now we can keep the kids out of the kitchen when we're cooking or cleaning, keeping them safe from grabbing knives off the counter and allowing us to clean up much more quickly. We've gotten to the point where the whole downstairs is clean before we take the kids up for bedtime, which is a good thing because lately I don't make it back downstairs again afterwards.

Catch up

Blame pregnancy for the lack of posting. For the most part, it's been smooth sailing with no complications or worries. As will happen in the third trimester though, things have started getting... uncomfortable. I've been having problems with my back lately and it's been really limiting what I can get done in a days time. I haven't been doing much of anything that's high activity, I even gave up our daily walks (well, that's mostly due to the inhuman heat and sciatica.) But I still am needing to lay down for most if not all of the kids nap time and am pretty much out of commission for the rest of the day. I'm starting to wear shoes in the house because I'm thinking walking around barefoot on hardwood floors isn't doing me any favors. So hopefully that will help some. Otherwise, I'm taking Tylenol and being very thankful that Steve is here to pick up the slack.

In other news, Gabe has become obsessed with NASA's launch of the space shuttle Atlantis which we saved on the DVR. It's the first thing he thinks of waking up in the morning and will ask to watch it several times throughout the day. "Ya-yet!" (rocket) he says. "Ya-yet peese." and points to the TV. He can't even get through a meal without thinking about it, pulling food out of his mouth to voice his requests and making the sign for rocket. (Tonight he also made the sign for helicopter and rabbit several times out of the blue. I don't quite know how all those string together but hey, we know what he's thinking!)
This evening we were cleaning up from dinner and Gabe made the sign for potty but said "bub-iss," which normally means pacifier. So I said, "No, Gabe, not pacy, potty. Say Pah."
"Pa"
"Tee"
"Tis"
"Potty"
"Ya-yet!"