Try #3

I haven't taken any pictures recently. I ought to at least take pictures of our new chickens. Hopefully third time is a charm. They've survived at least one night so far. I'm too scared to check so I haven't seen them yet today. We have three full grown hens so we should start getting eggs as soon as they are settled. Maybe there are some today. When I get over the thought of finding dead chickens I'll go out and check.

Nana arrived Friday evening. We haven't done too much since her arrival. Saturday we went blueberry picking. Nyla complained of the heat the whole time. It was hot but that didn't prevent the rest of us from picking. She did enjoy the fruits of our labor in the car. The only time the kids eat a lot of blueberries is the day we pick them. I baked with some on Monday and some are in the freezer.

Today we went to the interactive area of the art museum. The kids had a good time there. Nyla painted two pictures and drew another. Bohdin loved a room that would video tape him and project his image on the screen in various artistic ways. He spent the majority of the time in that room. I should have brought my camera because I know my description is not very good. Next time. Throughout the summer they have free admission for military so that's great. We'll try to go again soon.

I also dropped off the blankets to be quilted. I didn't take any pictures of the finished fronts or backs. We'll get them back in two to three weeks and I'll take a picture then. I'm not in love with the place I took it to get quilted but it will be done and probably fine if not spectacular. I know they could have turned out neater somewhere else but this person answered the phone this morning and that was pretty big on the criteria list. I am feeling some regret but hopefully that goes away once I see the finished product. I know it will be a lot cheaper than the custom quilting I was probably envisioning.

Bowling

I met a new mom at playgroup on Tuesday whose husband is also in the military. They just arrived from Ft. Leavenworth. We hit it off and decided to meet the following day at the science museum. The kids always love going there so even though we had been twice the week before they couldn't wait. They did have to wait though since I have a midwife appointment first. Bohdin said the appointment was boring and I couldn't agree more. Hopefully it's the last one. I next one is scheduled for next Friday.

The science museum was packed with kids. Those day camp kids get around. There were at least five groups there. The kids still had a good time. Bohdin liked the obstacle course that was part of the new exhibit and did it 30 times. After over an hour of playing I had to drag the kids out of there. Nyla was actually kicking and screaming. My time was running out on the parking meter and I wasn't willing to get a ticket so she could do one more thing for who knows how long.

Yesterday I took the kids bowling. It was their first time. Nyla said she loved the game but Bohdin didn't appear to love it as much. He became frustrated and sad that he couldn't get a strike. At one point as I was consoling him Nyla had a spare. Luckily Bohdin didn't notice. Nyla was using the ramp while Bohdin did his best to throw the ball. Nyla stopped using the ramp at one point but she had so little force behind it that it would take about one minute for the ball to reach the pins. The ball even stopped rolling at one point halfway down the lane and needed to be rescued. Bohdin did a lot better the second game than the first but it didn't matter to him. He just wanted a strike. I don't know when we'll go back. Free bowling lasts throughout the summer.

Weeds

Our garden is doing pretty well especially the weeds. So far we have harvested green beans, carrots, lettuce, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, squash, pepper, and cucumbers. I feel like I'm forgetting things though. Our first corn should be ready soon. Melons and tomatoes are growing. This is our first time growing corn and it's been fun to watch it grow because it will grow inches in one day. It's the only thing that grows faster than the weeds. We do have huge weed issues that we are trying to deal with. It's a huge garden though and they grow faster than we can pick them.

I was weeding the tomatoes the other night and Nyla was next to me weeding for a while. She became bored and was looking for a bug to play with. She ran inside the house to get a small plastic container. She came back out and yelled at the ant to get inside. Of course the ant didn't so she kept yelling, "Go inside your home!". It made me think of Happy Gilmore. She gave up on the ant and tried to get a beetle and then a spider. She was really disappointed that no creature out there would play with her. She just couldn't understand it.

Weeded strawberries


Strawberries before weeding. They're in there hiding among the grass.



We stopped to get beef at the farm store yesterday after playgroup. Nyla really wanted to see the cows but they were all hiding in the shade. I told her they were sleeping in the shade. She said "I'll wake them up with my scary face.". Who wouldn't like that?

Lesson learned

Nyla is looking over my shoulder at these pictures. She says she wants to see the one where she stepped on the hot firework. Last night she dropped her mostly used sparkler on the ground and then stepped on it. I didn't actually get a picture of that. Her foot was okay but she cried about it for quite some time. We went upstairs to take a cool bath and then I had to put a bandaid on her foot even though there was nothing visibly wrong. Bohdin stayed outside with Buddy and watched some of the neighborhood fireworks. All we had were sparklers because I didn't want to spend the money on big fireworks.




Earlier in the day we went to the science museum. We were just going to go to the grocery store but once we were all buckled I remembered they were having something special about fireworks there that I thought Bohdin might like. The kids didn't have to be asked twice. We saw a demonstration of several different metals burning and heard the loud pops from hydrogen exploding. Bohdin learned a little bit. He also had fun a the new special exhibit and was sad that we didn't explore the whole thing before leaving. He felt better after I told him it would be there for several months.

I've been meaning to talk and post pictures of our garden for quite some time. That will have to wait a little longer. Nyla is dressed and ready to go to the fabric store to pick out the fabric for the back of her blanket. I haven't quite finished the front but I should today. There is about 15 more minutes of work. I'm not done with the back of Bohdin's big blanket yet either. If I'm really lucky I'll do that today as well. I made good progress over the weekend.

Busy Week

We've been out every morning this week. Monday after the midwife appointment Nyla wanted to go to the science museum. It is really close to the office so we went. First we had to stop at a restaurant. Bohdin accidentally spilled his food and was really hungry. We went to a Mexican restaurant near the museum since Bohdin had been craving chips and salsa. The kids had fun as usual at the museum.

Tuesday was playgroup. It was a very nice playgroup since the weather was finally cooler. This June was the hottest June on record. There were a ridiculous number of days over 90 degrees when the average high is in the low to mid 80s. It was a miserable time to be pregnant and a miserable time to not have air conditioning in most of the house. Tuesday was still above average but cooler than it had been in quite some time.

Wednesday was Nyla's dentist appointment. I thought the chances of success were less than 1% but she actually did okay. She will need some cavities filled and we will explore the OR route. Nyla's front fillings have fallen out and the back cavities are getting much larger. It sucks that both kids have my terrible teeth. When Nyla was in the back Bohdin wanted to check on her numerous times. Nyla was the same way when Bohdin was back there. At one point Bohdin walks out with Nyla. He told me he asked if it was okay but he lied about that. He just wanted to see her and she followed him out. She was done anyway so it was okay.

Thursday was the last beautiful day before the weather would start heating up again. In addition to the lower temperatures the humidity was low. We decided to finally check out the zoo. Everybody else in town seemed to have the same idea. Most of the park wasn't actually that crowded. The splash park was packed though. I'm not a big fan of zoos but this one was pleasant. Maybe we'll be able to go back one more time before the baby is born. Bohdin liked the splash park and the playground nearby but his absolute favorite part was the miniature train. There was a button to press to make it go forward. I don't know why he liked it so much but we came back to it four times. If it''s not obvious by the pictures both kids pick out their own outfits 99% of the time.







Today we stopped at the fabric store to get fabric for the back of Bohdin's blankets. I made a back but we decided it was too nice and it will become its own blanket. I'm done with the front of Bohdin's blankets and I'm getting close to finished with the front of Nyla's blanket. I want to take it in to be quilted next week. I also stopped at the consignment store that was having a half off sale. I picked up a lot of summer shirts for Nyla next year. When I told Buddy how many 4T shirts I picked up he wanted to know why I bought size four. I did it because there was just a lot of selection in size 4 but when he asked I also realized that Nyla will turn four next summer. Buddy said that's not possible. She is supposed to stay a baby. It's a good thing we have a baby coming so Nyla can grow up.

Anniversary

Yesterday was our 12th wedding anniversary. We had planned a weekend trip to Cincinnati since we had already done Kentucky. It was either Indiana or Ohio and we chose Ohio. I couldn't find much fun stuff for us to do there but I found plenty of fun stuff for the kids. The original plan was to go to a place called Entertrainment Junction one day which is a train museum, large model train display, and train themed playground. It didn't sound particularly fun for Buddy or I but we knew the kids would love it. They saw the pictures on the internet and were quite excited. We never had a clear plan of the other thing we would do. Maybe a museum? Yesterday morning I asked Buddy if he would rather do a day trip. It would make for a long day but we could do everything we really wanted in one day anyway. We have a ton of stuff to do around here anyway so he agreed. Plus we both knew that this year was going to be lame anyway. Some years just aren't as fun and memorable.

We set out after 11am. Bohdin had already packed that morning and had a hard time understanding that it was all for nothing. We left his suitcase of toys at home. It has always been tradition that we eat a meal in a nice restaurant for our anniversary. This was more of an event in the beginning when we were young and had no money. Cincinnati straddles the border of Kentucky and I actually chose a restaurant in Kentucky for a nice lunch. The restaurant is a converted historic home in an historic area south of Cincinnati. The fried green tomatoes were excellent and we all enjoyed our meal. Our next stop was the train place the kids had been looking forward to so much. The only problem was the car wouldn't start. Since the restaurant is in a small historic area we were parked just off the street in front of the restaurant. There wasn't a giant or even small parking lot. An employee noticed and help came out. We tried jumping it but nothing. A tow truck was called. It took a good hour for the tow truck to arrive. We passed the time in various ways. Buddy took the kids next door to a used book store and the kids came back with two rings for me. Then we went into the restaurant where I read them some of the books they had brought along. While I was inside the tow truck arrived and Buddy left with the minivan and my cell phone. It was a little different waiting around when I couldn't contact him for an update. The restaurant said I could use the phone if needed but it wasn't necessary. I just had to wait patiently in the dark like the olden days before cell phones. The kids did a great job of occupying themselves. It was nice to have a supply of cold ice water and bathrooms. We spent most of the time just outside the restaurant. The kids collected rocks and leaves and then threw them in the fountain. Then they had to take them all out. They explored the flowers, flags, insects, and million other things around. I had Buddy's finance magazine which was better than nothing. We also went in for ice cream and lemonade at one point. Sitting for hours was getting hard on my back and I really needed to lay down for a while. The restaurant had an outdoor patio with a ramp leading up to it. I had laid on the bench outside just outside the front door previously but with dinner guests starting to arrive I didn't want to look like some homeless person. We moved over to the wood ramp which was slightly less obtrusive than the bench I thought. I laid back and read the magazine while the kids ran up and down the long ramp. In no time a man driving down the road stopped and asked if I was okay or needed help. The cars behind him just stared as they slowly passed also. That didn't work out quite as planned. Buddy arrived soon after. Unfortunately it was past five and the train place closed at 6. We wouldn't be able to go. The kids were so disappointed. They both cried.

Bohdin must have been tired of running around in the heat for so long because he fell asleep quickly. Nyla eventually fell asleep also. Buddy dropped me off at Trader Joes so I could stock up on nuts and snacks. It was really one of the reasons we chose Cincinnati. I felt weird loading up the basket with so many bags of nuts but who knows when we'll be back. They carry things I haven't seen elsewhere like the toasted pecans I put in chocolate chip cookies and shelled hazelnuts. Nyla doesn't sleep long in a nonmoving car so after she woke up he woke Bohdin up and they joined me inside.

Our next stop was Jungle Jims supermarket. They have a monorail there which I thought the kids would be able to ride. That helped ease some of the pain of missing out on the train place. They weren't able to ride it and there were more tears. We spent longer than I expected inside the store. The kids liked all of the animated things like soup cans and Robin Hood. They also liked the candy section. When I found wax lips Buddy and I talked about the candy cigarettes from our youth. I thought they surely wouldn't make those anymore but I found several packages of them there. We bought several things to try. Buddy seemed drawn to the sodas and sweets. Bohdin wanted a papaya and broccoli. We skipped the international produce section or we would have ended up with more. Bohdin has been wanting to try new foods lately.

On the way out we realized we were a little hungry and should eat something before consuming the mass quantities of sugary treats we had bought. We stopped at a Mexican place down the road which supposedly had good tacos. We ate them in the car and some of them were good. The kids ate their tacos followed by the Nerds they had chosen. Eventually they fell asleep although Nyla held out until we were back in Louisville. We were home just after 11:30. Cincinnati is about two hours away. I wasn't sure how the kids would handle the long day of driving but they held up fine. We played I Spy on the way back home and even Nyla played along. At one point she said she spied something pink and correctly guessed what it was before anybody else had a chance to guess. Buddy suggested a game of Who can go the longest without eating candy. Bohdin asked if there was any fun included in that game. A better game was who can fall asleep first which we all won. Bohdin fell asleep first but we didn't have to hear any more knock knock jokes.

Siblings

When I see Bohdin and Nyla playing together I think everybody ought to have a sibling. He told her last night that she was the best sister. They love each other so much. I was able to take some pictures of them playing together which is difficult because the second I get the camera out they stop playing. Part of the reason I haven't been updating the blog as much recently is that I'm the third wheel. They play so many things together that I'm becoming irrelevant. I'm also taking advantage of this since soon I'll have a new baby hanging on me. I was looking over the pictures I took while Bohdin and Nyla were here in the bedroom with me. I turn around to say something to Nyla and notice that I have lost both kids. They probably went to the basement together.





I had a midwife appointment yesterday and when Buddy called I said the only remarkable thing was how well behaved Nyla was. We always had so much trouble during doctor appointments but for some reason Nyla is much calmer with a midwife. I don't understand it. During the appointment Bohdin was playing the game/puzzle Rush Hour and Nyla was drawing. I have really uneventful pregnancies. With the exception of the rib pain I have no symptoms. I didn't have food cravings or aversions really. No heartburn. No nothing really. I'm peeing a lot because the baby is so low but that's probably better than getting kicked in the ribs. Even my belly doesn't seem that cumbersome this time. The rib pain is manageable if I take it easy and change positions throughout the day. I need to lay down several times per day to give it a rest. This normally isn't a problem. If I don't I'm pretty uncomfortable for a few days. I think this will only happen one more time though. Our anniversary is this week and we'll go to Cincinnati either this weekend or next. That's going to hurt.