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.

Father's Day

I asked the kids days ago to start thinking about a father's day present for Buddy. Nyla was the first with an idea. She wanted to get him ice. It took Bohdin a bit longer but he came up with a grill. In true 5 year old fashion this is actually what he wanted to get. He's been talking about getting one for some time. We were discussing our corn several weeks ago and I told him how corn starts losing its sweetness as soon as it is picked. Ideally you pick it and put it in a pot of boiling water immediately. He thought we needed a grill outside so we wouldn't waste precious seconds walking to the kitchen. So Buddy ended up with a grill for Father's Day. He wanted to get a charcoal grill instead of a gas and we went to the store to pick one out. He picked out the one I thought we should get so I didn't have to try and steer him in a different direction. Bohdin actually gave it to him early. When they were unloading the box Bohdin thought it should go right next to the corn. We've used it twice already and it's been nice. We've had temps well above normal and today will be even worse. We won't quite hit record highs but when the kitchen is already hot and muggy at 8 in the morning it won't be pleasant to cook dinner when it heats up later.

Nyla went with me to the grocery store on Saturday and changed her ice idea to donuts. Then she wanted one in the car. I had one also because I realized I forgot lunch. Later that night we stopped at a different grocery store. Nyla came along again. I found a book that Buddy would like and Nyla decided she would give him the book and keep the donuts for herself. Buddy did eventually get one donut.

We didn't do anything special yesterday. I baked all morning trying to use up those blueberries. I accomplished all but one thing on my list which was the blueberry pie. The dough is sitting in the fridge and needs to be used so I guess I have to brave the kitchen sometime today or freeze it.

Blueberries

Blueberries are in season so we went blueberry picking yesterday at a blueberry farm in Indiana. It was hot but not as hot as it would have been if we had waited until today. We were there for over an hour and ended up with over 11 pounds of blueberries. They cost $2 per pound so it was a great deal. Bohdin did an awesome job picking and filled up the milk jug almost by himself. Nyla did a little bit also. When it was time to go we told Nyla and she said, "No! I'm not done eating yet.". She did eat a lot more than she picked.






Here we are after picking. Buddy is really good at taking unflattering pictures of me. I'm not sure there is a great angle for that belly. I don't grow cute pregnant bellies.


Nyla has been demanding that people make her baby talk while she makes a bear talk for the last week. We are all quite tired of it. The way she asks or rather yells it does not inspire us to want to play with her. This morning she was looking for her baby which she had left in the basement. Buddy told her it was by the computer so she went down to get it. Buddy and I were laying in the bed when she came back with murder in her eyes. She threw a different doll on the bed and stormed out of the room without a word. It was hilarious. An Oscar worthy performance for sure. Bohdin went downstairs to get the correct baby which was indeed by the computer.

Tears

I just read about another child's act of defiance and I decided to post Nyla's story. Nyla likes to sleep not just next to me but in my arms. She is not over the trauma of last summer yet. As my belly gets bigger and I burn like an oven sometimes it's more comfortable for me to not have her so close. Last night we were still sleeping next to each other but I was turned away from her. She woke up at 5am looking for me. She didn't feel me touch her or hear me say her name. Instead she somehow crawled out of the bed and fell, hitting her head on a book on the floor. I fished out the little light and turned it on so she could easily climb back up into bed. She was sad and crying and wanted to nurse. I said no. So then she wanted me to get her some lemonade. I offered her water instead. She stormed off the bed saying, "I mad at you". She went into the hallway and laid down crying. I just shined the light in her direction. She lets me know when she wants to cry in peace and this was certainly one of those times. Buddy had been sleeping in the other room and came out to check. As soon as Nyla saw daddy she went nuts. She cried hysterically and came running back toward me. She crawled back into my arms and fell asleep. It's not just that it was daddy. It was that he came near her. She would have ran away from me if I had tried to get close also.

Bohdin went to the dentist yesterday to get some cavities filled. He has certainly inherited my teeth as has Nyla unfortunately. We have to go back next week because he has an abscess in his front tooth and the dentist recommends removing it. That will leave Bohdin with two missing front teeth for at least a year. The abscess doesn't bother him at all but the dentist showed us the picture of the hole in his gums where the pus is draining. That bothers Buddy and I. It sounds so gross to have pus draining into your mouth. The dentist said we didn't need to be concerned about his ability to chew but I still worry. That seems like a long time to go without front teeth. I forgot to ask if it would affect his speech. There doesn't seem to be a good alternative though so hopefully it turns out well. Nyla needs to go to the dentist as well to get the cavity fixed her previous dentist was unable to do because of Nyla's lack of cooperation. This dentist is both male and doesn't allow parents in the back so he just wouldn't be the right choice. We're on the cancellation list of a female dentist so hopefully we'll hear from them soon. I will also ask Bohdin's dentist if he would make an exception for Nyla. I still think there is a strong chance that she won't cooperate even if I am there but I am positive it wouldn't work out if I am not there.

Sweltering

It has been hot and humid here lately with the forecast predicting things to get even worse. The air conditioning only seems to work upstairs in the bedrooms so the rest of the house can get a little warm especially the main floor. Cooking has not been enjoyable and we eat most of our meals in the basement. Bohdin seems to live in his bathing suit on the days we don't go out. Nyla is just naked most of the time as usual. She can't stand wearing wet clothes so she takes off either her clothes or her bathing suit after getting wet. It's a good thing our backyard is pretty secluded.

We went to playgroup today at a different location. The turnout wasn't great. There were only four of us there but that still made for quite a few kids. Towards the end Nyla was actually playing with the group. They all collected sticks, rocks, seeds, and pine cones to build something. It was the first time Nyla joined them in something. It was in the 90s today and quite humid so by the time we were back in the car we looked pretty ragged. Nyla's hair was wet with sweat. As I buckled her up she said, "I sweltering". I thought is was funny that she stole Bohdin's line. It was true though. She certainly looked like she was sweltering. She has never looked hotter.





I've taken a break from math with Bohdin because I'm not certain what I want to do. I want to make sure he really understands it instead of just being able to do it. That only gets you so far. It's what happened to me and most people. Yesterday in the car I paid $1.58 at the drive through. He said another way to say 58 is 50 and 8. I agreed. He said it a few more times then said another way to say 58 is 51 +7. I was really proud of that one. I think for now we'll play a lot of math games so he can practice math and hopefully understand why it is important. That's the goal anyway. I'm not sure how well we'll accomplish that right now but he's five so there is no rush.

Bohdin has been progressing well although slowly on his spelling. He feels more comfortable taking it super slow although it's not necessary. We've been on short i for about two weeks now. I held up flash cards today for him to read and he did well on short a, short i, short o, and short u. We'll formally do short o next but it was good for him to see that he could do it. I liked seeing him work on the ones he didn't know by sight. He understands how to sound out words he doesn't know but he certainly needs more practice. He was able to catch most of the mistakes he made but there were a few that he still couldn't get. I think he's doing really well.

I spent the weekend working on Bohdin's blanket and made significant progress. The back is mostly done. I brought it upstairs to see how it looks so far on the bed but keep forgetting to take it back downstairs. Instead of making the long trek back up the stairs I just started on Nyla's blanket. She is so excited. I'm not in love with the way it's coming together but Nyla likes it. I'm hoping it looks better when it's complete than it does now in pieces. I don't think the pattern Buddy and I chose suit the fabric but there is no turning back now. If nothing else it will be the pink and chocolate blanket that Nyla likes. Just like Bohdin's blanket it will be perfectly suited for her. She chose fabric with snowmen, dogs, babies, rabbits, etc. It is a reflection of who she is right now.

Visit

Buddy's parents arrived Friday afternoon. I should have updated more frequently and taken a lot more pictures. Bohdin and Nyla were both so excited to have them here. We were all glad to have them her actually. They drove up our new minivan which I'm slowly getting used to. I've had my car for 10 years now and I'm giving it up because I have to not because I want to. Buddy is going to drive it now and will surely not treat it well. He's been driving a V8 for years so it will be difficult for him to go down to a 4 cylinder. My car just doesn't have the power his does although that won't stop him from trying.

Saturday just ended up as a work in the yard day. We have a big yard that always needs attention. I hadn't finished mowing before they arrived so that was completed. Over the course of the visit some other areas of the yard were addressed. The hollies are trimmed and the back of the yard that had turned into jungle was mowed. It looks much better now or it did on Saturday anyway. Now it's almost time to mow again.

Sunday Buddy took his parents to the historical arms museum in town while I took the kids to the science museum. They are just a block from each other. The robot exhibit is in its final days so we had to do the robot arm one last time. Bohdin tried to convince Buddy to go to the science museum by saying the history museum would be there any time but this was his only chance to do the robot exhibit. The kids had fun with me while the other adults were able to see the museum without the distraction of little kids.

Monday we did a tour of the Buffalo Gap bourbon factory in Frankfort. I found it quite interesting. None of us came out bourbon drinkers but I can appreciate the process of how it is made. The kids did not find the tour fascinating at all. After lunch we headed to Shaker Town in Pleasant Hill. We arrived later than intended and only had 90 minutes to look around. Bohdin and I spent a good deal of time with the broom maker. Bohdin wanted to grow broom corn so we could make our own brooms but we don't need to since we are both proud owners of a Shaker broom. The most interesting part was the solo vocalist who sang and spoke about the Shaker worship service. The kids were mostly bored here as well. Bohdin liked the brooms, Nyla liked ordering the goats to eat her leaves, and they both collected goose feathers.

I think the funniest part of the visit came one night when Bohdin was getting ready for bed. He used the toilet in the bathroom where Papa was taking a shower instead of our bathroom. When Bohdin came to bed I told him that he shouldn't have used that bathroom because Papa needed his privacy. Bohdin said, "Don't worry. I didn't see his penis. I was too busy talking to him."