Always on the go

So you know you are a grown up when your weekends and spare time are no longer spent planning fun things for you and your special someone to do, but instead shuttling your child(ren) from commitment to commitment.  It seems like all I do each weekend is watch Isaac play sports.  I have most everything in the calendar in my phone, which syncs to my email and to Ryan's calendar, but I have taken to posting this on the fridge each week to give all parties a quick visual of each day.

Our days are jam-packed and we are always on the go.   I honestly don't know how moms with multiple kids in various activities don't lose their minds. It's hard enough with just one.

Anyways, here are some highlights:

Isaac continues to enjoy baseball a lot.  He is mostly in the outfield or occasionally short stop.  He is getting better each week and really looks forward to practices and games with his team the Riverdogs.  He likes to chew sunflower seeds or Big League Chew gum in the dugout to make himself feel like a pro.

I'm not going to lie, I find Little League Baseball to be mind-numbingly boring.  I think Hannah does too.  She always looks around with an expression on her face like "Oh man, we're HERE again?  Let me fuss myself to sleep now." I like to watch Isaac, of course, but the games are so slow.  They tend to start late, and go long. Yesterday Uncle Joe joined us for a game, which definitely helped pass the time for me and meant a lot to Isaac.

game face

  

 Yesterday was also team pictures which was almost a mini-crisis when we could only find one of his uniform socks.  We ended up driving to Dick's Sporting Goods ten minutes before the picture and picking up another two pack of socks.  Hopefully it was money well spent as I seem to spend an inordinate of time before each game locating baseball socks.  Isaac talked me into buying a special baseball with his picture printed on it.   I can't wait to see how they turned out.

We have also been getting back into the swing of soccer which is definitely more exciting for spectators: action packed and time bound. He had tryouts for the new season of travel and last week participated in a 4 v 4 tournament.  His team took second.

 The Philadelphia Union were there which was exciting too.
 

In non-sports related happenings we have been able to spend some time with all of Ryan's kids. For a while there is seemed like we could never coordinate schedules to take them. We had a beautiful weekend day when we played in a local park and even had a random lady ask if they were ALL ours, which made me smile.  Allison and Gabby love Hannah and are so good with her.  We have them again this coming weekend and are hoping to take them all swimming with our family membership to the YMCA.

There has been a lot going on with Isaac at school too.  My dad was able to drive in to be with Isaac on grandparent's day.  They visited the book fair together and Isaac got two books, one that he picked out that was Star Wars related and one that my dad picked out about George Washington "one of Grandpa's heroes".  Dad e-mailed me this picture of Isaac and his homeroom teacher Miss Hoyle. 

I was also pleasantly surprised to check my e-mail and find this note which couldn't have made me any prouder:

This is Mr. Lamison, Isaac’s Social Studies Teacher.  I am writing to you today to tell you what an amazing job Isaac has been doing in my class.  He has been working with great focus and attention to detail.  I am very proud of Isaac, and I wanted to take a moment to let you know. 

Have a great day,

We also managed to get over to the Art Show one evening after baseball practice.  Isaac had several pieces in the show.  

We are starting to come down the home stretch of the final marking period of school.  Soon summer will be here!

Bumpdate: 31 Weeks

Sorry I haven't posted much lately beyond the weekly pregnancy updates.  Things have been busy, but not especially noteworthy.  Just the same old, same old--- soccer, laundry, Cub Scouts, errands, school, work, repeat, repeat, repeat.

Soccer is officially over for now, which will free up quite a bit of time.  His team took first again, which was really exciting.  Isaac's coaches have been great, and it has been a good season.  

I also don't have a preggo pic.  I look about the same as last week.  I did replace my iPhone, so going forward, none of my pictures will have those annoying black flecks on them.

How far along: 31 weeks/seven months. Getting closer and closer!

How big is baby: 3.75 pounds.  Fruit and veggie scale says a "large jicama" but I have no idea what that means!  She is going through a big growth spurt in the next few weeks, according to my app.

Weight gain: Still doing okay I guess.  I feel very large in the middle, but not especially swollen which is good.  I was so swollen with Isaac my calves had stretch marks. 

 Sleeping: Sleep has been okay.  I am up several times a night to pee, but at least lately, I have been able to get back to sleep.  

Food cravings: Icecream!!!!  And really all sweets.  I have a secret stash in my desk at work.

Food aversions: Still potato salad and anything made in the deep fryer.  The deep fryer still makes me sick. 

Other symptoms: The usuals--  mood swings, crying, waddling.    I also just feel a lot larger and it has been taking it's toll on my lower back.  I am so tired at the end of the day and several people at work have commented that I look "very uncomfortable".  I am also having some Braxton-Hicks contractions which are so weird and I am always hot.  

Miss Anything? Being able to bend over.  My students are always asking me to tie their shoes and I just look at them like, "Really?" And Ryan has been helping with my shoes and socks in the morning.  

Doctor’s appointment: Next week!  They are becoming more frequent now.  

Wedding Rings: Off.  I am scared to put them on now.  

Clothes: I bought another pair of pants and a few long sleeved tops and that should be it. The pants were supposed to be capris on super clearance, but they actually fit me like regular pants, so that is a bonus that I don't have to send them off to be hemmed.  I have enough work clothes to get me through a whole week at work, which is sufficient, even though it doesn't provide a ton of variety.  

Movement: Lots! I have been concerned because the hardest kicks have been on my right side, almost near my armpit.  The doctor says that could be her head there, but at this point she isn't concerned.  She may still flip herself around yet. 

Best moment of the week: Having Ryan home for a few days, as well as taking a few hours off to be home to help with Halloween. 

 His kids came over to show us their costumes. Allison is a vampire, Gabby was a fairy, and Justin was a bee.  Isaac was Ray Mysterio his favorite wrestler.  

What I’m looking forward to: My birthday!

What I did / Got for baby:   We went to set up Isaac's old crib and discovered it is missing LOTS of pieces.  I posted on our Relief Society (church women's group) facebook page asking if anyone had a crib to sell to us and within 20 minutes someone had offered us a crib for free.  You can't beat free!  One of my coworkers has also given us a space saver high chair too. We are definitely willing to accept any and all hand me downs!  

My aunt also sent us a huge package of clothes, shoes, and accessories, we were so pleased and thankful!  Baby H will be one well dressed baby.  

Life Update

That was what things came to this week.  I have been SLAMMED with work, and can't seem to get my head above water to get caught up.  My work laptop has been on the fritz, so I couldn't work from home.  My mother so sweetly agreed to drive in and watch Isaac so I could work late.  Thank goodness for moms.

Things have been good around here but so busy.  Ryan and I surprised Isaac with tickets to a WWE event in Philadelphia.  Isaac is obsessed with professional wrestling.  I have tried and tried to squash his interest in it, to no avail, so I finally figured, if I can't beat him, join him.  I tried to convince Ryan to just take him, but Ryan insisted on making it a family event, since we don't get very many evenings together.

Ryan got us box seats, so we had our own bathroom, which I enjoyed.  Isaac was proud to bring his wallet with his allowance and bought himself a t-shirt from a random parking lot guy (Ryan helped him haggle the price down to 10 bucks).  He has changed into that shirt every day after school since. 

Ryan wanted to document that I actually came.  I tried to be somewhat open minded, but I was unimpressed.  Professional wrestling is not for me.

He was excited to see one of his favorite wrestlers, C.M. Punk.  I think he really enjoyed himself and I loved that I was finally able to scrape together enough money this time to take him, even though Ryan and I probably won't be able to afford a date night or anything fun until November. 

In other family news, we also spent quite a bit of last weekend at a soccer tournament.  Due to rainy weather earlier in the week, what was supposed to be a two day tournament got smooshed into one super long day.  The weather was chilly and overcast and I was reduced to tears because I had no choice but to use a portapotty.  Isaac played really well though and kept his team alive in the tournament when he got close lined earning his team a penalty shot and he was able to follow up with a goal of his own.  I honestly love to watch him play.

We also finally found time to cross something major off of our to-do list-- taking my mother's tour.  She gives tours of historic downtown Lancaster and she is one of their most popular tour guides. 

 

I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed the tour and how much we learned.  Although it needs to be noted that my mom sets a brisk pace.  Ryan and I were chasing after my mom up a stairwell in the convention center when he turned to me and said that we should have signed up for the tour for asthmatics and pregnant people.  When we were done the tour, we met up with my Dad and Isaac to take a ride on the Strasburg Railroad, another Lancaster "to do".  

It was a really lovely day to spend in Lancaster with my folks.  So life continues to be insanely hectic around here with Ryan working long hours, my heavy workload and being basically exhausted by the time I get home from work, and a variety of family commitments (soccer, scouts, soccer, soccer).  But things are also going well.  Only a few more months until we meet our little girl! 

Life Lately

1. My mom had Isaac for a whole week when I was starting on school.  Of course, they did all kinds of fun things and there were tears when it was time to come home.  One of his new favorite things to do is paint pottery with her.  This week she brought over this candy jar that was finally back from being fired.  How adorable is it?  I can't wait until October when we can get all Halloweeny up in here...

2. We had back to school night this week for Isaac.  His teacher described Isaac as a "riot" which made me feel relieved.  Of course *I* think he is a riot, but, let's just say, not everyone always finds him to be amusing.  His teacher's enthusiasm for science must be contagious, because he came home asking me if I had cornstarch so he could make his own oobleck.  It made a bit of a mess but he seemed to love it.

3. Ryan and I have been married for over six months now.  The other day I came home to find he had been hard core cleaning the house.  He had come up with this solution to our covers war.  I had to laugh when I discovered it but it has actually been working out well.

4.  As the lone female in this household for a few more months I am pretty much on my own while Isaac and Ryan are zoned out watching football.  I am trying, but I just can't get into it.  It's soooooooooo long.

5. It's the most wonderful time of the year!  Soccer season.  His first official league game was a terrible blow-out. They beat the other team 12-0.  Hopefully the next game is a little more fun to watch.  Go number 7!

Weekend Update - Spring Finally Arrives!

It's was a warm weekend and we could finally get out of the house and do some things that don't cost money. It's the best feeling in the world!

Friday night we had all three of Ryan's kid's over for dinner and then Gabby stayed the night. When we woke up the weather was warm and bright and felt like spring at last.  We threw open the windows and then decided to get out of the house for a bit. They have FINALLY extended the Schuylkill River Trail up to my house so we decided to invetigate.  We walked a little more than a mile of it.  I was surprised the kids held up so well.

 

From there we went to Manderach Park for a little bit to let the kids run wild.  I ended up getting a pretty decent sunburn.

 

 

The last stop of the day was Five Below for a gift bag for a birthday present.  When these two are together they can keep themselves busy no matter where we end up. 

It was this little guy's second birthday, so Ryan took Gabby home and Isaac along too for a little family birthday party. 

They had so much playing, they ended up staying for almost five hours! 

I don't think the girls usually look much alike, but in this picture their little faces look identical!

In other weekend new I busted out the 5K app once again and made it through day 1.  It starts off so easy, it is confidence building even for someone like me who has done nothing all winter but watch TV and eat ice cream and is huffing and puffing through the "run" intervals. 

 

Our weekend was rounded out with a little bit of conference, a soccer scrimmage (Isaac's team got creamed, but he did score his team's lone goal) and finished another book, Jodi Piccoult's The Plain Truth. Now I have nothing else to read, so I am going to start Les Miserables.  For real.  Tomorrow maybe.

 

Happy Monday!

 





 

 

Undefeated...

He had his last regular season game this Saturday and scored two goals before they put him in as goalie.  One more tournament next weekend and then soccer is a WRAP.

Weekend in Hershey

We spent the weekend with my parents as we traveling back and forth from Hershey for a soccer tournament.  Lots of team members opted to stay in a hotel, but my parents house was not too far away from the tournament, so we were able to stay with them.  The weekend kicked off bright and early at 7:30 am on Saturday- brutal as none of us are morning people. My parents decided to come along for that game, and it was a good time, despite taking a loss.

happy family

             It took about 4.5 seconds to discover that I hadn't packed one thing that was appropriate for the conditions.  I had worn long jeans which ended up dragging on the ground and some pink moccasins that were waterlogged from the damp grass within the first few minutes.   I had to keep my jeans rolled up dorkily like that for the rest of the game (which, now that I am looking at myself in these pictures, that makes my legs look incredibly stumpy).  Fortunately we were only a few minutes away from an outlet mall, and Ryan bought me a pair of replacement flats so I would be more comfortable.

So cute, right?

It would be helpful if I could grow a few extra arms on game day.  

The forecast had called for rain all weekend.  The temperatures were low enough that I was comfortable in my jacket all weekend, but we avoided rain, thank goodness!  They only cancel for lightning and it is no fun at all to be huddled under a golf umbrella shivering. I think we took third out of six in the tournament.  We had a win and a loss before we were creamed in our last game.  I am discovering a pattern that when the coach of the opposing team is coaching his kids in Spanish, the game will not go well for us.  Isaac played well all weekend and finally had a goal in their second game.  

We had some time to kill in between games and we were only a few minutes away from the Hershey Attractions.  We did the Chocolate World tour and the 3D movie.  We sampled a few Hershey products before we got lunch at Red Robin.   

Last night after we put Isaac to bed, Ryan and I went to Redbox and rented The Five Year Engagement.  For 1.00, it was cute and entertaining, but it got a little long at times.  

A few quick things

Another week rolled by...

Whew.

As usual, we have been doing a lot of this...

 





So far his team has a had a couple of ties and a few losses.  Hopefully we get a win under our belt sooner or later.  Isaac has been rotating through positions including quite a bit of time as goalie.  I was concerned because he is the shortest on the team, but he gets better every time he goes in.  He has had a few excellent saves. 

 

I am really enjoying my new job.  It still feels like there are a million new things to learn and adjust to, but everyone is very nice and I think I feel like I am starting to get the hang of things more.  We had an inservice day to review all of the beginning of the year data which was information overload.  Preparing my third graders for mandatory state testing is a huge part of my job now, which is uncharted territory.

 

Ryan has been working on his training at Walmart.  Pottstown Walmart is finally becoming a SUPERWalmart with a Subway, nail salon, full blown grocery store, etc.  He is in charge of the whole new grocery side-- deli, bakery, frozen, produce, etc., etc,.  The best part is his shifts are either 8-5 or 11-8 and the store is only 10 minutes away.  Blissful after his long string of overnight shifts at a store an hour away.    Both of us feel a bit overwhelmed with our new jobs, but we are both really excited and happy. 

 

With Ryan's help I have been making headway on organizing all of my crafting supplies in the office, so that I actually use it as such.  Right now it is kind of a storage, catchall space with random piles of stuff.  Some of it is in boxes that I haven't opened since I moved in (over three years ago!).  When I want to work on cardmaking or crafting, I usually take all of my stuff downstairs in a big laundry basket and spread it out all over the living room or kitchen for several weeks days, which drives everyone except me crazy.  Anyways, with switching grade levels I brought home a ton of school stuff that now has to be stored in there too, so it was time to finally tackle it.  I have gotten rid of a lot of stuff, found new homes for a lot of stuff in other places, and started to organize what is left.   Ryan surprised me by cashing in some Best Buy points he had and getting me a small flat screen TV for that room, so I can still watch TV when I am working on cards.  When I finally finish in there I will post some pics.

 

Not too much to report on the wedding planning front.  Invitations should be coming out shortly, once we take the time to finalize the menu.  I swear, I am the most apathetic bride on the planet.

 

Happy Friday!  We will be spending our weekend taking Ryan's girls swimming, watching two soccer games, catching up on things around the house, and having dinner with my mom and dad.  What will you be up to?

 

 

P.S. I know the blog looks all kinds of messed up right now.  I am trying to change a few things up so hopefully it looks new and improved before too long. 

It's time to admit...

Summer is gone...

 

And fall is here....

 

I am in full on soccer mom mode...

(that tank top was .47 cents from Old Navy!  Seriously!!!!! And it perfectly matches the flip flops I had bought from there a few summers ago)

This is the view from my lawn chair every Tuesday and Thursday...

That's Isaac in blue. 

My grad class schedule had conflicted with soccer practice all summer long, so Ryan ended up taking over my soccer mom duties.  Now I feel a little behind; when we set up shop during practices all of the other moms greet him and chitchat with him and I am the new kid on the block.  It's actually pretty cute.  I still have a long way to to go to be up to snuff with them too. I only pretend to understand what "off sides" is. I have discovered that "Stay with him!" is a good generic thing to shout out when Isaac is on defense, and "Come on Isaac! " does the trick when he is at the opposite end.

 

I didn't know how I would feel about it now that I am working again but this week went well.  It was nice to sit in the cool evening air with a book and a Diet Coke and decompress after a long day at work. 

 



Isaac with his dad.  (It's like my genes contributed NOTHING to make Isaac, isn't it?)

             I don't really have an athletic bone in my body, so it has been fun to see that Isaac not only enjoys soccer but excels at it. We are into the full swing of the season with practices twice a week and games and tournaments every weekend, it is all hands on deck.  (You guys, I don't know how some parents juggle multiple children in multiple activities!  It's crazy!  All of us have to plan our lives around this particular committment).  

 

with the coach... not too sure what I am doing in this picture...

Aren't they so cute?

 

Although I refuse to drive a mini-van, I am proud of Isaac.  As long as he loves playing, I will gladly keep the title of soccer mom. 

 

 

 

 

 

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