So Grateful

As we watch the footage of flooded areas in Connecticut, New Jersey, lower New York, and surrounding areas -  I'm SOOOOO grateful that we only a got a minor taste of what Sandy was serving up.  We lost power yesterday starting at 11:30, and I was ready for the long haul!  We had been preparing over the weekend for the possible idea of losing power for another week, so we did everything we could to get ready for that.  Luckily, the wind gusts and rain went around us for the most part.  Our power came back on around 3:30, and has been on ever since.  Thanks to all of our family and friends who checked in on us.  Just for as a tip for those who have emergency preparedness as a goal: here are some things we did.

 - Gas in all of our vehicles, cash out of the bank
- Bought a GENERATOR! Its a small one, but it will power our fridge and a few other small appliances.  Most people here have a heavy duty generator that can power most of their home.
- Bought water bottles & batteries - these were the first things to go in the stores.
- Filled our bath tub up with water to use in case we were out for a long time.  FIlled up extra juice jugs and water coolers with water.  We also have 4- (5) gallon buckets of water filled up in the garage that we can use. Got these from Lowes - they are food grade so safe for food/water storage.
-Brought in wood to use for the fireplace so it would be dry, and bought a manual hand pump for our air mattress, in case we had to sleep near the fireplace with the kiddos.
-Finally I woke up yesterday knowing that I would have a few hours in the morning to use electricity, so I took full advantage of a hot shower, using the washer and dryer, running the dishes, etc.... in case that would be my last!

I'm so glad I didn't go into labor during any of this either, and that so far I have a home with electricity to bring a new baby home to when that time comes.

You have got to be kidding me?

Moving to New York 2 years ago I never would have imagined that hurricanes and tropical storms would be something I would have to worry about.  Especially when they are taking place in the Bahamas!  Well yet AGAIN, we are under a severe weather threat due to Tropical Storm Sandy!  This means that there is likely to be power outages for several days, strong wind and heavy rain - leading to flooding & trees down....which only makes the power outage problem worse.  While living here we have lost power for a total of 10 days, 7 of those consecutive - and frankly I'm not in the mood!  I have 12 more days of this pregnancy and I'm not about to spend them Little House on the Prairie style!  We do have a few more things ready this go around though - we have water, lots of it! We have a generator, enough to at least power our fridge so we don't loose all of our food. We have a fireplace and wood to heat the house.

No power means: No water (we're on a private well) which means no showers, toilets flushing, etc. - No Heat - No stove - No Computer (which is our main source of news since we don't get a newspaper!

So again let me restate - I'm NOT in the mood!  Go away Sandy....you are very uninvited.

In this corner....Pumpkins...Duck

I am a very blessed wife.  I have a great husband who is a GREAT father.  The kids love him so much and it is because he is the fun one.  He plays, he does funny voices, he is a kid just like them! Lately the big thing to do is "wrestling".  Shawn started to give the kids names and announce them before they go at it.  In the right corner is Sam the Mighty or in the left corner is Jack the Ferocious... Lyv even gets in on the action.  The boys have now started to introduce too - they usually do something silly like Dad the Whanny-Baby Momma!

 Shawn is daring to face down Lyv - she is probably the fiercest competitor!

Halloween is kind of creeping on up and with the changing in leaves, which this year is BEAUTIFUL!  It is like the trees are the color of fire.  I wish I had a better shot, but this one of the beauties of our yard.  Poor Jack got sick the night we decided to carve.  A bad cold, but being Jack it of course was bad - his eyes was nearly swollen shut because it was so watery and goopy!  I felt so bad for him, and he finally decided to throw in the towel and go to sleep, so he didn't get to see the final results.

 We always try to get the kids to dig out the guts of the pumpkin...this is Lyv's first year, and you can tell that our little princess thought this was much too messy and disgusting for her.  But she did love watching Shawn help carve her pumpkin.  She kept on wishing everyone Happy Halloween!

 Sam did his on his own this year, and made a Vampire Pumpkin... he might wear it as a costume.

 This is Jack's, finished while Jack went to sleep - of course the lighting of the pumpkins is the highlight!

Yet another duck and adopted our creek - but this one looks like it might belong to someone.  Not our typical mallard.  So we'll see how long it stays... we've been bribing it with bread!)

 Jack has started to recover from his nasty cold and had school pictures today, so I decided to get a shot of my handsome man!

If this doesn't make you smile....

 Yesterday I was cleaning up in the morning, and Jack came strutting out of the room and said, "Hey mom!"  I looked up and seriously about wet my pants laughing.  He found this goofy glasses, and they fit him perfectly!  I just can't get over his sense of humor, and I am so grateful for it everyday.  He provides some much needed comic relief around these parts.

Finally the post I've been trying to get, and finally resorted to a self-portrait in the mirror!  Here is the belly shot at 37 weeks and 1 day!  Yes, the one day is important to add.  Baby is doing good, still super active and I had my first run in with false labor two nights ago that sent me into a cold sweat.  As much as I'm looking forward to getting him here, I still need a week or two to get some things done on my pre-baby list.  I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy is flying by - and I also can't believe we will actually have 4 kiddos.  I've been trying to prepare myself for this big change, and realized that it more of a perspective change for me.  I'm going to have to learn to let go of a few of my OCD must-do's and to be happy with just seeing that we all brushed our teeth and were fed and clothed at some point during the day.  This will be a difficult task for me, and a balance that I'm going to have to really put a lot of effort into making happen.  The count down is officially on!

I walked with you Once Upon a Dream

If only I could be sitting with my mom as I explain this post. Lyv has developed a love for the movie Sleeping Beauty. When I was little I used to watch this movie EVERYDAY, re-enact the scenes as they were playing out...sleep, singing with birds, the whole nine yards.  Lyv has started to re-enact it yet, but she sings and twirls all day to "I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream".  It just brings a huge smile to my face as I see her finally get girly.  Especially with things that were once favorites of mine (and NO for the record I didn't lock her in the room and force her to watch this movie)! This was her exercising her agency freely and independently of my influence. Here's to Princess Aurora!

When the Tooth Fairy Forgets....

Sam lost his second front tooth yesterday.  He was thrilled to lose his 5th tooth, but to loose it at school is especially cool.  The nurse provides you with a little tooth shaped box necklace to hold the tooth in until you get home and can safely place it under your pillow.  Sam ran off the bus proudly showing off his tooth necklace and toothless grin.  Tuesdays are busy afternoons with soccer practice, mutual for Shawn, and just the regular dinner - homework - etc.... needless to say the tooth was soon forgotten by everyone except for Sam, who dutifully placed it under his pillow.

Today dawned, Sam woke up as excited as Christmas morning, and called out disappointedly that the tooth fairy didn't visit!  How could that be?  She has been so good for all the other teeth.  With some pretty quick thinking and a frantic search.... Sam managed to find a dollar bill, and a little note mixed up in his sheets and blankets.  He must have slept so wildly that the note and money got moved around, right?

The note explained why the tooth hadn't been taken as form of payment.... it read,

"Dear Sam, I wanted your special case to be your's forever!  
You keep it!  
Love, 
The Tooth Fairy" 

Man, that Tooth Fairy is pretty generous.

Sam also had a great Soccer game on Saturday, scoring his first goal of the season.  A fellow Gator passed him the ball and Sam kicked it as hard as he could past the goalie!  It was great!  He is really liking soccer, and learning a lot - thanks to a great coach and team.

Finally, to make room for the new baby, we have rearranged the kids' rooms.  Jack and Lyv now share a room, thanks to a bunk bed donation from a generous ward member.  The kids were so excited to have a ladder, and Jack and Lyv have taken to sleeping together without a hitch!

Sam will be sharing a room with the baby, and has a queen bed all to his little self!  I hope that he'll be okay sleeping with a waking baby...but he has a month until that experiment.  I finished the baby's quilt - I'm really digging the yellow and gray right now, and so we just need to add some finishing touches and all will be ready.

 I have 4 weeks left and am feeling the Pressure!  This babe moves around so much that I find myself poking back at his bum, legs, and arms.  He is literally in my rib cage, under my hip bones, and everywhere else. Still no name as of yet, but Max is a serious contender right now!  My mind has gone into full "prep" mode and I'm sure that I'm driving people crazy as I try to get the house ready, my church calling planned out, and Christmas started! Again I feel blessed and grateful for another sweet boy, and another fall baby!  The colors have been beautiful, and from our front door I'm greeted by these gorgeous mums!

Jack's Fall Field Trip - Kelder Farm

Jack's 1st official field trip was Monday.  The kids went for a hayride, picked out their very own pumpkins and indian corn, milked a cow, fed farm animals, and jumped on the HUGE inflatable bouncy pillow!  Jack was so excited about going, and Lyv and I were lucky enough to be able to tag along.  Of course this wouldn't be a day with Jack without some sort of mishap.... so, he found a big mud hole and managed to slip and fall in it.  It took me nearly 4 years, but I have learned I can't go anywhere without an extra change of clothes.  So we remedied the situation, changed him into a new outfit and sent him on his way.  All is well, but wait, we are talking about Jack here......Just as we were getting ready to go Jack wanted to take one more trip down the slide.  I reminded him that the mud hole was near the slide, so he needed to make sure to avoid it.  He whizzed down the slide, stood up, and ran right back into the mud hole, slipped and fell and basically covered himself with mud again!  I haven't quite learned that I need to have TWO extra outfits for him, so he rode home in his tighty-whiteys!  Boy I love this boy! I love the sheer JOY that he has on his face in so many of these pictures. He is a huge lesson on living life and enjoying each moment.