Quick Takes

I've had a ton of work lately, so blogging has been last on my priority list. Or maybe it's cleaning that's been last. Or putting away laundry. Either way, the house is a mess, but we've been able to pay bills. And all is right with the world.

Claire got the last of her stitches out from her surgery. Other than a sizeable scar on her head, everything looks pretty darn good. When she's older, she will thank us for doing this while she was young. Though, I think the prospect of up-dos for prom might be out. Sorry kiddo.

Brett is almost finished with his training. He's pretty much been gone since November 10, with about a week at home spattered in between. He's been in Seattle since December 2, and he comes home on Saturday. We are all ecstatic! And he's supposed to have a good chunk of time off over the holidays. Best Christmas present that we could get.

Many thanks to my amazing family, who watched my kiddos while I flew out to Seattle to visit Brett for a long weekend. We had a good time despite the rain rain rain rain. Wow. I think I saw the sun once while I was there. Brett and I had a chance to go eat at one of our client's restaurants. Nimbus was just plain awesome. It was a late night of amazing food, meeting and catching up with friends, and, well, amazing food. Yum. I flew standby on the way out there, which went well. But it seemed like everyone and their brother was trying to get back to Indiana when I left. We ended up getting me a ticket on Southwest to get me home, and that flight was packed. Still, it was a novelty to actually have a seat.

Again, many thanks to my family, especially my inlaws, who came to watch my kiddos before Thanksgiving, as we all suffered through the stomach flu. Oh, it was awful. The worst I've ever had. Claire and I fell victim on the same day. Sophia followed a few days later, thankfully, while Brett was home. And Brett was down on Thanksgiving day. We've had it. We lived. We spread it to our in-laws. Now, hopefully, we are immune. And I am addicted to Gatorade.

Our washing machine overflowed. Oh yes. Joy of joys. It was the night that Sophia woke up with her stomach flu. The entire foyer and front hallway carpet was soaked. So in between holding Sophia's sick bucket, I was sopping up water from the carpet while Brett was Shop-Vacking the foyer. Again, thankful that Brett was home and that he could easily fix the washing machine tubing that had just wiggled loose. We'll have to clean the carpet since it has a nice water line in it now. But, we didn't have to replace the carpet, so we're good there.

It's cold. Freaky cold. But I'm thankful that we don't have the 3 feet of snow that friends have in northern Indiana. We could be dealing with that too.

I think I have Rudolph and The Polar Express memorized. They've been playing constantly on our DVD player since Thanksgiving.

I've decided I'm going to stay away from the mall for Christmas shopping. I went with the girls one morning and was floored at how busy it was. Sophia did get to wave at Santa, which she thought was awesome. She's not quite ready to go meet the big guy, which I'm ok with. We left the mall after lunch with a pee-covered Claire (who had leaked everywhere) and a bleeding Sophia, whose dry lips split, cracked, and bled all over her. Sigh. I've done most of my shopping online, or I've been making things. By making things, I mean that I have the supplies to make things and haven't started yet.

I've become that person that hates driving in snow. Like, if there's an inch on the ground, I make excuses for not going anywhere. I guess I have the flexibility to do that now. Again, I'm thankful that I'm not in northern Indiana, buried in 3 feet of the white stuff.

I am super excited for Sophia's birthday party on Sunday. Her birthday was actually last week, but since Brett and I were both in Seattle, we postponed until this weekend. I have this uber-cute Elmo cake that I'm going to make. Plus, I found a recipe for more uber-cute Cookie Monster cupcakes. I think a balloon might be in order. I can't believe Sophia is three! How our lives have changed in the last three years.

And how they are still changing. We found out baby #3 will be coming in late June. Three kids in 3.5 years. Wow. Slow deep breathes. It will be fine, though overwhelming at times for the first few years. Still, we are excited and REALLY hope that this one will be a boy. So now we are mentally preparing for things like the girls sharing a room, having to buy a bigger car, potty-training Sophia so I won't have THREE in diapers, prepping for another c-section surgery, and just physically going through another pregnancy. Again, slow deep breathes. My amazing friend Jenny, who lives a mirror life to my own (2 kiddos the same age and a stay-home graphic designer to boot), is also expecting #3 and is due the exact same time. It's good to know that I will be able to share my experience with her. So far, this pregnancy hasn't been as killer as Sophia's, but it hasn't been as easy at Claire's. So, I'm dealing with nausea, but at least I'm not getting sick or have food/smell aversions. I've broken out the maternity pants because they are just plain comfy. That's all there. If I could, I would sleep 10 hours a night, but my brain clicks on so early in the morning that I just have to get up. And I'm hungry, like, all the time. If I'm not hungry, I'm nauseous. There is no in between. I love to eat things that I'm not supposed to: Doritos, Ramen noodles, fried eggs. Ugh. I hope this kid doesn't come out with 6 fingers or something. We do make good, big, healthy babies though, so I think we're good there.