I'm a Slacker!

But not really! My Mom's internet has been down for about 4 days now! I have lots to update on once all the bugs are worked out (we still don't have it upstairs for some reason, so I'm in Mom's room right now!).

Pregnancy Update: It's beginning to look a lot like baby time. Swollen ankles. Restless nights. HARD contractions. I have the baby's room set up and ready and bags packed and ready. I'm 36 weeks now, so if she comes now, we should be good. I have some baby shower pics to post, but those are downloaded upstairs! If we can't get the connection going upstairs, I'll reload them on my camera and download them on Mom's computer. But if you go to Crystal's blog she has some good ones posted!

Tee-ball Update: The boys have their last game tonight. They have had a blast doing this together! I wish that I could have been a bit more involved. But what with being the size of a small house and all, I'm doing good to just make it there! :)

Well, I hope that satisfies you GREEDY, GREEDY bloggers for now! :) I promise to update very soon!

A Most Interesting Day

Today, our accounts were frozen because of a mis-key by the teller when we opened an account for the funds from the sell of our home. Interesting to say the least. Aggrevating is more like it.

I went to my 34 week (according to the doctor) check up today. I'm not posting this to brag, believe me. But I got in trouble today from the doctor because I have gained a total of 5 pounds this pregnancy. I told him that I have been eating everything in sight, but my life has JUST NOW slowed down a bit. He told me that I needed to gain some weight by my next appointment! So, here I sit at 10, eating a bowl of ice cream guilt-free! :) And just so people don't think my baby isn't getting what she needs, I am measuring good. I am a little sad, though. This was my last appointment with Dr. Hudson. He is retiring from the baby business. His son is taking over his patients. We will see if he is a good fit for us. I meet him at my next appointment.

I have a baby shower for baby girl this weekend! I am so excited! I felt a little guilty about having another shower, but my sister and mom planned it so that it's more of a potluck get-together than anything and I am looking forward to hanging out with the ladies.

Take a look at what I think she will be coming home from the hospital in:Isn't it pretty? My Mom and SIL, Kayla, took me shopping at some specialty shops. I had to agree to look with an open-mind because I'm not 100% sold on smocked clothing. But I fell in love with this little traditional dress. I plan on storing it, and passing it down to baby girl. The blanket I found at Marshell's for dirt cheap!
Kayla also told me about a Hankerchief Bonnet. It's a bonnet they wear as infants, and then you keep it, and when she gets married, you snip the stitching and it's a hankerchief for her 'something old.' I love little bits of tradition like that! Something memorable and beautiful to pass on.

I was also able to find my boys some 'Big Brother' shirts.I was so excited that the little stick boy has a baseball in his hand. It just seems to go with our lives right now (tee-ball!). The boys are excited to wear it... "But not until the baby comes out, Momma!"

Hank and I made the door hanger for the hospital door last night. It turned out so cute and I am so proud! I wish I could post it, but that would ruin the surprise of her name! :) It's a picture frame that we painted, then added her name to. We plan on putting the meanings of her first and middle name in the picture part until we have a good picture. Then there is a little heart hanging from the bottom, where we plan to add her weight and birthday info. So pretty! We're gonna hang it in her nursery.

Okay, enough babbling! I think I'm ready for some rest!

Feel The Baby

The other night, Hank and I were watching Big Brother with my parents, while Bryant played in the floor (Tres had fallen dead asleep the minute his head hit the pillow!). I was stretched out in the recliner with my feet up when Baby Girl decided to start up her nightly belly dancing routine! :) We ended up pausing the show because SHE was putting on such a show. My belly was literally shifting from one side to the other or she would give such a hard kick that it hurt me! So Hank brought Bryant over to me to see if he could feel his sister. Hank told Bryant, "Put your hand on Momma's belly." Bryant very seriously, reached up and firmly planted his little hand on Mommy's breast!! We laughed so hard we were crying! Bryant was very proud of himself.

Our House

Here we are at the end of moving day. We took the boys over for one last good-bye in our home. This was the home we moved into one month after we got married. This was the house we brought both boys home to. I was secretly hoping that it would stay on the market long enough so that we could bring baby girl home to it, too. But God's plans are higher than mine! This home saw a lot of laughter and a few tears. God has been good to us! I know that He has plans for our future home that I couldn't even fathom!
Hank wanted to play wuffle (sp?) ball inside the empty house with the boys, but as usual, the boys didn't cooperate! Instead they wanted us to take their picture with the refridgerator... not really sure why! :) And Tres ate his last Hershey Bar at home.

Now if you tell Tres or Bryant that we are going home, either one will say, "We don't have a home!"

Lunch with Grammy Boemer

On the day we closed on the sale of our house, we got a special treat! Grammy Boemer, Hank's grandmother, was passing through town with Aunt Patsy and we got to spend about an hour and half catching up over lunch with them. The boys were pretty good considering and enjoyed getting to know more of their family!

Running in the Rain

Here in Bama, we have been experiencing almost draught-like conditions! So when it began raining last week, we were all VERY happy! The boys even enjoying running in it briefly!

Sabatical Sunday

This second Sunday in July, our church did something that I had never heard of before... we took a Sabatical Sunday. It was really nice. It was raining, so we chilled out at home for a while. The boys played games with Daddy and I did some random packing. Then we decided to bake a 'Happy Day Cake'.
It was one of the few things I still had ingredients for in the house since I had started packing up and had already sent most of our good stuff to my Mom's pantry! It was fun just to take time to do something simple. I made the Butter Cream icing that Hank loves, and put it on the cake hot. The boys added tons of sprinkles and we threw on some white chocolate chips that we found in the cabinet too! Then we ate it while it was still warm! So good! What could be better than a rainy day, a warm cake, and your family close?

Play dates

I gotta say, I love play dates! Especially with good friends! The boys and I were able to meet up with my friend Becca, her four-month-old Madeliene, and her little boy Caleb for a play date at Chik-fil-A. My boys LOVE playing with their buddy! And Becca and I were fortunate enough to snag the booth right by the playground so we could sit, eat, and talk all while watching our little 'angels' play.

We figured something out too. Instead of making them sit with us, we let them sit at the table right behind us to eat... and they actually ATE instead of picking and then begging to play.

There was this girl in the playground that kept kicking Caleb. We thought maybe it was retaliation of some sort until we actually saw her corner Tres and Caleb and kick them for no reason. Then Tres said, "That hurt! Don't do that!" but didn't kick back {pausing for a proud momma moment!}. I marched myself in there and told her, very politely but with the 'motherly' tone, not to kick our sons anymore. It turns out she was there with a friend and her mom so no one was actually watching her!

Are You Ready For It?

Let the blog marathon begin!! I am A BIT behind in posting. Even my husband, who knows what all we've been dealing with lately, said to me on the way out the door, "You really need to blog. How else do I know what's going on with my family?" So I am going to attempt to catch up today. So get ready for some good stuff folks! :)

A few thoughts on moving

Never leave a prenant, hormonal woman alone in the home that she brought her kids home to, and is having to say good-bye too. Makes for an emotional mess.

No matter how organized you try to be, it's never enough. You still end up throwing misc. CRAP in your storage unit.

Transformers are great as entertainment for boys... but this Mom hates them, frankly!

It feels weird being homeless.

It feels even weirder settling my family in to live with my parents!! :)

I wish I that EVERYTHING I eat didn't give me indigestion.

Things to come: Lunch with Grammy Boemer (Hank's grandmother), last family pic in empty house, Sierra (my niece) 'baptizing' all her cousins in the pool, CUTE baby girl clothes!!, and much more!!

The end.

Tired and Swollen!

Well, it's been busy but fun, as usual! Hank actually had July 4th off in who knows how long. It was great to spend a family day. We chilled at home for the first part of the day, where all three of my guys invested some time in their latest obession... Lego Star Wars. I sorted & washed clothes to bring over to my Mom's while they did that. While not all that patriotic... it still needed to be done! Then I grilled up some hamburgers on the old Foreman Grill. Next was a stop at the park, at the request of the boys. They had fun, but it was super humid, so we cut that trip a bit short. Then we headed to the theatre to catch Ratatoullie. We were gonna try to Drive-In again, but I begged Hank to let this be in a building with A/C since I've started swelling a bit lately! Ugh! The movie was really cute, and the boys really enjoyed it. Hank and I both received a lap full of Bryant's Dr. Pepper at points in the movie, so we stayed busy cleaning that up. Nice.

We ended the day at my parent's house. Hank and the boys went swimming and I headed upstairs to get closets emptied and organized, so that we could put our stuff in them! We spent the rest of the evening doing that and I felt pretty much like we had accomplished a good bit by the end of the night.

Today, I brought over my clothes & some of the boys toys. I've spent the day sorting again, and now I'm ready to relax and catch some Big Brother, baby! Yes! It's tonight! I'm so sorry there are no funny pics to go with this post, but I totally forgot to take them today! Very un-Jamie-like!

Hank's Birthday

The boys and I had so much fun planning Daddy's birthday this year. Hank's not much for big events, and prefers low-key stuff. So while we were out running birthday errands, Tres, Bryant, and I stopped by the station to give Daddy birthday cards and small surprises at work.The boys always enjoy going to the station! Daddy lets them visit the 'robot' (or the remote controlled camera) when they come most of the time. This time was no different! Bryant thinks it's really a robot and constantly talks to it. He says things like, "Don't get me robot!" We put the boys on the 'green screen' too... or the weather wall. Then we got a birthday picture with daddy and the manequin in the hall and headed out to finish our errands. The boys and I spent the afternoon baking a cake. Hank had mentioned a specific icing that his sister, Jackie, makes, so I called and got the recipe. My Mom agreed to watch the boys so I could take Hank out to dinner. I was planning on taking him to Ezell's, a new catfish place, but he chose Del Toro! So we ate there, then headed back to my parent's house to have cake, homemade chocolate ice cream (courtesy of my Mom!), and coffee. Can you see the Dove candies on top of the cake? There's a story behind those. When Hank and I were dating, he used to get this candy off of one of my co-workers desk and then he would tape one of the wrappers, which has little messages on the inside, to my computer screen signed with an 'H.' I used the wrappers from the candy to make him a card.

We had lots of fun! I got Hank a new CD player for his car. Tres picked him out a Star Wars GameCube game, and Bryant got him a CD.

New Look

A certain 'blog fairy' visited my blog and gave me a brand new look! And just in time. I will have been blogging for 3 years on July 8th. Oh my goodness! Thank you, Crystal Dawn! You are such a treasured friend! I don't know what I would do without you. Thank you for praying with me, encouraging me, trusting me, and most of all for laughing with me! You rock!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Happy Birthday to the world's greatest Dad, Husband, & Friend. God sure knew what he was doing when He put you in my life, Hank Boemer. You and our boys (and littel girl) make my world turn!

Thank you for playing two-man Duck, Duck, Goose with Bryant.
Thank you for encouraging Tres to swim underwater.
Thank you for loving me unconditionally.

We love you!

Our 'Frustrating' Sunday!

Right after Hank got baptized... and I'm talking, he's dripping wet... he realized that I had inadvertantly locked both sets of our keys in the van. I had run to the van just before to get our camera out, and automatically locked it behind me since my purse was in it. I didn't realize that Hank had changed and his wallet, keys, etc were in the back.

All I can say is THANK GOD for family members and Road Side Assistance (good for 5 years!)! Hank had to be at work at 7, so Mom & Dad let him drive home in their vehicle and get ready. By the time he got back, the car was unlocked and we still had enough time to get him back to his car and to work on time!

Our 'REFRESHING' Sunday

Yesterday was also a special day for our family. Our church, Crosslife (a church plant from Cathedral of the Cross), had it's first baptismal Sunday. Pastor Tommy got special permission to baptize people in the lake at Oak Mountain. We had 10 people get baptized... including Hank!

I was so proud of him! Hank made a very well thought out decision to do this. Some of you may not realize this, but Hank was raised Catholic, and has been attending Assembly of God churches only since we got married! He considers everything logically, looks at what the Bible says about it, and makes his decision. He decided he wanted to take part in this baptismal service as an outward sign that the 'old' Hank was gone, and God has control over the 'new' Hank. I get emotional just typing this. But when I asked him what he was feeling when he was out there, he said he wasn't feeling anything. He was concentrating on what he was doing and telling the Lord that he was going to do this right.The only thing he said was that he wished he could have done it on his birthday (today).

Our 'RESTFUL' Sunday

Sunday morning started for me sometime between 4:30 and 5 am. I started experiencing cramping. That happens sometimes, so I thought it would pass. I stayed in bed with my legs up until about 7:30, when I knew that it should have passed. I got up and called the Nurse Hotline and got dressed. I was expecting them to tell me to drink water, get my feet up, yada, yada, yada. But instead they told me to come right in.

A quick phone call to my parents and we were out the door with our two sleepy, pj-clad little boys. We met my dad at the next exit and transferred the kids.

We were at the hospital by about 8:45. They sent me back to a familiar little room, where I had spent a BUNCH of time during all those trips for false labor when Bryant was due! The nurse checked by vitals and I gave them a urine sample. Then she came back and checked me. She wasn't surprised (but I was) to find I was already dialated 1 cm. But that is apparently normal the more children you have. Cervix is still thick and I'm still 'high and tight' as she said. These are all good things seeing as I'm somewhere between 31-33 weeks. She needs more cooking time! The baby's heartbeat was strong, and she kept kicking the monitor and making us jump at the loud noise! :)

Anyway, they thought I was dehydrated, so they brought in a can of Sprite and a pitcher of water and gave Hank instructions to refill it every time I emptied it. I didn't think I was dehydrated, but I started drinking. Why is it when someone tells you to drink something it goes down harder? I drank that Sprite and THREE pitchers of water. I did enjoy picking the pitcher up and shaking it at Hank (or my little cabana boy) every time I needed a refill! Hey, you gotta take joy in the simple things in life! :)

Hank made me laugh a lot during this trip to the L & D. He kicked back in the chair in the room like he was making himself at home.He quickly found a movie to watch and said, "What is it about this chair that makes me want to go to sleep?"

After all of that... and several billion trips to the bathroom... the nurse came in a told me I had a... {DRUMROLL PLEASE} bladder infection. So after a shot of antibiotics and a prescription we were out of there by 11. Not too bad.

I did react a little funny to the shot though. Since it was on an empty stomach, and because they had to mix it with a pain killer of some sort... I started getting shakey and spacey! Hank took me to eat, which helped. But I barely remember stopping to get the kids or the ride home. I crashed at home for about 2 hours after that hard. But I feel much better today!