Bottoms Up

What is your beverage of choice?

I'm normally a pure H2O girl, with the occasional sweet tea mixed in.  The Littlest is creating chaos on my taste buds and making me try a new beverage daily.  I tried to drink water last week, but you really don't want me to tell you what happened afterward!  I moved on to Izzy fizzy juice after that.  This week I've been drink Archer Farms Peach-Pear Italian Soda with a side of crushed ice.

 Do you have any suggestions for a pregnant woman who doesn't like the taste of anything these days?



Here's hoping you're staying hydrated somehow...it's pretty much a thousand degrees outside!

A Full Range Of Happy Emotions

I have a confession...please don't judge me.
I mean, you can if you want to, but I'm just trying to be honest.
Here goes, with out being too explicit... my body has always been on it's own very random schedule, so depending on 28 days to tell me if I should expect anything exciting in the coming months has never really worked for me...Therefore, in the 5 years that I have been married, I have probably spent a good portion of Libby's college fund on pregnacy tests.  When we were wanting to be pregnant with Libby, months went by that I hovered of a plastic stick in hopes that  the lines would cross, or that there would be two lines instead of one, or digitally I would read the words "pregnant" instead of "not pregnant."  ("Not pregnant" always felt like such a slap in the face,  like when I was single and I would check my messages and the voice mail would say "no messages," so harsh, a bitter sting that what I wanted did not happen)  I digress...
Fast forward to some weeks ago...
Picture it, a sunny April morning,  Libby and I wake up to the cat stuck out on the roof, meowing loudly.  We rescue the cat and I say to myself, "self, I will not waste time on the internet today, but I think I will take a pregnancy test."  So there we waited, me and the Little hovered over a plastic stick, waiting for those magic words to appear...pregnant!

I can't really describe the feelings I had at this moment (I know I felt the same way with Libby though..tears, fears, convulsions, nausea, etc.).   I'm pretty sure it felt like flying, like an out of body experience, like it wasn't happening to me...surreal.  I throw on a layer of lip gloss and a pony tail, grabbed the Little, still in her pj's, whistle for the dog, and drive like a crazy woman over to Kev's office.  When I showed him what had unfolded in our morning activities, he stood in disbelief, certain that there was no way a test would register positive in such a short amount of time.  We basically found out when  I was about a minute pregnant... the cells were still dividing, I had no signs of pregnancy, I was about 4 days away from actually needing to even take a test...I just thought it would be a good way to start the day.  Turns out, it really is the best way to begin your morning, even better than a good cup of coffee...which  indecently I can't even stand the thought of now.

And so it is, that God is blessing our little corner of this world again...a tiny hearts beats even now as I type, their little body is hard at work growing, and I have the sickness,  the exhaustion, and the I'm on my second pregnancy bump,  to show for it.

We are happy..and while two babies is something that I really can't wrap my head around, I know that God will give me the grace to love the Little and the Littlest just the same.

Here's hoping that this post made you grin from ear to ear, as promised...it did for me.

The secret's out...my maternity jeans won't let me hide it any longer!

Grace and Peace

It's All In the Goodbye

The first time I had to say goodbye to  Kevin, I felt like I couldn't breath...The next time  we had to say goodbye, after I was sure that I loved him, we were holding on tight in front of the security gate at Heathrow and the only word I could mutter was "no" when he tried to let go of me.
I've never been very good at goodbyes.  When my parents would take me to the airport after Christmas break in college, they would stand outside security waving until they couldn't see me anymore and I would cry the entire walk to my gate.

This weekend after a few, fun days with my sister and her family, we had to say goodbye, which is actually a pretty normal thing for us.  We've lived apart for a while now, so we've always just had a of couple days here and there, but this time felt so different.  They are moving Cali in just a week or two, and I suppose that was that last time we'll see them  until Christmas...maybe. 

 For years I have secretly prayed that one day we would live so close that we could grab lunch together spur of the moment.  If you knew my sister you would want to grab lunch with her too, she's everything I've ever wanted to be, she's almost perfect. 

It was no surprise to me that when her little girls hugged me goodbye, I totally lost it, like couldn't gain my composure lost it, and then my sister cried, which she never does, so I cried some more.
I hate goodbye...parting is such sweet sorrow.
My theory is that, which I've mentioned before, if we lived near those people that we love so much, and saw them every day, the times we spent with them wouldn't be nearly as special. At least that is what I tell myself to make me feel better when I am forced to endure another sad goodbye with the ones I love.

Goodbye dear readers....see saying that was hard for me!  Really I promise a happy post is on it's way and seriously, if pictures of these kiddos don't make you smile, I don't know what will. Who comes to this blog to read anyway?...it's all just ramblings of a lazy house wife!

Grace and peace, here's hoping your goodbyes are few and far between.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Do you think if someone Google's Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever my blog will come up on their search now?

Who knows? 

I do know that I have been quite ill since we returned home from the notorious camping trip...Now I don't want to say that it is from the ticks, but isn't it a bit odd that I get bit by a litter of ticks, then come down with an illness that just wont go away?  I'm just saying it's an interesting coincidence.  I really did go to the doctor, and she really did tell that me that the likely hood of the ticks passing on an illness to me was slim, but like I said it is a bit odd..

So if you check my blog daily (Jill)  for new pictures of a cute girl, I'm sorry.  The only thing I've been doing in my spare time is nursing my body back to health and I'm still not there yet...stinkin' ticks:)!

I think that this is the most sick I've been in a while. I'm not calling anybody, I'm not visiting with anybody, and I certainly haven't been a bloggin', I've barely even gone to the grocery store!!!

We're at Babs and G-dad's this weekend so they're are helping to take care of the Little while I try to get better.  We're also spending quality time with our cousins, who are moving to Cali in a few short weeks.   

Until next time, here are some pics...although picture taking has been few and far between.

By the way, these last two pics were taken by cousin Jill, who came to visit us last weekend.  Love the Little wearing those big glasses...she clearly loves them too.  Please don't wait so long to come and see us next time...and you there reading this blog, why don't you come visit too?  We love company!

Enough whinning, I promise the next time I post, it will be a good one. Sure to make you feel a full range of smiley emotions.

Here's hoping this Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever clears up soon or I'll be cleaning cobwebs from the corners of this blog everytime I post...and we just can't have that, can we cousin?!

Grace and peace

The Great Camp Out

Let me make one thing very clear before I write anything else.  I love the outdoors.  Given the option of walking or driving, I would choose walking, within reason of course.  Eat inside or out, let's eat outside.  Go to the mall, or go to the park, go to the park every time.

Let me catch you up to speed...our good friends planned a camping trip and invited a large group of us to join them.  Sure, I said to Kev, it will be a fun experience for Libby, let's go.  As the weekend for the trip approached I could feel my apprehensions growing.  Libby had been fighting a nasty cough and cold, plus I wasn't feeling 100% myself, and all of our weekends in May were quickly disappearing, My reasons for not going were mounting, but I stuck it out.  Saturday morning we loaded the car with everything but the kitchen sink for our overnight trip and hit the road.

When we arrived, about an hour south of where we live, we were greeted by our friends, temperatures that sailed past 90 degrees, and little black bugs that covered our clothes like we were the first human flesh they had ever seen.
Don't  misunderstand me, the company of good friends in the great outdoors was lovely, but every time my eyes met Kev's I pleaded with him to take me home.  We visited, picked bugs off each other, wiped the runny noses of each others babies, and played corn hole.  We spent the evening hours enjoying a scrumptious outdoor cooked meal.  Then sent the few wise families home to their beds, while the rest hunkered down for the night.

This is where it got fun...I don't know the exact times so I'm going to make it up, to make the post more interesting...
9:45- Libby is screaming hysterically so I realize it's time to take her to the tent for bed
10:30- Kev and Gus come to bed (did I mention we had the dog with us too?  Cause it wasn't interesting enough with out him) Libby is still screaming hysterically  and sweating profusely so we strip her down to her diaper and she collapsed in a heated mess on my chest and fell asleep...I did not fall asleep...I just laid there I thought about my bed and wished I had caught a ride home with the Mason's...our smart friends that left after the food got put away.
12:00-  Still awake and I have to go to the bathroom.  Remembering the wolf spider the size of my face that lived in the ladies restroom,  I decide to go behind our car.  I made Kev and Gus come out with me, we crawled back in the tent put Libby's pj's back on her and put her in her pack n play.
1:30- The Little wakes up coughing and crying uncontrollably...it was great really, Gus howled, and she got back on the air mattress with us.
2:00- Large clap of thunder and a flash of light and it started to pour.  The temperature drops and Kev asked me where the extra blanket was...Turns out it was in the car, so I gave him Libby's little square blanket and a towel, and we try to get some sleep.
Let's say 3:00 am- Kev goes to the car to get the blanket, covers us all up, we snuggle down, and it starts to rain again...pour is more like it.
Sometime after this we finally fell asleep.  I woke up the next morning to find that Kev and I were sharing a small sliver of the air mattress and Libby was sound asleep in a star formation on the rest.   I also had the distinct feeling that  something was nibbling on the the back of my leg...Seriously, I'm not making this up.
I had had Kev check it out, only to find that it was a TICK!!!!  Ahhh, I talked about how scared I was of ticks the entire day before and there one was taking a bite out of my leg.

Let me wrap this very long story up, when I change my clothes I found another one my leg, and 5 more when we got home.  When I change Libby's diaper, I found one on her, in her diaper area!!!!!  Ahhhh!  Kev found one on his stomach and poor Gus had them all over his paws.
This my friends, is why I have decided I am a deluxe cabin kind of girl. The "I'll hike with you all day, but I want my own shower, not shared with a prehistoric size arachnid" kind of girl.  The "let's have a cook out in the woods, but I'm going up to the lodge to sleep in a real bed" kind of girl.  The kind of girl that would prefer to not find 7 ticks in her pants and one attached to her baby and husband or to have to spend the better part of any evening picking through the hair of an Old English Sheepdog with a pair a tweezers hoping that we finally got  the last one.

Happy camping friends, if you need me I'll be soaking in the jacuzzi at my delux cabin, that will be surround by a tick proof bubble.
Grace and peace

When I Don't Have The Engery To Write Pretty Things....

I will post this hysterical picture of the funniest girl I know.
Believe it or not this picture was not staged one bit.
In fact, it was clearly a rainy, cloudy day and she insisted on wearing her sunglasses and hat.
She picked up the sale flyer on the way out of the store, and when we came to a stop sign, this is what I saw.
I laughed out loud and snapped this picture with my phone.

Happy Friday...we're bound to have some fun this weekend so hopefully we'll have bucket loads of pictures to share on Monday...maybe.

Just Ordinary

I think that it's okay to be simple.To just spend time at home.
To not run thither and yon at every possible moment.
I do get a little more excited about posting about high rocky cliffs and going on adventures, but sometimes I'm just as happy to tell you that we've been spending a lot of time creating excitement at home.

For example the other day, the Little said that Gussy had to go night-night, and I guess she thought he needed a blanket,

and then she thought he needed a hat,

and then she thought he needed a kiss.

Saturday was the first day of the Ashland Farmer's Market.

It's our favorite place to be on Saturday mornings in the summer.  We walked there, stopped at the new coffee, then bought strawberries, onions, beef, spinach, and freshly baked garlic rolls.

And on Sunday night, after Kev had worked a few too many weekend hours, and we were missing his presence, we went outside to cool off for a bit.  6 o'clock on Sunday, hose-pipe in the back yard...my way to end a weekend.  The only thing that would have made it better, was if he could have been with us.

Here' to the ordinary days, I hope that you make the most of these days.  Even ordinary can have a little bit of sass....

Grace and peace friends, nap time is over.