Our "spacious" bedroom.

So it continues...

We have been putting off re-arranging our bedroom for some time. It was a final task on my "before the baby" list. We finally tackled it last night. I love it! It looks HUGE!!! (Those that have been to our house know it can only look huge because there is nothing huge about anything in our house.) We ended up putting the second TV in there, it was in the "library" which recieved a transormation 2 weeks ago into Baby O's room. I'm still not sure how I feel about a TV in the bedroom, according to Oprah, it's bad. But according to me, there is a lot bad about Oprah. Everything seems to be falling into place for the baby. Travis and I worked all night and I'm washing curtains, swags, throws, and decrative pillows all day today. The nesting is really setting in, for the first time.
All I have to do is move the bassinet into our room and then I can sit back and wait for the baby.

For those wondering...

This was taken about a week ago. I have 6 more weeks until my due date. I'm really hoping to be finished being pregnant in about 4 weeks.

At least he's moved on from the undies.

Cooper is embrasing this new organization we are trying to instill in the boys. He's constantly looking for ways to neaten things up, make things more organized, and help around the house. Just this morning he offered to empty my drawers and help me fold my underwear... Yeah, I'm never going to be that desperate for something to do.

When I went to check on the boys before breakfast I assumed I would find Cooper in the chair watching TV (his favorite morning place and activity) Maddox right next to him, and Nelson just content playing with whichever superhero he rediscovered hiding in his bed. Boy was I wrong. Nelson and Maddox were in the chair watching TV and Cooper was MIA. I went into their room to get a diaper for Mad-Man and clothes out for all of them. That's when I found Cooper. He was in the drawer under their bunkbeds organizing his and Nelson's shoes! Apparently he wanted to do it last night after church and Travis talked him into going to bed and saving that adventure for this morning. The child spent 30 minutes 30 MINUTES finding the best way to organize their shoes. He then "taught" Nelson where to put his shoes and how to organize them. I think I'm going to chanel this newfound love for organizing into their toy area! Maybe we can create some order there before we have to add baby stuff to it.

Oh no! He's gotten to them!!!!!!

I was shocked when I went to put Cooper and Nelson's underwear and socks away. I found their top drawers organized more than Fort Knox. In the past, the top drawer has always been a hodge podge of socks, undies, and jammies. I went to toss a handful of undies in and Cooper freaked out!! I asked what was wrong. He said daddy taught them how to fold and stack their undies last night before bed. I had to now start folding their undies and putting them neatly into the drawer. He then proceeded to show me how to properly fold.
Moms out there, am I the only one that just tosses undies into the drawer? My mom, I know you are secretly cheering at the boys new-found organization. I'm sure you are a minority. For the record, I don't fold my undies and Sheila doesn't either (much to my mom's dismay. That woman folds her undies and organizes them in shoe boxes, I will be sure to take pictures the next time I'm up there visiting. Sorry mom, had to out you.)

The new dressers

Here are the new dressers! I'm amazed at how much bigger the room looks. I love that they match and that the boys are excited about them. Let's hope the excitement lasts and they take care of them and keep the clothes neatly folded in them. All that's left to do is get Maddox a sports ball rug for in front of his dresser and for Travis to make a second hanging rod in the closet that they can reach.

Let's play a game...

GOOD IDEA, BAD IDEA!
Good idea, embrace the fact that the baby is coming and make room for baby O.
Bad idea, make room in one day.

Good idea, buy the 3 boys matching "big boy" dressers (read: not mismatched yours and mine frome when we were younger than Cooper and Nelson).
Bad idea, wait until minutes before you leave to empty the van. (there is not telling what you will find under the seats!

Good idea, go through the three old dressers getting rid of what is stained, worn out, or outgrown before transfering the clothes into the new dresser.
Bad idea, allow your husband to see the boxes for Once Upon a Child, Goodwill, and the garbage. (He will take it as permission to go through them and make the final decision on what stays and goes, making this process take too long and leaving you with CRAP you don't want.)

Good idea, using the extra energy spurts you get at the end of pregnancy to rearrange 2 rooms and feel accomplished.
Bad idea, working for 7 hrs straight and then realizing if you don't sit down you might fall down seriously injuring yourself and baby O.

waiting for the parade

We went to the Ballwin Days parade for the first time a couple weeks ago. We are attempting to have more "active" family time rather than just all be in the house together or in the same room together. Cooper loved seeing some of his friends from school that he hadn't seen in over a month (he's our little social butterfly). Nelson loved being able to lay his beloved "batman animal cape" out and lay on the grass. Maddox just loved the lure of Manchester Road. He kept trying to go into it or point to it. They got TONS of candy, we got tons of election info and we all had a great time.

Recent irrational thoughts...

I have had 2 major irrational thoughts in under 2 weeks. I know what's causing them, however I can't stop them. I am suffering from severe sleep depervation (thanks Maddox for willingly going to bed at night, now you just have to work on staying in there and staying quiet past 4 AM) and severe pregnancy hormones. This is the first pregnancy that the hormones have been really noticable to me. I'm sure if you ask Travis they were very present with the 3 boys as well, I just never reall noticed them.

Thought #1: I'm going to cause Maddox to have autism. Yep, I truly think this, ponder it, and allow it to keep me up at night. The older 2 boys recieved the MMR shot at 15-18 months, had a fever for 2 days and then were perfectly fine. Maddox is now 21 months old and I have been avoiding making the doctor's appointment convinced that once he has the shot he's going to go to the corner, rock back and forth, and have autism. I know, CRAZY!!!!! Thankfully, Nelson has to have a Kindergarten physical and when I called to make the appointment for that the nurse pulled the other charts and automatically made an appointment for Maddox. She also talked me off the autism ledge.
Thought #2: Maddox is going to have Lyme Disease. Again, I had myself completely convinced of this about 2 hours ago. I was changing his diaper after breakfast and noticed a tick on his chest. I couldn't see the head, the area around the tick was red and I couldn't get it to come off of him. I called Travis absolutely freeking out!! My stomach was churning and I was talking myself out of throwing up. Travis stayed very calm, told me to pack up tweezers, peroxide, and Maddox and come out to see him after bringing Cooper to school. On my way out there I called my sister, mom and sister-in-law. Sheila and my mom laughed with me (or at me) because I also admitted to them that while talking to them I was crying I was so upset that Maddox was going to have Lyme Disease. Melissa (the doctor) informed me she'd never had to remove a tick from anyone in her years of general practice or time at the urgent care clinic... GREAT, I'm on my own... We get to Travis, he calmly takes Maddox out of his carseat, lays him on his lap, removes the tick, puts the peroxide on it, kisses him and puts him back in the carseat. All of that took place in under a minute.
The good news, I averted Lyme Disease today!!!! The head wasn't burried completely, Maddox is now napping comfortably (I'm sure he was just as comfortable with the tick in his chest). Now I just have to survive the MMR next week...

4th of July weekend

We decided to change it up this year. Instead of the traditioinal red, white, and blue we went with camo to honor the relatives we (by we I mean Traivs) has serving in the armed forces; two cousins who served in the Army, a brother in the Army National Guard, a cousin now state-side after finishing a 2nd tour in Guam for the Air Force, and another cousin who is currently in basic training for the Air Force.

(Kimberly recognize the skirt? It's from the backyard camp out days.)


Sparkler fun! These were really cool, they had colored flames, then the sparkle part.






Who needs fancy-shamnsy fireworks displays? Not the Ferris family! We make our own fun.