the beach really brings out the snot

One noun to describe our beach vacation: snot.  Jeff came with to the beach with a cold and he has had a runny nose/congestion on and off this week.  Lance came to the beach with a cold/teeth/something and the first couple of days his nose ran all the time and these past two days it only gets gross when we are out on the beach (we have to take a tissue box out to the beach with us it is so bad).  The salt water or wind must really clear out his sinuses, it is hard to get a good beach picture of him because he always has a yucky nose.  Sunday afternoon I started to feel that itchy throat and by Monday morning I was miserable.  Tuesday I felt better but was still not a happy camper and fortunately everything was much better by Wednesday.  I don't know if it is allergies or that cold that has been going around, but I was miserable, sneezing, runny nose, sinus pressure and though I felt worse when the Claritin stopped working it didn't seem to be doing much to stop the symptoms.  I don't know if I have the cold that was going around or that Jeff and Lance had because they didn't seem as bad as me and they didn't sneeze at all, but I guess time will tell if it is a cold or allergies based on whether my mom comes down with it.    The snot problem is so bad we had to buy more tissues at the store yesterday on Tuesday because we had gone through 3 boxes in 3 days!!  

Despite feeling horrible Monday and Tuesday the beach has been great.  Sunday we met up with my old college roommate for lunch.  We haven't seen each other in two years but we were able to pick up right where we left off and it felt like it hadn't been eight years since we were roommates. Speaking of eight years, we went by UNC Wilmington last night after dinner, it is so different.  I can't believe how different the college is in eight years, it doesn't even look like the same place.  I also can't believe I graduated from college eight years ago, wow, I feel old.  The campus was really pretty and so much bigger, there are two-thirds more buildings there now that weren't there when I attended.  Also, Miccah (my roommate) told me that it is really hard to get accepted to UNCW now, I wonder if I was a senior in high school now if I would get accepted there (she said that it is harder to get into UNCW then it is to get into Chapel Hill now, which could be true considering Chapel Hill is huge and can accept way more students then UNCW).  Miccah and I both were talking about how UNCW was the only college we both applied to and being so-so students we were thankful we went when we did.  

Lance really loves the beach and we have had a great time playing in the water and sand.  Lance is a bit strange though, he won't drink his juice box if his hands are sandy and he makes us hold his juice box, but he has no reservations eating goldfish with sandy hands resulting in gritty goldfish.  We haven't been able to make any sandcastles this here because Lance acts as Godzilla before anything can get established.  Oh, I almost forgot.  Lance is sleeping in a "big boy bed" and he is doing awesome!  He will climb in the bed, but he won't get out.  He puts himself to bed for nap, we come in for the beach, get him dressed and he climbs in bed all by himself and falls asleep.  When he wakes up me kicks on the wall and makes noise and waits until we come in a get him, it is wonderful.  I was a little worried he would be getting in and out of the bed all night long, but he seems to be very content in his bed and I wish we had a bed ready for him when he gets home on Saturday.   It does make me a little sad that my baby is a big boy, but he still looks tiny when he laying asleep in his bed, it is very cute, especially when he has his head on the pillow.  Lance has been so good this week, I think he really enjoys having mommy, daddy, and grandma around 24/7, it might be a tough week next week when it is just the two of us again.  

Because of my large pregnant state we haven't taken to many beach walks so we haven't seen many pods of porpoises in the early morning, but we did see a large pod Tuesday, it is so neat to see porpoises right beyond the breakers, but a little unnerving that it gets deep so close to shore and relatively good sized animals are so slow, it looks like you could swim out to them.  Speaking of animals, we seem to have a pet mocking bird at this house.  Every morning a mocking bird sits out on the power line in front of our house and goes through his song list.  I can identify several bird songs in his list and my personal favorite is his sea gull which is quite amusing to hear because it sounds just like a sea gull.  When he is done going through all of the different bird songs he jumps up, flaps his wings, and settles down a tiny bit further down the line.  Fortunately he doesn't stick around all day and he doesn't sing at night which can be really annoying (and something mocking birds have been known to do).  

Two days left and though the trip hasn't been perfect with all the snot issues, I have enjoyed myself and wish we didn't have to go home.  

stay away germs, stay away

It is June, summertime, there shouldn't be colds running rampant but there are and they are invading my house and I leave for the beach in 2 days!!! I don't want to be sick or have anyone around me ill when we are going on are one and only vacation!!! AHHHHHH! Jeff appears to be coming down with a cold, he felt a little off on Tuesday, he had a sore throat yesterday, he didn't sleep well last night, and he left for work to early for me to tell anything this morning. Lance's nose has been running marathons for the last two days so I don't know if it is still teeth, but since it is a bit different then it was he might have a cold. Also, everyone at our church seems to be spreading the cold love around, I talked to a friend on Tuesday who was feeling horrible, her husband was starting to come down with "the cold", four or five people she knew already had "the cold", and from being on facebook this morning I saw that at least one other person has been stricken with "the cold!" I am a miserable sick person especially when on vacation and I really hope that my immunities will be on high alert and I won't catch "the cold" that seems to be going around. This is June, there shouldn't be colds going around, that is what is suppose to happen in January!
Two more days and about 3 or 4 loads of laundry to go. I am very frustrated my wardrobe is microscopic and I discovered yesterday that I am missing two shirts. How on earth did I lose two white shirts???? I wonder how long they have been missing. I am trying to be very strategic on what clothes I am wearing now so I will have mostly clean clothes for the beach. It stinks having only a weeks worth of clothes, but I can't rationalize spending a lot of money on maternity clothes that I will never wear again (90% of the clothes I had with Lance I did not wear again) and with living with a toddler things can't get worn more then once because at the end of the day I am covered in dirt, snot, food, and who knows what else. Today I am going to break it down and torture my poor child with some vacuuming!

his new ride

Lance has loved those Little Tikes "flinestone" type cars for some time now. On Saturday, my mom was driving by the second hand store and saw two out front she said that she almost bought one, but didn't know how much they cost new so she was unsure of whether they were a good deal or not.


Yesterday we went to "look" and see the cars and we ended up taking one home with us. As soon as Lance saw it he hopped right in refused to get out and through a fit when we went inside to pay or it. After nap he played in it for 45 minutes and he kept trying to sneak out and play with it after we came inside to cook dinner.


I ended up bringing it inside so I won't have to worry about him being outside by himself and so he would be out of the way while I cooked. This morning it was still in the house and has been playing with it on and off all morning. He absolutely loves it and having a blast getting in then out then in again.
I am on a cleaning rampage. I always clean the house from top to bottom before we leave on vacation because I love coming home to a clean house. This morning I tackled the bathrooms and Lance was my sidekick helping me, he loves to spray so any opportunity he could get he would. He also tried to help with scrubbing with the sponge, but he just moved soap around. We need to tackle the playroom today along with laundry and then Lance's favorite chore of all- vacuuming! I am putting that off till last because Lance hates the vacuum and it is hard on me. I would love a new lightweight Dyson, maybe some day.

molars and skinned knees

So we still have an on again off again runny nose and his cough is better and the problem might not be another cold, but his two year molars. I don't know why, but yesterday in church I put my finger in his mouth and discovered two large bumps that weren't there last week. I had an "aha" moment realizing that the congestion, his hands being in his mouth all the time and the sporadic behavior was probably due to molars coming in and not another cold though some say teeth don't cause congestion, but Lance has always had a yucky nose when he is getting teeth. He doesn't seem to have any bumps on the top yet, just on the bottom and hopefully he will improve and stay well during our beach trip. Five more days!!!!!
Today we went to the park with our small group and then we met daddy for lunch. After lunch Lance was avoiding getting into the car and he fell on the sidewalk and busted up his scabbed over knee. There was so much blood and though it probably looks worse then it really is I began to feel a little light headed, it looked horrible. Last Monday night, we took a walk and Jeff took Lance on the longboard, well they hit a bump and Lance scraped up his knee pretty bad. It took a few days before he didn't have to have it covered all the time and was starting to look pretty good and now thanks to his encounter with the sidewalk we are back at square one. I just hope it heals before next week because sand and scrapes don't mix well.
So there are five more days before the beach and eight weeks until my due date. I am already starting to get pretty uncomfortable though I am not that big and still have eight weeks left. We also have nothing ready, but hopefully we will be stopping by Pottery Barn Kids on the way back from the beach and I will get the bedding I want so I will have one thing to check off the list. Five more days, I can't wait!

sick, again

Hibernating most of the winter is biting me in the butt. I feel like we just got over a cold and Lance is sick again. He just stopped coughing from his last cold a couple of days ago and now we have problems again. This time it is a little different, it isn't a constant runny yucky nose, but the bad part is the cough and the vomit associated with coughing (he must have a lot of drainage). Last night he started threw up after 30 minutes of trying to cough up all that gunk in his throat/chest and he did it again this morning after a coughing fit. The upside is that the throwing up clears his body and he is worlds better afterwards. Jeff has been amazing at helping Lance because me Ms. Weak Stomach can't handle much these days. I was also worried last night and a little this morning that it might be a stomach bug on top of a cold, but he doesn't act sick, he can eat and drink immediately afterwards, and he has done this before (when he got a cold before he ate many solid foods). The other strange thing is, he only seems bad in the evening and morning, he only woke up briefly at midnight coughing and after the coughing/ puking this morning he was his normal self with the exception of needing to wipe his nose once or twice (hmm, that was after we played outside, wonder if it is allergies). I should be thankful that he is sick now and not in a little over a week when we are at the beach, but I feel like we just got over a cold and I don't understand how he can be sick again!
On a positive note: Seven more days until our week at the beach, I can't wait!!!! I have been looking forward to our beach trip since last year, but I have been counting down the days for over a month now. Our beach trip is the only vacation we really take, it is a week away from the stress of work and life, and we get Jeff to ourselves for a whole week 24 hours a day. I can't wait. We are going much earlier this year and with my mom working all next week I am in charge of organizing and packing and making sure we have everything. In the past we usually borrow a van, but we can't this year so packing this year is going to have to be very strategic to make sure we can get everything in and on my mom's wagon. My sister and "Aunt Christy" can't come this year which is sad, it will be quiet and not the same without them their, but I know we will enjoy ourselves. Some friends of ours will be at the beach the same time as us which will be fun so we will have someone to hang out with and share a meal. The crazy thing is Topsail Island is 26 miles long with hundreds of houses to rent and our friends are in walking distance from us. Lance loved the beach last year and I hope he will enjoy it even more this year, especially now that he loves sand.

what have i got myself into?

I am starting to get really nervous about the idea of two children to care for. I am watching baby Ella this afternoon (she is 6 months old) and the reality of having two sunk in real fast and I don't know if I am ready. I am afraid, very afraid. I keep thinking, other people have done it, why can't I, but I am still afraid of having two. I realized how spoiled Lance and I are, or should I say how spoiled I am with just having one, one that can play by himself, walk, somewhat communicate his needs, be somewhat predictable, sleep all night, and now we are going to throw a unpredictable, non-sleeping, can't do anything for itself baby into the mix. It won't be just the two of us anymore, it won't be let's walk out the door and head to the park or let's play, we will have to deal with a baby. Oh my goodness, what have I got myself into?

it is too hot

At 10:30 this morning it was 86 degrees, I don't think I want to know what the temperature is now. I am so thankful we have central air, I don't know how people manage without air conditioning. The weather has been crazy, no slow transition from cool to hot, it went from cold to hot in like one week with no transitional warm temperatures. Yesterday we inflated a kiddie pool on the back deck so we can get some water fun since we aren't money enough to belong to a pool somewhere, maybe one day, but not this summer. Looking at the calendar I realize that we have only 17 more days before we are at the beach for a week! I can't wait! We usually go in August, but since the baby is due the week we usually go we had to rearrange our plans. Unfortunately due to the re-arrangement my sister and her husband can't go and neither can Christy so it will be a quiet week and not the same without everyone else there. Also looking at the calendar I realize that I am 30 weeks, only 10 (maybe up to 12 more weeks) left to go, scary. I have nothing ready, nothing, I would love to have something started, but sadly I don't. I should be working on organizing some stuff in Jeff's room so we can make room for baby, but I have really lacked the motivation, no nesting yet. Nothing really interesting going on here, just going through the motions and waiting for our beach trip. Lance, started saying "oh yeah," it is very funny, now if we can just get him really talking.