The Rain Came Down, And The Bugs Came Up

The girls are currently mesmerized by bugs. Whether they fly or crawl, or have big eyelashes, they seem to love them all. Although we don't see a lot of bugs around, our dinner conversations usually include brief sightings of fruit flies, or ants that were spotted on our cement walkway. When we went to the store to buy a small mesh strainer, Brooke deemed it her "bee catcher," and proclaimed that she was going to catch big bees in it. Remind me to hide that thing.

Usually when we set out on one of our nature walks around the complex, we are unable to find any bugs. Little did we know that a few hours of rain would make all the difference. Here is last week's nature walk, just a few hours after it stopped raining.

First, we began with a snack Second, we searched for pretty flowers and practiced posing by them, which resulted in some awkward facial expressions... we talked about the different kinds of flowers

and why some were closed while others were open

then we looked for bugs....and lucky for us, they just appeared thanks to the rain

I introduced the girls to snails and they enjoyed trying to poke their slimy eyeball feeler things

the rain also brought out a whole army of roly-poly bugs, that the girls loved

and when it was time for lunch, the girls said goodbye to their friends and sent them on their way back home.

So as much as I hate random rainy days, I was actually quite grateful for this one.

P is for Progress {A Progress Report}

Promotion

Kevin was promoted to Website Project Manager at Godaddy about 2 months ago. I'm a little late announcing this on my blog I know, but I am very proud of Kevin and his accomplishments and so I must include it. He really enjoys his new job and I am very happy for him. Kevin has worked at Godaddy for 13 months and has been promoted twice already. Two promotions in 13 months=progress.

Potty Training

A week ago I decided to take on potty training Brooke. I read up on a potty training program, invested in some reward candy, toys, and stickers, and braced myself for a 3 day weekend that would revolve around our toilet. Brooke had already started showing interest before we began, so potty training went pretty well. The girls were really excited about their potty charts, and as you can see they have earned a lot of stickers so far. Brooke's about 90% potty trained, and while she still has the occasional accident, we are very proud of her. No diapering for 6 more months = progress.

Poochy

{pooch @ 730am}

{pooch @ 830pm}

I'm almost 15wks along now, and my pooch made its grand entrance long ago. My stomach starts out small in the morning, and then magically grows throughout the day until I look about 6 months pregnant. I can't blame my body too much as the girls did a great job of stretching things out in there. I'm just enjoying having a baby belly again and soaking it all up. I'm also so happy to be in my second trimester:) Not being nauseous and drained of energy all the time= progress.

Pants

My last pregnancy taught me that the slightest drop of HCG in my system would send my hips their separate ways. It would also have me eating like a horse. This time was no different. I've always had big, wide birthing hips. Ones that can somehow become even wider in preparation of delivering a baby or two. I like to consider it more of a gift then a flaw, like an heirloom passed on from my big-hipped-birth-equipped ancestors. I hope to finally put this "talent" to use with my vbac. With all the changes, I had to officially put to rest my favorite pair of jeans. It was sad saying goodbye to the pants that have always done a fantastic job of complimenting my pear-like curves. The jeans that were always a little snug out of the dryer, but loosened up in just the right places after a few lunges and squats in my bedroom. For now I've moved up to my in-between-jean that I've kept in my drawer in case of a feeling-fatty-day. I knew I kept them for a reason. Finding a use for your not so favorite jeans=progress.

Painting

We've recently dived into some home improvement projects. One included painting our girls bedroom along with the custom closets/pantry we had installed 4 years ago. I knew we put off that project for a reason. Painting sounds pretty good and all until you are pregnant, have a keen sense of smell, and weenie arms that get tired easily. We finished painting one room and one custom closet in about 5 hours with Kevin doing most of the work, and that = progress.

Papoose

OK, so it's not a papoose, but it's about as close as it gets. I've always said I wanted a papoose to tote my kids around in, and finally my wish came true! My MIL got me a Moby Wrap for my birthday, and I have been getting my practice in so I can be a pro when the baby comes. I didn't do a lot of baby wearing with my girls, mostly because it seemed impossible to wear them both at the same time. I'm excited to be able to do it this time around. Being able to carry my new baby and still have two free hands gives me hope that I WILL be able to manage 3 kids at once, and that = progress.

The End.