12 Days to go!

Ugh! It's supposed to be stinking miserably hot and humid for at least the next 3 days! Temps should be in the middle 90s! Ugh!!!



Well, Emma ended up leaving early :( Fay called Friday afternoon and said that they had a change of plans, Tylor was homesick so they decided to leave Sunday instead of Wednesday. No matter how awful those two girls act, it's always sad to see Emma go :( After a couple of days you kind of get used to the din and it just becomes part of the house... it has been so quiet around here... even though there are still two kids here :) Maria was bored probably 2 minutes after Emma left... she's been moping around ever since. It will probably take a few days to once again get used to the change in the house. We are all sad and feel the emptiness Emma's departure has left. Maria's got a whole month and a week or so before school starts to relieve her boredom... last week she said she was ready to go back. She was ready to go back to school last year around the first week of June! :) I'm so glad she enjoys school so much.


Well, we ended up getting a new car on Friday!!! We had been somewhat shopping around for the past month or so off and on since the truck will be payed off in September. We decided last year that when we payed the truck off we needed to get a 4WD vehicle, since the winters up here are usually pretty bad (we really lucked out last year)... that and really I was having a very hard time trying to decide where to put 2 car seats in the minivan... the middle row of seats is short and leaves room for someone to climb into the back row - so the seat belt stretches across the opening to get into the back row, so not a good spot for a car seat... so really only 1 car seat can go in the middle row--- so do I shove Duncan in the back or the new baby? I really didn't like either option - don't want to displace Duncan and don't want to have a new baby all the way in the back row... so anyway, long story short (wait, didn't I just give the long story?) ;) Ideally we were looking for something with 4WD and 3 rows of seats... that proved quite difficult to find... especially for what we were willing to spend... we were almost thinking about the Ford Escape - which did not have 3 rows, but we figured we would keep the van for when we had Emma... but then really, we go down to Sparta to pick her up in the winter months too... so then we saw a Mercury Mountaineer that was a little over the price of the Ford Escapes we had been looking at, and it had 3 rows of seats! Well, we called the car dealer and set up to go in and look at it... of course they had let someone take it on an overnight test drive... but the dealer said that the Ford Explorer was pretty much the same vehicle... we said "but they don't have the 3rd row of seats" and the dealer said that they did! At first I wasn't really convinced, I still thought the Mercury was a little better - the 3rd row could fold 50/50... the second row folded maybe 70/30 (2 seats and 1 seat)... and the Explorer was a little more expensive... of course the girls were immediately in love with the Explorer! We test drove it on Wednesday, then talked about it all night and decided to take it on an overnight on Thursday... by then we were pretty much sold on it. It is roomy - and two car seats will fit in the middle and Maria can still sit in the middle comfortably with both car seats... and the 2nd row folds in 3rds, so it doesn't matter which spots the car seats go in... the 3rd row only folds all or none ;) but that's not really a big deal... the girls were equally comfortable in the back row or the middle row :) and the front seats both have the lumbar thing :) It's a very smooth and comfortable ride :) lots of extra features... and in looking at the safety rating it's the top of it's class! :) Five stars in all category but one, which was 4 stars! So, we're actually quite impressed with it! And we stretched out the payments over 72mos, so amazingly, we're not going to be paying much more than what the truck payments were!! Of course now I have to stop giving soccer mom's in suvs the evil eye!! ;) LOL!! Never thought I would be driving an suv!! It's a little more necessary up north here though... and not too many minivans have 4wd...

12 days to go before my due date! Of course every day I think is going to be the day... I just keep getting more and more miserable and ready!! I keep thinking that it can't possibly get any harder to walk, and then it does! ;) just got to think that very soon now I will have less to complain about ;) of course I'll have a different set of complaints ;) lack of sleep probably being the #1... poor Mike - I know he's ready for me to have this baby too --- he's suffering from a lack of sleep now... my having to get up 20 times a night to pee, flipping around all night trying to get comfortable, having restless legs, and the snoring! :) Of course he will still be suffering from lack of sleep when I have the baby - but he'll at least get a few couple hour stretches of sleep in... :)

I've been trying to pass the time by making baby booties ;) which I think I went a little too far with once I found 2 patterns that I really liked... but they are so darn quick and cute ;) Now I have about 10 other crochet projects either to finish or to start and can't decide which one to work on... it's definitely a good hobby to pass the time with :) I'm so glad I picked it up! It's all thanks to Maria - she got a learn to crochet book from a book order at school - I learned it to try to teach her, but of course it's kind of tedious and monotonous, so a little too boring for her to keep her interest in it... but every now and then, when she's reached a certain level of complete and utter boredom she will show a renewed interest in it...

15 Days and Counting...

Yes, I really still have 15 days to go before my due date :( That seems like forever! At this point I am so uncomfortable, 15 more days seems unbearable... of course it could very well happen sooner (which of course I'm hoping for!) or later (which I don't even want to think about!). I had my Dr's apt yesterday - a little more dilated, up to 2 1/2 cm! Yippee :) and the baby's head has dropped down further... I don't know if she can get any lower! And the Dr said she thought the baby was facing down, which is good - that's the optimal way for them to come out :) if they are "sunny side up" (facing upwards) you can have really bad back labor and it makes the turn much more difficult - they can get caught up in the birth canal. Which is exactly what I did to my mother ;) I don't think Duncan ever really dropped - I just don't remember being this kind of uncomfortable with him... It's just getting impossible to sit, stand or lay down! ;) I am so doing the pregnant waddle these days.

Duncan is continuing to add new words to his vocabulary on a daily basis. It's too cute :) such a wonderful age! :) A couple of weeks ago he started saying Wal-Mart when we pulled in to Wal-Mart... he says it "Mall-Mark." The other day we drove by it without stopping and he said "I see Mall-Mark" and he just kept saying that for about 20 minutes! It reminded me of when Abby used to say Old Navy "O Nay-nee." When I was telling Ally about Duncan saying Wal-Mart she said the same thing, that it reminded her of Abby. Abby was too funny, she would say "O Nay-nee" and if you would repeat it the same way she said it, she would get so mad and say, "No! I said O Nay-Nee!"

It is so hard to decipher what he's saying sometimes... sometimes he will say what sounds to be the same thing for two different things - he will say Piee for both play and potty... but the other day, almost the whole way home he said something sing-song like that sounded like "F*** a bucket," which of course was not what he was trying to say, but he just kept repeating it over and over again... Mike said he thought it sounded like he was saying "say goodbye kids," which it did sound like that a couple of times... I just have no idea what it could be. And I feel horrible that I can't decipher everything he says :) a mother is supposed to know these things. Tiffany was always so good at decoding what her kids were saying. But of course there was one story that she told me that I think of everytime I can't understand what he's trying to say - and that's when Abby (or maybe it was Elli) was asking for her "gackle" Tiff kept pulling things out of the diaper bag that sounded similar "cuddle," "blanket,"... etc... after a very long guessing game (what do you do with your "gackle")... they finally figured out she wanted her sunglasses.

Amazingly, the girls spent very close to 30 mins arguing about Maria not handing Emma the dustpan... I just let them go. I thought about intervening, because it was so annoying listening to them "just hand me the dustpan," "no, you didn't hand me the dustpan when I was sweeping the bathroom," "well you didn't ask me to"... etc... I don't even know how they resolved it, I think Emma finally had to go get it herself. If I would have intervened it would have meant taking a side, which I'm really trying to avoid doing. And in this case, who was right? Should I have told Maria just to hand her the dustpan (which is probably what I would have done) or should I tell Emma just to get it herself... glad I stayed out of that one and they eventually worked it out themselves...

Girls, Girls, Girls...

I had just talked to my mother and sister and told them how impressed I was with the girls' behavior over the past couple of weeks... the first couple of weeks they were bickering non-stop from the time they got up in the morning until the time they went to bed. Everything was a major ordeal. I stopped trying to mediate and started ignoring them and started delegating who got to do which part, and that seemed to work rather well. They were down to a few minor spats a day - over who got to sit where, who got to do what first etc... but not the exaggerated blow ups over such minor issues they had been having...
Then last night after dinner... these docile, delicate, fragile creatures (yes, that's completely sexist--but it's what society would have you believe and it is still how little girls are treated) had a dog poo war! Yes, you read it right, these girls were flinging dog poop at each other!!
I went out into the yard to put Duncan in his swing and Emma was getting out the pooper scooper and Maria said "be careful, there's dog poop all over" I figured she meant a couple of piles by the swing set - for some reason, all around the swing set is Sally's preferred area for defecation... at least Jo-Jo goes along the fence line... anyway I didn't really think much of it and was pushing Duncan in his swing when Maria told me that Emma put dog poop in a velcro paddle thing they have for a tennis ball that sticks to it... and that Maria had gotten dog poop all over her hands... I told Emma that was disgusting and that she wasn't going to watch TV today... I asked Maria if she washed her hands, which of course she hadn't... so while she was in washing her hands I was really lecturing Emma about how that wasn't funny, it was gross... etc... after a few minutes of harsh lecturing from me she fessed up and said that she only did it because Maria had put dog poop on a stick and threw it at her and it had hit her... and that's when I really noticed all the little bits of dog turds all over the yard!! It became quite clear that it wasn't just the two incidents, they had been flinging dog poo at each other - an all out dog poo war! Needless to say, neither of them are watching TV today... and we had them wash up and sent them to bed early! Unbelievable! Girls throwing dog poop at each other!
Anyway, to change the subject (I know you're all thinking please change the subject!) it is supposed to be miserably hot and humid for the next few days here :( I'm just so not looking forward to that. The past week it has been really nice weather and I've really been enjoying it. My feet and ankles haven't been getting too swollen and I've been able to get a lot of housework done. I've been keeping up on the dishes for the most part, which is an amazing accomplishment for me :) Mostly because I keep thinking I could go into labor any day now and do not want my house to be a pigsty! :) Of course I still have 18 days to go until my due date... and plenty to keep me busy and distracted from thinking about it :)

Powwow Weekend!

We had a pretty fun weekend! Lots of family was in town for the powwow. Maria's two older sister's Ashley and Alyssa came up with Mike's mom and Leon. Maria was really excited about seeing them and she got to spend some time with them. They all went swimming during the baby shower. And then we let the girls go to the powwow with their Aunt Candy, which they were absolutely thrilled with, and of course met up with Ashley and Alyssa and the rest of the gang. Mike and I decided not to go, I didn't want to do all that walking around at the moment :)

Mike's family threw me a really great baby shower! It was lots of fun! The food was really good :) and the games were great. And they all got the baby so many things!! They were all absolutely cute and wonderful! Renee made the baby a quilt and matching pillow that are just adorable!!! I'm going to have Fay email me some pictures from the shower so I can post them here, and I'll say more about the gifts then so I can show y'all pictures :) Everything was so great! This baby is really going to be decked out! :)

Crochet and More :)

So, I've been madly crocheting things since we found out we were having a girl... I went right to Wal-Mart and got tons of pink yarn and baby yarn the day after the 20 week ultrasound. I spent days looking up free patterns for booties, hats, blankets etc... online, and found so many really cute patterns! Some of them have worked out better than others... I've been trying to get a good baby bootie :) Of course you really have to use the right yarn... I was trying to make a pair of Mary Janes - the pattern called for "Aunt Lydia's Baby Denim" I just figured it was baby yarn, so first tried some 4-ply baby yarn, it was too big and I ended up sewing it together a little wrong (wrong sides out)... then I tried some thinner baby yarn, amazingly that one turned out too small! :) Then I looked up the stuff the pattern called for and it's actually crochet cotton... so then I got some of that, and I just don't like how that turned out. It's a little stiff... so I have more patterns for mary janes (about 3 or 4 others) that use regular baby yarn, so we'll see if those turn out any better...
Then I have this book which has a really cute set in it (blanket, bonnet and booties) - it called for fingering weight yarn, so I used 3-ply baby yarn and the booties turned out great, maybe a little big, but not so much... but in making the bonnet I realized that I would have to get the lighter weight yarn for that because it turned out way too big! Using 3-ply added an inch to every square, which there are 8 squares...
I've been much more successful at the baby hats, which are pretty easy to make, I think I've made 4 or more... OK, make that 7!
I made a cute little cuddle for Duncan, and was going to make one for baby, but once I made a couple of squares I realized that they were way too big (I was using a bulky yarn instead of a light one), so decided to go further and just make another blanket... which meant I had to go get more yarn and what I had gotten was this bulky honey baby yarn on clearance... so they didn't have the variegated one I started out with :*( so I'll have to make do with only 2 squares of that one and the others white... But I finally made a really cute hat and bootie set - pink and green for the coming home outfit...
In the meantime, I made Duncan some crochet flip flops :) since he seemed to really enjoy walking around in Maria's :) They turned out really cute. Anyway, so that's what I've been crocheting lately :) Next I plan on starting something special for Brad and Holly's baby, and probably some hats and maybe some booties for Ally's friends Lisa and Angie. Then I want to get back to sewing some stuff, I haven't really done much since I drug the sewing machine out! I made a little bag for all of Duncan's peek-a-blocks and a little nuk holder for the new baby... but I have to work on the design of that... I think instead of trying out my own designs with the sewing machine I need to get a lot more sewing practice in! I have a pre-cut ready to sew quilt that I got for Duncan a long time ago, I think I'll work on that first to try to get the hang of sewing :)

Baby Update and Silly Girls :)

First things first... Had my Dr's apt yesterday - lost a pound, baby is doing well, blood pressure was a little up when I first went in, but they checked again at the end of the appointment and it was back down. The Dr guessed that the baby would weigh probably right around 7lbs, but then she said she was no good at guessing ;) That's about what I estimated from the weight estimated at the ultrasound. And I'm actually a little further dilated - up to a whole 2cm! Still at 50% effaced and baby's head is still at -1 station. Man, it really feels like she is just going to pop out! It's so hard to walk with her head down there! I'm sure everyone really wanted to know all that... but anyway ;) even though I'm dilated, it just doesn't mean a whole lot - could be tomorrow, could be 3 weeks from now... but hopefully it's not this weekend - for one my Dr. will be out of town at a family reunion - so she said to wait at least until Monday. Secondly, we are going to have a lot of family up here for powwow - they are throwing me a baby shower on Saturday, which I really don't want to miss! :) Of course it would be really nice if I could have the baby before Emma leaves, she would like that... but then both Mike and Emma want her to be born on their birthdays! :) which of course would be cool. We will just have to wait and see, she will just come when she wants :)

The girls were too funny this morning - they came down with pillows stuffed into their pjs and at first I thought they were going to say they were pregnant :) but they said "I think we gained a little weight last night" LOL!! Had to take pictures of that one. I said it must've been all the Strawberry Shortcake we had for desert last night ;) They have actually done much better the past week at getting along, it's been really nice. Yesterday they helped sweep and mop the kitchen and bathroom and not one fight! :) It was great! Last week when I tried to have them sweep and mop it was all about who was getting to do more... so this time I assigned them their areas, which worked out a lot better, and they cooperated with each other on every task! Clearly, I need to provide more guidance to help head off arguments.

False Alarm :)

I had nightmares about my water breaking at Wal-Mart while I was shopping for the few last minute things I needed and had forgotten about - nursing pads, maxi pads, life savers for labor... In my nightmares (had them several times this past week) I couldn't decide whether to finish shopping - book to the checkout with what I had or abandon everything... And probably because I was so worried about it, it almost happened - I thought it did happen.

Before last week I thought that if my water broke it would be a big pop and gush - like when it broke with Duncan - I could feel and hear the pop and then it was a big gush (of course I was already in labor, so there was no question about it). And Mike's mom had told me about when her water broke, she could hear it pop. So I was expecting that if my water broke it would be like that. But then last week mom told me that it happened that way with Ally, but with Josh it was more of a slow leak. She had been leaking urine when she coughed or sneezed (like I have been) and she felt a gush without having coughed or sneezed. And that was exactly what happened at Wal-Mart - of course I have also been leaking urine when I lift Duncan or bend over... but I felt a gush and had just been standing there looking at the eggs. Of course, as in the nightmare, I couldn't decide what to do - but in the nightmare my water breaking at Wal-Mart was the big pop and gush, so it was unmistakeably my water breaking... but this time I just wasn't sure, so I continued shopping - feeling little gushes all along... I just tried to get the rest of what I needed really quickly. I wasn't having contractions or anything, so I wasn't panicked, I figured I had enough time to finish shopping and maybe even get the groceries home. I started heading for home and then felt a small contraction (not painful at all) and decided that it would be really stupid to try to drive all the way home (30mins) and end up starting to have painful contractions or something... so I decided to be safe and stop and get Mike. I still wasn't sure whether my water broke or whether I was just leaking urine and I hated to make a big production out of it... when I got to Mike's work I called the Dr's office and they said to come in to the hospital right away. Not the most ideal situation - car full of kids and groceries ;) The funny thing was that I had called and talked to Mike's sister that day, making sure that she knew I was going to call her to come watch the kids when I went into labor - when she told me what she was doing this weekend, I just thought well, it surely won't be this weekend... then here I am a few hours later calling her to come meet us at the hospital.
Here I've been ready to be done for at least a couple of weeks now and when it came right down to it, I was not ready in the least. When they hooked me up to the monitor and I was having contractions consistently, 2 mins apart (again, not painful), I just thought OK, I'm really not ready for this - I haven't even packed my hospital bag yet! We don't have the camera... and the house is a complete mess! Then when the Dr came in and started explaining the tests they do to see if your water has broken, she also explained that the hospital is not licensed for a level 1 delivery - which is a delivery before 36 weeks. In one day I would have been 36 weeks, but that wouldn't have mattered, they still would have had to send me to Duluth to have the baby. That's when I decided that I really couldn't have the baby then! So I was so glad when the tests came back that my water had not broken! The Dr explained that since the baby has dropped it's putting a lot more pressure on my bladder. And the contractions were probably because I was a little dehydrated. They had me drink this whole big jug of water before I left...
Of course I felt a little like an ass, but then they said that's exactly what I should have done, and if I suspect at all that my water has broken, I need to come right in... so I really don't feel too bad. I'm glad I went in. But I'm also very glad that I wasn't really in labor! I did not want to have to go to Duluth - and I want to have my bags packed and ready! I'm going to pack my bag and just have it with me every time I go into Hayward. I'm thinking about avoiding Wal-Mart altogether ;) But really I will have to go again sometime this week... Need to get stocked up on easy foods for someone to make the kids... and make sure that I have enough diapers and stuff for Duncan.
All said and done, it was a nice dry run for when it really happens, and it kind of gave me a nice kick in the butt to get things really ready, because it could really be any day now. The Dr checked and said that I was 1cm dilated, 50% effaced and the baby's head is at -1 station. All that really doesn't mean a whole lot though - people have walked around 3cm dilated for 3 weeks... people who haven't started dilating have gone in a day after being checked... so all that is not really any predictor about when active labor will start, but it does mean that things are getting ready to start.

More Pregnancy Ravings...or rantings...

Had my Dr's apt yesterday - going every week now. Gained 3 lbs, but the Dr said it was probably mostly water weight, retaining a little water... The baby dropped and is down there and ready to go. I have to say that I am getting anxious now, trying not to be, but... I'm ready to be done with all the swelling, the fatigue, the inability to get comfortable at night to sleep, having to get up 20 times a night to pee, having severe heartburn, being constipated, having to eat by 8:30am or else throw up (yes amazingly still), having leg cramps all night and then having sore calf muscles during the day from the cramps at night, being scatter-brained as heck and not being able to keep things straight or focused... (admittedly, sometimes i have that problem while not pregnant - but pregnancy surely enhances it!), not being able to sit/stand for more than short periods of time... the backaches, the pelvic pressure---- is there anything else I could possibly complain about pregnancy wise?? Oh yeah, almost forgot the leaking urine every time I cough, sneeze or lift anything. That should about cover it. All those things, I'm really ready to be done with. Phew.
But all of that said, I guess I'm not really ready for the whole labor and delivery part. No one can ever fully prepare you for that one. Of course after your first you have a much better idea of what to expect. But it would be nice to be able to skip that part altogether ;) I can see why some women decide to do a planned c-section. But really, I would rather not do it that way - longer and more painful recovery time... not as good for mother or baby. And more potential for problems... both my sister and sister-in-law had to go back a week or so later with problems from the c-section...
Anyway, all complaints aside, it is really one of the most wonderful things in the world to feel that baby moving and kicking inside you - even when it hurts ;) You get so used to feeling those movements that it's really strange not to feel them once the baby is born. It's an addictive feeling. That's probably why it's so easy for women to forget the horror of childbirth and want to get pregnant again. I, as well as my sister, while in labor, thought How in the world could mom have put herself through this 5 times!!?? Once is too much! But really, once that baby is put in your arms, you are just so happy and relieved that you really do start forgetting about how painful the labor and delivery were. Or at least until you are getting close to delivering again! :) Then it all comes back, and you think What was I thinking?? :)

Pregnancy Ravings...

Just to let everyone know, I posted some new pictures on the photo website at http://groups.msn.com/thedemarrfamily
Today my mission was to get a car seat. We've put it off for a while, thinking we have all the time in the world... but now of course I'm starting to get really paranoid about not having everything - what if the baby comes early?
Of course I was paranoid about that with Duncan too, and I think I had absolutely everything about 2 mos before he was born! Had the crib, playpen, changing table, swing, everything set up and ready to go. Even drove around with the car seat in the car for probably a month before he was born. We were ready! ;) Of course Duncan was not early. I was really anxious. I was hoping to go early, especially since the Dr had predicted that he may very well weigh around 9 lbs at term. Maybe she said 8, but either way, I freaked out and all I could think about was that I had to have him early because most of the clothes I had were up to 8 or 10 lbs! I'd already taken all the tags off and washed them all (probably 2 mos early)...
Those last few weeks were such a miserable anxiety ridden wait! Poor Mike, there was one night that I was having gas pains so bad I thought they were contractions and had him timing them! Right away we figured that they were too long and too close together to be contractions, so I took some gas medicine and sure enough that was it! ;) And after all that, Duncan was born on his due date and only weighed 6lbs 8oz.
After that whole ordeal I told myself that I would not expect an early baby again, and that I would not get all uptight about it and work myself into a frenzy thinking I had to have the baby early. And I haven't this time, but I still have 4 weeks to go. Now I'm just worried about going early. I don't have everything ready yet. I did get the clothes ready a week or so ago. And we had everything except the car seat, it's just not all set up yet. And I'm not concerned about weight this time - I bought very few things new - just the coming home outfit and some gowns. Everything else was given to me or I purchased cheap and used from eBay.
What I'm most worried about this time is Duncan. He really has no idea what it coming! :) I don't know how he'll do without me around for a couple of days, and then to top it off coming home with a little baby. He must already know something is up, he's been really cranky and full of attitude lately. And amazingly he has peed all over his crib sheets just about every time I've taken his diaper off! He has so rarely done that - and in the past 4 days he's done it at least 6 times! It's almost like he's waiting for me to change him to pee. Maybe he is ready for potty training??
In the past couple of weeks he has gotten much more verbal - I think it has a little to do with his watching the teletubbies and getting the talking teletubbies dolls. He told Mike his "piggies" were toes. He'll put his hands on his head and say "head" - trying to do "head, shoulders, knees and toes" like the teletubbies do. He'll do the motion for shoulders, but won't say it. He did say "knees" last night. And he will bounce and crouch for knees and toes. He actually started saying "Emma" when we were on the way home from picking the girls up in Sparta, but in just the past couple of weeks he's been saying "Mia" for Maria. He's too funny because he actually yells her name. She'll go upstairs or outside and he'll start yelling for her. Last night he said plain as day "I pooped, I pooped" and ran to his bedroom for a diaper change, of course there was no poop in his diaper, but maybe he was practicing.
Last night he put on Maria's flip flops and had them between his toes and everything and walked around in them for a good half an hour! Now that's some skill! :) He just got the biggest kick out of himself.

Just another chaotic day

What a chaotic day so far! I’ve been on the phone all morning.
Last night there was a storm, and since then our internet service had been down… after calling the telephone company and their DSL tech support line and the line still not working, the telephone company called back and said that lightning knocked out a piece of their equipment - ran me through shutting everything down a few times and nothing… ugh… why is it they always run you through everything that you've already tried?? Amazingly after an hour or so they called back and it started working again :) yay.

Also last night a stray dog showed up in our yard. Yesterday afternoon we saw the hind end of the dog going into the woods behind the neighbors house and thought it was a wolf. But then it came back a little after dinner time. I had sent the girls out to get Brutal’s bowl and they came running back in saying there was either a big dog or wolf in the yard with Brutal. Turned out it was a very large husky or malamute. It has a collar on. He’s turned in to Brutal’s best buddy. The girls hung out on the back porch watching the two play. I saw him lift his leg to pee on some plants and said “I guess it’s a boy” and about 2 seconds after saying that Brutal got on him and started humping him! The girls were in hysterics, and I’m not going to lie - so was I! It was the funniest thing! Of course the girls didn’t want to come in, they were ready to camp out on the back porch all night watching those two dogs. And that's what they've been doing most of the day even though both dogs are just back there laying around doing nothing. Oh well, I guess they are keeping themselves occupied. I called the county sheriff this morning and they said to call the pound, so called them and they called back when I was on the phone with the telephone company... so called them back again - of course they said they're still working on dog calls from Friday, so may not be able to get out today - but they had a call from someone missing a dog that sounds similar, so will be trying to find the owner... he's not mean or anything, he just looks like he's sick or very old.

7/10/07 - Animal control ended up coming around 4pm, and of course the dog had disappeared... go figure - he hung out here all night and all day and the dog catcher comes and he's gone. But we asked the neighbor if he'd seen him and he said that he was probably at the other neighbor's house, he'd been going back and forth. So he ended up getting nabbed in the end. We got a call from the dog's owner that evening. I looked them up in the phone book to see how far the dog had come - not too far. But the funny thing is that it turned out being someone who had come and worked on the pipes for the ladies who used to live here. He stopped not too long after we'd moved in to give us his set of keys to the house and let us know that if we needed any help with the pipes... we were thinking that maybe the dog had been here before.

4th of July

We had a great 4th of July! We decided not to go anywhere, just stay at home - have a cookout and light off some fireworks. As it turned out, we didn't have to go anywhere anyway! The town we live in shot off fireworks from the park right down the street! We could see them from the yard :) The girls were all decked out in their red white and blue outfits :) Amazingly, Duncan was not afraid of anything! I just assumed that he would most likely be afraid, since he is afraid of loud noises - he hates the vacuum, the fan, any power tools... but he got such a kick out of it! He loved the firecrackers, Mike lit like half of a roll and it was sooo loud - but when it was all over Duncan said "Pow, Bam" and laughed!

The girls had a great time running around with sparklers, snapping their little snappy things on the cement and lighting up a bunch of snakes! We had some really cool bottle rockets that had glowing parachutes. Of course one glided right over and landed on the roof of the house! :) Luckily it didn't do anything.

It was a very hot day - earlier in the afternoon we set up the sprinklers and baby pool for the kids. The girls probably spent two hours running under the sprinklers! They really had a lot of fun.

The Big Boy Gets a Big Wheel!

Ok, so I'm getting so bad about blogging! :) My last few blogs have been started several days before I finish them, so if you're wondering why today I posted a blog that has Thursdays date on it... ;)

We had a really nice weekend. It was in the 70's for the latter part of the week and the entire weekend! And it looks like it will remain reasonably mild weather until sometime over next weekend/next week. Yay! We just hung out at home and did absolutely nothing all weekend! It was great and relaxing.

Duncan's new thing is getting INTO his toybox to play. Depending on how many toys are in it he has issues getting out - he keeps getting stuck. You would think it wouldn't be all that comfortable sitting on top of all those toys, but he doesn't seem to mind at all.

We ended up getting him a Big Wheel Friday night! He is just thrilled with it! He knew what it was for right away, as soon as he saw it he jumped right on and started scooting around on it, then figured out how to get on and off of it. Of course his feet don't quite reach the pedals yet, in time they will - but for now he's got no problems scooting it around with his feet. He just thinks he's sooo cool! :)