Bug Hunting

Before my coffee, before my breakfast, before I was even out of my jammies, I went on a bug hunting adventure this morning. Our neighbor is moving and making a bunch of noise this morning. David was peeking out the window to watch her and noticed a "very big" praying manits clinging to the window screen. He hasn't seen too many bugs over 2" long up close before so this seemed mind-blowingly huge to him. He just kept staring at it and talking about it so I rounded up a tupperware dish and went outside to scoop it off the window for him.

Once outside, I saw an even better bug for him. *gasp* Can it be so? It can, friends. It can. Right next to the window, chillin' on the brick siding, was that little 2" mantis's daddy - a gigantic 4" long mantis. TWO amazing bugs before breakfast?? This is the defintion of a good day if have sons. They are pumped.

They are now sitting on spread out blankets, swapping bug jars and sharing chocolate milk with Dog and Monkey. Gah!! They are SO cute!

30 weeks

I'm 30 weeks today! Just 10 more from here (only 9 more if he's big and we induce). I might be able to do that without too much complaining. Maybe. No promises though. I'm very tired these days and having so many more contractions and back aches. I'm sorta over being pregnant at this point. I'm sure I can hang in there to the end (and really what choice do I have?), but it's getting harder to do with a smile on my face. Not gonna lie.

So here's 30 weeks pregnant me in my everyday, comfy, mom wear - t-shirt, sweats and messy hair....

I look so much smaller than I feel -
and THANK GOD for that!

Say "cheese"...

I just can't get enough of these faces. They're so stinkin' cute!

Creativity

I guess I could have been upset. Instead I was sorta impressed. All I wanted was a shower. It didn't seem like too much to ask at the time. Looking back I can see where the plan was majorly flawed. I turned on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (only to find out later that "it's not their favorite today") and snuck off before they realized I was gone. I don't know why I bother. It's no use really. They can sense freedom. There isn't a cartoon mouse around that could keep their attention when mama's not looking.

 I hussled my way through a quick shampoo and shower then set out looking for them. I heard giggling from their bedroom so it didn't take long to find them. They were so caught up in what they were doing that they didn't notice me watching from the door at first. From what I could gather they were pretending to be pirates in boats. The clothes were their treasures and the empty dresser was some sort of bad guy that they were trying to outrun. They were talking back and forth and making up bits of the story as they went. I don't think I've ever seen anything cuter. Ever.  

Sooo sleepy....

It's not even 7:30pm and I'm ready to tuck myself in bed for the night. Max hasn't slept through the night in over a week (so neither have I). Why is cutting 2 year molars such a process? I have an unhappy, can't-sleep-through-the-night boy and that darn tooth still hasn't broken the surface yet! Yeesh. 

Diaper cover

This past weekend I got a crafty itch and felt an absolute need to create something. Of course, cloth diapers came to my mind first. :) I had some leftover fleece from another project I just completed with my mom so I pulled out my sewing machine and whipped up a little something. It's the first diaper cover I've ever made. I was pretty satisfied with how it turned out. I messed up the stitching on the front a little bit, but that's more cosmetic than functional anyway so I left it. I was excited to try it on Max. Then I did....and it didn't fit. :( It's a size too small. I'll have to try again with a bigger pattern. BUT it is super cute! If you like the Detroit Lions that is. I'm sure Titus will appreciate it later on.

What did you do last night?

We spent the evening eating pizza rolls and pouring over fantasy football projections and draft info (pretty sure I've got the best team selected - we'll see how that holds up come draft day). SO FUN!! I love football season!

Bubbles

How a curious 18 month old does bubbles...

How a slightly more capable 3 year old does bubbles....

A boy in a basket

For your Sunday morning viewing pleasure....

A FABULOUS Saturday morning

Lately, it's been easy to feel cranky and tired all the time and a little bit lazy. Titus must be doing some major growth right now because I feel wiped out! And when that happens we just go into survival mode around here. Cleaning, laundry and all other unpleasant chores are done on a "have to" basis and breakfast often get served up on the coffee table while watching TV...

BUT sometimes, like last night, miracles happen in this humble little home of ours. Ones where I get better than 10 hours of sleep...in one night...and uninterrupted! Hallelujah! Do you hear the angels singing? That's how good this morning is. I woke up feeling fan-tas-tic.

On mornings like this, that same multi-grain frozen waffle teams up with cheesey scrambled eggs, fresh kiwi, turkey bacon and a drizzle of syrup to create a culinary treat for breakfast.

On mornings like this, I can fully clean, organize, sweep and mop a toy room, a bedroom, a hallway and two bathrooms before 9am. Booyah! Take that dust and clutter!

So a big thank you to the wonderful husband who let me go to bed early last night. I really appreciate it (and judging from how fast they cleaned their plates at breakfast I think the boys do to)! 

What happened to the rain?

After today's crazy downpour and hail storm David turned to me and said "Mama, the rain is done. I think God turned it off. God's a pretty cool dude." I love hearing what's going on in his little head!

28 weeks!

I'm 28 weeks now! Just 12 more to go...unless, of course, little Titus decided to be gigantic like his brothers and I have to be induced a week early like I did with them. It's been a week since my gestational diabetes glucose test. I still haven't heard from my doctor which is excellent news. They only call if it comes back positive. I was really hoping NOT to hear my phone ring. :)

Titus has finally flipped himself head down instead of laying sideways. Ok, not "finally". He actually had plenty of time to do that before birth, but it was getting very uncomfortable for me so I was hoping he'd do it sooner rather than later. It took him a good 3-4 days of twists, turns and kicks to fully make the move. Not a very fun few days for me, but in a way I was still glad to get some relief fromt the usual aches and pains. Ever since those really active days I've had a lot of muscle cramps and even some shooting pains and spasms in my back. I've been in lots of pain. I went to see my chiropractor today and she was able to tell me why. During Titus' active and rowdy transition he dislocated some stuff in my low back and knocked a rib out of place. He's now sitting with his butt tucked under my rib cage so really big kicks or even constant pressure could displace the rib agian. My poor muscles don't know what to do with a crooked rib cage so it causes a lot of cramps and spasms.

This week at the Sager house....

• Max discovered "no" as his new favorite word. That's sorta fun...not. It's not often said in defiance or in a negative way. At this point, it's just another word to shriek through the house, but still it's not music to a mama's ears.
• Titus has been super active this week. That's both wonderful and painful. I do love feeling his little (and big) punches, but being as big as he is now it's starting to get uncomfortable. For the majority of this pregnancy he's been laying transverse or sideways rather than vertical/up & down. It wasn't so bad when he was teeny, but now his stretches pull horrible on my back muscles and it's been giving me lots of spasms and cramps. I've also started getting Braxton Hicks contractions (the fakey fake kind that do nothing except making me uncomfortable), sciatic pain in my leg and back and massive amounts of forgetfulness. None of those are very lovely or welcome things. Blech. :/ But I'm only 4 days from starting my third trimester. Where did the time go???
• Dave finished his coursework for the summer semester and was able to turn it all in 3 days early. Our summer break (which is now a stunning 17 days long) has officially begun!
• I took my glucose test on Wednesday to check for gestational diabetes. I know my fasting numbers were good at the beginning of the test (or else they wouldn't have let me start it) and they didn't dismiss me at the one hour mark when they checked again so I'm assuming those numbers are good too. As long as the final 2 hour numbers looked healthy, I think I'm in the clear! Still waiting to hear from my doctor...at this point I think no news is good news.

This morning's Sunday School story {as retold by David}

I picked David up from Sunday School this morning with a still wet and gluey donkey puppet in his hand and a heads up from his teacher that he had a very exciting donkey story to share. We made our way through the rain, got buckled in the car and on our way then, as I do most every Sunday now, I asked him to share his Bible story.

Me: "What was your Bible story about today, bud?"

David: "God. That's about it.....*pause*.....God was walking on the big road. God's a big guy. He gots lots of family. They came. And a little man too."

Me: "Your teacher said you learned about a donkey. What did the donkey do in your story?"

David: "Nothing. Donkeys do nothing. But God still loves donkeys."

I'm still uncertain what the story was actually about, but it does sound as if he learned something anyway. :D

Preggo pics

Again with the tissue box and roll of toilet paper for a tripod and that good ol' self timer. The hubby is just never around to take pictures for me! They didn't turn out so bad considering...

26 weeks, 5 days

26 weeks, 5 days

The curtain incident

I heard a commotion and went to get Max out of his crib. It seems having two usable arms again has made him mischievous. The first thing he said to me was "I see outside". Yeah, that happens when you rip the curtains off the wall. :/

Swimming

Max had his first post-cast swim last night at my mom's house. He had a blast! Really, they both did. To keep Max clean and dry I had to keep him indoors. Keeping Max inside meant David stayed inside too. They loved the freedom of getting back outside to run and play in the dirt. I can't wait to schedule another beach day!

They splashed...

They stomped...

They swished their legs.

He often looked at me before jumping in just to make sure
it really was ok.

This face makes me smile. He LOVES swimming!

They had such a great time playing together.
Sometimes, they were calm...

...and sometimes they wrestled.

David got bored of it after a while, but Max wasn't giving
it up any time soon!

He laughed SO hard when he realized he could lay back on
the side and kick his legs to splash. :)

More splashing...

David and I found and caught a frog. Super fun.

He wanted to hold him so we put it in
a gladware container so it couldn't jump away.

And since frogs love water, David took him swimming.

Max found every bit of water outside that he could get
his hands on. I don't think the dogs needed that water dish
anyhow. :D

Cast Removal

Max's cast removal went very well. He did cry when he heard the cast cutting saw turn on, but the nurse assured us that was normal...she even said he did better than an 11yr old she had in the other day! The cuts weren't pretty and they ran right through his choo-choo and signatures so I didn't keep his cast. On top of that, summer casts don't smell awesome after being worn by a sweaty kid for a few weeks so I'm not sure I'd want the thing laying around anyway. I did take lots of pictures yesterday and even got a video of him in his cast so he could see it all later on. 

After removing his cast and letting him stretch for a minute (which he LOVED!), the nurse sent us down to the x-ray room. This time, Daddy came along with us to hold Max. Though he cried, I think this time wnet better than the first x-rays. Having Daddy there to hold him seemed to help. While the x-rays processed and were sent to the doctor we went back to our exam room to wait. Max was being such a trooper and holding up so well that he got a treat. Can I just say how much I love Dum-Dums?! Woot Woot!

The doctor came in soon and reviewed the x-rays with us. He's fully healed now, as expected, and is released to go back to normal. As long as nothing new comes up there's no need for any more check-ups. Yay! We're done!!

His teeny little hand bones make me melt.
Seriously now, could they be any cuter?!?!



The bone on the right was broken. You
can still see the dark fracture line near the top.
The darkest (and crooked) sections of that
 bone are old. The lighter section (on the left side
filling in the dip) attached to it
is all new growth since wearing his cast.



Watercolors

David got to use watercolors for the first time yesterday during quiet time. He wasn't sure about it at first. I think he was more confused than anything. I started the "D-A" part of his name to show him how it worked. All of a sudden his face lit up and he got it. He snatched the brush from me and went to town. First, he made a brown "M" for Max then he made a green and blue rainbow. From there, I'm not sure there was much artistic thought given. He went with the flow and threw stripes, sqiggles and loopity loops where ever it felt right. David had a blast and I got new fridge decorations. :)

It was so pretty until he discovered black. :)

My dopey looking dump truck full of rocks. Clearly, I'm not
the artist of the family.

Awesome David Quote:

"My eyes are getting rubbery. I think I need to take a nap."