It's too hot to blog.

It's too hot to do much of anything, actually. The kids and I ate PB&J sandwiches and grapes for dinner, and I am currently vegging out in front of the computer, all the lights turned off, the desk littered with Otter Pop wrappers.

I have never been pregnant in the summer before. Well, Natalie was born in late June, but I was on the other side of 30 then. I handled the heat a lot better. Except for the massive leg and foot swelling, but we don't need to get into that. Anyway, my point is, I'm pregnant, sweaty, and hot, we don't have air conditioning, and I can't motivate myself to do anything productive. Really, I mean anything. If we ever have to move anywhere that's really hot, I'm in trouble.

The kids enjoying the bigger kiddie pool... thanks, Grandma!

Dexter - from the pool to the dirt, and loving it.

Lookin' good, son.

Bittersweet

Today was the first day of school. Two weeks ago, I was more than ready for this day to come. Having all three kids at home can get pretty tiring, especially when the two oldest start fighting like cats and dogs on a way-too-regular basis. But last night, as we sat on the brink of First Grade, I started feeling a little sad about the whole thing. My eldest leaving me for all-day school! My Ba-by! Agh! I was actually surprised by the emotions I felt. I was expecting a lot more excitement from myself. Something along these lines (click it, it's worth it):



So I went to bed with a lot on my mind and did not sleep very well. Our alarm went off at 6:30 (school starts at 8:12... quite a difference from her noon kindergarten!). We hit snooze, of course, but there was no point since Natalie was by my side at 6:31, "Is it morning? I heard your alarm." She was pretty excited to get the day started.

For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to have a special First Day of School Breakfast. Like I didn't have enough to stress over. But, I forged ahead and made pancakes while Jay cooked up some bacon, and we all enjoyed a nice warm breakfast instead of the cold cereal they usually get. Well, they enjoyed it. I shoved down a pancake without taking time to chew so that I could make Natalie's lunch and pack it in her new cupcake lunch box.

After posing for a few Back to School pictures, the whole gang walked to the school. It was a gorgeous morning, and I felt my spirits rising. Natalie was excited, which was a big help. The school was a zoo, of course, but we found her classroom without a problem. I met the teacher, and Natalie found her desk, right next to a friend from kindergarten. Oh my, was the classroom cute. It was almost enough to make me want to go back to school to become a teacher. Almost.

And then we left, and Natalie began the exciting world of First Grade.

This afternoon when I picked her up, I asked the typical "How was your first day?" question, and was elated by her reponse. "It was SO much fun," she said. Yes! I was so glad she didn't come home sobbing. Well.... actually... there were a few tears when she told me about recess: "Connor and I played Space and then we decided to play Princess and we asked Summer to play. But Summer and I were fighting over who got to be the queen, so Summer said let's play Rock Paper Scissors, but I don't know how to play so I didn't do very well (tears starting) and so (big sob) I lost and didn't get to be the queen!!!" She was so upset about not knowing how to play Rock Paper Scissors that I felt like a loser parent for not teaching her such an essential playground tool sooner. What was I thinking?! I hugged her and promised that I would teach her how to play right away. [So, yeah, watch out Van Tassell's!!! ;)]

Overall, it was a successful day. I can't believe we have to do it all again tomorrow (although minus pancakes). Let the school year craziness begin!

Stock Tip

The just-looking-at-food-gives-me-heartburn phase of my pregnancy has begun.

Invest in Tums.

(You didn't hear this from me.)

Baby Names... Poll Results

The results are in!

For the boys, Henry and Calvin tied for first place with 37% of the vote. Edmund came in a distant 3rd, at 13%, and Edward came in at 10%.

I want to take this opportunity to say that Edward is in the running because of my wonderful grandpa, not because of Edward Cullen.

To recap:

Grandpa, yes.

Vampire, no.

(Although, he doesn't burn my retinas.)

The girls results were as follows: Katherine, with a convincing lead at 39%, with Eliza and Penelope tied for 2nd, at 25% each. Poor Maggie came in last with 10% of the vote.

Thank you all for participating! It really is fun to see everyone's choices. Jay and I have agreed on a frontrunner name for both a boy and a girl, though I'm not going to divulge them here. MuHAHAHA! I will say that the frontrunners are among the names that were in the poll. (Which, for me, is saying something.)

Blog Housekeeping

A few blog related items, just real quick.

I've started categorizing my posts, and you can see those categories to the right. So if you ever get a hankering to learn all about the CHP Academy, or to read all about my homemaking escapades, then you can just click on the relevant link. Ok, so maybe you won't want to do that, but I do sometimes. Really, I'm just being selfish here.

Secondly, I have changed my settings so that you don't need a Blogger account to leave a comment. It'll stay that way unless I start getting weird/mean/stalker-ish anonymous comments.

And that is all. Thank you for listening. You may now go about your normal business.

First Pies, Now This?!

My quest for homemaking perfection adequacy continues! I have been - don’t faint now – sewing. Yes, it’s true. The last time I attempted a sewing project was when I made a telephone-shaped throw pillow in my 7th grade sewing class. I never finished it because I was too lazy to sew the opening shut. What? You had to do it by hand!

Anyway, I decided to start with an easy project – burp cloths! It’s been really fun. Here’s my first attempt:

(This is each side of a finished pair.)

Once I'm tired of making burp cloths, I think I'll attempt a retro style apron. You know, to complete my June Cleaver makeover.

3 Cheers!

Dexter took his first steps today! Whoo hoo!!!

We were sitting in the living room (Jay was working but had come home for dinner), when all of a sudden Dex stood up in the middle of the living room and took four steps toward us. He was laughing the whole time, and I was in shock. As soon as he laughingly threw himself down, the rest of us burst into applause. He really liked that, so he made a few more successful attempts before he decided that was enough for the day.

I am so excited! I mean, I knew it would eventually happen, but he is almost 16 months old after all, and I had kind of stopped looking for it. In fact, Jay and I were just joking the other day that Dexter was going to be a 12 year old Deacon passing the sacrament in church, standing up to hand the tray to someone, then getting down and crawling to the next pew. Now it looks like he might actually be walking before he starts Nursery in October. Way to go, Dex!

Edited to add:

I had to make sure everyone saw this hilarious picture my friend Jeremy created in honor of Dexter's acheivement. :)

Thanks Jer!

Dos and Don’ts

So, a Czech woman touched my belly in line at IKEA yesterday. I have to say, that is not one of my favorite experiences. I don’t like strangers, even casual acquaintances, touching me in any way, shape, or form. That feeling only intensifies when I'm pregnant. I know she wasn’t trying to violate me or anything, but I felt like saying, “Um, this is your dance space, this is my dance space, let's cha-cha,” and then moving on with our conversation.

It wasn't only the belly-touching, though. She also made the “You’re due soon, right?” comment. Uhhhhhhhh... no. Try 4 more months.

She was a nice woman, so it's really nothing against her, but those are two of my biggest pet peeves when I’m pregnant. I really need to have a t-shirt made, so that I can educate the world on what not to say to a pregnant woman. It would prevent a lot of awkwardness, don’t you think?

Here’s what I would like the world to know:

What not to say (or do) to a pregnant woman

1) Don't guess how far along she is. If you must, then follow this rule: Before guessing out loud how far along she is, automatically subtract 2 months. Either you’ll be right on, or you’ll make her day.
2) Strike the words big, chubby, and plump from your vocabulary. Replace them with healthy, happy, and glowing.
3) Never, under any circumstances, ask if someone is having twins. Ever.
4) Unless you’re close friends, don’t ask if she plans on having an epidural / breastfeeding / having any more kids. It’s really none of your business.
5) And lastly, if you don’t want her touching your belly, keep your hands off hers!

Here’s what you should do instead:

1) Tell her she looks great, even if her legs are swollen, she has bags under her eyes, and her protroding belly is covered with drips from her recently-devoured ice cream cone.
2) Open the door for her, or better yet, help unload her grocery cart since her pregnant belly makes it almost impossible to reach into the far corners.
3) Surprise her with some Ben & Jerry’s... almost any flavor will do. And don't judge her when she eats the whole cartoon while sobbing through Pride & Prejudice for the 6,000th time.
4) Tell her congratulations. It will make her day, especially when she’s spent the rest of the morning catching glimpses of strangers giving her the ‘ol stink eye for having yet another baby when she’s already contributed to overpopulating the world with the three she already has.
5) Tell her she looks great... again. It never gets old. :)

Hmmmm.
I don't think all that will fit on a t-shirt. Darn.

Ladies, what do you think? Am I missing any pregnancy dos & don'ts? I know I'm not the only one who thinks about these things... right?