More Preparations

I get to start preparing for something else! Seriously-making plans is relaxing and fun for me...as long as I have a long time to prepare. I love researching online, figuring things out and forming opinions.

I'll quit expounding. We just received our newest cut of orders. Courtesy of the USCG, we will be moving this summer to...imagine a nice rat-tat-tatty drum-roll here...






Yorktown, VA

We're really excited. It was our #1 pick (we choose from a list of available posts then we get placed {hopefully/usually} off our choice list). Kit will be a Maritime Safety instructor at the Coast Guard base.

I love moving. I don't like the necessity of finding and making new friends, but exploring and experiencing new places is so fun! Had we never moved to Mobile, we wouldn't have swam in the gulf

tasted a low-country boilattended Mardi Gras paradesor experienced true living in the deep south.
In Virginia, we will be surrounded by history, four seasons (hmm...we'll have to get used to cold weather again) and brand new people and experiences.

Anyone who has been there, please share!!



More preps--I ordered some bows from Oh So Girly! and I {LOVE} them! (feel free to picture me stroking them lovingly with a stupid grin...) Now if my car-seat cover would come, I'd feel even more prepared...possibly even kinda ready for little girl!

Dreams...and Preparing

Other than my husband, sister Stephanie and nephew Ezra...do any of you have crazy dreams? I don't and don't even remember any of my dreams when I wake up. When I'm pregnant, though...well, that's a different story. Seriously, I have the goriest, funniest and weirdest dreams when there's a bun in the oven. AND they are so realistic feeling and vivid-it's like dreaming in HD! With each of my children I've dreamed about their delivery (many times). With Josiah, I dreamed I gave birth to an orangutan and everyone kept saying he was so beautiful and no one could understand how I didn't find him the most beautiful baby ever! With Gavin, I had dreams of giving birth without knowing I did. He would just slip out and there he was! Gunner, well, sometimes he was all grown up when I delivered him; other times he came too early, but was perfectly healthy...just the size of a walnut and I would carry him around in my pocket. Weird, I know...

I haven't had any dreams of the delivery with this little girl...until last night. In this dream, I went into labor at home, delayed going to the hospital too long, and delivered my own baby in the bathroom (very little pain and gore was involved- if only that part could be true). The big surprise was the little girl wasn't...she was a little boy! I wasn't sad about that, until the realization hit that I gave away my boy stuff and have been spending time and money collecting girl things. Oh no! He was beautiful, though, with tons of dark hair (obviously a fictitious dream), but he also had a club foot and a couple of other problems. I woke up with the overwhelming desire to go to the bathroom (no surprise there) and had to feel my basketball belly to assure myself it really was just a dream. Quite the scare.

With our ultrasound, the tech was VERY sure it was a girl, and believe me, it was quite a different view than it was with my other three. BUT- you hear of it happening. All this excitement and hype and instead of pink, out comes blue!! Despite the shock, I know we'd love a little boy as much as we would this little girl. I'm just hoping the shock doesn't happen!

In speaking of all things pink, I've been a little stressed lately. Anxiety has seem to set in. I'm not positive if it is because I'm having a girl (something I am NOT well versed in), because I am having #4 and it will be my last, or because I simply understand what having another baby in the house means. To combat this anxiety, I've been trying to do fun preparations. My sweet sisters are letting me borrow some of their baby girl things so I've been washing and putting the clothes away, darling friends threw me a shower (can I just say it was belly-shaking fun!!!) and I have been trying to be a little crafty and attempt to make little girl things.

Over Christmas, my sisters put me onto "princess socks". These are plain little crew socks all dolled up with beads. So easy and so cute!

(The following picture are not of my creations...camera is still on the fritz)

(Picture courtesy of Marlo's Crochet Corner)

I've also tried my hand at making some felt flower clips to put on a headband for little girl. Kit is of the opinion they are WAY too large (maybe her head would tip to the side just a little).


Maybe I'll have to try some of a different variety...

(Picture courtesy of Rookie Moms)

I want to try some of these fabric flowers, so cute!!!



Are there any other fun crafts out there I can attempt without too much skill? The craft bug (nesting instinct?-although I'm not too inspired to deep clean my house) has set in!

High Maintenance???

The question has been rolling around my household for over a week now. What makes a spouse high maintenance?

A variety of definitions have been presented...a person who needs a large amount of toys/material goods to be "happy", someone who has to always be right, a person who expects dinner to be ready on the table, children to be perfect and life to run smoothly without any necessary effort from self, and emotional high maintenance- someone who needs a lot of attention, to be coddled, cooed over and able to talk things through every step of the way. I think people are, in general, a mix of all of these. Some just have more tallies in each column earning the "high maintenance" title.

I don't necessarily think being high maintenance is always a negative thing, seeing how marriage needs to be maintained to keep the seams from gaping and people together. However, it just seems to me that there are certain people who require more energy from their spouse to keep things running smoothly.

Where has all of this come from? An innocent conversation with my husband...one where I voiced that my sweetheart was higher maintenance than some other husbands. (Let me interject here that I don't believe I am a low maintenance wife. I know I require an ear to talk through EVERYTHING and I am a very emotional person-highs are high and lows are low) I believe he took offense and this has become quite the topic. He has asked people's opinions left and right if they think he is or isn't and what their definition is. In typical Kit fashion {smile and chuckle here} he has discarded all opinions unfavorable to his opinion and touts the ones he prefers.

Something often overlooked, as has been by my husband, are the benefits of having a high(er) maintenance spouse. In having Kit as my honey, I am spoiled in certain areas. Kit loves my birthday and Christmas. He always tries to come up with the right gift regardless of cost and energy. He is definitely the one who has romance on the mind and will surprise me with little things (PB M&Ms, flowers, Mint Oreos) to simply see me smile. He LOVES me. I am blessed to have him as my spouse. If he doesn't notice the mess to help clean the house or calls me 3 or 4 times when I am out for some alone time- well, at least he didn't notice the mess and loves to hear my voice.

So...what is your opinion? Are you a high(er) maintenance person, is your spouse? What is your definition and thoughts on this?

LOVE

I know it isn't even February, but I have been thinking a lot about love...

I love LOVE! I do. I am a romantic at heart. My favorite books are those with happy endings full of romance and yes, love. I adore how there are so many different kinds of love. Family love-the worry, loyalty and closeness we feel towards members of our families. Parental love-full of hair pulling, laughing and crying. There is the first blush of love, sweet with butterflies in flight in your stomach. Then there is deeper love, after a first (or fiftieth) argument that comes with heart thumping, maddening anger, frustration and yet...enduring love.

I love how love changes with time, aging and becoming clearer, more defined. I find I love my husband in spite of his quirks and he loves me in spite of my mood swings. I want to be the couple who are in their nineties and still crazy in love-you know the ones-laughing together, holding hands. One day at Wal-mart I saw an older man and his wife and they were pushing their cart together. He had his arm around her waist then ( I had to giggle here) he let his hand fall to pat her bottom! It was fabulous!! They were so in love! How do we do this? How do we make the excitement and blush of love endure? I find I am so tired and irritated to laugh with my husband. I find I am so touched-out by children that a pat on my rear is NOT something to laugh at, but to scold for. I realized I have lost my flirt when I read this post. Uggh! How to get it back? Hmmm...I'd love ideas...as, I'm sure, would my husband.

I'll leave you with a song I love...one that makes me dance around my house and feel butterflies in hopes my husband hears this song and thinks of me... Hey, Soul Sister

The Mistake

So...I change my blog background/layout fairly often. I know what to do to keep things from getting lost. Usually. I switched layouts and accidentally delete my blog list today. No worries. I had an old version of my blog open so I began transferring the info from one to the other. Slow going, but working. Then, DH calls me needing a number and address, my boys start in with their needs and it is time to go get Josiah from school. Ok. I leave the windows open online and go about my business. I come home and send the beasties outside and sit down on the computer. WHAT?!! Kit popped in here on his way from point A to point B after work, checked something online and...yep...closed down the windows. So not his fault...BUT...seriously, he leaves things up online for hours! SIGH. He's doing penance by being in charge of dinner tonight. Maybe this guilt thing cna be drawn out for a bit...hmmm...don't tell!

The point of this post is to ask for your assistance. I pieced what I could from memory, but if any who read my blog notice I don't have yours on my blog list, please let me know. UGGGH! Thanks!

Ewwww!

My oldest is growing up! Just this past week, kisses seem to be dis-gus-ting. Not sure what the change is, but now the sight or sound of smooches between me and his daddy gross him out. "Mommy " kisses are still acceptable, but kissing between boys and girls is yucky. This morning as I kissed Kit good-bye (a quick peck) I was informed by Jos that "it vexes his mind when we kiss." Where does he come up with this stuff?

That's okay. I don't mind him being grossed out by kissing...so long as it lasts 'til he gets home from his mission.

Blogging Stumped!

Or should I say blogging slump? Blehh! I hate when I can't think of anything to blog about...it is not that NOTHING is happening, just nothing noteworthy. Well, a lot of what I blog about isn't worthy, but you know what I mean. I thought I'd just share a few random things, if only to get something new up on my page.

We recently acquired another member to our household...Jean-Luc. He is a charming Elf, straight from the Cajun Elf-on-the-Shelf Academy. Where, I have been told by Josiah, he learned how to NOT move at all, not even to blink. He appeared in our house leaving a book for my sons to find. Josiah knew exactly who he was, since he has a special elf in his classroom, Jingles, and he heard about Demetri, his cousins' Russian elf. Gavin had a smidgen of doubt that poor Jean-Luc was real, he even poked him a few times with a piece of paper (not his finger in case he was real and would take away his magic) to prove he was just a doll, but Josiah claimed his fortitude was acquired with the training he has received. I was even so silly as to mention I thought Jean-Luc winked at me...Josiah promptly responded "Mom, he's not allowed to wink! Sometimes it is easy to imagine things, isn't it." My children have all been won over and look with anticipation each morning to see where our silly elf is hiding to watch our family.

Another fun addition to our house has been a darling nativity set my dad sent us. Crazy to think, but I didn't have a nativity set until he was so thoughtful and set me one. I never bought one out of the dollar store in avoidance of wings, etc and at least the ones I saw were kinda bleh. As a new tradition we have added a few pieces each night and discussed who they are and what part they have in the Christmas Story. My boys have been so cute in their anticipation and have reminded me to add the pieces each time. I love to see the Spirit of Christmas in their eyes and hear them speak about the real reason for this fabulous holiday time.

We are getting ready to go home to Oklahoma for Christmas. We haven't spent it with the Holyoak clan since Gavin was born, whew! four years ago! It will be a production, but oh-so-fun, with my sisters' and their families there and Mack, too. We will be missing my brother, Jesse, but we will definitely be thinking about him in Japan. So far away, often too far away!!!

Life just seems to be making its way...slowly at times and too quickly at others. I'm feeling large and bulky one day, then claiming I'm not nearly as big as I was with Gunner others. My boys make us smile and laugh, then pull our hair. Life carries on in its crazy, fabulous way.