More Vacation Fun

 Even though our Thanksgiving wasn't entirely tradtional, we couldn't skip the pie.  Actually, we had a turkey dinner, too.  We found a Habitat for Humanity fundraiser at a restuarant in Destin, FL where they served up plates of turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, and cornbread stuffing (I love that in the south, that's the standard, since that's what I grew up eating, too, and I'm always dissappointed at Thanksgivings with white bread stuffing).  So we mostly just skipped the full day in the kitchen cooking all the food, but still got to eat our Thanksgiving feast.

 On Saturday, the weather had cooled down a little too much for the beach, so we headed to a miniature golf course.  I couldn't believe the kids lasted as long as they did.  Buggy lost it about 4 holes before the end, but Bean played the whole thing.

 Buggy's hockey stance.

 Bean concentrating on the hole.

 This course was very pretty and tropical feeling.

And the kids played a lot of Uno.  The adults never made it around to playing any games.  Actually, by the time we got the kids to bed each night, we were all pretty wiped out and usually started falling asleep on the couch not long after.  But we had a fun time--Daddy-o and his friend have known each other for about 15 years now and it was fun to hear the old stories and get caught up.

 And lest anyone think we had too perfect of a trip--there was plenty of this

and this as well.  Especially a couple days in when no one had gotten enough sleep and things weren't so new and exciting anymore.  But it wouldn't be a family trip without a few tantrums, right? 

And the best part--the 9.5 hour drive each way didn't kill us.  There may be hope for our crazy Christmas plans after all. . .

Beach Fun

 What is better than pictures by the Christmas tree in your swim suit?

 I am officially in love with the town of Seaside.  It's only a little over 1000 people, lots of little restaurants on the beach (including several really cute Airstream trailer stands lined up along the town square),town festivals, streets of big southern houses with huge porches.  Too bad they all cost over $1,000,000 or I'd be ready to move.

 And the gulf turned out to be great.  I'd never been before and wasn 't sure what to expect, but the beaches were gorgeous with soft, white sand.  Not as many shells as the kids like (but that means less for us to bring home.  I'm not complaining.)  And the water was still warm enough to get in, although it reminded me a lot more of San Diego than our experiences on the east coast, but that's not bad for the end of November.

The kids didn't mind at all.

 And of course they had to build a sandcastle. 

 And Buggy wanted to be turned into a T-Rex.

 And a mermaid.

 There may not have been a lot of shells, but we saw several of these blue  Portuguese Man-o-War jellyfish washed up.  Little scary since that means they're in the water, too, but we just had to hope they don't come in close to the shore until they're dead.

 Part of the fun adventure--our condo was across a small lake from the beach so the first day, we took a couple canoes to get to the beach.

The kids loved it. 

5 States in 1 Day

Only in the east--We drove from North Carolina, through South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, to Florida.

 So we could spend our Thanksgiving here,

 with friends,

 playing at the beach,

and in general enjoying a very nice holiday.

Pajama Day at the Preschool

When this little bug heard about Pajama Day during Bean's school's Spirit Week in September, he was more than interested.  He loves his pj's and would be happy to stay in them all day, every day (and who can blame him?  They are comfy!)  So he started asking me when his pajama day was.  I told him I didn't know if the preschool did one, but he could ask his teachers.  And he did.  And he kept asking about it until they talked to the class and finally decided on a day to have a class pajama day.  When I read the email to him, "Some of the students have expressed interest in having a pajama day," he got pretty excited--"That's me!  I'm the student!"

Bugaboo's tagline should be, "He gets it done!"  He's always been pretty persistant, independant, and often creative when he decides he wants something.  He doesn't let it go, and doesn't stop until he's figured it out.  Qualities that can be challenging in a toddler and preschooler, but I'm pretty excited about the type of adult he's going to grow into.

Making Ravioli with Uncle D

Uncle D cooked dinner each night while he and my mom were visiting, and he was incredibly good about indulging my appetite for pasta (one of the few things that sounded good--poor guy isn't used to having to cook without onion, or to baking on the grill so I didn't have to smell stuff cooking.)  He made fresh pasta a few times, and the last time, the kids wanted to help out.

 Ravioli are a lot of fun, and involve steps that they could actually help out with.

Bean, especially.  She helped with each step and Uncle D says we've probably only got a few years before we can put her to work making us fresh ravioli on her own.  Too bad neither of the kids would each the sweet potato ones, but Bean does like the cheese version.  And Bugaboo is just weird when it comes to ravioli.

Details, Details

A little more in the way of pregnancy details.

First, this next little one (gotta come up with a nickname for this one!) is due May 15th.  No being 9 months pregnant in the summer (yay!!!!)

We haven't decided yet if we will be finding out the sex. I'm thinking yes, but Daddy-o would like to be surprised and there is a tiny part of me that would like to also, but the rest of me, the planner part of me, wants to know.  I can't quite convince myself that I really want to wait an extra 4 months to find out something that I could know right then.

And, the most exciting news in my mind, I've actually had a couple good days in the past few days!  I'm on 3 different medications this time around to combat all the nausea and sickness, and while its helped, I've still been feeling pretty poorly for 7 weeks, so the fact that it may actually be winding down before I hit the halfway mark is really exciting.  I had about 10 hours straight that I honestly just felt normal--like a human being again--and it was GREAT!  I celebrated by doing laundry and vacuuming and picking my little boy up from preschool.  It's the little things. . .

Countdown to Christmas is On!

Not because we're excited about this:

Or because we're waiting for these:

But because by Christmas, this:

Shouldn't still be making me feel like this:

13 weeks down, and hoping this part goes away soon!

It's Not Just Hormones

I was looking for books at the library a couple weeks ago and came across "I'll Love You Forever" and remembered it was a very sweet book so I thought I'd check it out.

After lunch, Bugaboo and I sat down to read it.  I don't want to give away the story for anyone who hasn't read it, but lets just say that I was so choked up by the end that I couldn't read at all.  Buggy laughed at me and I sobbed through the last couple pages and told him while I'm pregnant, his dad would have to be the one to read that story.

So, the next night, I told Daddy-o about the book and since he'd never read it, he wanted to give it a try.  At the same spot, I looked over becuase Daddy-o had stopped reading.  He was tearing up, too.  The kids thought it was hilarious that both their parents were crying over a book.

I guess the sympathy pregnancy symptoms have begun.

And I do highly recommed the book.  Even if it makes everyone cry.  Just maybe not if you, or someone close to you, is pregnant.

Making Bubbles

I feel like I've done a lot of Bugaboo posts lately, but what can I say.  The kid keeps us laughing (and on our toes). 

Today, he noticed the soap dispenser in the guest bathroom was empty, so he took care of it for me.  He filled it up with water, but then he decided that soap is supposed to have bubbles, and since there was a lack of bubbles, he added his own.  How?

"I spit in it because spit is mostly bubbles!"

The Big 4!

OK, I am really hating the new Blogger picture uploading.  These pics aren't in the order I wanted and moving them all is proving to take way too long, and I want to go to bed, so here they are:

 The birthday pirate.  We had a little spider/pirate party (really, it was just a Halloween themed birthday party) for the Bug on Saturday.

 He was pretty happy with all the attention--in fact, when Bean "helped" him blow out his candles, he insisted that we start all over and had everyone sing "Happy Birthday" a second time before he'd blow out the candles.  Definitely not my kid--that's one of my least favorite things about birthdays--everyone staring at you while they sing.

Bean traded in her pirate costume for one of the clown costumes that my mom had made for us when we were kids.  It's fun that they are getting some use again after all these years.

 We had a couple crafts for the kids to work on which seemed to be a big hit.   

 Daddy-o, Bugaboo, and two of our guests were all dressed as pirates--and I never got a picture of them together.  They all looked great!

The cake, actually decorated this year by my mom and brother who came out to celebrate birthdays with us.

And the Halloween decor.

Bugaboo kept referring to his party as his fake party, because it wasn't his actual birthday.  So on Tuesday, we had his real birthday.  And since we were tired of cake, Daddy-o made a pumpkin pie.

My mom laughed and said she'd never seen a kid get so excited over a book before.  He was jumping up and down for quite awhile after he opened "Boogie Knights".  I don't even know how many times he's had my check this out from the library, I just know it seemed like a necessary purchase so we didn't have to have anymore tearful goodbyes on library day.

Happy Birthday, Little Bug!  We love you so much and can't believe how fast you are growing up!