Too __ to post

I'll let you fill in the above.

Okay, so, yes, I've posted things, but I haven't done the whole report of what we've actually been up too--outside of Baby's announcement. So, here's a brief overview. Forgive the lack of pictures. I have some cute ones and some funny vids, but I know right now that if I were to try to post them all, or even a couple of them, this post would never get done.

MAY

TWO FAMILY TRIPS!!! We usually only travel at Thanksgiving and maybe once during the summer, so this was an awesome (and crazy busy) month. Trip One was to Andrew's Airforce Base, near Washington D.C., where my cousin L's husband has been stationed for the past year. I haven't seen Lisa for years. She has a four-year-old boy and a (then) 14-mo. boy, and our kids simply had a riot together. It was a great visit. Thanks, L!!! :D The second half of this trip was spent in Charlottesville, VA, where S had a conference. As H came down with a cold the day we arrived at the hotel, we didn't do much besides hang out at the hotel and check out some of the restaurants in the walking mall next to it. It was a NICE hotel, and we really did need to catch up on some much needed sleep, so H's illness didn't bog us down too much. (I think that was when Lil'S finally got such great sleep that he stopped taking only partial naps every morning!!!) I still want to see Monticello, though!

Between the trips, H celebrated the end of preschool with her friends at the Eno River. We all had such a blast, and I can't believe I still haven't emailed pictures around from that!

Trip Two was to my brother's in Alabama to celebrate his son's baptism. Congrats, J!!! It was good to see my parents & three of my five brothers and their families/friends.

JUNE

ha, I don't remember what happened in June. Oh, that's right. That's when I suddenly became plastered to the couch, wondering how to get my hands on a pregnancy test without my husband finding out (Didn't want to get his hopes up and then crush them.) when I simply couldn't get myself off that couch! Gratefully, either I adjusted to the fatigue or it lifted enough for me to become mostly functional again so that I could not only get a preg test, but also so that I could fly out to Idaho for a week and a half to spend time with family and attend a big family reunion. It was so great to see my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and cousin's kids! AND of course my Colorado brother and his family, who I also rarely get to see. Oh! And a day or two after we arrived in Idaho, Lil'S decided to take his first steps! Yay, Little Man!!! (And sorry Daddy didn't get to see him!!! I've got video of later moments, though!)

JULY

We arrived home to Seth and his Mom (who flew in to see the grandkids!), but unfortunately, Lil'S picked up a bug on the way home and shared it with everyone but his mommy--as in me, not my poor mom-in-law, who was sick for over a week. And I'm talking stomach flu sick. She was M.I.S.E.R.A.B.L.E. I felt awful that she got sick, and esp. SO sick!

What's the rest of July held? Well, I've gotten into a decent routine to manage my fluctuating energy levels through the day. I get up about 7, eat breakfast with the family (S cooks), I put Lil'S down for his nap at 9 and lay down as well, at some point I getup and do "school" or whatever with H, then we get lunch, I put the kids down for naps and take a nap myself, get up when Sam wakes or I magically wake with enough energy to straighten up a bit, then S comes home and makes dinner while I sit for another bit. Then, it's get the kids ready for bed time, and come 7:30, I'm ready to lay down again, which I usually do, although I don't normally sleep. Then, sometimes we adults are ready for bed around 10 and sometimes it's more like 12, just depending on what's going on and how attentive we are to the time. (that I'm currently ignoring to get this done, even though my body was begging me to go to bed 45 min. ago.

We've also hired a couple friends' kids to help out with house and yard work once a week, which has been a HUGE help. I find it's easier to clean during the week when I know we've got someone else coming too to help out. I guess everything doesn't feel quite as overwhelming.

Last week Lil'S decided he was a walking man. Maybe having him walk the halls at church that Sunday helped cement in his brain that he could do it--or maybe it just gave him that last bit of muscle mass he needed. But then smashing his big toe with a can of food sent him back to crawling in between walking spurts. I can't believe how much his toenail has bled. I found little toe prints on the family room carpet today, poor baby! We'll spare you grotesque pictures of his blackened nail.

And H, dear H, she's having a miserable time lately with wearing her eye patch. She finds it very uncomfortable and has really been fighting us on it. Sigh. I hate to pull out of the study she's in, but I think we need to put her on eye drops instead. My hope is that these drops, which will blur her vision in the good eye for an entire week at a time, will convince her that wearing the patch over the good eye for only two hours a day isn't so bad. I really feel for her, though, as I had to wear a certainly not comfortable body brace for months and months and months as a teen for my scoliosis. The arguments H and I have had at times have been identical to the ones my mom and I used to have. Maybe, though, she'll like the eye drops better. However, having her go to school with limited vision is a great concern to me. I dislike her being singled out for something like this, this early on, but I guess that's life. I wonder what kind of special accommodations she may need . . . and what would actually be available. And being out on the playground when you can only partially well out of one eye??? Seriously, here! But, again, maybe that would convince her to go her back to the patch on her own.... Sigh.....

Additionally, we're looking forward to visits from two sets of friends. First off, if my friend's baby decides to arrive before her grandma comes on Thu, then H will get to have 5-yr-old M-girl & 2-yr-old E-boy visit for a couple days! (I actually have three friends expecting babies this week--one was to be induced today! I'll have to call in the morning!--and I am so thrilled for them all!!!) Then, on Saturday, my German "Sister" T and her husband will be coming to visit us and her little brother (& his new wife!) in Raleigh for a week. I'm so glad he and we happen to live close so that this visit is so easily arranged! This is the first time I'll get to see T since I was 18 and traveled to Germany and spent a week with her and her family. She lived with my family when we were 15/16 after needing to change host families, and her family visited when her exchange time was up. We've talked about additional visits for years, and we're so thrilled to see one finally coming to fruition! T's brother also did a year exchange and then returned to the States--or stayed in the States?--through college and now employment. I've meant to get together with him since I learned he was so near a year or so ago, but it just hasn't happened. It'll be good to see him again as well!

The Official Announcement

Time to introduce you all to a little someone!

In the first picture, Baby's looking straight ahead.

The second picture is more of a side shot.

My due date is Valentine's Day, cute as that is! I'm pretty certain Baby will make his/her debut a week or two afterward, though, as both H & Lil'S were induced at 41 weeks. Like I had said with Lil'S, I'd like to wait until 42 weeks to see if Baby will come on his/her own. I guess I'd better avoid scheduling his/her baby blessing a week after he/she's due if I really want to go that route this time around, huh. . . . ;P

(talk about one serious pregnancy brain!)

And here's a picture of the rest of us,

as drawn by Miss H Sunday morning.

Couponing

A friend recently mentioned having learned to coupon, so I passed on to her my bit of advice about it: Be careful that you don't end up just adding empty calories to your family's diet. I try to keep myself balanced by determining how much I'm paying for the nutrition each food provides. It's really helped me keep things in perspective. For example, I'll pay that $3 for a pint of berries, but not for a bag of chips. A bag of chips had better be free....or 50c....and only purchased on occasion because two bags of 50c chips equals a pound of fresh fruits or vegetables.

What are your big couponing tips? What helps you keep things from taking too much time while still getting those good deals? What are you favorite sites?