Getting ready for the party

Ok, I am caught in a bit of a rock and hard place - more family wants to come and KP's not thrilled.

We are having this little party on Saturday and have about 13 people (all family) coming. I got a email from my uncle and aunt (Richard and Lisa and their 2 boys) and they have decided they are coming this weekend as well, and informed me that they have off until next wednesday. They do this to mom and dad all the time - just call or email and let them know they are coming and sometimes they tell them when they are thinking of leaving and other times they don't bother giving that piece of information - they never ask if the timing is ok they just assume that because it works for them it is good. Well, I knew KP was going to have a bit of a fit, and, honestly, while I do want to see them I didn't want them here for a week either (they tend to ditch the kids at the house and show up at meal times - kind of like a hotel). I know that sounds aweful - I feel bad for feeling that way, but this is no place for dishonesty for me.

SOOO KP and I talked about it and I sent them a response and invited them for the party and then let them know (really nicely) that we have lots of stuff going next week (which we really do) but that we would love to see them over the weekend. That seemed to work ... but what they don't know (because they haven't called mom and dad yet to tell them they are coming) is taht mom is going to the beach next week with a couple of her friends and won't be at the house and dad is staining the deck and doing other home-type projects. This means that staying at the parents might be an issue (never mind the fact that brother and Amy are still staying there until mid-July when they get to move into their house and mom only has one spare bedroom).

I am just focusing on how nice it will be to see them for a few days and let them deal with the parents on that end. Now I get to scrub the house (wow I am complaining about everything today .. first people that want to come and see me and my son and then having to clean my house - what's next????). I hate sounding this way so I need to just pray about it and change my attitude - be happy we have this many people that care and want to be a part of our lives and enjoy the time with them that I have.

I use to watch this woman on TV - she is a preacher and shoots straight from the hip - her name is Joyce Meyers and I really like her style, but have to admit that I haven't listened to her in a while (my bible study has fallen off in the last year and that is bothering me at the moment - I know the answer and I have no excuses). She is really based in scripture, uses humor but calls things as they are. I have learned a great many things from her over the years - but one comes to mind right now ... if you complain about the things you have (like having to clean your house, or visits from family) then what you are really doing is complaining about a gift from God as he is the one that provided that house for you to clean. So with a thankful spirit I am off to dust and change sheets and clean bathrooms because at least I have them to clean!

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just life ...

It's been a little while since I've posted - nothing huge going on around here ... just life in general. Garrett has been struggling with teething. He is getting in 4 at once and was so completely miserable (despite everything I tried, and trust me I tried everything I could think of) he was simply unable to sleep ... thus nobody slept for a little over a week. He finally got them through and is sleeping and thankfully so am I (it's hard to not sleep when pregnant and old :). I am hoping to get started walking again so I can stay in relatively decent shape during this pregnancy. Despite how much I enjoy walking I had to go to survival mode when I got no more than 1-2 hours at a stretch for over a week.

We're also getting ready for his first birthday. It is Saturday (7/01) and we are having a family party at the house. Mom and dad & Kevin and Amy are coming in from Atlanta and KP's family is coming over - we'll have about 14 people here if everyone shows. We decided to splurge and get him a swing set for the back yard as his gift from us - mom and dad gave us a little money on it as well so that really helped. SOOO all weekend KP was outside trying to assemble this thing - he is rather handy and it is becoming increasingly apparent that it probably should have taken a carpenter to put it together. But it will be done by the weekend. I know he won't be able to use most of it for a while, but we thought the bucket swing would be fun for now - he loves them at teh park.

Brother and Amy are closing on their house this week in Atlanta. I have been struggling with keeping my big mouth shut as I see them potentially making a huge mistake. She wants to stay home and they bought a really expensive house downtown(she grew up downtown Atl and thus really wouldn't consider any other place) and don't see that they can't afford it on just his income (despite what everone has pointed out). They are also making a huge mistake with their mortgage - they are doing a second up-front when they don't have to and that is the craziest thing. He asked my opinion (kind of) and I gave it and he continued to defend his decisions so I told him that he was an intelligent adult and he would make the right decisions for his family and stopped saying anything at all. I see the brick wall they are about to run into (her having to work full-time to help pay this mortgage when they didn't have to do that) but part of growing up is having to figure out how to get yourself out of situations you don't want to be in and this is where they are and it just isn't my place to say anything. Next I will have to resist doing the "I told you so dance" when they figure it out but I know I could never say a word - he is grown and I have to realize that. I guess KP's right - mom and I really don't see brother as an adult but as a big kid ...

Well, I should run. Will post more soon ...

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where I have been

I found this link from Melissa and thought it was neat - here's where I have actually been (not just driven through). Guess I have a large chunk of the country still left to visit.

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http://www.world66.com/myworld66/visitedStates/statemap?visited=ALAKAZARCACOCTFLGAHIILKYLAMAMSNVNMNYNCOHORSCTNTXVAWA

We have a date ...

I just got back from the dr's office for my second ultrasound and we have a date ... the baby is 7 weeks old today and the due date is January 19th. However, since we will be inducing a little early we will get to meet this little on probably somewhere between January 10th-13th. It was so wonderful to see the heartbeat today. It really makes it real for me - not that I was in denial but I was able to be more detatched as I hadn't seen it as a real live baby yet and today I did. It is simply a miracle - I can think of no other way to say it other than a miracle. How 2 little cells get together and multiply to form bones and organs and a heart and a brain and this little person grows inside your body and then comes out just perfect - it is just a miracle. I am in awe that I get to participate in this again and very very thankful. I am also very very thankful that it is just 1 little person in there - I started getting a little nervous when the dr was talking about how the incidence of twins increases for "mature" mothers (aka old mothers). I think 2 babies that are 18 months apart are just enough for me - I am just hoping I can keep up if I am honest.

Garrett is just growing and developing and turning into a little boy more every day. He did the funniest thing the other night - we were bathing him in the sink in the kitchen (I will refer to the old status of his parents and their preferring to delay bending over a tub for as long as possible) and KP came up behind me and I turned to him. I only looked away for a few seconds and when I looked back Garrett had grabbed a bunch of bananas, ripped 2 off the bunch and was starting to gnaw on one. Now seriously I only looked away for a few seconds and I was RIGHT in front of him and he pulled this off - I swear he knows when I am not watching and capitolizes on that. Anyway, he had just eaten so I really didn't see how he could be hungry but thought 'hey, if he wants a banana I'll let him have a bite of a banana' - he ate almost the entire banana while sitting naked in the sink with this huge grin on his face and dancing the whole time. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen! Also it hit me yesterday that he really is walking and not just "trying" now - really it hit me when a couple of other moms asked me when he started walking and I realized he really was doing it. We went to the Zoo and let the kids (all babies in our playgroup) play in the dancing water play area for kids and he kept standing up and taking many steps to the water coming up out of the ground (he had a total ball by the way and played in taht water for about an hour). So I guess I have a walker.

Well, I will run - I am craving a tomato sandwich like nobody's business and since I hit the farmer's market this morning I have some ripe tomatoes waiting for me downstairs.

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