Get in line

I'm in the kitchen pulling out sippy cups for the kids' morning milk. The girls are under my feet like little birdies getting ready for mama to feed them, but instead of the "chirp, chirp, chirp" I hear, "Mama, I want milk mama. Milk please Mama" from Ellery. Molly, who was there first says, "Get in line Ellery."

Molly's first snowman

No more babies...

...or so Molly tells me today. "Three is enough." Then she looks at Joe and says, "Don't put any more babies in mommy's tummy." OK...so...one less conversation we'll need to have with her! =)

Why in the world do I do this to myself...every year???

I love to be crafty and make things. Like I really have the time? Wrong. But I enjoy it....well the idea of it...the buying of the supplies...the starting of the project...but halfway through I'm wondering what in the world was I thinking!?!? Mixes for friends and neighbors, little scrapbooks for family, pictures and frames. I'm even knitting Grady's stocking, which is what I should be doing right now if I'm really wanting to have it finished by Tuesday morning. Next year (yes, I say this every year) I'm going to start much earlier, like April. That way, I might...just might...have everything done in time to really enjoy the holidays!

Solids

We started solids. Well, watered down rice cereal can hardly be called a "solid" but it's not breast milk. This is a bit earlier than I've done in the past, but I'm hoping for some extra help in the reflux area. I've heard that solids make it a little easier, so we gave it a try. The first try it was pretty runny and since we've been doing the Prevacid through a syringe for a couple of months now, I figured he might get the whole rice cereal thing pretty quickly. Not so much. Most of it ended up on the bib and what actually went down to his tummy, came back up in his spit-up right after I laid him down on the carpet...of course! The second try was a few days later with a much thicker concoction. He ate it all, and quickly! Yesterday, not as good, but he's getting the hang of it. Not really helping him sleep through the night as some people suggest (I've never bought that theory) but he thinks getting fed is really fun and I'm hoping that he'll someday think his highchair is a good place to be.

Ready for school

The girls are having a Christmas party at school today. They got these sweaters in their advent calendar today and Nanna sent the cute headbands. My babies are not babies anymore. I cannot believe how big they are getting.

And we can't forget about this little guy....who has already spit up multiple times before 8:30 in the morning.

Grady Baby

I just went into his room to drop off some clean laundry. He's totally awake (up from a short nap) and playing with the toys in his crib. He NEVER does that, so I'm thrilled. A few more moments that mom gets to herself...

Merry Christmas

Oh what a happy family. What adorable children, right? Well, this year I considered putting the pictures on of what really happend. The girls wrestling around....Grady spitting up....Molly who couldn't figure out how to smile....Mommy (in her jammies) trying to make the kids laugh....Grady crying....Mommy baking cookies to bribe the kids to cooperate...Molly crying to put her dress back on...That sounds more like the household I know! Thank you Betsy (my friend and photographer) for your patience and ever so fast finger on the camera!

This is my life....

I just laid Grady down for his nap, but started the planning on my way up the stairs. I had to laugh when I walked by my office, decided to check my email, and found this cute little cartoon in one of my many emails. So goes the life of a mom. Now I'm off to take a quick shower, fold the load of whites....

My little sister is getting hitched!

Congratulations Ben and Paige! We are so happy for you. Welcome to the family Ben! Ben proposed to Paige last night, and of course she said yes. Joe's bummed because now he'll have some competition for the "favorite son-in-law" title. Paige...I still haven't seen a picture of the ring!?!?

Why do we buy them toys???

Never fails. We buy them toys (which are not cheap) and what do they play with??? The cardboard boxes, the wrapping paper tubes, plastic containers.... I love seeing them use their imaginations. This is a house. They had a front door, a porch, and bedrooms. They were knocking on the "front door" and inviting people in. Adorable!!!

Goggy's visit

This is pretty much how he helped me out his whole visit! Love it!!!

It's snowing

Yes, it is. A few days ago it was 75 degrees...now its snowing.

We dressed ourselves

Can you tell who has been doing this longer? As you can see, Molly knows its cold out. I think Ellery's just happy to finally wear the raincoat. She lasted only a few minutes before she came in for another layer.

Ellery's Baby Book

Potty training is over. Not because she's figured it out, but because she's no longer interested. My dreams of a few less diapers to change every day have been crushed.

Ellery's Baby Book

She peed in the potty. Twice. Then once in her undies and wanted a diaper. =)

Grady's Baby Book

He rolled over from back to front today.

The Gallagher girls

Laura's trip to OK

Laura came to visit us this weekend. Spur of the moment and what a great surprise! I wish I could say that we took on the town...of Bartlesville, but we pretty much stuck close to home. The kids tend to be a bit needy, especially Grady! Kidding...that's part of the job, right? Laura was such a great help. Fantastic with the girls and always ready to hold the baby, even when he was crying! We did get a few quiet moments to talk about life. You know you have a lifelong friend when you can just jump right back in where you left off the last time. Thanks for coming Laura!!!

80 degrees again today

What is with this weather??? From day to day it can change by 30 degrees! The other day it was 50, today its 80. Luckily I don't get far from the confines of my house because dressing 4 people for the shift in temperature is getting challenging...especially since I put away all the summer clothes. It is November, right?

Our Picasso

This morning, our little Picasso Ellery decided that our nubuck leather ottoman need a little face lift. So she used daddy's pens, in a variety of colors, to decorate it. After a few scrubbings of special leather care soap, I've decided that its probably not going to come out. (If anyone has any tricks, I'm all ears!) A bit later, when asked what went wrong this morning, Ellery replied, "I cried and mommy got soap on the chair."

A Cleaning Lady

No, actually, not me! I just had, for the first time ever, someone else clean my house. Well, my bathrooms, really, and dusting (I never dust!). It was really weird. Someone else cleaning up our dirt...my dirt, ewe!!! I'm trying to let go of things, (you'd think this would be something very easy to let go of) but its hard for me. Plus, hey, shouldn't I be able to clean my own house? Anyway...for the next few months, she's going to come every other week and help out. I'm sure I'll be hooked after I get over the fact that someone else is going to see some dirt in the house! Next thing you know, I'll be sitting on the couch all day eating bon-bons!

Halloween

AAAahhh, the holiday I always dread. You see, I'm not much of the "dresser-upper type." Never have been, never will be. Luckily, my children love it! Well, the girls do anyway... It's almost an everyday occurrence here. This year, when I dug the costume bin out of the attic it was a bit of a dilemma for me. Both girls fought over being the ladybug. Molly was the lady bug last year, so does she get it again or is it Ellery's turn? I had an extra costume Ellery's size, so decided that Molly's a ladybug again. (BTW...this picture doesn't do the costumes justice. I'm ready to get them dressed up again just for a re shoot!) But, Ellery didn't not want the costume. About Sunday (after a few days of talking up "cookie monster" I finally realized the 2 year old is going to win, so where, in Bartlesville, do you shop for a costume? Well...Walmart...but not because I would choose that store, but really, that's all there is. On Tuesday, after we dropped Molly off for preschool, Ellery, Grady and I headed for the store. Surprisingly (not) there was nothing left. Yes, I'm aware that the day before Halloween is not the time to begin costume shopping! Really, I was hoping we'd eventually wear her down and she'd be OK with aforementioned costume. Ah, no. So, my next choice was to make one. I had the plan, the list of needed items, but...once again...we're in Bartlesville and I couldn't find half of the list. (I was NOT driving to Tulsa for more stores withe a screaming baby in the car, that was just out of the question.) Anyway...we happened down the aisle with the dance stuff...Ellery took one look at the tutu and said, "I want that!" So...a ballerina she is. The second she got the outfit on, she was dancing and spinning, and oh, so adorable! And I must go and finish this post later because (big surprise) Grady is screaming his head off....to be continued! (Later that day) The whole reason he was screaming....drum roll, please...he rolled over! When I went in there, he was on his back, and not happy about it! =) So on with my boring Halloween retelling....

The Pumpkin Patch

Today we went to the Pumpkin Patch with my MOPS group. Don't' the pictures make the trip look like we had a wonderful fall outing??? Well, what they don't show are all the whining and crying that Ellery did because she didn't want to actully walk through the patch. They also don't show the screaming from Grady on the ride there (and home). I was wearing him to get him to nap, so couldn't carry Ellery...although an attempt was made. That would have been a great picture!

The pictures also don't show me begging the girls to just pick a pumpkin because Molly had to look at and examined every single pumpkin in the entire patch and I wanted Ellery to stopp crying long enough to just look at the pumpkins. They also didn't show me trying to lug back a pumpkin in my arms (Molly got a friend to help carry hers), with Ellery holding onto my handing trying climb up me, while I was attempting to keep Grady asleep in the Moby wrap.

Was I doing this for my scrapbook or for a fun fall outing for the girls?

My Little Man

When I found out I was having a boy I had the rush of excitement that came with the knowledge that we were going to have a son. Then I panicked. What was I going to do with a boy??? He is such my little man! I'm in love! So far, he's a mama's boy...

Just a pic of the G-man

g

Love my husband

I already did love him, but today he surprised me! I was in the living room trying to calm the masses when he walked out of the bedroom (at his normal time to leave for work) and said, "I have a surprise for you today." I looked at him, dressed in a T-shirt and jean shorts thinking...you're wearing that to work? Great, do I need to run a quick load of laundry because his favorite pants are in the wash...what? He's grinning and says, "I'm your slave today. I took the day off of work and I'll do whatever you want me to do. I'll put up shelves, watch Grady, whatever you want." WOW!!! I'm sitting on the floor (changing a diaper) in shock. He told his boss yesterday that he's talking the day off so that he can stay married longer. Despite the weekends, his honey-do list keeps growing. So...we're hoping to get some projects done that have been hanging over our heads. Tuesday is a great day to do them too, because Molly's at preschool, so there's one less kid to worry about. Joe just took the girls to drop Molly off and Ellery to Lowe's with him...Grady just went down for a nap (I hope), so I'm going to jump on the treadmill while there is peace in the house...

Ellery cracks me up!

Like I said last post (which, yes, was about a half hour ago), Ellery's not feeling so great. Well, we go up to say goodnight to the girls (like we do every night before we go to bed) and Ellery is burning up and coughing! Fever had subsided since Saturday. So I go get the thermometer, ibuprofen and vicks. The vicks is for a new trick I read (thanks, mom) about coating the cougher's feet with vicks (then cover with socks) and that's supposed to stop all coughing....thought we'd give it a try. So, I unearth her from all the blankets (she's been out cold for a couple of hours), pull out her feet, rub 'em down with vicks (she's still asleep), Joe throws her socks on, I stick the thermometer in each of her ears (she's vaguely rousing), then squirt the medicine down her throat. She rolls over, puts her thumb back in her mouth and is out. We go downstairs hop in bed, chat for a bit, I start to feed Grady when I hear a scratching on a wall in the living room. I look towards our door, and see this pink arm...Ellery turns into our room in jammies, the socks, and her cowgirl hat. Thus begins the monologue....Where's Molly?...Smokee's in my bed, mom...Dad, come get Smokee out of my bed...Smokee's in my bed...(I butt in asking if she wants me to take her back upstairs)....yes, but don't carry me, just hold my hand...oh, its Grady...I want to see Grady...where's the one, mom?...where is the one?...the clock...where is the one on the clock...(running across the room to the bathroom)...oh, its on the clock...i found the one on the clock mom...(I'm thinking, wow that medicine sure kicked in quickly)...just like an airplane...in the sky...(running across the room into the bathroom and back a few times)...just like this...(again with the running)...but in the sky...I'm thirsty, dad...I want my water...I want my milk... At this point, Joe asks me what I gave her, was it speed??? So I hop up and walk out into the kitchen to grab her milk, then turn for the stairs to hold her hand and walk her up and she says, "carry me, mom." She drinks the milk on the walk up, hops into bed and falls right back to sleep.

No mom...

Ellery's been feeling a bit under the weather lately. We've been googling all sorts of fevers with rash and cold. Let me just say, the Internet is a very scary place! Turns out, its just mild hives. So, since she's not 100%, we've kind of excused the whole not eating thing. Breakfast, just snacked. Milk, little sips. Lunch, not at all. Dinner, barely. Dessert, a little more interested. (Nanna sent a little care package with Halloween cookies. I used them as incentive for the girls to finish their dinner.) I was trying to get her to at least eat the cookie, so I asked for a bite, then teased her about having to steal one. She tried to hand off the piece that she'd eaten most of and not wanted to purposely get myself sick, I passed on her thoughtful sharing. Later, I asked her, "Ellery....are you going to finish your cookie?" "No, mom," she says, "you can have it." As I'm cleaning up the dinner dishes, I spy her milk sippy cup in the living room. "Ellery," I ask, "are you going to finish your milk?" And she replies again, "no, mom, you can finish it." (If you could hear the tone in her voice it would help make this a bit funnier.)  What have I become?  A garbage disposal for all the kids leftovers? :)

Grady's Baby Book

He giggled today.

And here comes fall

What? Saturday it was 80 degrees, today it was 50 degrees...and raining...all day! Now that's a fall I'm use to! Finally!!! Long sleeve shirts, jeans, and my favorite black heeled boots! YAY!!! And the jeans actually have a snap waist. For all of you just tuning in, I'm bouncing back from baby #3 in 4 years....well, bouncing is not the right word...crawling, maybe? That might even be to strong. Anyway...all the maternity clothes are finally put away and I'm trying to find my waist. Just another reason why I've been looking forward to fall and winter. Big bulky clothes!

80 degrees today

Will I ever get use to the weather here? It's getting on toward the end of October and I'm ready to get out all the fall clothes.  Inside its nice a cool and the if you walk outside and its 80 degrees and I need another outfit. (So do the kids.)  This makes for lots of laundry, which is on top of all the burp clothes and clothing that Grady poops and spits up in/on (including mine). Anyway...after the lovely severe weather a few days ago, I was expecting to wake up and still have clouds and rain, but no...warmth and blue skies.  I'm actually missing the dreary NW weather right now. I'd love for fall to come when its actually fall on the calendar, not winter! I think its kind of funny that all the "outside stuff" like put-put and the kiddie park all close down for the winter, when its still 80 degrees outside.

Complete hysterical mayhem

I have been asking the girls for two days now to clean up they playroom. Asking slowing turned into threatening. And now the threatening has turn into follow-through. (It was actually kind of funny.) Joe walking through the playroom with a garbage bags, picking up anything he could get his hands on. The girls hysterically screaming (unintelligibly) trying to get him to stop....but still not picking up. I was out in the hall, holding Grady, just giggling, trying not to let the girls see. Will we really throw the toys away?...I actually had to ask Joe as he walked out of the room with the first bag. All I keep thinking of is the dollar signs attached to the toys. On the positive side...Christmas will be cheap this year. We told them if they can't take care of what they already have, they're not getting more.

Grady's new skill

He's having much more fun resting on his forarms, looking around than he is sleeping. So...no naps again today. Cranky kiddo, but so proud of himself!

I'm running again

So maybe just one day wouldn't be considered a lifestyle change. But I'm starting. I tried a month ago, but sleep seemed to trump exercise every time! Today I made it 2 miles. I started a program to get me back to my usual time and distance. It'll be a slow start, but I knew I didn't want to burn out. Luckily I didn't push too hard, because my legs can already feel the usage.

Grady's Baby Book

He's batting at toys.

Tornado Warning?!?!?

I knew this was a possibility when we found out we were moving down here. But when there's actually a warning...kinda freaked out here and of course, Joe is out of town. I'm so not prepared in the event of an actual tornado. I guess I know what I'll be doing today...or as soon as I'm done typing! =) Later today...This picture was taken out my front door (after a full day with the TV and Internet plugged to the weather channel) at 6:30 p.m. I got outside a bit late, but you could see the line of the storm moving over us. Joe's flight is supposed to land in Bartlesville in about 20 minutes...don't think he's coming in. Right now, the sky is pitch black and there are huge lightning flashes every minute or so, it sounds like the sky is falling due to so much hail and rain, and the wind is blowing up to 60+ mph. I'm a bit concerned, but trying not to let the girls see.

Molly's meltdown

Whoa what an evening. This child is great birth control for us. Thinking of a fourth (not now, but eventually)??? Molly's sure curbing those thoughts! We sent her to her room because she just couldn't calm down. She can cry and throw a temper tantrum there, I just don't want to listen to it. Well, it was also time to get ready for bed, so the girls we headed to the bathroom to brush teeth. I came up a few minutes later and Molly is in bed still sobbing pathetically. I asked her what was wrong now and she sobs out, "I was getting ready to brush my teeth but I didn't want to see my whiny face." So hard not to giggle at her! Too cute!!!

Sneaky Ellery

I'm down in the kitchen cleaning up (where I spend half of my time...the other half spent folding laundry) at about 10:30 the other night. Joe's playing halo and didn't even notice what happened. Anyway, I turn around to see Ellery scampering through the living room (passed right in front of Joe) with her blankey and bunny-bun and I said, "um...Excuse me???" Joe says, "what?" I said (to Ellery), "where do you think you're going?" Joe says, "did one of the kids just come through here?" Anyway...apparently she thought she'd sneak right by us, like we wouldn't notice? so she could hop into our bed.

Molly's planning her future

Molly: "When we all growed up, are we all going to live in the same houses?
Me: "No."
Molly: "So when we all growed up, we're going to live in different houses?"
Me: "Yes."
Molly: "But what if I don't want to?"
Me: "Believe it or not, some day when you're older you won't want to live with Mommy and Daddy."
Molly: "But who will I live with?"
Me: "Well, you might want to live by yourself, or you might have a roommate, or you might get married and live with you husband."
Molly: "I'll marry daddy."
Me: "Daddy's already married to me, honey."
Molly: "I'll marry Grady and live with him."
Me: "You don't marry your brother, sill-willy." (smiling)
Molly: "So, me and Ellery and Grady and you and Daddy are not going to live together?"
Me: "Well, no, but we can visit each other any time we want."
Molly: "I just don’t ever want to not live with you and Daddy!"

Cold bums

Ellery brings me her "Care Bear" doll and one of Grady's diapers and says, "Mommy, you have to put her diapers on cuz her bums are cold."

To my friends...

I guess I've never really understood the phrases "you're a sight for sore eyes," or "that sounds like music to my ears," but I'm starting to get it. I just got off the phone with Tami and just hearing her voice was so warm and comforting. (It's only the second time since we moved that we've actually spoken, although we seem to have a great game of phone tag going.) We talked about everything and nothing...just like we use to when I lived there and I almost felt like I was back home. In my life, I have made a handful of "best friends" who have been there in different seasons and places in my life. They are each close to my heart and I miss you all.

I'm here in a new place ("the middle" as Molly calls it...we're moving to "the middle") where I don't know anyone and it's just the 5 of us. I'm so missing my "sisters." Hearing your voices over the phone, reading your emails, seeing pictures of your kiddos...these things make my day! Thank you for becoming a part of me and a part of our lives. A part which will always be there, no matter how near or far we are.

Letting go

Those of you who know me well, know that I'm a bit Type A, so letting go of things is very hard for me to do. Molly, bless her heart, loves to "help" me. So, we folded the laundry together today. She folded all the washcloths (I use them as burpcloths, so there were quite a few) and I folded everything else. She doesn't fold them exactly the same way I do, but I'm learning to let go. I figure I'm just going to put them in a drawer, and pull them out for Grady to throw up on, so what does it matter anyway, right? Letting go. It's a small step, but I've got to start somewhere.

The noise machine

We have noise machines in every bedroom in the house. My attempt to get the girls to sleep longer. Does it work? Only with Ellery and her naps. On Tuesdays I have to wake her up in order to pick Molly up from preschool on time. I can walk into her room with a fog horn and she probably wouldn't budge. But the second I turn the noise machine off, her eyes pop open! The girls are up at the crack of dawn (sometimes earlier) every morning. I have the machines set to timers (thank you for the idea, Tami) so they'll turn off at 7. That seems like a reasonable time (to me) for them to come downstairs. The rule...you can come down when the machine turns off. Do they follow it...nope. Well, on a rare occasion they do.

Molly peeks down from upstairs this morning and sees me heading for the coffee maker. She asks, "is your machine off?"

Creepy, crawly things

Wow, there are all sorts of bugs down here. The spiders are huge, not to mention that some are poisonous. Scorpions, cicadas and crickets, oh my! The bug man came today. I'm totally freaked out about the scorpions and spiders. They've set those sticky mouse traps in every room to see the "traffic patterns" and kinds of bugs we get. That sounds so lovely. Except now, we have a giant dead spider in the powder room that is stuck to a trap. That's all I can see every time I go in there. I surprised the girls haven't said anything yet! Every other day Molly says, "Mom, there's another spider." My vacuum is constantly out just because there is no point in putting it away just to dig it back out again. The bug man said to shake out any clothing that's been on the floor before putting it on...just in case. Also...look in your shoes before you stuff your feet in. Doesn't that sound like fun? We opted for the every other month package from Orkin, instead of quarterly. I'm fine with paying more money to keep the bugs away. They spray inside and outside and I guess pest control is just considered another utility down here, kind of like electricity. Who knew?

I chopped my hair off

Its not very often that my first attempt at finding someone to cut and color my hair is successful. Thank you, Kim (and Betsy for the referral)! I love it! It's also not very often that I'm able to break away from all three kiddo's for 2 1/2 hours so I can get my hair done. Thank you, Joe! Next time, I think I'll go shorter. Trina (my neighbor in Bellingham) cut her hair short and I loved it. It inspired me to cut mine...but I chickened out this time. Next time it'll come off though.
(Photo taken by Miss Molly.)

Ellery the beauty queen

So, I go upstairs to put Grady down for a nap. Ellery was playing nicely with some toys down in the living room. I put Grady in his crib, swing through my office to answer a quick email, when I realize...its awfully quiet downstairs. I find little Miss Ellery, on her tip-toes, elbow deep in my makeup drawers. When she hears me sneak up behind her, she turns around (guilty look on her face) and says, "I all done, I'm getting ready," and finishes with a great big smile. She had makeup everywhere....her hands, face, feet, clothes, the floor, everywhere.

The next morning as I was getting ready, I realized the extent of her makeover. She had unscrewed, opened, touched and painted with every bottle, brush and container that I own. I found this out as I was putting on some bronzer...with a bit of mascara and lip sparkler that was on my blush brush. All I could do was laugh, because she looked so darn cute!

Grady's 2 months old

And he's quite the conversationalist...well, today anyway. We had a lovely conversation this afternoon. This is the first time he's babbled and cooed for any length of time. It's amazing to see him changing on a daily basis...and knowing that soon he'll be walking and talking. My little man. Our lives have changed so much in the past few months and things have been so hectic. It was nice this afternoon to just spend a little time in the moment, laying next to him on the floor chatting away!

Halo 3

Joe's X-Box buddy (Phil-dog) arrived from Bellingham last night to play Halo 3 for the weekend. I'm not a fan of video games (still haven't tried the Wii) but its nice to hear the sounds of Phil and Joe discussing how to save the world. It reminds me of home...our last home, that is. Thanks Nickie, for sending him down for the weekend. I hope you get some needed "you" time! =)

A good nights sleep

For Grady, anyway. For all of you keeping track (ok, so just me) he slept almost 8 hours straight last night.

Monarch Butterflies

I earned my good mommy points for the day, and it's not even 9 a.m. yet. I was looking out the window and keep seeing these things fly through the air (and with the "things" that are down here, its rather freaky.) Well upon closer look, they turned out to be butterflies. I saw a dozen in only a few moments. I realized that this is the fall migration of the Monarch Butterflies, which only happens over a day or two and Bartlesville is right in their path South. (For more info http://www.monarchwatch.org/tagmig/fallmap.htm )

Anyway...I quickly hollered at the girls and we ran outside to see them. (Grady was actually sleeping!) We spotted probably close to 100 in just the 20 minutes we were out there. They were flying everywhere. Not quite like the coming of the locusts, but every direction you looked you could see them. The girls thought it was so much fun. They kept yelling, "Look Mommy, there's one..." over and over and over. Its actually a pretty amazing feat. These little guys are so programmed, that they fly South in the Fall, then their great, great grand-butterflies fly North in the Spring. They can even find the exact same spot where their ancestors were hatched.

Reflux

On Monday I called the pediatrician and persuaded them to see Grady today. Life here has been getting steadily worse with this child. Is it reflux, is it a cow's milk allergy, is the hyper lactation, is it colic, is it just the way things are going to be???? What is going on here!!! This child spits up more than anything I have ever seen. Luckily our first few days here I bought another 12 pack of thick burp cloths because I cannot keep up with the laundry he creates. I go through 2 burp clothes and 2 washcloths per feeding. In addition to my change of clothes and his...let's just say that my washer and drying are in constant use.

One blessing is that Bartlesville is a small town. I can get pretty much anywhere from my house in less than 10 minutes. That 10 minutes seems like eternity when you have a screaming kid in the car. Did I mention that he cries a lot? Well, if he's in his car seat, he's crying. The other day when I picked the girls up, I looked back and both of them had their hands over their ears begging me to make him stop. All I could do was laugh...and step on the gas pedal.

Anyway, the doc set us up with a prescription of Prevacid and we dropped it off at Walgreen's. (The pharmacy at the hospital was out of stock.) Well, when I went to pick it up...Walgreen's was out too. I frantically looked up every pharmacy in Bartlesville (which took about 2 seconds) to make sure they had the meds in stock and ended up at Wal-Mart (again). I was not going to wait another second to get anything that might help him feel better.

Here we are a few days later and wow...life is getting MUCH better. Grady actually fell asleep in his car seat at the grocery store yesterday. I was in shock. The last few car rides have actually been peacefully quite. And he sat in his swing for 1/2 hour while I entertained him folding laundry the other day. These are things that babies do on a regular basis, so normally I wouldn't be so excited about them. But now, I can actually put him down for a second or two during the day. Thank you Lord for creating scientist and physicians and medicine that has helped my baby boy!!!

One room is done...

Ok, so maybe its just the guest bath, but hey, its done. Which is a feat for me considering this house didn't come with any toilet paper holders, towel bars or hand towel hooks. I had to track down the matching accessories to our plumbing fixtures, spend hours researching prices (to get the best deal, of course), order the fixtures, wait for them to arrive, then install them wearing a baby and refereeing two other small children. And I sewed the shower curtain to match the guest room bedding....cute huh??? =) I figured the best way to tackle this house...one room at a time. I've got a long way to go since I stared with one of the smallest rooms! =)

Big Sister Molly

Molly just loves this little man. The other morning, I was getting ready to feed him and he was fussing a bit (big surprise) on the bed. Molly started singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" to him. It was too cute! It calmed him down, briefly, and she was so proud of herself. "He's so cute," is all she says of him. The girls are always petting his head and fighting to put the binky back in his mouth. They take turns kissing the top of his head, usually while I'm trying to feed. I'm so glad that they don't feel jealous of him and how much of my time he consumes. They so love their little brother.

What a cutie pie!

I know I'm a bit biased, but man she is a cutie pie! She went through a little phase where every morning (at about 5-ish) she'd come down the stairs to our room wearing her jammies, cowboy boots, and cowboy hat to say good morning. It was hard to be upset that it was so early since she looked so darn cute! Here she is with her bracelets on, her purse, and her headband (which she put on herself). Love her!

Bye, bye to Nanny

My mom has been here for the last week helping us out. It was wonderful. I'm at the point with the unpacking, that I'm not even noticing all the boxes and bins that need to be taken care of. I was just thinking about using them as furniture. Why unpack it all? Do we really need all this stuff? I've got the essentials out, right? Plus, the movers are just going to have to pack them again next time we move. I'll just save them some time. (Sadly, we did have two boxes that were still packed from our move down from Alaska. They just added a new sticker to the box and loaded it on the truck.) Anyway...she also helped out tremendously with the kids. Although I think she was starting to get the feeling the Grady didn't like her because he kept crying. Mom...he just does that...a lot lately.

Secretly, I think she had fun helping to put things away and organize my house. You know...how its fun to go to other people's homes and clean and organize for them. What? What do you mean? That's not fun for you? (Yes, I know I have a sickness!)

Mom, thank you so much for all your help this last week! We already miss you!! The girls are talking about when we get to go to Nanny's house. And they want to drive there. Apparently they don't remember the 48 hours of "oops" that we spent driving the RV here. Hmmm...I do. Too well. Find a happy place...find a happy place...happy place...happy place...happy...

Grady 6, Mom 5 (hours, that is)

I had 5 hours of consecutive sleep last night. For all you moms out there reading this (and I know there are just thousands! =) you know what a gift sleep is. Sleep deprivation is something that you cannot prepare for with having children...wait a second...is there much of anything that you can prepare for with kids??? My mom tells me she can't remember being sleep deprived with us....maybe the memory lapse is due to the lack of sleep, Mom!?!? I don't know how you can forget this! Anyway...I'm sure last night was a fluke, but it was wonderful.

I am so tired

So, I'm beyond exhausted. This is my third baby. You'd think I'd be use to this by now, right? Nope. I thought I was doing pretty good, until I realized that I was having a hard time recalling simple words, completing sentences and, oh, basic thoughts??? Oh my, Kelly needs a long nap. So I took one today. First time since we got here. I slept for 4 hours with only 1 interruption. Joe had the girls, mom had the baby. It was heaven.

Sam's Club

Let's just say they give Costco a run for its money! Loved it! Wish it wasn't an hour away...but I will go back monthly. I spent $450 (sorry Joe) and didn't even get to the freezer/refrig section. (Ok, so $100 was diapers and wipes for the 2 1/2 bums I have to diaper and wipe...the kids, not mine!) Next time I have to pack a cooler or two to get all the food back.

MOPS

Today was the first day of MOPS. I'm so glad there is a group here. Its at the church where the girls do Preschool/KDO, and where we'll start (and hopefully) finish our church hunt. I'm really looking forward to meeting some other moms here in B'ville.

In other news...Nanny (grandma) is coming tomorrow. I don't know if the kids are more excited or I am!?!?!

My Birthday Weekend

And it was...Joe slaved away on the house at my every request. He built a desktop for my office/craft room...so I'm getting settled there, unpacked a bunch of boxes, took the girls a few times, got up early with them, I even woke up this morning to the smell of bacon and eggs! WOW!!! Molly even got her cake...I mean my cake. I even treated myself to a glass of wine. Joe found the wine and the wine glasses, so why not use them???

Happy Birthday to me...

Today I turned....thirty-something. Yay...for the princess on her Birthday, right? Right! So, no sleep, whiny kids, lots of diapers, cleaning, unpacking, you see where this is going. First thing this morning, though, the girls jumped in bed with a sweet card for me. (I had forgotten it was my Birthday today.) Joe has to work late again, so we'll be celebrating later this weekend. My sweet, sweet daughter Molly has been insisted all day that Mommy get a cake for her Birthday. Apparantly you just can't have a Birthday without cake....I agree!

Grady's Baby Book

He smiled at me today...a few times! Melted my heart to see him react that way. I can't believe he's already a month old. Its been such a busy month, and will continue to be so, I just hope I don't miss his "babyhood."

Where are our phones???

Ok, so not everything is going smoothly. The packing, slow, but making progress. I'll be so happy when we actually find the box that has the phones in them. It's probably in the up-teenth box marked "spices." I feel so out of touch with everyone. My phones are missing, I've lost my cell phone charger and the battery is dead, and my computer having major issues, so I have to take it in to get wiped clean (read: no internet for awhile). So...some of you might be wondering if we're still alive. We are, but just back in the days before instant communication! =) I will be in touch...soon...I hope!

Daddy's office

While Joe's dad was here visiting, Joe took him into the office so Pat could see where he worked. The girls went with them, to give mommy a break. Joe has a beautiful view to the South of green rolling hills from his floor to ceiling windows. The girls love to climb up on the ledge and look down from the 15th floor. (Apparently its true that a person's fear of heights gets worse with age, because now it freaks me out!) Anyway, Molly was over at the window looking out and exclaims, "Daddy's office is higher than anything!"

Our new home

Today we closed on our house and moved in. Well, moved in is a very general term. All of our belongings are on the premises. I've made sure to finish the girls rooms first, then the playroom (game room as they're called here), although somehow? not all of their toys have been found! =) This is a brand new house and surprise, I have projects already lined up. Some major, like putting in a pool, and some minor like installing toilet paper holders, but projects, none-the-less. Will it ever stop, Joe asks? Most likely, no.

My goal with unpacking is 1 box a day. At that rate, I know I'll get done before our next move, but I also won't be disappointed that I won't finish by this weekend. Things will go much slower with three little people to take care of and that's ok.

Ellery wants to go home...so do I

We're still homeless. Hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to move in. Poor Ellery. This morning she says to me in tears, "mama, want to go home." Bless her little heart. With everything going on, no one stopped to explain to HER what was going on. I'm setting up the girls room the exact same way it was in Bellingham, hoping that familiarity will help ease the stress of all the change. Tomorrow "preschool" starts for both the girls, so they'll get immersed right away...and I'll get a chance to unpack a box or two.

Ellery gets into the pool

We at the motel for the second night due to the whole movers being behind. I thought Joe could take the girls swimming this evening. Great idea, until Ellery realized swimming meant getting into the pool. (She's still scarred from the hot tub incident =) Joe and Molly were having a blast and Ellery would pace back and forth on the edge wishing she could be having fun too. Joe kept asking her if she wanted to get in and she would excited say yes, walk over to the edge, look at Joe and say, "no, I don't want to." Over and over and over. Finally, somehow, she musted up the strenght and went to Joe (with a death grip around his neck). I'm hoping to break the fear of water with her because we're putting in a pool and I'd like her to be able to actually get in it! Ellery was so proud of herself. For the rest of the evening she kept telling me about how she went swimming.

We made it!!!

Well, only 10 hours later than planned, we finally made it to Bartlesville. 48 hours straight in an RV...that sure curbed my dreams of ever going on an RV trip. In normal circumstances it would probably be fun, right? The girls did do pretty well and thought it was fun...the first day. By Sunday night we were all a bit bruised and really for solid ground. (Those things sure do shake around a bit while you're driving...while Mario (uh, Joe) is driving! Can anyone say speeding ticket in Kansas??? In his defense, I did bring us across the Kansas border at 3 in the morning, then pulled over to sleep. He got up a few hours later and took the wheel assuming the speed limit was the same as what he'd been driving (not sure if he even knew we were in Kansas). The cop really didn't seem to care.

Anyway...back to my thoughts on RVs. Who's bright idea was it to drive all the way??? Thanks Pat! In hindsight, it wasn't too bad, but I won't be getting into one anytime in the near future!!!

It's what time in the morning and we're where???

In theory, this should all go smoothly and work out as planned, right? I’ve laid out the time table, planned movers and calculated the miles so that we arrive just in time to close on our new home and start unpacking. Well…not going to happen. Are you surprised? I guess I knew this was a long shot to have everything go perfectly. Amy, I should have tape recorded your words. “I have a beautiful baby, healthy children, my family is together…” something like that, right? Well, its 3:30 in the morning on Sunday, and I don’t suppose now would be a good time to call for a reminder?

I have no idea where we are, somewhere between Washington and Oklahoma. All I know is that I'm tired, its dark, I want to sleep, but Joe is driving and I'm keeping him company in between feedings and diaper changes. Is this trip ever going to end???

My Cousin Maggie

Our first stop was in Corvallis, Oregon, to visit my cousin and her girls, Maggie and Hallie. Molly calls her "My Cousin Maggie." I was happy to find out that my Aunt Fran was going to be there too. It was wonderful to see the girls hit it off from the start. Erin and Fran, thank you for a wonderful dinner. Miss you guys!!!

Picking up the RV

We picked up the RV this afternoon and then met my sister to pick up the girls. We had Paige take them out to lunch and play, because I knew I was going to be a mess saying goodbye to my family. I don’t want the girls to see me crying like this. I want them to be excited and look forward to our adventure, not worry about why mommy is so sad. (Side note, I’m not fooling myself thinking I can’t ever let them see me sad. I know that its healthy and normal to cry, especially in these circumstances. I just want them to think of this experience and move as positive) Anyway…my point about picking up the girls. They think this RV is the coolest thing ever. Molly is more excited about riding in this than anything else. We’ll see how long that lasts....

I should have bet

Well, I knew I should have bet against the movers. It did only take one day to pack, but loading was a different story. Come to find out that they packed and loaded 2 1/2 times the original estimation. Yes, I did show them the whole house. =)

The girls are headed to Nanna and Poppa's house and the movers cancelled today. A free day for me??? What am I to do??? The movers seem to think they can pack up our entire house in one day. Those of you who have been here know the volumes that this house contain. I was about to wager with the team lead from the moving company, so we'll see.....If this is the only problem during the next few weeks...I'll take it! Probably a blessing in disguise as I need the time (and quite) while the girls are away.

The Adventure Begins Tomorrow

This is our family's last day here in our house. Although we've only been here for a little over a year, it just feels like home. The movers will be here first thing in the morning to begin packing for our move to Oklahoma. We've said a lot of goodbyes, but I know the emotional ones are yet to come. I cry just thinking about leaving my family and friends behind. (Plus...I've got that post-partum hormonal thing going, too!)

Wow! It's been a busy month. I'm not much of a procrastinator, but I don't know if I'm up to packing our things tonight. I've waited until the last minute, it seems, maybe subconsciously trying to put off the inevitable? I know that good things await us as we begin this adventure. Part of me is holding onto the what we're leaving, while another part is anxious to begin our new lives.

The Doctors Visit

Today was a fun day. We had Doctors appointments for Grady and Ellery...shots! Grady had his second PKU heel prick and Ellery had a shot. Grady went first (Ellery knew she was next) and he screamed the whole time...mostly because the nurse was holding his heel. As soon as he was done, Ellery hopped on the stroller and said to the nurse, "tomorrow, I see you tomorrow, I go home now."

And Then There Were Three...

At 7:21 this morning, Grady was born. He weighs 8 pounds, 6 ounces and is 20 inches long. Molly and Ellery have been asking me to "open it up" for the last few weeks (it being my belly) and they are thrilled that he is finally here....as am I! I will be enjoying my time in the hospital as I begin the C-Section recovery. Dad is happy that there is finally a bit more testostrone in the house. The Gallagher name will live on!

It's 8:30 pm on Wednesday. Joe has been in Oklahoma for 4 days now. We call in every night before bedtime, but tonight our call was later and we put daddy to bed. So, after we get off the phone I'm feeding the girls dinner...yes, late, I know, but they took LONG naps today. Ellery turns to Molly and says, "What's problem, Monny?" (Monny is E's way of saying Molly since she can't get her L's yet.) No answer from M, just a forlorn look on her face. E says "What's problem, Monny? Miss Daddy?" Apparently she had heard me asking M earlier what her problem was (no association to Daddy, just her attitude.) I had to laugh. A 2 year old with such adult words!

In other news, or non-news actually. We're still 11 days away from Grady's birth. Now that my ankle has healed, I'm hopping on the treadmill tonight in hopes that I might start some sort of contractions...anything... My fear is that daddy might miss his birth. How important is that...well, I'm 9 months pregnant and apparently a bit irrational as my main concern is how can I safely remove this child from my womb.