Knowing Lil was flipping out about today's impending changes, we headed to Target last night in search of something--anything--to make the transition easier for her. She rather quickly fell in love with the bedding, Brien found some polka dotted flannel sheets (knowing how much Lil loves soft things), I found the lamp and a cool green throw rug, and then, we found the vinyl dots. PERFECT!Lily helped move items, shift things and in general get her "new" room organized. Then, she helped me "dot" the wall. She calls it her "dinosaur wall", although I'm not quite sure why just yet. 
We left the wooden hanging shelf, although I'm thinking it's going to have to go soon. We've got a mirror awaiting movement to our house from Lissie's, and the silly sheep print needs to be moved to above the bookshelf off to the left. 
I swear, that wall just makes me smile! :o)Lil couldn't wait to get into bed for her nap. In fact, she finished her sammich and yogurt, and dashed upstairs and put herself to bed. I couldn't believe it. :shakes head: In typical three year old fashion, she went from one extreme to the other. She had no difficulties seeing her old bed disassembled, and in fact helped us clean it up for the new family. She is now looking forward to helping me decorate Jellybean's room. :o)As soon as we find out what flavor JB is, we'll know how we want to decorate. Everyone keeps asking me if I have any feelings one way or the other about JB's gender, and I keep telling them no. You see, I knew--KNEW--Lily was a boy. I knew it all the way to my bones, in fact. So, when the u/s tech told us she was a girl, I was absolutely stunned. Therefore, I don't trust my gut about these things. ;oP However, with that said, I've been far more ill with JB than I was with Han and Lil combined. I'm carrying this one very differently than I did the girls--I'm much rounder and out-front if that makes sense. Knowing me, it just means I've got another little girl who is going to do things her own way. :oP And, with that said, I must confess I have a bit of an obsession taking baby-type tests. Therefore, I just had to play with the Intelligender test. I took it this morning and it said "Boy". No matter what their website says, I'm not convinced as to the degree of accuracy of this test. It was, however, fun to do nonetheless. :o) We'll see how accurate the test was come December. ;o)
I have bunches of photos of Lil (and Gabriel--I don't know where Ella had run off to) in the pumpkins. I'll load them in a few days. I wanted to hit today's highlights and be done before kick-off (Hokies/UNC tonight!) but I'm not going to make it. I don't even know if I'll be able to stay awake for the entire game--I almost fell asleep reading to Lily this evening. Yikes! 
They had bunches of hay bales for the kiddos to climb all over and Ella and Lil couldn't wait to be 
How sweet are these two?
All three of them together. :o)********************************Brien is in the 'burg with Pop, as it's a Thursday night game and neither Nana nor I are up for the hard travel, or the missed work. With B gone, Lil and I decided to have a simple dinner. She selected squishy (I'm so surprised) and I had spinach and a chicken pot pie (no, not the most healthful choice, but tasty nonetheless). As we were dining, Lily kept eyeballing my spinach and finally asked, "May I have some of your spinach please?" Absolutely! I dished up a small bit and she inhaled it. So, I gave her a nice heaping serving and she ate it all. I was tickled pink, as spinach is one of my all-time favorite veggies. I craved it whilst pregnant with Han. Lily had a much better day at school today. In fact, Miss Tanya was smiling when I picked her up. Hooray! She's settling in again--only to be keyed up once this weekend (and the big furniture move) is over...Meanwhile, I had my monthly Jellybean check-up. I waited FOREVER and the visit took all of five minutes. I'm kid you not. The OB walked in, we chatted for a few minutes, we listened to JB's heart (she found it immediately--144 bpm) and she said, "Okay, schedule your next appointment. Now go away." ;o) I think she knows I'm fairly laid-back right now because this is number three. I truly had no questions, my BP was fine, I've gained 1/2 a pound (I was ready to lay the nurse out flat when she tried the scale at 40 pounds more than my first visit--do I really look THAT big?!?) and I have no current concerns (thank you so much Urgent Care for my H1N1 vaccine!!). She did want to make sure I was taking my prenatal vitamins ("Yes, Ma'am, every day") and mentioned my hemoglobin was great my first visit and she's sure it's fine now but wants to be sure it continues that way. No complaints from me. And, here's Jellybean at 15 weeks 2 days:
Holy moly it's going to be a long five and a half months!! :oP ********************************Today's Sparklies:1. A good report for Lily. Yay!2. Jellybean's in there and sounds SO good! BTW, anyone out there play around with Intelligender? I'm curious to hear what others have experienced before I decide. 3. Nana and Lissie calling to check on us. Thanks, ladies!4. Lil's costume is ready to go. She's going to be--now, I know you're going to be shocked by this--a kitty. She has a very cute Gymber outfit from last year that with some face make-up and a "tail", will make an excellent kitty. :o)5. We received the nicest note from Grandma today. I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but Grandma (Pop's mom) lost a son when he was a young teenager. She is so often in my thoughts, and we in hers. We're kindred spirits, and certainly understand each other in a way those who are not members of this horrible club can. Anyhow, Grandma sent a verse she found in the local paper that reminded her of Hannah:
A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam
And for a brief moment
It's glory and beauty belong to the world.
But then it flies again
And though we wish it could have stayed...
We feel lucky to have seen it.Grandma expressed exactly how I feel with those lines, "I knew without a doubt it was referring to our Hannah." It's so nice to know she's not forgotten, nor will she ever be. No milestones.
*********************
Well, the Hokies got the ball to start (I don't think we've won a single toss this year!), Ryan Williams advanced the ball 25 yards on the first play. On the second play, Taylor connected with Boykin for a HUGE reception where Boykin promptly fumbled when hitting the ground. Oy. It's going to be a looooooooonnnnnnng night.
This was Lil's face when she realized Ella was joining her at the pumpkin patch. Don't you love the enthusiasm? 
This is a corn box, and it was LOADS of fun (definitely more fun than that blasted corn "maize").
I'm not sure whose idea it was, but the corn angels sure had me chuckling. :o)**********************************Well, Bitty slept today--thank goodness. However, Miss Tanya still didn't seem overly thrilled with her behavior, although she did concede it was better. I just wish I knew what was going on. I need specifics so I know what we need to work on at home. I'm not trying to make excuses for my child (nothing drives me crazier as a teacher) because she needs to learn how to behave appropriately, no matter what is happening in her life. However, as Jessie suggested, she's definitely tired. And, as B pointed out, Lil does NOT like change, and there are some big ones happening in her life--including the brand-new bedroom she's getting. She'll stay in her room, but we're moving the guest room furniture into her room this weekend. I KNOW she's not happy as she keeps telling me, "But Mommy, I like my room the way it is. I like my bed the best of all."Alas, the furniture in her room is not nearly as nice as that we're moving in. The guest room furniture will make far nicer "big girl" furniture in the long run. I just wish Lily were more excited about it. So, combine exhaustion with that fear of change and you've got a beleaguered Bit. Yes, it's not an excuse, but it is understandable. She is only three (almost four), and is learning the way of the world and how to behave in it. (Lissie, Jessie, we've been reading How to Behave and Why. ;oP)**********************************Today's Sparklies:1. Lil colored this jacket to match her sweater--the one in the photos up there. It's not too shabby a job. :o)
2. I realized I used to highlight Han's art but haven't done much with Lily's. Check out this lovely sun:
3. Little "Waska kitty" actually wanted me to take her picture this evening. WOW! (Yes, she is still every critter/princess under the sun and not Lily...)
4. I got "Booed" today. How fun is this? :o)
I'm contemplating checking out the site. :o)5. I gave a test today and already have two classes' worth of them graded. One to go. I LOVE not having them hanging over my head. No milestones.*******************************I'm going to go grade that final stack of tests and be done with it! :o)
That should have been the sign greeting us at the corn "maize". Instead, we were welcomed with this:
It all seems so innocuous. 
Corn--lots of it. 
Wide paths on which little girlies can run. 
Finding the perfect "walking stalk" for hiking through the corn.
It all seemed like fun and games until post number seven. Loop seven was what finally did me in. All I saw was this:
FOREVER. We kept circling back around on ourselves again and again and again. Lily became quite whiny and desperate (Jessie and I were feeling much the same and really couldn't blame her too much) and said, "Mommy, we're lost, aren't we?" At that moment, I could have sworn we were. We kept running into the same families and each time we would greet each other with, "Have you found number eight? This way's a dead end." Hopeless, I tell you. I was ready to blaze a brand new trail through the corn. Then, we found it, post eight. The heavens opened and a choir of angels sang. I swear they did. I bellowed out, "Post eight!! I found EIGHT!!!!!" I kid you not, three different families shouted back to me, "Keep shouting!" so they could follow the sound of my voice. By this time, we were all pretty much DONE. There were ten loops and number seven finished us off. There was a group of teenage girls who ran on ahead and I heard, "Nine!" I shouted back, "Keep talking!" So, they did."Marco!"I responded the only appropriate way, "Polo!" Hee hee, "Marco Polo" in the corn. Who would've thunk it? ;o)After over an hour trekking through the corn, we finally made our way out. I thought Lil and Ella were going to weep tears of joy. 
HOORAY!!!!! :o) ***************************************On another note, what do you do when the teacher pulls you aside and tells you your child was defiant and pitched fits every time she didn't get her way, that she snatched things from other students and actually managed to tear one of the teacher's books? After you finish cringing that you have that child (you teachers know what I mean) and finish falling all over yourself apologizing for your child's ill manners, what do you do?I calmly made Lil apologize to Miss Tanya, put her in the car, and brought her home. I remained calm and spoke in a VERY quiet voice and tried to help her understand why these behaviors are not only inappropriate for home, but extremely troublesome for school. I have also told her there will be consequences for her actions, be they positive or negative. Right now, she's working towards earning back a "treat" and some tv time. She's also been told if she doesn't nap at school (a HUGE source of trouble, I'm sure), that to make up for that lost sleep time (which she desperately needs as she still takes HUGE power naps on the weekend), she'll be going to bed super early. We'll see how that works. I'm really trying to roll with that whole, "Let the punishment fit the crime" mantra. ****************************************Today's Sparklies:1. Having the principal's backing is such a WONDERFUL thing!2. Brien cooked again tonight. This is so helpful as I've just been drained this past week.3. All of my students and all of Lola's were here today. Woo hoo!4. The air smelled of crisp, dry leaves today. 5. We were selected to be a Neilson family. How cool is that?No milestones.
I took so many photos yesterday this is going to be a multi-post series. I just couldn't stop taking photos--the kids were so darn cute. :o) We went to Temple Hall Farm, as we (Brien, Jessie and I) had wonderful memories of a visit four years ago with Hannah, before any other kiddos joined the fold. There is a corn "maize", bouncers, playground, pumpkin patch, hay ride, farm and more. The weather was absolutely perfect and "fall-y", warm in the sun with a lovely breeze and a crisp snap to the air. We arrived a bit before Jessie and her crew and scoped things out a bit. Lily was so excited to see Ella, and I think Ella was excited to see Lily. :oP We moved fairly quickly from the playground to the corn box to the bouncer. Holy cow did Gabe-Man LOVE the bouncers! On his first foray onto the bouncer, Lily bounced right on behind him, knocked him down into the legs of another kiddo who promptly fell on top of him! Oops! Jessie was a bit worried at first because, let's face it, Gabriel's still a bit of a "nubbin"--even if he does weigh almost as much as Lil. :oP The worries were for naught as the boy came bouncing right back up with a HUGE grin on his face. In fact, I couldn't seem to get enough shots of his happy face. 
A Gabriel/Lil collision. Oops!
I couldn't seem to get any good photos of Ella--she was SO busy! She had just as much fun as Gabriel, but somehow seemed far busier. 
There were two bouncers, one for the little kiddos and one for the big ones, as evidenced by these two. ;o)
The bouncers were simply way too much fun. ;o)*************************************Today's Sparklies:1. Hee hee! I found some good "Andy Griffith"s on TV Land. Opie's about to be beaten by Helen's niece, Cynthia. Ah, the "battle of the sexes" episode. ;o)2. Brien cooked dinner AND cleaned the kitchen. Woo hoo!3. Laundry's all done. Whew.4. The cute pumpkins we picked up yesterday are sitting out front keeping "Mittens" company. :o)Milestones:I found the trip to the pumpkin patch wasn't painful, as I had anticipated. It was a bit bittersweet, but pleasant just the same. There were fun memories of Hannah, although I missed her physical presence, she was there with us just the same. ***************************************Yes, this is post two for the day. In case you missed my post from 6:00 this morning, I was feeling quite sorry for myself. ;o)
We have an alarm clock that resets itself for daylight saving's time and then back again. Apparently, this weekend was supposed to be the one that "fell back". Someone forgot to tell my clock that congress passed a law moving that fall back date...so, I'm up and dressed and ready to get Lily up at 5:45. BLAH!I really could have used that extra hour. Oh, well. :oP I knew some things were off this morning, but I put it down to a change in programming on NPR. I didn't hear Sandra doing her morning local news report at 6:06, but thought I must have missed it in the shower. I didn't hear "Earth and Sky", but again, didn't think too much of it as it's week two of the "Fall Membership Drive". Speaking of which, it was rather odd not to hear them begging for callers, but I was willing to roll with it--why not? I get so tired of "pledge week"--having made my contribution last week. And, finally, it was odd I was listening to Garrison Keillor's morning poem instead of "A Moment in Time", but again, I chalked that up to a change in programming. :sigh: Oh how I wish I were only just now getting up...The thing is, B is feeling a bit off (no other way to explain it), so was still abed when I came out of the bathroom. The room was pitch black, I grabbed my watch (stumbling through the room as I did so), headed to Lil's room to get her up, looked at my watch, and GROANED. So, here I am now. ;o)We had a brilliant day yesterday, although long and wearying at the end. The pumpkin patch was just as fun as I remembered and Lily and Ella just can't seem to get enough of one another. Gabriel is such a cute, impulsive (hey, what 21 month old boy isn't?!) little guy. I had so much fun watching him yesterday as everything seemed to bring him such pleasure. The best was watching him on the bouncer. (I'll post photos tonight). We had a nice dinner at the "rocking chair store" with the Gauldens and then hit the road for home. Sunday night southbound traffic on I95 isn't too heavy so we made it home earlier than I anticipated. However, Lil was still a wiped-out mess and I'm sure going to be impossible to awaken here in a few minutes. Her final words to me before conking out last night were, "See, I told you we shouldn't go to the pumpkin patch!" Evidence of an overly exhausted kiddo. ;o)
Since we're heading north to the pumpkin patch with the Gaulden family tomorrow, I knew I had to get these posted tonight--because not only will I have a ton of photos to upload tomorrow, I also don't know what time we'll get home, so the upload may take place Monday. As for the overload of photos, I recently figured out I use this as my scrapbook, which is another reason I no longer do so on paper. So, I post all the photos I love and if it's too many, too bad. ;oPLast year began a new tradition of Bitty carving pumpkins with her Pop. Pop and Nana selected two pumpkins this year and Lil could choose which one she wanted to use for her jack-o-lantern. Nana went on-line (what in the world did we do before computers?!?) and found a very cute/sweet kitty template, and we were ready to get to work. 
Pop helped Bit roll up her sleeves and they jumped right in. 
Last year Miss Bit was more than a bit uncertain of the pumpkin "guts" and it took her a while to warm up to the idea. This year, she threw herself in head-first. :o)
It has been quite warm here for the past few days (at 9:00 tonight it was still 77 degrees. It's October 24, for Pete's sake, what's up with that?), and it would seem some of the seeds began to sprout within the pumpkin. I've never see such a thing!
I love watching the faces she makes. :o)
This gutting pumpkins thing is hard work. Loot at the stretching going on there. (Yes, she has some of the tiniest feet I've ever seen on an almost four year old--size 7 1/2.)
And still more stretching.
Pop and I had a slightly difficult time with last year's pumpkin and as he is a very smart fella, he made adjustments and improvements this year. 
The sweet kitty face Nana found.
Lil started off watching from the side as Pop carved. 
(She is fascinated with his new beard.)
(She says it's much softer than Daddy's.)
Still watching from beside Pop. Then, suddenly...
...she was in Pop's lap! :o)
And there she stayed. :o)
Lily's finished kitty ("Mittens, Mommy!") jack-o-lantern. 
He is standing guard over the front stoop even as I type. :oP*********************************Tomorrow should prove to be a long, if fun day. We're going up and back in one day and I'm sure to be knackered by the time we return--as will Lil and B. Speaking of tired, I can't help but wonder if B and I would sleep better if we had a better mattress. Anyone (besides Jessie) out there with a sleep number bed? Or, (besides Lissie) a Tempurpedic mattress? Neither of us are sleeping as deeply or comfortably as we should/could and I'm just wondering if you have either, what you think. ********************************Today was spent running errands, cleaning house, and then sitting on our duffs watching college ball. I so LOVE autumn Saturdays. :o)We picked up Chinese carry-out and had dinner with Mom and Dad and then the great pumpkin carving began. Thank you so much, Nan and Pop for letting us come and crash with you this evening, even though we were all such a tired mess. :oP
I swear, that wall just makes me smile! :o)
