GAME 4 - Tar Heels T-ball

*Tuesday, 11 August 2009 - South Annex - Tar Heels vs. ummmm... the orange team! ;o) My good friend Meghan and her little girl, Bella came to watch Eden play tonight as well! Thanks, Meg!!!

The Lineup

Yeah... Jaren's pants were a tad too big...

SASSafras.........

I LOVE this sweet picture of Edes!!!

Eden playing first base.

There were two coaches outside of the diamond watching the game and Bear kept pulling his shades down as if to say.... "Ladies.............................." then putting them back on! He did this about ten times to them! Too funny!

Bella girl! Look at that sweet face! :O)

Oliver doing some sweet dance moves for Bella!!! HA!

Eden and her teammate, Megan.

Bella and Ollie

Bella and Eden

"I'm BATMAN!!!"

Jaren just LOVES Batman... if you couldn't tell.................

"I'm BATMAN!"

Arboretum

I took the kiddos out to the Arboretum near Hawkeye Community College today and it was gorgeous out there with the flowers in full bloom!!! We met some friends out there and my friend took a few pictures for me as well. We'll have to go out again for better pics since the sun was directly overhead!

Old Crayons - New Crayons

STEP 1 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees while peeling paper off of old crayons. I used a butter knife to score down the center of the crayon which made it easier to peel off.

STEP 2 - Break crayons into small pieces and place into mini muffin tin.

STEP 3 - Place into oven for 4-5 minutes, until soupy.

STEP 4 - Using a hotpad, take out muffin tin and place onto small cookie sheet. Optional: By using a toothpick you can create swirling patterns on top.

STEP 5 - Place cookie sheet into freezer for 30 minutes.

STEP 6 - Cover tin with towel and turn over onto counter to keep the new crayons from breaking in two.

STEP 7 - ENJOY!!! :O)

Bear - 26 months

Cub Scouts and Fishin' with Uncle Bryan

Well, since Oliver is officially 8 years old, he's now ready to begin the Cub Scouting program! He will start on the Wolf Trail and have a year to earn his patch! He's very excited to begin this new adventure.

One of the electives in the book, is about fishing, which he LOVES to do, but doesn't get to go very often. My brother, Bryan, was visiting for the week from Chicago and so they planned an afternoon of fishing on Saturday. They were going to get up at 8 am and go, but it was raining out, Oliver had gotten up and was pretty bummed that they weren't going. Bry said that if it cleared up, they'd still go before he left to go back home to Chicago. It cleared up outside and Oliver looked out the window and yelled, "It cleared up! We can go! We can go!!". As you can tell, he was VERY excited to go with his Uncle Bryan! He picked him up at about 11 am and went to George Wyth State Park for a few hours. Oliver came home and told me that he caught eight bluegills! SOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!! A few days before, Bry had gone trout fishing and had some in the fridge, so that day mom fried it up and Oliver tried trout for the first time. My mom said that she didn't think he liked it as he only ate three little pieces! When he got home he informed me that it tasted like chicken! HA!

He LOVES spending time with his uncles! He told Grandma Palmer today that he loves his Uncle Bryan because he takes him fishing and he gets lucky because he actually catches some fish when he goes with him! He loves his Uncle Chad because he plays video games with him and he likes action figures! I think it brings both of them back to their childhoods and they love to share that with Oliver! HE LOVES IT!!! :O)

It's a.................................

We had my ultrasound appointment on Thursday, August 6th, and wanted to find out what we are having since I've given ALL of my baby clothes away. I figured that it was still garage sale season so I could find some good deals on infant clothing! :O)

I thought it would be fun to have all the kids come and see the baby on the screen! I think Oliver has found his niche and will most likely be an ultrasound technician when he grows up! Even before the tech could tell us what we were seeing, Oliver jumped in and told us while pointing to the corresponding parts on the screen!!! I could tell the kids were very excited! She looked around and we some some cute pictures of the bottom of the feet and arms and legs and whatnot. We even got to see the baby in 3-D, 4-D... the first one I've ever had seen in 4-D!!!

We told her we wanted to find out the sex of the baby and she said that we were having a boy! I looked at Eden and immediately the tears started to flow. She sooooooo wanted a little sister! She even told my mom that she'd move in with her if it was another brother! I felt so bad for her, but tried to tell her that she will be our only girl and so she will be special! She'll have 3 brothers to take care of her when she's older! She didn't buy it...

Afterwards we met with a different doctor to discuss medications, the ultrasound and heartbeat. She said that everything looked great and that we were still using the December 14th date for the due date. The heartbeat was steady at 140, the same as last time, and he was weighing a little over a pound! :O) Now on to the difficult task of choosing a name.........

BACK ATTACK!

I'd hurt my back over 10 years ago and so I'm used to dealing with chronic back pain on a daily basis, however, I occasionally go through some 'episodes' of horrific pain that usually lasts a day or two at most. Well, this time, I've been dealing with it for over 3 weeks now.

I went out to eat with my mom and her teacher friends at Barn Happy, a cute eating place in an old hog barn that serves soups and sandwiches, and then we did some window shopping for about an hour on the Main Street parkade in Cedar Falls. That night I just KNEW I would be in terrible pain the next day... and I was right. I couldn't even walk! My mom took Oliver and Eden for me for a few days and Janine, my MIL, took Jaren for me while Ed was at work. I couldn't fix them lunch, play with them, turn on a video... heck, I could hardly get myself to the restroom. I called my chiropractor, but forgot that he was on vacation, but luckily he'd be back the next day!

So, the next day wasn't any better. Luckily I still had a walker from my surgery that I've been borrowing so Eden rolled that to me and I used that for a bit. I saw my chiropractor and he said that it was probably 'sciatica... the nasty of nasties', since I was in horrible pain. I have the majority of pain in my lower right side and tingling in my toes on my right foot. Since then, my entire back has been sore and painful because it all connects and overcompensates for the area that is really stressing out! I haven't been able to medicate myself since I'm preggo and so all I've been doing is icing the crap out of it. I've seen my chiro several more times and cried in his office simply because I just don't know what to do. Nothing seems to be working and he then said that it may be a herniated disc, but we couldn't tell because I can't have any MRI's or CT scans at the moment. I pretty much just have to live with it until I have this baby. ARGH!!!

So... it's been over three weeks now, a few days of not being able to move (I mean... it hurt to BREATHE for Pete's sake!!!) and the rest just in horrible pain, severely limiting my activities. I called my OB and said that I just can't take this pain and inability to take care of myself and my three kids, so she prescribed me some hydrocodone and set up an appointment to see a Physical Therapist. The first time I took the meds... it was heaven sent! The second time didn't even touch the pain......... what am I gonna do with myself!?! It's only going to get worse the bigger I get!

August 3rd was my first PT appointment and my PT showed me some stretches that I can do and that Ed can help me with. I'm hoping that this as well as my chiropractor visits will help me cope with this pain as much as possible. I'm PRAYING it does!!! My PT said that my ligaments are relaxing and that my hips are totally out of line because the ligaments aren't doing their job and holding the bones in place. It's common amongst pregnant women, but she said mine is worse because of my history of back pain and that I have had this for so long that my body just kind of gets used to its new position. I guess I'm just a crooked woman... I pray that this all helps. As I'm typing this... I'm in horrible pain all across my lower back. I only want to take my meds when I absolutely need them. I'm thinking I need them right about now. YIKES!

GAME 1 & 2 - Eden's T-ball

*GAME 1 - Tuesday, August 4th - She played in her first game against the Gators (orange shirts). I realized that Oliver never played actual T-Ball. I guess he played coach pitch T-Ball which is a bit different. I took Haylie, who plays on Eden's team, as well as her sister, Sydney and Oliver. Jaren wasn't feeling well and didn't have a nap, so Ed stayed home with him. They only played two innings, with each and every child getting to hit and run the bases. It was so cute to watch all the kids up to bat and some didn't know when to run or where to throw it when they got it! Eden did really well! I lost my camera, so I don't have any pictures of it. :o(



*GAME 2 - Thursday, August 6th - Ed came with Jaren, Oliver and I to Eden's game tonight at East Exchange field at Exchange park. Bry was also visiting from Chicago, so he and mom came as well to watch. We got a kick out of the team she was playing (purple shirts). Whenever the ball was hit and where ever the ball went, EVERY kid ran to get it! It was HILARIOUS! Eden did well batting and even better at fielding the ball! We talked to her about hustling to get the ball if it was near her and she did GREAT tonight! She got several balls and threw them in! Again... no camera... so no pictures, but she DID get her professional group and solo pictures back so I'll have to post them!

Dancin' Fools

My kids LOVE to dance, especially to their KIDZ BOP CD's... as you can see in the following video!

"Poker Face" and Jaren's Colors...

Here is my 2 year old singing, "Poker Face". We only hear it in the car! Too funny!

This is the same night as "Poker Face" I LOVE hearing him say his colors. I especially love it when he goes off on his own... you'll see what I mean!!! :O)

Kid Quotes

OLIVER - "Hey, I can forgive... I'm a Cub Scout guy now!"

EDEN - "Don't you take MY name in vain!!!"

EDEN - "How do dogs get married anyways...???" We were talking about Ed's parents dog, Rosie, and how she had several puppies... I guess they need to marry before they reproduce! ;o)

Eden's First Night of T-ball

Tuesday, July 28 - Since Eden missed her first practice (she fell off some bleachers at Oliver's final baseball game and Ed took her to see a doctor) this was her first night of practice! Her team are the Tar Heels and they were a light blue T-shirt! My good friend is from North Carolina originally and so it was fun to tell her about Eden's team!

She was very excited! It was so funny watching her just stand around and let everyone else get the ball. I must say... she really had no choice since everyone seemed to run for the ball! Of course it is mostly 4 year olds! She's one of the oldest on her team even though it's her very first year playing!

Eden waiting for the ball!

Eden practicing her batting stance!

She's got some good swings! :O)

Fun With Sidewalk Chalk!