Me Don't Want to Gwow Up!!

We had a great Labor Day weekend!  I have a lot to tell you.  But first, we'll start with the pregnancy update:  I am now about 12 weeks.  Woo hoo!  That first trimester is just about done.  I am continually feeling better.  I still have some bad days but they are getting further apart.  The baby hates meat.  I am turning into a vegetarian because all meat pretty much sends me to the bathroom.  The baby does love pasta, pretzels, chocolate & caramel covered apples, pickles and most of all cereal (not all at the same time).  The baby really really hates Steak & Shake.  Today I had lunch at Subway.  I haven't eaten there or even walked in the door there for several years but today that is all that sounded good.  Maybe because that is the only restaurant in town that I haven't gotten sick on?  Or maybe because the baby likes sandwiches?  I don't know and I don't care at this point. 

So, on to our weekend fun.  On Friday night we went to Applebee's for supper.  It was good.  The baby tolerates it.  Friday night wasn't too exciting.  On Saturday, Jason's Mom Sherrel and his Aunt Kay stopped by to see us.  Kay lives in Michigan so it's always a treat to get to see her.  The girls loves Grandma Sherrel and Aunt Kay so they were pretty happy to have them come visit us.  On Saturday evening we went to my cousin Andrea's wedding.  Her and her new husband, Dustin, had a wonderful wedding ceremony and reception out in the country at a private home.  It was a great night for an outdoor wedding.  We all had a great time.  Maleah danced the night away and Carissa played with her friend Tyler.  It was fun and I loved seeing such a wonderful couple get married. 

On Sunday, I was a little sick in the morning which caused us to miss church.  By lunchtime I was feeling better and we ate at Cracker Barrel.  I had been craving Dumplins from there (no chicken).  So I ordered just dumplins along with three other vegetables.   I was served four tiny dumplins and a boatload of corn, a small scoop of carrots, and a little bit of mashed potatoes.  I was disappointed.  Next time I think I'll just say a large plate of nothing but dumplins.  After lunch, we stopped in Hord to see Uncle Craig and Aunt LuAnn.  We had a nice little visit with them and then we headed home to get ready to go to a cookout.

We went to our friends' Deb and Paul's and had a great time visiting with them.  Our girls love playing with their kids and they had a great time, which included a water balloon fight that was very exciting.  And then on Monday morning, I woke up early and headed to Tuscola with my friends Melissa and Penny.  I brought Maleah and left Carissa at home with Jason.  We were school clothes shopping for Maleah and she desperately needed to try on jeans.  We hit the jackpot and found her some really cute things that were all on sale.  Yay!  I had a great day with Maleah and my friends.  I love having a daughter that loves to shop!  And friends that love to shop!  It was a super fun day!

I was so tired on Tuesday morning though.  Oh my gosh, I stayed in my pj's until noon.  My weekend wore me out.  It was fun getting to spend so much time with friends and family though.  My house really suffered for it though.  How is it that the less we are home, the messier our house gets?  Isn't that bizarre?  I finally got motivated around noon on Tuesday though and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned.  I cleaned both of the girls' rooms from top to bottom.  I boxed up most of their summer clothes and put out their new fall clothes.  I brought up all of the 3T stuff for Carissa that I had saved from Maleah and was disappointed to find that most of it was summer stuff.  How is it that two girls born four days apart are always off seasonally on sizes?  Maleah was a lot bigger than Carissa is.  So, I may end up buying Carissa some more new clothes too.  I also did a toy rotation.  I try to do that every two to three months.  My friend Tina tipped me off to that idea years ago and I love it.  I store stuff in the basement for a few months and then when I bring it out again it's like a new toy all over again.  So this time, a lot of stuff went downstairs and a few that have been gone for awhile came back.  Their rooms are spotless and I hope they stay that way for awhile.  Next project:  my closet.  It's time get my "regular" clothes out of the way and the maternity clothes to the front.  Oh, and while I was doing all of this cleaning, I also made some yummy chili for supper and then baked cookies.  Wow, am I the woman or what?  Sometimes, you just have to toot your own horn...

Maleah is doing great in school.  Her teacher is giving each student reading tests to see how much they can read.  The goal for the first quarter is 20 to 30 words per minute.  The goal for the end of May, when school gets out is 62 words per minute.  At the the end of the second week of school, Maleah was reading 79 words per minute.  Yay!  I really want my kids to be strong readers and I am so proud of her! 

Carissa has been doing good.  She is such a funny little character.  She loves to start conversations with these phrases:  "Mayyy-be..."  "So..."  and other things that make her sound much older than two.  I showed her a baby picture of herself today and asked her who she thought it was.  She said "Sis" meaning Maleah.  I said "Nope, that's you when you were a tiny baby."  Then I explained that she started out in my belly like the new baby is now and then she was a tiny baby in the picture and then she kept growing and now she is two.  I thought she would be excited but her response was:  "Me don't want to keep gwowing (growing).  Me DONE!  Me want to be wike (like) this and not bigger."  She said all of this all while giving me a very dirty look and then she walked away.  Wow.  Even her bad attitude is pretty cute all though I would never let her know that.

I have a lot of other funny and cute stories about my kids but I can't think of anymore right now.  I am too tired.  This mama and her baby-to-be are headed to bed.  Good night!