Crabby Mama

The title refers to two different games we have been playing lately. First and foremost the girls LOVE the Name Game song. They make us sing it with every name we know on an almost daily basis. It is the CUTEST thing to hear Erin mumbling under her breath while she plays, “Mommy-Mommy-bo-Mommy.” And Leah has gotten VERY good at manipulating the beginning consonant of each name and replacing it with the B, F, and M sounds. In the education world, that is something they test for. So it’s fun, funny sounding AND a great learning tool!

On the other hand, Mike and I have been playing the Name Game with boy names. He was shooting down everything I came up with (don’t even remember what they were now). And I could not get used to the idea of Benjamin again even though it was our pick for a boy with Leah. Other ideas were Isaac and Levi, but I did not like either one as a first name. Mike was pretty stuck on Austin (or *ust1n as he wanted to spell it) but I was not so sure. I decided that I did not want anything more than 2 syllables or anything that started with L or E. So we hunted some more. Then we came across a name that we both kinda liked and no one vetoed right away. So we sat on it and thought. We tried it out by calling the baby by name on occasion and telling very few people to gauge reactions. As of now, we are still happy with it and are ready to share it with the world. Say hello to…

Adam Levi Gallers with the curly hair and big foot (as drawn and interpreted by Leah)

Please don’t make us anything with this name on it quite yet. We are still living with it day by day, but we are pretty sure it will stick.

Also, here are a few pics of Erin’s new bed/bedding/paint in her room. On the high walls, we did a solid color on the bottom of the wall and a series of rectangles on the top half. Each high wall had the same design but a different color pattern.

The corner with Erin’s bed and the bedding against two of the colors.

Closet wall with doors painted too.

Erin playing with books before bedtime

HOLY COW!!! That is what I have to say of this past week. Hive was so much fun and the kids really had a blast. BUT it took a lot out of us. I think every single person who attended went home with a little present – some kind of sickness. For some it was pink eye, others had a nasty head cold, the coughs abounded in our house, and we had one reported case of croup. In spite of that, it was worth it. The kids swam, water-slided, played with bubbles, played in the sandbox, traced and colored their bodies on butcher paper, and entertained themselves in the Donald’s barn-themed playroom. Leah even got the courage to go down the adult water slide and had a blast.

The adults swam, water-slided, played poker, grilled, made s’mores on the fire pit, and bowled. I did not even take my camera out of the bag the entire trip. Nikki, Keri, and others took on that job and got some great ones. See Keri’s blog for a link to the photos.

Sunday night, we headed down to South Florida for some quality time with Mike’s parents. The first day we went to Quiet Waters Splash Adventure Park and of course I forgot my camera. But the girls had a fabulous time with Nana & Papa. That night and the next day there were AWFUL thunderstorms so we had to find an indoor activity. Nana discoverd a place called Young at Art, an interactive children’s museum. The kids got to make jingle bracelets, rubbings, make origami, and recycle bottles. We had a good time.

The night before we came home, Mike and I got the chance to go to BASH, with executive chef and owner Nikki Pettineo, a high school friend of Mike’s. As unassuming as it was from the outside, the food was fantastic! Seriously, if youare ever near Sunrise, FL stop in and have a bite and tell Nikki we sent you! I had chicken, goat cheese, and spinach ravioli and Mike ate Parmesan-encrusted snapper. It was also a gathering of good friends which made it even more fun. Thanks to Nana & Papa for babysitting for us!

Every night both at Hive and in SoFL was a struggle. Leah had a coughing fit EVERY night for almost an hour. She also had one at the bowling alley and threw up. I caught it in my hands. Only a mother could do that. We almost stayed another day but I could not face another night away from home. So after a 13 1/2 hour trip, 5 or 6 stops, and one speeding ticket, we made it back to our house at 9:30pm last night.

We made it home just in time too because Gavin Maddex was born last night at 12:30am. Laurie did a great job and although I only saw him through the nursery window, he looks adorable and I can’t wait to snuggle him. Anyway, I have the other Maddex boys with me today and Leah was super happy to see Ian this morning but super disappointed when he had to go to summer camp for part of the day. After I picked him up, I took the boys to the hospital to meet their new brother who of course was in the nursery while we were there. figures.

We are home for a week, then Mike and I fly to New Orleans next Wednesday for our Theriot cruise to Cozumel. I cannot believe that summer will be half over by the time we get back. I LOVE being busy!

Lots of people ask me what the Hive is. Basically it is a reunion of old friends that we try to attend every year. If you would like to read an in-depth history of the Hive, here is Hive member Keri’s account of the past 5 years.

Today we went swimming with our Hive friends. Annabelle just recently learned to take a breath while swimming.  So we challenged Leah to do it. She ended up being able to swim all over the pool, even into the deep end all by herself. She could pick up her head to breathe and then keep going. Mike and I were so inbelievably proud watching her.

Erin did well too. She wore her floaty suit and we were able to let her go and she kinda floated around and did her own thing. We were always at her side but she loved being able to get around on her own.

Day 1 of Hive was lots o’ fun and we can’t wait for the water slides tomorrow!

I can’t tell you how cool it is to have 1st time pregnant women come to playgroup events. They don’t have any kids but they come anyway to get to know other moms. They get plenty of advice, get hang out with kids of all ages, and have a group of ready-made friends when they are ready to get out and about again. I wish I had had access to this when I was pregnant with Leah. Some of the ladies I met are awesome and I can’t wait to meet their babies.

Speaking of which, I planned and hosted out playgroup’s Summer Babies Baby Shower. It was agreat success. All of the other ladies brought a wrapped present and the pregnant moms got to pick one out and do like a steal game with them. Then I made calendars for each of them to record milestones. They were so happy so receive anything and so grateful. It was really nice.

I know I said this before, but I am so glad I found this group and became an active part of it. It allows me to think outside the Mommy box for a while and use the planning skills I developed as a teacher. If we end up moving one day, I will have to find/start something like this wherever we go.

All along we were going to keep Erin in her current room and put the new baby in the craft room. But we sat in the craft room yesterday and realized that it has a perfect corner for Erin’s new bed. Her current room does not have any corners. So we decided to switch the rooms. Erin is now going to have the craft room. I was like oh man, I have to paint two rooms now instead of just one. BUT I realized that now Erin is in a twin so she needs new bedding. I got excited about picking it out. Today is the great unveiling.

The pic is kinda tiny. BUT I love it!! I know I posted another comforter on Facebook, but when we got to Bed Bath today it was NOT what I thought. The colors were too much neon brightness. So this is the one we are going with. The walls will have something to do with squares with rounded edges, but I haven’t designed it yet.

I was thinking this morning how cool it is that the age gap between Leah and Erin is EXACTLY the same as Erin and the new baby. I try to remember Leah when I was 19 weeks pregnant with Erin and I just have to think about where Erin is right now. They are pretty much developing (mentally anyway) at the same rate. Erin is a little heftier (which will be GREAT right before I give birth), but otherwise very similar.

We both LOVE this bedding.

What do you think? Perfect for us, right?

Today marks Erin’s first day in her big girl bed. We dismantled the crib this morning and moved it out. Doorknob guards had been in place since the last incident. Then we put up some bedrails (I don’t really like them, so I think I am going to order these soon). At naptime I read to Erin in her bed, like we have been doing since we built it. Then I laid with her for one song, like always, and left. She immediately began crying which is not unusual for naptime lately. She has been struggling against naps so badly. After 20 or so minutes of crying and banging on the door, I went back in and “danced” with her in my arms to calm her down. She kept saying, “I wan go out,” but I talked her into staying. We got in bed and she was yawning her head off. She would mumble, “Mommy…” every minute or so but that’s it. Eventually she dozed off with me next to her and I crept out of that bed so carefully. That thing is creaky, lemme tell you. She slept for about an hour! So first nap was successful.

Tonight we did our usual bedtime routine and I left her after one song and reminding her repeatedly to stay in bed. It took about 20 minutes of singing and talking to herself, but I am happy to say that I hear no noise from her room. In fact, I just went to check on her and she is sleeping peacefully in her big girl bed.

Wow, no one is in a crib in my house right now. It is sitting behind me in the old craft room all assembled but bare. That’s what I should be doing tonight, looking for BOY bedding!!!

PS While writing this post, I sneezed and peed my pants. I had to go change in the middle of typing. How ridiculous is that?!?