Epic Fish Fail

Chris, Shaun, and my dad went fishing a few weeks ago.  They caught a ton of huge fish and of course they wanted to clean it and cook it and all that.  And of course, I had absolutely no idea how to go about doing any of it.  

So, Chris and Shaun took all of their fish over to Granny's house.  She helped them do whatever you do to freshly caught fish and even put them in a pan so we could freeze them.  As of Monday night, we still hadn't eaten the fish, so I suggested that he cook it up for our dinner.  We didn't have any cornmeal but we did have flour, milk, and eggs.  I imagined it would work just fine for frying fish.  

Only something went wrong.  

We aren't sure what.  The batter wouldn't stick to the fish.  It all stuck to the bottom of the pan instead.  This happened on every single piece of fish.  Finally, The Hubs asked if I had any onion.  He told me to cut it up and we'd have onion rings instead of the grossly prepared fish.  And that's what we did.  Our dinner consisted of fresh green beans, fresh corn on the cob, and onion rings.     Oh, and also some of the crusty fish batter.  I don't think we'll try to cook fish again any time soon.  Both Chris and I agreed that the next time he should just take the fish to Granny's house so she can cook it.  Live and learn!

Fake Spanishing

Jordan's new thing is to watch movies in Spanish.  No, we don't speak Spanish-  but he sure does try.  Yesterday, we finally had cable and internet installed.  It took long enough, don't you think?  Anyway, today Jordan and I were flipping through the channels and he came across a movie in Spanish.  He was thrilled.  

In the movie, a white family was talking to a Hispanic man.  Jordan looked over at me and said, "Mom, I think that man (the Hispanic one) is really doing Spanish. Those other people (the white family)are just fake Spanishing.

Of course, he couldn't understand why I laughed so hard.   

7 Months

So, I'll be 7 months pregnant tomorrow.  I haven't been blogging very much, so in case anyone doesn't know...it's a girl and her name will be Violet Victoria.  Chris and I chose Violet because really, it was the only name we could both agree on.  He actually kept suggesting Twilight names.  Isabella.  Alice.  Seriously!  I love Twilight and all, but I really didn't want to name my girl Bella.  We agreed on Victoria for a middle name because because Chris loves it and we both like the way it sounds with Violet.  Violet Victoria it is!

We chose her bedding the other day and then a few days later the boys and I picked out paint.  Violet will have a violet-colored room.  

The pregnancy is going well, finally!  Things were dramatic for a while, but they've settled down.  My blood pressure has been an issue, but it always is when I'm pregnant.  I finally gained back some of the weight I lost at the beginning.  I won't lie... it hurts to watch the numbers go up, but at least it's for a good cause!  The funny thing is that I actually weigh less now than I did a year ago.  

I really can't believe how fast this one has flown by.  I think it's because of all the doctor's appointments.  I've had a lot more of them than I did with either one of the boys.  That always helps the time go by more quickly.  I've officially graduated to bi-weekly appointments now.  I get to take the yummy glucose test on Friday, and then at my next appointment we'll set a date for the c-section.  Crazy!

Our house is starting to be filled with little dress shoes, headbands, and ruffly shirts.  We can't wait for her to join us!

Meeting Ted and Tosca

Last night, I went with two of my good friends to meet two of our favorite authors.  We drove to Barnes and Noble for a book signing of Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee.  To say we were excited about this book signing is an enormous understatement.  We've been reading Ted Dekker's books for years and I just finished my first "Tosca Lee" yesterday morning.  We were a little starstruck.  Thank goodness the authors were nice!

Here we are before the signing.  We were almost the first ones there, so we had good seats!

It's Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee!

Here are some shots of Kendra, Rachel, and myself with the authors.

Funny thing about this picture... I asked them to sign one of my books for Violet, since Chris had gotten autographed pictures of The Falcons for the boys a few months ago.  Tosca Lee asked who Violet was, and I told her that she wouldn't be born until September.  Ted Dekker exclaimed, "Wow, that's so awesome.  Can I just sign her?"  Ha ha.  A little awkward, but still funny.  I'll have a funny story to tell Violet when she's old enough to understand it!

Violet's autographed copy of Mortal.  As my friend Kendra said, "She'll love it in about fifteen years".  :)

Soccer

Can you tell I haven't blogged in a long, long time?  So much has happened!  


Jordan joined a soccer team.  He loved it...he never had to stay still!  Here are some photos from his first season. 

Baseball

Shaun played baseball for the first time this year.  We found a special needs team and he wanted to sign up.  He had such a good time and we all loved watching him. And he was really good!  He hit a home run the first time he was up at bat!  The Hubs and I were two extremely proud parents!  

I must admit something.  I was so nervous before he started.  I didn't know what we were getting ourselves into.  And honestly, the fact that he needed to be on a special needs team just seemed plain wrong.  I think I've mentioned before that most of the time I'm okay with everything and then sometimes... bam!  I'm right back at square one.  As soon as we met the other team members, I felt better. There were kids there like Shaun!  I think it was a comfort to all of us.  We weren't alone!  And Shaun felt like he fit in.  This was so important.  

Here are some pictures from this season.  We are already excited about basketball in the winter!

On When We Found Out

From 04-05-12...


I had a doctor's appointment last week. I was expecting an ultrasound. Needing one for my peace of mind. I've been so anxious for the past few weeks. Fear had taken over. I went through this a little when I was expecting Jordan, only not quite so bad. I know I'm overreacting. Lying awake at night and imagining every little thing that could go wrong in a pregnancy is not healthy. I know this. And I know that everything is out of my hands. But I still worry. It's how I am. I hate it, but I've always struggled with worry. Lately, since I've been "off my feet", I've had lots more time to devote to worrying. This is not good. My blood pressure is up. I've been having anxiety attacks and sleepless nights.

So, at last week's appointment, I really needed an ultrasound.

I didn't get one. My tear is healed, and I'm not having any symptoms.  Dr H said he couldn't just make up a reason to give me another ultrasound, and that was that.  I scheduled my next appointment and went out to the car.  And then, my emotions took over.  I googled "Fetal Fotos" on my phone and called them up.  Asked the lady who answered the phone if she had any openings that afternoon.  She did, and I scheduled the appointment.  I realize that this was selfish of me.  Making this appointment for an ultrasound that would tell us the sex of our new baby before even finding out if my husband could get off work to go with me.  As it turned out, he couldn't get off work early.  But as usual, he was understanding of my craziness.  His exact words were, "do whatever you need to do to feel better".  


A few hours later, I was in the car with my mom and the boys.  I had no idea that Fetal Fotos is only about 10 minutes from our house.  We all went inside the office and I had the ultrasound.  I had a twenty minute "baby fix" and I can honestly say that my mind was eased.  And then the big moment came.  The ultrasound tech asked the kids what they thought the baby was- boy or girl.  Of course my children responded with an emphatic, "BOY".  My mother, on the other hand, just knew I was carrying a girl.  The tech grinned and told us that grandma was right... "there's your little girl!".


Little girl.  


Not what I was expecting at all, but such a wonderful surprise.  The world stopped for a minute while my brain registered the news.  I was thrilled.  The boys, on the other hand, were NOT.  They wanted a brother.  Things got a little dramatic.  Have I mentioned that I live in a house full of drama kings?  By the time we dropped my mom off at her house, they were starting to come around.  They still weren't happy, but at least they weren't voicing their negative opinions anymore!  I asked if they wanted to surprise their daddy by going to Wal-Mart and buying something girly for him to open.  Of course, we would also buy the big brothers something too.  They agreed to this whole-heartedly.  I told them they could each pick out one small thing for their sister(!) to wrap up for dad.  Shaun came around the corner with an armload of pink blankets and dresses.  When I gently reminded him to pick one thing he replied, "But Mom.  She will NEED all this stuff!".  That's when I knew he was going to be okay.  


We left the store with a sweet little pair of shoes (from Jordan), a set of girly onesies (from Shaun), and Alvin and the Chipmunks:  Chipwrecked (from me, to my big boys).  They chose an Incredible Hulk bag to wrap it in, and we set out for home.  Of course, The Hubs called on the way home.  I told him that we hadn't been able to determine the sex but that the baby was healthy.  He seemed fine with the news and asked me if I felt better.  He was already in the house when we made it home, so Shaun brought the bag in.  Chris opened it and a look of shock came up on his face.  "It's a girl??" he gasped.  Then his phone rang.  It was Josh from church.  Chris answered the phone and said, "Dude, I just found out that I'm having a little girl!"


Hands down, my favorite memory from that day.  


It's been eight weeks since that day.  The boys have come around and accepted the fate that is their sister.  They're actually excited.  Jordan has felt her move.  Shaun says he'd rather not... what 12 year old wants to touch his mother's stomach... but he's the first one to ask how my appointments go or if the baby's alright.  He even has a nickname picked out for her.  Violet Victoria will be " V V" to her biggest brother.  


It will be a big change.  It's so strange to have little dresses and pink sleepers in the house.  We have about 3 more months until Violet joins us.  If her movement in utero is any indicator, she will be a force to be reckoned with.  I don't remember either of the boys being so strong or active.  She'll fit right in!  I guess we'd better start getting ready.  There's a lot to do.  Cribs and bunk beds to buy, things to register for, and rooms to paint.  This pregnancy has flown by.  It's so crazy to think that we're in this season again.  I'm trying to savor every minute.