Yoga and Extra Strength Tylenol. . . seriously?!

I called my nurse today about the pain in my lower back and beyond, and she confirmed what I already Googled... a pinched Sciatic Nerve. The answer? Extra Strength Tylenol and maybe a little Yoga to try to get the baby to move around a little. So... be honest and raise your hand if the thought of me doing yoga just made you chuckle. Me too.

Notes from the Couch

Remember my horrible Monday? It was a terrible no good very bad day on one hand, but it was pretty profitable day on the other. Since things were already a miserable mess by the time I kissed Alex and Olivia goodbye, I figured I'd take out all my frustration on all the things that needed doing around the house (instead of the cute little fuzzy headed paci-loving spaghetti boy that was attached to my leg). So I went full gusto and did a complete house-cleaning top to bottom until it was d.o.n.e DONE. . . so today I'm sitting on the couch on a heating pad with a pulled something in my lower back munching on the crumbs at the bottom of the Doritos bag and sipping a Pepsi. . . and suddenly I remember THIS is why I don't clean the house top to bottom in one day.
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Yesterday I went to the library and reluctantly turned in my overdue copy of The Strong Willed Child by Dr. James Dobson (along with a can of sauerkraut I fished out of my pantry.... LOVE food for fines month!!). That was a really good book. If you have a strong-willed child, you can understand how relieved I was to finally hear a voice out there who simply acknowledges that these children exist! Ahhh! You always feel like some snarky eyeball is shooting beams of judgment on you for being a slacker mom who never disciplines her kiddos when the truth of the matter is that you plop in bed at night utterly exhausted because you ARE. I was so happy to have read that book.
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I did pick up Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. Maybe I should read the whole thing before offering a review, but I did want to share this little snippet that nicely sums up some recent personal thoughts.

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  "Regretfully, many parents today are victims of information overload. When they're expecting, they read magazines and books, do research, scour the Internet, listen to friends and family and specialists of all sorts. These are all valuable resources, but by the time the baby comes along, new parents are often more confused than when they started. Worse still, their own common sense has been drowned our by other people's ideas. Granted, information is empowering. . . every baby is an individual, and so is every mum and dad. Hence every family's needs are different. What good would it do for me to tell you what I did with my own daughters?"

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I thought to myself YESSS!! You know the picture of the little devil on one shoulder vs. the little angel on the shoulder? Sometimes I picture a little laid back attachment parent mommy on one shoulder and a strict card-carrying Ezzo mommy on the other. "Let him graze" says one "If you want to raise a cow, let him graze; if you want to raise a disciplined and productive MAN you better make him sit and eat a square meal" says the other. Aggghhh says me.

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Information overload is right. Don't get me wrong, I love gleaning insight from other moms whom I respect, and I think that we should definately learn from one another. I just think that my children might benefit more from a mommy who takes to time to know them and understand them rather than looking for the next great trick of the trade.

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With the third baby on the way, I'm still trying to figure it all out. This time around, though, I want to have a quieter heart in the process. Less fear about not doing it right, and more rest in God's grace and help. At the end of the day the issue isn't so much about whether little buddy ate all his carrots. Deep down in her heart, mom just needs to know God still loves her and delights in her no matter how Battle Carrots went down.

According to Olivia . . .

Olivia and I had to go upstairs to change our clothes after a little juice spill today. She asked me if I was going to wear shorts and a short sleeve shirt just like her so we can be matching. I told her that my shorts don't fit anymore because my tummy is getting SO BIG. Olivia looked at me with her wide eyes and said "Mommy, you're going to have to start wearing daddy's clothes!

This is my Monday so far... How's yours?

Last night the church celebrated Pastor's 20th anniversary with an all-you-can-eat cookie buffet afterglow. Is there such thing as a cookie hangover? If there is, we all have one today.

5:30 am. . . AJ is up and asking for spaghetti.

5:45 am. . . Olivia comes downstairs and scowls at both of us.

5:50 am. . . First fight of the day over who has a better seat on mommy's lap while watching Little Einsteins.

6:00-7:00 am. . . Mommy cannot leave anyone's sight to do ANYTHING lest a complete meltdown take place.

7:00 am. . . Olivia eats some cereal. AJ is still asking for spaghetti.

7:30 am. . . Olivia and daddy head out the door for church/school.

7:35 am. . . Mommy makes spaghetti for AJ

8:00-11:00 am. . . blurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr (though somehow the dishes got done and all the laundry put away and my room dusted and all the toys in the living room picked up... is there such a thing as "auto-mom"?)

11:00 am. . . Olivia and daddy home for lunch. Olivia reports that she did not get a Skittle in school today.

MMMMM!!!! Spaghetti for breakfast! Some battles aren't worth fighting.

Sugared Pecans

• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbs water
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 oz pecan halves
• 1/2 c sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 325


2. Put sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a plastic bag. Shake to mix


3. Beat egg, water, and vanilla in a bowl until foamy.


4. Add pecans and coat well.


5. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pecans to cinnamon mixture. Seal the bag and shake until well coated.


6. Bake on a baking sheet lined with crumpled, well greased aluminum foil for 30 minutes. Stir pecans halfway through baking.


7. Let cool completely before serving!

If you love the chewey pecan crust on a pecan pie, you'll love these!

The Polls are Open!

The "Middle Name for Little Clara" poll went up a few days ago, so be sure to cast your vote! We like to consider the meaning behind the name as we sift through all the possibilities. Also, the first name needs to sound good in both Spanish and English. AJ was the exception to that rule as his name is literally pronounced "Ah- Hota" in Spanish. Oops. Anyways, back to Clara which means "Bright, Clear". That is settled, but her middle name is still up in the air. Olivia's middle name is Faith, so we are thinking Joy or Grace to keep with the fruit of the spirit theme. Evangelina means "bearer of good news". The name Clara Evangelina actually flows a little better in Spanish than it does in English, but I really like the meaning. Our desire for all our children is that they live lives worthy of the Gospel; to have a clear, bright testimony that shines such Good News before our world. So there's the rest of the story... gotta go check on my pound cake!

While I Was Out. . .

Alex took today off, and one of our church members, Abelardo, wanted to come over and make a shrimp cocktail (a tomato based chilled soup with all sorts of stuff floating in it). They actually went down to a local island to pick up the fresh seafood.

I thought that they were just going to make the shrimp cocktail, but when I came home from my OB appointment this pitiful guy was sitting on our kitchen table.

Sure, I could have complained that there aren't enough Yankee Candles in Charleston to cover up the smells that now permeated every inch of our home, but they were so proud to be eating something that still looked mad about being caught and cooked... so I held my peace...and since my wonderful husband already told Abelardo that the Mrs. won't be eating the seafood (especially shrimp), today was a good day to opt for a $5 Hot-N-Ready.

Pregnancy Notes: I feel like I've been pregnant FOREEEEVER. Did you ever have a pregnancy where you felt more impatient (about being pregnant =) than others? Uggh. As I sat in the waiting room, I looked at the "really" pregnant ones around me and felt a slight pang of jealousy. Sooo ridiculous. Probably not as ridiculous as daydreaming about about the OB entering the office with my chart and telling me she has been wrong this whole time... that I'm really due in October, not January. No such luck. Maybe it's because I've passed the 20 week ultrasound mark (a landmark I always look forward to), I'm still on monthly appointments, and the nearest thing I have to look forward to is the glucose test. Yuck. I've also had to completely transition to maternity clothes. (Stephanie... I saw those eyes roll!!) In the past, I needed a few maternity shirts and at least one trusty dress/jumper for the last month or so. Those days are long gone. This is baby #3.

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Speaking of baby #3... someone recently asked me if I had a theme for this baby. . . You know, ducks, lambs, polka-dots, transportation, daisies, the seven wonders of the world...I had to laugh. Having a theme for baby #3 never really crossed my mind. Olivia had a theme. AJ had a theme. I guess that somewhere in my thinking I figured that Clara was going to have what Olivia had-- and for the most part she will. However, I've been thinking about this. I do have a practical side, but I also want to keep some hand-me-downs reserved especially for Olivia, spruce up some that she can pass along, and have a few new things that are unique to Clara. When they go their separate ways and start their own families, I want to be able to pass things along to the girls without one or the other thinking "mom, uhhh, where's my stuff??!"

Rain Rain, Go Away

Hurricane/Tropical Storm Hanna is now behind us. Whew! I really agonized over this one. Seriously. Earlier in the week, some weather forecaster somewhere had the mentioned the word "Hugo" (a very big hurricane that devastated the low country), and that's when my stomach began to churn. I can go without power for a day or two, but I'm not survivor woman! We thank the Lord for delivering our area from any serious weather on the night she was supposed to hit. The power never even went out! Even better, the next day was so beautiful you would have never known we were all gearing up for a hurricane just a few days earlier, so we went downtown to Waterfront Park to let the kids play in the fountain and "see the water".

A RARE moment at the park... AJ and Olivia holding hands! (He doesn't let her get a hold of him too often-- and I don't blame him!)

My Little Teacher

Olivia is really into the whole school thing right now. Yesterday, she told me that she was going to tell me a Bible Story....

[Mommy is sitting attentively and listening to this entire monologue]

Olivia: Today I am going to tell you a Bible Story

You don't talk. I talk. If you talk you won't get a skittle.

Stand up. Now we're going to sing head and shoulders knees and toes. [Begin singing]

Sit down. Now don't talk. I'm going to tell you a Bible story. You don't talk.

My name is Mrs. Z... [name of her teacher]. Don't talk. Stand up. Now sit down.

Today I'm going to tell you a story about God is Not Happy with the Little Child.

[Hmmmmm....]

I can't wait to hear tomorrow's story!!

Lest you think I'm blogging because the kids are sleeping and I'm completely caught up on the zillion things that have fallen by the wayside in this house... let me just say HA! I'm blogging because I cannot stand on my feet for one more minute. This of course makes me a little nervous to know how I'll be feeling when the child within weighs more than a mango.
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So, how is little buddy keeping himself busy while sister is away at school?? He found my Sports Ball Wilton Cake Pan Kit, and got a bit creative!!