Starlight, Starbright

Every night that we were outside and it was dark Ellie would make a wish on the first star. And every night she would wish for a pet. She vacillated over what pet would be just right. For awhile it was an ostrich, then Steve tried to convince her of turtle, the other day it was birds, but usually it came back to either cats or dogs. And since there was no way I was getting a dog... I started to contemplate getting a cat. Of course it would have to be a kitten, so it could get used to these crazy girls that live here.

Steve finally agreed and after consulting with a couple people (mostly Mom) to be sure I wasn't totally losing it, I decided to go for it. I called all over town and searched the Internet to see where to get a pet and the only place is really the animal shelter. So last Friday I took the girls down for an afternoon at the shelter (the girls just call it the pet store). They had all sorts of options. Siamese kittens, calico kittens, teenage cats, adult cats, puppies, dogs (the girls were terrified in the dog room- too much noise) you name it. I grew up with a calico, so that was the kitty that caught my attention. Ellie liked the gray striped one, because it was the smallest. After looking at the cats for awhile we went to Walmart and stocked up on all essentials needed for bringing home a cat. I got cash and we went back. Since Ellie and I couldn't agree on which kitten to get- we got BOTH!!! Yep, we have two little kittens now. And they really are cute. We are having issues with litter training (I don't like cleaning up cat poop!), so they're locked in our kitchen until we can get that figured out. The girls just adore those poor cats. Just look at their faces in the pictures.

Ellie's cat, the striped cat, is named Daisy. My cat (or Katie's cat, depending on who you talk to) doesn't have an official name. Ellie describes her as being camouflage (only a daughter of a military guy would even know that word at age 4) so I call her camo kitty and so far that's what we call her. If anyone has any better ideas, we'd love to hear them! But it's fun having these additions to the family. Opposite of what Dad said, the girls have actually received a few scratches from the cats. They have to learn to be more gentle, and while the kittens are amazingly patient, sometimes the girls are just too rough. Here are a couple pictures of our feline friends...

The girls love when the cats will sleep on their laps. It is rare since the girls can't be calm around them. They are holding their respective cats.
One day I heard this enormous giggle come out of Sarah's mouth and out she runs with poor Daisy in her arms. You can see by her smile just how proud she was that she could do it. So, so funny.
The cats are fascinated by the laptop and like to sit with me at night while I work. They also find my belly to be the perfect resting spot, which I find amusing.

And there you have it. Daisy and Camo Kitty.

Potty Training

Something very bazaar is happening around here. Katie has decided she wants to use the potty now. Steve has been fighting tooth and nail with Katie the last couple months to get her to use the toilet. Both have been getting more and more frustrated. I decided to let it go, since pushing never did any good with Ellie. So then we had some friends over the other night and I caught Katie with that grunting face. I warned Steve and he whisked her away to use the potty. She took care of business, got a treat and has been doing great ever since. I had her in a diaper yesterday and she only had one accident. She even got out of the bathtub to use the potty. Today was pull-ups and while there were a couple incidents, nothing big. She doesn't need reminding to go, and she likes her privacy until it's time to get cleaned up. I'm really a little shocked by all this. It seems too easy... ? The funniest thing is that she practically has lived in the bathroom the last two days to get her treats. That kid has had more sugar pumped into her little body than I'd like to even think about. I'm thinking I need to get a little more organized and do a chart to earn the treats. But yeah... I would absolutely love to have her out of diapers before Junior arrives!

Hansel and... Sarah

We were all playing upstairs and Katie decided she was hungry. She went down and grabbed the package of hot dog buns. We reminded her that food does not belong upstairs so she took it back downstairs. The other two followed her. About 10 minutes later Sarah showed up with a fist-full of hot dog bun. I knew we were in trouble. Sure enough, there was a perfect little crumb trail from the kitchen to the girl's room. As the bun was in her right hand, there was even a predictable trail of crumbs every other stair leading up to the bedroom. At least she could find her way back, right?

Saturday is a special day...

Today I had the girls help me clean up the living room so I could vacuum. I pull out the vacuum and Ellie asks, "who is coming over?" I assured her we had no company on the way and she asked, "so why are you vacuuming?" Hmmm... Good question! ;-)

A couple firsts and a whole lot more...

Well, a couple new things have been going on here.

First of all, we finally have thrown away Katie's pacifiers. I have been wanting to do this for months, but have been chicken- to be honest. She has taken it better than I thought she would. We can very easily use logic with her and she understands more than I would think a 2-year old should. We have decided to wait a little longer before taking Sarah's pacifiers.

Second, I was pulled over for the very first time on Wednesday. I was leaving playgroup and saw the cop sitting there and was going under the speed limit (or so I thought). Turns out I was in a school zone that had no lights, just a posted sign- so if you didn't read the very fine print on the sign, you got caught. Luckily I got away with a warning. I guess it had to happen sometime, right?

Steve has received early acceptance into Georgia Tech, which is flattering. We're still shooting for University of Illinois, but it's nice to have that boost of confidence.

We had a ton of fun with Halloween, which I mentioned. I forgot to mention that when people asked us where the lion was, we would point to my belly and tell them he was cowardly... hehe. Sarah found her dress today and was excitedly dragging it around the house. I'm amazed at how much they enjoyed dressing up. Usually Katie doesn't like it (she cried every time I tried it on her while I was putting it together... she was afraid I'd poke her with pins, which I never did!) Sarah is going to be like Ellie and loves to dress up. She's been joining in with the girls and wearing "dancing outfits". It's very cute to watch her interact with them.

I went to the doctor this week and everything looks good. I'm measuring right on target and this little baby is as active as ever. I'm actually getting kicked in the ribs as I write this. The only bad news I received was that my doctor is being sent to schooling in December, so I have to pick a new one. Not what I wanted to hear, as I felt very confident in this doctor's abilities. I have made it clear I DO NOT want the doctor that delivered Katie (resulting in serious complications) and he said he'd speak with the other available doctors and pick the best one for me. If only he could wait another month to go to school! That's the Army for ya. I've also started getting heartburn, which is typical for me in the 3rd trimester. Time to pull out those Tums! And as always, I'm just constantly exhausted. I am such a wimp with this baby!

Sarah has started making huge strides in her speaking abilities. She repeats just about everything we say and is doing very well. Some of my favorite words of hers: pup (up), pep (help), kuck (stuck), foof-foof (woof-woof) and baba (baby- one of her favorite words). She's also down to just one nap a day.

Ellie had a haircut the day after Halloween. I had let it grow out so she could be Dorothy, but then we took off about 3 inches the next day. It's very cute and a little easier to manage. She still changes clothes at least 10 times a day and there are some days I get really tired of helping her put away her pile of leftovers on the floor.

I mentioned that Katie has ditched the pacifiers (she told us yesterday morning that she didn't need them anymore... the story changed that night when she actually didn't get it!). She is also much more talkative at night now that there's nothing plugging her up! She has basically dropped her afternoon nap, which is very sad. I would say maybe 2 or 3 times a week she actually takes one. She's still as stubborn as ever and and keeps us on our toes. But in the end that will probably be a good attribute for her to have! We have a lot of fun with her. She and Ellie are happy to tell anyone and everyone that their little baby brother is coming after Christmas. It's fun to see them so excited about it.

Belated Wishes

I am belated in wishing Steve a Happy Birthday on here (we didn't get to celebrate it until tonight) and also wishing everyone a Happy Halloween. It was an insanely busy week with Halloween activities three nights this week. Our costumes got some good use, but I'm sure glad we're done dressing up, doing hair and staying up late with those activities. And I'm glad I can officially hide that Halloween candy and the girls don't know any different. :-) I also put some more on our picture website at steve.elgans.com. You'll have to use the slideshow function to see the full pictures...

Almost Halloween

We went to a Ward halloween trunk-or-treat and how disappointing! We showed up shortly after 7 (we were just a few minutes late because I forgot the candy and we had to go home and grab it), went around the circle in the dark (why did it start so late again?) then packed up and came home- no more than an hour total, and half of that was driving time. Again- thoroughly disappointing. It's a good thing we have parties the next two nights. I didn't even get pictures, it was so rushed. I'll do my best to get some tomorrow. But I am thrilled about the way the costumes turned out. The girls were absolutely adorable!!!

To rewind a bit, I drove the girls and myself out to Illinois two weekends ago to get a break and to sew those costumes. It was so much fun being home again. The girls were thrilled (that first night that kept running in and out of their bedrooms screaming and laughing) and loved every minute there. Unfortunately they didn't adjust to sleeping very well, but otherwise it was a blast. We love being with grandma and grandpa. I did a lot of shopping (had to catch up on my Kohl's) and even more sewing. I was up late every night and spent most of the day sewing those costumes. But it was well worth it! Mom was a huge help and we were able to make the dresses look better than I had hoped. We made a trip to the Children's Museum one day, which was fun. The week flew by and by the time we left Saturday the girls were crushed. Ellie told us that she could stay at Grandma and Grandpa's- we have two other girls, we would be just fine without her. What a cute thing to say! I wish I could have stayed longer and gotten a little more rest! I've been exhausted ever since I got back. That was a lot of driving for one pregnant girl! We're going to try and convince Mom and Sybil to come visit us again soon :)

I am definitely not doing well with this pregnancy. I am constantly tired and frustrated with... everything. This little boy is bringing out some kind of monster in me. I am getting bigger tons faster, my usually glowing pregnant skin is riddled with acne, I get charlie horses every night, my body definitely doesn't handle the day-to-day tasks nearly as well as it used to (aka sore back and body) and I really am just constantly exhausted and an emotional wreck. It will be a very long 3 months until this little boy arrives.

Enough complaining.

So again, hopefully I will get some great pictures of my Oz family tomorrow and have them posted soon. After all that hard work, someone ought to see them other than in the dark! :-D

Creative

I have decided recently that I'm tired of always cooking the same thing, so I've been trying out new recipes. There were a couple from my brother, Geoff, a couple from my mom and a couple that I got off the internet or one of my many cookbooks. I was getting excited about it until I got going. I have tried 5 or 6 of those new recipes so far and it has been rather frustrating. Steve has enjoyed them all, which is nice, since he can be picky sometimes. But the girls and I haven't been nearly as thrilled. I can see why my mom was so frustrated with me- the pickiest of eaters. How frustrating to make a meal and not have it eaten! So far we haven't found any new "family favorites", but there are a couple that I'll probably make again and see if maybe the girls had a bad night or I fed them too many snacks before dinner. I'm hoping that's all it is. I still have many more experiments to go.

I'm feeling much better now with the pregnancy. I went in today (they had to reschedule me from Monday) and I'm at 24 weeks, measuring 23- just as I figured. The heartbeat is still strong in the 140's and the doctor said the ultrasound looked great. Always good news. Probably the fastest appointment I've ever had (I doubt it was over 3 minutes with the doctor) but that was fine with me.

Being in the relief society presidency has given me quite the eye opener into just how hard the Relief Society President has it. I don't know if it's just this ward, but there is constantly something that needs done or a family in need. She's pretty good at delegating, and just what I have been assigned to do has me exhausted. How in the world do we keep so many sisters happy and prospering in the Gospel? And raise a family! On a day like today it makes me wonder.

Funny girls

The girls just crack me up sometimes. Katie has such a unique way of speaking and I'll be sad when she loses it. We were driving the other day and we smelled skunk (which the girls have now used to label any bad smell that enters the car). So of course we started talking about it.

Katie: I pell kunk!
me: you smell the skunk?
Katie: Yes, kunk pell poopy?
me (trying not to laugh): I suppose the skunk might smell poopy.

later on...
Katie: I see booties!
(again Steve and I try not to laugh) and after consideration... Oh- you see birdies?
Katie: yes, I see booties

So funny. Also, Ellie has become enthralled with anatomy, both male and female. I have had to correct her for drawing certain body parts on both girls and boys and let her know that modesty carries over in our drawings, not just with what we wear. I'm not even going to say who she drew yesterday, but I would have been terribly embarrassed if anyone else saw the picture before we had Ellie draw clothes on the poor exposed drawing.

We took a couple family pictures this morning before heading over to church to listen to Conference. I'll try to get one put up on here as soon as Steve is done editing it :)

About my pregnancy: I've told a couple people this lately, but I'm getting too old for this. And I'm not even 30 yet! I have had more aches and pains and pulled muscles that it's getting ridiculous. I apparently pulled a ligament and it didn't heal for 2 full days! Ouch. I also pulled a muscle in my neck- never fun. Then this morning I woke up and could barely stand or breathe because I managed to pull a muscle in my back. Again- absolutely ridiculous. If I hadn't seen the ultrasound I would swear there were 2 babies in this tummy of mine (although most everyone else would argue that I'm not very big...). I have had lots of headaches this time around as well, which I don't really remember having with the last three pregnancies. Steve has decided I need more exercise to keep my body more limber. He's probably right. So in all my spare time (and I don't mean at 6am) I'll see what I can do :-D Yes, yes- woe is me. But even amidst my frustrations, this pregnancy is going great. This little boy is extremely active! I see the doctor again tomorrow morning and we'll see how I'm measuring. I'm typically 1-2cm smaller than "normal", so we'll see if I'm following that trend again this time. Steve has edited lots of pictures tonight. I'll see if I can snag some tomorrow and post them- it's been awhile since I've done that.

Midnight Sun

Okay, so for all those "Twilight" fans out there, did you know about the whole scandal with "Midnight Sun?" There are a few girls in the ward who are obsessed with this series and they informed me of this. If it weren't for the fact that the author put it on her own site, I wouldn't have read it for copyright reasons (my dad ingrained in me the importance of copyright laws, as he's a musician) but I delved in and read all 264 pages in 2 days. Aaaaaah... now I can't wait until she finishes so I can read the whole thing!!!

Great News!

We have some wonderful news to announce- we are expecting baby number 4! And what is the gender?... drum roll please... it's a BOY!!! Steve is on cloud 9 and we are extremely excited to meet this little guy. My due date is January 29th, but it'll be at least a week earlier than that, as this will be a repeat C-section. So yes, that means I'm 22 weeks along and I was able to hide this from friends and family to this point. Now I've popped out and there's no denying it anymore! Looks like I'm going to need to figure out a new name for my blog... :-D

Busy Week

This week has been busy, busy, busy!!! We are all feeling the effects of it as well. Monday was grocery shopping/laundry/FHE. Tuesday was a baby shower, Wednesday was a Presidency meeting (for both Steve and me), Thursday was Enrichment, Friday I took a breath and watched some Monk and Psych online :), Saturday was Stake meetings in Salina, an hour away, and today was more meetings and church. And I just got a call to take dinner to another sister in the ward tomorrow. Steve had to put the girls to bed alone twice this week. Katie is now scared of the rain and having her bedroom door closed when she sleeps (and is afraid I won't be there when she wakes up), Ellie has become more emotional about... everything. And Sarah is just slightly more clingy with me. Steve says it's good for them to get some time away from Mom, but it's hard on us all! I'm exhausted physically, emotionally and spiritually. This will be a great learning experience, but it'll take practice to get into the groove of it all. Steve told me last night- just wait until the girls get into extracurricular activities... then you'll think all of this was a piece of cake! Nice...

On a lighter note... here are some funny things the girls have done.
Ellie has raided my closet and now wears my tank-tops that I wear under my clothes as nightgowns or dresses. She thinks they're pretty.
Katie has an interesting way of asking for dessert. She tells us she wants "dirt".
Sarah has become quite the conversationalist and we caught her yelling at her sister this afternoon for being naughty. She loves to run and walk on her tiptoes- she is typically doing one of those at all times.

And last, but certainly not least- we are soooo excited to have Mom come visit tomorrow. Just one more sleep! :-D

Deprived?

Okay, so is Ellie absolutely deprived because I haven't enrolled her in either preschool or dance class? Pretty much everyone I know with a 4-year old has enrolled them in both. I'm starting to question my parenting choices!!!

Avanti's Bread Recipe

Avanti's is an "Italian" restaurant in central Illinois that makes yummy sub sandwiches. Pretty much the only people that love the rest of Avanti's food are the ones that grew up eating it, but really, this bread makes very tasty sandwiches. You oughta try it out.

Here is the 2-loaf version of the Avanti's bread (I make them as long loaves on a cookie sheet).

1 cup warm water
2 tsp yeast
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp oil
1 egg
1/3 cup plus 1 1/3 tsp sugar
3 1/3 cup flour

Then bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Then you just get some salami, ham, american cheese and lettuce and you're set. I love these sandwiches!

Avanti's

I have been wanting an Avanti's sandwich for about 2 weeks now, so today I finally made some bread and bought the fixins and mmmm.... so tasty!!!

I also made some homemade peach jam today. The bishop gave us tons of peaches from his trees and I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that it turned out well. It sure made a huge mess!