Weekly Happenings: This past week was pretty normal. We did our normal stuff and just hung around the house. Paul had Friday off, so we headed out to the zoo since it’s been a while since we’ve gone as a family. Yesterday, Paul had a lot of homework, so we pretty much just hung around the house. Our crazy night was last night and it had to do with the weather…
The Weekly Weather: It was pretty mild for most of the week: we had the occasional rainstorm move through, but not anything too crazy. Last night was a different story. A little after midnight, it started flashing and rumbling. Pretty soon, Joseph was in our room, shaking and crying because the thunder was so loud. After we got him settled down (snuggling in our bed helped a lot), Paul took the crib mattress out of the crib, set it on the floor, and got his sleeping bag and pillow. He slept there the rest of the night (he even laughed in his sleep once, so I was happy that he got some rest). Paul and I had broken sleep to say the least, since the storm was pretty intense. It lasted for close to four hours, with the worst part (constant lightning flashes and no break in thunder) being from 4:00-4:30. It was quiet (with only the occasional flash and distant rumble) for about an hour and a half and then another one came in from about 6:00-to 7:30 or so…needless to say, Paul and I are pretty tired.
What Paul’s Been Up To: He hasn’t been doing too much out of the ordinary. Work, school, Scouts, and doing stuff around the house keep him pretty busy. He has continued to be really helpful with Joseph, since I’m still not feeling too hot.
What Sarah’s Been Up To: One fun thing I did was go to a favorite things party (you choose your favorite thing at a certain price point and then bring in a select amount of that item and go home with the same amount of items; in this case I chose an item for $5 and brought 3 of them and then went home with 3 different items). I came home with some fun stuff! I had so much fun chatting with friends and eating yummy treats (everyone brought an appetizer or dessert to share) I forgot about how sick I’ve been feeling lately. I love all the friends I’ve made since moving out here!
What Joseph’s Been Up To: He enjoyed a park play date this week and enjoyed hanging around the house. As we were coming home from the grocery store one day, he sighed happily and told me that he loved our home. I do too, kiddo…I do, too.
This Week in Pictures:
One morning, I opened the bathroom door to this. He had stepped into my tennis shoes and was “exercising”. This boy never ceases to entertain me.Two of the items I came home from the favorite things party with: a glass drink dispenser and a cool cheese grater/bowl combo (you can grate the cheese directly into the blue bowl and then the bowl comes with a tight-fitting lid to store any leftover cheese). There are two different types of graters included (a larger one and then a finer one). I’m not sure where the dispenser came from (most likely Target or Wal-mart), but the cheese grater is from IKEA.My third “item” was a combo item (multiple items that add up to the desired amount) that included this fun ceramic lemon……and this pretty lip stain.It’s not often that we let Joseph go on the carousel at the zoo, but he seemed to be stuck on it this time around (it was all he could focus on until we got there). He does look pretty happy. Paul took him, since I didn’t feel like a spinny-ride would be a good idea for an already-nauseous momma.
Weekly Happenings: This past week was pretty low-key. Unfortunately with how nauseous and tired I have been, we haven’t done too many things outside of the house. Fortunately, Joseph is really patient and really likes playing with his toys. 🙂 The weekend was a bit more lively. Friday, we met up with Paul just outside the base (since I no longer have a military ID), he drove us in, and we attended the annual picnic lunch for his work. Joseph had a lot of fun walking around, playing games, and seeing big-wigs get dunked in the dunk-tank. Yesterday was a packed day in that in the morning we cleaned the park, had my annual piano recital at our house in the afternoon, and then had friends over to play games in the evening.
The Weekly Weather: I think this past week, the rainy days outweighed the non-rainy ones. If they didn’t, I’m sure Thursday counted for at least two days-worth of rain. It started at about 7:00 and finally let up a little before 11:00. Paul said that as he was driving to work, he had to drive really slowly to avoid hydroplaning on the highway. Luckily our friends across the street invited us over for a play date or else we might have gone crazy at home! I think we got close to three inches of rain with that storm alone.
What Paul’s Been Up To: He’s been getting back into the groove after his trip. Work, school, and Scouts. He also did some yard maintenance, for which I am always grateful. Oh, and he’s been taking care of Joseph in the mornings so that I can get some extra sleep. Joseph usually wakes up not too long after Paul gets up to get ready for work, so they go downstairs, have breakfast together, and then Paul sets Joseph up with toys to play with until I get up. I’m so grateful he’s such a dedicated daddy and caring husband!
What Sarah’s Been Up To: I think I’m pretty much in survival mode right now, hahaha. Luckily, with summer approaching quickly (I think there’s only a couple weeks of school left), most of my students have asked to take the summer off. I asked the others who hadn’t said anything about vacations if they were going to come (and mentioned that most seemed to be taking the summer off) and they also decided to take the summer off. Hopefully by September I’ll be feeling better (or at least be done with the nausea/fatigue that seems to be defining the first trimester of this pregnancy). Now that recital is over, I can relax a bit and concentrate on choir music. I also keep semi-busy with my newest calling at church (compassionate service) making sure that those who are sick, just had a baby, or are new to our flock are getting their needs met.
What Joseph’s Been Up To: He’s been displaying his ever-increasing vocabulary. Last night, he was reading me a book about bugs and he made sure to tell me that the bugs who were hiding were using camouflage to hide from predators. The other day, while watching a Daniel Tiger episode where Daniel Tiger was talking about how stars make pictures in the sky, Joseph shook his head and said, “Daniel Tiger doesn’t know that those pictures are really constellations.” He then proceeded to let me know that when Daniel Tiger was talking about falling stars, the falling stars were really perseids (yes, I know that Perseids refers to a specific meteor shower, but I was still impressed he remembered the term). Thanks Wild Kratts, Dinosaur Train, and Curious George!
This Week in Pictures:
Joseph checking out his new set-up. Paul moved his books from the box we had them in onto his bookshelf (now that he’s well-past the “pull everything off the shelves” phase).Paul moved the dresser from the guest room into Joseph’s room. It’s a great place to display his LEGO creations.Paul also hung up the fabric scroll decoration of Link that our friend Anthony brought Joseph before moving to Kentucky. He was also the one who got Joseph a little plush Link for his birthday. He’s a really awesome, caring guy who always paid attention to Joseph and made him feel important. We’ll miss him, for sure!The new loft set-up.Paul’s office.His computer set up. If this baby’s a boy, he’ll share Joseph’s room and we’ll keep this room as an office…if it’s a girl, we’ll turn the office into her room and most likely put up a shed in the back yard to turn into an office.There was one morning Joseph played with his LEGOS literally all morning. This was quite wonderful, seeing as I felt like spending that entire time laying on the couch.I think he was pretending to be a Power Ranger (I don’t think he’s ever seen the show, but he’s seen the toys in the store). I just love the combination of the boots, shorts, Captain America shirt, and foam sword.He created a “secret Pokémon training base”.Chowing down at the work picnic.Joseph really liked the baked beans.I mean, he really did. I think he was literally going, “Mmmmmm!” in this picture.This was his favorite game by far.He loved trying to get the bean bags into the hole. This picture was snapped by someone at the picnic. We were watching the guys get dunked in the dunk tank.Another one taken by someone at the picnic. I think we were roaring at each other, ha.
Bonus Video: My Annual Piano Recital (thanks for setting up the recording and getting it all taken care of, Paul!)
Weekly Happenings: This past week, Joseph and I were flying solo for the most part. Paul was in Washington DC so that he could accept his award for Library Technician of the Year. Starting Monday (when Paul left), Joseph would ask me if it was Thursday yet (the day Paul was due to be home). Luckily, Paul was able to do a video call each night so that Joseph and I could talk to him and see him as well. Paul was able to see a lot of really cool and historical places while out there. Joseph and I kept busy while he was gone. On Tuesday we went to the zoo with friends, and on Wednesday we met up with one of my cousins and his wife, who just happened to be in town (they won a free trip out here, of all places). We went out to eat at Augie’s BBQ and then walked around the Japanese Tea Gardens. Thursday, I was feeling pretty rotten (this baby is definitely calling the shots!) and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with Joseph. Then, one of my friends sent me a text, asking if I wanted to drop Joseph off at her house to play with her son while I went home and rested. She kept him for four hours. I have the best friends! Thursday night, Paul came home and it was back to real life. He’s spent the past two days catching up on homework and doing stuff around the house.
The Weekly Weather: We’ve had a couple big storms roll through. One was on Monday night, which sent Joseph into our room. He willingly shared the bed with me that night. Normally I’m not a fan of having him in bed with us (he tends to kick and roll a lot), but since Paul was gone, Joseph had an entire half of the bed to himself. I only had to move him back over a couple of times. The other one came through yesterday afternoon. I like afternoon storms better because Joseph doesn’t get too scared.
What Paul’s Been Up To: In addition to his trip to DC (which he wrote about here), he also helped the Scouts clear a tree that fell down in someone’s yard. He also rearranged our upstairs quite a bit. He sold the guest bedroom bed and moved the dresser into Joseph’s room (moving the changing table dresser into our room for when baby comes). He also moved his desk and all his computer stuff into the guest room, turning it into a separate office. When the baby comes, he’ll either leave it all in there (if it’s a boy, we’re planning on having him share a room with Joseph) or he’ll build a shed in the back yard to serve as an office (if it’s a girl, she’ll get her own room). He also moved my desk so that it’s against the wall, opening the loft up a lot.
What Sarah’s Been Up To: I’ve mainly been trying to figure out how to deal with life while feeling sick almost every day. Luckily, Paul, Joseph, and my friends have been a big help.
What Joseph’s Been Up To: He had a ton of fun at the zoo, Japanese Tea Gardens, and playing with friends. One funny thing he said was that if the baby is a girl, he wants her name to be Mrs. Joseph. 😀
This Week in Pictures:
Checking out the jaguar.He’s still a huge fan of the monkeys.We definitely needed to go see the giraffes.The best thing to do after walking around the zoo? A train ride, of course!At the entrance to the Japanese Tea Gardens. It was first opened in the early 1900s, but when WWII was going on, the owners of the gardens were afraid that people with anti-Japanese sentiments would vandalize them, so they changed the name to the Chinese Tea Garden. Even though the name has officially been changed back (I think that happened some time in the 80s), they left the sign up since it’s part of the history.Hanging out by some bamboo.It wasn’t too hot, but it was rather humid.This was a pretty spectacular waterfall.My cousin got this shot. I’m so glad he did! It’s one of my favorite current pictures of Joseph.My cousin (Doug Hall), Joseph, and me. You can definitely see the family resemblance.It was so good to see Doug (we haven’t seen each other for around 20 years) and to get to meet his sweet wife, Michelle!Another shot that Doug got. This was at the top of the gardens. It was so peaceful there!It was so beautiful and green…We loved all the paths that crossed through that gardens.Paul brought home some fun magnets for me from DC.He also brought me this Jane Austen silhouette ornament from the gift shop in the Library of Congress. I’m thinking that I’m going to get some wood to mount it on and then hang up so I can see it all the time.Paul brought Joseph a Washington DC snow globe and a Superman book (also from the Library of Congress gift shop).The first big tomato from our garden.I couldn’t resist…I had to slice it up right away and sprinkle some salt on it. It was so good!A glimpse into what this next week’s weather will be like…wee.
