3.0

If you've seen us in person recently, you may have heard our news.  Most everyone who knows heard it from Elsie, who has been telling even strangers.  Few have heard from me, because I'm an odd duck like that.  I'm not sure why, but I've never really liked to talk about it, not for the first two, not for this one. It's a need-to-know kind of thing with me.  So, I told my family, my close friends, my immediate coworkers and my boss.  There are still people I know that I *should* tell but I haven't yet for various and sundry reasons.  Can't I just send a Christmas card next year with an extra person in it and they can draw their own conclusions?  No?

People who know keep asking me how I'm feeling, and I start talking about school--being exhausted by the calendar and ready for a break--and they look at me like I'm crazy because they were obviously asking about the pregnancy and I started talking about something else.  Because that's what I do.

We did make it to the ultrasound appointment this last week and it was confirmed that there is only one healthy baby in there who will make an appearance sometime around the beginning of May.

This particular child holds a special place in my heart because I was the third child.  Just like with the last one (Oscar), we will meet this baby before we find out his/her sex and before giving him/her a name.  We are excited to meet this one, though I think we have conveniently forgotten what it's like to have a baby in the house.

Also, I am not mentioning this on FB and would appreciate if you would be so kind as to respect this, too.  I'm still on the fence about whether or not I'm going to shut down FB for good soon.  To much of a time waster with too much to do.

So, anyway, that's our news!

Cheers!

Camouflage Christmas

Eli has been in the National Guard for a little over three years now, and this fall has been the first time that we have made it up to see what it is that he's doing when he's dressed up in camouflage on the weekends.  In August, I had a professional development session in Guntersville and stopped in to Fort M to visit.  When we went to a wedding in Mississippi in November, we drove through so that Eli could do one day of drill.  That's the weekend we were having so much car trouble.

Then, this past weekend, the kids and I went up to participate in the family activities, which included a Santa Claus in combat boots.  :)

December 2013 Debt Update

I feel like I've fallen off the wagon, but at the same time we are making great strides. I'll let you hear it from Eli, something he wrote to me in an e-mail this week after making a chunky payment:

I feel like we're fighting the mini-boss at the midway point in the last dungeon, and every month his health meter goes down just a tiny--but noticeable--bit. Once we kill the mini-boss, we can corral our resources to destroy the Beast Mortgage...

 I guess this makes us like the Super Mario Brothers!
Fourth 10K Chunk, started 9/24/13     Fundraising Thermometer Oh, and did I mention that this last little bit of student loans is under $20,000???  Now that's something to get excited about. Cheers!

Children, a long-awaited update

I know, I know. I haven't blogged about the kiddos for a while, and I know that most of you care more about the kids than you do about us getting to the point of being debt-free, so I'm posting this now and will go back and backdate our November debt update so this post stays on top for a while. :)

So, the little Beavers.

Let's start with the oldest:

Elsie is loving preschool. I knew she would. The entire staff at the elementary school loves her and have already told me that they are sad that we are not going to be at this school next year (where we live, we are zoned for a different K-2 school). I drive her to school in the mornings, and when I drop her off in front of the school like a big girl, she walks off and keeps turning around to tell me goodbye, and that she'll see me after school, waving the whole way.  She tolerates the weekends so that she can return to school on Mondays.

She has already been the PE Star for the week, and was the Student of the Month for her class for September--she got to have breakfast with the principal, and she brought home a bag full of goodies. We're glad that she's doing what she should be doing at school, because she certainly is trying our patience at home, behaving like a typical four-year-old (I think?).

But really, I am still constantly amazed at her stubbornness, her determination, and her imagination.  She won't let me touch her hair unless she has a specific hairstyle in mind.  Brushing it is usually out of the question, so she wears it wild.  If it weren't for her clean clothes and sparkly teeth, people at school might suspect that we neglect her, when the reality is that we just neglect her hair--at her insistence.  Occasionally I can talk her into a ponytail or pigtails, but then the hair accoutrements come home in her lunch box, having not made it all day in her hair.

She makes up fantastic games to play and solicits little brother to participate, which he usually does willingly. Her face lights up and her eyes sparkle when she has a great idea (she thinks), and she is eager for someone to be her accomplice.  She loves doing "homework" and wants to color and use markers and crayons and pencils.  She loves to play dress-up and make messes, but is not fond of cleaning any of that up and putting stuff away (it might be genetic, I admit).

Now, this little guy, is a lady killer:

So, he turned three in August, and at some point he just grew up.  He has started saying "please" instead of "mease" (which I think was a contraction for "more please"), and now says his name is "Oscar" instead of "Ah-kur".  Sigh.  I knew it was bound to happen, but I still wasn't ready.  He also has these very polite phrases that he uses.  When he says something and you correct him, he says, "I'm sorry.  I didn't know."  If you are talking and he wants your attention, he'll say, "Excuse me, Mommy."

He's taught himself how to do cartwheels (big sister is jealous) and loves to have us look at him while he's doing something craaaaazzzyy like sticking out his tongue and shaking his head.  He is constantly talking, particularly in the car, and I'll admit that half the time I'm not paying attention when he says, "Right, mama?" and if I don't say, "Right," then he gets frustrated with me.  He does not like to repeat what he says, and if I give him answer he wasn't expecting, there will always be a string of follow-up "Why?" questions.

Also, he's constantly looking out the window in the car, and wants to know why people are running or standing or walking, or why a car turned a certain direction, or why a gate is opened or closed.  It's pretty maddening that he won't take "I don't know" for an answer.  But, he loves to spot fire trucks and school buses and trains, and will get so excited about seeing another one.

He's still at the home daycare he has been at for three years.  When he started, he was one of the only boys. Since Elsie left for preschool, there are ONLY boys there, so they have a good time.  Oscar is the oldest, the leader now, so he gets to fill a role he isn't allowed when sister is around.

Here are some pictures of these hooligans together:

Halloween 2013

At cousin Elizabeth's wedding:

Flower Girl

And our first family picture in a while:

Check out the faces on the kids:

And, finally, in Oxford, AL at Freedom Park last weekend:

 

Hope this satisfies your need for blondies!

Cheers!

November 2013 Debt Update

Well, we started the new debt thermometer this month:

Fourth 10K Chunk, started 9/24/13    Fundraising Thermometer

And we've been making big progress. Army money really helped this month, and our BIG NEWS is that we PAID OFF ELI'S LAW SCHOOL LOANS!!!  We feel like we're on the downhill slope with only undergrad loans to go! Having the end in sight is exciting, indeed! Cheers.