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Today, after listening to Shea scream about something he wanted, but couldn’t have, Gage said, “Mom, you need to call the Super Granny for Shea.”  I started laughing for more than obvious reasons, but he had no idea.  I said, “Do you think he’s that bad, Gage?”, to which he replied, “Yeah, Mom, I think the Super Granny could help us out.”

Now, excuse me while I go explain to my distraught 3 year old why he can’t have bubble bath in the tub tonight.

I changed my blogroll around a bit by splitting it up into two categories:  “People I Know” and “Never Met ‘em But Love ‘em”.  I would love to know what blogs you enjoy reading, so leave me a comment and let me know what your favorites are!

My Uncle Chris and Aunt Sharon just might have the answer for you.  They own a business in Eastern NC called Mackeys Ferry Peanuts and you can order gift boxes online.  They were recently featured in a popular magazine, Our State, and the photographer for the article is an old friend from our college town.  If you visit his blog, you can catch a glimpse of the article.  My Aunt and Uncle have worked so hard in their business these past few years and would love to serve your Christmas needs.  Go check them out!

It has become a tradition since moving to St. Louis for us to take the boys over to the park across the street for pictures each fall. This was the third (and last, sadly) year we were able to enjoy the BEAUTIFUL fall weather in St. Louis. I thought I’d share some of my favorite shots of the season. Enjoy!

I hope you all enjoyed your fall weather, wherever you are. I’m sad to say that it seems ours is over. Cold weather is on the way!

So, here’s the story.

Gage and some friends found a bat, in broad daylight, sitting on a bush. My son decided to reach out and touch it, and when he did, the bat bared it’s teeth at him and started making a clicking noise. It then, flew up into a tree.

Gage decided that he had not gotten a good enough look at the bat, and chose to figure out a way to climb up into the tree and capture the bat. First, he tried propping a bike up to the tree, and climbing up from that. Apparently the tree was not an easy climb. When the bike didn’t do the trick, he found a rope and began trying to lasso the rope around a branch, and then pull himself up into the tree. After failing at that attempt, he went back to the bike idea, and somehow found his way up the tree.

He carried his friend’s cape up with him into the tree and proceeded to drape the cape over the bat. He then tied the cape into a sack, placed the tied end into his mouth, and shimmied back down the tree, holding the bat, encased and dangling, in a cape between his teeth. By the way, if your kid ever does this, please take him to get rabies shots!

DISGUSTING!!!!!!!

Since this bat happening, let me fill you in on the other adventures my son has experienced. He was bitten by a chipmunk when he tried to extract it from it’s home in the ground. His finger was literally dripping blood from the bite, and he didn’t even cry. Then, the next week, he captured a wounded woodpecker and brought it home in a bird cage he borrowed from the neighbor. I’m telling you, this kid is the next Steve Irwin! Good thing he’s received those rabies shots.

Today, as our 3 year old watched PBS Kids, Gage said, “Mom, this is the kind of show I don’t like.  Everyone’s acting all happy like everything is perfect.  They act like they don’t have any problems.  Life isn’t really like that.”  Then, he ran off to gather clothes for his Indiana Jones costume.  Hmmm.  He does have a point.  Sometimes I’m shocked by how old he acts.  I’m glad that he isn’t disillusioned about what life is really like, but at the same time, part of me wishes he didn’t have to learn these things at such a young age.  However, I’d rather him learn now, when he can talk it out with us, than to allow him to be disillusioned, and then throw him into this world with no preparation.  Parenting.  It’s never boring.

Pumpkin Patch on a brisk Fall morning

This photo-op was just too good to pass up.  Shea is obsessed with watching and reading The Magic School Bus and he pronounces “school” without the “s”, which ends up being “cool”.  When he saw this bus, he started saying, “Look, it’s the magic cool bus!”  I looked up to see that it was, indeed, a “kool bus”.

Graffiti-ish art at a farm.  Interesting.

Lunch on the patio at The Boathouse in Forest Park.  LOVE it!

Art Hill.  One of my absolute favorite places.

I don’t have pictures, but, Matt and Emily brought dinner and dessert over last night, too.  Oh, and I got to go on a date with my husband on Friday.  And, my little sis gave me some blog love.  And, Mandy got to join us today, after a long time away.  It’s been a good weekend.  I’m so thankful for my friends and family.

A portion of your date with your husband is spent dropping library books off and picking out Arthur movies.

Last Monday I began experiencing what seemed to be the beginning of a miscarriage.  I immediately called the doctor and they told me to go to the ER because they were unable to fit me into the ultrasound center.  So, Jared and I went over to the ER with all kinds of thoughts swirling around in our heads.

After waiting for a couple of hours for the ultrasound people, we were finally called.  We thought we would have an answer right away, as the ultrasound was performed.  But, we were wrong.  The techs are not allowed to share any information about what they see.  So, I watched Jared’s face, as he watched the screen ( I wasn’t able to see), and tried to guess if he was seeing something hopeful.  He began reporting what he saw, informing me that he could see a baby, and that it looked like a sea monkey.  He also thought he saw a heartbeat.  The tech, of course could not confirm any of this.

We were sent back to the ER, where we waited for a bed.  I really didn’t care about having a bed.  I just wanted them to tell me if I was having a miscarriage or not.  I don’t even know how long we waited for a bed, but we were finally called, and I was told to put on a gown and lay down in the bed.  We proceeded to wait another couple of hours before we saw anyone.  Finally, a nurse came in, who was acting like I already knew something about my condition.  I finally interrupted her and said, “Wait a minute, did they find a heartbeat?  I have no idea what is going on.”  She immediately pulled up my chart and said that the doctor would tell me more, but that they had found a “viable life with a strong heartbeat”.

Another hour or so passed.  By this point I was furious, and Jared had just summoned a nurse by telling her that his wife was ready to yell at someone, so to please send someone that his wife could yell at.  So, when a woman arrived, I assumed she was the nurse Jared had summoned.  I looked at her and said, “I’m really pissed off right now.  We have been waiting for 6 hours to hear if our baby has a heartbeat. When will the doctor be here?  I’m assuming he will be in here next, right?”

The woman responded, “Well, I am the doctor.”

I sheepishly said, “Oh, okay.”  Oops.

She then proceeded to tell us that the baby’s heartbeat was strong and that he/she is placed at the correct location in my uterus.  The baby has a 95% chance of surviving, just as they told us with Shea.  We were relieved to hear all of this news after hours of not knowing anything.

Eight hours after arriving at the ER, we went home with good news for our boys.  Shea asked me within minutes of walking in the door, “Mommy, is there a baby in your belly?”  My eyes fought back tears, and I said, “Yes, honey, there is a baby in there.”  He then asked his classic “Why?” and I responded, “Because God wants that baby to be there right now.”

I’m learning to be thankful for each day that I get to be pregnant.  I’m one of those weirdos that actually likes being pregnant, and so I marvel at the thought of all that is happening within me as I go about a regular day.  In the past, I’ve always been a really impatient pregnant girl, because I’m nervous about the baby and just want to get to the next stage so that we are closer to meeting a life that I can be more in control of.  I don’t like having to trust God to take care of the baby.  I just want the baby to come so that I can take care of it. Sounds like a really healthy pattern of thinking, huh?

Somehow, God is changing all of that inside of me this time around.  I’m learning to thank Him for another day that I got to carry a baby He is in the process of making.

Sidenote:  I promise to not make this blog a baby blog.  There is nothing wrong with baby blogs.  I have plenty of friends who’s blogs are for that very purpose.  However, that has never been my intention with this blog.  So, don’t worry, all you baby blog haters.  I’m not going to do it!

Jared just wrote on his blog about a midnight trip to the drug store. Go over to his blog and check it out. I’ll write more later! Oh, and make sure you read the WHOLE post.