How Do YOU Know My Mommy is Pregnant?!

I picked the kids up from daycare yesterday and as I was getting the kids situated in the car...a car pulled up into a space close to ours. So, our car, then empty space, then new car. It was one of the father's picking up in the car...he got out, looked at me, smiled and said "Hi". He went on to fix the car seat in his car and I went on to get Henry buckled in. Both the doors of the mini van were wide open as I usually get Henry in first and then buckle Luke in. So, the man asks, "So, when are you due?" I told him September and he smiled and said, "Congratulations". He went on to fix the car seat in his car. Meanwhile, Luke gives me a completely puzzled look and in the lowest voice that a 4 year can possible reach (this would be "normal" voice but you could tell he was trying to whisper), he asks, "Mommy...how does that man know that you are having a baby?" I stared at him for a second, reminded myself that he was four and said, "Son, do you see mommy's belly sticking out?" He nodded, yes. "Well, he sees it too and that's how he knows mommy is pregnant." He looks at me in complete disbelief...cups his hands around his mouth and shouts to the man very loudly, who is now almost at the daycare door, "HEY!...Hey!" The man turns around, Luke screams, "How did you know my mommy is having a baby?!" It all happened so fast. I said, "Luke!" The man opened the door, smiled really big, laughed and yelled back, "Because your mommy looks like she's having a baby." He scurries into the building...horrified, I'm sure. I am standing there with my mouth wide open...horrified, for sure. Luke looks me right in the eyes and says in complete astonishment, "You were right mommy." I said, "Son, I'm the mommy and I'm always right."

34 Weeks and Counting....

So, I guess I haven't come right out and said on the blog, "Hey, I'm pregnant!" but I am saying it now. 34 weeks to be exact...which would be why I have not blogged 30 of those 34 weeks. Barnes Baby Boy number 3! So the family dynamic shifts once again...the poor dogs...I'm sure they feel like they are hanging on to their place in the family by a single claw. You can just see it in their eyes...wondering if they will be fed again after yet another baby comes into their world and tries to eat their food or tries to feed them one juicy morsel of dog food at a time. The bright side is they have another face they can lick and more food to steal from the chubby little hands full of food at their eye level but they are clearly not seeing the bright side to all of this...such sad faces! The boys are taking it all in stride and seem to be dealing with it all very well. Henry has no idea what's coming so....he does still get upset if I pick up another child. He frantically screams, "MY Mommy!"I hate to see him suffer when I do that but gosh it makes me feel great when he stakes his mommy claim! Luke seems to have a firm grasp that he will be "in charge" of yet another small human that needs all the wisdom he has to offer from his last four years of life. Jon and I are the ones that are a bit of a mess...it's as if we have no idea a baby is even coming...what baby!? I'm sure we are being over confident since we already have two...I mean, what is one more in the midst of all the chaos. Does a third baby even need a crib? A dresser draw will suffice...HA! We are slowly but surely getting ready....but it's sssssllllooooowwwww. It's funny how you become seasoned in it all. I talk to first moms to be and find myself trying to impart that same peace that my good friends gave to me..."you will know what to do" or "you don't really need the wiper warmer " or "love grows" (my personal favorite bit of advice given to me ever!). Maybe that's the beauty of having more then one or two. You find the peace that having one doesn't bring as much of...you just know that through each stage it's going to be just fine...or maybe it's just the numbness that comes with sleep deprivation! Who knows...either way...we are thrilled about our new arrival...name to come soon!

Update: Pureed Veggies

Ok so, it's been 6 months since I blogged. Shameful, I know! But I have a very good excuse, I swear! Now, for all you moms out there that were suffering mentally because you were thinking that I was such a fantastic "get your kids to each veggies mom"...you will be glad to know that I have not thawed one bag of pureed veggies for my kids in six months. As a matter of fact, I had to throw all those fantastic bags of pureed veggies away because I had to make room for the boxes of Eggo's and huge bags Freezee Pops! You can all breathe a collective sigh of relief...I too, have lost the war on the vegetable battle ground! It is a war...don't fool yourself. I did, however, find out that my four year old absolutely loves barbecue chicken. I had no idea until we went to our friend Traci's house...turns out that he loves it and has been eating it for years at daycare. **sigh** I do remain hopeful! I'm resting up to jump back into battle once the baby comes...but for now, it's hot dogs with mac and cheese...

Happy Birthday Michon!

We hope you have a fantastic day and Birthday weekend!

Cupid...where are you?!

Valentine's Day...crazy holiday of racing around...as I like to call it. I know, I know...it's about love! Maybe it's just that we have had a crazy two weeks and believe me, it's not been "fun crazy". Everyone in the family has been sick with a nasty virus...it's been going on for two weeks now...the kids were out of daycare for 5 days! EEK! Of course, Superstar Mom that I am...did not get it! What's even more amazing is that my kids coughed right in my face no less then 100 times and I STILL didn't get it! Believe me, I am grateful...but this is why sick sympathy is not my strong point as my very good friends know. When boys of all ages (and I do mean, all ages) are sick...they are pitiful and they whine. It's just a fact of life and I am learning to accept it. It doesn't help my lack of sympathy though! Anyway...so, we are trying to get back to normal this week and here comes Valentine's Day...it just snuck up on me! I realized on Wednesday that I needed to make cupcakes, address cards for the kids classmates and get something for Jon! Needless to say, I had to cut out Jon's gift and tell him to go ahead to Home Depot to buy something and I just wouldn't say anything when the money came ouf of the account. He said, "That's fine, because I didn't get you anything either." So, that's our attitude this Valentine's day...there's always next year. All that matters is that the kids had fun anyway and they did!

Cauliflower is just plain stinky!

Ok...it's been so long since I have blogged anything for a variety of reasons (which you will eventually hear about)...but I've lost all my momentum about why my house smells like cauliflower...especially, since all the other odors in my house have taken back over and choked the cauliflower down. I know it is, however, still stirring in the far corners of my house only to rear it's ugly head when we have a party or the type of people over that make me actually care about the smell of my house! Anyway, so, I'll try to get back on task with this particular subject. A friend told me about the book "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld...it's basically a cookbook to teach you how to trick your kids into eating vegetables...it's really not a "trick"...you pretty much just puree the veggies and match them to the color food you are making...for instance, you would put in a half cup of pureed cauliflower into say...mac and cheese...they are none the wiser. The big catch here is that there is ALOT of prep work that needs to be done...unless of course, you are the person that happens to have fresh veggies of all types in your refrigerator at all times. Which is not us....when I go out on limb and decide we need to cook vegetables...they are usually found underneath a half eaten plate of chicken nuggets...and let's just say...they've been there a WHILE and usually unopened. I mean, my kids don't like vegetables because we don't really eat a lot of cooked vegetables...salad, all day long...but mushed up carrots...not for me. Could be those long hours I spent after dinner sitting alone at the kitchen table after everyone but my father had gone to bed...just staring at my now cold, wilted greenbean...defiant as ever, refusing to eat a single nibble. I pretty much would wear my Dad down and he would send me off to bed only to do it all over again the next night. Try as they might, my pallat was never "properly trained" when it comes to vegetables.
This would be the reason I must "trick" my kids into eating vegetables...not to mention it's added work, because I am certainly not eating anything with pureed cauliflower in it, so now I have to make two meals. Anyway...so, I get all the stuff I need and start "mad scientist" like pureeing the veggies until all hours of the night. It was kinda fun! However, once I was done...my house wreaked...because you also have to either steam or roast the vegetables before pureeing. (Quick tip if you buy this book...get a steamer, don't rely on yourself and a saucepan to get the job done). Needless to say, I burnt the cauliflower...which leads to the real reason that kids don't eat vegetables...they are just plain stinky!

Cheers to the Circus!

I'm sure you are all on pins and needles waiting to hear about our circus adventures!

Let's just let some of the pictures speak for themselves...

Preshow...a little stressful, but we did not let it faze us!

At the sight of the first elephant, he came right out of it! It was fantastic!

We really did have so much fun...both Jake and Luke were fantastic. We had perfect seats...we were far enough away from the clowns and close enough to see what was going on. It really could not have been better...I am so glad we did it!

Very short commentary on the unbelievably high cost of the food (yet another clue that I am getting older). Jon went out to get some drinks...I texted him quickly and asked him to get some cotton candy...after a few minutes the only response I got was "NO!" I was a little irritated, but figured I would see what he came back with...let's just say when he got back he had the look of complete astonishment on his face..."They wanted $12 for cotton candy!" It was shocking to say the least, now, I probably would have gone ahead and purchased as it's the circus and it's once a year...but since he was there, obviously, I couldn't...(sorry Jon, it's just the truth)...regardless, $12.00 for air, sugar and a cardboard stick...ridiculous!

Enough of that...we will definitely be going back no matter what the cost and we can't wait for Henry to see it all...he was missed! Thanks to Mer for watching the littler booger. Definitely getting floor tickets next year along with the Stickels!

Stay tuned for "Why my entire house smells like cauliflower!...yuck!"