Where Have I Been?!?!

Yikes...it's quickly approaching November and I have failed to showcase each word along our way!  A dear friend of mine checked in with me this evening and asked me if I was her "friend who likes to blog".  It was a clear reminder to me that I have neglected to keep y'all in the loop with what's been going on.

Our home computer has been continuously giving us headaches- crashing for days at a time.  Our pictures have always been uploaded to that PC and with all that has been happening with the computer, I haven't been downloading my photos to our laptop.  It just feels strange to me...hahaha.

In all seriousness, things have been rather nutty around these parts.  God is stretching me (or trying to stretch me).  Little set backs continue to be thrown our way (everything seems to be breaking lately).   Can you say money in, money out?  And sometimes more money out than what's coming in?  It's all good though...I know that He is at work in my life and I know He has a plan...it just doesn't always look like what I think it should.  But then again, that's why He is God.  Right?!?

So please forgive me as I try and get things back to 'normal'.  I might not be posting each day but I'm certainly living out a story to tell at a later date.  But enough about me, what's new with you?  I would love to hear what's happending in your lives...please reach out.  I would love to hear from you.

October 10th Photo- PUMPKIN

Okay, okay...I'll admit it.  Today's word was probably one of the easiest words to capture considering it's fall in New England.  But we really struggled to not overload you with pictures of pumpkins on a front steps.  Instead, we set out together hoping to find just the right "pumpkin" photo opportunity. 

 

The day began by heading to the big city to meet with my OBGYN for my routine check-in appointment.  PQ was so excited about the chance to hear his siblings heartbeat for the first time, that he asked if Grammy could come along with us.  And she was thrilled to have the chance to come along as well.  The appointment went well and the kids seemed to really enjoy hearing the baby's heartbeating.  The baby had a heart rate of 158 today and all is well. 

 

After the appointment, I took the opportunity to head north to get Papa H an item that he's been needing from the local tourist trap.  But before we ventured to that destination, we stopped at another local destination (that we've never been to) for an unplanned field trip.  When we realized that it was going to cost us $30 for a 20 minute tour, we decided to pass on the field trip and head to the 'trap' to get the goods for Papa H.

 

PQ got a chance to pan for gems (ie: fish tank rocks)

 

 

 

Sugar posed near the beautiful flowers.

Sorry...no pumpkins here! 

 

PQ spent some time in a bubble...after all, he IS homeschooled...hahaha

(I think I will be giggling about this for days...hahaha)

 

 

 

 

 Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?!?

I see a PUMPKIN looking at me!



 

PQ had a little knot-tying fun in the kids room.

 

During lunch, Sugar took a phone call from her Daddy.

 

 

 

 

And PQ smiled upon request but really wanted to watch football on TV.

When Papa H got home from work, I snuck off to get a haircut...

 

 

...and daydreamed of PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!



Creating an organic PUMPKIN photo opp that wasn't your typical pumpkin patch photo was tougher than I anticipated.  I consider today's photo-opp challenge somewhat of a fail on my part.  But perhaps tomorrow's word (SUNSET) might be even more interesting.  Come on, creativity!!!  Stay tuned, y'all...

October 9th Photo- SOCIALIZATION

Today was a working day for me so we didn't have a lot of photo opportunities to capture today's word of the day.  We did enjoy dinner with friends prior to PQ's mandolin lesson and of course I forgot my camera, so I had to take a few random shots using my phone.  The top picture is a quick dinner (chaos) shot and the other picture is for sheer laughter.  I think she was embarassed to be caught eating chips out of the PARTY SIZE bag while roaming around the house looking for Sugar.  Funny stuff, y'all.  Funny Stuff!

Homeschool Photo-Op Challenge

 

I recently stumbled upon an October 2013 Homeschool Photo-Op Challenge (where pictures are supposed to reflect a certain designated word each day) and I thought it might be fun to try.  My blogging efforts have been scarce lately but I'm hoping this gets me back on track.  But in the mean time, I have a few days to catch up on before we roll out the Photo-Op Daily posts.  And I have to admit that some of these pictures are not from the exact day that I am listing but that's what happens when you have a bunch of unposted pictures to choose from!!  These pics should keep you updated on recent happenings in the H house...

 

 

October 1st- "DONE"

(Sorry- I couldn't resist...*wink*)



                                           

 

 

 

October 2nd- "GRANDPARENT"

*Sorry y'all, I forgot to take a picture when we had dinner with Grampa H & Grammy JoJo*

 

 

 

October 3rd- "ORANGE"

(Please note the orange sparkle in the hat and along her apron)

 

 

 

October 4th- "READ"

(This was not staged...Little Miss Weenie curled up next to THIS book-hilarious!)





 

 

 

October 5th- "BEFORE AND AFTER"

(You'll see why...)

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 7th- "TREAT"

(PQ had a few interesting treats...)

October 8th- "PLAN"

(They had a plan to hide in the closet so PQ wouldn't have to do his school work...and I had a different plan of my own.  My plan won.  *wink*)

 What's coming up?  Here is a list of the words from the next week ahead.  Stay tuned...
          *Socialization
          *Pumpkin
          *Sunset
          *Family
          *Neat
          *Craft
          *Shadow

Pregnancy Questionaire- Week 16

How far along: 16 weeks

Size of baby: The size of an avacado according to online research...hahaha!

Maternity clothes: Yes indeed and I'm happy to say that I LOVE full front panel pants...they make me feel secure.  HAHAHA!

Stretch marks:  Nope...not yet.

Sleep:  BRING IT ON!  Y'all know how much I love to sleep (even when I'm not pregnant) but this pregnancy seems to be sucking me dry.  I'm exhausted and I have NO PROBLEMS falling asleep but I do wish I could STAY asleep and not have to wake up 3 times to pee in the night.  Just sayin'...

Best moment this week:  Having Sugar rub my tummy saying "HI BABY...AAAWWW, IT'S SO CUTE, MAMA!"

Movement: Not yet...although I did suspect a little something this afternoon.  It's probably just gas...sigh...

Food cravings/aversions: I had a craving for warm chocolate chip cookies this afternoon so I made a batch and they came out TERRIBLE.  If Titi is reading this, please know that I would LOVE a warm chocolate chip cookie date at your house at some point soon.  *wink*  And the only aversion that I seem to be having is to eggs and wheat bread of any kind.  They both throw me over the edge if I'm not prepared to handle them.  YUCK!

Gender: We don't know yet...but after my recent visit to the hospital (for some gastro issues), Papa H suspects that we are having a boy.  The ER doctor ordered a full ultrasound to check on the baby while we were there and he commented on how big 'he' was.  He quickly asked us if we knew what we were having and once we said "not yet", he smiled and said "let's not try and guess then, okay"....afterwards, he continued to reference the baby as 'he' so Papa H is convinced that it's a boy.  I, on the other hand, think it's a girl (based on the crazy symptoms that I've had all along that are nothing like the symptoms that I had during PQ's pregnancy).  But only God knows for sure.  We shall see...

Labor signs: Remember the ER visit I just mentioned?  Well, my stomach cramps were so bad that I thought I was having a miscarriage.  Hence the reason for my trip to the ER.  It was awful...but we were relieved to hear that the baby was FINE and the cramps were some serious gastro issues going on instead.  Praise God for a healthy pregnancy so far!

Belly button - in or out? It's IN and it will probably stay in for a while...I think it 'popped' around 35 weeks with PQ.

What I miss: My ENERGY!!!  I feel SO OLD with this pregnancy!

What I am looking forward to:  Obviously meeting our new little friend in person! 

What else I am looking forward to:  Hearing whether it's a boy or a girl...and then trying to figure out the sleeping arrangements for the kids.  If the baby is a girl, it will be easy enough for the two little kids to share a room as they grow up.  And if it's a boy, than we need to come up with another plan...not sure what that is right now...hahaha!