BLUEBERRY FIELD TRIP

We headed out to the blueberry field today for our annual blueberry picking tradition.  (Here's 2012 and 2011.)  We definitely felt the fact that Arkansas has a humidity that makes 85 degrees feel like 200 degrees, especially when you have a baby strapped to you.  So, for all of our sakes, the berry picking was a little quicker this year.

As usual, the girls really loved it, and this year they could both pick blueberries that were actually blue. Way to go, ladies!  Also, they are starting to smile for the camera.  Sometimes.  When they feel like it.  But, I will still take it.

John picked the most berries by far, as usual.  He had William who was less than happy for much of the time due to the fact that he was hot.  Or that he likes fussing.  It is hard to know.  Neither baby is terribly fussy all the time, but they both definitely have their moments, and William seems to have more of them.

I do love that we live in such a naturally beautiful area where there are activities like this a short drive away.  It really enriches our lives, and I am so thankful.




We finished out with our requisite family picture at the event.  John has said over and over again that family pictures are my love language, so he stands and smiles even we he is hot and ready to get the baby in the car.  Thanks, honey.  I really do appreciate it, and maybe you will too in 10 years.  Even if you don't, I still will - so thanks.



As usual, the fam pic cracks me up.  Bella was not actually acting as her face portrays - she was quite sweet through the whole outing and so was Lily.  When we got home, they both told me what a fun time they had with the blueberries.  That makes it worth it.  Even when it is blazing hot outside.  Plus, I am looking forward to fresh blueberry pie!

TWIN NURSERY IN PROGRESS

Decorating a nursery for my babies has got to be one of my favorite things.  When the possibility of adopting twins domestically surfaced, we knew it could happen quickly and that there were a lot of unknowns.  So, I did nothing on the nursery front, which drove me a little crazy.  One of my friends remarked on this subject by saying, "God just stretches us all in different ways."  Ha!

But, now they are here and are forever part of our family.  Hooray!  So, the nursery decorating has begun.  After the twins were born, we had Bella move out of her nursery (which looked like this) and move into Lily's room, which they now share (it looks like this).  When I do a nursery, I have a hard time not going too themey.  I think it is a fine line.  For William and Violet, I am doing a very loose travel theme.  I don't want to get too mappy or globey, so we shall see how this goes.

Here is what the nursery looks like right now.  We need to take down Bella's toddler bed, though she does still "nap" in this room.  However, if she does fall asleep, she is usually on the floor.

While Ellen was here, she painted it "Cool Jazz" by Behr, which is a light blue/green color that I love.  Thanks, Ellen!  We ordered these mini-cribs from Amazon.  I know that they will only be in them a couple of years, so I was looking mostly for functionality that came at a reasonable price with good reviews.  These fit the bill, except that several people complained that they were too small.  I wanted to say, "It's a MINI-crib, people.  What did you expect?"  Anyway, we ordered them and haven't put them together yet, but I think they will work really well for us.

The dresser that serves as a changing table in the room now has been mutilated by Bella.  See pictures below.

So, we need to shop for an all wood replacement.  We cheaped out a bit with the dresser, and we definitely learned that with kids, it can sometimes be worth spending a bit more to get something that will withstand the wear, tear and abuse, especially if any of your kids are named Bella.

With Ellen's inspiration from all that she sewed for True's nursery and because I can be a bit picky, especially when trying to do something for both genders, I have decided to sew most of the fabric stuff in the room.  I used this diaper changing pad cover tutorial, and it was easy to follow with results that I love!

My model was pretty cute as well.



I made two covers, using green for the other one.



Ellen is making quilts for each baby, and since she is an expert in that department, I am so glad.  I picked out 8 beautiful fabrics for each quilt, with Violet's being coral and red and William's being green and teal.  I hope it doesn't look too Christmasy when it is all said and done, but I think it will turn out nicely.  At least, I hope so.  Here's a run down of some of the fabrics being used.

I am using this on the crib bumpers and for the back of the quilts.  It is such unusual colors that I felt like could work for both genders.  (It's called Spare Change in Vintage 37043.11, Odds and Ends by Julie Comstock of Cosmo Cricket for Moda)



I don't know the names of the rest of the fabrics, but I got them all at a local place called The Stitch N Post.  I love it there.  They have a closet for my kids to play in with toys.  These are the fabrics I am using to cover the white mini-crib bumpers that I ordered.




These are the sheet fabrics, and I used this tutorial with measurements.



Since the room looks like this craziness right now -



I am looking forward to it getting transformed.  Also - I am looking forward to not having a pack n play at the end of my bed.

THE AFTERNOON THAT WENT DOWNHILL

If I were a little less conscientious, this post could also be titled "Re-Entry is a Bee-Otch."  We had a great time on our trip, and today was the day that we got back to reality.  It started off pretty well.  I slept til almost 8, got up and got myself and all kids ready.  We headed to a play date with good friends, which was a definite win for the day.  (Side note - a little boy that I didn't know was looking at William and said, "That is a brown baby."  Then, he realized there was another one and said with great excitement, "There are two brown babies!"  He seemed genuinely thrilled, which was really sweet.)   I had a good friend that had offered to come over and help with the kiddos this afternoon so that I could get some stuff done and get our lives back together after the trip.  What a gracious offer.

What an afternoon it turned out to be.

After my friend Harriet arrived, I left to do a quick round of grocery shopping.  We needed the basics, and that is what I got.  As I was checking out with my full-ish cart, I had that awful moment of realization.  Where is my wallet?  I thought I put it back after I had it in the diaper bag.  Where could it be?  The guy bagging my groceries noticed my empty hands and grimaced sadly at me.  I begged the cashier to use my memorized credit card number to no avail.  No, they said - you must go home and get your real credit card and ID.

Home I went.  I walked in and told Harriet what was going on.  We laughed and commiserated at how annoying that is, and I began looking for the missing wallet.  I did eventually find it.

In my purse.

That I had with me all along.  Because I am losing my ever-loving mind.  Truly.  I drove back to the grocery store to pay for my cart of bagged goods that was waiting at Guest Services.  Then, I drove to the post office to mail our tax check that was two months late (a major whoopsie we figured out yesterday that had happened in the midst of babies coming into our family).  I didn't want it to be two months and one more day late, and our post man comes in the morning.  When I arrived at the post office, I could not find the envelope containing said late tax check.  Nowhere.  I assumed that I left it at home, even though I had just seen it in the car.  I did buy stamps for birth announcements, so it wasn't a totally wasted journey.

When I pulled into the garage, Bella ran out to greet me wearing only a diaper with Harriet trailing behind her trying to get her clothes on.  Her diaper had been so dirty and crazy that Harriet needed to give her an impromptu bath.  Bella had also managed to pull out most of the baby clothes in the dresser, though she knows she is not supposed to do this.  Which is great, because I really wanted to organize those clothes again.



Harriet and I brought in the groceries.  What would I have done without her?  Then I discovered that my precious Baba Ganoush (a delicious mediterranean dip made of roasted eggplant) had spilled.  I mean all of it spilled.  I had gone for the big container, because I usually eat this stuff every day for lunch.  And, it managed to spill in the most awful spot ever - the place where the seat attaches to the floor and can be moved up or down.



It was in and under the carpet.  So, Harriet and I did our darnedest to clean it up.  We used almost a whole roll of paper towels, because I am so green.  Ha.  I was on my stomach hanging out the side door after having removed a car seat to be able to move the bench up and down.  We were sweating a lot.  We were overpowered by the smell of garlic.  We were amazed at how it had gotten everywhere.  It was bad.

It took forever.  (John had to remove a piece of the car later to get the rest of it, because the car still reeked of it later.)  Harriet is the true hero of the afternoon, because instead of thinking and/or saying a stream of curses at the Baba Ganoush, I was able to (mostly) laugh through it.  I had someone to help with all the kiddos who were in full effect.  Thanks so much, Harriet for your kindness and willingness to serve our family - it was such a rich blessing.

And like all things good or bad, the afternoon came to an end.  Though I did not accomplish half or even a quarter of what I thought I might (i.e., my bag is still not unpacked, mail was piled on the coffee table and the kitchen was a mess), the afternoon that went downhill had come and gone.  John came home and we changed into our swimsuits and headed to a swim birthday party with lots of friends - it was the spoonful of sugar that helped the afternoon medicine go down.

I am left realizing that having four little peeps is a lot of work, and it is mentally taxing.  Obviously it is taxing enough on me that I can't find the wallet I have, I can't find the tax check that is already late, and I spill things everywhere.  I read this blog post this evening by a fellow adoptive mom who has gone from two kids to four in the last year.  It was a breath of fresh air, and a great reminder that my strength comes from the Lord.  I am nothing without Him.  I cannot do this in my own strength.  Clearly.

I'm so thankful that tomorrow is a new day and that God's mercies are new every morning.  I probably won't feel fresh in the morning after feeding babies in the night, but God has fresh grace for me that I can choose to lean in to.  I'm hoping and praying and begging to be able to depend on Him more tomorrow than I did today.

TRICKS & TREATS ALONG THE WAY

Here are some of the Tricks and Treats along the way of our trip.

Treat: On the whole, the kids have done remarkably well. This can be attributed to several things- the babies are little and really only sleep and eat, both of which can be accomplished relatively well in the car. The big girls enjoy watching movies. A lot. They don't get a ton of TV time at home, so they think it a great treat to watch movies all day long.

Trick: On our way back from CO, Bella figured out she could pull the power cord out of her portable DVD player which caused her and Lily's movie to go off. That meant we heard three partial showings of the Lady and the Tramp and Sleeping Beauty never was awakened in our car. It was very annoying, since I had to climb to the back of the car to get it all set back up. Classic First World Problem.

Trick: This is what Bella looked like many times on this trip. During our lunch stop today, she was upset that she couldn't stand on the granite counter at Panda Express. It's a hard life. The picture is from our Target lunch stop.

Treat: Seeing some dear high school friends. We met at a CFA (of course we did), and it was so fun to catch up and laugh. My high school friends are all amazing women now, and I am so thankful that God put us all together in those tender years.

Treat: Although having three children in diapers is not easy on the pocketbook or the nose, it does make traveling more convenient. Lily has a bladder of steel, so there have been some travel days that we have only stopped once in an 8 hour drive.

Trick: I had one of my "undergarments" eaten by my in-laws' dog. This happened three years ago as well, but I had totally forgotten. Even though it was tucked into my bag- he found it and chewed it up. Tricky dog.

Treat: John got to run a 10K in Estes Park on Father's Day. It was one of his favorite activities in one of his favorite places. You can see him modeling his shirt with all the kiddos at lunch today.

Trick and Treat: Driving the full length of Kansas. It is flat and mostly boring, but the big sky is nice, and we stumbled across several fascinating wind farms.

Trick: At our cabin in Estes, there was a VHS player with some Disney movies the girls hadn't seen, like Aladdin. I watched a lot of it with them and realized that my childhood was very low-def. Then, the VHS player ate the tape. I don't miss those days.

Trick: This morning, while working on mailing our estimated quarterly taxes (which is usually such a treat . . .), we discovered that with everything going on in April, we forgot to pay our regular quarterly taxes. Whoops. If you are an IRS official reading this, please know we are sorry and fixing it right away. Also, how do you have time to be reading this with all you have going on?

Treat: We got to see and enjoy so much family along the way, and it was great to be able to introduce the twins to so many people that love them already. We are so blessed to have family that has supported us so graciously in this adoption process.

By all measures it has been a great trip, and getting back the the real world tomorrow will be a rude awakening. Hopefully we will be able to find a way through.