Getting Situated

Well I have much happier things to report.  We do in fact have our heat turned back on, I got my nice hot bath, chocolate birthday cake, cute notes from my kids, and no more utility issues. :)  Hooray!

My homemade chocolate birthday cake - yum!  AND the heat was just turned back on - hooray!

We have managed to have most of our house situated other than the need for a kitchen table - our card table is just not doing it for me and I'm ready to have an actual table to put dinner on or do projects on.  Steve, of course, sees no real big hurry for a table - he's blessed to be more of a low maintenance guy than me - but seeing how my workspace consists of our home - this is something I'm fine being high maintenance on. :)  So the hunt for a kitchen table continues.  Steve does a fine job making the money and I do a fantastic job spending it. ;)

It stayed cold for the first of the week and then has warmed up the last few days which has been nice.  We've investigated our back yard more, and those mangy birds that poop all over everything somehow managed to stick around through the massive freeze - boo!  So the poop is back and we're looking for a pellet gun to take care of the problem.  

Ross and Ruby started going a bit stir crazy with being cooped up in our house with me trying to unpack and get organized - so we ventured out a few times even though it was cold.  We got to know some more friends from our ward with a play date at McDonald's Playplace.  Ruby especially loved it when she discovered the shoe cubby....she has shoe addictions.  I kept catching her trying to put all the shoes on.  I think I had to put back like 10 pairs she was trying to confiscate.  Crazy girl.

This girl sure likes sunglasses

Her hair is really trying to fit in to ponytails - we're almost there.

Helpers washing dishes - we had to do an outfit change after this since they were both soaked.

I also went to a craft show with some ladies and had fun looking at everyone's booth - lucky for Steve I only had $6 cash on me - but I found a great bow and arrow set for Ross for Christmas and the cutest Christmas skirt for Ruby.  

I found out the community building here is open on Thursdays for an hour for little ones to run around in the gym with balls and toys.  We happened to be the only ones who showed up that day, but Ross and Ruby LOVED having that huge space to run around kicking the balls and shooting them in the basket.  Ruby spent the last half hour walking up and down the bleachers and Ross insisted we try out sitting in a million different places.  

We went to the library again where I've found Ruby does not prefer their story time (I think she prefers the up close and personal reading of books and more animated voices used to read them), but she is more than excited for the craft time afterwards.  This week we made turkey puppets - she sat there and colored hers for about 15 straight minutes.  Ross preferred gluing all the pieces on and then hunting for books to check out.  We got some good ones. :)  

I'm kind of in shock that November is already almost over and Thanksgiving is THIS week.  CRAZY.  This pregnancy has flown by - though I'm definitely in the phase of not remembering what it's like to NOT be pregnant.  I'm 30 weeks now and we are STILL trying to come up with names.  Did I mention we finally told people what we are having!  We cheated and opened the envelope the night after we had our ultrasound and then finally told our families at our Halloween party.  It's another boy!  With our cute sassy Ruby, I'm thinking another boy may help restore the drama balance - let's hope. :)  We are trying to come up with names and having such a hard time - boys names are so hard to decide on!  I have a ton of girls names that I love, but we've had to do some serious digging for boy ones.  We've discussed the idea of sticking with R's - even though Ross and Ruby were not intended with that purpose.  Steve tells me if we choose another R name then all of our kids have to be R names - which I disagree, but he's the more picky one about names anyway. :)  Some in the running are: Rowland, Joseph, and James.  We're family oriented name people - we liked Russell until we realized it's WAY too close to Ross - tricky tricky.  I'm sure we'll figure it out soon.  

As for how the pregnancy is going - I'm noticing being pregnant for the third time is taking more of a toll on my body than usual.  I'm pretty sore all over, tired all the time, and I keep having people be surprised when I still have 10 weeks left to go.  I'm mentally freaking out with having three children.  Having two wasn't as stressful as I thought it would be which makes me nervous for three - especially with my Ruby who always has her own agenda which usually includes escaping/running away/doing exactly what you've asked her not to do.  Thank heavens for moms who come to help when you have children - I have the sweet set up again for 4 weeks of help - YES!  I love moms!  In the mean time - I've been sewing an advent calendar which has been fun - and reminds me how I don't know the lingo of sewing in the slightest - I need a dictionary! 

Ross has turned in to quite the helper.  He LOVES to help carry things, open doors, clean, put things away - you name it - he loves to help.  He's gotten a lot more in to pretending and setting up scenarios with his toys and loves to look at books and have them read to him all day long.  He and Ruby sharing a room has been quite interesting.  Ruby goes down first - has her unhappy freak out moment till she settles down and then Ross goes in to bed.  The other night as Ross was getting into PJs he said, "I'm getting my comfy on!" - I decided that could be a bumper sticker. :)  He also is very quick to let grandparents know that we're still in "Cowowado" so they don't worry where we're at. :)  Anyway - back to Ross and Ruby sharing a room - their conversations are hilarious.  Ruby usually grills Ross on where everyone is or what he's doing while he tells her over and over again where everyone really is and that he's trying to go to sleep.  Ruby - being a girl - could talk to that kid all night long - she thinks he's hilarious.  He's getting used to sleeping through her crying or random waking up in the middle of the night.  He LOVES making muffins, eating Rice Krispies for breakfast, strawberries, bananas, goldfish, spaghetti, and vegetables.  He will wrestle his dad any time of the day (especially since Mom is pregnant and can't wrestle anymore) and asking thousands of questions all day long. :)  He is quite in to music and loves rocking out to his favorites - pepped up - The Wise Man and the Foolish Man, Life is a Highway, Scripture Power, When Can I See you Again, and Let it Go.  He's so sweet with Ruby and patient.  I'm so grateful to have that boy.
 

Ross the helper of making brownies - with a bum crack ;)

Licking the bowl :)

Steve STILL gives in to letting Ross come in our bed in the morning - they are too cute :)

Ruby gets to know her own mind more and more.  She talks incessantly until she goes to sleep at night.  She loves to say, "How 'bout lunch?" to me when she wakes up from naps - from Winnie the Pooh, and adores singing and dancing.  She loves hiding in closets, trying on and walking around in everyone's shoes, playing with Ross's Woody doll and making me put his hat back on a thousand times a day, watching Mickey Mouse, and reading books in the chair by herself until she decides she wants you to read them to her.  Playing chase may be her favorite game ever (which is why she runs away most of the time), and she's experimenting with hitting and then saying "Sorry" right after.  She loves cheerios, goldfish, strawberries, apples, pears, Mac and Cheese, peas, carrots, and is definitely my spicy girl - she loves Mexican - my spicy taco soup, taquitos, and more.  She even likes salad (weird right?) and olives - if she can put them on her fingers first.  She has discovered mine and Steve's go to phrases when we're frustrated or stressed out - mine is "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" and Steve's is "Dang it!" - of course she thinks these are hilarious to say.  She's doing a million times better in nursery and is only sad when we leave and even then it's only a minute - woot woot!  Church is enjoyable again!  
 

Bed head!

Good morning!

My cute sassy Ruby :)

Cheese!

Steve is settling well in to his job.  Everyone there tells him how excited and glad they are that he is there.  He gets to do a little of everything which will give him some great experience.  He works four 10 hour shifts and usually has Wednesdays off which I love - it makes our week not seem so long - though the evenings before he's home from 5 until 6:30 seem to drag a lot more.  I find somehow the witching hours from 5 until 8 seem to break everyone down and we end up in survival mode until either Dad gets home or bedtime happens.  Funny how that is - I need to come up with a good plan during that time. 


All in all - we're good - getting to know people, and are starting to get to know the town a little bit.  There's much to be thankful for and we're so glad to be together!