Catching up

Sorry for not blogging in a while. We finally got all moved into the house in Springdale. A million thanks to Tracy and Jonathan, because we could NOT have done it without their help! They came up here two weekends in a row to help move and take up my slack. We are getting settled in very well. There are still a few boxes to go through, and things to hang on the walls, but we are doing it a little at a time. Poor Lee, he's having to do so much to take care of the things I just can't do anymore. And we are still looking for renters for our house in Fayetteville. We should have it all cleaned and ready to go after this weekend.

Here are a couple of pics I snapped the other day when they were working in the yard. Lee mowed, and Becca helped pick up leaves. So cute!

I think we are really going to like living here. Having all the extra space will sure be nice when the babies join us. We are getting excited! Only about 8 weeks to go, if it goes according to plans. I am getting tired much easier now. I've been trying to come home from work early most days and rest before Becca gets home. She's so funny---the teachers at daycare say she talks about "her babies" and "her twins" all the time. There are 2 other expecting mommies in her room, so all the kids talk about the other moms having one baby but Becca's mom is having two! They are all so funny.


AND NO, WE STILL DON'T HAVE NAMES!! But we're getting close!

More Easter Pics

More from church and hunting eggs at home. Who had more fun, Becca or Fergie? It was hilarious! Fergie would literally sniff the eggs and stand there beside them until Becca came to pick them up. And later, we found two dyed eggs under our bed after Becca tattled that Fergie "took my eggs!!"

Lee's sister Dee made Becca's precious dress. We just love it! Thanks again, Aunt Dee!

Easter Egg Hunting

Lee, Grammy and I took Becca to the Easter egg hunt and cookout at church on Saturday. It was a beautiful, sunny day. We even had to break out the sunscreen! Yay, spring!

Becca was really funny hunting eggs. There was a mixture of plastic, candy-filled eggs and dyed eggs (which we've never had before). She walked around only picking up the real eggs! I guess maybe because they were heavier? Of course, she clumsily threw them into her bucket so we had many broken, stinky eggs by the end of the day. It also took awhile for her to carry her bucket. She tried to just pick up the eggs and carry them in her arms for the longest time. She would just make trips back and forth to put them in her bucket. This made her get a lot less eggs than the other kids....I was worried she would only get a few. But, finally she got the hang of it!

They also had the Easter Bunny make an appearance at church, but of course, my child wouldn't go near him! Then she begged us to "see the bunny" for two days afterward....go figure. Just like Strike, Slugger, Santa, Chuck E. Cheese and all the other characters she won't go near.

The sweet little dress she's wearing came from Pop & Karen. We love it!

I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this picture. As most of you know, getting her to smile for a photo is nearly impossible. So, good job DADDY!


This was the only other girl Becca's age hunting eggs....we have mostly boys in church her age.

Pop's Weekend Visit

Pop came to see us a couple of weeks ago. I've been trying to get this blog done since then, but it just wasn't happening. This tired mama doesn't get a lot of things done these days. Guess it's just the beginning, huh?

We are so glad that dad came to visit. So much easier on me not having to travel. And we've got so much to do before the move that I just couldn't give up a whole weekend.

Becca had the best time having Pop all to herself. They had an afternoon of sidewalk chalk (poor Dad!) and playing ball. Then into the house where I'm sure he read her about 150 books over the weekend. Heehee, welcome to our world.

Here are some CUTE pics of them together!

Struggles

I thought it might help me to air this out in writing. I am really struggling with where to send the kiddos for daycare. As you can imagine, sending 3 kids full-time is outrageously expensive! For example, the least expensive I've found is $1,150/month and it goes up to $1,600!!. No way that is going to fly. And, believe it or not, in-home people are NOT cheaper and you have to trust someone to watch your kids while watching 6 or 8 others. Nannies coming into our home are off the chart $$$$!!!

So, I've done a lot of looking around. Getting TWO spots in an infant room is hard to do, so I have to act fast. Becca was on a waiting list at several places when she was an infant and that was just for one spot.

We have decided that part-time care is going to be our best choice. It's what we can afford. I want to keep Becca in a social, school-type environment where she will be engaged and learning. It would be nice (and easiest) to take the babies to the same place. Some places are designed for "mother's day out" and only open to 1 year+, some close in the summer or for long breaks and some are just stupidly expensive.

I have narrowed it down to 3 places. Well, two really. I liked a third place but the neighborhood was quite questionable. I just don't think I could look past it. I got 3 references on the place and general area--2 were not good (one from the mailman). The facility itself is fine, but I can't send Becca outside to play in a neighborhood where there is known riff-raff and sex offenders nearby.

My first choice is St. Thomas church in Springdale. It's literally a mile from the house and 2 from my office. The good thing is they go nearly year-round, taking a few 2-week breaks in between sessions. I can send all of them 4 days a week from 9:00-2:00, which should give Lee some time to do his real estate work after UPS. The bad: they are closed on Tuesdays, which means I have to find someone to keep all 3 kids once a week. And I may need help from FAMILY and FRIENDS during those longer breaks in care. Don't think I won't ask. That is my new plan for survival--ASK FOR HELP!!

The other place is actually a full-time place (also at a church) but it costs a bit more than St. Thomas. I realize we would be getting more, but we can get by on part-time care. The other thing with it is that I just didn't love it. It was just OK. Is "just OK" good enough for my kids? I keep thinking maybe I am spoiled because we love Becca's daycare in Farmington....agh!

Anyway, that is it. I will be surprised if anyone reads through this entire post. St. Thomas enrolls next week for fall, so I have to decide fast. If we don't get 3 spots, I'll have to start over.

New pictures

New pictures, thanks to Grammy. We had a nice visit with Nanny and Grammy over the weekend--finally some good weather to get out and play!!

Our funny girl

I can always count on Becca to make us laugh or remember something I don't want her to! She is so funny with some of the things she says to us.

This all happened just this morning.

First, she put her hands on my belly and said, "I want to say hi to the babies. Are they awake?"
Isn't that sweet?

Then, as she was watching me get dressed, she kindly pointed out to me: "Your booty's falling out!" (of my pants, she meant)...LOL!! I guess even she could see that I need some bigger pants!

We had a little showdown while putting on her shoes. She had on socks with her new crocs ( I know it's nerdy) but it's been cool outside in the mornings. She saw that I didn't have socks on with my dress shoes, so she took hers off. ME: "Becca, you need to wear socks so your feet won't be cold." HER: "I want to take my socks off, like you." So, how can I argue with that? Little stinker.