summer is just about over...

labor day weekend usually marks the end of summer... but now that we are on a school schedule, and carter starts back on tuesday the 31st.

we have had a great summer, but i am ready to get back to a schedule. as much as i love my children dearly, let's just say i would not do well home schooling.

craig worked a ton in august to help his company move locations. in return he has been taking a couple of days off/working from home to spend time with the family before school starts. on thurs. mason had a play date at his preschool. then i took him to panera for lunch. craig went out with hadley and carter, and took them to friendly's. while hadley was napping, craig took the boys bowling. it was a great day!!!

on friday we did some errands during the day, and then carter went to a birthday party. i hosted a lia sophia party friday night, and had so much fun!!! it was great just getting together with the girls, hanging out, and trying on jewelry. i bought a bunch of things with the hostess discount that i wouldn't normally buy/wear, but it was fun. i can't wait for my next date night, to get dressed up!

on saturday we spent the day in south dartmouth w/ craig's aunt and uncle. they invited us down so the kids could go swimming. it was perfect! the weather was amazing, and the kids had so much fun!!! i turned down the temp. in the hot tub so it was like bath water... i think i could have spent the whole weekend in there. it was just what my body needed.

today we thought about heading down to the beach, but decided against it. it turns out i had a horrible night sleep, with very uncomfortable pains. i slept in and we had a lazy morning at home. we then headed outside to enjoy the sun. we set up the slide for the kids to play with, and craig did chores outside. the boys were so excited to have a water fight with craig...

after hadley's nap, we headed to chili's for dinner, and then crescent ridge for ice cream. so yummy!!! hadley loves ice cream, and enjoyed it very much.

craig will be home for part of the day tomorrow, and then needs to go in for some meetings... and then tuesday is carter's first day!!!

yup, i'm pregnant...

people ask me all the time how i'm feeling... and the answer has always been great! this pregnancy has been going by with ease...

it is now 1 am and i am wide awake, i have heartburn, and the baby is kicking the crap out of my belly.... yup, the cute little movements and flutters are now hard kicks and baby karate.

in just a couple of days i will be in the 3rd trimester... the final stage of pregnancy. this is it. my final trimester, in my last pregnancy.

did i mention the heartburn is killing me? i just took a zantac and i am waiting for it to kick in.

ok, off to watch some tv and hope that i fall asleep...

hadley - 20 months

i LOVE this age... everyday she is learning something new, talking more, and just a pleasure to be around. she is so funny, and just cracks me up.

she tries to sing "happy birthday"... this is how it goes.
happy to you
happy to you
happy to you

it's so cute!



we have a fly in the house, which is driving us crazy. so now hadley says shoe fly, bye fly, hello fly, and go fly... i think she has adopted the house fly as her pet.

every morning when we go into her bedroom to get her, she is so happy and says, oh, hello mama, hi mae, hi car-cer, hello daddy. if i go in after my shower, she says "all wet... mama all wet" and tries to touch my hair. then of course the first thing we need to do is put on her "pretty" which she is obsessed with, and then she requests a bow. so, i think i can 100% call her a girly girl.

she is a wild women.. climbs on everything and anything. just likes to go, go, go.... she will run to get her shoes on, and after we help her get them on, she then says "let's go!"



i just can't believe how fast she is growing up... she is so close to being 2 years old, and a big sister! how is that possible... she is still my baby!!!

what a difference a year makes... here are a couple from last august. oh, how i can't wait to have a baby again!!! i wish we could pause some ages, and fast forward through others....





once the boys go back to school, i am looking forward to enjoying some quality time with hadley before the baby comes...

25 weeks

i am now 25 weeks pregnant... wow, it is really flying by now. i had my appointment today and all went well. i only gained 1 lb. in the last 4 weeks, so that was good.... total gain 10 lbs. everything is perfect! i got my glucose drink to do next time, and i am praying that i don't have GD again. i also told my doctor if i didn't get induced at 38 weeks for blood pressure issues, that we needed to make sure i had this baby before thanksgiving. there is no way i am risking giving birth on my mil's birthday. i know elective inductions can be an issue for debate, but i am all for them, and have never had an issue.



i think i am starting to make progress on baby names... i keep going back to the same couple of names, so hopefully i can make a decision soon. craig is fine with all the finalist, so i guess it is really up to me.

there are only a couple of things we need for this baby, and the most important is a new infant car seat. once the boys go back to school i need to get going on all things baby.

everything is starting to feel more real now... the baby is moving like crazy! craig can now feel s/he move now, which is awesome. my heartburn is keeping me up, and is so annoying. i guess it is my fault since i love ruby red grapefruit juice and i know that is the cause of my pain. not to mention my 5 trips to the bathroom every night, which is also probably a side effect of drinking the grapefruit juice.

i am also starting to anxious to find out if this baby is a boy or girl... my guess is girl, and craig thinks boy. i can't wait to find out in november!!!

family bbq

today we went down to so. dartmouth and enjoyed a day with craig's family. it was the annual family bbq w/ his aunts, uncles and cousins.



the kids had a great time. they played in the yard, and got to swim.



there are now so many kids, and so much fun! i remember back when there was only carter... and now there are 7 kids and everyone has a friend.



we even managed to get a family picture... which doesn't always happen, but i love it when we do.



the weather was a bit chilly... still a beautiful day. it was really windy, but that didn't seem to stop anyone from going in the pool... well, i didn't go, but the kids had a great time!



hadley loved when craig threw her in the air... she kept saying "more, more!"



the kids lips were blue and they still didn't want to get out... i think they could have stayed in there all day!

terrific tuesday

today was a good day. we were up and out early. first we went to target and purchased mason's school supplies. his preschool is a co-op and the parents need to supply paper towels, hand soap, tissues, etc.

so after spending $50 on supplies we headed over to the local beach in town. this was the first time we have been there this year. i actually thought it was closed when we got there... there was no other cars there except the life guard. to my surprise, it was open and we were the first ones there.

we put down all our stuff in a good location under a tree, and the kids ran into the lake. i must admit, i am not a lake girl. i like the ocean, but lakes and ponds don't really do it for me.

our friends met us there and the kids all had a fun time. hadley loves to play in the sand, and be very independent going in and out of the water.


we packed our lunch and played until it was time for hadley's nap. we were all so sandy, that as soon as we got home i put all 3 kids in the tub to get the sand off them. hadley went down for her nap, and the boys and i had some popcorn and lemonade on the deck. then i put on a movie for the boys. and i was able to put my feet up for a bit and relax... i think i deserved it!

so i would say that today was a good day...

lazy days of august...

july was such a busy month with camps, summer baseball, play dates... now that august is here, we are hanging out, being lazy, sleeping in, and just enjoying the end of the summer.

i have also decided that august is closet cleaning month. not sure if it is early nesting or what, but i started yesterday with my laundry closet, and our closet off the garage. it feels so good to throw things away, and get organized.

carter goes back to school on aug. 31st. last year was the first year that we went back before labor day, and it worked out really well. we need to get few basics like new sneakers, and a new backpack, but i'm thinking that actual back to school clothes shopping can wait until the weather starts to get cooler in september.

last week i brought the kids to gillette stadium to do the "patriots experience"... they had lots of fun with their friends running, jumping and playing. after we went to the cbs scene for lunch. it was a fun day! this year was the first year that i went, usually craig brings them. i'm sure craig will still bring them to see training camp