The Lost Month of March

Seriously it has been since Austin's birthday that I have posted.... SEEEEEERIOUSLY!?!?! That is just sadness! But, in fact, it is true- my month of March got lost. Mostly due to sickness, my miserable March actually flew by. I missed meetings, bible study, playdates and all sorts of good stuff. At the very end I blessedly was well enough to go on my planned trip to Fresno to see Beth Moore and go to a Women's Ministry Leadership conference... phew! It was an awesome trip. Now we're in full-fledged "spring" (it's still raining) mode- with 5 weeks until Wyatt is due, I am feeling the "Spring Cleaning"/ nesting fever. My dearest friend Brooke is having her C-section tomorrow, and then we will no longer be pregnant together! **SIGH** It's been so nice, Brooke, to have someone to whine with!!! :) But I am soooo happy for her, she has put in her time and deservedly gets to hold her little girl tomorrow. I can't WAIT to meet her!!!

So, ONE of the reasons my miserable March was so miserable was because I was sent to the hospital with pnuemonia. I had to stay three nights! Mercy in heaven it was soooo awful. I'm just not one of those people who likes to be in the hospital, even when there are nurses waiting on you. It felt really dramatic, but I guess I wouldn't have been there if it wasn't necessary. One of the things that was really concerning my doc was my low oxygen levels. I couldn't talk and hold my oxygen level above 90 on my own (they wanted me to be a minimum of 94). As soon as I would start to carry on a conversation (it probably disn't help that I am naturally a fast talker), my oxygen levels would plummet. UGH! Anyways, other than needing a special inhaler and my lungs taking forever to heal, I am much MUCH better. :) I actually can remember the last time I felt that sick... I was 9.

Now, onward! Trying to get "normal life" things done before Wyatt arrives, as well as organize the condo and plan our church's Spring Tea. That's the update for now! I will post some cute pics of Tyler's preschool Spring Show soon!

Austin Be Three!

Today is our Austin Bear's third birthday! It certainly has flown by, especially this last year. He seems so big now, and always wants to do everything that Tyler does. Aw.

Then. Hours old. So sweet!

2 months: Famous for his "starving artist" hair. Sorry, Austin. Mommy couldn't cut it!

Now! So big! Talks all the time, tells us what he loves. :)

We went to McDonald's today with some awesome friends, just to do something special on his "day". Last night he got spoiled by Mimi, Papa, Uncle Ian, Gramma, Grampa, Aunt Linae, Uncle Rudi and cousin Lucy here at the house for a little family party. Lots of fun, lots of ice cream!

We love you sooooo much, our brown-eyed Bear! :)

"Guess What???"

So, yesterday Doug and I returned from our weekend away in South Lake Tahoe.... it was much needed and very relaxing! I was very happy to see my two Troublemakers once we got back (though today, Monday, feels like...well, a Monday :-/ ).

At bedtime they tumbled downstairs, clean from their bath from Daddy to say goodnight to me. Austin jumped up on me for a snuggle and hug. I kissed him all over his face and gave him a tickle and said:

"Guess what???"
"What??"
"I love you, Austin Bear!"
"Mommy, guess what???"
"What???" I said.


"I love TYLER!!!!"


Punk. :)

Who's The Crib For?

Yesterday we had our dear friends Brandon and Andrea and their little pumpkin Annabelle over for the Super Bowl. It was fun to visit and eat yummy snacks! Anyways, when people have been over the last few days, the boys immediately want to show off their new bunk beds (or, "bonk beds", as it sounds when they say it). So, B & A graciously went upstairs to humor them. (I will post pics soon of the crowded room. ;-) )

Austin, who has had a bit of trouble transitioning out of the crib (not TOO bad, it's more whining and complaining than anything) to his bottom bunk, jumped up on it to show off to Andrea as soon as we got in the room. (I was really happy to see this, just for the sake of knowing that he is proud of it helps!).
Andrea said, "Is that your new bed!?!?"
Austin: "Yeah! I sleep on da bonk bed!"
Andrea: "Wow!"
Me: "Such a big boy bed, huh?"
Austin: "Yeah... (pointing at the crib) That's for Quiet."

(As in, his baby brother on the way's name is Quiet.) LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Going Lactose Free to See

... if I am intolerant. Well, I know I am intolerant of half and half, my utmost fave thing to add to my coffee! SADNESS!!!! BUT, lately I have notice a sensitivity to other dairy products (well, cow milk products). So, I officially began at about 3:30 yesterday afternoon. I bought goat milk, goat milk yogurt and coconut milk ice cream to try it all out and see how my body feels.

The goat milk I put on my oatmeal this morning, which was fine in the patmeal, but plain was, welll... kinda "goat-y" as my friend Brigitte said. It tasted like liquid goat cheese. And I loooooove goat cheese! But liquid will take some getting used to. I think I will get some vanilla almond milk or coconut milk to try for that.

Brigitte's sister Heidi has been dairy free for 4 years and helped me out a lot on what to try. It will be interesting to see what the difference is! Anywho, Heidi's best suggestion was indulge in some ice cream!!!! So I did- actually a COMPLETELY dairy free one... not even goat milk!

And it is SUPER GOOD!!!!!! Mmmmm. I am eating right now! :)

Just though I would share... I'll let you know how it goes. I would love any suggestions!

Trying Out Tahoe

Okay, that's a bad title for this post because for Doug and I, we don't need to try out Tahoe. We just love it. I think Doug says "YES. I LOVE it here!" like 8 times during the weekend. But for the Troublemakers, it was a mostly new experience. Tyler remembers when we went two years ago, but Austin was just over 1 year old! So, he just toddled around and napped really. And Tyler wasn't old enough to SNOWBOARD (woot!) which we had him try this time!

So, really, the Troublemakers were trying out Tahoe. :) We had a great time! Tyler did great on the board, though wanted to go back to sledding after awhile (not shocking). We were at a park near our hotel that had embankments along one side of a soccer field that people use for sledding. So we did, too... along with the snowboarding and a bit of playing at the actual playground.

We stayed at Mont Bleu, which is, admittedly, a hotel and casino (it is Nevada after all ;-)). But, we never even saw the casino floor, which was nice. We DID, though, take many trips to the indoor pool!

It was a good two days, with a difficult second night but it was worth it. (Sharing a room with them is just NOT sleep-friendly for me!). They are already saying "Next time we go to Tahoe...."

Yay!

Friday Freakout

Okay, confession time:

1. Today, I ate half of Troublemaker #2's doughnut. It had sprinkles.

2. I usually freak out a little on Fridays.

"But, WHY!?!?" You might ask. "Friday is almost everyone's favorite day of the week. The end of the work week, maybe with some fun plans in the midst."

Right. Well, from a stay-at-home mom's point of view... well, at least THIS stay-at-home mom's point of view, I know that Friday is the end of my ability to do the homemaker part of my job. The cleaning, meal planning, shopping, laundry and the like. Because the hubby and me both don't really like doing chores on the weekend. SO, on Friday I desperately try to get a ton of stuff done before my handsome man gets home from work, so that we can enjoy the weekend. I am not saying this to be like all "holier than supermom" or anything, because I really don't do a very good job at it AND, I don't think it's healthy.

Most of my freak outs aren't healthy. Yours aren't either.

So, instead of cleaning my floor... I blogged.

Any tips??? (Other than, get over it? I have a chore chart, btw.)

New Year and No New Blog Name

Like I said to almost everyone: "I hate to say I told you so... but...

"IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!"

A Wyatt to be exact. I am finally giving in to Doug's favorite boy name (he's made three now, so I think he's earned it). So, the blog name does not have to change (I know all 3 of you were on the edge of your seats)... I am still "Happy With My Bishop Boys"!!!

This new year has had me feeling refreshed and ready for a new start, and I am ready to get the house up to snuff and prepared for baby-on-the-way and George.

Who George, you ask? I have not inroduced him to the online world yet, have I??? Well, here is George:

 He is our bearded dragon. We gave him to The Troublemaker's as a Christmas present. Our first official family pet! George is great. BUT, he is a little high maintenance in one way: SPACE. Right now, George lives on tope of the Throublemakers' dresser in his cage. But George is going to grow (not by a ton, but enough) and need a NEW enclosure cage thing, that Doug is going to build. Anyways, this new cage still needs to be off the ground. So, Doug thinks the best idea is to buy a new dining room table and chairs and move the old dining room table UP TO THE BEDROOM (Say WHAAAAT?!?!?) to put George on in his new mansion. This will happen in the next 3-4 months.

Wait: DID I MENTION WYATT IS EXPECTED TO ARRIVE IN ABOUT 4 AND A HALF MONTHS???? Yeeeeeeah....... about that. So, in this room that seems to have endless space (it doesn't), we now need room for our dining room table. And a baby. And this baby needs a crib. Which we have, but Troublemaker #2 is in it. So HE needs a bed. And baby needs a dresser. So now we need a dining room table, chairs, a bunk bed, two twin mattresses, new bedding for those twin mattresses and a new dresser. **PHEW!!!**

So, preparing for Wyatt and tending to George feels a little overwhelming right now. But something about it being a new year just feels energizing!!! And I have two friends due before me (a third has just given birth!), so I do feel like I have SOME time. And it's 2nd trimester happy time, with more energy and no sickness. YAY!

So, a happy 2011 to all 4 of you who read this. :) I am going to try this year to post more! I hope I have bunk beds to show soon. :)

How Vitamin Water and Brooke Kline Saved Me

Today started our very well, considering how this week has been so far. I got out of the house mostly on time to get to Santa Rosa to pick up a Christmas gift from a VERY gifted friend. Then I went to KMart to return my unworn Ugly Sweatshirt, which was bought for the now already-highly-enjoyed Ugly Sweater Christmas Party (or, Ugly Christmas Sweater Party?). I happened uopn a grotesque sweater at the last minjte at Goodwill, so I wore that instead. (No, you can't see pictures. Ew.)

Then I was on to Target.... the Troublemakers seemed to be in an acceptable mood and I had a list of not more than 10 things to get. So I headed back to Rohnert Park and to Target. We were inside in the bathroom when one of my dearest friends heard my voice from inside her stall... it was Brooke with Caelen and Addison. So, we trampled around Target together. Her girls were so nicely behaved. In only took two minutes for my Troublemakers to go from "acceptable" to... well, UN-acceptable seems like too tame of a word. At one point I even said, "Can you please just give your brother a turn with the bacon?" Yeah. They were fighting over everything. And Target is not a calming place less than 48 hours before Christmas.

So, I was almost done and Brooke, the dear, was waiting for me to finish so we could exit together. I started getting a sharp pain in my lower abdomen which, being pregnant is not weird or scary. Just annoying. So, I figured I was hungry or whatever so ate some crackers and moved on towards the checkout. While I was waiting for our turn, I got dizzy and a little faint. THAT'S a little weirder than a sharp pain. So I grabbed a Vitamin Water out of the cooler near the cashier and started drinking it. Tyler started having a tantrum about getting out of the cart to show me something. I tried to be calm and tell him "No, you lost that priveledge last time we were here. We can try better next time." He lost it. Everything around me started to get more white and fuzzy and like a little muted. Tyler was soooooo melting down, and I knew I was not doing well because not only did I barely respond to his melting but I suddenly realized I wasn't standing up straight.

I turned to Brooke who was in the next line over and said "I really feel like I am going to pass out." I think she said I looked pale but I don't even remember. I managed to pay for my stuff and then as soon as I did I told the cashier that I needed help. I had to go sit down and they brought me ice for my neck!!!! How dramatic is that??? I sat there on the floor for like 5 or 10 minutes while sweet Brooke stayed with me then took all the kids over to the food area to wait for me. I was super hot at first then cold. But I felt better really fast... at least, I thought it was fast considering I really thought I was going to lose consciousness.

Anyways, isn't that crazy??? Brooke said that happened to her when she was pregnant last and thinks it's anemia... which makes total sense. I was also a little anemic when pregnant with Tyler. But the way the Vitamin Water helped I wonder if maybe my blood sugar was low also? Anyways, I am buying iron supplements tonight in hopes of THAT never happening again. WEIRD. I am so THANKFUL that God put Brooke there at the exact same time as me!!!!!!

So... that was my day. The end.

Happy 5th Birthday, Tyler!

Tyler is 5 years old today.... and I am sure I will say this every year but... WHERE has the time gone!?!?!?

Tyler Then: Was serious. Had old man hair. Cried to go to sleep for many months.

Tyler Now: Is never serious. Has blond hair. Has so much energy during the day he sleeps... like you would HOPE a baby would. ;-)

We love him so much. He's sensitive and goofy and OH SO ACTIVE!

Happy Birthday, Ty!!!!!

Prayer

My terminally awesome friend Courtney inspired me to blog today... I don't think she would mind me saying that SHE hasn't blogged in awhile (but def not as long as it's been for me) and it made me happy to read her post so I decided to give you, my three loyal readers ;-), a little something. I've been home today doing massive amounts of laundry in an attempt to prepare for a week long organzing cleaning overhaul, brought on by: a. Tyler's 5th birthday party, so more stuff came home.... b. Christmas stuff everywhere, and of course presents that WILL come and make clutter/take up space that doesn't exist... and c. Doug's parents and his grandma are coming by in T -7 days. His grandma has never been to our house so I feel like it should be as close to perfect as humanly possible. I know, ridiculous. I'm just being honest about my feelings. So, I'm still in my pajamas and need to start a new load, but I'm super good at distracting myself. So, here I am! Blogging! A miracle. (BTW, how good is that description "terminally awesome"??? I just made it up. And she is.)


FIRST of all, here are my Troublemakers:

This is what Austin does when I try and take a picture. Makes a face. How charming. Tyler turns 5 tomorrow.... WHAAAAT!?!? Such a milestone, I think. Austin is... a perfect "little brother". :)

Second, as most (all?) of you know, I am expecting baby #3 at the end of May... and hopefully we will find out in the next few weeks what the gender is. It's crazy and exciting!

Lastly, here is a video (first one posted on my blog EVER!) of the boys praying at bedtime. I think it's sweet and kind of funny (you can catch Austin saying "Thank you for Max's birthday"... Max (a dear, sweet 1 year old friend) had his brithday at the end of October. He's been thanking God for it every night since)... They ask to pray every night which is so awesome and melts a mommy's heart. Austin says "I do pray" or "I do dear God" to let us know HE gets to go first. ;-) The video is black because we're in the dark! Enjoy!

The Giggles, Courtesy of Austin

Wow it's been since FEBRUARY that I posted. Sad, isn't it? I know you've all cried over my absence, right? Riiiiiight. Well, after my last post, as you all (I think) know, Austin took a fall out of him and Tyler's bedroom window. 2nd story, onto the concrete below. He's okay, praise God, but it was pretty much the worst few days of my life. I considered posting about it- because God did some amazing work- and I still feel very emotional about it when I look at his little "accident photo", so it's hard to write a whole post about it. I already experienced sharing about the experience in front of my Sisters in Scripture (our women's bible study I attend at church) and even though it was totally necessary in my (and God's) eyes to thank everyone for their prayers for Austin... I basically balled my bloody eyes out in front of everyone. It was very attractive. Not. SO... a post on Austin's fall may or may not come in the future.

Right now I feel the need to post on something more upbeat.... well, A LOT more upbeat. Last Friday night I made a disaster of a delicious dinner... disaster in the kitchen, glory to the tastebuds. (You can find it here if you want to experience it..... and you probably want to). Oh, and the disaster was mostly because I tried to make fried onion rings, not because of this recipe. So don't be scared.

ANYWAYS.....

The dinner ended up taking me forever so the boys went down late. I don't know if it was just a fluke or they were over tired and that's why they had gone completely bonkers.

First, I had to get a big fatty splinter out of Tyler's heel. Of course this did not go well. It took about ten minutes to pin him down before I finally got it, and tears were streaming down his face and he was sobbing... so sad. Austin was standing close by, observing. After I was done I said (as Ty was still very upset),
"Honey, I'm so sorry I hurt you. But if splinters stay in your skin they can hurt even more and then you have to go to the doctor to get it out."
Tyler: "Mo-o-ommmmyyyyyyy, it just hurt me really baaaaaad!"
Me: "I know, baby. I'm so sorry, but I had to do it."
Tyler: "Okaaaa-a-ayyy. (sob) I know."
Me: "Are you okay???"
Austin: "Yeah."

Tyler immediately stopped crying and we looked at each other for a moment and then busted up laughing. Austin, of course, was perfectly fine.... he was just standing there!!! We thought this was gloriously funny and of course Austin ate up the laughter.

And that was just the beginning.

Then I tried to read them a book.

So, we sat on me and Doug's bed and I started reading. Ever few seconds, Austin would stick his thumb in his mouth and "slurp" it out, making an obnoxious noise. This, not shockingly, made Tyler crack up. So I had to stop reading multiple times to tell them both to be quiet if they wanted to here the book.

They didn't listen, so in exacerbation I turned to Austin and said, "WHAT are you DOOOOOING, child!?!?!"

Austin said, plainly: "Tractor."

Riiiiiiight. That threw me into stifled laughter because once you laugh at them, discipline is out the window. So I was trying very hard to "stifle" it. As I open my mouth to begin reading another sentence in a controlled manner, Austin scoots up close to me an LETS ONE RIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tyler was DONE by this point, red in face from laughter.

Austin then looks at me and says: "Burp."

It wasn't a burp that he shared with us.

I didn't finish the book that night.

The First Day of Preschool!

Here's the big man in front of the sign... didn't realize I have a huge smudge on my camera until now :(

Here he comes, the BIG official preschooler- Tyler! Today was his first day at Mt. Taylor Children's Center and I can't even believe it is finally here! He went from 8:30am-11:30am and the teacher said he did good!

This morning Tyler kept asking, "Can I go to preschool noooooow?!?!?!" and has been excited for months- but when we walked into the room and all the unfamiliarity set in, it was like FROZEN BOY had taken over his body. I was trying not to push him into circle time- where the other kids were- and Martha, the teacher, must've read my mind and let Ty play with a puzzle at a table while she continued with the other kids. I was able to shuffle myself out the door before he could say "I want to go home!" again and just... LEFT. It was weird! And very quiet in my car ;-).

When I went to pick him up they were heading in from play time and I snuck by the door without him seeing me to sign him out. As I passed, a beautiful little curly-ponytailed girl poked her head out the door, looked straight at me and said "Tyyyyyyylerrrrrr...." (in quite a flirty little voice, I must say). I said "Shhhh!" and came back moments later to find Ty sitting in the circle, with the other kids, engaged in story time. Austin gave us away by yelling "DAAAAAA!!!!!" (which I'm pretty sure means "Tyler" ;) and Tyler looked, popped up and ran to give me a happy hug. Yay!

Austin took that opportunity to take Tyler's place in the circle to listen to the story. Tyler went back and kindly (seriously) told Austin that he was listening to the story and please move. I distracted Austin and let Tyler listen to the story before leaving.

Tyler has not told me anything that he did at preschool (teenage boy syndrome already!?!?!)- he's "too tired". Whatever. We'll see what he tells Daddy later! We survived the first day!!! Crazy... I feel like I'm growing up.

Austin wanted a cameo in the "First Day of Preschool" photos

A Glimpse of "Peace" (not Quiet)

WOW SHOCKING it has been so long since I have posted. ;) Yeah, I know, I'm the worst as I am always saying. Here's a little bit of Bishop Boy updates for you who live near and far:

TYLER is now (mostly) potty trained at night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yaaaaaaay! Saving money on Pull-Ups is amazing. I am so proud of my big 4 year old. He is set to start preschool at the beginning of February! Tyler is VERY excited.... we'll see what happens when I drop him off for the first time. :)

AUSTIN is the quintessential little brother and likes to pretend he is a big brother to those around him who are smaller; yelling "NO!" in an firm voice is his favorite thing to say. He loves to run, climb, jump, dance, yell, giggle, fall and play at the coat tails of Ty. He love Thomas the Tank Engine and "Mee-mo" ("Finding Nemo").

DOUG has been busy at work and is now officially (small) part owner of Sebastopol Hardware! We are very excited to be a part of a great business and he looks forward to the future, growing the business and continuing its good reputation in West Sonoma County. He and I are taking a mini-vacation tomorrow out to Bodega Bay to relax for a night. We can't wait!

                                         * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

If you don't live in the area, let me inform you of the insane rain we have had in the last 3-4 days. It's been quite the storm. Thunder woke Austin up one morning and I stumbled in the room to try and calm him back down (as it was 4:30am), only to hear Tyler say "Austin, you don't need to cry. It's just a storm." So sweet. Most the time it just seems Tyler feels like his life would be a heck of a lot better without Austin around and I am constantly referee. It's draining of energy to be a mom in the first place, but constantly breaking up fights adds to it for sure. Sometimes I feel defeated and that my efforts are going nowhere.

But I've been praying lately for a more "victorious" outlook on my every day life (as we have been going through 31 Days Of Power by Ruth Meyers in our Women's Bible Studay at church). God has revealed to me that the defeated feeling is not of Him- and since everything good is from our Almighty God, then the feelings I was having are BAD and NOT of Him; therefore, not the best He has for me OR what He intends. So, wanting to fight the enemy in this way, I have been hoping and praying to receive what has already been given to me by Christ: Victory! Now, my personal area of struggle is parenting these two Troublemakers- I love them with all my heart and soul but they are a HANDFUL- especially while not getting along. So I needed specific victory help from Jesus in this area!

This week I have already begun to feel it! God is so good. Little nuggets from Him can be so so encouraging! First, was that sweet little "storm" anectdote that I just told you about. Then, yesterday, when my dear sweet friend Brooke was flooded in at her house so we couldn't come visit, made the almost 4th day in a row at home. Going stir crazy. With a baby who I DEFINATELY wasn't about to take out it in that horrid weather (sweet Annabelle Burgess who I am blessed to watch every Wednesday when her beautiful mom goes to work). Now, going stir crazy makes me tired and worn out. Stir crazy makes the Troublemakers... crazy. BUT- yesterday, as I was trying to clean the floor and the kitchen and feed Annie and get macaroni on the table IT HAPPENED:

They played together. Nicely.

What? I know. Granted, they were running, racing, sliding on the floor and doing laps around a free standing wall in the middle of our downstairs. BUT THEY WERE LAUGHING. AND NOT FIGHTING! They do love each other!!!! And maybe sometime they will show that even more than once in a blue moon. Thank you, Lord for that moment of peace. From YOU.

And I'm okay that it wasn't quiet. :)

"In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Romans 8:37

Latest Injuries

Or... "Battle Wounds":

Austin:
Fat Lip (from wiggling not out of his booster seat but wiggling his booster seat off of the dining room chair; he was strapped in it)
Red Eyelid (collided with Daniel Porter in the church nursery)
Scrapes on Back (Ring-Around-the-Christmas-Tree)
Scrape on Nose (origin unknown)

Tyler:
Bruise on head (origin unknown)
Rug Burns on Chest (As he put it "Wanna see my awesome way of getting down the stairs???")
"Owie" on Finger, Scrape on Knee (helping Daddy with the Christmas Tree)

Playing "This is the Way the Ladies Ride" with each other

Wishing you a survived Christmas,

Adria

A Kid Centered Day (Truely)

Let's be honest- being a mom is HARD. I love it, and wouldn't trade my Bishop Boys for anything- but it is HARD. And thankless. But worth it. I'm tired of women not saying anything about the exhaustion and acting like it was all peachy keen for 18 years. You must not remember.

Lately I have been convicted of something- Tyler is in a desperate pursuit of my attention. You may be thinking, "Well, duh. He's a kid." But I have been convicted that the disobedience and violent behavior against his brother is a direct result of the lack of one-on-one attention with me. This was a VERY disheartening realization because 1. I felt terrible about it; and 2. I ALREADY WORK HARD! This is not to toot my own horn- but between the house cleaning and groceries and feeding and running and laundry and appeasing and trying raise decent human beings I am already drained at the end of the day, is what I mean- I'm not saying I do a good job at any of these. So by the time Austin goes down for a nap, Tyler finally has me all to himself and I am TOAST- or, feeling guilty that the floor is still nasty and socks need to be folded.

But really- Tyler's behavior has had us at each other's throats. And we both end up feeling terrible. SO- The Holy Spirit decided to convict me that it's time to be unselfish. Brooke and Courtney helped by encouraging me to do one day where if the house doesn't get clean, oh well. It's all about the kids. A Kid Centered Day. This is what we did:


French toast, dressed, went to Kids Party Central for two hours (indoor playground), McDonald's, Old Navy (Ty got to pick out 3 shirts), home, Austin down for nap, train tracks, cars, movie (together- I didn't fall asleep or do laundry like I normally do), Austin up, library, dinner, bath, sleep. I have documented my kitchen after the Kid Centered Day:

I DID manage to do a load of laundry- but it didn't make it past folding.

Aaaaand- I had to still clean all this up after they went to bed. God decided in a way to "bless" this day by having it be the day Doug wasn't coming home until about 11:00pm from a men's conference out at a camp in Sebastopol. So I didn't feel as much pressure to have everything clean when he came home. (Don't worry- he would not be offended by this).

Now, realistically, we can't do all those things every day. Safeway must be visited, and the house must be cleaned, the laundry done. But Tyler was in SUCH a better mood. And so was I. The challenge now is finding the balance between being unselfish for my kids and unselfish for my husband. AND fight off my own selfishness (I mean, who DOESN'T want to take a snooze during Thomas the Tank Engine??) I hope I can continue making time for Tyler in that special way. He hasn't been alone with me really in almost two years. And in two months he'll be heading off to preschool and Austin and I will be alone two days of the week. Which is wonderful and sad and strange all at once. So I guess I better build on this relationship a bit more, huh? Not that the "preschool-ness" behavior will magically end, but it's easier (not easy) to discipline and tell him who's boss when you've filled the emotional tank a bit.

Being a mom is HARD. And worth it.

And maybe someday we'll get a thank you. (I thanked my mom after I went through labor for the first time.)

A little more lighthearted... let's laugh a bit, eh?

Okay, so my last post was a little intense, I know... if you haven't read it though, don't bother-- it may make you think less of me. But here is a new post- an interactive one! I just have HAVE to post on this because it has been causing me so much laughter in the past few weeks, and laughter is truely the best medicine. One instance even had me in tears (of laughter) on Sunday morning as I re-told it to some dear friends.

SO- what is it, you ask? Well, I want to start posting some of the mommy (or daddy)-isms that I have found myself saying... not the typical "I told you so" type, but a mommy-ism that you never could have imagined saying to anyone in your life, and only your child(ren) have been able to brew such a statement in you. I want you to help me! Post (as a comment) something you've said to your kids that you look back and think "What!?!?!?" or it just makes you laugh. My (real) example will be below, so you'll totally know what I mean. If you are a mommy or a daddy, please add to my list! As many as you want! Let's read each others and have a little chuckle. Check back to find more later.

Love to you all... and remember: being a parent isn't always a barrel of laughs... but sometimes you get a truckload.

"If you eat another ant, you will get a spanking."

"Please don't paint the television."

I lost my baby today...

Today was wonderful and horrible all at the same time. In the pouring rain we headed to the Dow's house for a much needed playdate/catch up with Maddie and Tina. Maddie had the day off from being a big first grader so the timing was perfect. Wonderful.

Tina and I sat in the family room sipping coffee as the kids ran up and down the stairs playing fairly well together as we caught up on our news. Wonderful.

Big Kids opened the front door. Left it open. Horrible.

(This is one of those stories that you really REALLY don't want to tell people about, because it makes it seem like you are the most terrible, unattentive parent in the universe; but it so profoundly affects you that you can't help but share. It's hard for me not to share when my heart breaks).

Austin goes out the front door. Tina and Adria, being not near the front door, didn't even know it was open. Horrible.

Big Kids say they can't find Austin. Wonderful. (That they told us).

I go running out in the rain while Tina looks all over the house. No trace. No trace at all. Horrible.

There is a field across the street from the Dow's that now has a small creek running through because of the rain. Horrible.

I look EVERWHERE on their street, thinking, "this is impossible- his legs aren't that long!"

Now both Tina and I were searching outside. Nothing.

This was probably 10 minutes, but you must agree- that is a lifetime while looking for a missing kid. A lifetime.

I finally got in my car; we were seriously ready to call the police. I roll down my windows in the rain, looking frantically. I think I might die. Horrible.

NEXT STREET OVER: Someone is looking in the backseat of their car while stopped in the middle of the street. I'm thinking, might be wonderful.

It was... a sweet lady saw him wandering and picked him up. Lord bless her, she said she had grandbabies (a midst my sobs) and even had a carseat in her car. I think I hugged her four times. She was strapping him in to go knock on doors when I found them. Wonderful.

God is good. So so so so so amazingly good. The things that could have happened, DIDN'T. Let's not go into those, they are already playing in my head.

Needless to say, I'm feeling VERY grateful for my healthy boys today. I lost my baby today and he's okay. Thank you, Jesus.

Now, go give your own babies a kiss. Or your dog. Or significant other. I did.

I might give Austin a couple more days sleeping with his pacifier.

Trying so very hard....

I was just telling my girlfriends last night that I think that I don't blog much because I don't find it interesting to anybody. Then I realized that Brooke does exactly the same thing (albeit way more often, she is so on it) and I read hers every day... I think HERS is interesting. So here I am again after a long thought out process of whether to keep the blog or not (by the way, I'm still not sure. I'm so fickle). Anyways, things are as well as they can be around these parts. October decided to come really fast and drastically change the weather from 102 degrees to 60 and windy. I hate the wind. (Has anyone else put flannel sheets on their bed yet? Because I'm highly considering it). I do NOT however, hate Halloween. I need to buy the boys' costumes like, yesterday... but dressing up and trick-or-treating is just precious. They have so much fun. So we're looking forward to that.

When it was still warmish outside last week or so, I took the boys outside in our "backyard". Since we decided to not buy a house for awhile, I've been trying REALLY hard to enjoy and appreciate what we do have. Our backyard that we actually own is not a yard at all... it's a storage area with bark and a 5x5 patio. So, we go outside the gate to the other "backyard"... the one we pay HOA to maintain every month??? (yeah i guess we should use it). So I let the boys run on the grass and play with their golf clubs and trucks and get out a little energy. It's a lot of effort because it's not fenced and there is a road right near the grassy knolls... but again, I'm trying really hard here to use and be grateful for what we do have..... see Austin heading for the road? I had already called him back twice at this point. There's a lot of running after children to make sure they live while we are "appreciating". :-)

The kids have a good time, they need an outlet and lets face it, cartoons just don't do it (though Imagination Movers help me to clean the floor). So seeing their little bodies run and run and run just brings joy to my soul and makes the whole thing worth it. Then daddy comes home and tries to fall asleep on the grass. Riiiiiiight. Good luck with that one, honey.

Other things that are fun and new: We went camping at Henry Cowell State Park a couple weeks ago with Mike and Michele. It was so fun and dirty as camping always is. However, Henry Cowell was super close to Santa Cruz, so not only did we go the Boardwalk (even Austin went on a ride by himself, so adorable), but also to the beach, Capitola and Roaring Camp Railroad. It was a nice last bit of summer for us.

Annabelle Lyric Burgess joined us on September 23rd! She is so beautiful and sweet you just want to gobble her up! Andrea and Brandon are doing great as new parents... Little Annie is so blessed to have them as parents. We are all so excited to have finally met her! :)

Tyler tried Brazilian Jiu Jitsu last night for the first time. I didn't get to stay and watch because the studio was all open and Austin thought it was all for him to run around on. So Doug stayed with Tyler and said afterwards he did really well; listened and did what they told him to do (fascinating, isn't it???). But the owner said for attention spans being so short at his age that we might want to wait just a couple months. Ty was the youngest in there so it totally made sense. But it was fun to start thinking about little activities for him to do on his own... big man.

They just keep growing.... and I keep trying to appreciate every moment at this age even amongst the whining, hitting, defiance and pouting. Because (as I like to tell Tyler when he asks "But whhhhhyyyyyyyy???") God put me in charge of them. And what other job would you really want than the one He gives you?

You Pick The Ending...

Hello again friends and family,

So do you remember (or have ever been to a) murder mystery theatre? In high school we did a play called "The Mystery of Edwin Drood". We learned like four or five possible endings to the show, each with a different character being the murderer and a corresponding song. :) Anyways, the audience got to vote on who was the murderer, and so, once a murderer was elected, we would act it out in that way. (Pictures of me in my costume NOT included in blog post) ;-)

Well, now it's your turn, though sorry- no murdering involved! YOU (reader of Bishop Blog) get to decide if I shall continue blogging. I know, it sounds like a pity party but it's NOT! I really want to know who has read all my posts. I haven't been consistent at all, so I know it's really my fault... so I think that I should stop. BUT if people in my family or friends that I don't see often (Courtney and Brooke, you don't count....sorry. But comment anyways!! :) actually DO like the updates and read them, please tell me so by clicking on the "0 comments" (or whatever number it says) link at the beginning of this post (right under the title), and leaving a comment. You can even just say hi.

NO GUILT!!!!!! If you DON'T read my blog, well... you are reading it right now, so... that's not you. What will happen is I will leave this up for a couple weeks and if nobody (or, not many) people comment then... this will be the last post. Which is fine, seriously. If I continue then I PROMISE I will blog more because NOW (drumroll, please...) I have the computer OUT of my boys' room so it is of easier access and use to me! Yay!

So... comment or not, no big deal, really! :)

Here are some pictures of us at the Gravenstein Apple Fair in Sebastopol... total throwback event of my youth. We enjoyed yummy food, tractors, and hippies dancing. Can't beat that. :)

Tyler in Bounce House; and with a corn dog

Doug telling Andrea a story

Doug and I

Austin checking out the animals

My personal favorite picture: Phil "proudly" pointing at the Weeks sign.

My and the boys on the "tractor train" ride