Did I forget to mention...

Did I forget to mention we are having a BOY??  I think I did.  Minor detail.  We found out almost two weeks ago!  The discovery that our little baby is a BOY, was very exciting.  Yet, at the same time there was a small part of us that was a bit sad about knowing Nona will be the only little girl.  It was a feeling that is hard to explain. We were excited about a boy, but something about knowing Nona's little clothes won't be worn again, or that Nona won't have a little sister to grow up with, it just seemed very final.
  Adam seemed to be in shock for at least the first 24 hours before he settled into the idea that baby #3 is a boy.  He expressed it like this:
"Jack is my little buddy. He and I are going to do everything together.  I tell him all the time that he is my favorite little guy.  Now we will have to learn how to share that with another little boy." Adam just wasn't sure about how baby #3 might change his relationship with Jack.
Jack on the other hand… was nothing but ecstatic.  He told us "this is the BEST day of my life! I can't believe we are getting a BOY! Just what I wanted!"  Jack doesn't seem to have any reservations about sharing his life with another little guy.
NonaJane ran around the rooms saying "baby boy, baby boy, baby boy" so at least she knows what to expect.  However, pretty sure the whole thing is still abstract and weird to her.
I, on the other hand, was overwhelmed.  I was overwhelmed that the dream I had before I was even pregnant was coming true!  (A literal dream. The kind you have when you are asleep. Not just a hoping kind of dream). I had dreamt of our family of 5. There were three children, and the third little boy was already here.  So ever since I found out I was pregnant, I have thought and hoped that it would be as it was in my dream.  The best part??? The little guy already had his NAME in my dream as well (so I hope you are reading this Michael T Crabb and Mark Tyler Crabb)  …

Matthew T Schwatken

I figured I had better go ahead and share, as Jack and Nona are already calling him baby Matt.  Often times using his full name Matthew T.    The T (and his initials MT)  are in tribute to my brothers.  I loved growing up as baby #3, and I loved my big brothers.  So for me, this name is absolutely perfect.  To the MT's in my life,

Love you Michael and Mark.  

life just keeps on changing

One of the lovely meals I have made :).. yes I AM bragging. I can do that
It is MY blog after all!

Life has been changing around here again.  I guess that is to be expected… seems like things are always changing.  But the biggest change for us is that Adam is now working on a first shift job.  Meaning he works 7:00am to 3:00 pm instead of 2:00pm to 11:00pm like he has for the past 4 years.  Knowing this change was coming is what motivated me to jump on the "learn how to cook so you can be a good wife and mother" bandwagon.  Now we have family dinners at night! Like the kind where you sit around the dinner table and eat food together!  But it isn't as picture perfect as the movies (yet…) because we have to beg and bribe and yell at our children to get them to eat.  BUT… they ARE eating which in itself is a GIANT step forward.  I am a bit annoyed by how long it takes me to make dinner, and clean it up, only to have two mildly ungrateful children balk at it.  But, these are the sacrifices we make. Right???

NonaJane decided she would dress as a worker bee
for the day… ALL day

So Adam being home at night has its definite advantages. For example, when NonaJane gets out of bed for the 10th time-- I'm not alone.  When the kids fight about getting into the tub, and then complain about getting out of the tub (I mean really?? Why do I have to convince you to get IN AND convince you to get OUT??)  but the point is.. I'm NOT ALONE!  I so appreciate his presence at night.  However, after the children go to bed, Adam keeps sitting in my spot on the couch. Not cool.  I sit there, and I watch whatever I want on the TV.  So obviously there are some glitches and compromising that must take place.  But I'm sure we will work it out.
The early mornings aren't too bad at all either!! At least not for me.  I'm not the one who has to get up at 5:30  in the morning to go to work.  You would have to ask him how he feels about that one :)
So what other changes are occurring around here?? Well, our beautiful property is full of gorgeous colors and leaves.  The massive number of spiders seem to be dwindling (thank the lord) and Jack seems to be growing up overnight.  Would you believe he was picking dried worms up off the driveway? He also stomped on a grasshopper that NonaJane and I were trying to have a conversation with (No, I did not condone this. I was quite shocked and taken back by the unexpected squashing of our little friend. But I was equally amazed that my little boy who has never been much for the rough and dirty activities is finally starting to!)  Jack has also been hungry lately.  If you know him… this is a BIG change.  My little man has never been one for eating. It was more like punishment. But lately he has been asking for second servings!  He has also been eating dinner with us, and eating what WE eat! Even things like carrots, tomatoes, peppers, etc.!! Seriously!!

I found Willie the wildcat on our couch one morning… he had ripped
a hole in the screen and jumped thru the window!  Mischievous...

An update on NonaJane… well… NonaJane scares me a little.  She is bossier than ever, and sweeter than ever at the same time.  Kind of like a light switch, or one of those sweet and sour candies from the commercials.  For example, she may go ape crazy on you if you try to help her onto the potty.. but three minutes later she may be hugging on you and telling you how much she loves you.  She has developed her language to a point that we are now getting whole conversations, and she is using the potty like a champ.  By far the easiest potty training experience!  She stayed the night with her cousins at Mema and Papa's house this past weekend.  Mom reports that Nona would start singing "Twinkle twinkle" and if her cousin Luella tried to join in Nona would yell at her "You NO sing!"  So… obviously not the   most caring or generous of children.  Let's just all hope that she doesn't grow up to be a big meany. Okay? At least her adorable little face is deceiving enough.  We get comments all the time about what a "cute and sweet little girl" she is.  I smile and giggle on the inside.
As far as me. Well, I feel like I'm swelling like a blimp. I'm 22 weeks along and feel like 40.  But who's complaining (besides me obviously)?
I'm off to make some dinner now...

finally settling in

view of some fall color from our front porch

Our pond filled up!

We think the trees along the drive are going to turn red!

Nona and Luella at the pumpkin patch

It was a good day yesterday.  Maybe the first day since our move that I felt reassured that it was right.  It just felt like everything was finally coming together, or at least I was finally seeing thru the stress and chaos and recognizing all the good that were happening.
Moving was more stressful than I expected it to be. Not just the packing, cleaning, sorting, hauling, and unpacking.  That was really the easy part.  It was the adjusting.  The waking up in a new home.  Not knowing how many steps in the dark it took to get to the bathroom. The fumbling around in my daughter's room to find the light switch when she cried out for me at night.  The unfamiliar sounds, smells, and feel of a new home.  Not having a flow in the kitchen, a routine, or any sense or normalcy.  I wasn't expecting it to be so difficult. Perhaps I dreamed we would move in and I would immediately feel comfortable and cozy. But I didn't.  Nothing felt quite right.  The furniture seemed out of place, I couldn't find the perfect spot for all my things… and 8 gallons of paint alone was not enough to solve my discomfort. Even 1200 square feet of new carpet could not give me back my old home, my old sense of comfort and normalcy.  I missed my routines. Life seemed easier before the move.

That is Willie the wildcat peeking in on me thru
thru the sky-light in the bathroom.  Sneaky
little thing.

But while I was busy complaining about the work inside the home,  how giant spiders were taking over my world, and how nothing ever felt right…. good things were actually happening.

Since moving here Jack has started attending Sonshine pre-school in town.  He complains that he doesn't learn about space,  gravity, or all the novel ideas that he thought school would bring. He was disappointed that we sharpened all those pencils, placed them neatly in his pencil pouch, readied him for handwriting and math problems...and he never gets to use them.. but really he loves it.  They do creative arts and crafts everyday, they go on field trips, and he has new friends.  Apparently he has so many new friends that they bicker over who will get to sit by him. Luckily Jack hasn't really noticed this, but the other parents have started to comment toAdam and I about how much their kiddos talk about Jack.  He was even invited on his first 'date' by a sweetheart in his class (rumor has it she calls Jack her boyfriend :))

Jack exploring our backyard

Thru these friendships, I have made friendships.  These Moms are absolutely amazing.  Yesterday while Adam and I were at work, a fellow pre-school Mom volunteered to take Nona along with her as she chaperoned the  field trip to the fire station.  Then another Mom invited Jack to their house after school for a playdate.  Apparently on this play date my son (JACK) ate a dinner of sloppy joe's carrots and green beans.  They informed me that he ate great, and they had no idea he was a picky eater.  As I stood in shock, utter disbelief, Jack danced around me and talked in manic speed about his awesome day.  How he got to spray the fire hose at the fire station, how he ate green beans and carrots, and sang new songs at bible school.
While Jack is off having a blast at preschool, NonaJane has been spending her time at the new babysitter's house. Adam's co-workers wife, Meagan, has started babysitting for us during the week.  NonaJane loves her house so much that she rarely wants to leave to come home with me. She plays so hard with their daughter, Bella, that Nona normally falls asleep before we even make it out of town.  Nona gets excited and asks to go to Bella's house, and nothing makes my heart feel better then knowing that my kids are happy and excited about their new routines. Meagan has been so generous in sharing her home, and her time with my kids. She has been unbelievably flexible and laid back. So much so that I still can't get her to tell me how much she wants to be paid.  So I pay her on my own accord (which we all know can be dangerous with what a tightwad I am). So I pay her, and pray that she is not secretly hating me!

The leaves beginning to fall, and our pond full off in the distance (thanks to all those heavy rains!)

But as the night was coming to a close yesterday, I looked at my phone and saw a text inviting us for dinner and a movie Friday night at Meagan and Bella's house.  It all just hit me at once. I may no longer have neighbors that live next door. I may not be able to walk 20 feet to borrow an egg.  But, we are building a network of amazing friends in our new town.  New friends who are not only willing, but who volunteer to spend time with our kids, who invite us over, and who want to know us.  I'm thankful for this move. I'm thankful for our beautiful home and property, even if it did take me WAY out of my comfort zone.

NonaJane wearing my old shirt!