Warning: May Contain Nuts

I stopped writing again.  You knew that, of course, but what you may not have known is that whenever I stop writing, it is because I am so very, very bad at keeping secrets. We had many this summer. A  baby on the way and a possible move meant that I could not think of one single thing to tell you about that didn’t involve gestating or selling/buying a house. Multi-tasking is, after all, a complete lie straight from the pit. That is never more true than the days where a baby is stealing all of my food and brains. And so I was silent.

Sorry and stuff.

BUT!  NOW!  Let me fill you in (mostly.  I’ll attempt to not over share, but you know how that kind of escapes me sometimes).

Baby #3 is supposedly due to enter this world on February 14.  I am thinking sooner.  It was originally the 11th (according to my calculations – and you know how awesome I am at Science) but then an early ultrasound got all holier than thou about the size of the fetus and now?  Now I have three extra days tacked on there.  Whatevs.  I bet he/she comes whenever God wants him/her to anyway.

And speaking of all that he/she him/her nonsense – I think we might wait to find out.  You have an opinion about this, I am sure.  Most everyone hates the idea, probably because we hate waiting for people who take too long to wrap a burrito at Chipotle.  Waiting never feels like fun.  For all of you, I am waiting to find out until the baby comes so that you can learn to be patient.  For the rest of us, I am wondering if not knowing will make me less ‘connected’ to this baby. I know there is technically an umbilical cord keeping us connected, so that’s all just crazy baby lady hormone mumbo jumbo. Was that true for you?  Did it matter at all?  Are you just tired of me not telling you secrets?

And then, the other news was moving stuff. We almost did.  We got very, very close.  We staged our house. We spoke with realtors. We got on air planes and we decided we couldn’t go.  We have some amazing relationships here that ultimately trumped the awesomeness of the offer. So we are here.  Here to help with planting a church.  Here to keep investing in great people. Here to let our kids get loved on by our sweet friends.

My summer of uncertainty officially ended when the Huskers won that game on Saturday. The weather turned. The air feels crisp and it was time to tell.

The belly is growing as fast as these two munchkins are.

So, I left again for a while, mostly  because I got all busy trying to get some other obligations taken care of.  It seems that I only have space for one extra thing at a time in my mind and schedule on top of all the mothering and wifery and home mechanics of the day. I would apologize to you, but I wouldn’t do it any other way either, so I suppose it’s just something we will all put up with until the day I have a maid or a personal chef or I’ve harnessed child labor more efficiently.

In the meantime, we’ve been up to lots of fun.  We got that slip and slide.  We took some videos and pictures of it.  I’ll put them up for you soon.

We’ve had lots of friends over for meals and to hang out and enjoy sharing our Legos and pink things. Gideon in particular has mastered the art of being an excellent host, giving tours of the house (And this is the garage….) and allowing other kids to build with his most prized possessions.

Currently we are hibernating against all of the ridiculous heat and pretty much not leaving the house unless it is super important (like having supper at a restaurant or buying paper products). The levels of energy are disturbingly high since we can’t really go run in the yard for hours because Mama will die. I let them play soccer in the house yesterday and it kind of helped but it was nothing like a park visit.  We’ll be trying to come up with exciting indoor activities for about another week or so until all this crazy heat passes. Any ideas of what we should add to our list?

You need a recipe for awesome if you want a guaranteed exciting time.  Let me lay this one out for you.

Small children. They make everything a little bit more exciting because it is pretty much going to be the first time they see whatever it is that you are doing, even if they saw it last year.  They probably don’t remember.  The same way you’ve met your fourth cousins but couldn’t tell anyone their names.  It’s all a little vague.

Dogs.  Preferably ones that you don’t ever have to take to the veterinary office for shots or to get their nails done. Get a couple of really territorial ones like some dachshunds. They go especially nuts.

A tiny rodent. A squirrel is too big.  Find a field mouse.

A window well. There is plenty of access and plenty of space for everyone to get the full view of the kind of insanity that is about to unfold.

Some frogs.  Just for fun.  They won’t move when the dogs bark or when the mouse runs across their entire bodies.

Place the mouse in the window well (or, as we do, just wait until one falls in there like the idiot it is). Open the back door and keep the children from being knocked down by the nearly frothing dogs. Watch and listen as the mouse tries to escape from the dogs without any possible way of doing that.  Observe the dogs going crazy for a kill, barking constantly. You’ll be able to see the mouse’s breathing escalate, just like you can hear the dogs panting. See the kids pick up on the excitement without really knowing what the fate of that mouse would be if a dog fell in that window well. You won’t be disappointed.

Happy Birthday, America! I am glad to be a part of this little democratic republic experiment and hope it turns out well. So far, I think we are doing okay.  I’d like to see us get out of debt.  I’d like to see everyone experience equality.  I’d like to see the disadvantaged understand the opportunities that are uniquely American and know how to embrace them.  I’d like to see the advantaged focusing on their ability to bring about change without just throwing pennies at random at things, to see those who have brilliant minds for economic profit apply themselves to teaching others how to win with money too.  I’d love utopia, but know that this isn’t the time for it. We are all fundamentally flawed as individuals, which makes the experiment of our governing style that much more risky. I feel privileged to have been born into it and hope that I am participating well. I hope you are too.