Updates

So it has been difficult to find time for blogging, let alone checking blogs since I am giving up a lot of computer time for lent. 

But there have actually been a few things happening in the recent past that are blog-worthy enough for some updates.  Hopefully I can remember all the things I want to mention, although they will not be in any particular order.

Pregnancy is going pretty well, for being near the end of it.  My biggest problem is my lower back, which at times can be quite painful and limits my activities, but fortunately I have a good chiropractor that is helping to manage that and when the adjustments go really well, I have almost no pain at all.  It's also getting more difficult to work in the kitchen as I have to full-on park my belly on the counter to do dishes. If I have to do a lot of stirring in a hot pot, I have to turn sideways since I cannot really get as close as I would like in order to see inside the pot and not burn my belly!  Plus the general day-to-day moves of bending, sitting, squatting, kneeling, etc to tend to little ones is increasingly challenging and tiring.

Joseph's latest obsession has become Star Wars of all things, specifically storm troopers.  He asks me almost every day if he can have a storm trooper for his birthday, tells me who in his class has a storm trooper and tonight said a quite lengthy prayer, thanking God in advance for the storm trooper that Daddy is going to give him for his birthday and "do a great job [at getting said storm trooper] - and it's going to be his favorite toy that he will play with all the time... etc etc etc!"  (Which I'm not even sure it has actually been promised to him, but it's all he can talk about practically.)  He has also told me how sometimes he likes "Dark Maul" and sometimes he likes "Dark Vader."  And he has asked both Michael and I, "What is a Jedi?" and all of this information is solely from preschool!  Which causes me to be rather dissatisfied with the whole "Show and Tell" part of the day as it seems to have become something like a running advertisement for all sorts of toys that one doesn't have and then subsequently desires incessantly!  I am constantly getting requests to buy toys that he's just seen at school and demands to play and so-and-so's house (more for the sake of their toys than their company.)  We did not have this experience last year.  I hope the influence and memory of all this materialism will fade as we begin homeschooling next year.   

We've been making some home improvements recently.  We got new windows in January.  We will soon be getting new insulation in the attic:  "Green Energy Barrier" which is an aluminum based, paper thin, "space-aged" type material for which they actually guarantee at least a 25% reduction in energy bills.  Although I really dislike the marketing hook of "spend more, save more," in a way it seems to be more true for this instance.  We've only had about 6-8 inches of 30 year old fiber glass insulation and we know the house needs it.  It will also help the heating and cooling systems last longer since they won't have to work as hard to maintain the desired temperatures. 

But perhaps the greatest home improvement of all will be a new next door neighbor!!  Our grouchy OCD neighbor put his house on the market last week.   Michael was literally kicking his heels and doing a little dance the day he came home from work and saw the sign in their yard.  He has been a thorn in our side for the past few years (as we ostensibly are to him since we don't keep our yard in the pristine state that he does).  We will be glad to have an end to the unneighborly antics of Mr. B--- L--.

For those who don't live around here, spring has sprung in Charlotte and we've been enjoying mild temperatures, sunny days and budding trees and flowers.  I am trying to make the most of these days by taking the kids to the playground and making sure they get some time outside (and me too.) 

Well, that's all I can remember for now and this post is probably long enough anyways.