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We had a pretty exciting week around here…

I had my 30 week ultrasound and Banjo continues to be very cooperative and consistent. Everything is measuring right on for dates and looking just like it should. And we got an extra bonus when they offered to do a 3d picture for us! It was fun to see Banjo’s face and see that he or she looks quite a bit like the girls did when they were born.

I was “snack mom” at preschool, which is always exciting since that means that CareBear gets to be the special teacher’s helper for the day. She’d decided weeks ago that we’d be taking strawberry muffins and they turned out to be very tasty and popular. We got the sad news, though, that our teacher will be leaving us for greener pastures in Seattle so we’ll have to break in a whole new teacher next month (well, not “new” since she taught there years ago, but new to us!).

Our biggest excitement, though, happened over the weekend. Early Sunday morning, someone missed the turn at the end of our road and drove into our yard! They destroyed part of our fence and flattened our mailbox. They also made it way too far into the yard to have been traveling at a sane speed… they jumped the curb and the tire tracks stop just short of our very large camellia. After that, they apparently backed around onto our neighbors rock wall, taking it down a couple of feet, before speeding off back down the road. We filed a police report for the hit and run, though it’s unlikely that they’ll find them. They did leave behind a section of their front bumper and at least one headlight so we have a good idea of what kind and color of car it was! I’m very happy that our yard is well planted and slopes upward so they had no chance of actually running into the house.

This week will be busy! We have a fun preschool field trip to the Children’s Museum in Olympia, I’ll be having my first non-stress test with Banjo, and CareBear has a birthday party this weekend! All fun stuff.

Well, I didn’t get this out yesterday as planned but I blame the holiday! Since Chris had the day off, I didn’t get to any of my usual Monday stuff (not that I mind, it’s more fun having him around).

We had a pretty fun week… some visiting, a little belated Christmas gifting, no doctor’s appointments and even a little downtime! I had a fun lunch with an old friend whom I haven’t seen in ages! It was great to find out what was going on with her and her family. And it was really nice to have Chris take the kids with him so I could have a leisurely meal and chat for as long as I wanted! We also hosted a playdate with Z and Tez. The girls seemed to enjoy running from one end of the house to the other, repeatedly. They did a lot of playing and snacking and the grown-ups got to chat so a successful visit all around!

We spent the long weekend running a few errands, playing outside (when it wasn’t too rainy) and generally just hanging around. We decided to have a relaxing weekend before things get too busy again! We’ll be going for my monthly ultrasound this week so I’m looking forward to seeing Banjo, as usual. I’ll be seeing one doctor or another every week from now on (I’m 30 weeks along and everything’s fine, but they have rules about being old and diabetic), until the end of March when the Banjo makes an appearance. I also get to be “snack mom” at preschool this week, which is always fun. CareBear has decided that she wants to bring strawberry muffins so I’ll have to find a good recipe. Meanwhile, LiliBee is going to get a lot of good Grams and Pas time so it’s a good week for everyone!

One of my dear friends from the lab loaned us a wonderful (if annoyingly noisy) game this week… it’s become an instant hit!

All it took was a little instruction from Papa to get them started.

LiliBee asked for a little clarification.

CareBear needed a little reminder.

But, once they got going, a good time was had by all!

We had a good week… no new viruses or infections or strange rashes showed up! The kids are totally back to normal and Chris was only sick for about a day and a half. I’m still recovering, though, for some reason (and I think that reason may be named “Banjo”). Still, a good week.

CareBear started back at school, which is always exciting. They had their first substitute teacher and CareBear celebrated that by running full speed into one of the other kids. She got quite a good bump on the head from that, but his head must be tougher since he didn’t seem any worse for wear.

We had a quick visit with one of my good friends, who came bearing gifts of hand-me-down clothes, movies, toys and books! It’s just like Christmas all over again over here! We’ve watched some “CareBear” movie practically every day since then and CareBear already knows a lot of the lines and songs.

I had my last “regular” OB visit last week. Next time around (in about 3 weeks), I’ll start my weekly “non-stress tests” in addition to the monthly ultrasounds. Being an old, diabetic, pregnant lady gets complicated! Anyway, Banjo is still doing well and the girls are really into hearing the heartbeat.

LiliBee is fascinated by the whole baby thing. She is constantly pulling my shirt up to check on the baby and talk or sing to it. It’s really very cute, except when we’re out and about and I don’t necessarily want to flash everyone… she doesn’t really care how far up she pulls my shirt! (CareBear is at least a little more discreet when she starts sticking her head under my shirt to check on the baby.) LiliBee’s favorite book right now is about a little hippo who learns how to help out when his parents bring home a baby. I hope it’s a good sign for March!

This week is shaping up to have lots of fun visiting! I’m also hopeful that I’ll finally get everything cleaned up from the holiday… getting sick really messed up my house!

I’ve had to do a bit of website housekeeping for the new year… for instance, the “Project 365” link goes to the 2010 version now instead of 2009 (and 2009’s Project 365 is now under “2009 Photos”). So let me know if there are any broken links or dead ends.

Also, photos should be back on my blog posts within the next week. I think I’ve overcome the problem with my galleries, though I still have no idea what caused it!

Resolution for the new year… get the rest of the sections of the website up and running and updated! And maybe find a way to add some character to the site.

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had a good holiday season and are rested and ready for 2010.

We had a nice, relaxing week after all of the hustle and bustle of Christmas. Unfortunately, it was also an unhealthy week…

LiliBee came down with a fever and congestion on Wednesday night and was sick through the New Year. She’s recovered nicely now, but still has an occasional cough. CareBear waited a couple of days before getting the fever… but on the 1st of the year, she finally succumbed. She was really only feverish for a day, which was nice, but now she has a rash from head to toe from her amoxicillin! They assure me that it will soon start looking better, which is good because she looks very spotty.

I was able to hold out until yesterday before getting the fever part of this illness, but I’ve had congestion for several days. I look forward to being able to breathe again. And sleep again. Chris has been lucky so far, but I have a feeling it’s only a matter of time before he comes down with whatever virus this is, too.

So we spent New Year’s Eve and every day since then holed up in the house trying not to infect anyone!

New Year’s Eve itself was very noisy around here. Our neighborhood started in with the fireworks around 6pm and then the booming was pretty constant between 10pm and 1am. Around midnight, they added car horns. Poor Lucy was beside herself (loud noises terrify her) and Maisy kept trying to yell at everyone. The kids slept through it all… don’t know if it was illness or if they just sleep that soundly!

Before all of the fevers, we managed to have some fun! The girls and I busied ourselves with new craft projects (Christmas gifts from Auntie Trina) and put on a couple of puppet shows. On Wednesday, Chris and I took CareBear on an outing to see “The Princess and the Frog” in the movie theater, complete with popcorn. She even dressed up for it. The movie was a big hit and she’s already asking when she can watch it again at home. Meanwhile, LiliBee spent a fun afternoon with Grams and Pas… I think she likes it when she has them all to herself!

We’ll be spending the next few days recovering, but I think everyone is on the way to health! I hope so, anyway, since we have to get back to real life this week.