I'm so behind!

It's been a decent, productive week thus far. Some of it by choice, some not so much.

I've been on an organization streak and Kraig's motivated to paint, so we're getting some things done. Sunday night and Monday, Kraig painted the basement bathroom and did a few odds and ends. I cleaned out and organized the spice cabinet, cleaned the microwave, taught piano lessons, cooked dinner.

Yesterday, I ran downstairs to start some laundry and realized that the pile (or MOUNTAIN) of laundry in front of the washer was wet. Not good. I moved it around and realized that the floor was wet and there was water all over the floor and under the washer and dryer. Not good. I quickly figured out that the hot water tank was leaking all over the floor. Who knows how long it had been that way. I called Kraig and he came home to check it out. Not long after he got home, I called my dad. Thankfully, he'd been rained out of work, so he could help. I described what was going on and he immediately knew the problem. After a trip to the hardware store, Kraig went back to work. He was able to fix the problem after work in like 15 minutes for about $10. What a relief! As first time home owners who live far, far away from our parents, we're learning a lot! So thankful for my husband!

I made delicious Olive Garden style zuppa toscana for dinner. It was fairly simple and very delicious! It was even better today for lunch. We also had a loaf of artisan bread that I made. My mom turned me onto a recipe for a quick, no knead artisan bread that is delicious. We've thoroughly enjoyed having fresh bread with our meals. You can find the recipe here. Seriously, so easy that Kate could probably do it. The perfect recipe for a crazy, busy mommy!

Today, we've done about five loads of laundry and I'm trying to find some decorating inspiration for the house. We're trying to pick paint colors and it's sooooooo hard!

Hope you're all doing well:)

Update on the kiddos

Jack turned five months old on Sunday. It's hard to believe that he's that old, but he is growing like a weed and learning so many new things. So what's Jack up to these days? Here's a run-down:

-Weighed in at 16lbs 11oz today (90th percentile). 26 1/2inches long(90th). Head circumference of 45 cm(95th).
-He got an exersaucer for Christmas and he loves it. He loves being able to stand up and he's figured out how to get each of the attached toys in his mouth.
-He's still breastfeeding exclusively (though not for long!)
-He has great hand-eye coordination and loves playing with toys.
-He cries when I leave the room and stops when I return (cute, but not fun).
-When laying on his belly, he can scoot himself forward and backwards.
-He can sit up. Obviously, I still put pillows around him for safety reasons, but he loves sitting up. He has a tendency to dive at toys when they get a little to far away, but he doesn't seem to mind.
-Anytime he's on his back and isn't wearing socks, his toes are in his mouth. Gross.
-He's still much fussier than Kate was and isn't sleeping so well, but the doctor has given me a few suggestions to try. Hopefully they work! Momma needs some sleep!

Kate is ornery. She has the vocabulary of a teenager and the attitude of a teenager. Can you tell Daddy's a youth minister? She's potty trained, but traveling seemed to bring out the accidents. All in all, though, she's doing very well. She's a pro at puzzles, even ones that I think should be too difficult. She's going to bed earlier now that she used to, which hasn't seemed to affect her waking time or her napping. She's currently staring at me, eating a pop tart that seems to have appeared out of thin air. She's very strong-willed and a challenge at times, but she's also a sweetie and a great big sister. She continues to amaze us with her ability to learn lyrics so quickly. She knows so many songs that it's scary. She's got a great little voice and occasionally she'll start singing the harmony parts that she hears us sing. It's pretty amazing. Can't wait to see how her talents develop!

That's what's up! Kraig and I are doing well. I'm in organization mode, finally. So many things have gone undone since we moved and I'm ready to get them done. Can't wait til everything is finally where it really should go!

I gotta get this out...

I've been ready to do an update for over a week, but there's been no time--or internet!

Is it really January 9th already? My word...

Back to December (no, it's not a song reference)...

Christmas was a crazy busy time for us this year. I mean, it's always busy, but we had some added responsibilities that were awesome but very time consuming. We hosted Kraig's family for Christmas this year. Thankfully, they were able to oblige us by traveling to us this year. With Christmas being on a Sunday, traveling at the right time to see the whole family was going to be difficult for us. So they came! We got to enjoy several days with all of them, which was great! It was also nice to have the extra hands:) Since we had the Christmas Eve service Saturday and church on Sunday, we decided to open presents Christmas Eve morning and pretend it was Christmas:) We stopped halfway through for lunch and finished up just in time to get ready for the evening service. Luckily, Kate's not a wake up at 5 a.m. to open presents kind of kid, yet. I'm sure it's coming, but we were safe this year.

Kraig was in charge of our Christmas Eve service this year and he, along with myself and a small group of musicians, put together a performance of Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God. We're no Andrew Peterson, by any means, but it was an awesome night of telling the story of Christ in a very unique way through music. We were privileged to be able to do it and the Lord blessed our efforts. If you've heard this music, however, you understand that it's challenging work. We spent hours and hours rehearsing, preparing and setting the stage for the big night. It was labor intensive, but worth every minute. The musicians who participated did a fabulous job. Kraig did a great job. After the service was over (huge sigh of relief!), we went out for Chinese food with the family.

Quick rundown of the next week:
Monday: Sisters and brother-in-law left.
Tuesday: Kraig and I got to go to dinner:)
Wednesday: Kraig's parents left.
Thursday & Friday: LAUNDRY!
Saturday: Pack for Ohio, mini-New Year's Eve celebration.
Sunday: I finished packing like a crazy lady, packed up the kids and headed to church. After church, we drove to Ohio.

Once we made it to Ohio, we unloaded the van and ate some yummy appetizers. Mom even made sushi! After the bellies were full (much too full), we opened presents. I made a couple homemade gifts for my mom and sister, which I'll share another time:) It was so good to be home. We spent the rest of the week enjoying family time and getting some rest. On Wednesday, my sister took the kids to her house and her and mom kept them so I could take a lonnnnnnnng bubble bath. My sister got my lots of bubble bath goodies for Christmas, including two magazines to read. So thoughtful! I enjoyed every minute of the peace. After my bath was over, we ran over to feed Jack and then Kraig and I walked through a few thrift stores. Since our hands were empty, we even got to hold hands with each other! It's the simple things!

Friday, Kraig and I took Jackson and headed to Indiana for a wedding. Kraig was a groomsman for one of his college roommates. It was a beautiful wedding. It was even more beautiful because our hotel was a block away from a Jimmy John's. That was thoroughly enjoyable. On Sunday, we headed back to Ohio to get Kate and re-pack for our trip home. We were there from Sunday to the following Monday, the longest time we've had away since we moved here. It was a nice break, but it's also nice to be home.

We had a wonderful Christmas and I hope that you did too!

The All-Too-Big Four Month Post

I can't believe Jack is four months old already! It just feels like yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital, but it also feels like he's been part of our family forever. I wondered if I could possibly love another baby as much as Kate, and I do. I love him so much. I just want to soak every little thing about him in and savor it. He's growing too fast. Poor little guy has a cold AND he's teething. He's been a bit of a bear for the past week, but it will pass. In honor of his four month birthday yesterday, here's a list of Jack's "accomplishments":

-Weighed 15lbs 7oz last week, more than double his birth weight
-Has successfully, exclusively breastfed for 4 whole months
-Can roll over both ways (as of this week)
-Smiles and laughs constantly
-Loves watching his big sister play
-Has traveled to Ohio three times and Pennsylvania twice (yes, we're crazy)
-Is getting very good at playing with toys (or...putting them in his mouth)
-Had been sleeping through the night, but between growth spurts, teething and being sick, he's been waking a little more often in recent days
-Seems to have outgrown his dislike for onions (thankfully!)

He's a sweet, little boy. I can't wait to see more of his personality as he continues to grow. Life's crazy with a toddler and an infant, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Here's a few pics for you to enjoy from our recent family pictures:

"It's the Most _____ Time of the Year"

Today's fill-in-the-blank? Sickly, perhaps. Illness has once again stricken the Bishop household.

Kate had something stomach related Sunday. Jack started sounding like he was getting a cold on Tuesday. Last night, Kate woke up screaming in the middle of the night with a horrible, barking cough. I suspected she might have croup, and I was right. We took both kids to the pediatrician today. Jack seems to just have a cold. They checked for RSV, but it was negative. Kate has croup and her strep culture was negative today. Oh and my throat is sore and my nose is running. Lovely. They sent Kate home with a prescription for a steroid and albuterol (and, thank you, spell check, but I don't mean butterball).

Back to the Kate waking in the middle of the night story: We came home from church last night to find out that the electricity was out. We lit a few candles and sat around hoping it would come back on. We were sure Kate wouldn't go to bed without any lights on. We were right. We finally decided to make Kate a bed on the loveseat and Kraig would sleep with her on the couch. Once everyone was settled in, it was at least 10:30. And right when things were calming down, the lights came back on. Eventually, though, we all fell asleep. Then around 1:30, Kate woke up and didn't go back to sleep. I don't know if she was scared because of the way she felt or what, but she was nearly inconsolable. She'd ask for something, get it and then scream that it wasn't what she wanted. A minute later, she was begging for the same thing again. She was a mess. She decided she wanted to play, so we played. When she was done with that, it was clear she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon. We finally turned on Super Why and she laid down like she might settle down. I headed back to bed to be near Jack and quickly fell asleep. Kraig was not so lucky. He dozed off and on, but was constantly awakened by a little girl who didn't want Daddy to be asleep. What time did Kate finally fall asleep? 6 a.m. Did she sleep in this morning? Not really. Did she nap extra long? Not at all. Did she go to bed early tonight? Absolutely. We'll see how the night goes.

Situations like this are so difficult. Kraig and I both need to be at church on Sunday, but I can't leave the kids in the nursery if they're sick. Jack hasn't been in the nursery for a full Sunday yet. There's always a willing hand to take him. Kate's not so easy (or easy to keep quiet). I'm praying that she'll be feeling a lot better for Sunday. She can always hang out with the teens in the teen service;) I think she'd rather be there anyhow! I'm very thankful, though, that Kraig was able to go to the doctor with us. It's not fun to drag both of them in there when they're not sick. It's December 1st and I'm already ready for winter to be over. I haven't even seen any snow yet!

In other news, Kraig and I started a diet on Tuesday. I'm actually finding it difficult to get in all the calories I need to eat. It's already starting to show on the scale, which is great, but much too quickly since I'm thankfully still breastfeeding. The goal is to lose 10lbs by Christmas and I don't think either of us will have any issue with that. The hard part will be to not gain it all back during the Christmas travels and celebrations. I'm guessing eggnog is terribly full of calories, fat, and everything else you don't need to binge on. That being said, I need to eat!

Happy December 1st!

P.S. The power was out again today from around 5-7p.m. It made making dinner impossible, but Subway was still open!

It's about time...

...for an update!

It's been a crazy few weeks with the Thanksgiving holiday. We were blessed to be able to travel to Ohio for a few days to visit with my side of the family. Overall, it was a very good trip. On the trip out, the kids were great--even when we got stuck in Marietta, Ohio with a dead car battery (or something like that) when we stopped to feed Jackson. Thankfully, we weren't sitting in a remote, empty parking lot. We were at Kroger which was packed on the day before Thanksgiving. The drive home took forever. Kraig wasn't feeling great and Jackson didn't want to eat according to his normal routine. It was a blast. It's always nice that the trip to wherever we're going is good so that we can enjoy the time there, but the trip back home is never pleasant. And, to top it all off, Kate cried and said, "I wanna go back to Ohio!" It was sad.

Kate is in the midst of potty training. She's doing great, but I'm still nervous about taking her out in public. She's more prone to have accidents if she's actually wearing pants. And it doesn't help that when we're out, it's usually at church where I'm either super busy with music stuff or she's with someone else. She also got her first hair cut! Pics to come when I'm not typing one-handed!

Jackson will be four months old next week. I can't believe how fast this is going. He seems to be getting a cold now, but other than that he's great. He's huge. He's very strong. He's close to sitting up on his own. He's been rolling from his belly to his back since he was born and he's very close to doing the opposite. He's very ticklish and has the best laugh. He went for a week where he was sleeping through the night, but we're back to getting up at least once. Growth spurt? I also think he's teething (so early!), which doesn't help. He's still difficult to get to sleep, but we're settling into a decent nap routine. He's still breastfeeding like a champ. He's very interested in what we're eating, but I'm hoping to hold out til closer to six months. He also loves watching Kate play. He could stare at her for hours! So sweet:)

Kraig and I are great. Gearing up for the busy Christmas season. We're 90% done with Christmas shopping, thankfully, which will help make things easier. Kraig's in charge of the Christmas Eve service this year, which we're very excited about. We're going to be doing Andrew Peterson's "Behold the Lamb of God." If you haven't heard it, you should find it. It's fabulous. I can't wait! We're starting some Christmas music this week with the praise team. Should be fun! We're using several Tomlin arrangements that seem to be a lot more instrumentalist-friendly. Anyway, that's what's up with us!

Hope you're doing well!

Pregnant? Read this:

I'm not pregnant, but it seems there are tons of ladies who are right now. During my last pregnancy, I wrote a rather lengthy series of posts called "The Things They Don't Tell You." Here's the original post and links to the others. Anything you'd like to add?

Things They Don't Tell You, part 1

Pregnancy is full of surprises for most people. Even if you read all the pregnancy related books out there, you're likely to experience something that you never read and you never heard your girlfriends talk about. Here's a few of the "things" that I've heard that can come as a surprise to pregnant ladies about the earlier parts of pregnancy:

1) All pregnant women do not get morning sickness. I've recently read statistics that said around 80% of women do, but not all. For some people, morning sickness lasts a few weeks. For others, it can last the entire pregnancy.

2) "Morning sickness" is not necessarily just a morning problem. There are plenty of women who are sick all day long or find themselves sick in the evenings. Don't let the "morning" part fool you.

3) Just because you're pregnant does not mean you can eat anything and everything. Yes, you will be hungrier than usual, but for a single pregnancy only an additional 300 calories are needed per day. That's like a yogurt and half a bagel.

4) While some women may appear "glowing" during pregnancy, others suffer from a variety of skin problems during pregnancy--teenage-like acne included.

5) Sleep will become increasingly difficult as you learn to not sleep on your back or stomach and your body becomes larger. My hips, in particular, become painful during pregnancy and make sleep difficult.

6) Though you are excited because your pregnancy test came back positive, your doctor may not want to see you for several weeks or more. With my first pregnancy, I did not see the doctor for the first time until 13 weeks. With my second, I was almost 8 weeks. This is not unusual, but it will definitely test your patience.

7) Your belly will mostly likely start to look a little fat before it starts to actually look like you're pregnant.

8) Your first ultrasound, if performed at an early appointment, will be mostly likely performed vaginally. I was completely surprised about during my first pregnancy.

9) At a typical OB/GYN office, you can literally wait for hours. This is a very sensitive practice. Doctors do everything in appointments from routine check-ups, ultrasounds and pap smears, to having to tell a woman she has cancer or may have lost her baby. These appointments take time. If you were in a sensitive situation, you would want the doctor to take as much time with you and not rush off. Remember this when you're looking at your clock, realizing your appointment should have started 45 minutes ago. It's also possible that another patient went into labor and your OB is at the hospital delivering a baby. You'd want him there if it were you! But be prepared!! Snacks and reading material are always helpful.

10) It's okay to feel like a basket case. Your hormones are crazy right now and you're adjusting to the knowledge that you're carrying a baby. It's a very emotional time. And it's very normal!

The Things They Don't Tell You, Part 2

The Things They Don't Tell You, Part 3

The Things They Don't Tell You, Part 4

The Things They Don't Tell You, the FINAL part

Enjoy!!