Let's Go Shopping!

Since I'm *dreaming* *hoping* *praying* that our *new* house works out...

I've been "inspiration shopping" online for *my* new home.

(i.e. shopping in places that i couldn't, wouldn't, shouldn't afford for ideas to implement in my budget/bargain friendly irl shopping way)

Welcome to Anthrolpolgie my friends!

Oh. My. You might not want to actually look at the prices (they may make your eyes bleed) but some of the tiny *touch of character* pieces weren't awful and are awfully enchanting!

I love this sweet little bird cabinet knob pull, so precious:

And these pot holders? Why I bet they would make cooking *almost* fun!
I heart these house numbers--but I wonder, would you actually be able to see the numbers from the road? Tres chic though!

And last, but not least--Can you guess what these are?

They're measuring cups!!!!
Are you freaking kidding me with their cuteness?!?

Love these fun little finds!

And though it it unlikely in the extreme that I will indulge in $38 worth of measuring cups, I bet I could swing one little birdie cabinet pull =)

Pardon Me, I'm Under Construction!

Catch Up

We're still playing catch-up here, in the Wonderful household, after a hasty and impromptu NY visit (sans the husband who had a paying gig over the weekend).

The girls are still ill--Day number 8 For Amelie and Day number 11 for Maeve and

I am totally over it.

The Maevenator woke up screaming from nap today so we're headed to the peds tonight for a late night date. I hope, pray, dream that the end is in sight!

We've also lived through business day number 2 (we need to make it through one. more. business. day.) of attorney review on our 2nd-under-contract-house.

We're praying that this one works out and for the strength to deal with it if it doesn't.

(Cause losing 2 under contract houses in two weeks would be a little bit much, don'tcha think?)

And in other news, I'm mildly tired of being pregnant.

Mostly just tired though.

All. The. Time.

Other than the tired and the occasional back pain, I am feeling well and am thankful that I've passed all my prego tests and have come to the point where I'll be heading to the OB every 2 weeks--the end is near! Woot!

(Can't wait to meet you little E!)

Must prepare for late date night with Dr. Mark and a waiting room full of sickies...I *know* at least one of you is mildly jealous--tee hee!

Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow!

Mostly Wordless Wednesday: So Glad To Be Home And Our We Miss *NY* And *Granny And Pop* Already Faces

Weekend Update Bullet Style

* Friday we put an offer on a house--started playing what is known as "the waiting game"
* Had planned on heading to NY Saturday to visit family but went to bed Friday night with a sick Amelie! Took her to the Dr. Saturday morning and my Mom came down to visit/help out since Mr. Wonderful was working all weekend.
* Granny of the North talked us into heading North with her Sunday so off we went! It took a little longer than usual due to :severe weather (ick), road work (double ick) but we made pretty good time as I am an excellent driver (tee hee--actually just motivated to drive a bit faster with the whole 7.5 month pregnant thing going on)
* In NY A.K.A. "Amelie's Slice Of Heaven" There has been swimming, fishing, playing on the swingset, the sprinkler and in the tree fort. The girls are tearing it up and enjoying the freedom although BOTH of them
* are sick. Coughing, fever, etc. Eh. At least they are sleeping well!
* Today offer was accepted on house numero dos and we are awaiting an inspection of the house/electrical etc before we get too attached. House hunting is a whole bunch of good and bad and up and down. Eh.
* Did I mention it's humid and there's no A.C.? Not as humid/hot as Jersey but whew!
* Plan to head back to Jersey on Wednesday--as long as the sickos and the pregnant lady hold up.
*Did I also mention that I miss my husband? He's the best, wonderful even, and I miss him. I love you honey pie!!

Good night all!

Shelly's Snippets: Shelly....

* wonders when exactly it was that i started liking plain cheerios as opposed to cheerios with sugar

*loves those *free* return address label thingys from whichever charity sends them

*has never eaten at taco bell

*has chipped toenail polish on her toes

*is sad that her girls are so big and grown-up-y but happy too.

*is discouraged at the prospect of more house hunting

*can't believe the summer is nearly over

*is having a summer love affair with tropical punch koolaid

*can't believe how active Ezra is--with the girls I was always "wondering" if they were "ok" but with him, he's always bouncing around, so now i'm wondering if he'll ever sleep once he gets here =)

Happy Friday!

*One* Thing

One thing has become very apparent in our heretofore short and not-so-sweet house hunting experience:

Our parents love and support us so very much.

What a blessing!
What an encouragement!

It makes the whole horrible process nearly bearable =)

House Hunting; ASV (Amelie Says Version)

The other day we had to take the munchkins with us for a bit of hardcore house hunting. In our desired area, houses are very expensive (esp. for a 1 income family!)

and so we had to look at less than desirable houses

(think ugliest house on all the best streets--good investment but a bit of an interesting experience =).

The first house we walked into we *knew* was a fixer upper. It had amazing high ceilings, a good location, a nice backyard and the downstairs was in relatively good condition. But upon walking upstairs, over the stained carpet, and spying a completely gutted and funky bathroom, and noting the brownish ceiling and saggy walls

Amelie. Was. Horrified.

She kept saying, "Don't they know how to clean? I think they need to go to Target to get supplies! Why is it so dirty? This is 'scusting!!"

And in the car afterwards, Mommy tried to explain that sometimes the places you want to live are expensive so you need to look at houses that need some fixing and some cleaning. So,

Amelie says,

"Mama, I do not want to live in a dirty house. I do not like dirty houses. I will go home and save money in my piggy bank so that we can buy a clean house. Can I have some money for my piggy bank *right now* please?"

Poor little lamb! Ha!

Things You Don't Want To Hear From The Other Room; A.K.A. Amelie Says

Amelie comes into Maeve's bedroom and announces,

"Mama, I know you told me to wait to get my candy cane

((it was Christmas at VBS today=))

but I couldn't because it is so delicious. So I climbed on top of the toys and reached into the kitchen and grabbed it off the stove. Don't worry! It only burned me a little bit!"

AHHHHHH! And no, I don't usually store tempting candy on the stove, I just happened to place it there when I heard Maeve wake up from her nap. Rookie mistake, duly noted!

The Chore That *Wasn't* : A Happy Story!

Today I finally, finally went to get my glucose test done.

For those of you lucky ones who have yet to experience this test--

it is not delightful.

You have a couple of minutes to drink a large-ish orange drink (it tastes something like flat orange soda and really, the bubbles are the only saving grace that regular orange soda has =) and then proceed to sit at the lab for an hour and after the sitting you get to give blood.

It's awesome.

NOT!

I soooo wasn't looking forward to this especially since we recently changed insurance providers and had to switch labs to boot!

So in addition to the lovely test, I also had to fill out all the paperwork and get acquainted with a new lab-system.

Happily they took me in at my appointed time (you never know how long you'll have to wait at those places, even with an appt!!) and I had the most pleasant phlebotomist who was kind and gave me my gross drink but commiserated over the yuckiness of it all.

And then she said, "Oh! Well, since you'll be here for an hour let me take you to your private room!"

Um, what? You mean, I don't have to sit for an hour in the crowded waiting room, fighting for the one good magazine that didn't feature a cover story on Golf or politics?!!

She led me then, to

*Nirvana*

A quiet, air conditioned, comfy leather recliner filled, cable tv-ed, magazine mecca with blankets, in case I get chilly, to boot!
It was the best hour ever.

Quiet, comfy, HGTV and trashy magazine equipped (I chose STAR if you must know) and

it. was. good.

I think I need to get my glucose tested at least once a month. It Rocked =)

Now Stop! Collaborate and Listen...

It seems like the brakes are on our house hunting adventure.

(for now)

We found, offered and are in the process of being under contract for *the* house.

(Large, nearly move-in perfect, priced right, right town etc. )

We have the down payment, and the mortgage "except" for the fact that Mr. Mortgage Man wasn't so steady with his numbers and figured that with our yearly tax bill all we'd have to do to secure our house is to pay off our *new* van to make the numbers work.

In a month. Before settlement.

Now, to most people it's not a significant sum of money, but in the household of a Christian School Teacher, in the middle of the stinkin' summer, it sure is.

The struggle in all of this is--balancing the acceptance of a closed door with the research of "options."

You know what I mean?

Where do, "What else can be done?" and "Thanks for the sign God!" meet?

So we're taking a breather.

Stopping and Listening and Waiting.

I'm thankful for His plan, whatever it is, and pray that we have the wisdom to follow/find/search it out.

But, before I do all that, I think I'll take a nap. =)

These Little Lights Of Mine

These girls of mine grow more lovely by the second.

I love them so much and am exceedingly thankful for the time I get to spend with them every single day.

Behold! My Joy-Bringers!

Where I Am Right Now

I am *trying* to:

Walk by faith and not by sight,

To listen and obey,

To patiently wait, for plans that are not my own to unfold,

To be thankful for doors that are open and doors that are not,

To take comfort in the fact that I am not in control

(even though I would like to be),

And to be filled with peace in the midst of the waiting and not-knowing-ness of it all.

To come to terms with the fact, that being a Christian, or Christ-follower means acting as a well behaved (not petulent) child.

Today I feel as though I am 4 and it is not exactly easy-

No wonder Amelie gets so grumpy sometimes!

Tee hee!

*Dreaming* Of A Third Bedroom And All Things Boy (And Ikea =)

*BOY* I Needed That!

Today, after a lovely swim date with friends, Amelie checked our mail and pulled out a very fancy envelope. I knew exactly who it was from even though I was far away and was thrilled to receive a little something from my favorite Minnesota girl!

Amelie, however, was not thrilled that the beautiful princess card/package wasn't for her (but that's another story =)

I have the good fortune to have a dear friend from college who takes the time to send *real* mail. I used to be really good at sending real mail too, until, ya know, the babies happened!

There is nothing more wonderful than a little pick me up package from a friend who knows you inside and out! (It's all her fault, by the way, that Mr. Wonderful and I ended up dating, so she has an extra special place in my heart =)

Thank you Sarah!

And the little package she enclosed for Baby Wonderful, well that was just icing on the cake!

Have you ever seen these? Oh. my. I laughed so hard! I have a LOT to learn about baby boys!!!

Sarah--you ROCK and everyone ought to know it! Love you!

****Also, a special shout-out to my dear friends who both found out this week that they are joining the BOY club! Yay Breezy and Amy--I'm so happy for you both and can't wait to raise my little boy along side of YOUR little boys! What a special blessing to have good friends to go through pregnancy with!****

And another thing, we had our offer accepted on the cute little house we found! Woot! However, in a test of tempting fate, we put in an offer on a much larger house we found today, in our "target" neighborhood tonight. I'm so glad God is in charge of all this--whatever His answer is I *know* that it will be the right one.

Goodnight!

*Whirlwind*

I feel like I'm caught up in a whirlwind!

We've been so busy this summer

(we are very anti-busy-ness in our household so it's been a bit unreal!).

On a whim, after much fruitless apartment hunting

(3 bedrooms to rent on a budget is nearly impossible in South Jersey--the land of expensive EVERYTHING!)

we started looking at houses.

It's. been. interesting.

(Even more interesting when you take a 1 and 4 yo with you on your house hunting journey-let's just say, I don't recommend it =)

I'm praying for the Lord's will and that the right doors will open and the wrong ones will close.

This process is bringing up many memories of our first home hunting experience which was extremely difficult but amazingly rewarding in the end.

So I'm going to bed now and waiting to hear if our very first offer will be accepted.

I'm so thankful that I'm not in control of the situation and that I can trust God with the outcome.

(And I'm extra thankful for my husband who is just the right person for me to be married to--esp. when I'm extra pregnant. =))

Shelly...

* has numb fingers from all of the power listing i've been doing on ebay of little girl clothes. go take a look and spend lots of money on my cute stuff (seller id: michellerose630) tee hee ! =)
* is very excited about some possibilities that have just come up--we'll know whether they'll come to fruition in the next month...but i'm having a hard time sleeping b/c i can't stop thinking/praying about it all!
* is having a hard time sleeping! oh the joy of pregnancy!
* has to do my glucose screen still--do you think they'll notice if i skip it? =)
*doesn't get to see her friends enough during the summer! we do well on our own but miss our little circle.
* is itching to get home to NY before i become to pregnant, which, let's face it--is already upon me! ack! the third trimester!
* looks hott in her new maternity dress. i look hot in anything now-a-days, motherhood really turns up the internal heating system!!
* has some stinkin' cute kids and can't wait to see what the next one looks like.
* has an awesome husband!!
* just found a new consignment shop in H. Heights--excellent prices, friendly lady-owner, gymboree in stock--SCORE!

ttfn =)

Amelie Says

Upon watching *Wipeout* with Amelie and Mr. Wonderful the other night I was having an hysterical laughter fit. You know the kind--brought on by the fact that I'm pregnant and unable to really control my emotions--the things that would normally make me chuckle cause me to laugh uncontrollably.

So, as I was laughing and weeping with laughter Amelie looked at Mr. W very seriously and asked:

"Why is Mommy crying?"

and then to me,

"Mommy! Why are you crying? Is it because you're sad that you're having a boy?!"

HA! Oh my! That just about killed me I started laughing so hard. I'm not sure where she got that idea as I've never been anything but thrilled about Wonder Baby's Boy status. It sure was funny though!

He Shall Be Called:

At least, I *think* so =)

He Shall *Not* Be Called:

Mr. Wonderful and I had narrowed down our name choices to a select few and recently decided to nix all but one.

((All of our names had two syllables (because amelie has 3 and maeve has 1 I wanted a boy name with 2--i know, it's just a *me* thing). I also favored names that were vowel heavy--as they sounded better with my daughter's unusual names. ))

Deacon: off the list because, it just doesn't go with the middle name I want our baby to have. (Deacon Steven--too rhymey/formal sounding)
Grayson: off the list because, I found this baby name web site where people wrote in/answered survey questions about their own names. (like--do people mispell your name? mispronounce it? etc). One of the questions was--do people make fun of your name? And resoundingly--boy after boy wrote in about how people call them Gay or Gayson instead of Grayson. I told my husband and it kind of ruined this name for us b/c I hate to knowingly choose a name my son might get made fun of for! I *know* kids can make fun of basically anything but seriously--let's not make it too easy for them!

The name we picked?
It's Hebrew.
Means: Help or Aid.

And one of my guessers did correctly pick our name!