Well, our garden is doing quite well.  We had our first taste of home grown beans tonight, and it was delicious.  We’ve had some salad with lettuce and arugula, and we’ve been enjoying chives since May.  I must say, I do get lazy at harvesting, especially with our travels, so I had to dig up some lettuce and arugula.  I planted more, to which Nat said, “You’re planting more after you dug up a lot of lettuce that we didn’t eat?”.  I hope I do get better at harvesting!

I must say, I do get frustrated with weeding the garden.  Last week was so hot, so I didn’t want to go outside, but the weeds were already creeping in my garden from the last time I weeded.  I decided to plant more things to help control the weeds.    Hopefully, that will help.

I’ve been having troubles getting my beets and cilantro from getting eaten.  You’d think that the rabbits or squirrels would go for the lettuce, but they seem to like the cilantro and beets.  I’m giving it one last try for each of these plants, otherwise I’m just going to give up!

I know it’s been awhile since I posted, but our family needed a vacation from our vacation!    It was nice to get back to life here in Champaign-Urbana and getting back to our routine.  Unfortunately, this past week we’ve been hit with a heat wave which means that we haven’t gone outside much (hot pregnant woman + heat advisory = not going outside).

Sean’s been talking a lot more, which is great.    I love hearing his words and how he expresses himself.  I can’t wait for my mom to see and hear him in person when she comes on Saturday!

Nat and I have been following the Confederation’s cup on ESPN360 online.  We saw the 2 losses while we were in Massachusetts, so we didn’t have much hope for us advancing.  It was a nice surprise to see that we were able to move into the semi-finals, but we weren’t hopeful of a win against the #1 team in the world.  Were we in for a shocker this week when we won!

We went in for our 30 week appointment with the doctor.  I don’t think we realized how fast time was flying!  We’re going to see the doctor every 2 weeks now, which means that I’m closer to meeting our 2nd son!  It’s crazy!  We don’t have many plans until the baby comes, but the two big items on the list are trying to move Sean into a big boy bed and celebrating his 2nd birthday.  If you have advice of how to make the transition into the big boy bed easier, I’m all ears!

Here is the first part of our trip that I posted about last Friday, June 12, (I couldn’t put it up on the page because our website was down):

Ever since Sean was born, we’ve been out to Westborough, MA every year to see both sets of great grandparents.  I must say, it’s a blessing that even at such a young age, Sean can spend time with his great grandparents.  We’re fortunate enough that they both still live in the same town and that Nat’s family is able to come out every time we’re out.  I know that everyone enjoys seeing Sean and the family and how much he’s grown.

Yesterday, we started our day bright and early at 5:45AM.  Sean definitely didn’t want to be up, but he was very happy to see the “ter-uhs” (trucks) and planes at the airport.  He did really well on the flight to Chicago and Boston.  I must say that we were very happy to finally land at Logan because Sean was getting antsy and restless from being confined to a seat for 2 hours.  Who can blame him, right?  He’s a toddler that needs to move!

Nat’s parents had just parked (their flight arrived an hour before), and we got our luggage and were quickly on our way to Westborough.  We arrived to see Great Grandpa T for a little bit while we dropped off some things.  Then, we headed over to Great Grandparents H’s.  Everyone was excited to see Sean.  We got the crib setup and had a little bit of lunch.  We put down Sean for a nap (and boy was he ready), and he went down without a peep!  This was very unusual and nice for us because usually he cries in a new place.  After he woke up, we went grocery shopping and headed back to Great Grandpa T’s for dinner.  We had a good time hanging out and taking our turns watching Sean.  Nat and I had to rush through dinner a little bit because Sean was having a meltdown.  We couldn’t blame him though, he had a long day and was ready for bed.  We came back to the H’s to give him a quick bath, and then he went down for bed without a peep.

Today, we’ve had a relaxing day at the H’s.  I must say, each trip we usually have some activities planned for a few days, but I really enjoy the relaxing times where we don’t have anything to do or anywhere to be.  I’m reminded of how much Sean has grown each time I come and visit and what he was doing last time when we were here.  I’m glad that I’m able to come out and have family time.  It’s such a blessing.

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On Saturday, Dave, Nat’s college friend, came to visit us in Westborough.  We had a good time having lunch at Grandpa T’s and afterwards, we went to Grandparents H’s for Sean’s nap and some game time.  Ethan and Anne flew in that afternoon, so we had dinner with them at the T’s.

On Sunday, the H side of the family (cousins, uncles, and aunts) all gathered together at the H’s house for lunch.  It was a dreary day, but Grandma had an ingenious idea to have us all sit in their 2-car garage.  Uncle Ben went to fetch some tables and chairs, and we were set.  Let me say, it was a loud gathering of everyone wanting to catch up with everyone.    Sean had a good time with his second cousin Roo by playing “stroller wars” out in the driveway.  Needless to say, with all the excitement, Sean did not take a nap.    We headed to the historical society in the afternoon to see the room that the H’s had dedicated to them.  It was a good time listening to part of the history of the town and seeing how the H’s were apart of that.  Aunt Nancy flew in Sunday afternoon, so we headed back to the T’s for dinner with her.  Nat and I were pooped on Sunday!

Monday, we headed to the Cape in the morning to get some lobster for dinner and have lunch by the canal.  Sean really enjoyed the canal and seeing the sea gulls, water, and boats.  I told mom how the longest car rides the Sean has taken all have been in the East Coast!  I was shocked when we drove home that Sean actually fell asleep in the car.  He took about a 40 minute snooze and decided that was enough of a nap.    We had a lovely lobster dinner with the T family, and then we headed back to the H’s to pack.

All in all, it was a jam-packed weekend of family, but it was well worth it!

Grandma T drove in on Thursday afternoon.  She had a nice easy drive, and we were glad to see her arrive.  Of course, being a grandparent, she came with presents.    Sean got a new sandbox, sandbox toys, coloring books, and an inflatable pool.  I told mom that she didn’t need to buy anything for his birthday, to which she replied, “I’m still going to get a little something”.  Where was Grandpa T you ask?  He was in Chicago for a conference.  More about that later. 

It was nice having Grandma come in on Thursday; usually, the grandparents come in early Saturday morning and are off after lunch on Sunday.  This time, grandma had some extra time and we could spend more time relaxing.  Unfortunately, our family was still getting over the cold, and mom was getting over her own.  Sean and Nat were pretty much better on Thursday, but I was still feeling very congested. 

After grandma arrived on Thursday, we drove over to our friends in Mahomet for a farewell party.  Everyone had a good time watching the kids play outside while the adults were able to lounge around a chat.  I think grandma was amused about how much the little kids love Sean and how much they notice things about him–”He doesn’t like to be held”, “He likes to wrestle me”, “His ears stick out with his haircut”.    After we got home, we put him down for bed.

On Friday, Nat went into work.  Because grandma was here, I had extra help!   It was quite nice to have someone watch Sean while doing errands and housework.    We were able to go to the grocery store, go out to lunch, and go to Hobby Lobby that day.  While Sean was napping, I was able to bake a cake for a friend’s wedding, and mom generously mowed the lawn for Nat.  I’d say we were two very productive women on Friday!

Saturday, Nat drove up after breakfast to pickup Grandpa T.  They were going to spend the day in Chicago, and then drive down in the evening.  I had another day where I had extra help, which was nice.  Mom and I headed over to Mirabelle’s bakery to get some delicious pasteries for Sunday’s breakfast.  Sean knows every time we head to the bakery he got a treat, so when I tried to hide the bags of pasteries, he just pointed and asked for “more”.  I gave him half an almond danish, and mom got to see how much he loves those treats!    We headed over to Lowe’s to get some sand for the sandbox.  We had lunch, and then Sean went down for his nap.  Mom and I were crocheting while Sean talked in his crib for an hour and a half.  Just when I was about to give up on the nap, he fell asleep.  I got ready for my friend’s wedding, and headed out the door.  Mom graciously and generously offered to watch Sean while I was at the wedding.    I must say, it was nice to go to the wedding without having to chase a toddler around!   I came home to give Sean a bath, and mom and I called it a night.

Sunday morning, Sean woke up earlier than normal.  He was greeted by the grandparents and proceeded to go out with them in his jammies for their morning coffee.  It was nice to see how quickly Sean bonded with his grandparents as he didn’t even look back to say goodbye.  We enjoyed a nice breakfast of pasteries and bacon.  After a delicious lunch of BBQed hot wings, the grandparents prepared to leave.  It was quite a nice weekend!  Fortunately for Sean, we’ll be seeing them again on Thursday when we go out to the East Coast to see the great grandparents!

The Thompson house has been battling a cold since last Thursday.  I started out with a sore throat on Thursday, and Nat started feeling a sore throat the next day.  We thought that Sean had gotten us sick, but Sean came home from church on Sunday with a fever.  On Monday, we were a pretty sad bunch.  All of us had runny noses and some sort of a cough.  To make things worse, Nat and I had a horrible time sleeping on Monday night because we were both very congested; Sean slept fine.
This made for a very long Tuesday.  Things were made better when some of our friends from out of town stopped by our house.  Unfortunately, we weren’t the greatest hosts since we were drippy and coughy, but we had a good time hanging out.  I took Sean to the doctor, and the doctor said he just had a nasty cold and will have to ride it out.  Nat was able to go out to lunch with our friends when we had came back from the doctor.  We had leftovers for dinner, of which I could taste none of it.  We turned in early at 9:30PM, and slept much better.

Nat and I felt much better this morning, but my chest has felt a little bit sore from all the sneezing and coughing.  What makes it worse is the fact that all my organs are being compacted now to make room for the baby, so I think it makes me feel more tender and sore (like bruised ribs) than usual.  Sean seems to be recovering quite well except that he has developed a cough through the whole day.  I’m hoping it’s just his body trying to get out all the mucus and that he will feel better tomorrow.

Tomorrow, Nat’s mom is coming in, so I hope that we all feel better then (including Nat’s mom who was recovering from a cold herself).  I guess I’m glad we all got sick now as opposed to next week when we’re traveling.

Yesterday, Nat’s cousin Brian drove into town.  He’s making his way from Virginia to Colorado, and fortunately we (and Nat’s parents) are great resting stops for him.  He came in around 6PM yesterday, and we got to have dinner.  Then, Nat took him to Jarlings (of course we have to take him to Custard Cup!).  We had a nice breakfast this morning, and then he was on his way to Omaha. 

It was nice to see Cousin Brian since we haven’t seen him since two Thanksgivings ago.  It was also nice to hear a southern drawl at home; it reminded me of being back in Texas (kinda b/c a Texas twang is still different than a drawl).    I hope that Brian has a safe and cool drive to Colorado (his AC isn’t working).

In and effort to save money, we have signed up for non-fixed pricing for our electricity.  This means that they charge more money during “peak” hours during the summer (basically during the day), and less money during “non-peak” hours.  Nat told me to mindful of this during the summer, and fortunately it hasn’t been warm enough here that we’ve needed to turn on our AC.  I have forgotten, however, that running the dishwasher, washer, or dryer uses electricity.  Now, I need to figure out what to do about laundry.  I’m used to doing it during the day while I’m at home.  Perhaps, I should just do it earlier in the day or after dinner. 

Well, it was my 3rd Mother’s Day yesterday, and we didn’t celebrate in a traditional way.    We’ve been so busy this past weekend, that we didn’t have all the “festivities” that one would think, and I was fine by that.

In the morning, Nat went to go setup at church, like he normally does.  I made breakfast for us (sausage, scrambled eggs, and toast).  I had to get ready for church because I on a panel for Sunday school, so I got ready and left early.  Nat joined me later at church*, and he helped me greet and hand out flowers to the mother’s.  We went home, had leftover’s for lunch.  Sean napped, and I spent some time with Nat watching golf on tv.  Eventually, I decided I should take a nap since I was falling asleep on the couch.  After a long nap for Sean and I, we got ready to go out to dinner.  Nat offered to take me to some nice Asian restaurants, but I decided to go to Cracker Barrel since it was more kid friendly and I was craving some country fried steak.    We headed to small group for a short time of singing and praying, and we came back home.  Nat and I were pooped and in bed by 10PM. 

I must say that even though it was Mother’s Day, there were points in the day where I wished Nat and I could be alone together.  I know, it’s silly, isn’t it?    But I am very thankful to be a mom to a healthy and curious toddler.  I love Sean so very much, and I am delighted to be his mom.  I count it such a privilege to be able to care for him and watch him grow. 
* When he was at home, he did the laundry for me!