Grandma comes to town!

Grandma came into town this weekend. She got Friday off and was going to come Thursday so she could come to Camille’s music class. Then she decided that she wanted to come see Av hbr so she got Thursday off too. She got in late Wednesday so the girls did not see her that night. On Thursday we took Camille to school and Grandma got to spend the whole day with Av. On Friday we took Av to school and Grandma got some good one on one time with Camille. They both loved having Grandma all to themselves but Camille especially did since she has not gotten as much one on one time as Av has. We didn’t make it to Camille’s music class though. Thursday she came down with a fever. Friday she woke up okay and was playing and having a great time so we just thought it was teeth. By music time though she was just sitting with us so we thought we better not go. When we got home she perked up again and so we thought she just conned us out of music so she could have more time with Grandma all to herself. By that afternoon though she was just not herself (I told John she was being calm and not a terror) so luckily I was able to get her into her doctor. The dr took one look at her ear and said ear infection right away. I was glad to get her on some meds. On Saturday Grandma, Av, Camille and I went to a maple syrup festival. John was still out of town. It was quite the experience. It was back on these country roads and when we got there Grandma and I stood out like sore thumbs. We forgot to wear our camo or Carhart stuff and didn’t bring our big 4-wheel truck. We got stuck in the mud in the parking lot and had to be pushed out. I think even the guy pushing us was worried we were not going to get out of there because he stopped the rest of traffic and was shouting to everyone else “I gotta keep her moving!” Hehehhe So glad that is over. We didn’t even end up getting any pancakes because the line was so long and not moving at all. The girls had fun for a while but it was so muddy and still a little cold. Boy did we get a good laugh out of it all though. The rest of the weekend was spent outside enjoying the beautiful weather!!

PJ's

Av has a favorite pair of PJ’s. They are footed and have Santa on them. She just loves them and wants to wear them all the time. I finally have to tell her they are dirty/stinky and she can’t wear them until I wash them. Since my housework skills have decreased dramatically since becoming pregnant Av has been without her PJ’s for too long. She has started to ask me when she could wear her PJ’s again. I finally got them washed yesterday and was hoping we would get a few nights out of them. Poor Av, no such luck. I forgot to put a pull up on her last night when she want to bed. She woke up soaked but she didn’t tell me. She just got herself dressed and came downstairs. I thought it was strange but it was a big help to me so I was happy. She must have thought I would be mad at her “accident” so she didn’t tell me but she left the evidence lying on her floor. Guess I will be doing another load of laundry tonight after work.

Camille's struggles

Camille bit a classmate at school on Monday. Ugh! She has bit other kids but no one at school until now. I actually had hoped we were moving past this because it had been awhile since she had last bit someone and because her teachers at school had told me she seemed to have learned other coping mechanisms. She is teething badly again though and I think that is when we have the most problems with this. Then she bit Av this morning. I was outside starting the car and I came in and Av was crying. Camille was just standing there. I got down on Camille’s level and I said “no bite” and then I put her in time out. She started crying and it was a “my heart is broken cry” so I hope I am starting to get through to her. She is also starting to cling to me. Whenever I leave her sight she loses it. I have to pry her off of me when I drop her off at school and I hand her over to her favorite teacher who she then clings too. How can she be so sweet and bad all at the same time?

normal

Yesterday I felt normal. It was so weird. I was starting to wonder if I was ever going to feel normal again and I’m sure John was wondering when he was going to get his wife back. I hope I’m back for good. I have just been so not myself. Sick and tired and just so unmotivated. I had not done laundry in weeks, there was a stack of paperwork on the counter that just kept growing and growing and my poor family has not had a good home cooked meal in weeks. Finally yesterday though something snapped and I came back (for good I hope). I did 6 loads of laundry, grocery shopped, cooked, made cupcakes with Av and got the stack of paperwork under control! If felt so good. We also bought filing bins for the girl’s artwork. Their artwork that we are saving was being stored under a bed in the basement (not a good spot) and it was starting to spill out the sides. So Av helped me go through it to decide what to keep and what to get rid of. We just can’t keep it all. So now they both have their own special box that they can keep their favorite creations in.

weekend

We had a pretty quiet weekend. Friday we did our usual. Family time and take out for John and I after the girls went to bed. I’ve been so sick but for some reason on Thursday night I decided for dinner on Friday I wanted a vegetarian ruben from the little local restaurant right up the street from our house. As soon as the girls were in their rooms I sent John. I ate every bit of it and boy was it good. We watched a few shows we had recorded and then off to bed we went. On Saturday we had Avery’s school auction to go to. John’s brother Alex and his girlfriend came over to watch the girls. Av was so excited that Uncle Alex was coming over. They seemed to have a lot of fun with them. We had a great time at the auction. We won a bday party at the local fire dept for Av and also 2 tickets to a Charlie Brown musical in April. I made the mistake of telling Av about it and all day she kept asking when we were going to go. Oops. I got out the calendar and showed her. Might be a good time to start marking off days with her. Her school raised a record amount of money so that was very exciting too. On Sunday we stayed home and played all day long. It was so fun. The girls were great. Later after dinner John’s dad and step-mom came over to see the girls. They brought the girls books and hung out with us for a while. The girls of course hammed up the extra attention. They loved it. Camille showed them several times how she does the “itsy bitsy spider” with Av singing right along with her. It was a very nice family weekend!

2 Grandmas

Av spent a lot of the day yesterday coloring pages in a coloring book. She kept telling us that one was for her Grandma and the other was for Pap-pap. Today when I was picking it all up and I putting her pictures in a special spot so we could mail them she told me she had a new plan. She said, “I have 2 Grandma’s, one is for Grandma and Pap-pap and the other is for Grandma.” It was so sweet and cute of her. She was very proud of herself too.

9 weeks

Well I guess it’s time to come out and tell the world. Hoekstra baby # 3 is on his or her way. I am 9.5 weeks. We had our doctors appointment last week and got to see the sweet little gummy bear. So far he/she is doing very well and very happy where he/she is. I am exactly as far along as I thought I was which was a huge relief (I was still not regular yet after stopping breastfeeding) and the biggest relief was that there is only ONE baby. So come Sept 30th (or a week or so early) Avery and Camille will both be big sisters. We sat Av down to tell her the other night and it was very anticlimactic. She was more interested in finishing up whatever she was doing. She seems happy and excited though. We will see. This pregnancy has been VERY tough. I am just so sick. Last week was worse. I was sick constantly. This week I go in and out but when I feel sick it is horrible. Hopefully this does not last much longer. I still have not had a Starbucks in over 2 weeks! That is a very long crazy record for me. It does not even sound close to good right now.