Guess who's nesting?

Mike is. It is very endearing. He is the one who is researching the bunk-beds and asking about paint and a "theme" for the big boy room. He keeps asking when I will start "nesting". He pointed out that with my first son, Max, he remembers putting the crib together (AKA- watching my mother do it), painting and decorating during the summertime. Max was born in November. I, too, remember having Max's first adorable yellow striped walls and Noah's Ark themed room ready way in advance. I would go in his little space and sit in the glider and look into the crib (sometimes I would even turn on the mobile) and think that soon a little baby would be there. I always got teary eyed. With Jake we (again -my mother) did a very high-end nursery with hand-painted murals and dark espresso furniture. Maybe I am just sad to see that go. Jake is still in his crib and has his "nursery". In a little over a month from now, it will be a "big boy" room. We still have the baby room we did for Max when we moved into this house. So, for the next ,third, baby boy, we will simply set up the crib Max had.

We took the boys to a furniture store over the weekend to let them climb on the beds and show "Jake" that he would be sleeping on the bottom and Max would be sleeping on the top. As predicted Jake went right up the ladder after his big brother. Our plan, as of now, is to introduce the bunk-beds early July, so that they have a month before the new baby comes. They will have to learn that every night is not a party and these are the sleeping arrangements. I imagine that either Mike or I will be sitting in there with them for the first few nights until the novelty wears off. We are looking at an "L" shaped model that will allow Max to jump from his top bunk directly down onto his brother. If his brother is even down there. I don't really think Jake has any idea that his brother is about to move into his room. Also, the talk about the baby in mom's belly, how much of that does he get? We'll have to be very nice to Jake this summer as soon his little world will do a 180.

We're a modern stone-age family

My boys, much like myself and many other children from the last 3 decades, take a Flintstones vitamin every morning. There are literally dozens of other vitamins on the market now, but they are all "Gummy" vitamins and my pediatric dentist said to stay away from those as they are a tooth's worst enemy. Anyway- on the bottle there is an image of Fred Flinstone waving and smiling. My two year old thinks he (Fred) resembles Mike (my husband). Whenever I take out the bottle and pass out the vitamins, Jake repeats "See Dadddy, see Daddy"! I show him Fred; he smiles and takes his little chewable.

How to eat your way through a baseball game

It was one of those perfect days. It was sunny and mild here in Chicago, and it was Tuesday morning. My husband was preparing to leave on an out-of-town business trip. I was wrestling with Jake to get him dressed for the day when Mike walked in and announced "I have some news".

"Oh no" was my immediate reply. Then he continued to tell me that his trip was cancelled, but he had access to 4 cubs tickets if we wanted them. YEAH!!!!! Not only was Mike NOT going out of town but he was taking his family to Wrigley Field! We talked it up to the boys, who love to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballpark". It was a 1:20 game so after a full morning at a local petting zoo, we picked up Dad and headed to Downtown Chicago-Wrigley Field! We had lunch in the car (McDonald's, of course) and made it by the middle of the first inning. The boys seemed very jazzed by the crowd and the cheers. We picked up a ballpark-sized bag of cotton candy on our way up to our seats. As soon as we got to our seats the boys dug into the bag of cotton candy. That lasted through the second inning. Max was having a great time yelling "Go Cubs Go!", while Jake seemed mostly fascinated with the stadium chairs, you know-you push the seat down and then it folds back up again. By the beginning of the third inning Max was ready for his hot dog and soda. So Mike took Max for some more food (did I mention the McDonald's). Jake tried to climb up after them but them settled for sitting in Max's seat and pushing dad's seat up and down, up and down. The boys came back with the food and everyone sat down for our second greasy meal of the afternoon, but who goes to the ballpark and skips the hot dog? Well, they were delicious and we were thirsty and passed around water and Pepsi. No Coca-Cola, darn-it. Max pointed out , several times, that the gentleman behind us was throwing his peanut shells on the ground. During the fifth inning we flagged down the peanut vendor and got ourselves a bag. Max was highly entertained with cracking the shells and throwing them on the ground. I noticed he wasn't eating anything. So I made a deal with him-crack the shells, and give me the peanuts. It was a highly functioning, working relationship. Mike and Jake had come to the same agreement, only Mike was the one doing the cracking and Jake doing the eating! Wow, the game was really flying by, the Cubs weren't scoring much so not too much jumping and screaming going on. By the sixth inning the guy with the Cracker Jacks finally came by, and the boys chose the long licorice rope over the Cracker Jacks. I guess they had enough peanuts already. So we opened up the "Super Rope", which judging from its taste and texture was purchased in bulk the same year Wrigley Field was opened (1914) and is stored underground season after season. Max and Jake loved it, though. I then took Jake and Max to the bathroom and it was time for the seventh inning stretch. For those unfamiliar with Wrigley Field, this is one of the greatest traditions, the standing and singing of "Take me Out to the Ballpark". Max and his dad sang as loudly as they could, and Mike said Max was grinning ear to ear and really got into the "1-2-3 strikes your out!" part. Sadly, Jake was still in the bathroom getting a diaper change, but we made it out to the aisle for the ending so Jake could sing a little bit. And since there was no more food left in Wrigley Field we called it a day. And in the nick of time, too. Both boys fell asleep almost as soon as pulled out of our overpriced parking spot.

The name game

I can't believe it; by the end of this week I will be 27 1/2 weeks into this pregnancy-starting my seventh month. The time seems to be really flying. Though I know these last months will be the l-o-n-g ones! The weather is just perfect now, 60s and sunny. By mid-June I will be soaking non-stop from the neck down at the local pool. I always thought every woman should be given a pool (even an above-ground would do) after confirming pregnancy. The pool keeps you cool and takes all the weight off the back, legs, bladder, sciatica,ribcage, and tushy. My tush and legs have always carried the brunt of my pregnancies. They get real nice and large to help balance me out-thanks! My bladder seems to really suffer as well, though it never improved after my first pregnancy, so after 5 years of frequent bathroom breaks, I'm used to it. I often feel bad for my husband and two living kids. At 7:31 PM exactly, my body gives out and so does my pleasant attitude. My belly hurts, the little guy inside starts rocking and rolling, and I simply have to lay down. My legs, back and bottom need to be horizontal. I am a fixture on the couch. I can't tell you how thrilled Brutus is with this. Occasionally my sweet husband comes to talk with me. We are having many laughs trying to pick a name for this little guy. I know that Mike is humoring me most of the time to get a smile from me, but in all honesty we have to pick a name and are having quite a time. We both like the idea of using family names in our boys names. Max is names after his dad, Jake after MY dad, so now we have one more to go. Our remaining family names include : Orrin, Olan, Axl, Otto, Ruben, Norris, Melvin, and Rudolph. You can see the roadblocks here. There are a couple in the running here for a middle name, so we need a first name. We have decided to go with a Scandinavian name, to reflect both of our heritages. Again, I think Mike is humoring me, but maybe half-serious. His top pick is (wait for it)- Magnus. Yes, he wants to name our baby Magnus. I, of course, do not. I still vote for Sven. Mike, of course, does not. so back to square one. Here are some other Scandinavian names we have discussed: Carr, Kristian,Sander,Sebastian,Colby, Kylan,Bjorn. I don't know- what about Ingamar?