The Linda Family

The photos from the zoo are up — enjoy!  I have photos from the fair on Saturday on the photo albums page, I’ll get the post about the weekend up tomorrow! For now…the zoo…

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This was a message I got from a friend today.  He was responding to all of the messages we had sent out about our activities the past two days.  It’s been a whirlwind of a week.  It started with dropping Ashleigh off with my parents last week actually.  Friday I relaxed and did some stuff during the day, but I really tried to lay low and enjoy the quiet.  Saturday Wes and I decided that it was time to clean out the closets.  This meant that we had 2 big bags of clothing to donate, so we called our friend Colleen and offered some clothes for the church clothes closet at the inner city church she works with.  We dropped it off to her yesterday.  Saturday afternoon was spent with some shopping.  WorldFire had some unexpected funds show up, and the desktop has been acting up.  So, to keep it running smoothly Wes & WorldFire did some upgrading.  We also found me some maternity clothes, and a jewelry box to help organize my mess of jewelry and allow me to condense to one box instead of 4!  After spending all afternoon running around we went out to Dave & Busters with some friends and had a blast.  Sunday I had a lunch at PF Changs with my co-leaders at La Leche League.  One of our leaders and her family are being relocated to PA and we had a going away lunch for her.  I’m sad to see them go, even if it is for “only 3 years” and I haven’t broken the news to Ashleigh that her friend Ellie is moving on Saturday.  We may get to see them tomorrow, but I’m not sure if they will be able to make the meeting.  So, after Sunday’s lunch Wes and I went to the Columbia Mall where there are real stores that carry maternity stuff   Most of the department stores have a Motherhood Maternity section, and well, Motherhood’s clothing is crap.  It shrinks, it falls apart, it’s a big waste of money as far as I’m concerned.  I was very excited to get to an Ann Taylor Loft Maternity and a Gap Maternity.  I got to try on lots of stuff and walked away with some new tops.  I was very happy.  We then went to church, and I ordered some pants from AnnTaylor.com.  Yay.  They arrived today.  Double Yay.

Sunday after church we headed out to dinner to celebrate with a friend of ours who had been baptized that night.  We had about 20 people taking over 4 booths at Ledo’s Pizza and we had a blast.  By the time we got home I was exhuasted from 2 long days.  Unfortunately I had jury duty on Monday.  Of course this meant I had to be up at 6:30 to be at the courthouse at 8.  We all know how well I do mornings, so of course, I didn’t handle it well at all!  I spent 2 hours sitting in the quiet room, getting work done on my laptop.  And then my number was called for a case.  Just my luck, my biggest fear came true.   I was called for a murder case.  This young man had about 7 or 8 charges thrown at him.  After hearing all the info they gave us and the questions they asked it seemed quite certain that they were throwing lots of stuff hoping something would stick.  After 3 hours they finally broke for lunch.  By this time it was 1:30, I had run out of water hours ago, I hadn’t eaten yet, and I was severly missing caffeine.   We were all so hungry we were ready to run out of the court room!  I headed to Subway, got a sub and headed back to the quiet room to check on email and orders before I had to be back in court.  Of course the judge and lawyers were late….so we sat there for about 40 minutes waiting. Finally at 5 PM they let the first round of people go.  Luckily for me I was in that group.  Who knew that a pregnant lady who doesn’t think just anyone should be able to carry a gun would be a bad juror for a murder case?  I came home and Wes and I grabbed some dinner and did a bit of shopping.  I headed up to bed as soon as we got home, and I had a full blown migrane shortly there after.  I was asleep by 9:30.  I slept right through the night and I had a full conversation with Wes that I have no reccolection of.   I was beat!  Tuesday I met a friend for lunch, and then Ashleigh and my mom arrived.  We hung out for a bit, and then headed to dinner.  Wednesday we did some organizing and cleaning out of stuff in the basement.  After mom left we headed out to drop off our clothes with Colleen and then we met some freinds at Dave & Busters again.

Ashleigh outlasted all of our friends.  By 9:30 – 10:00 everyone was heading home.  Wes wanted to bowl, so he bowled a few quick games (he bowled 6 games in 40 minutes!) and when he was done we headed home.  By that point it was 11 PM and while Wes and I were ready for bed, Ashleigh wanted to tell jokes and sing the whole way home.  Where did we get this child?

This morning Wes woke me up letting me know our friend Hillary had just sent out a tweet saying that she was taking the kids to the Baltimore Zoo, and asking if anyone wanted to join them.  I thought about the things I should be doing, and we decided the Zoo sounded like a much better idea!  We had a blast.  By the time we arrived we were all hungry, so we had lunch, and then visited the petting zoo area, and walked through the kid’s zoo.  By this point it was 2 and Hillary and the kids headed home.  Ashleigh was no where near ready to go.  She hadn’t seen the bears, lions, or elephants yet and she was not leaving until we got to see such animals.  We walked the rest of the zoo, minus the chimps and alligators, and headed home around 4.  She was still ready to go.  Wes and I wanted to take naps, but Ashleigh, she could go on and on!  She did have “quiet time” in her room while we sat in bed and relaxed.  She played with her toys and when she came out came bearing gifts.  She had a bucket of toys for Wes and a basket of books and shoes for me.  She was once again ready to play.  I am always amazed by the energy this child posesses.

Tomorrow we’ll be up bright and early to take Wes to jury duty.  Hopefully the long day will wear her out and she will go to sleep early.  We’re planning a full day on Saturday as well.  I think we’re insane.  But, I’m hoping to stay as active as I can.  The more walking around we do the better shape I’ll be in!

I do have photos from today, but I didn’t get them edited yet.  I’ll have to get those up for you in the next day or two.  I need to get to bed!

Yesterday was a very full day for us. While it was busy and crazy, it was a blast. We woke up early to take Wes to work and meet Hillary and the kids for a morning trip to the Science Center. I did take pictures, but they are still on the camera. You’ll just have to be patient with me. We spent almost 2 hours walking around and visiting the dinosaurs, then checking out the weather exhibit and watching a “tornado” form and fall apart over and over again. We were going to check out the physics area, but there was a big camp taking over that area, so we headed up to the kids area to play. It was different than our last visit because now Blake is walking. Instead of having 2 kids to chase after, we had 3. We only lost Owen briefly, and it turns out Ashleigh found him, she just didn’t bother to tell us. We weren’t too concerned, as I had been standing in view of the exit for the kids area, so I knew he hadn’t left. But, it was still a bit unnerving not knowing where he was.

After playing we headed to Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Yes, we love that place. We also love the reimbursement for the secret shops there! Ssshh….don’t tell. We enjoyed a lovely meal, where the kids were very well behaved right up until the end. It was getting to be nap time, and all of us were wearing out. Including Blake, who fell asleep during lunch. It’s a shame I had put the camera back in the car! That would have been a great photo.

After we all had full bellies we headed back to the cars. Ash and I headed home to get her suitcase packed. We had just under 2 hours to get home and get her ready to go visit Grandma and Grandpa. We got Ashleigh packed and hung out for a bit before we headed off to get Wes from work so he could say goodbye. Ash is going for a last visit to my parent’s house before school starts and life gets too busy. She was very excited, but started to break down as we left to get Wes. She was going to miss Mommy & Daddy. It was also past nap time. We picked up Wes, he said his good-byes and she was all smiles to go meet Grandpa. When we got to the meeting location Ash was less than thrilled when Grandpa opened her door. She was not sure she wanted to go. But, we went inside to use the bathroom, and got her stuff transfered over to Grandpa’s car. She then remembered that she had saved some of her afternoon snack for Grandma and Grandpa. She had two mini marshmellows for Grandpa, and two for Grandma. After giving Grandpa his, she suggested they stop for Twizzlers on their way to Grandma. She LOVES twizzlers right now. So, Grandpa agreed that he did need to stop for gas, and since she knows Twizzlers live at the gas station she was VERY excited. She tuned to me, waved, said “bye Mom!” and went back to Grandpa. She heard Twizzlers and she was gone. Glad I’m easily replaced by anyone offering Twizzlers!

Grandpa and Grandma had some fun things planned for the long weekend, and Ash will be home on Tuesday with my mom, who is going to stay and help me clean out and organize more stuff. I don’t think she knows what she’s in for! I honestly am not sure where to start. Guest room or baby clothes? Hhhmm….the decisions. All I know is that for now, I have some work to do and need to get back to it. I’ll decide what to organize later!

Yeah. She’s practicing. We’re in trouble. Nap time today was met by some complaining, as usual. I eventually got her into bed and I took my seat on our bed to get to work. I have found our bed to be a much more comfortable place to sit than the couch during this pregnancy. So, as I sit in bed working, I see movement above my computer screen…I look up to see Ashleigh quietly sneaking across her room to get a basket off her shelf in the cubes. I remind her that it is nap time and she is supposed to be in bed. She looks at me, hangs her head and pouts, and walks back to her bed.

I of course think the situation is over and I go back to work. Suddenly I see more movement. But when I look up, I don’t see Ashleigh. I look down again, and there is is — CRAWLING this time! She looks up, sees me, I remind her it’s nap time, and she heads back to bed. I am now assuming this is done. I mean really. What ELSE could she pull? Famous last words. A few minutes later I see movement in her room. I look up and I don’t see Ashleigh, but I do see her doll house sliding across the floor. When I look closely I see little fingers holding onto one side of the doll house. Yeah. She was trying to be sneaky. Figured if I couldn’t see her I couldn’t see the doll house? Well, lucky for her I was trying WAY too hard not to laugh to really yell at her. Of couse Wes finds it HILARIOUS that she insists her door stay open recently. If she had allowed me to close the door, I never would have seen her! We’re going to be in trouble when she REALLY learns to sneak. She’s too creative already. Pray for us

Geez. In my state of pregnancy stupidity I forgot some of our fun stuff! The day before Wes left for FL was a Monday. I was getting work done in bed, and Ashleigh and Wes were downstairs. Ashleigh was enjoying her Curious George as usual. During one of the between show shows they showed some kids bowling. Ashleigh thought that this was just the coolest thing ever! Of course, to a child who has never seen bowling it is. Wes asked Ashleigh if she would like to go bowling. She was quite excited about the prospect and came upstairs to ask me if I wanted to go bowling with she and Daddy. Of course, I assumed that she and Wes were rolling a ball through the living room or something. I had no idea what had gone on. Just as I joked with her about her “bowling” my cell phone vibrates. I have a new text message. Now, if you’ve been around us recently you know that we are Twitter addicts. Our church started using Twitter a few months ago to keep every aware of any prayer requests and announcements. Since then we have been active chatters on Twitter. So badly that we had to upgrade to unlimited text messaging. So, back to my cell phone. It vibrates and I see a text message from Twitter. I check it, and it is Wes asking if anyone wants to join us for some Duckpin Bowling. I just laughed and sent him a message telling him how Ash had asked me if I wanted to go bowling, but I thought she meant a game with Daddy downstairs.

After a day of planning we ended up at Chick-fil-a for dinner (really, are you surprised?) and then across the street to the bowling alley. Ashleigh was just beyond excited. She was asking a million questions, looking all around, not really sure what was going on. We went to AMF Westview, where on Monday nights it’s only $7 pp to bowl from 7-10 PM! During the day shoes are $4.25 and then it’s $3.50 per game. hhmm…which did we choose?

Luckily for us we had ordered a new video camera which arrived that afternoon, so we have some great (or so I assume) video of Ashleigh bowling. Wes says it’s edited, but the file is HD and way too big for the internet. So, he’s going to figure out how to make it a better file size so that we can upload it. Ashleigh had a blast. Ok, we all did. After the first frame she had a score of 8 and Wes and I were a 3 and 4. Ooops. We caught up to her in the end, but she did great. Hopefully we’ll have the video soon to show you. In the mean time, when you see Ashleigh you can ask her about bowling. She loved it!