Doing A Lot, But Not Getting Much Done.

Well, I believe I fixed the problem with the layout of my posts (thanks Ruthann!- and everyone else that gave suggestions.). So, I can no longer use "frustration" as an excuse for not posting.

Instead, I'm going to claim exhaustion.

My two girls, bless them, take afternoon naps at the same time. These days, my pregnant body needs a nap too; so all three of us typically "sack out" around 1PM, every day.

This was usually the time I would spend responding to emails, doing blog posts, etc... But no longer. Maybe, by this time next year; I will have my old energy levels back, and I won't have to feel guilty about neglecting my friends.

Other than that... I know our little family has been doing "stuff", since my last post; but my brain seems to be shrinking in direct proportion to the rate that my tummy grows, so I can't remember a lot.

I also cannot remember, to pick up my leftovers (that were boxed up nicely) from the table when I left the restaurant, or what color top 2% milk has (this week, I purchased 3 gallons of whole milk on accident. Sorry Nick).

Now where was I going with this? (See what I mean?).

I hope that the 2nd trimester energy kicks in soon, because I have a lot to accomplish before this baby arrives.

I did manage to put my carpet cleaner to use. I cleaned the carpet in our family room (shortly after it was finished, Reagan dropped a piece of pizza on its pristine surface. Of course.). And I cleaned the floor mats from Nick's Mini Cooper, and my Acura. While I was at it, I detailed my car too.

This probably wouldn't have happened, except for the fact that our basement flooded (just a tiny bit) on Memorial Day.

I used my carpet cleaner to soak up the water that was in our basement (thankfully, no water got on any carpeted surface, it was all contained on concrete floor).

Nick soaked up the water (with towels), that was in our basement stairwell. And just when we thought we were finished, we watched in complete DISBELIEF as water actually came UP out of the drain, at the bottom of the stairwell!

The ground was so saturated, that the water was coming up through the drain.

Nick hightailed it to Home Depot (along with all of the other residents along the Wasatch Front), to try to find something to pump the water out of the drain. And, like everyone else, was told that all pumps were sold out, from here to Wyoming- and maybe even further.

Nick didn't come home empty-handed though. He brought home some plastic tubing. He duct taped it to the hose of my carpet cleaner, and used the suction from my faithful appliance to suck water out of the drain. After that we had no more problems with water in the basement (knock on wood).

And I had to admit that buying my carpet cleaner was a purchase I have never regretted. Conclusion to the story: my carpet cleaner was already out, so I figured I might as well use it for the purpose it was intended for- so I went to town, cleaning carpets.

This was Reagan's idea of helping me vacuum.

Was her hair cleaner, or dirtier after this? I don't know.

Last weekend (Nick's weekend off), he picked up a few shifts in Vernal, UT. I was thinking the girls and I would go down and hang out with Jeanne while Nick worked. Nick worked the late shift on Friday night, and was supposed to be in Vernal to open the pharmacy at 9AM Saturday morning.

I stayed up late Friday night, packing. And then, both of the girls didn't sleep well. At 3:30AM, I found myself wide awake, and it was one of those times that I couldn't "turn my brain off". I was still awake when the alarm went off at 4:30AM, signaling our time to get ready and depart. As I thought about it, I realized that I was dreading spending two days in a hotel room, especially if the girls wouldn't sleep.

So, I opted to stay home with the girls (near our own beds), and Nick got a working-vacation to Vernal.

We spent a lot of the weekend just hanging around.

Reagan is able to sound-out simple words, these days (she's been able to identify all of the letters in the alphabet for ages now, and she knows what sound they all make too!). She speaks pretty well (for a kid her age), she has a hard time saying the letters "g", and "l"; but I still think she is advanced. She can count to 29 (after that, she starts counting 20-10, 20-11, and so on). We're working on progressing past 29.

Elsa could crawl, if she wanted to. She gets up on all "4's", and she can move her arms, but her legs don't follow suit. She and I are both frustrated at her lack of mobility. But I am sure that will all change soon enough, and I'll be longing for her "blob" days.

And Reagan did the same thing, so I'm not too surprised (Reagan never crawled, she went from rolling around to walking). It took Reagan almost three years to learn to crawl properly. Yes, it has just been recently that Reagan has stopped crawling in a lop-sided manner.

Elsa is just as happy as ever! I particularly love her in the outfit she is wearing (above). My friend Melissa gave it to me, when Reagan was born. And it has to be one of my favorite things to dress my girls in!

On Saturday (while Nick was gone), I pulled out the plastic pool. No joke, Reagan spent 6 hours playing in the pool that day!

I put Elsa in briefly. Despite her smile in the picture, she really didn't love playing in the pool. My two girls are so different! Reagan loves the water (in any form), would live outside, and she could swing on the playset for hours.

Elsa merely tolerates: swinging, and being outside.

Reagan loves vegetables, and won't touch fruit (with the exception of an occasional apple).

Elsa loves fruit, and anything sweet, for that matter.

Reagan is my "dramatic" one, and has such tender feelings.

Elsa, seems to be oblivious to what other people are feeling.

Physically, they seem to hit milestones at the same time (ie- teething coming in, etc...); but otherwise, they definitely have their own distinct personalities. Go figure!

(If I don't write this stuff down, I may not remember it. The way my memory seems to be going these days).