Adventures in La La Land

1. This week, I read The Lake House  by Kate Morton. It was really good - a very complicated, multi-layered mystery that left me guessing. By the end, when I figured out what happened, I wanted to go back and re-read it in light of the reveal. I've read one other book by Morton that left me feeling the same way. I looked up some of her other books, though, and was a little disappointed to see that they're all the same. Old people remembering something tragic that happened in the past and someone younger putting together the pieces to solve the mystery. She has like 10 books with the same storyline. Time to branch out, Kate.  2. I mentioned last week that I was going to pick a verse to pray over each of the girls this year. Here's what I ended up with. Lucy: "With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!" (Psalm 119:10) Lena: "O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds." (Psal...

I couldn't get anyone to pose with me.  Baby is the size of a cucumber this week! How Far Along? 30  weeks!! Total Weight Gain : I made up for what I didn't gain over Christmas and packed on another 3 pounds this week.  +17 total. And I made it to the next "ten." For instance, if I had started at 123, I'd now be 140. Only those numbers are vastly skewed. Haha. Also, I measured my belly today. 37.5 inches.  Maternity Clothes? Yep.  Sleep : I can't get enough. I want to sleep all day every day. Actually sleeping a little better lately. Still waking up drenched in sweat. Best Moment This Week : Making it to 30 weeks! 3/4 done! Movement : I've been trying to figure out his position all week. I feel the most movement on my lower left side, so it'd make sense that his feet are over there, right? But I have consistently felt hiccups on my lower right side multiple times this week. What part of his body am I feeling when he gets the hiccups? His ches...

1. I forgot to mention a highlight from Christmas weekend. My sister Libby suddenly got the idea in her head that she wants me to name this baby Linus. When I told her that wasn't going to happen, she decided to start calling Lena Linus. Of course, as soon as my nephews saw how Lena reacted, they jumped on that train too, and everyone called her Linus during Christmas. Every time, without fail, Lena responded vehemently, "I not Linus! I Lena! L-E-N-A VanderKodde!" I don't know why she felt the need to spell it, but it was adorably hilarious. 2. Here's a random one: I don't like coloring books for adults. I don't have anything against other people using them. I don't feel like it's juvenile and below me. I just have the opposite reaction to coloring than most people. It stresses me out! I feel so much pressure to make my creations look beautiful and perfect that I can't even handle it. No thanks. You can keep your coloring books. 3. I read a...

2015 was a big year for us. Justin and I both turned 30. We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. Lucy started Kindergarten. And we found out we're having another baby! It was a great year! Here are some of the main events: I read 30 books before my 30th birthday, branching outside of my "inspirational fiction" genre and trying new things! I failed at homeschooling and gave up mid-February. Lucy still got into Kindergarten and wasn't woefully behind. Haha. The car we bought in the middle of December 2014 needed a new transmission less than a month later. Forked over the big bunks to have the transmission rebuilt. I attempted and failed many times to potty train Lena. I continued to struggle through  depression . Justin turned 30. We had a last minute surprise party with friends, and he and I spent a night in Auburn Hills for our annual Bass Pro Shops shopping extravaganza. Lena turned 2. I gave Justin 12 pre-planned "dates of the month...

Baby is the size of an acorn squash this week! How Far Along?  29 weeks Total Weight Gain : Miraculously didn't gain anything this week!  +14 total.  Maternity Clothes?  Almost everything. I noticed that my pajama shirts (big t-shirts) are struggling to cover my belly all the way. Sleep : The restless legs have gotten a lot better, but I'm still really struggling to fall asleep at night. I just lie there wide awake for hours. So annoying.  Best Moment This Week : Baby brother got a whole bunch of adorable little clothes for Christmas! Movement : Yes. He goes crazy in there. I think he really likes to push out against my stomach. I can't even describe it. But there's always something sticking out - an elbow or knee or foot or something. It's kind of disgusting. Haha.   Food Cravings : Cranberry Sierra Mist. I ate so much this weekend that nothing even sounds good anymore. Haha. Food Aversions : Nothing.  Gender : It's a boy!!!!   Name...

Christmas week! My favorite week of the year!!! 1. We failed on our Advent Activities. We made cookies from a store-bought mix for the mail lady on Monday, but that was it for the week. On Tuesday, we made play-doh with the intent of putting it in cute Mason jars and delivering it to some of our friends. This was my inspiration: But I couldn't find any little Mason jars and the girls were having so much fun playing with the play-doh that we decided to forget the snowmen and just keep the play-doh for ourselves. Lol. #momfail 2. I've mentioned before that Lucy is obsessed with YouTube. She has a couple daily "vloggers" that she follows faithfully, and while I've watched lots of the episodes with her and have the safe search on, I'm still a little bit uneasy about her watching these adult-made videos. They're family-friendly, have little kids, and are usually just boring or dumb, but I still feel like she doesn't need to be watching such ...

Sorry for the delay. It's that busy time of year! (And I love it!) 1. Advent recap: On Sunday, the girls got to open their special ornament from us. I ended up getting them both the same one this year: I try to do something that characterizes what they were into that year. They both love  helping me in the kitchen, and they always wear their aprons, so I thought this was perfect. Monday was snow paint (shaving cream and glue). We got out some googly eyes and raisins to decorate our snowmen. Here's Lucy's: Here's Lena's: Lol. On Tuesday, we made " snowman soup " for the librarians: And of course, we had to have our own when we got home: Lucy took a couple sips. Lena guzzled all of hers! We skipped Wednesday, made Grandma gifts on Thursday, then hit up the gardens on Friday: 2. You know the saying, "It's no use crying over spilled milk?" Well there was some crying this week. Lucy loves to watch YouTube videos o...