Yesterday's library program of worm farming was a huge hit with Accalia. We now have two worms in a jar on the kitchen counter that appear to happily be living in layers of shredded paper, dirt, sand and grass with a bit of food scraps thrown in. The lady who did the program yesterday instructed the kids to give the worms half a cup of water and a few food scraps once per week.

Yesterday also may or may not have been Accalia's swimming test. She wasn't sure if the teacher had been testing them or just having them do what they usually do. I guess we'll see tomorrow on her last day.

Other than those things, most of yesterday was taken up with the neighbor girls. Usually they go to a babysitter when their mom is working, but so far this week a babysitter has been coming to their house. I really hope it won't be this way all summer. I know that I sound like the most unsociable mom ever when I make comments like that, but I'm beginning to think that the house next door draws the most needy kids to it and that we end up spending most of the day taking care of them when they're around. Yesterday, when Accalia and Cole decided they wanted to just relax and watch cartoons after coming back from the library rather than playing with the girls were asked by the older girl: "But you're at home, so why can't you play?" They really believe this because if they're at home they want to be over here playing with the kids. I can't blame them for that because the majority of their time is either spent at a babysitter's while their mom works or at school when that's in session. So, their free time at home is very limited.

Anyway, that is my rant of late. I try to keep in mind that, for the majority of the time, the kids have lots of fun together and fairly rarely push it to the point where Accalia and Cole just want to curl up and hide in order to relax. These are the same girls, too, that we basically didn't see from November until February or March because it was apparently too cold for them to be outside.

Today we had friends over in the afternoon before Accalia went to tap (and yes, the neighbor girls were over, too, as everyone played in the sprinklers). But really, today was all about me. I woke up this morning and the room was spinning. The dizziness/lightheadedness continued throughout the morning (and I still feel lightheaded when I make movements that are too quick). After about 2 1/2 hours of feeling like that, I called Cory and he, of course, told me to call the doctor right away. I was planning to do that but wanted to be considerate and give Cory a heads up. Anyway, I talked with the doctor and, since I didn't have any of the signs of something more serious like preeclampsia, the doctor said we should just keep an eye on things. I'll be seeing her on Friday, too. This may not even be pregnancy related, of course, since there are plenty of other reasons why people experience dizziness. Maybe there's something going on with my ears. Who knows.

So now I'm trying to get Ella to sleep, and Accalia and Cole are outside with the neighbor girls. Cory's delivering pizzas and will hopefully have an early night if it continues to be slow. Tomorrow's going to be busy and will keep us out of the house quite a bit.

Yesterday was another big day of playing with the neighbor girls. They came over a little after 11 a.m. and were here until around 3:30 p.m. when Accalia had to leave for gymnastics and ballet. For the most part they all had fun together. I had assumed that the girls would probably have to go home at some point to eat lunch, but they never did. They did have a tea party, though, and snacked then. Toward the end, Accalia and Cole were ready to just sit and relax and let the girls know that they were done playing. They're not quite used to spending longer periods of time with kids who constantly need to be playing something together rather than being able to go off and do their own thing, but they're getting better at letting the girls know when they're finished. The neighbor girls have a hard time accepting that sometimes, though. For instance, if Accalia or Cole runs inside to get something or to just use the bathroom, within 10 seconds of them coming in, one of the girls is at the door calling their name.

After we dropped Accalia off at dance, Cole, Ella and I ran a few errands: picked up a book at the library that was on hold for me, bought stamps, bought a few groceries that I had forgotten about on Sunday, etc. By the time we got back home, Cory was home from work and we just hung out until it was time to get Accalia and time to eat supper. Then the neighbor girls were over a little after 6 p.m. and were playing outside until after 9 p.m. Ella did fall asleep in the early evening but didn't actually stay asleep. Cory and I did watch most of Semi-Pro, though, while she was sleeping.

Today Accalia is very excited about the library program in the afternoon because there is worm farming to be done. Then, after supper, she has her second-to-the-last swmming lesson.

Lately Ella has been spending time on the computer playing Putt Putt computer games. Those were the first that Cole really loved, too, and it still amazes me how quickly young children catch on to using the computer (especially when adults such as a certain father-in-law still struggle with some basics).

I should get some laundry going and the dishwasher loaded and the living room picked up - or as much of that as I can - before the kids wake up.

Accalia and Cole played together with the neighbor girls for nearly four straight hours before they were done for the night. Everyone was exhausted and actually seemed glad to hear someone say they could stop playing. I have no idea where the neighbor mom was, but I'm assuming she was inside their house.

So, last night I decided to do something I rarely do in order to help me perhaps feel more in control of the upcoming months. I made a to do list of all of the things I want/need to do before baby's arrival. It didn't seem nearly so overwhelming once I actually saw it written out. I was also able to get through a pile of paperwork/correspondence that had been sitting on the dining room table for a while.

Today it sounds as if the neighbors will be around all day, and the only plans we have are for Accalia to go to gymnastics and ballet later in the afternoon. Accalia told me yesterday that those are the two classes she wants to take in the fall but that she doesn't want to take tap. I found that interesting since tap was her big thrill all last fall/winter/spring and ballet was the one she seemed on the fence about much of the time.

Well, since all of the kids are still sleeeping, I should continue trying to accomplish a few things.

The neighbor girls are back today, so all is right with Accalia and Cole's worlds. Personally, I was doing fine without their constant presence, but Accalia and Cole missed having them to play with each day. I wonder if it will be this hard for them when school starts or if, since they'll know the girls will be back at a certain time, that they'll be able to relax and focus on other things instead of just waiting for their mom's SUV to appear.

The hardest part (at least for me) when they return from being gone a few days is how demanding they are as playmates. Rather than missing their own house and own things, they seem to miss everything of ours that much more. It works out fine when they're able to come inside and play, but there are times like tonight when it just doesn't work. They rang the doorbell and all were happy playing outside for a few minutes. But, as soon as Ella showed she was ready to fall asleep, they were at the door asking to come inside. When I explained that Ella was trying to fall asleep and they wouldn't be able to come inside right now, the youngest instead stood at the back door directing Cole to bring out certain things. She wasn't satisfied with anything he was bringing, though, and this was keeping Ella from falling asleep. We finally got everything straightened out - all playing outside happily and Ella asleep - but it seemed to take forever.

The weekend has been a pretty ordinary weekend. Accalia was thrilled yesterday when her new Build-A-Bear Workshop friend, a dog named Sunshine, arrived. She used some of her birthday money to create her online. I thought maybe she wouldn't be as happy as when she was able to go to an actual store to do it, but she was beyond excited. At one point yesterday she told me that she thought her and Sunshine even looked a little alike.

I continue to struggle with feeling just not satisfied or settled or something. I don't know exactly what it is. It might just be knowing the baby could be here in less than two months and knowing there are so many things I want and need to get done. Maybe it's a sign that I'd like to start nesting, but that feels almost impossible right now. Warm summer days where everyone is running in and out and wanting to go all over to do all sorts of things just isn't very conducive to settling in to do things. It also really does seem to make a difference to be preparing for a baby with three children rather than just two. I didn't think it would, but it really does affect how much time you can spend focusing on the new arrival and getting into that place mentally and physically to do so. Maybe this is just my way of freaking out. I'm not freaked out about going through labor again - that really has barely registered in my mind - but maybe there's a part of me that's really worried that I won't be able to manage with four children.

On a less anxiety-ridden subject, I'm really enjoying the current issue of Mothering Magazine. I think I stopped subscribing around the time that Ella was born simply because I just wasn't finding the time to keep up with it, but I picked up the current issue because Ani DiFranco is on the cover and I love her. Gosh, I miss reading this magazine on a regular basis. Anyway, there's a great article titled "Mommy Rituals" that has all of these ideas on how to center yourself and bring back the joy and mindfulness to everyday life. That's definitely come at a needed time. It's too bad that article isn't up on the Mothering website yet, but hopefully it will be once there's a new issue.

Okay, I need to start doing something around the house. So many things to do.

Today seems to be going more smoothly than yesterday with just a few bumps in the road. It probably helped that everyone seemed to sleep better last night, although I still woke up feeling tired. I think that's just part of late pregnancy, though. It's heating up and will probably just get warmer over the next few days. We have yet to turn on the air conditioner for the year, although that may change soon. I'll see what Cory wants to do when he gets home tonight. I feel warm but not that uncomfortable. Cory's usually the one who wants the air turned on before me.

We went to storytime at the library this morning. Last week Ella wanted to sit through it all, but this week she wanted to stay in the children's section. We came home with a stack of books to add to the stack of library books still waiting to be read.

After lunch we walked over to the nearby school's playground but didn't stay long. The play equipment is right out in the sun, and the kids were ready to get out of the sun before long. So we went home and turned on the sprinkler. During this time, though, Cole just started to melt down. He's fine now. Out of the three kids, he's the most unpredictable with his moods. One moment he's the happiest guy in the world, and the next he's screaming and crying. It's not that he's constantly changing moods, but I don't see the warning signs as easily as I do with the other kids.

Cory will be able to take Accalia to swimming lessons tonight, and then he's meeting with another counselor that he's doing supervision for to help her with her licensure. After that, though, he'll be home.

It definitely feels like summer as we have the last day of spring. It's so odd that I've been seeing ads with headlines like "End of the season sales!" for things like patio furniture. Guess we don't even have to get to the start of summer for that to happen. Of course, considering we're going to have school supply sales starting right after July 4th, it makes sense.

This weekend will be a pretty typical one for us at home. No big plans and Cory will be putting in time delivering pizzas.

I think I'm just going to give up on being able to accomplish anything this week or have everyone be in good moods at the same time. It just doesn't seem to be happening. One of those weeks, I guess. Ella's sleep has been so screwed up for the past couple weeks, and that's definitely not helping. I could just blame it on the ever popular developmental development reasoning, but I have the feeling that she's sensing there are big changes afoot and doesn't know what to make of those. Considering this baby will probably make its arrival at some point in the next 9-10 weeks, I don't blame her. I'm starting to think it's a good thing I've had a baby before; otherwise, I would be completely unprepared.

This morning Accalia was up early (but not as early as Cole and Ella who were up way too early) because she went to a party planning/cooking class put on by the rec department. She was there all morning and had a very good time. This was one of the activities she had been looking forward to since signing up for it in April.

Today was a rare day of not seeing the neighbor girls at all. I personally enjoyed not having the doorbell ringing constantly or the girls yelling for Accalia or Cole from outside or the constant requests for things from children who apparently are deprived of many things in their home, but Accalia has been very unhappy and mopey. I think that, as soon as she realized the neighbors weren't home to play with this afternoon, she came to me with slumped shoulders and said, "I'm bored." Nothing seemed to interest her, so she's been this way much of the day.

I guess this is one of those weeks were everyone is unsettled and out of sorts. I would love to feel settled and at peace and feel as if I'm accomplishing the things I want to before this baby arrives, but it won't be happening this week.

Yesterday just came and went so quickly. We were all still low on sleep. Ella took a late nap after we dropped Accalia off at gymnastics, but it apparently wasn't long enough and didn't do a thing to help her mood. It also kept her awake until 12:30 a.m., which was not so great for me. All the kids are still sleeping, though, at 9:15 a.m., so maybe they can start out the day with less of a sleep deficit.

Accalia is extremely excited about going to the library this afternoon for her second Buggin' Around program. They're going to be using digital cameras today, and they asked that children bring their own if possible since the library doesn't have enough for each child. We were able to get our old digital camera working with a new battery, so Accalia should be set. Accalia also has swimming lessons tonight, which is equally exciting for her. Cory has an appointment at that time, so Cole, Ella and I will take her. That usually works out fine. We'll just sit at one of the poolside tables, and Cole and I will play with his Pokemon cards. Ella's content as long as she has a snack from the vending machines.

Back to our weekend...

On Friday, everyone made it out to the campground by mid afternoon. My mom and sisters-in-law were going together to have Friday's supper, so everyone gathered around for that. It was really nice to have one meal taken care of by somebody else. Cory went with his dad to a town about 35 miles from Yankton to pick up our nephew Chandler (11) so he could camp with us for the weekend. They were gone until later in the evening because Chandler was participating in a fishing contest.

Our loop was fairly close to the campground's amphitheater, and both Friday and Saturday were family movies (30 minute long movies about animals) along with free popcorn and freezer pops for the kids. Almost all of us went to both nights of that, and all three of my kids loved it. I think a big part of it for my kids was just being able to sit with their cousins and friends and watch a movie together, something they really don't get a chance to do.

Saturday started off early because it just happened to be the Young Flyers program out at the Yankton airport where local pilots volunteer to give children ages 8-17 free airplane rides. Accalia did this last year, too. Accalia, Chandler, cousin Elijah and friend Chloe were the only kids within that age range, and they all wanted to do. When I was signing Accalia up, though, I overheard one of the workers tell another parent that a younger child could go up if it was okay with the pilot, so I signed Cole up, too. Cole always talks about how he flew in a plane when he was in utero during our trip to Disney World, but this was his first airplane ride that he remembers. Someone had to fly up with him since he was younger, so Cory's dad offered to do that. He said Cole held his hand and was very quiet for most of the ride, but by the time they came back, Cole couldn't stop talking about how much fun that was.

In the afternoon, almost everyone went swimming at the lake even though the water was still rather cold. Then Accalia opened gifts, and all of the kids took turns trying to break open the pinata. Accalia had wanted pizza for her birthday supper, so Cory, Myron and I went back into town to pick up pizza and the birthday cake. It seems as if the meal was a success. There was more swimming and some fishing after supper, but I stuck back at the campground with a few others during that time. By Sunday, I was really feeling all of the activity over the weekend and knew I just need to sit down and put up my feet for a while.

On Sunday, Myron made french toast for everyone, and my brother Jeremy contributed eggs. It was an early morning for everyone, and you could definitely tell that energy levels were low. Everyone left by late morning, although I talked with my parents about how we (them and us) should try to stick around and have lunch together next year depending on how exhausted the kids are. Ours were definitely ready to collapse by that time and were getting a bit weepy about the campout being over.

So there's another campout in the books. We've been doing this since 1999 when Accalia was just weeks old. We did miss a couple years in there, but now it seems to be a well established routine.

I should probably get ready for the day. I have a feeling the neighbor girls will be ringing the doorbell before long.

Our annual Nelson-Greve camping weekend and Accalia's 9th (!!!) birthday were successful. The weather was ideal for camping, and everyone loved the loop of eight sites that we reserved. It was so nice having an area just for us at the campground. It cut down on a lot of traffic, although there were still people who would drive or bike through the loop. I think sometimes they were just exploring the campground, but other times they thought they could get to the lake through our loop and discovered they were wrong.

Yesterday we were all completely exhausted. All three kids started to fall asleep on the short ride back into town, and Ella fell asleep deep enough that I carried her into the house and laid her down in bed for a nap. Cole fell asleep for a short time in the afternoon. I had really been hoping that the neighbor girls wouldn't be around yesterday - maybe spending Father's Day with their respective fathers? - because I knew how much Accalia and Cole needed that time just to decompress and do their own their. It wasn't to be, though, but Accalia did an awesome job of just telling the older girl she didn't want to play when Accalia just wanted to stay inside and do her own thing. Two of the gifts we gave Accalia were yoga related - this and this - and at one point Accalia, Cole and the two neighbor girls were all outside on yoga mats using them.

I think Cory had a nice Father's Day, too, although it was rather hard for him to just relax since we had to unload and clean up in the camper a little. Everyone agreed that we should try to get the same camping loop for next year, so we'll try to do that when we can first make reservations in November. I think we might try to avoid the actual weekend of Accalia's birthday, though. Next year Accalia's birthday and Father's Day will both be on the same day. It was kind of hard to be able to just focus on Accalia's special day or Cory's, for that matter, while so busy camping, so it might be nice to have these things on separate weekends.

I'll try to post later to share more details because there was a lot going on, including Cole's first airplane ride. Cole and Ella are up now, though, so I'd better get to them.

This week has proven very difficult for being able to sit down at the computer and blog. Part of it is everything going on this week with preparations for Accalia's birthday/our family campout as well as a lot of Accalia's summer activities starting. When there's free time, we either seem to be outside or the neighbor girls are inside, and that's usually not conducive to being able to sit down at the computer.

Accalia and Cole are still outside playing with the girls. Lately the oldest has been constantly asking if she can come camping with us or sleep over, and tonight she said she just really needed to get away from both her mom and dad (who are not together). That's really sad to hear a 7 or 8 year old say that.

Today was a day of buying most of the supplies we'll need this weekend, and Accalia went to the first day of a program at our library for elementary age kids. There were a ton of kids there, partly because a daycare brought in a bunch of them. Or maybe it's not called a daycare if it's school age kids. Anyway, the kids walked down to the nearby creek, collected mud and brought it back to look for bugs using magnifying glasses or microscopes. Accalia really enjoyed it, and Cole and Ella and I just hung out in the library while they did that. Then Accalia had swimming lessons tonight.

Monday was the start of the summer session of dance, and Accalia had both gymnastics and ballet. She couldn't stop talking about gymnastics. It was also the kick off party for the summer reading program. I took Accalia and Cole, and Cory stayed at home with a sleeping Ella.

Tomorrow afternoon Accalia has tap, and I need to go through our camping supplies to see what needs to be added or replaced. The forecast for this weekend looks really good, so I'm hopefully we'll steer clear of rain or very hot weather.

So things keep chugging along. Thirty weeks pregnant is pretty uneventful so far. I had someone tell me I looked beautiful the other day, which was a very nice change from disbelieving looks and the comment "You're not due until when?"

You know, I'm not that knowledgeable in the automobile department, but I'm pretty sure that new alternators are supposed to last more than 50 miles. Cory called after being at work for an hour or so and said the battery light went on in his car and that he was bringing it home so he could switch it with the van. Tomorrow we'll drop it off at the same place, and they had better take care of the problem for free.

Other than that, it's been a good day for the kids and myself. What a complete turnaround from yesterday! Yesterday was stormy most of the day and extremely humid when it wasn't pouring rain. Humidity and my pregnant ankles/feet are not friends, and for some reason it's my left side that seems to take the brunt of the excess fluid retention. No, yesterday was full of kids who just could not get along, most likely because they were experiencing yet another day of rain and having to stay inside the house even more than usual during rainy weather. We also didn't have a vehicle, so we couldn't even get away for one of our drives that seems to refresh everyone.

Today, though, has been sunny and breezy and not humid. Yay! There hasn't been a drop of rain either so things are finally starting to dry out. Accalia had her first art class of the summer session and is in a class with three other girls, all of whom are homeschooled, I think. She worked on weaving today. She and Cole also had new packs of Pokemon trading cards, something that is one of their favorite things to play with as of late. When I take Accalia to swimming lessons, Cole and I sit there and have Pokemon battles, which is rather funny since I really don't have a clue of what I'm doing.

No, today the kids were in love with the world and our house and our yard and each other, so all was just lovely. We played outside and drew with sidewalk chalk and Ella put on roller skates and stood in the grass purposely falling on her butt again and again.

Ella is now asleep and I am properly caffeinated enough to take on the task of picking up around the house without dragging my butt too much.

Being a vehicle owner really sucks at times. Unfortunately, relying only on mass transportation isn't an option where we live. Cory called me as he was getting ready to leave Sioux Falls after his meeting. Then he called a little bit later to say that the battery light kept going on and off in his car and that he was hoping to make it to Beresford (about 45 minutes from Yankton) to restart the car and see if it was just a short. I didn't hear from him for about an hour, so that made me happy, figuring he was getting closer and closer to home. Then Cory called to say he was at a gas station just a few blocks from our house and that his car had completely died. So I gathered up the kids, sent the neighbor girl home and headed over to get Cory. Thankfully his breaking down happened in an extremely convenient location, but he still had to have the car towed. Hopefully our auto club benefits will cover that completely. So we grabbed a quick supper and Cory headed off with the van to deliver pizzas. We think it's probably the alternator, which will hopefully be a relatively quick and inexpensive fix. It's just horrible timing considering we just spent nearly $2000 having the transmission rebuilt on that car. Grr...

The rain held off last night so we were able to go to the Chamber of Commerce deal. Accalia and Cole had been hoping to run into certain friends there, and we did. Accalia was most eager to get to the kids' art section, so after she waited in line to get a balloon puppy I took her there. Cole and Ella were so busy playing at the playground that by the time Cole made it to the balloon animals there were no more balloons. He was pretty devastated by that. He asked me through his sobs why I hadn't gone earlier to get him one, I said it was because he told me he didn't want one. "You should have surprised me, Mom!" was his reply. In some ways life would be so much easier if I could just read minds.

Accalia and Cole spent much of the rest of the evening playing outside with the neighbor kids, which is good because it looks like today is going to be rainy all day long. Accalia's sandals broke last night, so she wants to go out to get a new pair today. Cory's up in Sioux Falls for a meeting, and he's delivering pizzas tonight so we won't see much of him.

The kids are all still asleep, so I should get ready before they wake up.

This entire week is supposed to be rainy. Yesterday it rained for part of the morning and then didn't rain again until the night. It's overcast and cool today, and we're all hoping the rain holds off until after the annual picnic that the Chamber of Commerce is holding tonight. We're planning to go after Accalia's swimming lessons. There are free pony rides, clowns creating balloon animals, a kids' art fest with lots of different crafts to do, plenty of food, etc.

Right now Ella is napping and Cole and Accalia are playing outside with the youngest neighbor girl. They're birdwatching. This morning we had a few errands to run, including voting in the presidential primary. It's been an exciting year for voters in South Dakota because, with the Democratic race, we're actually relevant this year! I don't recall ever having candidates visit South Dakota so many times before a primary. I don't think the Democratic candidates even bother since this is such a big Republican state. Yesterday Hilary was here in Yankton, but we didn't go to see her because we had other commitments at that time. It would have been neat just to do that, though. Obama's headquarters is about a block from our house, so that's fun, too.

Yesterday had its share of ups and downs. Ella was out of bed by 6 a.m. and had been awake since about 5 a.m. Thankfully she slept in a little longer this morning. Good practice for the baby's presence, though. And yes, Rachel, I did use "she" when referring to the baby in a recent post, but you should also know that my mom is now convinced we're playing psychological mind games with her regarding the baby's gender. Hee, hee, hee. She told me right away that she didn't want to know if we found out, but she was convinced that this baby would be a girl. Then she decided the baby would be a boy. Now she's back referring to the baby as a girl but does so with a giggle. So, keeping my mom's mental state in mind, take it all with a grain of salt.

Anyway, back to yesterday. After the rain stopped, we went to the Lewis & Clark Visitor's Center that overlooks the Gavins Point Dam. On the way, we saw a wild turkey. The kids had fun looking around the center. Cole's favorite was definitely the model of the dam, power plant and surrounding area. When we were back home, he started to recreate it in our sandbox.

Accalia had a haircut yesterday and had her below the shoulders hair taken up to chin length. She's much happier. It's the last time we'll be going to that stylist, which is unfortunate because Accalia's gone there for a while and is comfortable. She's fine with going to the person who does my hair, though. The reason we're no longer going there is because, over the past few visits, we've had to wait longer and longer despite having an appointment. Our appointment yesterday was for 3 p.m., but Accalia didn't get in until 3:30 because her stylist was giving somebody a manicure. I was furious and just about ready to leave when she finished up. Cory said I should have left anyway just to make a point, but Accalia was looking forward to it so much. I don't know if this stylist has gotten into the habit of double booking or always ends up taking walk ins when it's close to our appointment time, but I'm not going to continue going to a place where we're not going to have our appointment time honored. Besides, it's not at all fun to try to entertain three children in a hair salon for an hour.

After the haircut, we hurried to the chiropractor. Then we all headed home. Cory did some gardening outside later on, but otherwise it was a pretty quiet night. The neighbor girls came home around 8:30, and Accalia and Cole ran outside to play with them. It didn't last long, though, because the oldest came to the door to tell on Cole for saying something, and two minutes later Cole was collapsed on the ground crying because she had said something to him. Cory suggested we call it a night and try again when everyone was well rested. Surprisingly, Accalia and Cole were just fine with that. They were really tired.

So that's the last couple days.