&t The Taylor Family: June 2013

Sunday, June 30

Park Day

Our friend Mark
turned 40 this week so his wife organized a party for him at Gemini Springs. We had RSVP'd before I went on bed rest and I knew I could tell them that we couldn't make it if I didn't feel well but I figured the fresh air would do me good and I knew the kids would want to get out of the house. They had rented a pavilion right next to the covered playground and were cooking up hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch. We knew just about everyone who came because most of them go to our
church. Mark and Kelly are also the couple that is renting out our old house from us so we wanted to make sure they knew how appreciated they were. Peter and the girls played a couple games of Cornhole and then they threw around a ball or two. I just sat and watched and had some great conversations and enjoyed my time out of the house. We stayed through a storm that got the kids soaked (they liked it) and then a little longer before I said I needed to get home. It was a great break for usual routine and so nice to get to sit and talk with people I usually only see in passing.

posted by We are the Taylors @ 4:05 PM   0 comments

Saturday, June 29

A visit from Aunt Tina and Uncle Noah

Christina and Noah are moving back to Ohio in a few weeks so we made sure to schedule sometime on calendar that we would be sure to keep clear for hanging out.
Usually we go to their house but since I am on bed rest we thought wouldn't be very wise for me to drive an hour in the opposite direction of the hospital. Instead, they came to us and brought the kids some great surprises. Our children had brought some toys over to their house so that when we did go and see them they had things to keep them entertained.
Christina and Noah also brought a few things that they had bought the children while they were visiting but kept at their house. They also happened to bring a few birthday presents for the girls since they weren't going to see them on their party date. The kids all had fun playing with the toys but it didn't take very long before they were asking to open the presents. The first thing they opened was a pink digital camera. It was Christina's old one that she didn't use anymore and we knew the girls would love it. Next they opened a Wii console, complete with two remotes and a nun-chuck. And, finally, they opened up the Wii Fight board
that goes with the console. Christina and Noah had ended up with two consoles and fits and they were going to sell the second one. I inquired as to how much as Peter and I wouldn't mind having a console for the kids in the play room so that they can play without being in the living room where are Wii is now. They discussed it and decided to give the whole set to the girls for their birthdays (of course, Javan gets to play too). They were all really excited about having their own game system in the playroom and it didn't take very long before Daddy was setting it up for them so they could get their gaming on while us adults played a board game and ate yummy food.

posted by We are the Taylors @ 7:08 PM   0 comments

Saturday, June 22

Time for some Vitamin D

After being in the house for just about the entire week I needed to get some sun. The kids packed up and we drove down the street to our friends neighborhood where they have a community pool. I met Jana there with her boys and us adults sat and talked and took in the nice day while the children swam and played away. I had brought a bunch of watermelon too so they were sure to keep hydrated. It was so nice to get some fresh air and sunlight. It was pretty hot but the pool water
was very refreshing too. After a couple hours when the storms started to come our way we headed home to dry up and change. For dinner I was craving Chinese Food which Peter never says no to, so he ordered and went out to pick it up. Peter and I have special chop sticks that we bought while we were in Hong Kong but we only bought a set for the the two of us. The girls always use the cheap wood ones that the restaurant supplies you with. We really didn't think they would be interested in adding more work to their dinner routine but after the last few chinese dinners they have gotten quite good at their technique. If we go back to China we have decided we will have to
buy the children each their own real sets too. Tonight I gave Javan a pair of chopsticks thinking he might stab his food or try a little bit and then use his fork I gave him but he was persistent and completed his entire meal with his chopsticks without even complaining a tiny bit. I was very impressed. I am pretty sure at 4 years old I would not have the patience to use chopsticks to eat my meal.

posted by We are the Taylors @ 7:50 PM   0 comments

Friday, June 21

Another lazy summer day

The children did well yesterday when they were allowed to paint so today I decided to give them a project. I made a big banner that said, "Get Well Papa!" and let them all decorate it with pretty colors and handprints. Papa recently had triple bypass heart surgery and following a couple complications was readmitted to the hospital twice. He was just released for the third time yesterday so we thought he might
appreciate a little encouragement. The children worked hard on their banner until it was just to their liking. Then later Peter requested we make some homemade pizza for dinner. The children love to make pizza so it wasn't hard to get them to help out.

posted by We are the Taylors @ 3:45 PM   0 comments

Putting on Miles

I have been watching Oscar climb closer and closer to this milestone and was really, a little too, excited about it. Today I had to drive to Daytona for my doctor appointment I knew that we would hit our mark by the time I got home. I got off I-4 and as I was driving back to our house I had to slow down so I would be sure to see the roll over (only not as climactic because the odometer is digital).

posted by We are the Taylors @ 2:44 PM   0 comments

Thursday, June 20

Painting Days

Apparently, the children had been asking Daddy if
they could paint just about everyday but since Peter has to work during the day and can't stay to supervise the children hadn't been granted their wish. Now that I am home they asked me. I told them that was fine and I laid on the couch and read a book while they all worked at the kitchen table making their masterpieces. When they were finished they were sure to clean up as expected so that there would be no reason for me to say no next time.

posted by We are the Taylors @ 1:42 PM   0 comments

Tuesday, June 18

To the hospital

Today, while I was at work, I started having contractions that stayed pretty consistent throughout the day. Around 2:30 I called my doctor to see what they thought I should do. Tomorrow I will be 35 weeks so it is still early for me to go into labor. The contractions didn't have much pain with them but nurse told me to go to the hospital if they stayed at 5 minutes apart for an hour. I hadn't really been timing them so I sat at my desk and started the count. It didn't take but a few contractions to determine that I they were about 3 minutes apart. I sat and watched them as I tried to finish up my work. I stayed until almost 4, when I usually go home before I left for the day and called my doctor again. The nurse told me I needed to go to the hospital right away. I headed home (in the direction
of the hospital) and called Peter to tell him I needed to go in. He called our friend, Joe, who met us at the house to take care of the children and we went up to Daytona. At the hospital I had to register and then we waited for probably an hour or more in the waiting room until there was a triage room available. Finally they called me back and hooked me up to the machines to measure my contractions. After I gave them some more information the nurse told me that I was still contracting every 3-4 minutes. I was happy that I wasn't just crazy and that we hadn't come all this way for nothing but I also wanted to make sure that this little baby stayed in as long as he needed to before coming out into the world. Come to find out I had a UTI which my doctor told me could irritate the uterus and cause contractions. He gave me an antibiotic and sent me home for bed rest. I was more excited than I should have been about this because I was really over working and things at the job had started to get pretty stressful. I was really looking forward to having some time off work for a while. My bed rest is moderate which is nice, it's not like I had when I was pregnant with the triplets when I wasn't even allowed to sit up. I can do most normal things around the house but I have to conscientious about my activities and make sure I rest often. For example, I can fold the laundry and put it in the drawers but I can't carry the basket up and down the stairs and put the clothes in the machine, but hey, that's why we have children. :)

posted by We are the Taylors @ 10:00 PM   0 comments

Sunday, June 16

Happy Father's Day

It won't be until our children grow up and have families of their own that they will really be able to appreciate the great man that they have as a father. Peter is the best Daddy anyone could ask for and he is wonderful husband to me too. I thank God for him daily and, though
he denies it, I tell him how great he is and how much I appreciate him. Today was his day and he chose to play on the worship team this week so he didn't get through with church until closer to 1:00. We had previously arranged for his Dad and his brother Tim to meet us at the Cheesecake Factory for a late lunch so after Peter was home and dropped all his stuff off we were out the door heading to Winter Park. We had a good time and conversation with his family and then headed back home after some delicious cheesecake. Once at home we watched a movie as a family and just relaxed and enjoyed the day. Peter and I had gone shopping the day before and he picked up his present, an Apple TV. The children had all made him cards for Father's Day but he didn't want any more gifts, he is not really into receiving gifts so much. We had a good day and hopefully Peter felt a little more appreciated than he does on a normal day though I try to make sure he is aware of how much we all love him all the time.

posted by We are the Taylors @ 7:30 PM   0 comments

Wednesday, June 12

Robin

When Steve and Heather came down Tyler gave Javan his old Robin costume. Javan has seriously worn this thing everyday since they left. When we leave the house (depending on where we are going) I have to tell him to go put real clothes on. He doesn't fight me on it but this costume is the first thing he puts on each day. Too cute.

posted by We are the Taylors @ 3:32 PM   0 comments

Saturday, June 8

Happy Birthday Sweet Abbi-gails!

Our baby girl is 8 years old today. She is such a sweetheart and always a joy. She still does a little more whining than Peter and I would like but since that’s her biggest fault we will let it slide. I had been asking Abbi all week what she wanted to do for her birthday but she wasn’t quite sure. We are planning a joined birthday party for her and Bresa in a couple weeks but we still needed her day to be special. She just recently grew out of her cowboy boots so she said she
wanted new ones for her present. This morning I got up and Peter made pancakes for breakfast, at Abbi’s request. Then after asking if the rooms were clean there was a small issue with Bresa not helping so instead of arguing I told Bresa she could finish on her own and I was taking Abbi shopping. Javan had already cleaned his room and the play room so I asked Abbi if she wanted him to come with us or if she wanted to go shopping alone with me. She said she wanted Javan to come so the three of us headed to Skip’s Boots where Abbi picked out a new pair that fit just right. She wore them out of the store and then we headed to Oodle’s Consignment Shop where I told Abbi she could pick out $20 worth of whatever clothes she wanted so long as they were the right size. She had fun going through everything and finding just what she liked. I searched the clearance rack and picked up several more things over Abbi’s $20 and even found a pair of flip flops for Javan for just 75 cents. From there we went over to ½ Off Books where Abbi had some giftcards and she picked out about $15 worth of books and still has some money left on her card. It wasn’t quite lunch time but we had hit all the stores we intended on going to so we went home to see how things were going there. Abbi decided she wanted McDonald’s for lunch so Peter took just her to go pick it up when it was time. We watched a “How it’s Made” episode (the kids love them) and then Abbi opened her gifts from her grandparents.
It was pretty hot outside so I asked Abbi if she wanted to swim, of course she said yes so I took the kids to our friend’s community pool where they played and splashed while I did a little reading. We were there just over an hour when some arguing started so I told them we were leaving and we headed to the grocery store for our weekly groceries. Peter had to go to church because he is playing in the band this weekend so he wasn’t there when we returned home. Abbi said she wanted chicken and fries for dinner so I made everyone some food which they happily ate. Peter got home about 7:30 and then we packed up and headed to Rodeo Whip Ice Cream Shop which is where Abbi said she wanted to get dessert. The kids all ordered what they wanted and we sat at the shop and ate. Abbi had wanted to watch a movie as a family too but by the time we got home it was too late. She wasn’t too disappointed though because she had a good day overall.

posted by We are the Taylors @ 9:26 PM   0 comments

Wednesday, June 5

33 weeks today

This is my favorite maternity shirt this time around.

posted by We are the Taylors @ 2:33 PM   0 comments

Saturday, June 1

Fun Filled Day (more or less)

This morning Peter and I hosted a breakfast for the Life Group Leaders that we oversee. We had a great morning and some good discussion but then it was time for Peter to get some work done. Someone had recently told me that our local movie theater had been bought out and made into a cheap theater so I went online
to do some research. Sure enough it is only $1.50 person so I found a good PG rated movie and told the kids if they cleaned in time we could go. Abbi ended up doing just about all the cleaning so all the children could come along. We went and saw “Escape from Planet Earth” which was cute enough for $1.50 and got us out of the house a bit while it rained. I am sure Peter enjoyed having some quietness too. I was going to take the kids for ice cream or a special treat afterwards but I was really disappointed in how Bresa and Javan didn’t help clean. Instead, after we had a yummy dinner of homemade southwestern eggrolls, Abbi was the only one to get dessert; a special treat of ice cream which is pretty unheard of in our house.

posted by We are the Taylors @ 7:41 PM   0 comments