Let's pause a moment.

I took this picture the other day at the playground near our house. Max wants to do everything Callum can do and it is almost to the point where he actually can. He can climb pretty much anything now, eats as much as Callum (or more) and he is speaking more and more each day. He is very polite as he automatically says "Dank-oo, Mommy" all the time and "Doory, Mommy" when he is apologizing. Now if I could only convince him that he also wants to use the toilet like Callum, but he assures me he is quite uninterested.

Callum is quite the little swimmer now as he has lessons every Tuesday and Thursday. He can jump into the dive tank off the diving board and swims to his teacher, without a life jacket or anything! I actually cried when I watched him be so brave (it was a satisfying 'mother' moment). Max and I come swimming once a week too, but Max is surprisingly cautious in the water - at his age, Callum was already putting his head under without concern, but Max will have nothing to do with holding his breath. Jeff and I think maybe Max will be more of a team-sport player than the solo swimmer type. Callum also has soccer every Friday afternoon and Max is not impressed when he is not allowed to participate in the class, similar to how he feels every time I take Callum to Preschool and Max can't stay, or even at IKEA, where Callum is big enough for the PlayPlace but Max isn't. Poor guy, (though I admit to making little comments about how one of the reasons he can't stay is because he is wearing a diaper...).

I have been feeling our little creation moving around in my belly quite a lot and I am still convinced it will be a girl, despite the fact that the Ultrasound technician wouldn't give me any hints (apparently it is their policy to give the results to the doctor and the doctor can decide to tell you or not), so I may find out this Friday at my next appointment (though I'm not sure I really trust the results anyway if they do think it's a girl). I am mildly concerned about how big I am already (I have gained 10 pounds and I'm only 22 weeks), or at least I certainly feel big... unpleasant memories of previous pregnancies are becoming less memory and more reality very quickly... Sigh.

Well, it's 11:30pm and Jeff is still at the Blackburn house installing the tile in the laundry. I was there all day (installing the railing pieces and fixing the flooring where the counter top guys damaged it) while Callum and Max were at Kami's all day, but they fell asleep on the drive home, so we didn't get much time together. Tomorrow I take them to church in the morning but then I haul them off to Scott and Samantha's (so I can finish painting the front foyer and start installing our stair treads)... I know there is only 1 more week before we are moving into the house, but with so much left to do, I am finding it hard to get excited. We decided to hire a guy to install our wall tile and I am glad we did - he did the kids bathroom today and it looks so great that I did manage to feel a bit giddy! Yeeay.

Less journey, more destination, please....

I'd like to say, "Is it May 8th, already?", but I am very aware of the date, actually, and particularly of our impending move into the Blackburn house! I have given the landlord of our current accommodations notice for June 1st, so the renovations have been on 'go-go-go' mode!

So, Callum and Max have spent the past several weeks being carted off to various babysitting situations I have organized between friends and family so I can work at the house. I really only see them on Tuesdays and Thursdays (between swimming lessons and Preschool), but I guess that is still more than Jeff sees them. I miss hanging out with them over pancakes in the morning or just taking them to the park, and I grieve over the fact that so much of the little time I do have with them now is spent either convincing them to get dressed and get going or to get on their PJ's and get to bed. I suppose this is a little taste of what it is like for those full-time working Mothers out there. Hm. Sucky.

According to those closest to me, I have been exhibiting slightly higher-than-usual stress levels at times, leading to comments such as "you should enjoy the journey, Kelli" from my Dad, but between feeling guilty about passing off my kids to anyone who will take them and feeling guilty about lack of attention to healthy meals, piles of dirty dishes and laundry, or to my husband, all I'm shooting for is the destination! So... Tomorrow- baseboards and door trim, Wednesday- painting doors and trim, Friday- install stair treads and sliding door sills, Saturday- grout entry and bathroom tile........etc, etc.......

I would post some updated pictures of the house, but I haven't picked up the camera in a while. Luckily, my brother has been using his, so I thought these 2 pictures of my super-awesomely cute boys were well worth sharing on the blog: