Melanie's new hair cut.....what an ordeal!

So....a few months ago I decided that it was time for the hair to come off. As a mother of three kids (one being a new born who has incredible grip...if you know what I mean) I was just plain tired of it. It was too thick and too long. I had to use two hair bands to hold it when I worked out and it would still fall out, when I sat down at the couch my head would yank backwards and I felt like I lived back in the 1800's because I would have to braid it every night to keep it from tangling up into a huge mess of knots. So....the decision was made and I had to tell Rob (who of course was soooooooooo sad). That is when the mourning began. I actually straightened it and kept it down quite a bit in the following weeks (you see, I wanted to wait until we actually went down to Utah for a visit so my sister could cut it) so Rob could enjoy seeing it a few more times that way. He also had a hard time keep his hands out of it (a bit like a cave man) and finally asked me if he could take a picture of it before I cut it just so he could remember it (it was actually longer than I have EVER had it). I found that suggestion so incredible humorous and was a little embarassed posing for them but let him do it anyway. I thought it would be funny to do a before and after picture and post it so that everyone could enjoy a good laugh with me.

Before

After

I know what you are thinking? Did she really cut it?

Now....as it turns out, I only ended up taking of three or four inches in the length (although there were times I made Rob think that I was cutting 11 inches off for locks of love. No wonder he was scared!) but took out a considerable amount by thinning and adding a bunch of layers. So....in the end, there was no need for mourning. Rob is still satisfied with it (he continues to drag me around the house) and I am a lot happier with it. Now seriously......what was all the fuss about?

Home again, home again, jiggidy jig!

We are finally back from our "vacation" in Utah. I say "vacation" because it was anything but that. The boys were sick nearly the entire time so we spent a lot of time at Grandma Hardings house instead of out and about. However, we did have a wonderful time visiting with our family and a few friends. The boys and I really enjoyed being able to visit with Granny T a lot. We worked on many a puzzles by her side. We were also especially glad to visit with Amanda, David, and Isabel who were visiting Utah from Nebraska (since our opportunities to visit with them are few and far between). We love all of our family and are glad we are bound to them forever.

ESPECIALLY DADDY!!!! What a joyous reunion we had with Rob. After being without him for two weeks we got to see him for a whole 18 hours before he left again to go out of town.

The boys are growing like weeds.

Gabe was soooooooo excited to get back to school. He kept asking me if all of his friends were going to "gather around [him] when [he] [got] back." It was hilarious and sure enough, they did. His teacher told me that the whole dynamics of the class were thrown off without him and they are so happy to have him back. He can be such a delight to be around sometimes. (does Gabe look like a Gillespie is this picture or what? Actually he kind of looks like his uncle Kyle to me).




Cael is finally coming into his own. Going to Utah gave him the opportunity to come out of his cocoon and become a social butterfly. Now he is "hi-ing" and "bye-ing" everywhere we go. With his knockout smile and "nurturing" ways (aggressive....but nurturing), we will soon be beating away the ladies.






Isaac is just a bundle of fun. He LOVES his brothers (Gabe- all of the time and Cael- when he is not beating on him) and has started to laugh and interact with them a lot. He is such a happy baby and very mild mannered (thank goodness). He started solid foods the other day (because he has started waking in the night to be fed). What a chunk!






Rob started school again this last week and already we are counting down the weeks until this semester is over. It has bee really nice having him as a part of our family instead of a stranger who sits at the computer all night. That is an exaggeration. He actually took a lot of time to help me out with the kids last semester and did very well in his classes. We hope he will be able to keep up the family life and the good grades in the coming semesters.

As for me, I am going crazy with all there is to do as a mother of three who has not been home for three weeks. I am now trying to take off the poundage put on while in Utah (what can I say.....my mom's house is full of lots of yummy snacking things and I was there for a looooooooong time). So goodbye weight lost and hello weight loss. But......I guess I wouldnt have it any other way. I like food too much not to enjoy it now and again, and again, and again, and again.................

Time to get back to real life. Family......this is what real life is all about.

Isaac-3 months

I can't believe Isaac is already three months old. It is so hard to believe. Sometimes I watch "A Baby Story" on TV and the concept of being pregnant is already so foreign to me. I know........ FREAKY. You are not supposed to forget that feeling until you are ready for another one. Believe you-me.....I am NOT ready for another one. I am working out 5-6 days a week to try to get my "girlish figure" back (I know it may seem a bit extreme working out that much but seeing that I ate 10 cookies yesterday.....well, enough said). Slowly but surely things are shrinking and firming (did I mention slowly).

Isaac is so social. He smiles ALL of the time. He has a very sweet smile too. He is even beginning to laugh a little. It is hilarious. Without fail, he gets the hiccups. Who knows how the two things are linked but we get a good laugh out of it in the meantime.
He is learning to endure constant torture from his older brother Cael. Not a day goes by that he is not poked in the eye at least five times. He will probably be tougher that a pile of rocks for it. Cael better watch out........bad Karma, if you know what i mean. Some day it will come back and bite him in the butt. At least that is what we can hope for as parents (just kidding).

Life finally seems to be settling in. It still feels a bit chaotic and crazy but it is a this-is-what-life-is-going-to-be-like-for-the-rest-of-our-lives kind of chaos instead of just our-lives-have-been-turned-upside-down-uprooted- from-everything-we-have-ever-known kind of chaos. Does that make sense to anyone but me? I guess we should have known that life with three boys was never going to be dull. Sometimes I long for peace and quiet but that, I am afraid, is long gone. To combat this, I am trying to master my "ignore everyone and everything" skills. Someday I will accomplish this and once again I will find a little piece of heaven called.........SANITY!

Halloween 2007

We had so much fun this Halloween. The Saturday before, we went to our ward chili feed. We ate lots of yummy chili and cornbread and hauled in a good amount of candy at the Trunk-or-Treat. Monday we carved pumpkins and ate caramel apples (so typical of me, I did not get any pictures). Wednesday we ate chili and cornbread for dinner (I know, again, but it's tradition), went to yet another Trunk-or-Treat (in Carrie and Brett's ward), and went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Gillespie (great thanks to them for buying treats especially for Cael). What a fun week it was. It was great to spend time as a family and enjoy a holiday together (this was the first time in three years that Rob has not had to work on Halloween).

Gabe dressed up as a "ghost pirate" (very original), Cael was a frog and Isaac was a pumpkin. We reused and recycled old costumes and the whole lot cost me no more than $5 this year. You cant beat that.

I had to take pictures of Isaac's first bite marks. The pictures are not very good but if you will look at his left cheek (right in the picture) you will see marks from the row of top teeth and two long marks from the bottom teeth. If you haven't guessed it already, Cael was the culprit. OF COURSE! He is such a bully. I not quite sure what he was thinking but he sure got in trouble for it. NAUGHTY, NAUGHTY BOY! He can be so exasperating at times. Luckily there was no permanent damage. By the time Rob got home from work, the marks were gone.




More up close and personal with the bite. Actually, I have a scar quite similar to this one. Funny, it never occurred to me before just now. (sorry, no comparison pictures. My bite mark is in a place that is....well lets just say that it would not be appropriate for a picture to be taken for the sake of comparison.) Mine, however, was the result of a vicious dog not a vicious big brother.






As you can see, the bite did not turn Isaac into a werewolf or even worse, a temperamental red head (we have enough of those in the household right now). He is just as cute as he ever was. In fact, even cuter. I know I am a little biased but he is just REALLY cute. He is always trying to catch my eye and smile at me. What a sweet boy.