bar none, this was my busiest weekend since i moved to the northwest three years ago. and even before the weekend hit it seems i was nothing but a busy body hoping from one activity, one chore, one to-do to another. i'd love nothing more than to take today to stop and catch my breath but tomorrow is our big trip to san diego and i still have way too much to do to even consider such a far-fetched dream. before the lifting of boxes and furniture for the yard sale shahala and i did on saturday, and before the uphill hike at raine falls, and maybe even before the swimming, the playdates, the grocery shopping, the feverish cleaning, entertaining, laundry, and wrestling with a toddler, i developed a hernia. it's killer first thing in the morning and anytime i get going too fast. yesterday i just had to stop and sit and let my mother in law do all the post dinner cleaning.

well here are a few pictures from some of our weekend, completely out of order:


this is what conrad decided easter eggs were good for: baseball practice.


finding an egg, the little eggert.


i perhaps hide them too well.


blowing bubbles at easter sunday service in the park.


too cute, i swear.


when he wasn't gnawing on it's ear he was hugging it.


jon and pete jumped in the river. momentarily. it was 42 degrees. yah.


not my best picture, but my only belly picture so far this pregnancy.


watching the dog.


the group.

before conrad fell in the river face first and got his shirt all wet.

men with babies.


getting started.

my boy. all boy.

elvira nails scratching down a green chalk board, stepping in a pool of unidentified something with socks on, half way through a recipe when you realize your one egg shy, being in the midst of a poopy diaper change, in a store dressing room none the less, when you realize you forgot to pack baby wipes...

for me, yesterday was like a tangible form of all those things; went to bed too late, woke up too early, conrad refused to nap, it was rainy and cold so we were inside ALL day, and jon didn’t get home till almost 6. it was the sort of day, if i wasn’t pregnant, i would have gotten my drink on at 6:01pm and not a minute later, then maybe on the way home from the bar throw some eggs out the car window at garden gnomes and bird feeders. perhaps run around the neighborhood in only a pair of socks, the purple fuzzy ones my gramma got me for christmas last year-they’re super comfy, just for the hell of it. and then another drink. but since i am pregnant and therefore unable to drink enough tequilla to excuse any such behavior, i made dinner, watched jon and conrad throw one another off the bed, and then went to barnes and noble, bought a book about toddlers, and then came home to find both my husband and child asleep on the coach with elmo’s world playing in the back ground.

this morning i woke up determined to have a different sort of day. or a stiff drink. so i made plans to meet a friend at the mall so conrad could burn steam at the indoor playground, we went swimming before that, and once we got home, at 3pm, i was beginning to believe he just might be ready for his nap. a nap he hasn’t taken in days.

touch down. birth defect avoided.

previous experience is telling me the current size of my abdomen isn't big, big is being nine months pregnant and not being able to shave your legs because of it. still, looking at my belly, looking in the mirror, i feel big. my mother in law heard the cry of my clothing needs and bought out the juniors clearance section at macy's. thank goodness for her and the lingering current style of tunic-esque tops. unlike my pregnancy with conrad this time i feel adequately attired. speaking of looking at my belly and all.

this friday is my sonogram and needless to say i'm giddy with anticipation in finding out if IT is a boy or a girl. i had a dream the other night It was a boy and i couldn't remember the labor because of hypno-birthing ( my alternative to traditional prenatal classes and pain medication, and hopefully, something i won't regret. ever since the episode with the flu shot i've really really started to re-think traditional medicine-and while i'm not willing to give up one for the other i definately want to start adding more naturalistic practices into our health care routine and needs. though i'll definately be having the baby at the hospital. conrad's birth was way too scary to think it would be safe and wise to do this next one at a birthing center...though cheaper, that's for damn sure).

earlier today conrad and i went to the shoe store and then to harry and david's next store-i had bought conrad his summer shoes and then my mother her mother's day present. that makes three bags plus a little 19th month old i always carry when going through parking lots. i knew there was No Way i could do it. in harry and david's conrad had stood in front/under me pushing the cart around; people commented on my little helper, old ladies cooed, and conrad seemed elated at this new found independence i was allowing him. back out in the parking lot, three bags in hand, staring down at my ever independent child, i asked conrad to carry a bag with one hand and then with his other hand to hold very tightly to my hand. for the past few months i've been stressing the NO on parking lots and the street, so when conrad heard the invitation i was giving him he gladly gave me his hand with a tight squeeze and took the bag with the other. we walked through that parking lot mom and little helper. i've never been more proud of him!

i've been meaning to do a Daily Discovery or Weekly Discovery blog post to journal conrad's random and adorable discoveries. last week was the usefulness of pockets. jon had put a rock in conrad's coat pocket and a little light bulb went on over conrad's head. now when we're outside playing or on a walk he'll find a rock and put it his pocket-some pockets are easier than others, but it's a thrill for conrad to pull that rock out at random intervals, look at it, then place it back in his pocket. unfortunately, yesterday he discovered Barney. i won't elaborate, it's painful to think about let alone rehash.

and here are two of the five pictures i've taken in the past few weeks.

conrad and zion trying to climb a tree.

yes, yes, and yes we found a bbq place on our way to salem.