The Good, The Bad, and the Downright Ugly

Hello gang,
I know it has been some time since my last post, but I promise, I have a very good reason. I know that most of my posts chronicle the happy happenings of the Coleman clan, but I feel that to accurately create a record of our lives for me to keep, I need to include the good, the bad, and the downright ugly as well. I can honestly say that this has been the most difficult two weeks in my 33 years on planet earth so far! I am now 33 going on 34 weeks pregnant and have spent no less than 5 days at the doctors office in the last 10! It all started two weeks ago with chest pain, Headache, and a 101 plus degree fever that lasted for 4 days. The doctor put me on tamiflu and zithromax just to cover all bases, even though my flu test came back negative. My fever broke, but the chest problems have persisted for over two weeks. I am coughing so much even now that I have developed pleurisy! I am currently on a steroid that will hopefully relieve my swelling in my chest (which will help me breathe) and also resolve the RASH I have developed in the past few days on my chest and limbs (can you believe this????). Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the most traumatic event of the two week period, so hold on....

Sarah and I had a car accident last Wednesday here within a mile of our home. We are physically fine (thank you God). Our new van was heavily damaged and is in the shop for a few weeks getting repaired. My OB insisted that I spend some time on baby monitors at the hospital, and I am glad she did because it set my mind at ease in terms of the health of the baby. Can you believe all of this can happen in a two week period? I am praying for a reprieve from the coughing so that I can have just a precious few weeks to physically and mentally prepare myself, my home, and my family for the arrival of the newest Coleman!

I guess it would now be a good time to back up and look at the healthy days which I am entitling "The Good".
Sarah and I have had lots of fun getting together this year with good friends and neighbors and having some of the best play dates so far (I guess 3 is the magic number when it comes to the right age to truly play with other kids). Here are the "three amigos hanging out on Sarah's mini-trampoline. Haven't they grown?
We have also enjoyed being able to go out with "family" (sort of). Brandy, Caden, and Cohen are honorary members of my family, since Brandy's sister Ashley is now my sister-in-law. Sarah is Caden crazy right now. I hear his name every day! When she is not with him, she wants to be near. When she is near him, she doesn't want to leave. Won't it be interesting to see if she still considers him so "swoon worthy" as they get older?

Here is the love struck look Sarah gets when getting to sit next to her beloved Caden to eat lunch.

We have also been spending more time in the backyard this summer. Daddy got a "fire pit" for a Christmas gift last year. We have enjoyed many nights of smores and family fun in the backyard thanks to this gift. Thank you Charles and JoAnn!

We were also able to spend the last couple of our summer weeks visiting the library for story and song time. She really enjoyed herself as you can see.

From this point on, my life got much more difficult. My beloved husband has definitely been my rock in the past two weeks, playing nurse, house cleaner, as well as soccer dad. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life. He gave me Saturday morning to rest and took Sarah to her first Pee Wee League practice. She is taking classes through the YMCA. She is learning the basics of kickball, soccer, tee ball, and flag football. The class is so large that she is also learning how to wait and stand in lines (I guess this skill will come in handy in life as well).

Here she is waiting for the games to begin!

Line up and wait everyone!

This weeks lesson is flag football. Does she have the Coleman skill? Check out the video below....



She made her Dad so proud! You can hear him yelping on the video. What a move!

She really enjoyed herself. I am so glad! I really worried she would be a "girly girl" only. Chris won't have a chance at a son (based upon my last ultrasound). At least we know he has one girl who shares his love of the game!

We are also blessed to have wonderful neighbors who love us and help us during our times of need. Shelley gave me a few minutes to work in the house while she and Sarah sat outside playing with her IPhone. Sarah adores Shelley. Penny even went to Kroger to drop off one of my many prescriptions to give me more time to just "be" at home. God has truly blessed us with great neighbors.

Sarah definitely had a rough spell during my feverish period. She has since come back to be the wonderful caring daughter I know and love. We have spent more time at home in the last two weeks, thanks to my energy levels. She has found ways to pass the time. Here is one of my favorite. She looooves Taylor Swift. I have the joy of listening to her croon alongside Taylor on a weekly basis. I have more video to post, but will save this for another day. The countdown to baby Coleman continues! Stay tuned...

Strike a Pose!

Has my girl been secretly watching "America's Next Top Model" or what? Suddenly, she has turned into a camera hog! She has been "striking a pose" every time I ask her to take a photo. It makes my life a little easier, because I don't have to chase down a 3 year old (I am not exactly limber these days). She is cracking me up with her facial expression and physical poses. Here are some examples from recent weeks.

We met Ashley, Jason, Alena and Amy out for Alena's first trip to Midway with the family. As you know the pizza place in Midway is one of our favorite stops. Sarah was so excited, she begged to sit next to her new cousin. Here are some giddy poses.

Gotta love the pizza stain. I think it adds a little character to the shot.

Ashley is also getting into the poses as well.

Ah, the new parents. Do they look the least bit sleep deprived? I just don't see it. Lucky dogs!

Chris relaxing and taking in the sounds of the musician on a perfectly beautiful day. Are we in Kentucky or California? Not a cloud in the sky, 70 degree temps and no humidity!

All I need to say is Sarah, scoot over and take a photo with Amy and, out comes the Tyra Banks!

Snapping a shot with cousin Alena. Alena is obviously not amused by Sarah's contortions

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On Saturday, we spontaneously (I know this is shocking...) decided to go to the state fair. I would only agree to go because I knew it was in the 70's all day. The idea of a hot stinky fair is not fun for a lady who is 30 weeks pregnant, but I can handle the 70's... Amy wanted to go as well, so we loaded up the van for a road trip!

Chris was (how shall I put this) less than thrilled to go to the fair. I just had to get this photo of him next to the cow. I cannot believe he is smiling here. I did not see this smile very often on this trip. Crowds and cow poop are just not his thing!

Amy, on the other hand, is up for anything. Look out Amy, a giant cow is coming our way! What expression!

Where does she get these poses? Seriously! (This is a really cute one) :)

Growling for the camera (partially because it is starting to sprinkle at the fair).

After the fair fun was over, we headed home. Brandy gave us a call and invited us to roast marshmallows. How could we turn this down on an unseasonably cool August night?

Sarah posing (pointed toe and all) with the soccer ball. She is gearing up for a little pee wee introductory league this fall. Pray for her patience (and mine) as she learns some team sports!

While Chris and Caden worked on the marshmallows, Sarah tested her skills on the field. She has the "Coleman" talent for sports, don't you think?

Jason, Ashley and baby Alena joined in the fun.

She is finally waking up! I am able to capture some expressions on camera.

A father daughter moment. How cute!

Meanwhile new mommy Ashley (less than two months postpartum) rough housing with the preschoolers! How does she do it?

Due to Daddy's long work hours this week, Sarah and I opted to take one last trip to the mountains to visit the grandparents before the new one arrives (doc won't let me travel much longer). Here is yet another pose from the little one. As I am writing this, I am noticing the Clorox on the ground in the garage behind Sarah. Time for some added baby proofing Mom and Dad! You have three little ones to worry about!

A short yet fun trip with the grandparents comes to an end. I thought I would grab one last pose before hitting the road.

We're still Here!

Hello all of you out in the blogosphere! I bet you are wondering if I went AWOL or decided to abandon by family blog. The answer is obviously "No!". I thought that being home would give me more time to keep the house clean and keep up with the blog, but with a three and a half year old that has all but abandoned naps, I can't seem to find the time to accomplish all of these tasks. I will have to fill you in on our month with one big blog update. Sit down and hold on!

I haven't taken a great number of photos this summer. I have done more napping than anything else if I am being honest. I am not normally a sleeper, but pregnant Angie can nap with the best of them! Fortunately, Sarah has been very tolerant of all of my pregnancy "quirks". She is happy to read me books while I snooze or sit and watch "Max and Ruby". All I need is about twenty minutes to recharge my battery for the rest of the day. We haven't gone as many places as I had planned this summer (thanks to a "fantastic" sciatic nerve pregnancy complication, I can't walk as much as I used to...). We have managed to visit friends and the mall on occasion, and Sarah is not complaining. I am the one who misses all of the travel!

Here is a photo of Chris and Sarah at a department store in Pikeville. I had to snap this because Sarah is not usually a fan of shopping, but if you put her in a room full of recliners, she is as happy as a lark! I wonder who she gets it from????

Julie (my friend with double my energy at this point in my life) decided to have a luau play date with homemade goodies, hula skirts, and island music. We were happy to go over and participate in the neighborhood fun! Here is Lily eyeing a wonderful cupcake.

The other kids were more interested in playing than eating. The slip and slide has definitely been the toy of the summer for our three year olds!

Tristan, on the other hand, will never turn down food for playtime... We had such a great time. Thanks Julie!

Although I cannot explain exactly why, this playground in the mall is one of Sarah's favorite places. When I have to hit the good old Motherhood Maternity store, or the Children's Place, there is no argument from her. I can bribe her into submission with a promise of fun on the playground. There are no slides, swings, sandboxes, etc., just foam and rubber characters on which to climb. She is in heaven!

What a mischievous pose!
I look at this photo and think back to the days when I feared bringing her here because she always got knocked around by a "big kid". Now she is the big kid!

This month, we decided to work on making Sarah more mannerly and self sufficient (before baby number 2 arrives). We opened up a handy dandy responsibility chart that I bought long ago, just waiting for the appropriate time. Sarah is expected to brush her teach, dress for bed, clean her room, say please and thank you, show others respect, and the biggie for her "stop whining". She took to this chart immediately and within 12 hours, her behavior was probably 90% better than the days and weeks before. She is such a type A personality, she is highly motivated to receive her smiley face each day for the different categories. We promised her a surprise at the end of the week if she got at least 4 smiley faces per day. We wanted to make the first surprise a great one to show her how proud we were of her efforts. She has begged to go to "Kentucky Cheese" or Chucky Cheese as most of you know it. I have never taken her before, so I decided this would be a very special first reward.
She was so proud of herself, she told everyone that week that she had a new chart and earned her reward.
Aunt Amy decided to join us in the fun.
Sarah now knows that this is Chucky, not Kentucky. So much for the cute blissful ignorance.


She also earned her reward for week number two. Her new obsession is gymnastics. Chris recorded some Olympic caliber gymnastics and let her watch. She has begged ALL DAY EVERY DAY since this point to take gymnastics classes. I am still working on finding a time that will work, but they do have an open gym each week. ($5 per hour). This satisfied her need for gymnastics and is now her weekly incentive for her responsibility chart. I found her a cute leotard at a yard sale. She felt just like the "teenage" gymnasts she watched on TV. This is a win win situation if it will keep her behavior where it has been recently.

She loves swinging into the foam pit (as always).



Her new favorite is the balance beam. This is what she wanted to watch OVER and OVER on the television.


What a grin.

I am really surprised at her interest in the beam in particular.

A great dismount!

I can't believe she is already flipping on the trampoline. For those of you who knew me in middle and high school, "Like mother like daughter".


Preschool is just about to start, our summer fun is drawing to a close.I adore getting to spend quality time with my girl (just the two of us). Pretty soon, this will be a rarity. I hope she is making lasting fond memories as well.

Slip, Slidin' (Cold) Summer Days

Busy summer days in the bluegrass. This is how I would describe this summer. School was out relatively late this year, we took a mid-June vacation, and returned for the 4th of July and the arrival of baby Alena! Whew! Our last few weeks have been spent organizing the house in preparation for the arrival of our little one this fall. It has been a slow process due to my growing belly and the arrival of the dreaded sciatic (spelling?) nerve pain. (Yuck!) We have also spent quite a few days playing with friends, celebrating birthdays and going on road trips. Here is a recap of the month's events.

Mom stayed with Ashley and Jason for a few days after Alena's arrival. Dad came to pick her up and stole some precious moments with grand baby #2.

Julie invited us over for an evening of swimming, sliding, and grilling-out. Fun times!

Tristan especially enjoyed the baked beans. Yum!

Julie also dragged out the ultimate in kid fun...A slip and slide! This is Sarah's first time with one of these. Needless to say it won't be the last!

slip and slide from Angela Coleman on Vimeo.

Wheeeee!

Later that week, Maura and Julie joined us for lunch at Firehouse Subs. This has become one of my favorite stops. It is adjacent to the UK campus. Aren't the hats cute?

Our goofy girls!

Next summer event: Chris's birthday.

Chris was born on July 16, 19...... (I won't out him...) He mentioned that in all of his years on this earth, he could not remember a cooler birthday. Brandy is even wearing a jacket!

Chris cleaned up the backyard and moved the playhouse into the "forest" for fun playtime.

But the kids had a better idea...turning over rocks to look for bugs and worms. I wonder who came up with this one hmm... Check out the hands on hips. Sarah is such a girl!

Cohen had other secret plans. He jumped into our pool clothes, shoes, and all. How cold it must have been! He wasn't complaining.

Jason came over to inspect the mischief.

Soon after, the pull of the water became irresistible for even the older kids. I was cold just watching them!

They weren't in long. Notice the blue lips on Caden.

Burrrr.......
Cohen was the only one who did not complain. Happy Birthday Chris!

The past week has been quite busy for the Coleman clan. I have made no less than three trips to Cincinnati in search of a mini-van as well as furniture for the toy room (I know, I am nesting). The first trip resulted in the wrong color furniture making it's way back to Kentucky. I asked my friend Julie if she and the kids wanted to make a run back up to good old Ikea for a return and exchange followed by some fun at Totter Otter ville. Julie and the kids never pass up an excuse for playtime, so they agreed! Sarah is striking a pose while she drives a baby around Totter Otter ville in a stroller.

ballet class from Angela Coleman on Vimeo.

Maura and Sarah sharing their very first "ballet" class.

The cutest event of the day was when the three kids decided to cook for their Mommies. It was so sweet!

Untitled from Angela Coleman on Vimeo.

We also moved outside for some "fishin'" Maura was proud of her catch.

Sarah quickly moved over to excavate some "dinosaur bones".

Overall, an otherwise cumbersome trip became lots of fun thanks to good friends. By the way, the third trip to Cincinnati was a charm: we now own a mini-van! Photos to come soon.