Leah ROHLF

Johnny's birth details...

are at my new blog address.

See my previous post if you would like that address.

New blog address

Yo dudes.

I've been having some trouble with people being able to comment on this blog so I started a new one. I'm not sure if I will keep both of them or not... for the time being I probably will. But here is the address of my new blog since I probably won't be linked to planet rock anymore.

Lata'
~L

http://amommaonamission.wordpress.com/

This is for you, dad,

since you threatened to take me off your blog reader if something new didn't appear! :) I have so many ideas/thoughts/concepts running through my head, i have no idea where to begin. So hold onto your bootstraps and welcome to my brain.

The floods of 2008- right. We are safe and dry and quite thankful to say the least. Besides having to be creative in a few situations of where to drive and or shop, things are good. I must say, this entire thing has made me so thankful for God's provision of so many things that I take for granted in life.

We have been living with my parents the last three weeks and as of yesterday we were able to move into our new house! Praise the Lord! We had originally found a house a while ago, but due to some financing situations, the house sold and we had no idea how long we would be at my parent's place. In God's timing, he had another house even better than the first and we were able to close in three weeks.

However, once we moved into my parent's house, I wasn't sure I wanted to move out. Lots of space for Belle to run around and always someone around or something to do. Jason and I were talking the night before we moved out that we had adjusted to life here and would miss it. So thank you mom and dad for your hospitality over the past few weeks. Especially dad, thanks for the coffee. :)

Two days before we moved out, John and Jade moved into my parents as well! They were evacuated from their place due to the flood- so we only needed Amy to move home from Omaha and then all five kids, two in-laws and 1.5 grandkids all in one house...good times! :)

I went to the dr. today and was told that I am still measuring small. Only 32 cm and I am at 37.5 weeks. So I went for an ultrasound and they said everything looks good. The baby boy (confirmed once again!) is growing and they are guess that he is 7lbs and 3oz. We will see- they said Belle was right around that size and she came out at 5lbs, 12oz. Only 18 days till my due date, 8 days if he comes when Belle did. I'm just hoping/praying that he holds off for a few more days so I can unpack all these boxes!

So, all in all, life has been crazy busy. Historic flooding, moving into a new house, chasing a 2 year old and being 9 months prego... ya know, just a normal week around here. :)

Stay tuned for details about lil' Rohlf. We don't have internet for another week - so we will see how this all goes.

Thinking of Having Kids?

Do this 11 step program first!

Lesson 1
1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.
Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...

1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner) 2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)
Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? To find out...
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them o n the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.
Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.
You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy' occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11
Start talking to an adult of your choice.. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

For those of you waiting to cast your vote until you see a picture....

this is T-Minus 35 days till D-Day. :)

It's go time!

Details, details, details! This is your opportunity to put down for the world to see your guess about the details of lil' baby Rohlfs birth information. I'm thinking if someone can guess the date/time/weights/name/gender all correctly- we might have to buy them dinner. :) My due date is 7.5.08- however, Belle came a week and a half early. And we had a second ultrasound to which the tech replied " yep, those are boy parts" so I'm counting on it being a boy for sure now... but you never know. If it does end up being a girl- you are invited to our house come Aug for a garage sale of lots of blue things! :)

So here goes- let us know what you think.

Want/Need/Would Like

Two of the most common statements in our house these days by our 2 year old:

"I want __________"
"I need __________"

Wow. I never thought twice about asking her "What do you want?" or "What do you need?" I didn't realize how many times adults ask kids what they want/need. So when they answer you with "I want/need" they are only answering the question that was asked to them. However, at our house, we are working with Belle on being more cheerful and polite when asking for something. I think she says "I want/need _____" about 50 times a day and those 50 times a day I'm saying back to her something like: "Belle, please do not say want, you may say 'I would like' ____" and she corrects her statement and we move on. Now the first few days it wasn't a huge deal- but we are weeks, no probably months into this and still I feel like I"m helping her have a cheerful heart each time she asks for something. It is amazing to me how much of parenting is repetition. And I'm wondering if she will "get it" some day. I think God gives us glimmers of light in the dark to keep us going because this week Belle and I were driving home and she was talking about how she wanted to play outside with her daddy when he got home. I told her that she could ask daddy nicely and maybe after dinner they could play outside for a while. She then said "I no say I WANT daddy to play outside with me.... I say I LIKE daddy to play outside with me!"

WOO HOOO! That made my afternoon! I would like to say that she has got it- but still every day, several times a day we are working on a cheerful heart when she needs to ask for something. But still, it was encouraging and I'm confident things will click one day. And maybe, just maybe, it might be once she has kids of her own! :)

Big Sister Class!

Last night, Belle attended Big Sister Class at Mercy Hospital. I'm not sure she knew exactly what was going on- but she was so excited to go! After I registered her, they mailed her an invite saying she could bring her own doll/stuffed animal to practice changing diapers. Belle has 4 or 5 babies and stuffed animals- all which she has named after all the baby girls in our church. She chose "Nomio" (Naomi after Naomi Olinger) to go with her for the evening. The teacher explained all about holding new babies and we watched a video of what the baby's belly button is going to look like. Then we got to tour the OB floor and there happened to be a 2 hour old baby in the nursery that we got to look at. Wow, did things get real at that point! We are about 8 weeks out right now and very soon there will be another lil' Rohlf arriving. Here are a few pictures from the evening. If you notice the one with her holding all the dolls- she decided once she got there that she wanted to play with all the "real" babies instead of her bear! :)

Kids say the darndest things!

Belle: "Mom *munch , munch* you want some celery too?" Mom: "No, not right now." Belle: "You no like it?" Mom: "No, I"m not a huge fan...." Belle: "I'm a HUGE man!"...

A Dinglehopper!

Leah: "Belle, please set the table for dinner"
Belle: "Ok" (and runs to the silverware drawer to get out the forks)
Leah: (turns back to cooking dinner on the stove, but then hears something funny and turns back around to look at Belle)
Leah: "Belle, we do not use forks to comb our hair...."

*Pause*

Belle: "The little mermaid does!"

Sleep (NOT) in heavenly peace....

I can't sleep. For the past few nights it is the same problem, yet different. One night I could fall asleep until 2am. The next two days I was up at 4 am and 5am respectively and last night I was up from 2:15am-3:30am with my mind racing like crazy. Seriously, life is pretty hectic at the moment so I think that might be why I can't shut it off. Also for some reason with this pregnancy, my hips fall asleep when I lay on one side for too long. And since rolling over in my mountain of pillows is such a task- I end up waking up about every 1-2 hours or so. I thought this lack of sleep would only last a night or two, but it is still going on and I feel like a walking zombee. I've had people tell me it is God preparing me for a newborn- but I'm just not sure there is something out there that might help.

We did get both sides of our duplex rented and we are in the middle of tying up the refinance on this property, looking for a new house and putting offers on new houses. WHEW! At the same the time, I'm very prego, I'm trying to pack with a 2 year old at my ankles and go all day with limited caffeine and only a few hours of sleep. AAAHHHH! I'm going crazy. Does warm milk really help someone sleep? Why is this? I'm going to try to put a piece of paper by my bed tonight to write down all my thoughts... we will see how this goes.

TMI? Maybe.

But here is how I look at it. You are either a guy and will some day be married and have a pregnant wife or you know someone pregnant, or you are a girl and will some day be pregnant or will know someone pregnant. Everyone is accounted for.... so here goes.

HOT FLASHES! Oh my goodness, I will never make fun of another menopausal woman again! :) All winter long- I was freezing with this pregnancy- like I wore layers and layers every day. I think that is why people forgot/didn't know that I was pregnant- cause everything was hidden under my sweatshirts and winter coat. And when I would tell people about the fact that I was always cold- they would say that was odd- cause most prego women get warmer once they are with child and that accounts for the rosy glow. :) All I know is one day I was freezing and the next day I was minding my own business and WHAM-O! It hit me- outa no where I found myself incredibly warm and fanning my face. I really think I would have laughed had I seen it second hand- but it wasn't so funny when it happened and it isn't so funny waking up in the middle of the night and feeling like I"m sitting next to a bonfire. My poor husband not only gets about 6 inches of the bed to sleep on these days due to all my pillows- but now has to deal with me tearing off the covers and throwing them on him because I can't get cool fast enough! Sorry my love....

Anyway, since that day where my first hot flash came blasting at me- they seem to want to stick around. Hmm, maybe this is a down side of a July baby. Maybe with Belle I didn't notice the hot flashes because it was cold outside when I was at this stage with her. However, all I know is at this inning in the game- I am warm all the time. In the doctor's office, riding in the car, sleeping- doesn't matter the activity- I'm hot. Yes, I just wrote that! :)

So, if you see me fanning myself with my hand or with rosy cheeks- please, feel free to offer to fan me or get me something cool to drink! :) And for the love- don't ever ask a 7 month old pregnant woman to bend over and pick up what you dropped on the floor! ;)

If you have small children,

Someone will poop right when you're late and running out the door.
Someone will run naked into your living room when you are entertaining guests.
Someone will throw your cell phone into the bathtub - at least once.
Someone will hide your keys and forget where they are.
Someone will make funny comments about "certain body parts" - publicly.
You will have to touch poop.
You will be the couple no one wants to sit next to in the restaurant - at least once.
You will feel like quitting - at least once.
You will have to continually evaluate and revise your parenting style.
They will act like you.
They will accept your apology.
They will make you laugh.
They will teach you about grace.
They will come up with the most creative places to hide food they don't want to eat.
At least once they will cut their own hair with sharp, adult-only objects.
At least once they will throw themselves screaming to the ground.
At least once they will make loud, obnoxious body noises - and people will think it was you

"Children are a gift from the Lord;they are a reward from him." - Psalm 127:3

Toilet Paper and Personal Bubbles

I have no idea why this bugs me, but buying toilet paper drives me nuts. Maybe it is because it seems so expensive and just goes away, but that is the same with gas, food, ect. I think part of the problem consists of the fact that it takes up and entire aisle at Walmart so pricing out the best deal is next to impossible. Usually when buying an item there are a couple choices with a few brands including a generic brand. I'm all about generic brands to save $$, but by the time I get to the third option of toilet paper- I"m half way down the aisle with a 2 year old at my ankles asking for a drink. I take care of her and then can't remember what I had learned so far and have to head back to the end of the massive amounts of toilet paper to begin again. First, there is the regular 4 pack, then the 8 pack, but then they throw in the 4 pack of "double rolls". You keep going, the 8 pack or the 16 pack or perhaps they could entice you with the 24pack of "double the tissue"---- FOR THE LOVE! I think I need to take my engineer husband with a spread sheet and leave Belle with someone so I can finally end this giant debate of if what I'm buying is a good deal. Oh yes, then comes choosing the quality. There seem to be a few great toilet papers, a few in the middle and 1 in particular that my husband has banned from our house. Scott tissue... oh my goodness. They have amazing coupons and when I have them, I know that I am getting a good deal. However, the quality of this toilet paper (according to my husband) is worse than the dorms! :) However, I heard somewhere that when you have small children around you should buy the cheap nasty stuff because no matter how expensive the toilet paper is, your kids will take the same amount... I could see that. Hmmm. Anybody ever done the research/priced this out? Or maybe I'm just strange and people don't worry about it. But then again, I have a feeling that a few of you out there have thought this through as well... I would be very interested in your thoughts.

On a completely different note: I have a personal bubble. Thank you to Melissa Lennander( formerly Powell) -years ago, she tried her hardest to pop it completely. That didn't quite happen, but it has shrunk considerably. However, there are times when you come into contact with people and they stand or sit or talk to you so close that it just becomes awkward. This happened today. We were at the mall and Belle was running around the play place and I had to use the restroom. I left my stuff on the seat that surrounds the perimeter of the entire area. We came back from using the restroom and some lady had sat down about 8 inches from my stuff. While there was already someone on the other side of me, there didn't seem like any other option but to sit down. I kept thinking that I should pick up my stuff and move down the empty 10 feet of bench that was remaining, but that seemed rude. Anyway, this lady didn't seem to mind that I sat back down with my stuff, so she made no attempt to move. I tried to start a conversation with her- but that died quite quickly. So I sat... and sat... and sat all the while feeling more and more weirded out at the situation. Finally it was time to leave and I felt free! But seriously- did this lady not feel the awkwardness? Does she just like people that much? Was the remaining 10 feet of the bench not a good seat in the house? I have no idea.

I've been "tagged" by Vicki...

So I'm to tell you 10 random things about myself, and then tag 5 friends afterwards.

-As of right now, I'm obsessed with tuna sandwiches and cottage cheese. Not together of course- but I can not get my hands on enough of either of these right now. And I'm not kidding- I have a 5lb tub of cottage cheese in my fridge! :)

-Some day, I would like to go to school and get a degree- probably much later in life. Problem is, I can't decide on a career... some days I want to be a doctor- other days a dental hygenist and other days I think I would love to be a cosmotologist just so I could have funky hair all the time. I think I would like to do something with my hands... not just my brain.

- I very much dislike thunder storms- especially at night. Are there any others of you out there? Everyone I know "loves" storms. Not me!

-Loyalty is very important to me.

-I love to be organized- everything has a place and is clean and tidy. However, I'm finding out this is a long lost dream with children ...that perhaps I can regain once the kids are grown!

-I'm considering cloth diapering baby #2...aaaaahhhhh! I'm scared to death- but somewhat excited about the possibility as well.

-I'm trying to find a hobby at the moment... something that fits in a budget, can easily be picked up and put down at the snap of a finger and something I can do with little kids around....any ideas?

-I enjoy the smell of fresh cut grass, campfires, sun-dried sheets, gasoline and new carpet. Weird, I know.

-Jason and I have dreamt and "planned" where we will go for our 5, 10, 15, 20 & 25 year anniversaries. Can you tell that I am a planner?

-I love to laugh.

I now tag the following people: Wendy, Sarah W., Amanda W.,Amanda T.(do you still blog?:), Alicia M.