To Our Dental Friends

If any of you dentists are interested in working in McAllen, Texas, please let me know at jmcgregor@josephmcgregor.com.

McAllen is the fastest-growing city in Texas, and is especially growing with medical services.

Bless-ed Life

So.... Joe just took all 3--yes THREE--of the kids to the library, grocery store, and Men's Warehouse to pick up suits. He's had all 3 before, but not for that many errands at a time. I have complete confidence that he can pull it off... and do it again in the near future. ; ) I stayed home to make pizza, clean house, and (apparently) blog about my bless-ed life. Tomorrow he told me he is going to clean the garage (huge YEE-HAH! from me!). He loves me. I think I am going to throw away my worried-ness about inviting people into our home and invite people over tomorrow night to celebrate Halloween with some wassail and doughnuts. (In case you didn't know, I am intimidated by these people in Dallas with Huge and Gorgeous homes... which we don't have, although I acknowledge and am incredibly grateful for all that we do have.)

On another note... this week we got an ultrasound (and yes we know what it is, what do you think it is?) and I started freaking out as reality set in. Until this point, I have been totally and incredibly excited about baby #4--almost feeling like having a first child again excited. I still am... but all of a sudden I am TERRIFIED!!! How are we going to pull this off? Where are they all going to fit in this tiny (but wonderfully blessed) house we are renting?! Can I keep up with everyone? Will we be able to afford these people? I know right now it won't be that hard--but in 10 years??? How will I get everyone to where they need to be? How will I be able to give them all the attention they need? Will we be able to meet every need? I know we will figure it out; I think I have felt this not-so-crazy fear with the impending birth of each child. But for the moment/week... I am trying to sort out the feelings of being elated and overwhelmed all at the same time.

And finally... Logan turned 7 this week! Wow! He deserves a post all to himself--so next time Joe blesses me with quiet and time I will brag about my oldest kiddo--he's the reason I know we really can parent 4 children!

"I ad"

Conversation with Grant over lunch.

Grant: I ad.

Mom: You are sad?

Grant: Yeah.

Mom: Why are you sad, Grant?

Grant: I wa Daee.

Mom: You want Daddy?

Grant: Yeah.

I love this little boy! For some reason he prefers Dad over Mom. That's ok with me, though.

Mom to Grant: Who do you want to change your diaper?

Grant: Daee.

Mom: Who do you want to brush your teeth?

Grant: Daee.

Needless to say, I find his Daddy-preference highly beneficial! :)

Afraid to Look at the Scale

Maybe I need a new mirror.

Maybe I'm having twins.

Maybe it's because this is number 4.

Or maybe it's because I haven't been outside to exercise since it started getting hot in May.

No, I'm not trying to gather nice comments. I just need to complain.

Joe: will you be my hero and set up my treadmill?

-----

This is Joe.

First, yes Jenny, I will set up the treadmill.

Second. You are pregnant.

Grantee-Pants

Today Early Childhood Intervention came to assess Grant. As I expected--knew--he is quite a bit behind, especially in language development and communication. I kept comparing him to the other two children, and making excuses... maybe it was because he was a third child and a boy; every child is different. Even though I knew he needed some help, it was really hard to hear, after their assessment, that he is behind in a few areas of development, but almost a year (8-9 mos) behind in language development. He is such a great and fun boy, and hopefully he will be able to catch up quickly now that we will be able to get him some help. At the same time, I keep wondering if it is my fault some how. He is actually about 2 months ahead in his listening comprehension--which is a great sign. While the specialists think he can probably hear ok, they did suggest we get a professional hearing test done to make sure that he can hear 100% out of both ears. They also believe that the other areas he is behind on (cognitive and something else) are things that will quickly correct themselves once he is able to speak better. They will be coming to our house to work with him once a week until he turns 3, and at that time we will reassess and decide what steps to take next. Oh Grantee, we love you!

Coming Spring 2011

The FAM

Logan: Our ace-reader and great helper. He especially loves to read Star-Wars novels. I loved loved loved his reaction when I brought home a Darth Vador costume (that I found at a thrift store!)--which is who he wants to be for Halloween. He makes his bed and picks up his room each day before he goes to school. He's reached the age that he no longer complains about what is on his plate. He is ready and willing to do whatever we ask of him. He shows empathy for everyone around him. He is always cheerful and helpful. Is this normal? Or do we just have a really awesome kid?

Madison: Our social butterfly. She makes friends wherever she goes. Since starting kindergarten, she has developed a love for skirts, necklaces, and staring into the mirror. She and Grant like to play. And fight. Wait--switch those two. They like to fight. She would rather spend 2 hours cleaning her room than 5 minutes every morning. Still waiting for her to rejoice over our dinner selections. She gives great hugs.

Grant: Decided everyone leaving for the day wasn't so bad--after a few days of trying to sneak out with his backpack. He gets mommy all to himself. He has no one to fight with, and no one to tell mom that he is sitting on the counter pulling treats from the candy jar. The first thing he does every morning is dump out the ginormous car-box. Thanks, Grant. He would like to watch movies (Elmo and Cars), but he recently broke the DVD player while trying to install one on his own. An Early Childhood Intervention specialist is coming to our home on Tuesday to see if he needs a little shove in the language development department. The pediatrician actually said he's not too far behind (I think because he does in fact talk--you just can't understand a word of what he is saying), but Mom said, "Please! We are both frustrated that he can't communicate very well." While I want my guy to not have any problems, I'd LOVE to understand him! He has a wonderful sense of humor and likes to play jokes on everyone.

Dad: Working hard to take care of his demanding family. He's awesome. His advertising is really paying off, and I think that we will soon know that going out on our own was a wise and rewarding decision. I still have my moments. :) But can I brag for a moment? He's been going to court about 1-2 times a week. Last week after presenting his case in front of a judge he got 2 phone calls within a few hours from people who had seen him in court and wanted him to be their attorney. That's the best kind of advertising, I'd say!

Mom: Hanging in there, doing mom-things. I love it. Well, most of it. Anyone want to potty-train Grant? How about clean the fridge? But this family--it's mine!!

Until next time..........

San Antonio, 2010

This weekend I had a law conference in San Antonio, Texas.

Real quick about San Antonio: I think it's an awesome town. It's the smallest huge town in America. Although it's Texas' second-largest city (beating out Dallas), it really just feels like a regular city. And, it's kind of the capital of Texan culture, with loads of good food.

This trip was enjoyable because I actually got to bring my family along. Here are a few pics:

Sea World is brilliant; they allow patrons to pay to feed the animals.

Great show.

This is how Jenny kisses.

This is a 3 pound cinnamon roll. That's right, 3 pounds. This was from the world famous Lu Lu's Cafe, which was recently featured on Man v. Food. Jenny, however, was not that impressed.

Mariachi band at El Mercado.

Grant enjoyed the jets in the bathtub.

The Alamo. Proudly, one of my ancestors died in the defense of the Alamo. In fact, he's featured in almost every Alamo movie as the Scotsman that plays the bagpipes, usually with Davy Crockett (true story). I know, I know, how could the defenders lose if a McGregor was there, right? Well, when the odds are 20:1, it's tough.

Odd fact: Notice the patch of green grass to the left my of family. That's where, after the Mexicans defeated the Texians, they piled up the defenders and burned them.

Although you can hardly see them, this is my family on the Riverwalk.

Seriously, everyone needs to go to San Antonio at least once (but if it comes down to it, leave the kids at home).

PA Trip 2010: Part 2

Here are the rest of our pics from PA. Enjoy.

As you will notice, Jenny is on board. She saw the kids having so much fun that she wanted in on the action. She took Grant so that she wouldn't have to sit alone. At first the carny told her she was too tall, but Jenny promised him a kiss at the end of the ride.

This is Madison turning 5. The choice of Daryl Strawberry shortcake was hers.

Grandpa Foster.

We can't wait for Madi to get her license.

PA Trip 2010: Part 1

This summer Jenny and the kids drove out to PA to spend time with her family, and attend the illustrious Warren County Fair. Here are a few snippets of their action-filled vacation.

Kids participating in the three-legged race.

We still haven't figured out Grant's smile.

This is Jenny's family at night.

Jenny and the gang watching her brother Brent show a sheep.

Brent milking the sheep.

The in-laws decided that they should build a deck in their back yard. It's actually TONS bigger than it looks. They hosted Brent's Eagle Court of Honor on it once it was completed.

Jenny's grandmother, Evie, and her dog. I don't know the dog's name.

Galveston Trip

This is merely to catch up. We've been derelict at making our blog postings.

This summer we drove out to Galveston Island. Galveston is a great place with a lot of history, but was recently devastated by Hurricane Ike. Fortunately hurricanes, while wiping homes off the face of the earth, still leave beaches.

We highly recommend a trip out to Galveston for those within striking distance.

Jenny chasing Logan. She made it a point of holding the kids' heads under water. The lifeguard on duty frowned upon that.

This is Jenny pointing to an open bag of Cheetos resting at our neighbor's side, "Are you going to eat all those?"

Old town Galveston was neat. Here, we're about to enter a place that produces what some have called the greatest ice cream on earth. We didn't try any.

This is us island hopping via a barge. It was fun to see the dolphins jumping out of the water.

First Day of School

Today we sent off the kids to the first day of school. For Madison, it was her first time in Kindergarten. For Logan, it was 1st Grade.

Madison has waited for this day for a long time--ever since we yanked her out of preschool in Cleveland when we moved.

Grant wanted to be in the picture, and he wanted to badly to go to school.

Lucky for us, the school is only around the corner, and receives excellent marks year in, year out.

It was also entertaining to overhear Logan expound of the rules of kindergarten. He told her how fast she needed to eat her lunch, which crimes were punishable by withholding of recess, and where to put the crayons when she was done coloring.