Think Pink

After much anticipation, a few sleepless nights, and 4 months of feeling awful today was finally my ultrasound. Much to my delight the office just got a new 3-D ultrasound machine and I was the first patient to utilize it. That was really nice because my ultrasound was a lot longer than normal.

Okay, I'll quit torturing you......she cooperated............it's a girl!!!!

Why I Can't Get Anything Done

I don't know if it is my pregnancy brain or just the new me but lately I am having an extremely hard time staying on task. I usually stay in bed in the morning until around 8:30 when the kids get up. I am awake before then but it feels good to just lay under the electric blanket and enjoy the quiet. Once I hear the girls I head upstairs to begin the day. While I am upstairs I might see their laundry basket overflowing. I gather the laundry and the girls and head downstairs.

I get them their breakfast and get ready to start the laundry. When I open the laudry cupboard I notice that it could use a good cleaning. While the girls are eating I de-clutter the laundry area. About halfway through I find a blouse that I have been looking for since I found out I was pregnant. I take the blouse to hang it safely in my closet. For some reason I can't get the closet door to open all the way. I realize that it's all the clothes laying on the closet floor that are causing this phenomenon.

By now the girls are done with breakfast and need washed up and help getting ready for the day. I clean them up and help them get dressed. As I am doing their hair I notice that their bangs are way too long. I attempt to trim them regretfully and promise to stay away from the scissors in the future. I gather up the trimmings and go to put them in the waste basket. When I get there I see that the trash needs to be taken out. While getting a new trash bag I notice that the cupboard under the sink smells bad. I come back to investigate.......

Meanwhile the laundry never got started, the laundry area is halfway decluttered, the closet door still won't fully open, the girls bangs are REALLY jacked up, and I have a smelly cupboard. Nice.

A Better Place

Chiggie and I had this conversation on the way home from my appointment this morning.

Chiggie: What's above the sky?

Me: Heaven.

Chiggie: So, is the light blue sky the carpet in heaven?

Me: Sure, I guess it could be.

Chiggie: Did God pick light blue because there are no stains in heaven?

Maybe I take stains on the carpet a little too seriously.

My appointment went well. Heartrate was 139 and I am growing at a normal rate. Now we just have to pass the time until Wednesday.

Lazy Sunday

We spent most of the day just lounging around. It was nice not to have anything to do but just hang out. Tonight I took Chiggie to a birthday party at the bowling alley and she had a great time. It was fun to watch her bowl.

This is going to be a pretty busy week. I have an appointment almost every day and unfortunately they are all before 10 am. Tomorrow I have a routine OB appointment and then Wednesday is the big ultrasound. I am so excited to find out what this baby is. I have gone back and forth and have finally decided that I really have no idea.

Tea has been feeling under the weather for the last few days and today she spiked a fever of 104.5. Normally I would panic at a fever this high, but she has done this before. I gave her motrin and a tepid bath and within an hour she had dropped a degree. I hope it's just a virus and she wakes up her normal self tomorrow.

Sorry to be so boring but hey this is all I got. Stay tuned for more news tomorrow after my appointment.

Party Time

Tonight we celebrated Midge's birthday with a party. The King made pizza, we had some family over, and we all played games. She loved her cake and enjoyed opening up all of her presents. She's a lucky girl that's for sure.

We made the right choice keeping her party small and having it right here at home. She has a very serious personality and she is easily overstimulated. This picture sums it up though, she it too cute!

Think Spring

We are expecting another blizzard on Saturday. Today on the other hand the high was in the 60's. I did what anybody suffering from weather induced depression would do. I dressed the girls in spring clothes and sandals and took them to the park. It did us all a lot of good!

Suffocating

Today I opened every window in the house that can be opened just to let some outside air in. I don't remember ever having cabin fever this bad. I think the girls are suffering equally as their behavior has been a little off. The only thing keeping me sane at this point is dreaming of our summer in the "camp house."

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Girl!

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TGIF

This is a week that I am very happy to see end. It's just been one of those weeks. While we had a good Valentine's Day the rest of the week was just hectic and long. I cannot believe that Monday is Midge's 1st birthday. It's really kind of surreal. In some ways it feels like she has always been a part of our family and in others it feels like she just came home from the hospital. She is really developing as a little toddler and as happy about that as I am I think I will always miss her being my baby.

100 Things About Me

In honor of my 100th post I decided to follow along with many of the other blogs that I read and let you all in on 100 things about me. Here goes:

1. I am happily married
2. I got married at 18
3. My husband was 21
4. We were married for two years before our first child was born
5. Our first child was a girl
6. We had another child 3 years later
7. Another girl
8. We had another child 18 months later
9. A girl
10. I am pregnant again
11. My youngest is now 11 months old
12. We don't know what we are having yet
13. Probably a girl
14. I would be completely okay with that
15. So would my husband
16. I could have 15 kids
17. My husband can't fathom 5
18. I love my family
19. I am a stay at home mom
20. I worked for a while but found it overwhelming and unfulfilling
21. I think some women really can make it work
22. I couldn't
23. I am a very picky eater
24. I hated to spend the night at other kids houses when I was a kid for fear of what they might have for dinner.
25. I was once forced to take a thank you bite at a friends house
26. It was tuna casserole
27. I don't like tuna
28. I don't make my kids take thank you bites
29. I do insist that they have table manners
30. My favorite food is probably pizza
31. Just with pepperoni though
32. I pretend to like things so my kids won't be picky
33. I like to exercise
34. I haven't done that much in a few years
35. I have been either pregnant or breastfeeding for 3 years
36. I love breastfeeding
37. I breastfed all of my kids their first year
38. They have all slept in our bed for some period of time
39. I graduated high school in 1999
40. I finished two years of college
41. I had my first daughter the summer after my second year
42. I didn't go back because I couldn't fathom leaving her
43. We once moved 2000 miles away from our hometown just for a change
44. We moved the 2000 miles back
45. The experience made our family stronger
46. I used to want to be a lawyer
47. Now I don't think that's what I was meant to do
48. I still like Law and Order though
49. I had a very happy childhood
50. I never questioned my parents love for me
51. I have always loved sports
52. I got cut from softball my sophmore year in high school
53. I still think I got robbed
54. I never played again
55. Not even recreationally
56. I don't drink alcohol
57. Or use drugs
58. I love to read
59. I read to the girls all the time
60. My favorite season is summer
61. I love flip flops
62. My kids all have flip flops
63. Two of my kids were born in the summertime
64. I will be having another this summer
65. I hate mosquitoes
66. I once left a window open letting in a swarm of mosquitoes and resulting in over 45 mosquitoe bites
67. I was the only victim
68. I stayed up and protected my baby like the warrior I am
69. I am a worrier not a warrior
70. I once rushed my middle daughter to the E.R. only to find out she had a cold
71. My husband had talked me out of calling an ambulance
72. Her breathing sounded funny to me
73. I'd always rather be safe than sorry
74. I like snow at Christmas but I draw the line there
75. I love the fall
76. I love to rollerblade
77. I have broken 4 bones and had stitches 4 times
78. All of this happened before I turned 12
79. Thankfully my parents had good health insurance
80. My mom is my best friend
81. We were pregnant at the same time
82. We had the same doctor
83. I beat her to the delivery room
84. I saw her give birth to my sister
85. I still call my Dad just to talk
86. I don't really like t.v.
87. I hate reality t.v.
88. I like to watch the news
89. I don't have a lot of rules with the kids as far as television and candy
90. They don't really abuse either
91. I hate drama
92. I am kind of reclusive
93. I don't like to share my food
94. I don't eat much candy since one of my back teeth broke off
95. I don't have dental insurance
96. I am terrified of losing my teeth
97. I had braces when I was a kid
98. I broke three retainers
99. My parents had a lot of patience
100. I celebrate life and thank God for all that he has given me.

Happy Valentine's Day

We had a good day and an even better evening. The girls helped to make a really nice dinner and dessert and everybody actually stayed in their seat for the better part of the meal. Afterwards we surprised them with the movie Cinderella III and they were ecstatic. You can't really beat a nice dinner and a romantic movie on Valentine's Day.

What's that Noise?

I've always wanted an indoor swimming pool. Somewhere to swim and relax year round. Well now I have one, kind of. It started with the sound of rushing water coming from the basement door and resulted in a large amount of standing water that is now our basement. Turns out the drain valve went out on the hot water heater and let's just say "she blew." Ugghh. The King has it under control for now and the water is draining on its own. Let's just hope it's that simple because replacing the hot water heater right now is not an option.

Dreaming

With all of the girls I had some type of dream when I was pregnant indicating that I was having a girl. With Chiggie it was a pink blanket among other things. With Tea I actually dreamed of the birth and finding out she was a girl. With Midge I also dreamed of the birth and sure enough another girl.

A few weeks ago I had a pretty strange dream. I was cooking in the kitchen on the stovetop when I opened up the drawer beneath the stove to get a pan. Right there in the drawer was our new baby and it was a girl. I ran and got the King and we even named her. A really cool name that I plan on using if it's a girl by the way. I told the King about this dream and he thought the baby being in the drawer under the oven was symbolic for "bun in the oven" and that peeking in the drawer was kind of like an ultrasound. We would be finding out the sex before the bun was ready to come out.

Anyway skip to this weekend when I had another dream. In this dream I went to a doctors appointment towards the end of my pregnancy. For some reason I had to be taken across the street to the hospital for an emergency c-section. They knocked me out completely and when I woke up I was alone in a recovery room. I got up and even though I was feeling pain I walked from the hospital to my house to tell the King what had happened. Oddly he was excited and we both walked back to the hospital to see the baby. On the way there he asked me if the baby was a boy or a girl. I had no idea. We picked up our pace. Once we got to the hospital we went straight to the nursery and there our baby was wrapped in a blue blanket and wearing a blue cap. It was a boy! My first boy dream ever!

Now what am I supposed to think?

Finally

The clouds broke and we saw the sun.....for a full day. Oh yeah, we took advantage of it. I have been wanting to have the King take the training wheels off of Chiggies' bike but it just wasn't nice enough outside to practice. Until today that is. He took them off and practice we did. I took her to a church parking lot right around the corner where she would have lots of room and we wouldn't have to worry about cars. At first she was a little weary, but she picked it up really quick. Now if we could just teach her to break instead of just falling at full speed when she wants to stop!

Breaking Free

Yesterday the girls and I decided that it was essential to our sanity to get out of the house. We set forward on the task of getting everyone ready and headed out to meet my Mom and little sister for lunch.

We agreed on McDonald's so the girls could burn some energy off playing in the play place. They enjoyed their lunch, but they were giddy at the chance to run, climb and slide. We let them play for a long time before literally dragging them out. On the way home we stopped by the Clerk and Recorders' Office to get the tags for the camp trailer. We happened to be the only ones there and were in and out in about 10 minutes, which is by far a record for us.

Hopefully February will finish as quickly as it has started. Aside from sweet little Midge's Birthday, I could easily live without this month. I think that's why it's the shortest, no one could take one day more. But persevere we will and spring it will soon be.

Just Thinkin'

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I want for my girls. Trust me living in Colorado in the wintertime, you have a lot of time to "think." I have established in my mind what I don't want. I don't want to over schedule our family to the point that we never see each other. I don't want to spend more time talking about what we want to do than we spend implementing our ideas. And most of all I don't want to spend so much time over analyzing every little moment that I am too mentally exhausted to enjoy life.

When Chiggie was a baby I had it all right. I didn't even know it and it was completely out of my control, but I had a good thing going. We didn't have much money so I had to be really creative in the ways of entertainment. We took a lot of walks, spent time at different parks, and visited with family. Cable television was a luxury that we did not have so we read all the time. Not surprisingly after she was born I lost 100 lbs in less than a year. There was no fast food, no t.v., and often times the King had the car and our mode of transportation was on foot. I exercised a lot just for fun. I didn't realize at the time how enriching this all was for her.

Fast forward almost 6 years and two kids and an additional pregnancy later. We don't have a whole lot more money, but enough to make a difference. I don't know what we would do without the t.v. or the computer. I do try to take the girls on walks and to the parks but sometimes it just seems like a lot of work. One of the reasons I love the town that we live in so much is that it is small and there isn't a lot to do. That's not a typo, I really feel that way. Sometimes when you have to try a little harder you learn to enjoy the small stuff. Spending a summer day at the local pool or the library or riding your bike to the ice cream shop to have a treat really is something special.

Anyway, I guess I am just saying that I want to focus on what it is really important. In just a few months Chiggie will start Kindergarten, and there will be 4 little ones in our family. Things are moving so fast. I just want to down shift and take it a little slower for a bit.

Winding Down

• Wow, what a crazy weekend. We are just now taking a little time to unwind and reflect on the past 48 hours. Everything went great with the camper and she is now parked out in front of the house. We couldn't be happier, this was definitely the one meant for us. We spent most of the day yesterday out in the camper just exploring and enjoying our new "camp house." The pictures were hard to take because the way the sun was reflecting off of the snow made for a nasty glare. I was only able to get a picture of one side of the living room, but the other side is a mirror image if that helps. I also wasn't able to get the bathroom, but it is adorable and one of my favorite features.

• This evening we had a small get together for the Super Bowl with my Mom, Step Dad and my two little sisters. We all had a great time, ate lots of food, and laughed a lot. The girls all just played and were exhausted by bed time. We rooted for the Colts and they won I am happy for them and Indianapolis. Hope everyone else had a good one!

Friday Again

I can't believe it's finally Friday again. The days are just flying by lately. We bought a camper trailer earlier this week and the King is going to pick it up tomorrow. We are very excited. This summer is going to be awesome, as we will be able to go camping often and not be affected by my pregnancy or the birth. I will post some pictures tomorrow.

Tonight we are pretty much just hanging out. The girls enjoy Friday nights because it is the one night a week that the older ones stay up later than usual and watch Disney Channel. Sunday we are having a small get together for the Super Bowl. It's a bummer that the Broncos won't be playing but we are rooting for the Colts. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Just Smile

This morning Tea had a dentist appointment for her bi-annual cleaning and check-up. I had forgotten that I made the appointment until yesterday when they called to remind me. We got a bunch more snow yesterday and last night so it was absolutely freezing this morning. I had to bundle them all up just to get out of the house. Something made Midge mad. I don't know if it was her hat, her coat, or maybe her diaper was a tad too tight. Who knows but boy she threw a fit. She cried all the way to the dentist office. When we got there I took her coat and hat off half expecting to see fire ants covering her body that's how upset she was acting.

There was nothing of the sort, but the crying didn't stop. We went inside and she continued to scream. It was a blood curdling, toe curling, cry that only a mother can forgive. Luckily they got us in right away. Tea was awesome and let them take x-rays and put a vitamin paste on her teeth. When she was done they gave her a new tooth brush. She handed it back to the lady and said she wanted gum or a sucker. The lady gave it back and said they didn't have gum or suckers. Chiggie went on to tell the lady that we had a whole bag of suckers with gum inside of them the other day but we ate the whole bag in just two days. Thankfully Tea didn't have any cavities or I would've had some explaining to do.

Now I need a nap!