2014 - Week 17

I'll be honest right up frong, this week was pretty quiet. I don’t have a ton to report on until the weekend rolled around. I also really sucked it up on the photo taking front as well. Oops, sorry for the ultra-boring week, readers!

Monday was just a pretty standard Monday. I really don’t have much to report. Christian and I were off to work, the girls were off to school. The evening was play time, some TV, dinner, bath and bed. This is pretty much life…

On Tuesday I as off to my weekly check-up during lunch. It was actually the best appointment I’ve had in quite some time. My blood pressure was not only good, it was actually NORMAL. I can’t even tell you the last time I had a normal blood pressure reading. Ann, my midwife, didn’t think the baby was feeling quite as big as it had been, so we’re hopeful that baby’s growth has slowed a little bit. For once, I felt like I left the appointment breathing a sigh of relief, rather than having something new to panic over. Something new to derail my birth plans. It was a very good feeling. After the appointment, I was back to work to finish off the day. Can I just say, I am SO, SO, SOOOOOO sick of traffic. I have traffic under normal circumstances, but my road rage and annoyance level definitely grows when I’m pregnant. I feel like you can just never win, if it’s not ice/snow/rain slowing everything down, it’s construction, or an accident, or a stalled car, or, in todays’ case, a grassfire. Yes, a GRASSFIRE, smack dab in the middle of the city. I mean, come on! I just with everybody could just drive normal, and stop worrying so much about everything else going on, it would make such a difference. By the time I get the girls and get home, it’s right to making dinner and I’m exhausted. I’m sure a lot of it is pregnancy related, but still, annoyed!

Wednesday was another pretty boring day. I did however get Olivia’s baseball information, which I’m SUPER excited about. Softball was my sport growing up, I played from about 6 years old through high school and just loved it. I’m hoping the girls, or at least one of the kids, will follow in my footsteps. There is no t-ball league in our area, they go right into coach pitch, so I’m a little nervous about that. Olivia is most worried about catching the ball, which makes me laugh a little. We just keep telling her that everybody is learning. I was quite disappointed to find out that she is the ONLY girl on her team. I’m hoping we can spin that as a good thing, and she doesn’t panic because of it. There’s actually only 4 girls in the whole “league”. How sad is that?!? Since when don’t girls play “t-ball”?

Again, Thursday was pretty quiet. Not much going on, which at this point, is a good thing. I will share one event from the day that just pushed me over the edge emotionally. When I picked the girls up from school tonight I gave Olivia a hug, then started making my way to get Amelia. As I walked away, one of the other little girls went running over to Olivia, calling her name. As I left the room I heard Olivia saying “No she’s not, you can’t say that!” and go over to tell her teacher what was going one. The teacher got really upset and put the girl in a timeout. I knew she had said something about me. As we walked outside I asked Olivia what happened and she said “Eva told me that you are fat and I told her you’re not and told Miss Carla.” Even though I pretty much knew that’s what had happened, and knew this was coming from a 5 year old that really doesn’t know any better, it made me very emotional. I started crying in the car and I just couldn’t shake it the rest of the night. Kids can be so cruel, without even realizing it. Although, can I just say, I was SO proud of the way Olivia stood up for me. You could never really know how your kid would react to a situation like that, and I feel like she handled it perfectly. With each passing day, I’m definitely ready to move on from the pregnancy phase though, I don’t like feeling so bad about myself, over something that should be so amazing.

My TBT photo this week was a flashback to our last day as a family of 3, as we prepare for our last day as a family of 4!

On Friday, after plowing through some work, I spent a good portion of the day cleaning my cubicle, getting my timesheets done for the next few weeks and sending out the last of the instructions on my work for the people taking over while I’m out. Work wise, I’m officially ready to go…anytime. Literally, I’m ready to go! It would not be the end of the world if I didn’t return after this weekend, that’s for sure. Other than that, one of my favorite things about summer is watching the girls on the playground with all of their friends when I get there to pick them up. I find it very interesting to see how they really play and interact without us around. Olivia is always with the same little group of kids, usually all girls, and they are TOTALLY the little girl group on the playground…they run, they scream, they squeal, they laugh. Amelia on the other hand, is often on a timeout when I get there, sitting on the bench with the teacher. Today was no exception. She just can’t keep herself out of trouble. I find it very interesting that they are rarely playing together. They each do their own thing, with their own friends, which isn’t unusual, but being so close in age, I do think it’s interesting that they don’t play together, or play in the same little group. Once I finally loaded them up, we made our way home and had a pretty quiet Friday…dinner, some more playtime and a movie before bed. We did spend a little time around our first fire of the summer, which was great! Nothing too exciting.

She was acting up, getting in trouble, but even though I was the worst mom ever for disciplining her, she still takes a picture with me. Awwww!

Olivia played photographer for a while tonight...

Our ducks have been roaming the neighborhood this year

Our first bonfire of the summer. YES!

On Saturday, things started to pick up for a pretty busy weekend. For  me, the main event of the day was the baby shower my friends offered to throw for me. For Christian, he was off to our nieces’ First Communion ceremony and lunch, which was unfortunately scheduled for the same day as the shower (but not known until just a couple weeks ago). I was pretty bummed that I couldn’t be there (we are the girls’ godparents afterall), but I was not aware of the ceremony until it was too late to change the shower. So, Christian got himself ready, and was off to his parents’ to go with them. I took our girls to swim class, then we were off to the shower. It was a pretty small shower…no games, just some food, some conversation and some gifts. It was perfect! I had so much fun catching up with friends and spending some time with all of them. The girls came with and it was really fun to have them there with me. We got some pretty awesome gifts too…a lot of the little necessities, which is perfect. I was bummed when it was over and time to call it a day, but it was so appreciated, and I was pretty exhausted. The girls ended up talking my mom into taking them for a while, so they left with her to hang out at her house for a bit. Christian met me at home and emptied the gifts out of the van, then was off to have a couple drinks with a friend, while I rested and started putting some of the new stuff away. Everything is getting more real, so exciting!! My mom brought the girls home just in time to get into their jammies, watch a couple of videos and go to bed. I wasn’t far behind.

On Sunday, I was on a mission. Christian was on Dad duty for the day, while I spent the day cleaning and nesting away. I finished putting away all of the new baby stuff AND I finished re-organizing the kids’ room and closet to fit everything. That was quite a chore, but finally done! I spent some time doing our weekly chores…some laundry, picking up, dishes. The usual. And, finally, we were all off to Target to “finish” our registry and get the last of anything we need before baby comes. We’ll pretty much just need to get some clothes once we FINALLY know, boy or girl, and we’ll be set. I can’t wait!!

You forget how cute and soft and cuddly new baby stuff is!

Today I also turned 38 weeks. I know I say it every week, but I honestly can’t believe we’re almost there. We’re SOOOOOO close, it could literally be any time now. I know we’re in for quite a shock when baby does come, even though everybody says going from 2 to 3 is nothing, I’m still nervous! To be honest, I’m really nervous about the whole newborn stage again. As cute and sweet and cuddly as newborns are, it’s really not my favorite stage. Starting over with breastfeeding, the completely unscheduled way of living, the long nights and exhausting days, playing the guessing game every time baby cries or seems upset…it’s definitely overwhelming. But, as scary as it is, I just can’t wait to meet this little one and complete our family. To see how we adjust and change and grow as a complete unit. To see how the girls react and what they think. To have the chance to watch another little person grow into their own being. Those are the things that are so exciting to me. Almost there!! I didn't get a chance to take a weekly picture this week...my mind just wasn't in it.

Until Next Week! XOXO

2014 - Week 16

This week started off pretty normal. My new usual morning conversation with Amelia at drop off has become her telling me how she’s not going to get in trouble, she’s not going to hit anybody and she’s not going to the toddler room. Seriously, she is quite a character. Too bad she doesn’t actually follow through with this plan most days. And, can I just say, it cracks me up that her punishment is going to the toddler room…or, according to her, being with the babies. Ha. Speaking of babies, this baby seems to be developing some serious opinions on food these days – I’ve been having some major reactions to different foods all of a sudden…apparently s/he is developing quite the palate suddenly. Outside of that, it was a pretty standard Monday.

Tuesday started of pretty busy. Christian was off to work, the girls were off to school, and I started the day working from home. After a couple hours, I dropped Chuy of at the vet for his 6 month check-up, then I was off to my appointments. First up, a biophysical ultrasound. Baby got a perfect score again, which is great. They took measurements again, and baby is still measuring big, but not AS big, so I’m feeling a little better. The femur bone still measures exactly on point with 36 weeks; his/her head is now only 2 weeks ahead, 66% which is better; but the abdomen is still measuring 3+ weeks ahead, 97%. Baby must just be packing on the pounds in there! They estimated his/her weight to be 7lbs3ozs right now, which is 1-2 pounds over where s/he should be. But, the fact that the measurements are different than the last scan makes me feel a little more comfortable, and makes me trust the scans less and less. Other than that, my fluid levels still look great, baby continues to move down, baby is breathing great and his/her heart rate was around 150. I met with my midwife for my usual appointment after the ultrasound. She is still very supportive of everything, but doesn’t seem overly optimistic, which worries me a little. I’ve seen Ann for all three of my pregnancies, and I really trust her, but I will admit it’s a little disheartening to feel like she’s not 100% on board with everything. She did however reaffirm that regardless of what the scan says, we can’t know for sure how big baby is, until baby gets here. And, that’s what I’m trying to focus on. After my appointment, I was finally off to work for the rest of the day. But, I was met with some more frustration. This weekend is supposed to be the big mini-van purchase weekend, but it’s shaping up to be a very difficult thing to coordinate. My uncle works for Dodge, so we can get a discount through him. He goes through a specific dealership for his discount because he feels like he gets the best deal there, which is quite a drive from our house. On top of that, my stepmom has to co-sign on the purchase because she is the immediate relative. And, of course, Christian has to be there because we’re trading in his truck for the purchase. So, trying to coordinate so many schedules has proved to be pretty stressful. On top of that, loan applications and getting all of the paperwork together – my brain is going to explode! By the time I got home tonight with those crazy girls, I was EXHAUSTED!

First time in 3 pregnancies I resorted to using one of these parking spots! It was lovely...

Well, all of the stress from yesterday somehow turned into the best night of sleep I’ve had in a LONG time. It just made Wednesday come way too fast though. How can you be so tired when you actually get a good nights’ sleep for a change?!? The day went by very slow. The slow day turned into a stressful night. These girls of ours will NOT stop fighting with each other. It’s constant…over everything, and anything. I feel like we already live in a house with teenagers, and they’re only 3 & 5! And, it’s not just arguing and a little slap here and there, they literally beat the crap out of each other if you let them. Honestly, I think “moms of boys” would be pretty shocked to find out what a couple of little girls are really like! Trust me, it’s not all sugar and spice over here!

Thursday was a pretty typical day. I’m still feeling completely overwhelmed by all of the unknowns in our live right now, and all of the planning as these final weeks tick by. Car buying, maternity leave planning, FMLA, Short Term Disability and insurance paperwork, and of course, all of the final preparations before baby gets here. It feels like so much more than with either of the other girls. The planning and to-do lists just keep growing and growing, I don’t feel like I ever actually check anything off of my lists! This is pretty much what consumes me now.

Friday was my Friday off and THANK GOD, it could not have come soon enough. I needed a day to myself, some quiet. I had a list of things I wanted to do today, but I sat around watching my shows instead. Not very productive, but much needed, so whatever. I did get the girls’ latest school pictures, and they were pretty disappointing. Olivia had her first filling done the morning of their pictures, so her mouth was a little numb still. Her pictures still turned out pretty good though. I don’t know what was going on with Amelia, but she was apparently not cooperating AT ALL. She must have just not been in the mood for pictures that day. And, I have a feeling in their sibling photos, Olivia was driving her nuts. Oh well, they do crack me up. The girls and I spent the night inside, watching some movies and hanging out, while Christian cleaned out the last of the truck. I know he’s having a tough time accepting it, but I’m hoping the moping doesn’t last too long!

Always in my face...

Saturday started off pretty normal…Christian was off to work for a while, and the girls and I hung out around the house. I put them down for a nap, Christian arrived home and we both got ready. My mom arrived to watch the girls, and we were finally off for the big event…it was finally mini-van purchasing day. Everything had finally come together, everybody who needed to be there, showed up. We were nervous but very excited (well, I think Christian was holding back tears all day, but I could tell he was still excited.  We chatted with the salesman for a bit, then settled on a van to test drive. We took it around town for a bit and it was pretty dang awesome! We were sold (though, we had pretty much already decided anyway). The van has pretty much everything, except heated seats and an auto start. It’s a light gray/silver with black interior, and it’s their “sports” series. It has two DVD players (which, we don’t actually plan on using, but they’re standard), navigation and electric everything. Seriously, I’m in love. My dad and stepmom surprised us with a little cash gift, to use towards the car or towards baby stuff, which was a pretty amazing surprise. We’re going to save that for some baby clothes! We ended up getting $11,500 for the truck, which was about what we were hoping for, put down our down-payment, and just have to take out a small loan through our credit union for the rest. In the end, we should have the van paid off by the end of 2015, then we’ll be on to getting Christian a new car. It was quite a process, but I’m glad it’s finally done. It started raining on our way home, and my mom was on her way as soon as we arrived. We had a pretty quiet night at home…dinner, some TV and play time. Once the girls were down, Christian was off with a friend to have a couple beers and mourn the loss of his truck. What a day!!

Forced morning cuddles for Rico

The new van!!!

Amelia, listening to baby

Sunday was Easter Day, and we were looking forward to a pretty quiet day. The girls were up pretty early. We didn’t do Easter baskets this year…their ponies from the mall last year were their “Easter gifts”, and there has just been too much going on for me to worry about baskets. Luckily, the girls didn’t even realize they were missing anything. They don’t even remember they usually get baskets. I started laundry and did some cleaning up. We had breakfast and took the girls outside to do their egg hunt. Man do they have a blast with that every year. I think we just may skip the baskets from now on and just focus on the egg hunt, they just love it! Next up, we got ourselves ready and we were off to my in-laws for Easter dinner. The girls played with their cousins for a while, but they left shortly after dinner, and the girls started acting up big time. So, we had to cut our visit pretty short a well and head home. The girls watched some videos and relaxed for a while, while Christian took down the Christmas lights on the house and I finished up laundry. A busy weekend comes to an end!

Easter Pictures

Today also marks 37 Weeks for me…that means I’m officially FULL TERM!!!! I can’t believe it, I seriously feel like I JUST found out I was pregnant, and now here I am, full term and ready to go any time now. I’m definitely reaching that point of being ready to go, especially with all of these threats of a giant baby. Baby’s movements have become much more compact, but boy do they have a lot of power! I get more uncomfortable with each passing day, but nothing too miserable yet. We just getting very anxious to meet this little one and welcome him/her into our crazy little family!