My already-born kids. (In case you’re not tired of pictures!)

While we had my friend Mary’s awesome camera and lens (Thank you, Mary!), Anna also snapped a bunch of photos of my kids.  Of course I have to share some, right?  I’m the mom, and that’s what moms do.  Show off their kids, the cutest ones in the world…

(My boys are comparing abs in those last pictures, in case you were wondering.)

I laugh, because I can tell this isn’t my first photo shoot as a mom.  I let the kids dress themselves, instead of picking out their clothes.  And I wasn’t even outside when Anna was taking pictures.  I figured whatever pictures she took would be perfect.  At least I washed my kids’ hair the night before!  (But only because they hadn’t been bathed in almost a week.)  And I was right, the pictures are perfect!  Thanks again, Anna, for capturing my adorable children on film!

Have a great Hurricane Irene weekend, everyone!  My baby is not picking up on any changes in the atmosphere.  Oh well.  I guess my body does a good job making my babies feel all cozy and safe inside!

More pictures…

Baby belly pictures!

Okay, Baby can come now!  Anna took pictures for me today, and I LOVE them!  I think this photo shoot really was the last mental blockage.  I didn’t want to explain, years down the road, “Oh, where are your pictures, sweetheart?  Um… Mommy just didn’t get around to taking any.”  Yeah.  Not cool.

Rosie said there are no signs of me going into labor soon.  I could have told her that!  I’m having no contractions, and no… other stuff.  But isn’t this baby adorable just hanging out in my tummy?  (And Baby, just so you know, there’s a hurricane coming.  Maybe you could make your entrance this weekend?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

School’s here! And Baby’s not.

No, the earthquake didn’t send me into labor.  I thought maybe, with a shift in the earth… But I guess since I didn’t feel anything, Baby didn’t feel anything either.  My sister felt it (in the same house as me), my husband felt it at work, my neighbors had stuff falling off shelves, and my family up in Massachusetts felt the tremors.  But me?  I totally missed it.   So Baby missed it too.  Baby missed the full moon clues last week too!  My midwife said all the other women due in early September have already delivered.  Isn’t that nice?

I could be jealous and say, “Lucky them,” but I’m not so sure I’m ready for Baby yet!  Of course whenever Baby comes I’ll be thrilled, but, I don’t even have my hospital bag packed yet!  I should get a move on, huh?  And Baby’s bed isn’t set up, and I haven’t scrubbed down every square inch of my room.  (I decided the rest of the house was impossible!)  But my kitchen cupboards ARE clean!  Thanks to my sister, the angel, my hero.

Oh, and I’d really, really like to get some baby belly photos.  I had a pregnancy photo shoot done with my first four kids, and I know I’ll be sad if I don’t have belly pictures of Baby #5.  Like, I would cry!  Maybe that’s the main thing holding my body back from going into labor, this need-to-happen photo shoot.

Some days I even forget that Baby is due next Saturday!  Yes — NEXT SATURDAY!  (When I do remember, I get super excited!)  Life is just SOOOO busy around these parts.  I started school with Kbug and Cboy this week.  CJ begs to do school too.  I know I should capitalize on his eagerness, but I usually say, “No, you can’t do school right now.  Go play in the basement.”  (I know. cringe.  Bad Mommy!)  I have NO idea what homeschooling with a new baby will be like, but I’m expecting chaotic days and lots of tears.  I’m not sure we’ll even be finished at a decent time of late May or early June next spring…

On the futuristic days when I share these tears, somebody please remind me that instilling a love of learning in my kids is more important than checking off catagories on my academic checklist!

And somebody remind me that God’s strength is available, and is made perfect in my weakness.  I mean for real, is there any mom out there who has 5 small children, homeschools, cooks healthy meals, keeps her house clean, keeps her husband and kids happy (and well-behaved), and does it all perfectly?  (If you do know someone like this, please don’t tell me their name.)

Sleepless nights are coming too, along with the chaotic days.  I’m just excited that NBC has such great evening shows lined up for this fall.  Like, for example, a third season of “PARENTHOOD!”  Yes!!!  “Excited” doesn’t even justly describe my feelings about watching more Braverman drama.

Speaking of chaos and drama, I think I hear a child screaming.  Wait.  That’s the teakettle.  I’ve started to drown myself in red raspberry leaf tea, hoping to speed labor up and slow the after-labor pains down.  I have a midwife appointment tomorrow, and I’m anxious to hear Rosie’s theories on what my body’s doing and what baby feels like right now.  Last week, Rosie said that Baby felt like another big baby.  Sigh… so much for my wish for at least one teeny-tiny newborn!  Baby must be trying to beat Moosies’ record of 9lbs, 3oz.

Oh, you know what I forget more than Baby’s near arrival?  My oldest daughter’s birthday!  Kbug turns 7 next Saturday, Septemeber 3rd.  Yes, same day that Baby is due.  Kbug says she wants the baby to be born on her birthday, but I think if I had my ‘druthers, I’d choose for all my kids to have their own special birthday.  No sharing.

I still have to do more birthday shopping for Kbug, and plan a special party for her… And once again, may I point out that my life is never quiet and dull.  Happy chaos reigns here!

Blessings heaped high

Okay, so I’m a little spoiled right now.  Again.  Maybe a lot spoiled!  My brother Andrew left on Monday, after three weeks of working like a HORSE on our basement.  BUT, my sister Anna is here in his place!  For up to six weeks!  Wahoo!  See?  Spoiled.  I feel kinda bad.  I don’t want her to come just because I have crazy nesting instincts!  But even if we just visit for the next couple of weeks until Baby’s born, that’s fine with me!  I’ll really miss Anna once she gets married.  Hey, that’s an idea… secretly scare away any prospective suitors…

(Um, Anna?  Don’t read this post.)

Maybe “blessed” is a better word.  I am extremely blessed!  I’m surrounded by love and grace, and I’m trying to notice.

My mom washed my windows and helped me clean and organize my new basement kitchen while she was here over the weekend.

Anna and Andrew scrubbed out my fridge from top to bottom.  And speaking of Andrew again, there is NO WAY we’d be ready for carpet TODAY if he hadn’t come down to help Dee for three weeks!

That’s right, my carpet is coming today!  I’m so excited, I have to laugh at myself.  I’ve never had carpet before.  The rest of my house is hardwood floors or ceramic tile, and I can’t wait to sink my bare feet into the shaggy rug me and Dee picked out!  If I wasn’t pregnant, I’d probably roll around and do somersaults, just to feel the softness.  I’ll just watch the kids do it for me, I guess!  Hurry up, carpet people, I’m sitting on pins and needles waiting for you!

And the biggest blessing?  My Cboy prayed with Anna last night, and asked Jesus into his heart.  There really is no greater joy as a parent than to know that your child has decided to follow Jesus!  Anna said they talked about God and heaven for a long time as she was tucking him in bed, and Cboy started out his prayer with, “God, can You take me to heaven with you?”  What a joy it will be to see him there!

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law made me a whole batch of pizza sauce yesterday.

My friend Heather invited us over for a delicious pancake and sausage breakfast this morning.

My grass is green again, because we’ve been blessed with rain again.  Lots and lots of beautiful rain!

The air is cooler, and my favorite time of year is creeping around the corner.  I wish we could live in September and October all year long!

My kids love me, and it’s hard to forget when all four of them pile on top of me and my big belly on the couch, and cover me and Baby with hugs and kisses.

When CJ strokes my arm and says, “You’re so beautiful!”  (Yes, this from my almost-four-year-old!)

When Moosies throws her arms around my neck and asks for another song, more rocking.

When the kids ask me to come watch their tricks on the trampoline (PLEASE don’t tell our insurance company!), or spread out a blanket and watch for shooting stars after the sun sets.  (Yes, Dad, I know it’s technically an “earth-turn.”)

Or when they bring me handfuls of weeds and wildflowers, maybe prettier than the flowers I plant by hand and then cry about when they die.

Most of the dirt is still there.  It won’t ever go away, will it?  Dee’s always saying he can’t wait until life slows down so he can relax more.  I always tell him, “Life will never slow down.  It’s how we deal with the busy moments, and the stress, and can we pull away and pause awhile?”  It’s a good thing my man tells me the same thing in his own words when I lose sight of peace and rest.

Strangers and baby bellies

According to every stranger that feels free to comment on my stomach, I am having a boy!  Not one person has mentioned a girl baby.  And maybe I’m forgetting, but it seems like more people than usual have voiced opinions about this baby!

There was the woman in Sam’s Club, who approached me and said something like, “Do you know if you’re having a boy or not?  Because from the back, I can’t even tell you’re pregnant.  And then WOW!  You turn around and you’ve got a huge belly!”

Or the guy in RiteAid who was standing behind me at the checkout counter.  “I don’t mean to be weird or anything, but I just have this ‘feeling’ that you’re having a boy.  Kids connect with me, and I always know.  It’s just a feeling I have…”  Okay, guy, that WAS weird whether you meant it to be or not.

Or the big black man in Sheetz, ringing up my newest indulgence.  (Those sorta make-your-own milkshakes?  Where you pick a flavor from the freezer, and put it in a nifty machine that lifts the cup up and mixes it into a SUPER DELICIOUS milkshake?  And then sets it back down for you to stick a straw in and sip away on its SUPER DELICIOUSNESS?  If your local gas station doesn’t already have a magic milkshake machine, then put it a request.  And make sure the little freezer is stocked with the double chocolate chocolate chip flavor, made by Hershey’s.)

Okay.  So, that guy ringing me up.  (I might have been buying three milkshakes… but not all for me…)  He said, “Whoa.  Take a step back there.”  I might have been puzzled if I wasn’t overly conscious of my whale-belly right now!  So I stepped back from the counter and displayed my baby bump basketball.   He said, “Wow!  You’re having a boy, right?”  I said I didn’t know, and he said, “Well, he’s going to be a hard-headed one!”

Yeah, you’re probably right, sir.  Most kids are!  But girls can be just as hard-headed as boys.  (I speak from personal experience.  My daughters, of course…)  And I’ve carried all five of my children the exact same way!  I’m not tall enough to let a girl baby grow a different way than my boys.  They all stick OUT!

So even though yes, I do personally think I’m having a boy, all of your comments don’t count, strangers.  My opinion has more to do with conception, but I’m not about to start that conversation with a stranger.

Me, the Barnyard

I have a new nickname.  It’s “Barnyard.”  Flattering, yes?  Dee and I were being silly after watching “Unknown” last night.  All the movie-watching options popped up, and I wanted to know why we couldn’t just say “deaf” instead of “hearing impaired.”  Dee says, “Well, we have to be politically correct.  Like, you’re not just pregnant, you’re an animal hauler.”  It was late (but I finally stayed away for a whole movie!), and this totally cracked me up.  I said, “Don’t you truckers call those animal trailers on the highway ‘farmyards?'”  I’m still learning my trucker lingo.   It’s actually “barnyard,” Dee corrected.  And there you have it.  Me, the animal-hauling “Barnyard.”

(As long as the kids don’t pick this nickname up…  I can just see us walking through Sam’s Club:  “Look, Mom!  There’s a barnyard!”  And then dirty looks from some poor pregnant lady.)

(Oh, and why do we call our kids animals?  Not sure.  Dee started it.  It has something to do with their wild, crazy ways.  But my animals sure are cuter than the lions and tigers at the zoo!)

So, my animal baby is growing just fine.  I saw Rosie on Thursday, and she said I’m measuring right on target for 36 weeks.  I’m not dilated at all, but I told her I’d be really surprised if I was!  I haven’t been having any contractions.  Baby is taking his sweet time, getting nice and fat in my tummy.

My blood pressure was acceptable: 90/59.  My new trick is to drink a whole liter of water on the way to my midwife appointment!  So I might be cheating, and my blood pressure might plummet once I leave the office, but at least my midwife is happy.  It’s not fun when your midwife yells at you.  In her nice, professional way of course.

I go see Rosie again next Thursday, and then every Thursday after that until this baby decides to come!  I can’t believe I’m already to the “see-my-midwife-every-week” stage.  Did I mention that I have a loooooong nesting list still?  And I have no baby clothes out?  Yeah, all the boxes are still in the attic.  Gotta love being Baby #5!  And I haven’t packed my suitcase for the hospital, or set up the cradle and made sure the sheets are clean.  We haven’t even finished reading through the “Name Your Baby” book!  I would say I should get busy, but it’s already super crazy with freezing/canning season underway.  Dee keeps telling me it’s okay, and that everything that needs to get done will get done.  And the stuff that doesn’t get done?  That’s okay too.  Because the baby will never know if my kitchen cabinets didn’t get scrubbed down.  Or if the windows on my 2nd floor still haven’t been washed in all the years we’ve lived here!  (Isn’t that horrible?!)  And you know what?  Dee’s right.  It’s nice to have a smart husband!  None of my issues are emergencies, and I would love to be able to relax and enjoy my already-born children as much as possible in these last few weeks of summer.

To the beach it is!