Wednesday, April 27, 2011

It's a .....

GIRL!!! 

I was in denial at first because I was really hoping for a boy to even things out.  Ethan was a little sad that 
we found out this baby is a girl, but then I had to let him know, he gets to protect her and look out for her.  And when someone is being mean to his little sister he can tell them to be nice.  So I think it'll take some time, but he just might warm up to the idea.  So now, time to bring on the frill and lace again.  It's been a long time since I've had a little girl.  Seeing how my youngest daughter now is 8 and half, and will be 9 by the time this little girl arrives.  Crazy!!  
At least we got to see fingers on one of her hands and her cute little feet and everything looks good so far.   Name choices :  hmmm... we are thinking about Esther as a first name and really liking Rose with that name. = Esther Rose??    (Family names all around!)  According to their estimated weight of the baby she's about 13 oz already so almost a whole pound.  Yay... 

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

More for myself than anyone else.

So I've been busy working on yearbook pages in photoshop elements for the school my kids attend. We're coming down to the last few days/weeks, and my stress level is starting to PEAK!!

We've got birthday's coming up, volleyball games to attend, hunting for Easter eggs, and dying some as well. Lots of stuff is going on in the next few weeks, not to mention the item that I've been waiting for since, I found out I was expecting baby #6. So that maybe this child can go from being called baby #6 to "my little girl", or "my little boy". That's right I'm halfway through this pregnancy already and I have a list at least two pages long of things that need to be done before the baby arrives.

My anticipation of finding out is so huge right now, that I almost can't stand it. And I know that I'm going to be "hating" myself all day next Wednesday the 27th of April because I scheduled the ultrasound for 4pm that day!!! Did you hear me? I said 4 pm!!!

I did it mainly to accommodate schedules and such, so that the kidlets can all be there as well as my husband. But I know I'm going to be like a kid at Christmas waiting to see what the "big" gift is. Hopefully I'll be kept preoccupied with getting the yearbook finalized (or mostly anyway).

I've been feeling the baby move for almost 7 weeks now, and the movements are getting stronger every day. I can't believe how much movement I feel ALL THE TIME!! This kid is already all over the place in that little space it's in.

I've started a major project of "CLEAN UP THE DESK AND THE AREA AROUND IT" just yesterday, and now I can really see progress. The area underneath where our lovely feet are supposed to go, was cluttered with "CRAP". It's all gone now!! And I cleaned out the floor space where the paper shredder is supposed to go, and plugged it back in after being unusable for the last few months. I know-- huge slacker I am!! The part of the desk where the monitor sits, is now dejunked ... but unfortunately most of that mess just moved to the love seat to be "gone" through tomorrow.

I seriously have visions of a clean home that is spotless, and clutter free... but man oh man, it sure is hard trying to get there!! But hopefully with the new baby coming, and spring here ... I'll have some huge nesting instincts kick in and I can get a huge jump on a lot of the "clutter-free" cleaning that needs to take place. I have so many examples around me, that I just wish I could be like Samantha from Bewitched and twinkle my nose and it's immaculate. But alas, that isn't the life I get to live, so I have to be patient and do I dare say..."long-suffering" in waiting for that to happen.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Emotional pregnancy hormones.... (probably part 1 of many more to come)

I can't believe the roller coaster ride I'm constantly on right now. These darn emotions are almost kicking my tush.

It's crazy how the slightest little thing will make me tear up and start crying. I really don't know why this happens to pregnant women. Or at least I hope it happens to more then just me. But this go around seems to be hardcore with the emotional roller coaster.

I'll hear a phrase, and BAM! I see a picture ... BAM! I am faced with being told that something I thought was right isn't ...Bam!! (Okay I don't like being told I'm not right when I'm not pregnant ... but in a grocery store at 8:30 in the morning..doesn't bode well to help me believe the rest of the day will be okay)

And HELLO, taking a trip to the grocery store doesn't normally bring on the urge to cry. But this morning it did!! Now, I don't want to say "they were right, I was wrong, or the opposite" because seriously, I'm still trying to find out if I really was misinformed. But seriously, these feelings that bring on the tears really are getting me this pregnancy. I've never been this bad before, (Not that it's bad, but it happens so often).

I'm starting to feel the first little flutters over the last few weeks, and now I'm feeling more excited now that we are having another baby. BUT --- I'm still terrified at the same time. I know ...a lot of you are probably saying "what's one more when you already have 5!" That's just it, I have to start over with all the parenting stuff on another child. Maybe there is hope with this little one that I'll actually get it down, and this will be my "perfect child". haha...

So it's nice to hope for! But I know there will still be rough moments, and the moments where I'm at my utter worst and feel like ... crud! But I'm realizing that's okay, I'll do what I can, and the stuff I have no control over, I'm not going to fret about.

But there is so much to do to get ready for this baby --- it's almost overwhelming. But if I can just get through this yearbook project, and then get into May, I think life will start looking a little more hopeful that those "baby tasks" will be able to be done before the baby comes.

I'm getting excited to that the ultrasound is set for the 27th of April so just under three weeks till we can find out what this little one's gender is! It's a special day too, because Kaylee, our oldest, is turning 12 that day!!

Crazy month of APRIL!!


Sunday, April 3, 2011

A good Monday Laugh....

Okay I laughed so hard when I read this on a friends blog, so I've copied it and had to post it on my own.  So when I need a good laugh, I can come and re-read this.   Thanks Christina!

 

Thinking of Having Kids? An 11-step Program 

This is one of those email shares that is authorless -- if anyone has a source, please let me know.

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 on 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 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.

This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it!' Share it with your friends, both those who do and don't have kids. I guarantee they'll get a chuckle out of it. Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you become a parent!