Christmas list

I am thinking about putting this on my Christmas list.

My kids don't listen to me unless I am yelling, full blare, lungs extended, and my eye balls popping out. 

Maybe, this would make it a life a little less exhausting.

less than a week!

I am due in less than a week.  How crazy is that!  According to my doctor I am due on Thursday and according to babycenter I am due on Wednesday so take your pick.  I am guessing that baby #3 will come after both dates.  But I have been having some Braxton Hick contractions so maybe that will get things started sooner?

We are 99% ready so I declare that we are ready enough.  We wanted to buy a UNI newborn onesie to bring the baby home in but didn't find one.  Maybe this week I'll venture over to the book store and look .. maybe I'll call first before I drive all the way over, we'll see.   I'd also like to take a picture of Wendell and Harlie with my belly but haven't done that yet.

This weekend has been a great relaxing weekend for our family so that has been so nice for right before the baby comes.  We had a picnic, some frisbee golf, basketball, bike rides, and I even went on a small walk yesterday.  We also got all our grocery shopping done for two weeks so that is done.  It has been so nice to have a breath of fresh air - to have major things done, to feel ready, to feel good/sleep good and just enjoy the time we have now before chaos is back.

I think we're getting excited!!  But it'll all be so much better once the baby is HERE!

Slow Poke and baby's room

We had a temporary pet over the weekend.  I found a slug after it had rained and thought the kids might like to check him out.  Since I was at the store and found a $1 bug container, I thought I'd buy it to contain him.  I like it so much we might have to buy a nicer one - one you can actually see through the plastic and that doesn't leak water at the bottom.  I guess we'll see how this one goes.

Wendell and Harlie were a bit scared off him at first but you can see they warmed up to him.

Wendell named him Slow Poke.

I don't really know why she has her helmet on.. she wasn't that scared of Slow Poke

I love this picture.. it's hard to know what it is as it looks like an alien in a space suit but it's just Harlie (in her helmet) looking at Slow Poke.

Slow Poke

Today Harlie was Miss Helpful by making dad his lunch.  She packed a plastic container of orange peels (leftover from yesterday that was sitting on the counter), a small jar of yeast and a container of cottage cheese.  Yummm!! : )  I asked her to smile and she said "I AM!".

baby's room is done.. 99% of the way done.

just need a real baby : )

Wendell and Harlie's room

Easter and fun

Recently I bought a basketball hoop for outside.  Something that I hope will be lots of fun for the whole family in the future.  Although I didn't really play basketball, I do enjoy playing/shooting hoops.  So far, I'm not the only to one to enjoy the hoop.  Often when Phil comes home from work, he shoots hoops with the kids for a few minutes. 

The rest of the pictures are Easter.  We didn't travel this year so I decided to color eggs with the kids; later we had an egg hunt and small Easter baskets.  The day started with church but in the afternoon we had some fun outside as the weather was so nice.

I hid Harlie's hat in the bush. 

Wendell got a new book, in an old basket.

him holding an egg

Them looking through their baskets.. filled with candy and fruit.

just a great picture of the two of them.

such a good picture.. too bad I look so darn goofy.  I thought about putting this as my facebook picture but it really does look ridiculous.

me and my new hoop... plus an extra preggo pic... I think I'm officially bigger than the basketball now.

delivery options?

The past week or so I have sat around envisioning how the delivery of baby #3 will go.  Will it be another VBAC or C-section?  Will I go in labor at the wee hours of the night again?  Will I be at work (my last day is scheduled for the 29th)?  What will we do with Harlie? Wendell? What if I go in labor in the evening, like right after we put the kids to bed?

I kind of keep joking that hopefully Phil will be there at the hospital with me (not at home with the kids) but for some reason I keep envisioning that this is exactly what will happen.

Tonight I day dreamed that I was at work (during the overnight) when I went into labor, thought I had plenty of time so I wait until my co-worker arrives at 6:30am at which point I am having contractions so bad that I just have to drive to the hospital (I work pretty close to the hospital).  So I call Phil and he doesn't answer the phone (which happens quite often during the morning hours).  Here I am at the hospital, all alone. 

I've also daydreamed that I go into labor at 8pm, right after we put the kids to bed.  I would feel really bad asking anyone to come to our house during the overnight hours - where would they sleep?  would they sleep?  it would really just be miserable for them.  So I would go to the hospital alone.. the kids wake up at 5am for some odd reason so Phil brings them to the hospital to 'visit' and I end up having the baby with them in the room with me.  (Wendell would probably make an excellent coach but not sure I'd want him to have that memory with him the rest of his life : )

Anyways, it's fun to think about all this.  I am trying not to worry about this and just trust that God will work it all out.  And I truly do have a peace with being at the hospital alone for awhile (as long I don't run into the cookie lady : ) so we'll see how it all works out.  

Maybe I'll go into labor at 6am when I'm at home, so we have time to get ready and Wendell off to school.  That gives our family plenty of time to get ready and drive here to help us out.. and the baby is born in the afternoon/evening.  Early enough the kids can meet the wee one before bedtime. 

Who knows what will happen.. it never happens how you think it will.  Either way, we're on a count down now.  I think I'm going to start crossing days off the calendar, kind of like you do for Christmas.   : )

the cookie lady

So I dropped off my paperwork at the hospital a few days ago in preparation for baby #3 and walking down the hallway I saw someone that brought back a memory (or should I say nightmare) and not a good one but also a funny one (looking back).  I don't know her name but she will always be known as 'the cookie lady'.  And here is my story.

When we were still in the hospital when Wendell was born there was a situation that caused me, his mom, to have a horrible breakdown of crying while walking down the hallway to return to my hospital room.  I am sure the hormones were about 75% of the problem and it was one those moments of relieving stress and I just wanted to CRY, and cry and cry.  I am the kind of person that cries hard and it's best to just get it ALL out and be done with it (and usually I laugh when I'm done because I realize how ridiculous it was).  But I'm also very sniffly, wailing, hyperventilating kind of crier.  Anyways, so I'm having one of these moments and just wanted some privacy.  Luckily Phil was with me walking to the room when I realized I had a bunch of family in the room visiting.  At least I know my grandparents were in there, waiting for us.  Anyways, I did NOT want to go in there as I was still in my spell of crying when 'the cookie lady' who was innocently delivering cookies tries to comfort me AND to convince me that there was no reason I couldn't go back to my room with my family, as they would understand.  Um.. lady.. no, I don't want to walk in a room and be totally hormonal in front of family.  As I was trying to walk around the hallway and go to a private bathroom instead of my room this lady really started to push me into my room (trying to be a comfort) and I was adamant that I did NOT want to back in there until my fit was done. I just wanted to cry in private, with Phil at my side.

Anyways, I believe I got control of myself real quick because this lady was putting me in an uncomfortable situation as she was not letting it go and I was not able to really fight her at the moment.  So I zipped up the tears and went in the room. 

5 years later, Phil (who knows me and my fits) and I still laugh at this crazy persistent cookie lady who wouldn't let me cry in peace/private.  

So earlier this week while dropping off my paperwork.. squeaking down the hallway with her cookie cart and a great big smile on her face, was the cookie lady still delivering cookies to us new hormonal moms.  Let's just say I about ran out of the hospital...  


aww... this baby will be born soon, what memories will this experience bring? : )