I see a light!

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I am two weeks from my induction date! :) It's funny to me how many people think I will be going into labor earlier than that, but I kinda doubt it. Why? Cause I refuse to get my hopes up! What will happen, will happen, but I really feel like I will most likely be induced January 29th. SO RELIEVED to have that all figured out.

I had two baby showers (since this is my first boy)... and both were overwhelmingly wonderful!

At the family one, my sisters-in-law and mother-in-law created diaper sculptures out of 4 bags of diapers... They were so darn cute! And I had forgotten my camera. :( But- I did manage to get a picture of three of them when I got home... the other one was disassembled so I could get it home.

There was the Duck

The Alligator

The Baby

And the one I didn't get a picture of, was a dump truck. It was super cute though (Anna, Rach or Leah- if any of you have a picture of it, I would VERY MUCH like to get my hands on it)!

There was amazingly tasty food (chili, corn bread, salad...), fun game(s), a collection bowl (for lack of a better word), and some group gifts of amazingly cute boy clothes. I felt SO MUCH more prepared after leaving the first shower.

Then, yesterday, my friends threw me a shower, and can I just say, it was SO FUN! I love my neighborhood and the friends I have made here? They bought baby Matthew a new carseat, and once again, quite a bit of baby clothes! Once again, the food was fantastic, and the games were fun. And once it was over, I came home fully confident that I was pretty ready for my little guy to come. He is gonna be one well dressed little boy!

All in all, right now, life is GOOD! :)

Finally, a project finished! Only like 2 billion to go...

Background:

My mother made me a twin sized quilt when I was a baby/toddler. When I moved into a twin sized bed, it was my main blanket, and I continued to use it until I became a newlywed and had to finally put the quilt up on a shelf. It still makes it's appearance when I am sick and sleeping on the couch, but otherwise my super comfy twin sized patchwork quilt has finally retired. And none too soon, really, since it is quite literally falling apart.

Since I loved my blanket so much, I decided it would be good to make my kids their own twin sized quilts too. MY goal was to have them done by the time the kids move into their big kid beds. WELL-

A few years ago, when Lilia was almost 2, I made her a quilt. A twin sized quilt that she could use on her bed until the day comes when she moves out of my house and gets herself a considerably larger bed. I finished it just a few days before we moved into our new house and with the new house, came a new big girl bed for Lilia. And her quilt.

I eventually painted the girls room to match the backing on Lil's quilt. Pink and yellow. I must admit, it's my favorite paint job in the whole house! See?

Well, when Lacey was about 1, I went to the fabric store and picked out her fabric for the quilt I would make for her. I wanted it to work well with Lil's but not be the same. I went with the same pink green, and beige theme, but added in a teal colored fabric as well. The backing was made with the same colored flannel backing as Lil's. I started on the blanket, and have been working on it (on and off) for a LONG time now. When I got to about the halfway point of this pregnancy, we decided to get the girls bunk beds, and Lacey graduated from her crib to an actual bed! Problem was, I hadn't finished the quilt yet... :( I blame my sewing machine. It kept breaking on me. Well- I finally managed to borrow my mothers sewing machine and finish sewing her quilt up, followed by HOURS and HOURS of cutting, and then 4 cycles through the washer and dryer, and THIS is the final product!

I couldn't be more thrilled! I love how it turned out! And now Lacey has a quilt too! Now- I may start working on one for Matthew right away... Maybe I can get HIS done in time! :)

New Years Resolutions...

I have never been much of a resolutions kind of person. In general I don't like setting myself up to fail. I am afraid to set a resolution for fear that I will putter out and NOT follow through, and that would be a total bummer, and would make me feel bad, and I don't like feeling bad... SO- why bother- right?

Well- this year a few things have been running through my head, and I really feel the need to change certain aspects of my life. Nothing mind altering-ly huge (except having another kid). Just little things I want to do. AND- I am putting them out here for all the world ( or at least my 17 followers) to see as a way to be held accountable for these changes. I WANT to change. And I WANT to be a better me. So on to my first ever true list of New Years Resolutions:

I want to lose weight

I want to add another member to my family

I want to have a son

Hehehe- okay seriously! No really. I will post the real ones...

*I do want to lose weight and be healthier- Joe and I went in to be tested for our Cholesterol and BP (amongst other things), and he has high blood pressure and I have moderately high cholesterol. He is already taking steps to correct his, but I can't do much until after Matthew is born. At which point I intend to join a group of neighbors for a morning workout. It's free, it's fun, and I can bring my kids... so why not?! Last year I started cooking healthier, because Joe had been given this same test, and had come back with both his BP AND his Cholesterol being high... we changed his diet up a bit to see if we could bring it down, and it worked! In changing his diet, I changed mine and the girls diet too... I will admit I slipped a bit during this pregnancy and have indulged in quite a few "treats" during the holidays. I feel pretty confident that once little Matthew is here, and I get back into the swing of things, I will be back on track as far as diet goes and therefore my cholesterol problems will most likely dissipate. Here's to hoping, I guess!

*I want to cut back on my frivolous free time activities... I have totally de-cluttered my Facebook and blog roll. I have cut back on my Internet time, and have dumped all the games on Facebook that took up all my spare time (things like Bejeweled Blitz and Solitaire games, etc.). I am now trying to follow through with this one and not add more fun and time wasting things.

*In it's place, I want to try to fill that excess free time with more important activities. Things like reading to my kids. Or playing games with them. Or taking walks, or bike rides, or playing at the park (in warmer weather). I want to fill that free time with things that uplift me, or make me feel productive, like scripture study, or baking bread, or cleaning {GASP!}. I want to make the most of my day. I want to sit down at the end of the night and be able to list off all the good and productive things I accomplished.

*Most importantly, I want to make it clear to my family how special and important they are to me. I want to tell my children every day, that I love them, and I want them to know that I mean it. Praising children is so much harder than it seems. It's easy to point out mistakes, and the bad things they do... but I want to be better at pointing out the good things and the cute things they do. I want to SHOW Joe every day that I love him. I can do that in the smallest ways... things like putting my shoes in the closet when I take them off. Actually folding the laundry I wash so he doesn't have to. Having a fairly clean kitchen and front room when he comes home so he doesn't feel the need to drop everything and clean the house...

I am already doing pretty well at a majority of these resolutions. I just hope the cleaner house part isn't just nesting, but good habits being built... I guess only time will tell huh?

Progress?

My OB wants to move my due date up. ACK! He feels like I am 38 weeks. Good for him and his feelings! I told him that's fine, but I am still holding out for a Feb. baby... why, you might ask? Well- to put it simply, because of insurance. In order to use our insurance to the best of it's ability I need to hold out til Feb. 1. So that's what I am aiming to do! I know, I know... I am CRAZY. But the way I see it? My body is built to have children. And this little guy will come when he is ready. I will let it happen on it's own, and if by some chance, I manage to keep him in past my doc's new due date, and my original due date, then I will be induced on the 1st of Feb, and all is right with the world! Trust me, I am so tired, and achy and miserable... if this little (or big) guy decides to come sooner than that, I will not stop him, or attempt to stop him... I just won't bring on labor any sooner than I need to.

Okay- so I have now been to my doc twice to be "checked", and have yet to progress much, so the good news is that so far, I am totally in line to wait this pregnancy out til the first. Cross your fingers for me!

Now- as far as being prepared goes? He he he... I am NOT at all ready. I mean, I am ready to not be pregnant, but not even kind of ready to have another little one in the house. I am past the stage of freaking out about a third kid. I am even ready for that. It's purely a matter of being prepared, and I am NOT.

I was told point blank by certain friends and family members not to buy anything until after I had a baby shower. Well- baby shower #1 (a family one) is tomorrow, and #2 (a friend one) is next Thursday (anyone interested in going to either of these that hasn't had an invite, lemme know!)... SO- being my first boy, I have little to NOTHING for my little guy. I mean, I have a crib. A blanket (and other crib bedding). And some clothes, though I have no idea how many clothes as they are hand me downs and I haven't had time to pull them out and I don't have a place to put them yet... I am thinking I will start sorting clothes tomorrow. And Saturday Joe will move the bookshelf (with baskets) we will be using to house said clothes up the stairs and into a bedroom.

So yeah. Come next Saturday I will officially be more calm and ready for Matthew to join the fam. Though I won't be expecting him for another 2 weeks past then. :D

Okay- enough rambling. Hope things are well with you all!

Happy New Year!

So I know I haven't been so great at keeping up with my blog. I just finished turning my 2009 posts into a book, and I found most of my entries to be a ton of catch up blogs... I will do my best to be better this year at keeping up so I don't have quite so many blogs of random pictures.

UNFORTUNATELY, today is not gonna be that day. We have had a bunch of fun this last week with Joe being off work, and Lil being out of school. It was a week of sledding, and ice skating, bowling, family parties, Christmas and New years festivities, and even a baby shower thrown in...

The day before Joe took work off (that would be Dec. 23rd), Lacey found herself something new to play with. I, of course, caught her in the act...

Later that day, Lacey did her typical strip down and disappeared with her big sister to play in the unfinished basement for a while. I kept hearing a rumbling sound followed by giggles... turns out they were sharing Lacey's tricycle. I managed to catch a good pic of them as they coasted by the basement door.

We celebrated Christmas Eve with Joe's family, and after a fantastically filling (and quite tasty) dinner we retired to the Christmas tree and proceeded with the opening of gifts. The girls were thrilled to receive a lot of fun little trinkets and toys (and some not so small toys) from the family, and came home thoroughly excited about Santa's soon to be arrival. The next day we woke up and unwrapped the few gifts beneath our tree (we tend to be a little on the sparse side since all the grandparents are sure to spoil the kids with fun gifts). Before heading out to my family celebrations we let the girls play with some of their goodies. In this shot they are coloring the picture Uncle James gave them, surrounded by Lacey's blocks (given to her by Lilia) while watching Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure which was a gift from Santa.

Here's one of Joe sporting his gift from the girls (the slippers)...

After lounging around for a bit, we headed out for my family gathering, where the girls were once again showered with fun stuff. For example the pictures given to them by Uncle Kevin that were quite literally the same size as Lacey.

We celebrated our 9th Anniversary on the 27th with dinner and a movie. It was quite nice, and much thanks to my mom for watching the girls so we could go out. The next day we got together with Joe's family for some bowling fun. I am almost embarrassed to admit how much pizza I ate. (The equivalent of 6 slices...WOW!) All in all the girls had a blast at Christmastime with the family, and that, in turn, means Joe and I had fun.

A few days after Christmas I was invited to a baby shower for my cousin's wife. Her due date is around the same time as mine, and it was great to visit with her. Though I am annoyed to admit that she is so much smaller in the belly than I am... See?

* A little background on this picture... her husband and I are only 4 days apart in age. Our mothers took a picture at Christmas in 1980 back to back with the hugely bulging bellies. So, it seems fitting that since my cousin's wife and I have a due date so close together (her due date isn't set in stone, but it's a week or so from mine), that we continue the tradition and take a back to back photo of our future boys. I look monstrous!

At some point this week, Joe took Lilia ice skating for the first time ever. I wasn't there (seeing as how that bulbous belly would really foul me up on the ice), so I stayed home with napping Lacey. I don't have any pictures to prove it, but Joe did take a video on his camera, and trust me when I say, Lil was so cute on skates!

A couple days ago, Joe and I took the girls sledding. Now, once again, I couldn't really participate being bigger than the sled and all, but I stood at the bottom and took pictures...

All ready to go

Dad took them up the hill dragging the little disc behind him.

The area we took them to had some pretty HUGE slopes, but this one was about right for my young ones and their inexperience... Lilia was the first to go:

I wasn't quick enough to catch a good picture, but she was lovin' it! Then, Joe took Lacey down. She was hesitant at first:

But when she reached the bottom she realized it wasn't so bad.

Here is a better one of Lil. She ended up at the bottom with the sled on top of her in a fit of giggles. The bottom of these slopes had a bit of a rut followed by a snow bank to force people to a stop before hitting the neighboring fence.

Lacey was getting a bit cold and wouldn't keep her gloves on... such a cute little girl!

Lil went down with Dad this time, and was having a hard time cause Dad's weight caused them to go down much faster and she was getting pelted by snow. She got to the bottom and her face was covered in a layer of frost!

Here is a shot of Lacey coming down with Dad... seems they both got moving faster than expected. I LOVE their faces in this shot. I about put myself into labor from laughing at the look on their faces...

The last ride of the day found Lil and dad going one last time... Lilia had it all figured out by then. She just covered her face with her beanie- it's a homemade beanie, so she could see through it, but it kept the snow on her face to a minimum...

And they just happened to land in the one and ONLY mud hole. Talk about an abrupt end to the ride! Poor Joe!

Here's Joe pulling the girls back to the car. I think that was the highlight of the day for Lacey.

At least until she realized where we were headed. She was NOT happy to go home. We will for sure be doing this again. It was so fun watching them! I look forward to being able to join in on the fun!

We all went to bed at the normal time on New Years Eve... sorta. Lilia was suffering from a pretty nasty cough, so when she woke up crying at 11 pm, I gave her a nice cocktail of pain and cold medicine, plus a bit of vapor relief on the side. I didn't go to bed until she was soundly sleeping. So I woke Joe up at midnight wished him a happy new year, and snuggled in next to his warm body with my frigid one :)

Hopefully you all had a fantastic holiday season! My one and only resolution- to have a baby. I may rethink that and choose a new resolution in a month or so, but for now, that's all I can focus on... All I can say for 2010? Bring it on!

Update of utmost importance!

First off, yesterday was my 9th anniversary... 9 YEARS! And though it hasn't always been easy, I am so very glad we made that jump together. I love Joe. That's all there is to it. He completes me, and he makes my life so much better than I ever could have imagined.

Second, I had a super fantastic Christmas with ALL sides of the family... we had a Christmas day with my immediate family, Christmas Eve with Joe's family, followed by a party with the Joe's other family(a party with his mom and her hubby's family, and Christmas Eve with his dad and his wife's family), we had a party for my extended family and also another with Joe's SUPER extended family (his Grandmother's family)... the parties were good, the food was great, the company was better, and my kids didn't freak out at the idea of sitting on Santa's lap... too bad I forgot my camera...

Third, I am SO DONE with this whole pregnancy thing. Yeah. It's a funny spot I'm in... I am ready to not be pregnant, but not at all ready to handle another baby. Better fix that up in a hurry, huh?

Fourth, my girls are fantastic. I love, love, LOVE them! They are amazing, and cute, and funny, and cute...

Fifth, this update isn't really that important, I just wanted you to read it. Love to you all, and Happy New Year!

Lists...

I have a new friend. She and I are due pretty close to the same time (she's a bit further along than I am). She is a pretty big fan of lists (as am I...), and has compiled a couple pregnancy lists I just LOVED. So of course, I felt the need to take her lists, share them here, and add a few to them (my additions are in red and italics). Now, on to the lists!

(in no particular order)

The best things about pregnancy
1. Feeling like I always have a secret... something that is temporarily all mine and no one else's.
2. My boobs get bigger :)
3. Strangers seem much more kind and courteous
4. Being able to use pregnancy as an excuse to con strangers into being more kind and courteous (like convincing them to let you cut in line for example) ... not that I do that sort of stuff....
5. Feeling kicks and wiggles and watching my belly wave like the ocean
6. My hubby and kids getting to feel and watch the baby move... and the excitement it creates in Lilia in particular
7. Not feeling so guilty about sleeping in until noon :) (or taking naps mid-day while one kid sleeps and the other is at school)
8. Looking at cute baby clothes!
9. Imagining tiny little fingers and toes and fuzzy heads and cute little cheeks that I'll one day get to snuggle with :)
10. Nesting instincts. I get sooo much more accomplished when these hit!
11. Always getting dibs on using the bathroom first :)
12. Getting free upgrades on airplanes and in hotels (didn't know about this, and won't ever need to worry about it...).
13. Not feeling like I should change out of my yoga pants after 3 days of wearing them, just to go to the grocery store.
14. Having a built in heater during the winter.

The most ANNOYING things about pregnancy
1. weird dreams... like dreams that keep you wondering all day long why the heck you dreamed about that.
2. That in-between time when no one can really tell you're pregnant, but you feel very overly pregnant
3. The three people a week (average) who tell me I look like I am about to pop even though I still have 7 weeks left.
4. The two to three bathroom trips each night.
5. Sneezing with a full bladder.
6. My personal identity disappearing, and suddenly the only thing I'm known for is "being pregnant"
7. Going through more than one pair of underwear in a day... especially annoying when it's more than two... or three... or when I run out of underwear before laundry day comes.
8. Prenatal vitamins. gross. huge.
9. Acne worse than when I was in high school
10. Not being able to eat the cookie dough :( (or brownie mix)
11. Seatbelts
12. Acid Reflux ALL.THE.TIME.
13. Listening to random strangers tell stories about how "this one thing happened to my cousin's husband's best friend's pregnant wife...."
14. Ligament pain... All. The. Time.
15. People being overly cautious of me. Like suddenly it's not safe for me to stand on a chair to hang something on the wall...
16. Crying at everything. Like billboards. Or cell phone and toilet paper commercials. (And having major freak outs over minor things...)
17. Having the nesting urge but not being able (by doctors orders) to sweep, mop, or vacuum or lift anything heavy...
18. Not being able to look sideways while in an elevator or escalator without falling over.
19. Some of my favorite foods and smells are suddenly disgusting to me.
20. Only being able to take Tylenol for pain... because I might as well eat a Smartee (
21. Everybody suddenly seems to walk WAY too fast...
22. My butt hurts. Technically it's my pelvic bone. Either way, I hurt, down there, all the time.
23. Having a built in heater in the summer.

24. Excuse me while I go pee...again...

The most annoying things PEOPLE SAY.... *and my response (if I had the guts)
1. How are you feeling? *pregnant. fat. hungry. my butt hurts. i just peed my pants again. annoyed that you're the 50th person to ask me that today.your breath smells
2. You're having a boy. I can tell.
3. How are you feeling?
4. Are you sure you're not having twins? *Are you sure YOU are not pregnan?? 'cause you're looking awfully fat...
5. How are you feeling? *Like the next person to ask me this is gonna get kicked in the knee caps. Go take a shower.
6. You're barely even showing, in fact, you're smaller than last time. *Really? Is that why all my maternity clothes are TOO SMALL and my belly knocks things over as I walk through the stores, and everyone stares at me?
7. How are you feeling?
8. So was this planned? *seriously? Do I look 16 to you? Yes this was planned. And even if it wasn't- does it matter?
9. You look cuter in maternity clothes than you do in regular clothes. *Wow. Thanks. I'm not quite sure how to respond to this one.
10.Are you nervous about the pain during delivery?? *ummm... would YOU be nervous if you knew you had to push out an 8 pound turd? Yeah, I thought so.
11. Are you pregnant? *no. It's a bee sting.
12. Can I feel your belly? *ALWAY, I mean ALWAYS asked by a really nasty, creepy looking stranger in a check-out line at the store. (Note- it only bothers me when strangers ask- if I know you, ask away!)
13. How are you feeling?

The best (read: WORST) advice I have ever been given while pregnant

1. To cure morning sickness, drink a beer each morning. (RIIIGHT!)

2. Breastfeeding your daughter will make her a lesbian. (Um. Okay. What do I say to THAT?)

3. Baby needs to fit in with your routine, not the other way around. (To an extent I agree, but not with a newborn... I work my baby into our family routine over time.)
4. IBC Rootbeer brings your milk supply in. (what a crock)

5. You need to feed her solids! She is under nourished (my baby was 6 weeks old)

6. It's okay to skip a meal a day to keep your weight down.

7. Stop taking your pain meds (right after birth) or else your baby won't wake up to eat. (Not true- that baby WILL wake up when hungry enough. Take advantage of the sleepy baby while you can!)

Hope you all have a fantastic day!