Baby Update

For starters, I will state the obvious:

I haven't had the baby yet.
I have been in early labor for almost a week and a half.
I hurt and I am tired.

That said, I was at 4.5cm yesterday at my appointment. Had I been at 5, Dr. Hannah could have broken my water and sent me to the hospital.  He sorta tried to "accidentally break it" but I've got a bag of steel and it has never broken on it's own before.

So here I am, still pregnant, timing contractions round the clock, getting my hopes up every time they are 5-10 minutes apart, then becoming frustrated when that wanes after 30 or 45 minutes of teasing and discomfort.  People keep asking when my due date is, and retracting sympathy when I tell them it isn't until next week, but the point is that I've never been pregnant for this long before and my baby is getting bigger with each day that passes.  If you know what my recoveries are like (hematomas, 4th degree damage, infections, etc) then you know why we are getting concerned about the size of this baby and the increasing possibility of an emergency C-section.

We've scheduled to induce on Thursday morning.  Not my favorite option, but one I'm looking forward to if my contractions don't kick it up enough today to get me into the hospital on my own.

After school yesterday, the girls were as sad as I was that baby brother wasn't here yet.  We raced through homework, jumped in the van, grabbed some caramel apples from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, met up with Kasey and went to a 4pm showing of Brave.  Great movie.  Scary movie! I can't believe my kids weren't terrified, but they did fine.

My favorite part was my little Corbin, who must have a clue that his days as the "baby" are numbered. He curled up in my lap and rubbed my belly for most of the movie. I savored every second.

It was a lovely afternoon with my little people.  They fell asleep the instant their heads hit the pillows last night.  A couple hours later, I couldn't resist and crept into the girls' room while they slept.  I gave them each a kiss (not an easy feat with Reese on the top bunk, now, I had to stand on Quincy's bed to reach) and told them I love them then whispered a secret to each of them. "I am the luckiest mother in the world."
--which is really no secret at all.

When the girls got on the bus this morning, they kissed me goodbye and said, "I hope you are at the hospital when we get home!"

Me too, girlies. Me too!

Caterpillar

Corbin started preschool today!  I can't believe what a big boy he is all of a sudden.  He shouted, "Bye, Mom, bye!", waved, and skipped off to class cheerfully with his Cars backpack flailing behind him.  I love his outgoing personality.  I never have to worry about leaving him in a new place or with new people because he makes himself comfortable everywhere we go.

After  school, he was much more talkative than the girls ever were on their first day of preschool.  He told me who he played with, what he ate, about the letter B and what he did during circle time and open centers. He already loves school and I am so glad he had a great day.  One thing I thought was funny was that he kept insisting that his "turn" was over and that it was time to go pick up Reese and Quincy from school now.  He has really missed them since they went back to school last week and anxiously awaits their arrival every afternoon.  

I thought I would love having a few hours to myself with all the kids in school. 

It sucked.

I missed my children. 

Luckily, I had a dr appointment to occupy most of the time Corbin was in school today, and soon enough, we will have another little buddy to keep me busy and the house will not seem so lonely or so quiet at all! 

Hooray for preschool, and hooray for it only being a couple of hours long. I missed my little sidekick.

Double Trouble

Corbin and Cole are a force of nature when they play together.  They can be super naughty but really, they're always happy and laughing maniacally in their wild fun so the trouble part is sort of just expected.  Even when they are up to no good, I love watching them play, they are all boy and have so much crazy fun running around together it is impossible to not enjoy.

Today's trouble involved playing with a tube of toothpaste and smearing it all over Emma and each other, then climbing in the shower with all of their clothes on and getting soaked.   They were very proud of themselves.  Sounds like a pretty fun time, and the added bonus is I have one less kid to bathe tonight!  

Harvested

Aren't they pretty?
I grew those bad boys from seeds that I saved from last year's squash, in a terrible drought to boot.
They've been roasted, pureed, frozen in ice cube trays, bagged and placed in the deep freezer to be fed to our little baby guy this winter.   It was a labor of love, but three gallon sized bags of full baby food that we grew ourselves = one fat chunk of change saved and hopefully, one really fat chunk of a well fed baby boy ;).  I am so grateful for our garden.

All that's missing is the baby guy!  Come on baby!

Back to the Drawing Board

What?  Even Snookie had her baby before me?  What the heck?  My turn, man.  

And shoot, it looks like we're going to have to come up with a better baby name for our son, now that Enzo has already been taken ;)

Aaron came home from work early on Friday with a horrible man-cold.  I swear this is the reason we haven't had our baby yet.  He gets sick once a year, and unfortunately, timing is not on our side, right now.  Since he is in absolutely no place to play the role of labor coach, right now, being all drippy and phlemmy and coughing and making those man-sick throat noises that even non-pregnant women can't stand to listen to without throwing up, it really is just as well that our baby keeps cooking until Aaron is feeling better.  I wasn't planning on going to church today, because I've reached the point where I don't feel like giving nice answers to not-nice questions, but I think it's a better alternative (for everyone) than staying home and nursing my sweet man patient back to health.

I've been in early labor since Tuesday.  I am incredibly exhausted.  I am in a lot of pain.  Walking hurts.  I'm kinda mean (what? you hadn't noticed?)  I am well aware that my children are a hot mess.  And everything makes me cry.  If you see me today, please ignore my girth and ask me about something else.  Or don't ask me anything at all.  Or give me presents, tell me I look nice, Massage my feet, then walk away.

That Awkward Moment

Where you snap a bunch of pictures of your kid, because he is just so super cute giving his first FHE lesson, and then later you realize that he just looks like he's naked in all the pics. 

...While holding a photo of the prophet.

Because people don't think Mormons are weird enough.

The County Fair

Last week was our annual visit to the county fair for our last summer hurrah before school started.

This year, the weather was perfect. The fair is much more enjoyable when you are not making an exhibit of yourself by leaving a trail of sweat behind you. 

There were giant lemonades to drink,

baby chicks to hold,

a few thrill rides to enjoy, 

animals to pet,
an auction to watch (did you know they spray paint the hooves of the steers before they show them off?   The fur gets sprayed, too, if there are any imperfections or spots on the cows.),
baby goats to milk,  
glow stick necklaces to wave,
and all of the funnel cake, foot long hot dogs, and caramel apples a person can eat.

The moment we've all been waiting for.

Behold, some preggo meg-o pics. Ready to pop. Enjoy, they're pretty pregalicious.

I asked Aaron to take some pics of this belly since it's about to be gone and I haven't really taken any belly shots since about 20 weeks. 

He was lying on the carpet when I handed him the camera, so he thought this angle was hilarious. I wasn't really amused and made him get up and take a more typical belly photo, like this next one, with a very wrinkly skirt that I obviously could not see at the time or I would have ironed. (that's a lie. I would have wadded it back up and just put on a different skirt.)

 aaaaand then he laughed again as he took my pic while I whined about a particularly bad contraction.

This week has craaaaawled by and I've had a lot of time to think about how lucky I am.  After waiting for so long and at some points wondering if there ever would be another baby in our home, it seems surreal that the time has finally come and he's actually almost here.  I spent the entire first trimester trying not to get my hopes up again, and now I am finally able to just enjoy that a huge blessing has fallen upon us.

Forgive me if I seem impatient and whine about still being pregnant.
I just want my baby.
It's been a long and not-so-easy wait.

Belly henna and afternoon kayaking

Yep. Still pregnant. I don't even think my doctor can explain how it is possible, but here I am, 2 days later, contracting every 30 minutes and in a lot of pain.  

This afternoon I went a little crazy. I couldn't be a slave to the labor clock any longer. 

Corbin and I picked up the girls from school and went over to Jocelyn's house for a late afternoon of kayaking, shell collecting, swimming, and playing in the lake.  

It was sort of a magical afternoon.  

Even though school has started, I just couldn't deny the children of a little summer fun on such a perfect day.  We squeezed in what we could into 2 hours, then went home, raced through showers and shoveled down some frozen pizza and fresh peaches and all three children were asleep by 7pm.  

A simple change of scenery, but it was just what my kids and I needed. They had a really great time.  

Corbin and I sunk our kayak. 

Jocelyn's beautiful daughters came out to visit and we sat on the shore eating chocolate covered pomegranates and talking while the kids played and Elyssa did a giant henna tree on my belly. 

Here it is all inked up.  The ink dries like piped frosting and brushes off, leaving a skin colored design stained on the skin for about a week. The skin on my belly is stretched so thin that the dye hardly took and the design is barely visible without the perfect lighting, but here is a picture with the henna still on, right as some of the dry sections were starting to flake off.  Pretty awesome, right?  I told Elyssa I wanted a tree and maybe a nest with 4 eggs in it. (can you spot them? The henna is brushed off on part of the nest already in the pic...it looked SO much better in real life and I wish we'd taken more pics before it started to dry) She also included some flowers (for good luck) and two little birds to watch over the nest. 

 It was pretty fun to get covered in stinky herby dye, be pampered by the beautiful Peterson women, and have the giant canvas I grew covered in paisley and henna swirls.  The baby kept moving and every now and then a foot or knee would stick out an inch or so and the tree would just look freaky (because having a painted up belly isn't freaky looking enough. haha!).  It will look super gross for a couple days once I have the baby before it washes/wears off and it's all shrunk down and disfigured...but really, with all the stretch marks and blue veins and general preggo belly fuzziness, it already looks pretty freaky, so whatever. It was a fun afternoon, a perfect distraction, and a lovely way to celebrate the beautiful habitat I grew for my baby. 

I can't wait to welcome him to our family tree.  

Come out when you are ready, baby brother. Our nest is waiting for you.

baby update

Well I'm almost 4cm and after my appointment today we're thinking baby will arrive anytime in the next 48-72 hours. Considering how painful my contractions were last night, I'm thinking closer to 48 hours.  I was reeeeeealllly hoping my doctor would just send me on over to the hospital, but since my contractions aren't regular enough, I'm labroing at home until they are closer together.  We are thinking this baby might be another posterior baby because most of my pain is in my back. I guess my body prefers babies sunny side up. ;)
Based on how I am measuring we still think the baby is under 8 lbs, so that is good news. An 8 pounder could literally break me, and I really prefer not to end up with an emergency c-section.

The house is clean and fresh and almost ready for a newborn (I still need to set up a bed or crib or something) and makes me feel happy and relaxed...and a little impatient.  Can't wait to meet you, little baby! Feel free to join us, anytime! (please don't break me.)

First Day of School

Today was the first day of 2nd Grade for Miss Reese! 

I am SO proud of her. Not only were there no tears, this year, but she spent the morning and recess time comforting a sad friend and helping her stop crying.

 Her teacher is Mrs. Snieski and we adore her already.  Reese was VERY happy to discover that her bff Madi AND her friend Bryn from church are in her class, this year.
I have a feeling she is going to love 2nd grade.

Little Miss Quincy Bee started Kindergarten this year.  I can't believe the day is finally here and managed to keep it together and not cry when I dropped her off.  (probably because I cried all day yesterday and the well is officially dry.) My baby girl is in Kindergarten! 

 Quincy marched into her classroom like she owned the place.  Really.  She spotted her friends and forgot about us.  I actually had to call her back over to the door to take a photo of her with her teacher.

 We are very happy to have Mrs. Rogers again. We love her personality and teaching style and I know Quincy will thrive in her class.

When the time came for us to leave her, she went to her desk and suddenly seemed a bit nervous, but gave us permission to go since she had work to do.  I'm so glad you had a great day, Quincy!  This morning, she woke up at 5:45 and came bounding into my room and clapped her hands together excitedly in front of her face like a fat kid that's just been handed a free cake.

"Mom! It's morning! I am so excited to go to school today!"  she squealed, and then she was off to get herself dressed.  She was so excited she literally could not sit still at breakfast, and was shaking with joy until it was time to go.  I think there was milk, oatmeal, and toothpaste on her dress by the time we got to school.

The children were welcomed back by their wonderful principal, Mr. Young. This guy deserves a medal.  He is an incredible educator and makes Cooper Elementary an excellent school.  One of the best principals I've ever seen.

Corbin insisted on wearing his backpack to the school. It was super cute, and everyone kept stopping him and asking him if he was excited for kindergarten.  Haha!  2 more years, buddy!  He was really sad when we got back in the car expecting to go to his school next.  I explained that he doesn't start preschool until next week and he ccried and wanted to go back to Cooper and get his girls.

All sadness was forgotten once we pulled up to Paradise.  I've made it a tradition to take younger children out for donuts after the big kids go to school.

We had a lovely date and shared donuts and a strawberry milk.

After school, the girls told me every detail of their day that they could remember. They only had good things to say!  It is going to be a great year for them.

I don't think it is as funny as you think it is.

Two more people asked me today if I am having twins.

Updates and thoughts on upcoming events.

1) Baby- well all that bed rest did baby some good. Aside from the contractions (which have eased up but never really go away), labor has basically stopped.  At my appointment this week, I was 2.5cm and 80% effaced. Baby is loooow and my doctor said, "wow, he is waaay down there, I bet you're getting pretty uncomfortable"  (Uh, ya think?!).  I look and feel like I'm about to fall forward when I stand up straight...which I don't do often because it kills my back.

 2) Preparation -we're nearly ready. I'm busy nesting this week and spend an hour during nap time, every day, organizing cabinets and drawers and getting the surfaces of my house ready for a good deep cleaning.  Baby's blessing outfit arrived. It is totally casual but we like it and it looks comfortable, so whatever. I'm not into the shiny satin baby tuxedo thing. Can't do it.
Aaron vetoed cloth diapers for now, so I dropped a small fortune at Walmart on disposable diapers and wipes and baby shampoo and lotion and diaper cream and nursing products and all the millions of things we haven't needed in our house for a while. Confession: It felt super lame to buy disposable diapers when I'd already gotten myself psyched up to be green and earthy and go all hippie mom and save a ton of cash doing cloth. 

But when I got home and opened the first box of Pampers Swaddlers, that familiar delicious smell of newborn diapers escaped from the package and it made me downright drunk with baby fever.  Sudddenly, I was a brand new mother again, totally intoxicated by the elixer of baby product fragrances and anticipation.  I have waited so long for this baby and he is finally almost here.  It's really happening.  I immediately surrendered to the schmoopie lovey captivating  excitement of knowing we'll have a baby in our home again, very soon. Who's losing sleep over cloth diapers, now? Not me, anymore.  I relaxed.  Those disposables I just bought will last no longer than 30 days, so soon enough, I'll be able to reassess my energy level and frugal desires and can always switch to cloth, then. There's no time limit on this stuff.  I chilled out and had the time of my life stacking teeny tiny diapers into the changing table baskets.  Reese humored my giddiness and came in and oohed and gushed "awww they're SO CUTE" over their tiny-ness with me.  Cobin's rump and size 6 diapers just seem ginormous, now, and it is one more reminder of how long it's been since he was our little cupcake scented baby.

 I got the receiving blankets and burp cloths out of storage and laundered them and they were quickly claimed with "thank you for my new blankies" by Corbin.  I made new bedding for Corbin's captain's bed.  It is pretty dang cute (pictures, soon) but as of right now, he still prefers to sleep with 100 baby blankets piled up around him in a messy sweaty headed little boy stink of a blanket nest. Every few days I grab the entire stack and throw them all in the washer. Boys are smelly and kinda gross.   We found a pack n play we like online but it's currently out of stock, so I check back every day and hope they'll get more in, soon because still need to buy a pack n play with a bassinet height or a  mini crib or co sleeper basket or something for the baby to sleep in, since even with the big boy bed set up in his bedroom, Corbin has no interest of sleeping outside of the crib, and we don't plan on making him move.  His world is about to be rocked enough. We see no point in taking away the comfort of his bed, too.  Why disturb a good thing?  I don't feel pressure to force my youngest to grow up simply because a new youngest will be here soon.

3) School: the girls found out who their teachers are,  yesterday.  Quincy has Mrs. Rogers (Reese's Kindergarten teacher) and she's VERY excited.  Reese has 2 girlfriends from church in her class this year and I've heard good things about her teacher so we are grateful that they both lucked out and got what they'd wished for.  Back to School open house is tomorrow.

4) Super Saturday is this weekend!  I'm on the Relief Society activity committee and I am SO glad we were inspired to bag the craft thing this year and focus on food storage.  We started advertising back in March that we'd be placing a food storage order this summer, so the sisters would have time to prepare, assess their families food storage goals and needs, and have time to save money.  Every month at our RS meeting, our ward food storage rep gave tips and handouts to help sisters know what they could make in an emergency if they only had certain ingredients available.   Now that the orders have been placed, for our Super Saturday activity this year, instead of making cute holiday crafts, we are focusing on food storage and providing the stake canner and means to dry pack can everything at the activity.  21 sisters ordered food from the ward order, several are bringing their own food from wherever they chose to purchase it, and other sisters are just coming to watch.  We are also having sisters give free live demos on how to water bath can and pressure can, and there will be a room with tables set up and the mylar bag and sealer available for sisters to bring their supplies and update their 72 hours kits and seal the food in mylar bags for water protection and longer shelf life. 

Last year, we worked our booties off gathering and ordering craft supplies, collecting money for craft orders, assembling kits, and setting up display tables each week in the halls to advertise, and when the day came, only 13 sisters (including the 6 committee members) showed up for super saturday to make their crafts, and a few of those sisters were only there to watch the free dutch oven cooking and bread making demos. 

When I dry pack canned my own food storage at home, a few years ago, I could only find three people in our ward who even knew how to use the stake canner.  Three.  I'm not saying you have to can your own food, because often times, you can find it cheaper already canned for you.  A few friends of mine and I have scored a ton of wheat and rice and oats in #10 cans at the associate's store lately for $2 a can. Can't beat that.  But deals like that might not be around every time I need to replenish our food storage supply, so I'm still really glad that I know how to do it myself, even if I don't need to or have to right now.  That's kind of our purpose this weekend: to educate and provide means to do it, so that next time someone wants to can their own popcorn and powdered milk, there will be more than 3 people who actually know how to do it.  I'm especially happy for the sisters who are building a food storage supply for the first time, because of this activity.  I felt so much peace of mind (that I didn't even know what missing) when I finally started to store food and I am excited for others to feel it too.  It is a wonderful feeling.

This year, classes aside, we expect there to be at least 30 sisters coming just to dry pack food  on saturday.  That means 30 homes will be blessed for fulfilling a commandment to be self reliant. 30 homes will be prepared for an emergency.  30 sisters will leave having learned something new.  I know that cute crafts can absolutely bless homes and bring happiness to the sisters who create them, but they won't sustain life an emergency.  We felt really strongly to make food storage, teaching, and giving everyone an opportunity to participate a priority over crafts this year.  It makes me really happy to see it coming to fruition and know that I helped organize an event that will help so many families be better prepared.  Help ourselves, help each other, help our neighbors, help the world.

5) Meditation: I've spent several hours studying scriptures and pondering and praying about our back to school family theme this year, and I think I've finally got it right.   I think we're having our special theme family night this weekend, and though it will be much less... spectacular than last year (posts here and here), I think the message and theme will really help my children have a successful and happy school year.  Stay tuned for that bit of awesomeness.

6) Outside: It finally cooled off and we actually got some rain.  What a blessing.  The children and I planted our fall garden on monday afternoon.  We're a few weeks behind because of the heat/my pregnant condition, but we did it anyway.  We planted seeds for everything we had with less than a 60 day germination to harvest time frame.  I have no idea what will sprout or if anything will, but hopefully, the fall frosts will hold off long enough for us to enjoy a 2nd season out of our little garden.  Those 7 raised beds are a therapeutic place and it just felt GOOD to sit out there on my little stool with my little shovel and watch my little kids with their little garden gloves fill little buckets of dirt and pull weeds and run away screaming from little grasshoppers.  I know these moments will not last forever, but I do take a great joy in the refuge of the garden I grew with the little people I made. Fingers crossed for carrots, beets, lettuce galore, a variety of squash, onions, cucumbers, beans, dill, cilantro, kale, spinach, and peas.  Our tomatoes, peppers, basil, oregano, mint, thyme, broccoli, and sweet potatoes are all hanging on for dear life right now, so hopefully they'll bounce back and bear a fall harvest as well. I really wanted to plant potatoes for fall, but the garden centers in all of the stores are no longer carrying seed potatoes and it would take too many weeks to sprout my own before it was too late to get them in the ground.  If anyone has a bag of seed potatoes chilling in their garden stash, give this girl a hollah and I'll buy them from you.

July Entertainment

Catching up on a few things we did in July:

#1) Dress Like a Cow Day at Chick-fil-A.
We love Chick-fil-A and make it a point not to miss this event every summer.  The kids helped make cow costumes (you'll notice Corbin is wearing Quincy's old cow shirt, hence the puffy sleeves and puckered collar. whatever, it fit. kind of.) and even the baby belly sported a giant udder.

Some might say this is a strange tradition, but I'll tell you, 90% of the restaurant was filled with people dressed as cows, so it didn't feel weird when we got there. And it didn't feel weird to eat $37 worth of Chick-fil-A food for free, either. We heart Chick-fil-A!

#2) Grandma Lynda gave Corbin a fat stash of Chuck E Cheese coins for his birthday, and we finally got around to using them.  What a great day.  It has been like 5,000 degrees outside every day this month, so a trip to Chuck E Cheese with friends was a perfect way to release some pent up energy out of the children.  Their favorite parts were the "photo card maker" and the little nerf pop dart guns they bought with their tickets.

#3) Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Another great way to escape the heat...that place is an ice box!  Perfect for this hot and tired mama.  A copy of the Declaration of Independence was on display for the month of July, so I took the kids to see the exhibit and play in the children's area.  They discovered washi tape and pastel crayons in the art room and made some pretty cool projects with it.

 #4) This girl got her ears pierced! 
What a big, brave, beautiful lady.  It's been a few weeks and she never forgets to clean her ears and twist her earrings.  She's taking such good care of them that we will definitely take her back to Claire's to pick out an additional pair of earrings when her 8 weeks of wearing the stud posts are up. Lookin' good Miss Reese!

 #5) We caught a lizard in our house.  Yes. INSIDE of our house. It ran across the living room on a sunday morning and I nearly peed my pants.  Nasty!!!!  The bugs, snakes, lizards, grashoppers and all creepy things in general have been really bad this year.  Ick.  Anyway, we caught the lizard and kept her (it was decided that the lizard was a "she" by Reese and Quincy) in a (closed) tupperware on our countertop for the day as a pet.  The kids named her and enjoyed watching her scurry away when we let her go on the front lawn in the afternoon. Now, every time they see a lizard in the front yard, they say it is their lizard coming back for a visit.

Mystery Mail

Another package arrived from Amazon with no note attached.  Inside was this adorable book!  Two mystery packages in one week and Kasey says this one isn't from her.  Is it from you?
Thank you, anonymous book fairy, the children love their new book and are getting very excited about baby brother's arrival!

While I was on bed rest, I did a lot of online shopping.  Hooks for the bunk bed ladder, charms and stock photos for our upcoming back-to-school family theme party, a blessing outfit for the baby, a 2nd blog book, the girls' bedding, etc.  I've gotta say, I love getting the mail, now! It's like Christmas every day when packages are arriving so often!  I'm happy to have been able to accomplish so much while forced to be sitting for 10 days straight, but Aaron is probably VERY happy that I am no longer stuck on the sofa and staring at Amazon all day!

Irony

Just now:

Aaron: Meg. How is McDonalds a sponsor of the Olympics?  Does no one see the irony here? How many of those athletes are eating McDonalds?  They're all on crazy health food diets so they can stay in shape.

Me: Hey, where's the ice cream?  Did you eat the last of the ice cream? Wait, what did you say?

My other brain works a lot better.

I put the butter away in the freezer yesterday, and I found grapes in the cabinet.  I wish I could blame it on the children, but I'm pretty sure it was me that did both of these things.  Where is my brain?!
Yesterday, we used Katie's cricut mats for our craft, because I keep forgetting to replace mine and I don't use my cricut often enough to remember that I need mats when I am at a store that carries them.  "Man, I really need to go buy some mats while they're still on sale!" I said yesterday.

And then, today, an Amazon package arrived. Inside: new cricut mats. 

Huh?  Did I order these?  I don't remember ordering these. And wasn't that just yesterday that I was saying I needed to get new mats?  Ohmygosh...did I order them in my sleep?! Am I a sleep shopper?Did sleep shopper Meg seriously pay for overnight shipping?! No way. 

I checked the box. No invoice.  A-ha! gift!  Wait. Who would mail me cricket mats?  Who even knows I need cricut mats?

So I did what I always do when I lose my mind and checked with my personal shopper/best friend.

Txt from me to Kasey: "Did you order new cricut mats for me? I just got a package of them in the mail, from Amazon. I swear I don't remember buying them! There's no invoice in the box"

Kasey: "Maybe."

Of course she ordered me new mats.  She knew I was out. She knew they are on sale at Hobby Lobby this week and she didn't want me driving there with 3 kids in tow just to get new mats while I'm on bed rest.  So she bought them and had them shipped to me.  And here I am, still trying to figure out what day of the week it is, and whether or not I was shopping in my sleep! Only Kasey would be so prepared and so thoughtful to know that after a week on bed rest I would be dying to cross something productive off my to do list, and that something would require new cricut mats.

Kasey Meadows: Online Shopping Queen/ Friend Extraordinaire.

Now, if she would text me once in awhile to remind me not to put the dish soap away in the fridge or leave the frog eye salad in the car, I'd never have to go searching for my brain again!

Deal Breaker

Aaron just put the ice cream in the microwave.  Unforgivable.

They say it comes in threes...

Great news: labor hasn't progressed much since last week. Still 2cm and zero station and I'm only 75% effaced (was 70% last week).  Bed rest actually works!  Incredible!  My doctor was so impressed with the lack of change, that he says I only need to be on rest until Friday and then I'll be 36 weeks and can resume normal activity.  Knowing that full rest practically stopped progression, we figure it will take me a week or so of regular activity before I'll go into labor on my own, between 37 and 38 weeks....which is right on track with my other deliveries.  There is a new law, and my dr. cannot induce labor before 39 weeks.  Corbin was 37 1/2 weeks and at 7lbs 11oz he got got stuck during delivery and had to be vacuumed out.  If I wait until 39 weeks I am at a pretty good risk of needing an emergency C section because I just don't have the capacity to deliver a big baby.  So we're trying to find the sweet spot between too early and too big and our formula is do absolutely nothing until friday, then get up and go and see what happens. Wouldn't life be great if we just had complete control over everything? (says the type A control freak who doesn't deal well with the unknown.)

Bad news: Last week, our master bathroom toilet started leaking and created a nice plumbing disaster under the house.  My plumber came (and fixed a few annoying loose rattling pipes while he was under there. yay!), saw the leak and said, "whoa! it's leakin' like a big dawg unda heah!" 

Luckily, we're in a drought and the ground under the house is soooo dry that the flooding dried out enough to not cause damage to our foundation. 
Plumber fixed the toilet for a very reasonable price and was on his way.  Water disaster #1.

Bad News #2: I just went into the bathroom and discovered the grossest scene ever.  Corbin tried to take off his diaper and PUT his (green, runny) poop into the toilet.  Tub, walls, rugs, trash can, carpet, tile, shower curtain, sink, cabinet, everything is covered in ultimate grossness.  I stuck him in the tub with his shirt still on and just started hosing everything down...dry heaving in the process. Blech.  So much for doing "absolutely nothing" today. I should have saved the mopping for Aaron ;)

And when I reached under the sink to get some cleaning rags to take care of the disaster, all of the towels were wet.  The sink is leaking, but I can't figure out where from.  I guess I wouldn't have discovered this plumbing disaster if Corbin hadn't had his own plumbing disaster, so it's all good in the end. Except that I had a serious mess to clean up. Waah.  I called my plumber back and he'll be over tomorrow to fix water disaster #2. 

So that's our week. Aside from the bathroom/corbin scrub down, I'm still resting, but I can already hear the freedom of friday calling my name.  I can't wait to get off this sofa and do something. anything.  

Here's hoping that "water disaster #3" will be MY water breaking in 2 weeks!

Summer Fun and Gratitude

Thanks to great friends, my kids are still enjoying their summer, even with an invalid mother.

This morning, Emily showed up and took Corbin for a walk at the lake and to play at the sand park.  He was happier than a pig in poop. Reese and Quincy cleaned the bathrooms and then I set them up with a painting activity at the kitchen table and went to bed.  Knowing that my children were all doing something fun, rather than watching tv or something, really helped me to not feel guilty about lying down, and I was able to really relax and sleep soundly for an uninterrupted hour and a half.  When Emily brought Corbin home, she had Taco Bell and a fat cup of ice for me and she swept my kitchen floor while I ate. So nice!

I went to bed and slept another 2 hours during my kids' nap time. I can't believe how exhausted and out of breath I am all the time. I'm sure it is a combo of the horrible heat, not sleeping well at night, my low blood pressure, being anemic, and just pregnancy in general, but wow. I'm suuuuper tired, and even with all of the time I'm spending off my feet, it seems to only make me want to sleep and rest even more.

Kasey built the kids a pvc sprinkler tunnel and brought over water blast tubes and a bag of water balloons that we busted out this afternoon.  The kids LOVED it!  (Don't worry, Mom, I pulled a stool up to the counter and sat while I filled the water balloons.  The only "water breaking" here was the yellow balloon that Corbin dropped on the bathroom floor.)  Thank you Kasey for spoiling my children!  I tried to sit outside with them, but it was just too hot and uncomfortable to enjoy without getting in the water. Katie came over and our kids ran wild in the backyard together for 2 hours while we sat and watched from the (air conditioned) kitchen and did a craft at the table.
Sweet Jill brought a great dinner and Terri Hansen and her family surprised us with homemade ice cream, tonight. I think Aaron has finally gotten used to the fact that I'm not cooking (like, at all) right now, and he was shocked that there was food waiting for him when he came home from work tonight.  He never complains that I'm not cooking, of course, but it made a noticeable difference in his mood to have dinner ready.

I've been put on bed rest with every single pregnancy and this is the first time I have actually been able to listen to my doctor and actually do it. This is also the first time I have legitimately been terrified that our baby would come before he's cooked and I know I need to listen to my dr.'s advice and sit sit sit.  I have a play date set up for the kids on Wednesday afternoon, and another dinner coming this week. After today, I am fully confident that I'll actually make it another week of rest without going crazy or going into labor. I really hate being idle, and I'd much rather be the one giving service than accepting it.  I am so grateful to my friends who are not only taking care of us, but just showing up and doing what needs to be done, rather than waiting for me to have to call on them or ask.  This pregnancy has not seen a single easy day (seriously, I threw up all night thursday and again friday afternoon) and again I find myself at a point where I just can't do it without the help of others. I am blessed to have such a compassionate ward with people who know I'm stubborn and would rather put myself at risk than admit that I need help. 

So hooray for service, for dinner, for water balloons and sprinklers, for play dates, for company, and for the amazing girls who stepped in when Aaron was out of town to bathe children, join us at the movies, switch laundry, take my children to church, take out trash, and sweep my kitchen floors. I owe you all so much and I hope each of you know how full of gratitude I am for all that you've done to help me keep this baby cooking.

Contractions have been 15-20 minutes apart since 6:30 tonight.  From past experience, I know that around midnight, they'll mellow to one or two an hour.
I'll know more after my appointment tomorrow, but I think if I keep off my feet this week, I'll be able to make it another week or two before the baby comes.  We have waited so long for this little boy to join our family.  I can't wait to meet him.
37 weeks cannot come soon enough!

How to Vaycay in KC part II

Catching up, here are the rest of the pics from our mini vaycay to Kansas City last month.

We went to the Deanna Rose Homestead. It's a free farm where the kids can do all sorts of old fashioned activities. The property is basically my dream home. It reminded us a lot of Thanksgiving Point in Utah (especially since there were LDS missionaries volunteering at the venues there), but better because it was free and more interactive.

My favorite was feeding the baby goats.  They were SO cute, and very hungry.

Here is Reese who, after 20 minutes of coaxing and telling her she'd "be fine", was irresistible to the goats and they preferred to eat her skirt instead of her bottle. She freaked out and they all ran over and attacked her. I felt bad, but it was sort of funny that they left everyone else alone and chose to go after her.  She was grossed out that her skirt was wet and slimy after pulling it out of the goats' hungry little cheeks.  Then she stepped in gum about 5 minutes later and laughed and said, "Mom. I'm just a mess, today."

Corbin loved the "goat babies" and as he fed them he kept saying over and over "Awww, they're so cuuuute".

Quincy watched Reese go inside and lost all faith in our ability to protect her, and opted to feed her bottle to the babies from the outside of the fence. The goats were seriously adorable. I wanted to bring one home with me.

Next up, horsie rides!

I'm always a little nervous sending Corbin off to do these types of things if Aaron and I won't be able to stand by his side and protect him. That kid is loaded with reckless abandon...what if he decides to randomly dive off the side of the horse? He's done it on a carousel, why not a live horse?  I often feel the need to remind people of his age, because they assume from his size that he is older than he actually is and will behave differently.  Luckily, this time, my worrying was all for nothing. He did great!  Corbin loved the horse rides and sat perfectly still on the saddle the whole time. 

Aaron got a bucket of worms and took the kids pole fishing in the pond.

 It was the middle of the day, so we didn't expect anything to bite, but they caught a sun fish within minutes.  Reese wouldn't touch it, Quincy giggled hysterically as it flopped around while Aaron pulled the hook loose.  Corbin waved his bamboo stick around and shouted hello to all the fishies in the pond.

 
Corbin had one more go on the horses and Reese and Quincy bought a bag of fossils and gems to sluice. This one came with a big chart that they brought home and have had fun identifying the other treasures they've collected this summer.
We could have spent all day at this place, but it was unbearably hot and we were hungry, so we took a look at the cows and bunnies, walked through the chicken coop, but decided to skip out on the one room school house, native American dugout, hayride, and other attractions and just headed to Sonic for happy hour slushies and Chipotle for lunch (which does not live up to the hype, btw).

Our last stop of the trip was the Kansas City Temple, where we had planned on taking turns and doing sessions, but it was closed!  We didn't realize that you need to make an appointment even for regular session times on week days.  Corbin and Quincy had fallen asleep, but I got out with Reese and we walked around the grounds for a few minutes. We will have to go back, soon.

We made it home on Friday night, and spent Saturday doing absolutely nothing. It was wonderful. We lounged around in pajamas all day, watched movies, ate popsicles, napped, went to the pool, then Aaron and I watched a redbox movie after the children went to bed. 

Great times together. We love Kansas City!