I wonder...

....How many times I'm going to pull out pre-pregnancy clothes to wear forgetting that they don't fit anymore.

System shock

You'd think that knowing for 3 months that we're having a girl that I would get used to the idea. And for a while, I think I am used to the idea, then something happens and I'm suddenly smacked with "Oh.my.word. We're having a girl." Today, Sweet Hubby's working in what's going to be Evie's room. This morning, it was a MESS. Just stuff everywhere, no organization, MESSY. I finally got in there and sorted stuff out (we sold some furniture out of there this weekend) and cleaned it up. I hung up some of her clothes in the closet and then a little while later, went back into the closet to put something in there, and the sight of pink frilly things hanging up in the closet made me do a double take. I don't think I'm going to get used to the idea until she's here and we've experienced what it's like to have a little girl in the house. All of her stuff still seems out of place.

Right now, her room is blue. By the end of the day, it will be a pale shade of pink ("Apple Blossom" to be exact). Now that will be a shock.

When we get the room all finished and put together, I'll post pics. It's going to be precious, thanks to my mom and mother-in-law.

Time for a belly pic

I'm not sure I've posted any belly pics this time around, and I'm bored tonight (NOTHING on DVR and nothing on TV), so I thought I'd post a picture of me and Evie at 32 weeks 5 days. It's sort of a sorry picture, but it's the best I could do on my own.

T minus 6 weeks

So. If everything goes according to plan (ha ha), exactly 6 weeks from right now, our little Evie will be here taking her first breaths...either being manhandled by the nurses or being all wrapped up and held by her Daddy for the first time. Baby day has been officially scheduled for May 7th (05.07.09--that's the date I've wanted all along) for 7:30 in the morning. We'd been talking about that all along, and the doctor even scheduled it for us earlier than she normally schedules c-sections so that we could ensure to get that day (she normally doesn't actually schedule until 32-34 weeks, but she scheduled it when I was 30 weeks). But when she told me it was official, I had a little bit of a freak out. It made it that much more real. And I'm acutely aware of the fact that we may not make it to that day at all. I've thought all along that we may not even make it to May. But I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait and see. All that matters is that in 6 weeks or less, our daughter will be in our arms.

I think we're just about ready. Her room's not ready and her clothes aren't clean or sorted, but we have everything we should need. The pack and play is still at my folks', but we can get that at any time and that's really the only thing that we need. Other than that, we have diapers and jammies. Since I'll be nursing, the food is built in, so if Evie Cate decides to come early, we'll be ready. Funny. Even just 2 babies ago, I wouldn't have even entertained the thought of NOT having the room and everything perfectly ready to go for the new baby. Now, I just want the house to be clean and I'd like to be done being pregnant. That's all.

I've been feeling as I think I should be feeling in the third trimester with the fourth child. Tired, achy, cranky. Morning nausea has also returned which is a nice little gift. I'm quite large, and Evie's butt or knee or heel or something equally bony has taken up residence under my left ribs. But in spite of all that and the fact that I feel like I've been pregnant for.ev.er. I really am still enjoying being pregnant with my little girl. I love having her as a part of me. I love feeling her kicks and nudges...I love how she's still and quiet all night (Lord, please let that continue after birth)...I love being able to watch her roll around and being able to share all of her antics with her adoring brothers and daddy.

Speaking of daddy, you have never met a man more excited about a baby than my Sweet Hubby is right now about Evie. I can't wait to see his reaction to her. I'm afraid I'm going to have to wrestle him to the ground to get to hold her....and the major surgery/anesthesia thing might hold me back a bit. Of course, I have the advantage of being her food supply, so I'm thinking I'll have to play that card in order to get my hands on her.

6 weeks, people....and I'm going to have 4 kids. And a daughter. Who'd've thunk it?

Free stuff?? Sign me up!

The company Sweet Hubby works for has a program for expectant parents that offers "support" and information. They started offering it shortly after we got pregnant, but I never enrolled. Somehow, they found out that Sweet Hubby and I were expecting and they called to enroll us. I didn't think I really needed any more support or info, but I'd heard there were free coupons involved, so I thought, "What the heck?" So I enrolled by answering some strange and personal questions.

Holy cow, I should have enrolled at 14 weeks (like they encourage) instead of 30! So far, I've received two packages by UPS from the program, both with not coupons, but actual free stuff!! I've gotten 2 huge books (one is What to Expect the First Year and the other is a book about taking care of your baby and child--medical info and the like), a really nice blanket, a cool sippy cup, a formula dispenser (bah), a cool magnet for the fridge to keep track of your daily/weekly servings of the food groups and lots of pamphlets/booklets with valid information about breastfeeding, folic acid, RSV, signs of preterm labor (which actually had info that I had never heard), etc. I'm so impressed! I'm hoping that I'll keep getting the packages once a week because it's like Christmas! :) I love free stuff!

And oh yeah, they have a 24 hour nurse line, blah, blah, blah...but look! A free cuddly blankie!

Check out the google symbol today...

...if you have kids or enjoy a good Eric Carle book.

You're welcome.

Entry 4,137 of Things I Never Thought I'd Say

There was a particular incident this week in which one of my children provoked me to say:

"How do you get your tongue stuck to the toilet paper?"

Normal

Grab your party hats, folks, 'cause you're in for a pity party.

Usually when I talk about things getting back to normal, I talk about it in a good way because I look forward to normal and "calm" (calm is a relative term). But now, I sit here bitter about normal.

Sweet Hubby's back at work tonight. He slept/rested most of the afternoon and left about an hour ago. He had been on leave from work for almost 7 weeks and I have gotten so used to having him around. The first few weeks, it was great having him home. We really are best friends and it was great to be a team (as much as he could be a part of a team in his condition) and to "hang out" all day. The second couple of weeks, I started to feel a little restless and claustrophobic because I hadn't really had 2 seconds truly alone in weeks. I started to look forward to getting back to normal when he went back to work. And then the last few weeks, having him home became our new normal. We've gotten to spend lots of time together and we've gotten a lot done. Doing school was 10 times easier because I had a built-in playmate to keep Marc-Adam (or either of the other boys) busy while the older boys and I were able to really concentrate on our work. Every night, after we put the kids down and checked our e-mail, we'd plop down on the couch and watch a movie or something off DVR, eat a bowl of cereal (or a milkshake) and just be.

So now, I'm feeling a bit lonely and sorry for myself. I still have a few things to watch on DVR that I haven't watched yet because I knew he didn't have any interest in it, but I don't want to sit by myself. And I'm really really thirsty and craving some apple juice...there were more than a few times that I would be craving something after the kids went to bed and he would run up to the store to get it for me. Obviously, I can't just run up to the store now, so I have to drink the funky water (uh, no.) or more milk (I think I've drank most of a gallon of milk today).

This week's going to be longer than normal, too, because he gets home Friday morning to be off for 4 days, but then Friday afternoon he's going camping with his dad and won't be home till Sunday afternoon. Boo. I really wanted to whine about those plans, but I bit my tongue because he needs that getaway.

Oh, well. 7.5 more weeks till Evie gets here and we'll get to have him home for a whole 'nother 6 weeks.

On the upside, I might actually be blogging more now. No offense, but it was much more fun to spend my free time hanging out with him than blogging. :)

If only it were that easy

This morning, the kids and I were discussing a bible verse that Stephen learned in church yesterday (at least I think it was the one he learned, I'm not totally sure...so we discussed the one he was able to name). Anyway, talking about that verse led us into a discussion about Satan (actually, Stephen brought that up which is interesting because I don't think I've ever discussed Satan with them). We talked about how Satan wants to destroy us and all the good things that God is doing in us. We ended our discussion in a prayer, and when it was Zachary's turn, he ended his part with this:

"And dear God, please make the devil be good."

I love their innocence.

Pretty sure his picture is next to the definition of "trouble"

While I was checking some e-mail, Stephen walked in behind me and said, "Mom, you should always be prepared if you're going to do something dangerous." I turned to see what he meant, only to see him walking out of the room wearing safety goggles.

Thankfully, he and his brothers and our home are still intact.

Lofty Ambitions

At the lunch table a little bit ago, Sweet Hubby and I were having a discussion about the company he used to work for and how things have gone down hill since he left. We talked about that job and this new one and how things are so much better...

Just about then, Stephen interjected: "You know what I want to be when I get a job? A movie director!!"

And just as excited about his vocational ambitions, Zachary yells out "I want to be the DirecTV guy!!"

My children, they reach for the stars. Or the satellites as it may be.

I'm not sure if he means the guy who drives around town in the DirecTV van or some other DirecTV guy.

After Sweet Hubby and I had a good laugh, we looked at Marc-Adam, who was licking his plate, and asked what he wanted to be.

"A cat!"

That's a goal that will take a lot of hard work to achieve.