We're Ready, but this baby isn't

I LOVE BEING PREGNANT! (umm, I'm trying really hard to convince myself of this truth, but it's not working out for me) Anyways, I'm running out of things to do while I wait for this child to make her entrance.

The nursery is done. Mike did all the hard work and I did the bossy part.

Before: When the basement was finished in our house it seems like the finisher slapped up some drywall, threw on some mud and then painted. They never bothered to sand the mud, grout the tile or finish the closet. Mike finished off the closet and I grouted the tile. Mike also did some major mudding and sanding. And we got new carpet.

After: I know this child is a girl, but we had a gallon of blue paint. It looks like the sky. We're trying to teach her that she can fly. :) 

I did the colorwash on the wall and Mike did all the other work. He put up new trim, painted, set up the furniture, etc. Thanks babe! It looks awesome.

In other news, Alisha, my sister had her adorable baby early Friday morning. (I'm not jealous. I'm not jealous.) We are happy that she is doing well and home now.

Two Car Family

Before we were engaged, in September 2001 Mike and I bought a car together. I still remember the athletic trainer rubbing out my calves after a hard WSU track workout and saying, "What?! You did what?? You shouldn't be buying cars together without a ring on your finger."  I felt perplexed. A car spoke of infinitely more commitment to me than a ring: 1. It was more expensive 2. It got me places 3. We could use it as a place to make out 4. It was ours, together.

I did eventually get my ring when Mike proposed at Weber State on December 1, 2001, but while I love the ring, I haven't had to stop using the car because my fingers retain water during pregnancy.

For almost nine years now we've had our little Chevy Prizm. Besides regular maintenance like oil and tires and gas, we have only had one "major" $200 repair. I love this car.  It has taken us on many adventures (we've put 150,000 miles on it) and has been a great car for our little family. It's been the only car for our little family.

After one summer when we lived in an isolated apartment in the middle of fields and I almost went crazy hanging out all day with cows and a two-year-old Kenzie, Mike began using public transit and riding his bike to work so I could have the car. (And that's when the voices went away.)  Both of us (Mike more than I) have made sacrifices and worked hard to make a one car situation work. With just one car we were together. We worked situations out that would have been much easier with two cars, but turned out better because we were with each other and sacrificing for each other.  Yes, sometimes it's been frustrating, but we've talked about it and both of us feel like the one car situation has been good for us. 

So, our recent purchase of a second car makes me a little teary eyed (yes, I know. I'm pregnant. I'm always teary-eyed). When I tried to smash another car seat in the backseat of the Prizm and found that the doors wouldn't really shut, we began our search. At first we wanted a nice car, a new car, a Honda Pilot. Then we had some sort of Dave Ramsey Awakening and we decided just to find something cheap that we could all fit in to just get us by until we have paid off our student loans.

Introducing our new "Swagger Wagon" (this video link makes me snort laughter): 

While it's not as cool as a Sienna, it's paid for, and we're hoping it'll take us on plenty of adventures in the next couple years.

The Day of the Mother

Look a picture of me 8 months pregnant. Isn't it flattering? I did the girl's hair in pin curls and they loved the effect. The girls and Mike made me awesome cards and Mike is finishing the nursery for my mother's day present. He also promised me he would do the dishes and laundry for the first month of our new baby's life, remember honey?  Now here is where I should write something about how much I love being a mom. Ummm. . . I do love it, but maybe you should catch me some other time when I'm not 8.5 months pregnant and dealing with a 3-year-old that hates EVERYTHING. Because I do like it. Really. I promise.

We gave my mom a picture album with pictures of our favorite memories of her in the last few years. I love you mom! Thank you for all you have done for me.

Me, my Grandma Bette and my mom. I sure love these women and I am grateful for the role they have played in my life. Do you think we all look alike?

Here we are on my mom's back stairs.  We were lucky that my Grandma was in town to celebrate Mother's Day with us.

My mother-in-law Shirley is one of my favorite people. We gave her some china to match her other plates. Thank you Shirley for raising Mike. He is amazing, which means you are doubly amazing.  

Preschool Co-op

Kenzie and I have had a great time this year doing a preschool co-op with five other moms and their kids. At the beginning of the year we sat down and figured out a schedule and themes and letters we wanted to teach and then each of us taught every fifth week.

Kenzie is ready for kindergarten, she met some new friends, and she got to experience different teaching and discipline styles. I got to make some new friends, felt like I was making a difference in Kenzie's life, and got to develop some new skills during my preparation for teaching the classes.

Some of my favorite times with the kids were making hot cross buns, playing "man on the moon" with a large refrigerator box and sponges for moon shoes, and having a balloon Olympics. Kenzie said her favorite thing was making a grass caterpillar at Jennifer's house. It was a great experience for us both and I plan to try and do it with my other kids as well.

Happy Graduation Kenzie!

Handing Kenzie her graduation certificate and asking her to share a talent with us (she chose snapping and whistling).

Hooray, throw your hats!

Each kid brought a unique and fun personality to the school. I really enjoyed being a part of it and getting to know them.

Here we are, the awesome moms who did this: me, Jodi, Trisha, Jennifer, Jessica and Sherrie

The Joys of Motherhood in utero

I am now to the point of my pregnancy where the only clothing item that covers my belly are small dresses that should reach to my knees. As it is these dress-like, tent-like, flattering, now-shirts barely cover my belly. My garment tops rest permanently above my belly and below my bust line, giving me a flattering and oh-so-comfortable line.

I also have incredible trouble focusing on (insert funny line about "what were we talking about?") anything. I start telling stories and pause heavily, not just to catch my breath, but also to try and remember what I was saying.

I have banned bending over. My floor is scattered with things that I can't even kick (I might pull a muscle). Socks? Those are absolute torture to put on. And shaving my legs is definitely out of the question (sorry honey).

And the thought that I ever ran anywhere to do anything makes me laugh out loud. And tremble.

Sometimes I look down at my ankles and wonder how I sprained them. They are large and swollen. (And that's not all that's large and swollen, but we won't go into that delicate subject, will we?)

I have gone through a whole bottle of Antacids in the past month. I'm almost out, so I figure this baby has to come soon, right?

How to heft yourself into bed when you are 8 months pregnant

Like most couples, Mike and I sleep in the same bed. When I am pregnant, I mean really pregnant, our queen-size bed seems really small. This is the sleeping routine at our house lately:

We say our prayers. I sit up because if I kneel down chances are that I will not be able to get back up and/or the baby or some other vital organ might fall out. Mike jumps into bed. I slowly, ponderously, grunting and groaning, lift one swollen, super attractive, vericose-veined leg at a time into the bed.

At this point there are two position choices: 1. On my left side 2. On my right side. The problem with both of these positions is what to do with my arms. I have always felt that my arms are long and awkward. I remember those horrible slow dances in junior high where the boy would grab my waist and my arms would have nowhere to go. I would try resting them on his shoulders, but his shoulders weren't wide enough and one or the other of my arms would slide awkwardly down his shoulder to rest on his tricep. The point is, I can't figure out what to do with my arms. Anyway, I choose my right side (although from what I have read I am stopping circulation and my baby won't be as smart on this side), lower my upper torso very carefully onto the bed, wrap my arms around the pillow and wave good night to Mike across its expanse.

The trip from sitting to lying has only taken me about fifteen mintues. Once I am in a lying position, I feel around blindly for the covers--blindly because I can't see past my belly, nor can I reach past the body pillow. Usually Mike will feel pity on me and pull them up. Mike is a cuddly kind of sleeper, so I am pretty sure he feels animosity towards the body pillow. But he is a kind soul too, so he hasn't said anything. And sometimes when I turn over I have to wrench the body pillow from his grasp. So maybe he does like it.

Once I have finally gotten as close to comfortable as is possible with a stomach that weighs more than my husband, and we are drifting off to sleep, him with pleasant, non-remembered dreams, and me with weird pregnancy dreams invovling dinosaurs and realistic-sounding door slams, my bladder starts complaining. So I heft myself out of bed and head to the toilet. Trickle, trickle.

As I back onto the bed again I imagine warning beeping noises, and sometimes for fun I say, "BEEP. BEEP. BEEP," like when a large truck backs up.  Sometimes, after a bathroom adventure, or even just for fun, I switch it up a little and choose my left side. Turning over in bed practically requires a crane, but this way Mike can cuddle up to my back. This is nice for all of five minutes until inevitably, Mike rolls onto his back and the honing beacon in his elbow automatically seeks the small of my back. Then I gently reach behind me and shove his arm away from me and persuasivley try to kick his legs to let him know that he can't touch me.

Luckily Mike is a heavy sleeper and the next day when I recount how many times I shoved his elbow out of my back (5) or had to get up to go pee (8) and shifted the whole bed when I returned he says, "Oh? I slept through it all." 

Someday, not in the near future I know, I will sleep through the night and I will do it on my stomach or on my back. And then I will be singing Hallelujah. And I might stop being so ornery.

Holding Pattern

I'm posting over at Mormon Mommy Blogs today:

"We waited. With engines turned off, the central air on the plane stopped working. I began to sweat. I knew no one, and spoke only a few words of the language. I had known my study abroad in Costa Rica would be an adventure. But now, stuck on the tarmac in Panama, waiting out a lightning storm, my anticipation was tempered with worry. How would I find my host family? What would Costa Rica be like? Would I be safe running alone there? What time would we arrive? Could I learn the language?



Waiting multiplied my worries. I brushed my bangs back into my headband, wiped the sweat beads from my brow and tried to smile as the plane sat on the tarmac."

READ MORE
 

Kenzie's Soccer Season

This year, Mike and I joined the leagues of soccer parents as we spent our Tues. and Thursday evenings yelling from the sidelines and laughing hysterically as little girls converged on the ball like seagulls on a piece of bread, or ran fruitlessly up and down the field, trailing the one girl that was coordinated enough to be kicking the ball. Parents are still relatively good natured and non-competitive at this stage, so there were no sideline fights. :) Although I did sense frustration from some of the dads.

Kenzie got to run a lot, now has a nifty purple shirt and soccer socks, and said she "really, really wanted to score a goal." Her favorite story of the season was, "Mom, remember when I was almost at the goal and I was ready to score and my shoe fell off?" 

Her coaches were great and we had a great time hanging out with Josh and Sherrie and my mom on the sidelines (Kandelyn played on the same team)

Kenzie even got a medal with her name on it, which prompted Hannah to want a medal. I told her if she got dressed all by herself we would give her one. She did it and she's very proud of her medal as well.

Trip to visit Matt and Heidi

When Mike and I first met, Matt and Heidi were newlyweds living in downtown Ogden. We loved going to their apartment and snuggling in their papasan chair. Now Matt and Heidi live far far away and we only get to see them about once a year when they come to visit family in Idaho. We were so lucky that Matt's sister was getting married so we could sneak in a visit.

On Thursday when Matt and Heidi were in town we had a bbq with them and some other friends at Mike's parent's house.

Then on Saturday I, Mike, Kenzie and Hannah took my parent's Astrovan! (we borrowed it so Alisha could ride with us to visit her in-laws) and headed across the border to attend Matt's sister Celeste's wedding reception and then hangout for a couple days.
We love the Russells and were so happy to get to visit with them for a few days!

Trip Highlights:

Eating Charlotte's delicious meals

Petting a baby goat in the Russell's backyard. That's Sarah's little girl, Abigail in the middle and that's Matt's head.

Feeding the Russell's cows. The girls also got to collect eggs from the chickens and see their dogs and bunnies.

After a day on the farm a girl has to freshen up, so Erin painted all the girls' toenails. The world almost ended when I accidentally smudged one of the hearts on Hannah's toe. Luckily Erin fixed it up and Hannah was able to go on.

Our hotel ended up having no hot water, so we never went swimming, but we did manage to crowd all the girls into Randy and Charlotte's bathtub.

One of my favorite things about the trip was watching the girls play together. Hannah, Kenzie, Abigail and Paige loved playing football. When Matt came out and played with them they spent the whole afternoon laughing and running. It was also fun to watch how joyful Matt and Heidi are in their parenting. They have lots of fun with their kids and are always laughing.

We had a good time just hanging out and catching up.

On our last day there Melissa (taking the picture) took the guys rappelling and rock climbing. They had a great time. That night (Tuesday) we loaded up and headed home, only stopping three times in three hours for potty breaks (for me).

And in other news, I am still pregnant.