i'm.crowded.roll.over

We could easily sing the "5 little bears in the bed" song each morning in our house. I'll say it (not that I'm proud of it), but I rarely get out of bed before my children.

Josh gets up before it's even considered morning (still the middle of the night in my book). He's up somewhere between 5:00 and 5:30...ick.

Amelia is always next up. She climbs into bed with me and brings with her a few items: pillow, bunny, giraffe, taggie, and about 20 books. Once she gets in bed (mind you, it's still dark outside), she says, "Read to me!" Ummmm....no. I tell her that it's still time to be sleeping. Thankfully, she almost always goes back to sleep. Unfortunately, she takes up 1/2 of our queen sized bed with all of her stuff.

Next comes Meredith. She climbs into bed right next to me on the right side. Amelia is on my left (in the center of the bed). And I just want to sing a little ditty to the baby...."here I am, stuck in the middle with you..." Meredith goes right back to sleep.

Finally comes Claire. Amelia is always awake when Claire is ready to get into bed with us. She always shouts at Claire, "No Claire, my pot!" (Pot=spot). Amelia eventually decides (every morning) that having Claire in bed too isn't the worst thing in the world. She scoots over, pats the bed, and says, "Right here, Claire." Claire climbs in.

We all lay there for about 5 minutes. Everyone talks about how squished they are...except me....although I truly feel like I'm the most squished of everyone. It wouldn't even be so bad if Amelia would take all of her stuff out of the bed! :) Then we read or talk or whatever. There's really no more sleeping at this point.

But this is our routine every morning. It's predictable. It's memorable. It's us. And I know it won't last forever.

Well, this moring, once Claire was situated, she looked over at Amelia. She says, "I love you, Amelia. You're so sweet." Amelia replies in the sweetest voice, "Tanks."

These are the parts of life that I love and want to remember. Oh, and once baby arrives? Well, we might need a bigger bed!

baby.love

So, I've been thinking so much about this baby lately.  Last night I was longing to hold our little one in my arms and trying to remember what it's like to hold a newborn. 

I was thinking about how hectic life will be in our household when there is one more little person that is vying for my attention.  But what's new?  He or she will be the most needy and the least needy all at the same time (at least for a few months). 

As I sat on my couch last night, I thought about how Claire and Meredith will be constantly wanting to hold the baby (which I'm sure I won't really mind too much), but I also thought about the time after the girls go to bed.  I thought about one-on-one time with my new little bundle and pictured him or her curled up on my chest just snoozin' away (mouth open, of course). 

Being that this is most likely our last baby, I have mixed emotions about everything.  On one hand, I'm thrilled to know that in a year my body will be all mine for good.  No one will stretch my torso skin waaaaaay bigger than seems humanly possible.  No one will wake me every single night to eat.  I won't have to diaper bottoms.  I won't have to look at a high chair in my kitchen.  I won't have to lug around a baby carrier or a stroller.  These things I will not miss.

I will, however, miss this incredible feeling of having a child inside of me.  It truly is the most miraculous thing I have ever experienced.  I wish I could bottle up the "feeling" of carrying a child.  But I can't. 

I find it extremely interesting how I can read back through my blog posts and recall memory after memory and emotion after emotion.  But someone kicking me and rolling around inside of me?  In a couple of months, I'll quite possibly never live it again.  And there are no words for me to write that will bring me back to where I am today. 

Last Sunday, I had one of my photographer friends come over and take maternity pictures of me.  I've wanted them for all of my other pregnancies, but we never found the time to get them done (for some reason, we always seem to be in the midst of crazy times in our life when I'm pregnant).  I vowed to do it this time!

I haven't seen any of them yet, but I'm just so thankful to have gotten them taken.  I think between my last 3 pregnancies, I have a total of about 5 pictures of me pregnant.  I didn't want to let this one pass me by!  Even if I can't remember how I felt, at least I'll be able to remember how I looked.

Thinking back to my other pregnancies, I don't recall my other babies being this active in the womb.  I'm not sure if I don't remember correctly or if this baby is just more active.  I also remember getting almost a sick feeling at times when my other babies would move around so much, which isn't the case this time.  Maybe I'm getting more tolerant in my old age. :)

I had to laugh when I saw my pregnancy ticker say this week, "Soon I'll be too big to move as much as I can now."  I'll be surprised if this baby slows down too much!

Being pregnant with baby #4 has been the sweetest experience to share with my girls.  They have loved (and that's putting it lightly) feeling the baby move.  All 3 of them will crowd around me if I mention any movement at all!  And Amelia often assures me that her baby is kicking as well. :)  Don't even get me started on that topic...I can't believe that she's not going to be our "baby" in a couple of months. 

I really didn't mean for this post to go on and on, but I just feel like I need to document this time.  I have about 8 weeks to go before they'll take the baby by c-section.  Sometimes 8 weeks sounds like a pretty long time.  But our days simply fly by around here, and I am very much aware that it will be here before we know it. 

Everyone says to treasure these times, and I promise you that I try (most days!).  But it's like anything, you can't even begin to appreciate what you have/had until it's gone.  When you're in the midst of it, life is downright crazy!  And, rest assured, I'm not complaining...I fully realize that I have a lot on my plate.  I have chosen this path in life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  It is beyond sweet, and I couldn't even begin to count our blessings. 

In light of all of the good things that we've been given, I'll leave you with this:
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

Thank you, Lord.  Amen.

pregnancy.brain.round.5

The other day, after the computer died, I took it back into the office to plug it in for a recharge.  I proceeded to grab the cord and plug it into the side of the computer. 

I hit the power button.  Nothing.  I hit it again.  Nothing.  Hmmmm...

Serious business here.  This is usually very simple. 

Then, I figured it out.  Plugging the printer cord into the computer does NOT bring the same results as plugging the power cord into the computer. 

Problem solved.

And pregnancy brain strikes again! :)

hi-yo!

One of the cutest things that Amelia says right now is "hello". She gets all of her sounds mixed up. One of her mix-ups is y's to l's and l's to y's. Each time she says hello, it comes out like this (in a sing-songy voice):

HI-YO!!!

It really is one of the most adorable things I hear on a daily basis.

some.stuff

Can I just tell you all that I'm feeling incredibly blessed today?! Josh and I are getting ready to go out on a date tonight for the first time since who-knows-when...seriously. I'm soooooo excited!! We're hitting a local pizzeria and going shopping. One of the best parts is that we're having one of the best babysitters EVER watching our kids. Thanks Laura! :)

So, check out this absolutely adorable nursing cover and covered wipes container that I made for my sister-in-law, Kay:

I was secretly hoping that she wouldn't like the pattern, and I could keep them for myself! Didn't happen. I'm considering making the same one for myself because I just love it! Is that weird?! I'm sure she wouldn't care. I'll have to check out my fabric options again and see what I think.

Happy Monday to all of you! Have a great week!!

interesting.thought

I was on my way to the grocery store to do my shopping last night.  I was returning a phone call to my mom on the way.  She said, "What are you up to?"  I said, "I'm on my way to the grocery store."  She says, "It's freezing outside!!"  I said, "The kids still eat...even when it's cold!" :)  Funny isn't it?

Then we went on to discuss the idea that if the temperature dropped below a certain point, the kids wouldn't be hungry and wouldn't have to eat. 

I definitely decided I would be much more of a fan of the long winter months if this was the case.  Wouldn't you agree?! :)

Welcome winter!

january.menu.plan

In the middle of December (when we were making sugar cookies!), I realized that I hadn't posted my December menu plan.  Oh well.  Such is life!  So, I decided that I would make sure I was all over January.  By the way, if you'd like me to post any specific recipes that aren't linked, let me know.  I'd be happy to do it!

January 2-8

1/2: out to lunch

1/3: breakfast casserole with blueberry muffins (new recipe from America's Test Kitchen)

1/4: tacos

1/5: pork stir-fry

1/6: chicken pot pie

1/7: steaks and chinese fried rice (new recipe...we're studying China!)

1/8: leftovers

January 9-15

1/9: beef and noodles

1/10: frozen pizza

1/11: pancakes

1/12: out to dinner

1/13: crock pot roast

1/14: honey glazed pork chops

1/15: creamy chicken and wild rice soup

January 16-22

1/16: leftovers

1/17: slow cooker beef stew (new)

1/18: chicken burritos (new...freeze one for next month)

1/19: chili and cornbread

1/20: south korean bbq beef (new...studying South Korea!)

1/21: corn dogs

1/22: pepperoni pizza pie (new)

January 23-29

1/23: ham steaks on the grill

1/24: 40 clove chicken in the crock pot (new)

1/25: hamburgers

1/26: chicken and noodles (with leftover chicken from 1/24)

1/27: baked potato soup and salad 

1/28: homemade bbq chicken pizza

1/29: no cooking!

January 30-31

1/30: spaghetti

1/31: cranberry roast (new)