Positive Pessimism

We had a talk in church yesterday about positive pessimism. Basically, the idea to is to laugh at the less than lovely things in life. Well, and to be honest, this is kinda how I am. I am not especially good at ignoring the unpleasantness of life, but I sure do love to make fun of it, and this is how I find joy. So....here's today's postive pessimism effort.

I may still be pregnant, but at least it is 105 degrees today!

My Favorite Picture

This is my favorite picture right now. It might be because this little girl melts my heart every single day, and she has such a fun personality. When her awesome dad pulled this tooth out, she was so excited! She bounced about the house, showing everyone her "hole" and she made the funniest faces. I love it!!!! I mean it, look at that face, doesn't it just make you laugh and melt at the same time? The innocence, the pure joy, the spark of fun, ahhhh, she's a riot. Every day she comes home from school I absolutely love watching her come to the car. She walks with her siblings until she can see the car, then she starts with a skip, and then runs full on until she reaches me. I love watching her run wildly with her backpack swinging back and forth, as she smiles with anticipation to see me. Kindergartners are awesome.

More updates

More good news. I had another ultrasound yesterday, Mr. Noah is now projected to weigh about 6 1/2 lbs. That seems big enough to me....what do you think? Anyway, his growth looked great, and the worries about him diminished even further. Hooray!

So, if I were a fantastic blogger/mother I might add a cute picture of his little nose, or his precious face. However, I am entirely too lazy to scan those prints. I am spending all my scarce energy on cleaning, quilting, staying sane (this might be a losing battle), mothering, and trying not to nap every time I sit down. I wish I had any desire to write wittily, tell great stories about my kids, or my vastly interesting life. Hmm, instead of that, enjoy an update.

Good News

Yesterday, I go to see the Dr., and I am greeted with some less than wonderful news. My ultrasound to test Noah's growth last week, came back with some abnormal results for his cord blood flow. They are thinking that Noah could possibly be losing weight in utero, which is not great. They promptly scheduled another ultrasound for later that day, performed a stress test, and set me up with Dr.'s appointments twice a week for the remainder of the pregnancy. I am no longer allowed to run (okay, yes, I am still running, but it goes more like this....walk, run, walk, run, walk, run,..etc.). If worse comes to worse, they will have to induce and take him early.

Yippee, the ultrasound came back clean yesterday. The blood flow looked great. The nonstress test went well too, and we noticed that I was having contractions about every 5 minutes....lovely. Anyway, it was an interesting day, to say the least. This pregnancy has blessed me with a number of these kinds of days. The first is when they told me I had a tumor in my bladder, that was a roller coaster ride. Then, later....when I had some more complications, and they said I had a 50/50 chance of miscarrying....., had to wait a week, and then when I got to the office, they let me sit in the room for an hour, and when they did come in it took 5 minutes to find the heartbeat (STRESS!!!).

I guess I am saying, this pregnancy thing is kinda crazy. I am so glad to be having Noah, but there have been moments along this path that I could have done without. I have been so blessed to have all these interesting days cleared up, and have no ill effects from it. I know there are others who have had experiences that trump mine, 3 million times over. However, I have not really enjoyed the worrying this time around, I think my heart rate has tripled.

I am still weeks away from delivering him, but I am so excited to see him, face to face, and know how he is doing. I can hardly wait to snuggle him in my arms, to watch my kids overwhelm him, and see his dad hold him on his chest. These little moments will more than make up for all the "interesting" days we've had in the last nine months.

Check this out!

Madeline is making her web debut on Bj's blog. Go here to see.

Getting Ready

Yesterday I had an ultrasound of little Noah to check his growth. Little Mitch, the stitch, had a shoulder dystocia when he was born, and now we need to check that the little tyke isn't getting too big. Anyway, we all went to the appointment as a family, and I must say it was pretty great (besides, of course, my other children climbing all over the office scaring all the moms to be). As soon as she put the cool gel on my belly, I saw his little face. It look PERFECT! He looked chubby, happy, and just like a real baby (not the little aliens you get to see early on). He is in the right position for his entrance to this world, and he is sufficiently cramped in there. So, what about his size? This is the confusing thing, his head is measuring big, but his other measurements are small. Hmmmmm. They say he is already about 5 lbs. That seems plenty big to me (by 34 weeks). I am a little anxious to get him here, but I know I am not ready yet.

Getting ready for him has been an interesting venture. He is sharing a room with Madeline (the oldest), which meant we had to paint the room. No boy of Bj's would sleep in a pink room! Here's that transformation.

Before

After

There is a long story about the painting that no one needs to hear, let alone go through. Just know, it was a process full of twists, turns, and long hours. Argh. But it is done, and Madeline is a happy camper.

Now, I am spending my days washing clothing my sisters-in-law were kind enough to share, and I am thinking of all the things that need to be done. Pack hospital bags, diaper bags, put the sheets in the crib (but not too early, that little Liz keeps climbing in the crib), get nursing bras, finish those quilts, make a diaper carrier thingy (that is the technical term, I promise), start another quilt (it's terribly cold here in AZ, he needs many quilts), am I forgetting anything?

To say or not to say, that is the Question?

(not a self portrait)

After weeks of hearing some great and some not so great comments on my body, I thought I would write a nice little post to inform the world on appropriate and not appropriate things to say to a pregnant woman.

Things to say: When a woman is pregnant her self esteem is not at it's highest point. A pregnant lady is impatient to get her beautiful, but not fully "cooked" baby out of her body so she can breathe, eat, and generally feel like a person again. This is a time to only say kind and uplifting things.

1. You look great!

2. Wow, you are so tiny!

3. I wish I looked like you when I was pregnant!

4. You are almost done.

5. Wow, I would have never thought you were that far along!

Things not to say: this is a great guide in whether or not to voice your precious opinion.... Imagine said pregnant lady is simply overweight and not pregnant...would you still make your very perceptive comment? If not, DON'T SAY IT! She already knows what you are likely going to comment on. If you must make a comment...say it in your head and move on. If you just can't help yourself, change the comment. If she is bigger than a planet, you could simply say..."You look fantastic!"

1. You are starting to waddle!

2. How far along are you? Oh, you still have a LONG time to go.

3. You keep getting bigger and bigger, each time I see you.

4. Lookin' BIG!

5. Have you been eating a lot of donuts?

6. How much weight have you gained?

7. You have got to be having twins!

Maybe, just maybe, we could leave all comments about the pregnant woman in our heads. Simply treat this woman like the person she is, and forget her personal appearance for now, and give her something else to talk about. You could ask her about a book she's read, if you could do her laundry, how she gets her bathrooms so sparkling, etc.....

That time of year.

Yes, it is that time of year. Alas, we ran out of the beloved homemade jam, and the "stitch" (Mitchell), had been asking about 10x a day when we could make jam. I told him we could buy some jam, and he pulled a nasty face and pronounced the truest statement of all...."but, homemade jam tastes so much better." Yes, he has found the light, he has figured out that most things taste better when they come from the kitchen instead of the shelf. Smarty pants!

You might think I shopped all the great deals, and spent the day washing, and cutting berries. Alas, I found a simpler way. I simply bought the bags of frozen berries from my beloved Costco, and make jam that way. Luckily, I had tons of sugar and pectin in my pantry, so I didn't have to go shopping (I hate shopping, is that okay to say?). I spent the night making over 20 batches of jam, while Bj cleaned out the pantry (I know ladies, you are jealous). After making all this jam, I have to profess that I have a preference in pectin.It is....

Why? This little pouch of perfection uses SOOOOOO much less sugar. And less sugar makes momma one happy lady. Of course, the fruit doesn't go as far, but I feel so much better when I use 1 1/2 cups of sugar per 4 cups of fruit, as opposed to the other... 4 cups of sugar to 2 cups of fruit.

Now, we are fully stocked (well at least for a little while, Lizzy likes to make Jam sandwiches) in berry and strawberry jam. The freezer is bursting with containers of jam, and when Bj makes his 15 PB&J sandwiches on Sunday nights, we have plenty of homemade jam to keep the little mouths happy.

ALREADY!

My kids have been so excited for school to start. Okay, Liz and Mitch have been excited. Mitch woke up at 5 a.m. this morning, and went on a bike ride with his dad (everyone needs to work out before school starts!) Liz came in my room at 6 a.m., and told me to get up. She promptly got dressed, went downstairs, packed her school lunch, and prepared herself for her first day of school. She happily let me curl her hair, and cleaned her room, and did let me take pictures of her. Madeline (although not happy to go to school) still had a happy heart and enjoyed watching her little sister get so excited for her first day of school.

We drove them to school, and took pictures of all the "firsts." Elizabeth gave us a hug and kiss, and happily sent us on our way. Mitchell took his "helping other people" job seriously, and went about telling the new kids where and how to check in and start the day. Madeline surprised me...she got to class and I could tell she was feeling the stress of the moment. Her eyes watered, and she asked me not to leave. This is her first year (she's going into 4th grade) where she hasn't had a best friend in her class room, and I think the unknown of the upcoming year was slightly overwhelming in that moment.

So, here I am at home. Just finished my workout without one interruption. The sheets are being washed, beds are getting made, more laundry is waiting, and still there is QUIET. I think I might be insane to be ending this solitude in about a month. Ahhh, but the joy of a new baby (right?). So, now I am off to finish Mr. Noah's quilt.

Already loved!

I have tons of pictures to download, and so much to write about, but honestly....I don't want to do any of that stuff now. However, I do want to comment on this little guy growing so safe and warm within me. He is already so loved. Each day the kids kiss, cuddle, try to burp, and generally love this kid to pieces. Heavenly Father's plan is so amazing to me. I love that we are all sent to families that are already excited, happy, and ready to love and cherish us. Today, Elizabeth sat and "burped" Noah during sacrament meeting, she kissed him, talked to him, and sang to him. Mitchell gave me the biggest hug tonight before bed, then gave Noah a big kiss and told him how much he loved him. Man....kids really know how to melt hearts!