My new best friend

I would like to introduce you to my new best friend. Her name is Breyers' No Sugar Added Double Churn Ice Cream. Kind of a long name, so I just call her my daily treat. :)

Really those bananas behind the ice cream should be my best friends, but ... well, you know what tastes better!

Today the kids are SO MUCH better. They got up, asked for breakfast, and were off playing. Audrey decided that she wanted to play "Handy Audrey" so she set up tool boxes for Carter, her and me. Then we all had to wear special hats, our snow boots and jackets. Here she is "fixing" the toilet. I love that she is wearing a skirt with her handy-girl getup. :)

So now that the kids are better, I shifted into MAJOR nesting mode today. Rearranging furniture (don't worry I didn't lift anything too heavy), organizing the toys, and getting Carter's bed set up were my big accomplishments. So tonight we decided to try out both kids in the bunk beds. After some giggling and tattling and Carter falling while trying to get into the bed, it finally got quiet in there.

Although I have to admit, I had very mixed feelings about putting him in the big boy bed. After I set it up, I went to strip the sheets off his crib and move his stuffed animals, and then was surprised by how sad I felt. He is still my baby ... at least for 4 more weeks. And I kinda want to keep it that way. I'm going to miss going in and getting him out of his crib ... but I'll adjust :) Just more changes to deal with, I suppose.

What I've been up to ...

Once again, I haven't been blogging much lately.

This is why:

Sick boy Carter (notice the "tarp" laid down in case of barf!)

Sick girl Audrey

I have been locked inside these four walls since Friday night. Audrey has been sick since very early Saturday morning. Gotta love waking up at 3 am to puke down the side of a brand new bunk bed. Sorry to be gross. I really didn't care so much about being up... I was worried about Audrey. I hate to watch the kids be sick. And she has been lethargic and feverish ever since.

So it was just a matter of time ... yesterday Carter came down with a fever. Fortunately he only threw up once. And this morning he was mostly back to normal.

But poor Audrey, she still was looking so terrible this morning ... four days after first getting sick. I ended up calling the doctor. Of course, as always happens, she started perking up (after four days of NOT being perky) right before we went for the visit. I've decided that from now on, when the kids get sick I am calling the doctor immediately because then for sure they will be all better lickety split! And it will be the best $15 I ever spent. :)

Anyhow, I pretty much had a breakdown this morning. I felt so tired and so overwhelmed and I was having a hard time seeing Audrey look so pathetic. It was upsetting me so much that I kept walking out of the room crying. I don't know if hormones are part of it, but I was losing it. So I did what I have always done when I feel that way ... I called my mommy to come save me! Well, in reality, I usually try to handle these things on my own - I feel bad imposing on other people, even family - but I thought about how I would feel if I were my mom. I would WANT my kids to call me when they need help, no matter what their ages! And I knew my mom would want me to call. So these are the days that I am especially thankful that we live close to family. She came and everything seemed a little bit better. I was also just glad for the company - it was getting kinda lonely around here!

Thankfully, things are looking up. This evening both the kids were up and about and playing together and even ate some dinner! Praise God!

So meanwhile if you think of it ... PLEASE pray that I don't get the dreaded illness. I'm trying not to worry about that ...

photoless wednesday ...

I've noticed a number of bloggers who have a "wordless wednesday" post - you know, where they just post a picture and nothing else? Well, I really don't have any exciting pictures to share, so I will just be using words today :) Besides, lately our days involve rearranging furniture, running errands, sorting clothes, getting rid of extra "stuff," and kids playing inside (and wishing they were outside). Not really the makings of any beautiful photos.

Our house seems to be one big pile of half-finished projects right now. Not because we really want it that way, but between getting ready for baby, busy weekends, and not getting enough sleep ... well, the progress has been slow.

And I am tired. The reality of carrying around a nearly full-term baby is setting in. Not that I'm complaining - the tiredness and discomfort really last for a short time - but I just am not moving as quickly as I have been. And it is getting harder to keep up with the daily stuff PLUS the other organizing I want to do before the baby arrives.

On Monday I also found out that I have "borderline" gestational diabetes ... basically one of my four blood draws from the extended test came up too high ... so I am having to change my diet for a little while. As I told Chad, I am not allowed to eat all my favorite things! No cake, candy, cookies, and the worst of all? No ice cream. I said to the doctor "You can't take ice cream away from a pregnant lady!" But she did. :) I have to say - I'm not missing stuff like soda, lemonade, candy, etc. but I AM missing my mint chocolate chip. Anyhow, again, a small price to pay for a healthy baby and a healthy me.

All in all, I am just really grateful to be able to have this third baby. Back in the day, after I miscarried the first time, I wondered if I would be able to even have a second child. So this third child is just icing on the cake for us. I am getting excited to see what God has in store for this little one.

And I am additionally really thankful for friends and family who have been more than generous with us - with lending clothing, helping with home improvements, babysitting our kids, buying our kids' bunk beds, sharing their wisdom ... you know who you are. We love you.

"I thank my God every time I remember you." - Philippians 1:3

a baby shower!

For the past two years, Chad & I have been part of a "small group" through our church, Grace Valley Fellowship. A couple of years ago, after having been a part of another small group, our pastor encouraged us to think about starting a new group, one that would incorporate some of the newer members of our church. At the time, I found the idea of that a bit overwhelming and I admit to having a number of "fears" (mostly unfounded) about doing so. I actually wrote about it here. But I am oh-so-glad that we took on this ministry because it has been a blessing and a joy to us in many, many ways. First and foremost being the people that are a part of our group. They have become treasured friends and surrogate family to us. We have grown together, prayed for each other, learned from each other, laughed together, cried for each other, rejoiced over answered prayer together, etc, etc. I just love these people, can you tell??

This past week, our group had decided to have a barbecue to "kick-off" the summer. Only ... unbeknownst to us ... our friends had also decided to make this a surprise baby shower for us! I have to admit ... they got us good. I had no idea. Actually, when I walked in and they yelled "surprise" I was wondering what the surprise was for ... Duh. We had a great evening at Daniel & Julie's house, and they definitely have the gift of hospitality. It was a ton of fun!

I happened to bring my camera so I actually have photos! :)

Cake & goodies

Talking, eating, and hanging out on the deck

More talking, eating, and hanging out inside

Katie came up with a baby shower game - The guys were timed on how fast they could diaper and dress a "baby" while holding a phone and being distracted by friends ... we figured most of us girls were pretty much pros at this, so only the guys had to do this game! I won't say who, but someone was disqualified for picking the baby up by the head :)

Erik won this game. You can tell he has two kids already ...

Opening gifts

Modeling the clothing :) We received some really cute girl stuff. And I'm going to blatantly promote my friend Patti's business here ... she gave us the most absolutely beautiful baby memory book. Handmade. It's like a scrapbook and baby book in one ... and all you have to do is fill in some pictures and information! And she sells them and you can check out just how great they are right here at http://jack-and-lucy.com.

Thanks so much, friends! We are so thankful for you.

Unmet expectations

Today I had convinced myself that it would NOT be a good day.

I began my day with an early three hour trip to the Phoenixville Hospital lab to take the extended glucose tolerance test, because yes, ladies and gentlemen (okay, just ladies, I don't think any men really read this except maybe my husband) -- I failed my one hour glucose test. Yup, maybe I should have just kept putting it off after all! :) Anyhow, I was absolutely sure that I would feel sick, dizzy, and have a massive headache all day long from the blood sugar rush. As I walked into the hospital I realized how anxious I was feeling about the whole thing, so I just prayed that I would be at peace and endure whatever happened to come my way.

Well ... it truly was not bad at all. I ended up chatting with another mom through part of the first hour ... then one of my neighbors happened to stop in over the second hour so we chatted awhile ... I did some reading ... I watched all the interesting people that came through during my time there ... and I left ... WITHOUT a headache or any side effects. I was hungry, that's about it.

I went on to have a perfectly lovely day with the kids at the park, where we enjoyed an impromptu picnic and I felt as energetic as any other day. I was so elated to NOT feel bad. I even felt extra patient with the kids all day long.

Hmmm. Maybe I should expect that every day will be awful, and I can be pleasantly surprised by my average stay-at-home mom day more often? :) Or perhaps I should more eagerly put my day in God's hands, and ask Him to help me to be at peace and endure whatever might come my way.

Dad's handiwork

As previously posted ... it's been a busy weekend. I just wanted to post a couple pictures while I have the chance, and before the week gets too busy and I forget all about it. Next weekend we will be traveling to Long Island for my sister-in-law's baby shower (her baby girl is due 6 days before mine!) and a celebration of my father/mother-in-laws' 40th anniversary. So things are probably not going to slow down any time soon!

So here is a picture of the awesome pantry/hutch that my Dad made for us and that we installed yesterday. Okay, I had no part in installing it. Chad and my Dad did it all. But I did keep the kids out from under foot. :)

Can you believe how cool it is? And oh so much storage space! I started organizing today, but I need to get more storage bins for all the kids' crafty stuff and my table linens.

The bunk beds were also put together yesterday, and Audrey has been sleeping up there ever since. It looks like someone else is enjoying the bunk beds too! :) I'd post a picture of the whole shebang but we still need another mattress and to set up Carter's stuff in there too. Poor Carter will be living in girly land for a while ... till we can de-girlify it more. Don't think he really cares at this point!

And just for fun ... Audrey "styled" my hair yesterday and took a picture of her own handiwork. She insisted that all the neighbors would think it looked SO cute when we went outside to play ... Don't I look adorable??? haha

I'm going to quit now so that for once this week I can get to bed by 11 pm. I feel like I spend half the morning trying to wake up these days!

Change is in the air ...

This week has made the arrival of our baby girl seem a WHOLE lot more real.

For starters, I scheduled a "birthday" for her. It seems a little strange to me to pick something like that, but such is the life for the c-section mom. So ... July 16th it is. Why that day? Well, it had to be a Tuesday or Thursday (the days that my OB practice does their "scheduled" sections), and it's right before my due date of July 20th. (I also prefer even numbers, but I'd rather not get into my weird idiosyncrasies ...) I'm really not in a big hurry for the baby to come out super early either. I guess I just don't really mind being pregnant, and I want the baby to be fully "cooked" so to speak. Plus I need all the time possible to get my act together. There are less than 7 weeks left till delivery day! Yikes.

Meanwhile, we have been busy nesting around here. While Chad was off for the week, he painted our bedroom. I still have a lot of work to do there, including ordering some new bedding and putting stuff on the walls. The kids' bunk beds came the other day, and Chad put them together this morning. Audrey is at this moment spending her first night on the top bunk ... and oh so excited to be up there! Carter is still in his crib since we have yet to get another mattress for his bottom bunk. (Yet another unfinished project ...) And this afternoon my Dad and Chad installed our new pantry/hutch that is taking up most of one of our kitchen walls. It has SO much storage space. AND it is beautiful, and handmade by my Dad. AND it matches the rest of the kitchen. AND ... did I mention all the storage?? (Having 2 and soon to be 3 kids in this modest home makes me absolutely SWOON for storage!) :)

If only I had more energy and kid-free time, I could get so much more done... but it is what it is right now. So we are plodding along and trying to get as much done per day as we can.

Oh, and to throw a monkey wrench in it all ... I got my results back from that darn glucose test, and my sugar levels were elevated. So now I have to go get the 3 hour test. I am SO not looking forward to it, although as one wise friend pointed out - when else am I going to get 3 hours to myself? ALL TO MYSELF. So I'm hoping to at least get in some reading while I'm there. :)

I'll try to post some pictures of our "updates" soon. But I can't promise anything right now ... :)