Done

I'm done with this pregnancy. It just struck me today. I was at work, and very uncomfortable. My hips hurt like crazy, and they normally only hurt at night. I can't sleep. Then I realized that about every 6 minutes I am tugging at my clothes because they do not fit. Yep, my maternity clothes are too small. I'm done.

I also feel selfish for being such a wimp. Thinking of the families in Parkersburg and New Hartford. And also of the Landers as they prepare to head to Africa tomorrow to pick up their children and bring them home to the four who will be waiting anxiously for them.

I have nothing to complain about. But still, I'm done being pregnant. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and I'm going to try and bribe him into some sort of 'get this baby out me' deal.

Prayers for Grandma

My grandma, who lives with my mom, fell and broke her hip early this morning. She'll be having surgery sometime today.

Please keep her in your prayers as she goes through the surgery and recovery. She is a tiny little woman of 86 pounds who'll need lots of stregnth to get back on her feet.

We love you grandma!

Recital

With all the happenings this weekend I almost forgot to blog about Lauren's dance recital...it seems like it was weeks ago instead of a few days ago.

Lauren did a fantastic job. She struggled her way through her solo - it was the routine she knew the least. Her tap duet # was so adorable. She tapped to Elvis' Teddybear. And it was wonderful. I dont think anything beats when she makes eye contact with me from stage and flashes a real Lauren smile for me. Her big group number was fun to watch as well.

The girl just loves to perform for an audience. I really have no idea where she gets that from. Its not me! I asked her before one number, "Honey are you nervous?" She looked at my like I was nuts and said, "Nope, excited!" Although when I hugged her before rushing back to my seat I could feel her little heart beating at about 200 beats per minute. After that number she said, "Mommy, I just prayed that Jesus would help me dance, and He did!" Oh how I love her sweet heart.

The night was a little bittersweet however. For a few months Lauren has been telling us that she does not want to do dance next year. We have to drive to another town for the lessons and it takes up an entire night each week. She gets home from school, quickly eats supper and we are gone and not back till bedtime. I think she is tired of that. So I guess with this recital we are hanging up her dancing shoes. If you would have told me 2 years ago that I'd be sad about that, I would have called you a liar. But I truly am sad. She is so fun to watch...but I wont be the pushy mom who makes her do something.

Hopefully I can post some pictures here one of these days!

One more Avery story for the night...

The kids were all in bed I was doing what I do best...working on my cupboards.
Avery yells down from the old heat vent above my head.

Mommy!
What Avery?!
Well, its boring up here.
Avery, go to BED!


Its not supposed to be a circus Avery, go to sleep!

More contatodes (tornadoes)

Avery: "Mommy, why did you have to go to the dr. last night?"
Mommy: "Uh, I didnt go to the dr. What do you mean?"
Avery: (exasperated)"You had to go to the contatdoe Dr."
Mommy: "Oh! Avery, I had to go to the hospital and work and help the people who got hurt in the tornado. I wasn't hurt by the tornado."
Avery: "oh. So are the contadoes gone now?"
Mommy: "Yes, Avery they are gone and you are safe."
Hugs

Its still very much at the front of their minds. We feel so blessed that Grundy wasn't hit. Praying very hard for the Parkersburg community.

Check

The fridge is clean, inside and out - check

And why does that make me feel so much more ready to bring a baby home? Will it be looking in my fridge?

Dear Jesus...

Thank you for the contatodes (tornadoes) are gone and that Jesus protects. And Jesus, (big sigh) I just remembered that I love my mommy and she is my best friend and I do love her. And also, I love Lauren and my whole family. And Jesus, I do love my beds.
And I love my sister Lauren and I love my family but not contatodes.
Aem.


-by Avery

hair

I am not a hair person. I grew up with six brothers, we didn't do hair. I have a vivid memory of my mom getting called out for an EMS run following my bath when I was about 5. It was either my dad or my oldest brother - 15 at the time - who were left to brush out my very long, very thick hair. Somehow my brother won the prize. It was awful - for both of us as well as for anyone within hearing distance. I remember waking up the next morning and my mom's mouth dropping open when she looked at me. It was bad.
And that was as close to 'doing hair' as we got in my house.

So, this was a real bright idea - I decided to do Lauren's hair for her dance recital tonight - all by myself. I just spent an hour on it. I actually think it looks ok but its lopsided. Also, it took much less time than I thought. We don't leave for recital for like 3 hours. Hopefully it holds up. I dont think I'll attempt this again! :)

Chinese Water Torture

My form of Chinese Water Torture is painting kitchen cupboards. I am on coat 6. SIX!
For someone who dislikes painting under the best circumstances trust me, this is torture.
If you ever come to my house and see my cupboards, humor me. Tell me they are perfect and look beautiful. Tell me that you'd like me to come to your house and do yours. (Dont worry, I'll NEVER take you up on this.)

One down...many to go

The upstairs bathroom is DONE! Flooring complete, love it. New cupboard in place, love it. Junk cleaned out, love it. Decorations up, love it.


Seriously though, it literally looks like we just moved in. Now all the furniture from the girls old room is in the lvr and dining room. We are cleaning the carpet in the NEW bedroom/old playroom and then setting it up tomorrow.

However, the flooring guys so sweetly informed me today that when they do the kitchen floor next week - we cant be on it for FOUR DAYS! Um, we come into the house via the kitchen. Not sure what we will be doing about that!

Still, bathroom - DONE!

New Names

I have renamed our kids. They are:
Mr. Clingy McWhinypants
Miss Naughty St.Cantgotosleep
Ms. Emotional Breakdownerson

It turns out that the renovation is paying a larger toll on them than on us. I feel awful for them.

I see light...

I think it was about a week ago that I said I couldnt see the light at the end but at least I knew I was in a tunnel.
Well after 3.5 days of solid work. I can see the light. Its still only a sliver, but its a light. Many thanks to my mom for watching the kids so much and to Melanie who is helping me repaint my kitchen cupboards - and who keeps assuring me that they will look perfect when we are finished - 6 coats from now! :)

The kitchen ceiling is up. Steve comes back tomorrow to finish up a couple of must haves before the flooring goes into 4 rooms on Thursday and Friday. The windows should be completed in a week I hope. Im excited for the phase that hopefully will start in one week - moving furniture back in and decorating.

Jordan was videotaping the kids tonight and he asked me how many rooms on the first floor of our house were functional. I said 3 out of 6. So then he videoed the LVR which is currently covered in an air mattress, (where the girls had to sleep because of paint fumes), bedding and plates and food because it is also our kitchen/dining room. Then he videoed the dining room which is COVERED in toys and this computer so I then changed my story and said the bathroom was the only functioning room downstairs. The kitchen has no table, no cupboard doors and no drawers. The den is an empty room except for tools and Steve's big equipment - but at least it is painted and ready for me to clean. The girls new room has no carpet and is currently full of cupboard doors and drawers drying. But it is painted and SO cute.

We moved upstairs. The bathroom is TORN APART. The girls' bedroom and Sully's room are cramed with furntiure and other junk. Our bedroom is the room where anything goes that we dont know what to do with. So basically no functioning rooms up there either. Somehow all that has to be combined into either Sully or our bedroom by Wed. night so the flooring can go into the girls' room and the bathroom the next day. Also, the girls have to have somewhere to sleep so I guess they'll be on the air mattress again.

I am just laughing at this point. Last night I was painting cupboards and I started crying - just out of tiredness. Today I am laughing. And I know if I weren't crying/laughing about this; I'd likely be in hysterics about being 8 months pregnant right now. So this is a good thing! Really!! My body is so sore and worn but I did take a nap today and that helped a ton.

Seriously though I am very excited for the next couple of weeks and getting this wrapped up. I feel very sorry for people who live through renovations that take months - this is nothing compared to that. I feel blessed that we've had the opportunity to do this. We are going to really enjoy it when we are done. And then I'll have a month to wash baby clothes and prepare for Dirks #6. Wow, that seems unbelieveable!!! :)

I see it in my dreams...

1. We painted all day yesterday. Jordan took yesterday and today off so we could get make some real progress. Today the little 2 are going to my mom's and I have very high expectations for all that we will get done! :)

Last night I dreamt about painting. Mostly just a hand attached to a brush making long strokes of white paint.
It was not restful!

2. I had a doctor's appt yesterday and due to some regular and 'real' feeling contractions, I had an ultrasound. I am not dialated or thinning at all. He gave me a 1/2% chance of going significantly early. Yeah!
But due to all these contractions and my inability to tell the difference between Braxton Hicks and labor - he said he'll likely induce me 2 weeks early. DOUBLE YEAH!

I see the baby in my dreams too. That dream I like! :)

Oh, and its cute and it has Avery/Sullivan's face. Cant wait!!!

Red Light Mommy!!!!!!!!!!!!

When we are stopped at a red light Avery loves to tell me when it turns green and I can go. Sullivan has recently joined in the fascination of the traffic light.
Until today I didnt think he really knew what the lights meant - just that they are fun to point out. As we approach a light and he'll yell out, Green light! Red Light!

Keep in mind that to Sullivan - everything is blue. What color is your shirt Sully? Blue. What color is mommy's hair Sully? Blue. The world is blue to Sullivan.

Today we were approaching a green light and Sullivan was looking at the light for traffic going the other direction - which of course was red.
He started screaming frantically - Red Light Mommy! Red Light! Avery joined in - she turned and saw the red light for the other direction too. They were both screaming at me to stop.

Now Avery is almost four. She can understand the concept. But seriously, Sullivan understands that I need to stop at a red light?

Anyway, it was very cute. As I slowly turned the corner I explained that they were looking at the wrong light and that my light had been green.

Sullivan says, Ok, mommy. From the back seat. His tone was like, whatever, crazy woman driver.

Goober

I've come close to the part of my pregnancy where I care NOTHING about how I look. If it weren't for going to work 2-3 days per week I swear I'd never get out of my sweatpants and tshirt.

Now please explain this to me: When I'm not pregnant I feel that I can pull together my work attire fairly well and manage to look professional. But today, I arrive at work and within 10 minutes I am informed that I have a huge goober on the back of my shirt. 5 minutes later I'm told that I also have something all over the leg of my pants.
I investigate in the bathroom and find out that the shirt goober is Avery's granola bar and the leg goober is Sullivan's muffin.
And you want to know the worst part? I don't care. If I weren't pregnant I'd go home and change. But there is not one fiber of my being that cares enough to do that.

I've become the mom I SWORE I'd never be...the frazzled, dirty, out of control, unorganized mess. I've given up.

And because I am also an emotional mess I'm torn between crying because someday I'm sure I'll miss finding their goobers on me and wanting to run far far away from children who goober on me.

Someone please tell me I wont stay this way forever! I might go cry now.

More

Jordan ripped out my kitchen ceiling last night. YEAH!!!! and ugh.

Baffled...

You know those women you hear about on the news...the ones that deliver a baby and say, "I didn't even know I was pregnant."

COME ON. What did you think was moving in your stomach? Because the baby in mine can kick and move so hard and so strong that I'd swear my stomach might just rip open or that bones could be broken.
Also, what did you think was going on with your body? Did you think the searing pain in your hips was just some normal thing?

COME ON!

Mother's Day 2008

Every year I struggle to find an answer to Jordan's question: "What do you want most for Mother's Day?" Usually my answer is; a nap.
This year I didnt struggle with my answer. All I wanted was a PRODUCTIVE WEEKEND!

And I'd have to say I got it. Along with a nap today. The den/playroom is painted and ready to be cleaned and put back together. The trim is all up in the girls new room and it is really starting to look great. It is very exciting for us to see. We still have some priming and painting to do but we are close and so is Steve, our 'builder man'...as the kids call him.

The new flooring gets laid on the 22nd and 23rd so we have less than two weeks to really finish things up. But we are getting close!!! :)

It was a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. I had breakfast in bed and I love seeing how much the kids want to please me and make the day special, especially Lauren. She has such a sweet, giving spirit. She is going to be one amazing mom someday.

One Heartbeat at a Time

I've reached the overly emotional state of my pregnancy. Everything makes me feel like crying. This song was sung at our church service this morning and it was a little too much for me on Mother's Day. So I thought I'd share...

One Heartbeat at a Time - Stephen Curtis Chapman

You're up all night with a screaming baby
You run all day at the speed of life
And every day you feel a little bit less
Like the beautiful woman you are

So you fall into bed when you run out of hours
And you wonder if anything worth doing got done
Well maybe you just don't know
Or maybe you've forgotten

That you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time

With every, "I know you can do it"
And every tear that you kiss away
So many little things that seem to go unnoticed
They're just like the drops of rain
Over time, they become a river

And you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time

You're beautiful, so beautiful
How you're changing the world, yeah you're changing the world

You, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
I believe that you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time

My list

I made a list of all the things that I need to get done at home in order to feel ready for the baby.

I feel better now.

The potty is acky.

Sullivan doesnt have too much interest in using the potty but I think he's getting closer. He has told us he needs to go and made it to the potty ONE time which may or may not have been a fluke. Since then, little interest. He does kind of like to sit there though.
Lately when he goes #2 he'll come tell us. Another good sign I believe.

BUT then today came.

He came into the LVR and said, "I pooped." I said, "Sullivan, you have to go poop in the potty, not in your diaper."
Sully said, "No. Potty's ACKY!

Great, he thinks the potty is acky!??!?! That will surely help.

And for the record - my toilets are clean.

Lauren's chipper.

Lauren's class has a monthly feature called, Author of the Day. A topic is selected and a note comes home telling us the topic and the day Lauren will present.
We've had lots of great topics, my favorite relative, my lucky day, my pet, etc.

This months is My Talent. Lauren took great care in selecting her talent to demonstrate. She finally settled on golf. She wanted to show off a couple of her different shots.
So Jordan was working with her and he told her to tell the kids what she would do when it was time to chip.
Lauren said, "First I need to take my chipper out of my bag."

Jordan of course had to stop her right there and go through a whole lesson on golf terminology.

Personally, I think calling it the chipper makes PERFECT sense and is one of the cutest things I've ever heard.

Uh, part II

The insulation mess is almost taken care of - its 9:10.
The kids were border line awful tonight. And I know its because mom and dad are paying no attend to them except to tell them to stop doing something.

Now we get to paint!

I was in the basement finishing up washing the bedding a minute ago and Jordan came down from mopping the upstairs. He asked if I cared if he went on a bike ride. I think he thought I was going to freak out because we still have so much to do.

I said sure, get out of here for awhile.

I'm a little worried he may never come back. Seriously.

And honestly, at this point, I'm not sure I would blame him. I think I'd just be jealous that he thought of it first.

Uh...

Probably about 9 a.m. I got an email from Jordan informing me that I needed to be prepared - our house was a disaster and we are going to have to clean the entire upstairs - top to bottom - before anyone can sleep up there tonight.
I emailed him back and simply asked, "Are you trying to make me cry?"

Apparently insulating made a bit more of a mess than we had anticipated. A bit of a head's up from the contractor would have been nice. And finding out prior to 9:30 p.m. the night before they showed up would have been nice as well.

But I'm not complaining.

Anyway, I'm leaving work to go home and get started.

Cute

Cute #1.
Sullivan was very excited by the big trucks, trailers, men and equipment scattered all over our yard and house this morning due to the insulation crew.
We were standing in the yard and I was trying to convince him to get into the van.
I said, "Sully we have to go now, say good-bye."
He looked up at me and with the most serious expression said, "Bye mommy, I stay"

Cute #2
I dropped Avery and Sully off at Stacie's this morning and I was almost out the door and I hear Avery suddenly screaming my name and crying. I stopped and went back in and she was standing right by me.
I said, "Avery, honey, what in the world happened?"
Avery, "I just forgot to tell you that you are beautiful today."
Then she turned and went back to her friends.

What will I do when mornings aren't this fun? :)

Pooped

Well I can't say that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but atleast I know I am in a tunnel - so I know there is an end! :)
We (and by we, I mean mostly Jordan) primed and painted most of the weekend. But between having a lot of family in for the weekend, trying to enjoy the beautiful weather and spend time with the kids, we didnt get quite as far as we wanted. The kids loved being in the midst of chaos. It was actually fun for us at first too, but by the second day when Sully had stuck his hand in the paint for the third time and Lauren and Avery were fighting over who got to climb the ladder and who got to help paint - it was far less cute to have to paint with 3 kids ages 6-2 hanging around!

Here's what we accomplished:
a) the girls new room is completly primed, the purple walls are done and the ceiling is almost done. We still have to do the trim to do but we arent sure what's going up yet. The closet doors are also almost done.
b)the den is primed
c)the piano is gone! no one cried - we just all said good-bye

Tomorrow the insulation guys are coming and then tomorrow night Jordan and I will finish up all the painting in the girls room.
I'm hoping that the flooring people aren't coming this week because I really need to get the bathroom painted before the flooring in there gets installed.

Anyway, my back feels like its torn to shreds and I no longer have anything that even resembles ankles, we are going to put the brushes away and call it a night.