We have a baby!!

And it's a.............

very long story.

The labor -- well, the labor is its own little ball of wax. Nothing major, just long. And by long I mean 3 days of very little sleep and lots of contractions. We did end up being induced the night before, which was not fun for me at all. I wouldn't change a thing though, as it's all gone the way that I know it was supposed to.

Actually, as I was laying in bed Wednesday night, fighting through some very painful contractions for the third exhausting night in a row, I started to get discouraged. I started to doubt myself. I started to question the way it all was going. I started to cry and swirl negative thoughts around myself.

Then I realized what I was doing and heard my husband's voice in my head...he had been saying all along that we were going to be positive. We were going to say positive things. We were going to have the positive experience that we wanted. (When we were walking the halls of the hospital at 3 am Wednesday morning before they sent us home...I told you the labor was its own story...I told him that I was positive I wanted to go home and sleep.) He was asleep on the little pull out sofa bed in my room and had no idea that my sleeping pill had worn off when I started diving into my little negative pool. But I looked over at him and just knew he wouldn't stand for it -- if I woke him up to tell him what I was battling through -- and he would be right.

So. I made a decision to just knock it off and I went back to my word for the year. Trust. I made that the focus of my prayers that night. Trust in myself and my body. Trust in my husband. Trust in the doctors and nurses caring for myself and my baby. Trust in our family to care for Mitchell and Georgia. Most of all, trust in The Lord and His plans for all of the above.

My decision to meditate on and pray for the trust I so desperately needed to give myself over to resulted in a huge surge of the strength, hope and encouragement that I so very much needed at that time. It's the best thing I could have done for myself, and you know what? Things started to turn around shortly after I made that decision.

As long and drawn out and painful as my labor was, my delivery was equally as quick, painless and wonderful. I can honestly say that this was the best delivery of the three and that I would do it all again in a heartbeat without a second thought! One of my favorite things is that while we waited for the doctor to arrive (yes, I had to sit and breathe through some contractions and fight the urge to push!) I decided that I wanted Chris to tell me who this baby was. So, when the doctor finally arrived, I told him that I wanted it to be my husband who announced the news about it being a girl or a boy. That was a great decision -- it was so wonderful to hear the joy and see the delight in my husband's face as he pumped his fist and yelled

"Yes!! It's a boy!!"

I remember just crying and laughing, all at the same time and being about as full of happiness and gratitude as one person could be for the healthy new life that we were welcoming into this world and into our family.

Mason Lawrence arrived at 12:33 pm on Thursday, July 31st. He was 7 lbs, 12 oz and a lengthy 21 1/2 inches long. He has a head of black hair and is as sweet as can be. My mom made the comment this morning that we'll need to label all of the newborn pictures or we'll get his and Mitchell's mixed up -- he is the spitting image of his big brother. Well, except that Mitchell was totally bald. But put a hat on them, and it is a pretty striking resemblance.

We are beyond thankful that he is a healthy little man. Believe me, I don't take it for granted that we were able to stroll out the doors of that hospital with our baby boy just days after his birth. As we waited for the elevator to come, I said a special prayer for all of the mommies and daddies in this world who don't get to do the same thing, and an extra special prayer went out for those people in my life who have had very different endings to their own birth stories.

As I rode in the car after leaving the hospital, hand-in-hand with my very best friend in the world, we remarked how different our journey home has been with all three kids. The first time, I honestly couldn't believe they were letting us go home and wondered how they could be so certain that we could keep him safe and healthy without help. The second time, we were bathed in pink, marveling at how much things had already changed and how we just couldn't believe we had TWO children. This time, we left feeling happy and relaxed, grateful and proud. It was like the thing we never knew was missing was in place, and we were the last ones to know how good it would feel.

Well, Mason is beside me and starting to squirm around, which means he'll be ready to eat (again) in a minute. I'll leave with some pictures of our magical little guy and the very proud family into which he was born.

Hi. No, I haven't had the baby yet.

This is how I've started all of my phone calls this week. Especially if I'm talking to our parents. It first hit me when Chris was calling them yesterday morning to see if they wanted to go to the baseball game with him today. He *rarely* is the one on the phone, so I think seeing our number on caller ID and hearing his voice probably put them into a tizzy. I was sitting next to him as he talked to my mom and I heard this.


"Hi, it's Chris." "Oh, we're fine." "What? Oh, no. Nooooo...not yet. Sorry."


So, ever since then my new strategy is "Hi, it's Tara and I haven't had the baby yet" when I'm making phone calls. It seems to be working pretty well so far.


Not much of an update to give today, really. Just figured people would be looking for one about now. My due date is Friday -- I always had Sunday down, but I guess it's Friday, the 25th. As in 2 days. I have a dr. appt Friday morning and then if there's no baby, my induction will happen next Friday, August 1st. If you're wondering about my history -- I went into labor on my due date with Mitchell and with Miss G at 40 weeks, 6 days...the day before my induction was scheduled. So...not sure what to tell ya other than to buckle up for another week. (That's what I'm telling myself anyway.)

Good news though -- Chris is now walking "with two legs", as Mitchell puts it. Crutch free! Hooray! We successfully moved Georgia into Mitchell's room and they have had a relatively event-free first week of sleeping in the same room. I just this morning finished moving her clothes out of the nursery and into their bedroom and got the bin of baby stuff unpacked.


So. Now I'm ready.


That's the bad news. I'm running out of "busy work" like this to distract myself with. It's also been in the 90's almost all month, which you know - is just really fun for me and my water ballon/sausage toed feet. I do anything and they plump right up, so I'm doing house stuff in spurts. OH WELL. I really, truly am trying to enjoy it. I promise!!


We are enjoying having Chris home with us. The kids have gotten lots of Daddy time, and I've gotten lots of Mommy laying down with her feet up time, so it hasn't been too bad so far. I hope that you're all enjoying a fun, safe summer with your own families! I think my next post will be *the one* so until then...blessings to you all! I'll leave you with a picture of my two little buddies and another one of the most patient-but-absolutely-dying-to-meet-his-little-brother-or-sister Big Brother I've ever known with the belly. Ya know - sort of a Wordless Wednesday with a twist.

Still going...

Just a quick fly-by to let you know that yep...still pregnant. Feeling pretty good actually, all except for the feet. Pretty sad when only 3 pairs of flip-flops fit. (The tops of my feet and my toes are so swollen I can't wedge them into anything else. Sort of like those chubby little baby feet, only significantly less cute.)

I have another doctor appointment tomorrow, so hopefully nothing will be going on again. Chris is almost off of his crutches (Friday), so next week would be okay. The following week would be great! As always though, the only one who knows what's up isn't sharing the big plan.

In the meantime, we're hanging out and enjoying our time together. I think I've finally checked everything off of my baby "to do" list and feel ready to go in that regard. I believe the most impatient person in our family may very well be Mitchell. He simply cannot WAIT to meet his little brother or sister! It's so cute how excited he is.

I will leave you with some pictures from the 4th of July - and a belly picture, since I know you will ask for one, Jennifer P! We enjoyed a quiet time at home with my parents and hope that you all enjoyed your holiday as well. It certainly is a privilege to be able to celebrate the amazing blessing of being an American!

Never a dull...well...you know!

So. First things first, yes - still pregnant. I'm due now just under 5 weeks from now, and probably unlike 99% of pregnant women who are due in the middle of the blazing, hot summer -- I'm hoping that I don't go any sooner than that.

Why?

Well. For starters, my husband had knee surgery yesterday. He has this degenerative condition in his joints and basically is working with a bad batch of cartilage in both knees. The surgeon wasn't sure what he would find when he got in there. See - he just had a scope done, no massive cutting or anything. BUT - if the doctor would have gotten in there and found little to no cartilage left, then he wouldn't have been able to pin anything. He would have just cleaned stuff out and called it a day.

What he did find was quite a bit of cartilage that wasn't even completely detached and so the result is hopefully a good one for the ol' hubster. The surgeon thinks that he'll heal quite nicely and have a much reduced level of everyday pain as a result. That's the good news.

The bad news? He is to be completely non-weight-bearing on crutches for 4 weeks. Originally we were told 3 weeks, but now it is 4.

Oh, and no driving. For. Four. Weeks.

PANIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's me. Trying to get him to/from work is one thing. NOW, add the anxiety of being apart from him, with no car and the thought of me going into labor. Yeah. Like I said, panic.

It will be fine. It will work out. We are VERY blessed to have many friends and both of our parents in town, all of whom would GLADLY drop anything and everything to rush to our aid when and if we need it. I know this. I just -- well, I'm hormonal and emotional and it makes me about break into hives when I think about it. I'm a planner and this has thrown me for quite the loop.

This is all quite funny if you think back to what I chose as my word of the year.

TRUST.

Think I'm being challenged/encouraged to actually KEEP that word as my motto for the year? I mean, really. Our house didn't sell after 10 months on the market. We are having a baby we didn't exactly "plan" to have. And now I'm not sure that my husband will be able to walk, drive, etc. when this baby arrives.

Yes, I believe I really am down to one option. Trust.

Oh - and just FYI, I'm WELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL aware that I have it exceptionally good. After breaking into emotional tears this morning with my husband, he was quick to point out that if I really wanted to be overwhelmed, I could picture myself in this same situation living in Iowa. Or with him stationed in Iraq. Or worse.

And he's right. That's actually what brought the whole "trust" thing back to the surface for me. This is all working out the way it's supposed to. I know that. Unfortunately for me, it might not have the word "perfection" written all over it the way I expected it to - but I know that it will be okay.

*IF* I trust.

By the way, we do have history on our side. I didn't go into labor until my due date with Mitchell, and Georgia was 6 days late. So, there ya go. (Yes, I'm aware - it doesn't mean this one can't come early, I'm just saying that is not my pattern up to this point.)

So. Here I sit. With a gimpy hubby, two summer-crazed kiddos, a huge belly and a house that is no longer on the market. What does it all add up to?

A life I wouldn't trade for anything, a whole heap of hope and a renewed trust in Him that everything is going to be just fine.

The opposite of music to my ears...

Misery loves company, which is why I have thoroughly enjoyed reading Janelle's blog lately.

Wait. That sounds wrong.

I'm not enjoying the fact that people are being rude to her in the last stretch of her pregnancy, it's just that I'm happy to have someone else in the club. Lately, I have also had at least one person every single day make some sort of bonehead or insensitive comment.

Yesterday, it was boys on the brink of puberty that got to me.

We had to get the oil changed in the van since we're taking a little road trip this weekend. There is a little park that the kids like not that far from the Grease Monkey, so I decided that was how we'd spend the 45 minutes. I had both kids loaded up in the stroller and was hoofin' it as quickly as I could. It was at least 80 degrees and let's face it, pushing two kids in the stroller on a hot day is not the same experience that it was a few months ago.

Anyway - the path to the park runs behind an elementary school. The kids just happened to be at recess on the playground that backs up to the path. (I'm sure you can see where this is going.) All is well, we're talking about all of the geese, ducks, and bugs that we are seeing as we walk when I start hearing older boys' voices (the school goes up to 8th grade) calling me from the playground:

Hey, you!
Lady - look over here!
Hey, you in the blue stripes! (In hindsight, they were horizontal stripes. Probably not a good move.)

Now see, I just wasn't in the mood. I guess maybe I should have played along and given the kids the benefit of the doubt to see what they wanted, but I had seen them on the play structure as we approached, and they were being pretty rowdy. I just didn't get a good feeling about what they wanted to show me. (I sensed a bare butt or two, if I'm honest here.) So, I just decided to ignore them and keep walking.

Well.

They didn't seem to care for my choice. Pretty soon the same voices were following me with:

Hey, fat lady pushing the stroller!

Hey, you - with the big, fat stomach!

Hey, fatty. Where ya goin'?

You'll be happy to know that I didn't even turn around...even though I was tempted to do many things, none of which would have been appropriate for my kids to hear or see me do.

I just kept on walking, and thankfully (or should I say mercifully?) Mitchell didn't seem to hear them either.

But UGH!!! I think I might have preferred to get mooned.

Ahhhhhhh.... (that's me breathing, by the way)

That's my new strategy...Breathe.

Breathe again.
Breathe some more.

Physically, I feel pretty good. I get tired, of course, from growing a little person in here - but for the most part, I really can't complain. I mean, my left hip is killing me and the heartburn stinks...just kidding! Seriously, it's been a pretty easy pregnancy so far. By the way, the new little baby thing on my sidebar - sort of wacky how (s)he floats around in there like a little slow-paced pinball, don't you think? I mean, I know this one's floating too - that one just looks like it's on the moon or something. And also - I put that there so you can know how far along I am even when I'm flakey and don't post for a month or something. I get that "when are you due??" thing a lot, so thought this might help!

Anddddd...because it's my blog and I can interrupt myself if I want to - I will tell you that Mitchell felt the baby kick for the first time today! Oh, goodness - that is for sure in my top ten Mommy moments right now. I got all welled up because he just got so, so, SO excited! He is a bit on the impatient (or five year old) side of life, so before today when the baby has been kicking he hasn't managed to stay still long enough to feel it yet. However...about half an hour ago I was sitting here putting pictures from his first ever soccer game onto the computer and the baby was ripping off some good ones so I called him over and wouldn't you know it -- BOOM. His eyes grew so big and just absolutely lit up! He said "Mommy, was that the baby? Did it kick me?" When I said yes he got the giggles and was just over the moon. He felt about three kicks, I think. I can still see his face and hear that laughter -- oh, goodness. It was magical. When I was pregnant with Georgia, he was still pretty young so he didn't really "get it" but this time, he is definitely hooked up with what's going on, so it was a wonderful moment. I just wish my camera's memory card wasn't in the middle of moving those soccer videos so I could have taken a picture of his face!

Oh, and speaking of soccer: (ummmm, yeah - can you tell how nicely this will flow today?) I have to tell you that this whole thing of him being on a team has been hysterical. Our little wallflower has decided that he is just going to jump in with both feet and his personality is coming right on out of his ears! The team's practices are Sunday afternoons and we didn't know it (wouldn't have gone anyway) but the team practiced on Easter. The sad thing for Mitchell is that they also gave their ideas for a team name at that practice -- he was SO excited to throw out the idea of "The Buffaloes". I mean, his heart was SET on it. So, when he found out that they could only vote for three previously suggested ideas, well - that just was not gonna fly. (I was at home with Miss G for her nap, so Chris relayed this story to me, just so you know.) Apparently, the coach asked him for his vote and he said "Well, I'm just gonna call myself 'The Buffaloes' then!" The coach said "So you don't want to vote?" And he said he didn't. Then two seconds later, he did. And the winning team name?

The Fighting Machines.

I am pretty sure that was not the idea of the one little girl on his team, but I don't have proof. Other than, well - the name itself. Proof enough that it's not the work of a five year old girl, don't you think? Anyway - during his first game last night he apparently growled on the field the whole time he was playing. (Again, information from Chris. I was in the car with a sick baby girl.) I asked him about that this morning and he informed he that he was pretending to be a tiger. We agreed to maybe not growl during any more soccer games.

Anyone who knows Mitchell is probably not all that surprised that we had to make such a request.

Okay, so - back to me and my breathing. Physically, pretty good. Emotionally - well, it depends on the exact moment in time that you ask me. Yesterday, count yourself lucky that you didn't ask me. My husband did and whoooo - I bet he is still regretting that one.

BUT. My new strategy: breathing. Why breathing? Because. First of all, I have to, right? Second of all -- does it get any more simple than that?

Breathe in.
Breathe out.

I've been trying to be grateful for the little things in my life. The small joys. And breathing is one of them. So, when I get overwhelmed with it all - I just try to breathe and be grateful that I can. I just focus on being still, chilling out, and seriously - just being. If only I had a dollar for every time the scripture, Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God..." has come into my life lately.

Seriously. All over the place. So, I decided to listen to that and give it a whirl.

Guess what? It works. It seriously works. It's really given me some peace and calmed what I can only describe as an inner restlessness that I've felt lately. So, it's my new thing. I breathe.

Okay - I will leave you with a little snippet of Georgia cuteness. Yesterday (the day she was deservedly a crankpot) I heard her on the monitor waking up from her nap. She was talking and calling me, so I came up and opened her door. It appeared that she had fallen back asleep as I was coming upstairs, so she was laying on her tummy, facing away from me. When I opened the door, she picked her head up, turned and gave me the biggest two-year-old glare you have ever seen. She then stood up with her hair looking like she'd just walked out of a wind tunnel and loudly proclaimed "You no wake up ME!!!"

I couldn't help it. I laughed.

Which made her even more mad, which made me laugh even harder. One mention of finding some juice made her smile and say "Okay, Mommy - get me outta here!" Ohhhhhh...that girl is cute even when she's spitting fire, I tell ya!

Thanks for putting up with my randomness today. Feels good to just let it all hang out again. And oohhhh baby, is it ever hanging out! :) I added two of my fave crockpot recipes to the sidebar today, by the way. They are super yummy!

Laying low...

Hi, friends.

Just doing a quick check-in to let you know that I'm still here, everything is still fine, I am still plodding away. Here's a brief catch-up of what's happened lately...

*Sorry to leave you hanging on the house thing. It actually ended up snowing the day that the people who were really interested were supposed to come back for a 3rd showing. Their parents would have had to drive over an hour each way in good weather, so they just didn't come. My worst fear came true and in the week that followed, the couple who was once so interested in our home took a little drive and found a newer neighborhood about 10 miles up the road that appealed more to them. So...back to square one. As I told Chris, I wouldn't have been so bummed out about the whole thing had I not known how close it was. If I just knew that they'd had a 2nd showing and then nothing - at least I'd know, well -- must not have been for them. But we knew more -- that if their parents liked what they saw, they'd be writing us an offer. Just knowing that a snowstorm is what kept the pieces from falling into the right places? Hard to swallow. However, I'm aware that the same God we've been trusting in throughout this whole process is the author of that storm, so there has to be a good reason. Maybe it would have fallen through at closing. Maybe the next house we're meant to buy isn't on the market yet. Ohhhh... this brain of mine. It has me running in circles sometimes. So, *sigh* there's that.

*I'm 21 weeks along now and everything is fine and dandy with our little baby. It was a relief to get that great information from the amnio results and just know that everything is okay. I did send a long letter to the doctor who was so ummmm -- what was he? Let's just say the doctor that we were extremely disappointed in. At my last appointment with MY doctor, she was very sympathetic, apologetic, and glad to hear that I was writing a letter. She asked to be CC'd on it - that way he would know that she would also get a copy. I feel better not just whining about the treatment we received.

*The kids are good. Mitchell had his first soccer practice yesterday. He had so much fun and was so excited. I think he'll have a great time. Georgia started a Mommy & Me gymnastics class today. The first half was great. The second half was miserable. She loved the first half - especially the long, skinny trampoline that is literally half the length of the gym. Not so much in love with stopping the trampoline time. The rest of the session (probably about 15 -20 minutes, I'd guess) she spent in a crying, screaming, meltdown tantrum. Good times.

*Chris and I are good. We are keeping each other's chins up during this little uncertain time. Where will we live? What transitions do we need to prepare for? I've had some changes with some of my clients. He's still adjusting to his new position at work. We were both very let down with the house thing. Good thing we have each other. That's all I can say. Being married to my best friend is a very, very, very good thing.

I'll leave you with something that he told me I absolutely had to blog about. We got our dates mixed up and so I lined up my parents to watch the kids on Saturday, when really our little night on the town with friends is in two weeks. My parents (and the kids) were already excited to have a sleepover, so we got to have a night to ourselves. Well, being the wild and crazy kids that we are - we decided to go to Bennigan's for dinner, since we had a coupon. (And seriously, that's all we did. We came home, I put on pj's and fell asleep at 8:00 pm while Chris fell asleep at the same time in the bathtub. I'm telling you -- we are just pathetic sometimes.)

Anyway - so we're at Bennigan's. Not sure if you all know that it's an Irish American neighborhood restaurant/bar place. They get ALL kinds of excited about St. Patrick's Day over there. We arrived to two bagpipers (so not kidding) playing us in the door. I personally thought it was a little over the top, but hey -- I'm not so much a fan of REALLY loud bagpipes at Bennigan's. Could just be me.

So, we go in and sit down and I pretty much right off of the bat decide I need to use the restroom. (Par for the course these days.) So, I tell him what I'd like to drink and excuse myself. As I'm finishing up and getting ready to come out and wash my hands, I hear some women enter the restroom. They don't have to actually go -- they seem to be camped out in front of the mirrors chatting.

Now, girls - I'm about to give you a little lesson. If you ever want to see exactly how extraordinarily large you can feel, get yourself about halfway through your 3rd pregnancy and try this one. Oh, and it helps to be wearing a t-shirt and track suit.

I exit my bathroom stall and walk out to find three completely gorgeous, young, thin and non-cellulited women who were representing Killian's beer in the bar. They were all dressed in tiny, green tank tops, even tinier black mini (and I mean mini) skirts, and knee-length, black leather high-heeled boots. They were standing there fluffing up their hair, applying (more) lipstick and lipgloss and chatting about their shirts. One girl was telling one of the other girls that she didn't like the way her shirt fit because it was too big.

*Here's where I say "Excuse me" so I can wash my hands.*

The other girl says "Well, what size did you order?" She replies "A small. I should have ordered an extra-small like you did, Michelle. Look how much better yours fits."

At this point I realize that I now have to wedge back through the girls to reach the paper towels.
I swear to you, I wasn't trying to, but I was leading with my belly. I dried my hands off and waddled out the door as quickly as I could.

I sat back down in our booth and laughed as I told Chris the story. (Well, tried to tell him, actually. Those dang bagpipers were circulating around the restaurant and decided to camp out near us right about then, and I seriously had to semi-yell half of my story.) He said "Oh, I think that's gotta go on your blog. That is TOO funny." He's convinced it's not the same without actually seeing me re-enact my belly-leading waddle to the paper towel machine.

So. Anyway. You are now officially caught up with me.

I don't know -- I might try blogging more often here again. I just am kind of in a little funk (again, I know - I'm aware) and get sick of rehashing it over and over. But I'll try. Sometimes blogging actually pulls me out of it. I'll also try to make the bloggy rounds more often. I've been spending more of my down time reading these days -- sort of a little escape of sorts. But I'll try.

Love and hugs, bloggy friends. Love and hugs.

Just an update...

I should really be cleaning up the living room right now - it looks like a strong wind blew everything around, but I was too tired to deal with it before bedtime. Basically, I broke my own clean up before we go upstairs rule tonight. I also sat in my bed with Mitchell and had a fudgesicle date. Usually a squirrely, 5 year old boy + chocolate + my bed is not going to happen, but tonight, it worked.



Anyway - I know I sort of said "Hey, I'm having an ultrasound today" and then disappeared, which wasn't very nice of me. We did have our u/s last Tuesday, but it turned out to be somewhat emotional and confusing so I just decided to avoid the update thing until we knew what was what.



Because of my *cough* age, we were having a Level II u/s done. When I scheduled the appointment, the receptionist asked if we would be doing an amnio. I said that our strong inclination was to not do one, but that I didn't feel comfortable 100% turning it down. She said she'd put us in an "amnio" spot for our appointment, which meant we could meet with a genetic counselor, get any questions answered, etc. and then if we decided to do one after the u/s we could, and if we decided not to, that was fine.



Okay - I did say I would nutshell this, right? No? Well, I'm going to try. I'm sort of too tired to relive the whole entire thing at the moment, and I *have* to clean up the living room - it's bugging me.



Short version...right...short version.



We had the u/s. 99% of everything was absolutely perfect. Amazing. Still so absolutely amazing to see that tiny little person swimming around in there! The spine is what always looks so completely awesome to me -- I'm not sure why, but I am always thinking "Wow!!! Look at that!!!" Sweet feet, precious hands, everything was just so fun to see.



Now, about the 1% that was not so perfect. Basically, they saw something called a "bright" or "ecogenic" bowel, which means that part of the bowel looked as bright white as the bone around it. This can be attributed to the baby having swallowed some "uterine debris" (ick, huh?) or possibly having some sort of infection. On the much more serious side, it's considered to be a soft marker (more coincidental than diagnostic, particularly when in isolation) for some chromosomal abnormalities, like Down Syndrome for example.



Like anyone, this difference made us a bit uncomfortable as we listened to the possible explanations and their wide range of severity. Thankfully, this was one of the first things that the u/s tech commented on and it was followed by nothing but positive, right on track measurements and development.



So. We were left with the option of having an amnio done. Or not.



They told us that if it was the uterine debris thing, most likely if we came back for a follow-up u/s in 4-5 weeks, it would be gone as the material would be reabsorbed. Would that inspire more confidence that nothing else was abnormal? No, was the answer. (This is the extremely abbreviated version.)



All I can say about the actual doctor (a reproductive genetic specialist, or something like that) is that he was loud, pompous and EXCEPTIONALLY inappopriate about voicing his opinion. Again, to shorten the story -- he pretty much downright offended us in communicating his opinion about what he would do and why. We made our decision in spite of his advice, because we felt like it was the best choice for our family. In the end, if something was seriously different with regards to our baby's health and/or development, we decided we'd like to know sooner rather than later to prepare not only ourselves, but our children and our families for some things.



We went ahead and had the amnio done -- and whoa, nelly -- that was pretty painful. I think that half of it was because the doctor had me so worked up and emotional (and keep in mind I'd been awake since 2 am that day) that I couldn't relax at all. At. All.



Today I spoke with the genetic counselor and she gave us the wonderful news that everything is fine. There are no chromosomal abnormalities, and since I tested negative for the cystic fibrosis screening -- that is not a good likelihood. It was just so nice to get that reassuring news.

Had to edit since Rebekah reminded me that I didn't share boy/girl info. *sigh* Here's the thing, I want to find out and hubby doesn't. So we decided not to. But I'll tell ya, when she asked if I wanted to know yesterday and I knew this wasn't based on a guess on the u/s but was like FACT information, I had a hard time saying no. I also had a hard time not calling back. I told Chris last night I *almost* called back. He said it was up to me and he wouldn't be mad if I just couldn't take it. I think I just need to get over it. If he wants to be surprised and it's our last hurrah, then I should give him that chance. So, it's a surprise baby. We are both guessing boy.

And noooooo way could I keep that secret. No. Possible. Way.



And now I'll be writing a letter to the doctor about his behavior and lack of professionalism. He disgusted me and I'm appalled every time I reflect on his words and attitude. Just awful and simply unacceptable. Ack. Almost went into detail. Can't! Must go clean!!!!



ANYWAY - there you go. (And trust me, this truly was the biggest nutshell ever.) I came down with a pretty nasty virus/cold thing the same night as my u/s -- I think between being awake for 20 straight hours (I took Chris to a basketball game that night) and my emotional state being completely out of whack, my immune system was pretty weak. Now that I'm almost over it, I'm feeling pretty good again.



So, I'm off to clean the living room - here's a bonus -- especially for you, Jennifer P -- a picture of me right after Georgia's 2nd birthday party (that will be another post this week). We un-invited both our brothers/their kids and my grandparents since I was a sickie. Both of our parents decided to throw caution to the wind and still came -- my dad took this picture as they were leaving. I was absolutely exhausted and literally just climbed into bed (clothes and all) for a nap about 2 minutes after he took this. Enjoy the belly -- 18 weeks exactly in this photo.

It's that time again...

...as in, the middle of the night. *sigh*

Most of my 2005 posts were probably made between the hours of 10 pm and 8 am. I was pregnant.

Hi. It's 3:25 a.m. at the moment. I'm pregnant. *yawn*

I'm just sayin'...this seems to be my thing. I believe that I brought tonight upon myself as I ate too late (and something a little sweet) and had horrid heartburn and well -- here I am. Law & Order is always on almost all night and usually will put me back to sleep. Not tonight.

As long as I'm up, here are two (as Chris calls them) "bloggable" moments from this week in our house.
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Here's an almost hourly conversation with Georgia this week. NO idea what it means or where it came from but she's pretty satisfied every time I play along.
Georgia: Guess what, Mommy!
Mommy: What?
Georgia: Charlie Brown! (cha-ee bon)
Mommy: Charlie Brown?
Georgia: Yeah.
(Uhhhh, nope. You're not missing anything. That's it. That's where she happily runs off.)

****************************************************
Mitchell made me get all teary-eyed at dinner on Valentine's Day. I made breakfast for dinner and the highlight for the kids was the pink, heart-shaped pancakes that I made. (In hindsight, very strange. I try pretty hard to not give them red food dye if I can help it and then I gave it to them on purpose. Go figure. I had planned the heart-shape thing earlier, but the pink idea came to me at the last minute. Next year, it's raspberry and/or strawberry puree in the batter, baby.)

Anyway, he was getting himself another pancake from the kitchen and Georgia said "More cakes?" as he was getting up. He brought the whole plate back to the table with him and said "Maybe we can share one, Georgia!"

We then watched with pride as he completely unprompted proceeded to tear a pancake in half. He put one half on his plate, then put the other half down on his placemat. He asked Georgia for her fork and began trying to cut the other half of the pancake into smaller pieces for her. He was pretty unsuccesful at that, so he put the fork down and began tearing off bite-sized pieces for her. Every time he'd hand her one she'd say, "Ank u, Mitcho" and he'd smile so big and tell her "You're welcome, sweetheart."

*sniffle* It was seriously just the sweetest thing. Chris and I just sat there and watched. Well, he sat and watched with a smile. I watched, smiled, and cried...'cause, well - that's what I do.
*****************************************************

I'll leave you on a good note: I have my big ultrasound this morning. In 4 hours. Guess I better try again for some sleep, huh? Oh, and no - not finding out what we're having but praying for a healthy whoever is in there. I'll update you on that front soon.

Night, night. (See -- look at me, being all optomistic and stuff. Pretty cheery for 3:39 a.m., huh?)

Ummm - definitely need some work.

Not really time for a big post, but as I previously mentioned -- I'm in the process of digging out in many areas of life. I've been trying to find time to put back into my time in the Word and in prayer. Well, yesterday I tried (not so bright of an idea in retrospect) to do my Bible study lesson while the kids were playing quietly.

Quietly lasted about 2.2 minutes.

I have to laugh this morning because looking back, the lesson I was in the middle of was about balancing priorities, making wise choices, and spending time with family. I was really enjoying what I was reading and learning and thinking about.

When quietly ended - so did my patience. I ended up getting pretty testy with the kids. Yes, right smack dab in the middle of my Bible study lesson.

What a nerd!!

So, yeah -- I've got my shovel out and I'm digging the best I can, but there is much work still to be done around here. (Oh, and by the way, I know that pobody's nerfect and all of that - it's just so humbling to think of the fabulous timing I have.)

Hope you're all well...I'll be checking in again soon. I promise! I will even try to get a picture of my ever-growing belly. It is starting to freak me out size-wise -- it's something to behold for me as I'm much bigger than I was with the other two at this point. (I know that's typical for a 3rd baby - but whoooeeee...a little intimidating to think that I still have 25 more weeks for it to grow!)

Toodles, my friends.

Buried.

Okay, for starters... I have sort of gotten myself into a rut. Okay, not sort of. I just have.

I'm sick.
The kids are sick.
I'm tired.
I'm pregnant.
I just don't have time.
Repeat.

The above has been my mantra for the last oh -- three weeks or so. For everything under the sun.

Cleaning? Mantra.
Time in The Word? Mantra.
Exercise? Mantra.
Fun stuff with the kids? Mantra.

Okay - now I *will* cut myself a little bit of slack. I have been sick. The kids have been sick. I am most certainly pregnant. I don't know if I've EVER been this tired in all my life. True. All true.

But.

I can make a good mantra. I can get myself out of this "buried" condition. A month or two ago I was happier than I'd been in quite some time. I was eating fantastically. I was spending time in The Word each and every day and loving it. I was participating in two Bible studies regularly. I was working out several times a week.

Now -- not so much. For any of it. *sigh*

I do, honestly - feel buried. Under the blahs. Under life.

But I can get out. I know I can. And I will. So, no worries.

Okay - so speaking of buried. Here's that post I mentioned like a month ago that has been knocking around inside of my brain. Ironically, it's about things being buried, too.

Alot of our stuff is in storage right now. Obviously, not things that we use every day or on a somewhat regular basis. Most of the stuff are things that we want to use again in the new house (wherever that may be) -- train table, formal serving dishes, our overstuffed rocker recliner, etc.

Well, when we went to get our stuff out for the holidays (ALLLLL of our Christmas decorations were in there), I was struck by how buried it all was. How boxes and boxes of other "stuff" made getting to what we were actually looking for so very difficult. We had to wade through very tiny walkways, stand on desks, etc. to make sure that the box at the very bottom of the back pile was indeed Christmas stuff.

Then, once we got all of the things out that we needed, we had to put the rest of the boxes and items back in...only they didn't fit the same way. There were gaps and holes where the things we'd taken out had once been. Now some boxes stacked akwardly. Some furniture had to be rearranged again. Things like that.

It just struck me as we drove away how similar that is to my own heart and the "junk" I have stored in there. Sometimes in order to dig deep and get to the things that I really need to have and deal with right now, I have to unpack some other things that I didn't even know were jumbled up in there. I guess the thing that jumped out to me is that so many times, I have things buried in my heart and half the time, the things I have to deal with in order to find what I'm looking for I thought I'd dealt with long ago.

Here is where I'd usually elaborate, but it's taken me two attempts to get THIS much written down so I'll stop here. I'm 12 weeks along now and am off to the OB's office in a few hours for my 2nd appointment. I'll keep you posted.

A sincere thank you for all of the love and "where are you" check ups. I'm here. I'm tired. I'm fine.

I'm buried, but digging out.

Still here...

Thanks for checking on me, friends. I'm still here. Not feeling all that horrible, but not feeling all that great either. I had my first appointment at the OB's office on Monday and all is well. I even got to see the little bean on an ultrasound, so that was reassuring. My due date is now officially July 27. I've just been really, REALLY tired so blogging has been put on the back burner until I can keep my eyes open past 8 pm. Plus, I've been enjoying the fact that my husband has been getting home earlier and we've been spending time together at night. This week I have got to wrap presents as so far, I have wrapped ONE. Probably not a good pace I'm setting.

Seeing as how it's Wednesday and I'm in a rush to get Mitchell to school so that Georgia and I can go finish my shopping, I will just take the Not-So-Wordless-Wednesday path today. I *do* have a more thinking cap type blog in my head -- it's been there for about 2 weeks now -- maybe this week I can find a few minutes to get it down.

Love and hugs to all my bloggy friends. Hope you are wrapped in the love of Christ as the day of his birth draws near.

Our first family gingerbread house. We were sort of over it by the time we got to the windows and the wreaths. The kids loved playing in the backyard after the snow. Unfortunately my camera batteries died after these two shots. That last one is of Georgia after she face planted. Doesn't she look thrilled? It was pretty funny - she is SUCH a drama queen.

Mini-Me Friday #10 - A Biggie!!

So...I expected to get some questions as to why I hadn't been updating my Mini-Me stuff, but I guess you were all just assuming that I'd already fallen off the wagon or something. Naughty people! You're supposed to be holding me accountable over here!! *wink*

Well, I can tell you this. I am going to be changing the focus of Mini-Me Fridays from a weight loss journey to a weight gain journey. You see, sometime near the end of July, there will literally BE a Mini-Me. Or a Mini-Chris.

Look what I found last Monday:


Yep! Baby Number 3!!

Yep! Total surprise!! (Yes, we know how it happens, by the way.)

Yep! We're excited!!

Nope! Don't have a preference for what we're having!!

Yep! Feeling pretty good -- nausea off and on, but otherwise just fine.


So, there ya go. The biggest Mini-Me update yet. Oh, but in case you're wondering -- I still plan to exercise throughout this pregnancy. I think it's funny that *I* of all people am actually excited to get the 3 new pregnancy dvd's that I just ordered this week. I am sure that I have already gained back all 8 of the pounds that I lost...I have been an eating MACHINE this week. I think that the brakes have been applied though -- last night was my first big food aversion and it was a biggie. I'm feeling more queasy today than I have pretty much all week, so I'm guessing that I'm entering "that phase".

Well, anyway -- there's the big news! *big, deep breath* We are looking forward to seeing all that God has in store for us with this newest little blessing.

What a great day!!

And I didn't even have my baby!! :) I know, I know...if you've read any of this then you're wondering how it's possible that my miserable self managed to enjoy an actual day of pregnancy at this point. Well, it's simple...my hubby and my little boy did it for me.

We got up yesterday morning, lounged around, ate some breakfast and got Mitchell ready for school. Chris and I dropped him off together -- he did pretty good again, yay! -- and came back home. Neither of us had showered yet, so we did that and decided to try and eject Georgia with another DTD session -- obviously unsuccessful, but we did laugh through most of it. Finished getting ready and had a nice lunch at Quiznos. I swear, they have the BEST sandwiches, but my good gracious they're expensive. It was $17 for a kid's pack and our 2 sandwiches. At a sub place, but oh well...we chowed down. :)

We picked Mitchell up, who promptly informed us that he had a great day!! Hooray!! Oh, and EVERYONE was like "You're still pregnant?" Um, yeah...thanks there Captain Obvious and crew. (See me rolling my eyes.) Seriously, what do people expect your response to be? I'm SO over telling people about my last appt, how far I'm dilated, when our induction appt is, blah blah blah. Just wish us well and move on with your lives, people. Oh well, that was the last time I have to endure that torture, because he doesn't have school again until Tuesday and that will be baby-having day if she doesn't come before then!!

So, after we got Mitchell settled in the car with his lunch, we drove to the fire station to get the car seats checked. I've had M's seat checked there several times and got the information off of our hospital's website. Well, we pull up and I go to ring the doorbell for some assistance and there's this sign on the door. "Due to city budget cuts, the educational programs and car seat checks have been discontinued." :( Isn't that sad? We called my mom to have her look on the internet and the only other place doing any checks yesterday was like a 45 minute drive. No thank you. (Besides, Chris wouldn't waste the gas -- hee hee.) So, that's still on the ol' "to do" list. I think there's a place doing them today so we might swing up that way and get it done.

So...Chris asks if I want to go see my Grandpa at the cemetary. I was talking about him earlier in the day and how much I miss him, and we didn't end up making it out around Christmas so I said sure. Mitchell fell asleep in the car, so we just left him in there while we visited the gravesite. (It was like 100 yards away -- don't worry.) Usually I just like to go see, remember some special memories and say "Hi". Well, I got really emotional yesterday -- just kept thinking about how much he would LOVE spending time with Mitchell and how he's probably hog the cuddling of one Miss Georgia Reagan upon her arrival. I just started crying -- poor Chris. He said he didn't mean to make me sad --well, duh. Not you making me sad, buddy. I just miss him a lot, but I'm glad we went to see him. I know he's watching over us.

So, Mitchell was awake when we got to the car so we changed his pull up and drove to the BEST park a few miles away. The boys had an absolutely FANTASTIC time together. They were climbing and sliding and running and jumping. Just having so much fun. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, so that was a bonus, too. We let Mitchell play for about half an hour and then decided to get some walking in. There is a little pond you can walk around at this park, so we headed that way. It was like paydirt for Mitchell -- TONS of ducks and geese flying in and swimming in the melted section of the frozen pond, and on the other side, a HUGE excavator and dump truck working hard. He saw the truck after hearing the "Boom" from the rocks being dumped in and said "Whooooaaaaa...look at that, you guys!! That's AWESOME." :) So, we watched the trucks for awhile, then we watched the ducks/geese for awhile. He would just giggle like crazy when they'd fly in. It was such a fun time! We took my 40 week belly shots in front of the pond, actually.

Then we coaxed (okay, bribed) Mitchell back to the car with the chocolate chip cookie from his kid's pack lunch. Drove home and we all just bummed around until we were hungry for dinner. I watched Oprah and took a nap, not sure what the boys did -- they watched the repeat of the Daytona 500 and played ball, I know that. Then we got up, went to dinner and came home. We watched the Olympics and read with Mitchell. (By the way, Mitchell loves to watch "The Impics." :) Put him to bed and called it a night.

It was such a fun day. Chris and I were talking while we were driving and I told him I was so sorry that he was missing work. He said that he wasn't sorry at all. He said the reason he works so hard is so that he can enjoy some family time without having to worry about having enough vacation or sick days -- he can take them when he needs them. Says he doesn't have one ounce of guilt about not being at work -- said this IS paternity leave. I'm where I'm supposed to be. He also told me that there's a big wide world out there that he misses every day by sitting in his office and to be able to see it through Mitchell's eyes and share it with us as a family is his favorite thing to do and he wouldn't trade it for anything. It was really nice to hear him say those things because I really felt like my little false alarm meant he was wasting his time -- he thinks he'd really be wasting all of our time if he was at work. Sigh. Love him.

Not sure what's up for today...and I kind of like it that way. Don't get me wrong...I'm still READY for her to make her entrance and join our family, but another day like yesterday wouldn't be so bad.

Strange goings on...

Well, I had some pretty good contractions last night during Georgia's normal active period. Enough to make me stop what I was doing...and enough to start timing them when Chris got home. They were like 10-15 minutes apart most of the time. The funny thing is I got REALLY tired and just conked out, so I think I probably slept through quite a few of them last night. I'm HOPING this is the start of something, but who knows.

Chris was going to go to work today but decided he'd rather stay home -- doesn't want to leave me. I'm glad. We'll see what happens.

This sucks...

Okay, so EVERYTHING has annoyed me today. Mitchell woke up in a cranky, sassy mood and that pretty much put me in the same frame of mind, unfortunately. It's just hard not to start off on the wrong foot when you have a whiney, sassy kid following you around being mouthy at 6:30 a.m. Poor Chris -- I think he just really tried to stay out of my way today, which was probably smart. He took Mitchell to run some errands after lunch and they showed up at home with some ice cream -- even smarter move. :)

I don't know...I just felt sort of "on edge" today. Not mad, not upset, just very irritable. Mitchell didn't take a nap today so we're getting ready to head up to the bathtub and then bedtime early tonight. He's so cute...he's sitting there reading books to himself right now. I asked him if he wanted me to read to him and he said "No, mommy...I'm reading by myself." It's so cute to hear them read the stories in their own words. His favorite book right now is "The New Baby" by Mercer Mayer. He reads it probably 5 times a day. Hope that's a good sign.

We decided that Chris will go back to work tomorrow and Friday so that he can take 2 more days off next week and not go back to work until the 13th. That would be great if it works out like that...we'll just see.

I've had lots more contractions yesterday and today...when I have them now, it's strange. It's almost like it frames Georgia -- like I have a cinder block in there -- gets all boxy. They're definitely stronger and more obvious, but not hurting and not regular...yet. We'll see. Chris did leave to go coach his mock trial team...maybe that's all it will take!! Him leaving for that and threatening to go back to work and we'll trick her out! :)

Anyway...at least we'll come home to a clean, much more organized house. We got a LOT of stuff done today...sorted through the toys in the living room, moved some up to Mitchell's room, moved books/office stuff out of the other half of Mitchell's closet, etc. I also did the floors again, dusted, and cleared out the junk mail. I think I'll throw a load of laundry in tonight after I put him to bed and then I'll call it a day myself.

Did I mention I'm ready for her to come out? I am...very ready. Sigh.

Trying to enjoy it...

After we put Mitchell to bed last night, Chris and I were laying in bed watching tv and talking. I think he's probably so sick of hearing "Are you excited?" "Are you nervous?", etc. Seems like I'm always trying to see if his current emotional state matches mine. He's such a sweet guy though, never sighs or rolls his eyes like "Dang, woman -- leave me alone," which is what I'm sure he'd love to do. He indulges me and takes part in my little conversations.

We were talking last night about how rare a moment we might be enjoying. Laying in our bed before 10pm with no noise in the house, having a quiet conversation. I know that I've been so antsy for her to arrive, but I know once Georgia's here, it's gonna be all chaos and even when we *can* be in bed together at night, we'll both just fall in exhausted and sleep like logs. There will be middle of the night feedings, pumpings, diaper changes, blowouts/clothes changings, etc. Not to mention, I have NO idea if all that commotion will impact Mitchell since the changing table is on the same wall as his bed. You know what -- that thought never even ENTERED my mind until now-- I hope it's not a big problem. Good thing he's a sound sleeper -- guess we'll find out just how sound though. Might have to get another plan in place for middle of the night changes if she's a big crier.

Anyway -- I think instead of obsessing over how much longer until we get to meet her, I need to start appreciating what we already have. Not to say I'm not still excited to hold her and get her out here as part of our family, but there are still *some* advantages to having her in my tummy. Sleep and rest and quiet being three off the top of my head. :)

Today's my due date, by the way. Off to the doctor at 10:15, and hopefully we'll come home with a planned birthday for her, in case she doesn't choose her own before then.

Well, if it means anything...

I cleaned like I'd never get the chance again yesterday. I'm a little sore today, but it feels good to have it done. I have several more things to check off of my cleaning list today, but we'll just see what the day brings. It sure would be nice to get it all done and bring her home to a nice, organized clean home. Ha!! Right. Like it will stay like this or something. Not.

With Mitchell I never had the "nesting" thing kick in. Might have been busy using that up at work, trying to get ready for maternity leave. With Georgia so far, it's just been organizing and de-cluttering. Yesterday though, I just felt like kicking it into high gear with cleaning. Plus, it was cold and snowy out, so that helped that we were in for the day. Same thing today, so we'll see what happens.

I'm at the point where the majority of our phone calls and/or emails are either daily checkins from family or "Is she here yet" inquiries from family/friends. It's nice to be thought of and prayed for, but it would also be nice to not have to say "Not yet" and tell how I'm doing 14,000 times a day. (Okay, maybe not quite that many.) Know what's funny? Even Mitchell asked me yesterday "Is she ready to come out of your tummy yet?" I guess maybe I must look like she can't possibly stay in there any longer or something, huh?

I'm really excited that Chris is done with work after today. Maybe she'll come this weekend on her own...or in the first part of next week? That would be GREAT!! We'd love that! Too bad we're not in charge. Funny how these babies run the show even before they take their first breaths, huh? Oh well...at least we still have time to install the car seat! (Um, yeah...can you tell Chris has put that little task off? I'm ANAL about it so I'm about ready to do it myself!!!)

The waiting game continues...

Stiiiiilllll going...

Had my 39 week appointment yesterday. No change. Nothing doing. It was with the doctor I'm probably least comfortable with in the practice. She's not very friendly...not unfriendly, just I always get the impression that she'd rather be somewhere else. She never tries to familiarize herself with me, my situation, anything personal like that. Just all business. I guess that's good because I'm sure she'd be great at actually delivering the baby -- but it's such a personal experience that I prefer someone who also wants to know you and a little bit about you. I would think it would be quite an honor and privilege to be part of helping someone's family grow and bringing a new life into the world. I guess that's just me...I'd try to make sure that the personal part of it was as as important to me as the medical/business part of it if I were an OB. Oh well... hopefully she won't be on call when I need to deliver, but if she is, it will be fine.

My friend gave me very good advice yesterday. She told me that as hard as it is, to try to take a step back and appreciate the experience. Focus on the amazing child I've been raising for the past three years and see him in a new light. Concentrate on what truly a miracle it is to have another little person growing inside of me and appreciate what a blessing it is to be able to do this. I think she's absolutely right. This is the last child for us, so these are the last few days I'll EVER be pregnant, and as miserable as I am at times, I know I'll miss it. As eager as I am to hold and cuddle and snuggle her, I know I'll miss watching her move inside of me...there's just something magical about it.

Anyway...I'm trying to not to be too big of a complainer here at the end, but sometimes it's just hard. It will be over soon and we'll have her to hold and this will seem like forever ago. I do remember that. Waiting is hard in general...like waiting in line at the grocery store, waiting for a package to come in the mail, waiting for a phone call from a friend, waiting for a loved one to come home. I can honestly say though that waiting for a little person that you helped create and grow into a strong, healthy human being is the hardest waiting of all. That said, it's more than worth it.

Heartburn bites the big one..

Just in case any of you weren't aware, heartburn sucks. Especially when you're a week and a half away from your due date, snuggled into a warm bed while it's snowing outside, and otherwise generally comfy (which doesn't happen very often). I actually had such bad heartburn last night that I nearly vomited...that's rare for me, so you know it was bad. It is now 5:20 a.m. and I've been up since 1:30. Lovely, eh? Should make for a SPECTACULAR day. Not.

Well, I had my 38 week appt yesterday...not very thrilling. I'm one centimeter dilated but still have a high, thick cervix. My bp was fine, her heartbeat was strong, nothing up with the urine... in other words, nothing doing. I have my next appt on Wednesday morning...it's with the one doctor I really didn't "click" with so much last time, so I hope I feel better about it this time. I also still haven't seen the doctor who actually delivered Mitchell, but with any luck she won't be the one on call when I deliver and it won't matter. Otherwise, I guess I'll just make my next appt with her just in case.

My new dilemma is figuring out if we should try to push for an induction on or RIGHT after our due date (the 20th). Since I went into labor on my due date with Mitchell, Chris' leave worked out great. This time, I'd really, REALLY like to have some time to bond as a family before he has to go back, so I'd really hate it if half of his two weeks off was spent just hanging out, waiting for her to be born. As of yesterday, the doctor told me that we have my next week appt at 39 weeks, then if I make it to my 40 week appt, we can schedule an induction for 5-7 days afterwards before I leave the office. I'm *hoping* it doesn't come to that, but thinking about asking for an induction instead of an appt at 40 weeks was my idea in the car on the way home. I wonder if they'd give me a hard time about that? I haven't had any issues along the way (health-wise), and she's measuring a few days ahead anyway. I guess we'll just see.

Next Monday is a full moon...I wonder if it might "pull" me into labor? I wouldn't mind a Valentine Baby...not at all. I wonder if she would enjoy it though? I know some people don't enjoy having their birthdays near holidays...I wonder if that would be one she'd hate to share. Personally, I wouldn't mind...never been real big into Valentine's Day as it is. It might suck as a kid though...the Valentine parties were always fun...decorating your little "mailbox", passing out valentines and candy. She would have to share her birthday treats as part of the party I bet. Oh well...it's not for me to decide at this point! If she comes out then and ends up hating it, I'll tell her it's her own fault...she is the one who chose her birthday!! :)