February 29, 2012 - Leap Day :)

Happy Leap Day!

Today officially marks exactly one more month until my due date! This pregnancy has gone by so quickly up until a couple of weeks ago. Now an entire month feels like a YEAR!

At this point in my pregnancy with Keric, he had already been born. He was about two days shy of 36 weeks, and I will be 36 weeks tomorrow! I think my body may remember this little fact, and is now getting a little impatient with it's house guest. I have been tired and achy for awhile now, but for whatever reason I felt 10 times more so today?? I feel like it takes SO MUCH energy to do the dumbest things, and by the time the day is over, I'm embarassed at how LITTLE I have done.

I didn't by any means expect this baby to be born early, nor did I WANT him to be born early. Keric's being born early was scary and stressful and I honestly didn't want to have that happen again, but I have to admit, there is a small part of me that is a little sad, for lack of a better word, at the reality of this baby "baking" for another full month!

I guess that gives Chris another full month to get some more work on the basement done, and me another full month to REALLY get ready for Carson to make his grand entrance. I would be lying if I said I was anywhere NEAR ready for him to come, but you know...sometimes the little aches and pains and discomforts outweigh the reality of the situation.

Tonight Chris went to Home Depot to get some things for the basement, and on his way home he stopped at Wal mart to grab a few things. I still have yet to feel like going grocery shopping, so bless his heart, he did some of it for me tonight. It also dumped a good 6 inches of snow this afternoon, so I was more than a little grateful to not have to go out in it!

When he got back he came in carrying a black bean bag for Keric's new pirate room. Last week we did kind of a mini make-over of Reagan's room for her. We got new bedding and curtains, and a few other little things to kind of make her room more of a "big girl" room. One of the things she wanted was a bright pink bean bag in the corner of her room.

Since that day Keric has been obsessed with this bean bag! I catch him in her room all the time just sitting in it, or trying to "steal" it and put it in his room. He tells me that he needs one so he can read his books and sleep. I don't know how you would sleep very well in such a tiny bean bag, but he seems to think it would be pretty fun if I let him sleep in it one night! Crazy boy! I finally told him that maybe we could get him a bean bag for his new room someday so he could in it and read books. I guess thanks to his Daddy, today was the day.

Now each kid has a bean bag for their room. Tonight they each grabbed their bags and brought them down to watch a movie before bed. I think there was more playing on the bags than actually watching the movie, but oh well. It was actually kind of a dumb movie anyway. :)

February 28, 2012

We haven't had a JoAnn's here in Tooele for very long, but it has been here long enough that when I pull up to the parking lot Keric says "Mommy, I hate this store!" LOL

Tonight we went and signed the papers on our re-finance (Yea to my sweet hubby for doing so much re-search and locking us in to an AMAZING rate! I am so not up on stuff like that, and am always SO GRATEFUL that he is!) and after we were done at the title company we ran a couple of errands before heading home.

One of the things I wanted to do was go to JoAnn's, even though I sort of knew that wasn't high on anyone elses list. Chris took pity on the boys and said he would take them over to Cal-Ranch to look at guns while I went into JoAnns. I'm sure that was hard sacrifice for Chris. haha

I guess I took a little longer than I thought, because while I was looking at fabric I heard the very loud laughter and running of tiny feet down an aisle that was unmistakably my Bubby! I had a couple of things I still wanted to look at, so I had to keep Keric entertained for about 10 more minutes.

He squeezed himself into the bottom of the very TINY cart I was pushing, and I put the leprechaun hat on him. He rode around like that happy as could be until it was time to go. Maybe next time we pull into JoAnns he won't be so quick to say "I hate this store!"

February 27, 2012

I think I have created a Shower Monster!

One of the things we did in the Mickey Bathroom was to put a kind of "waterfall" shower head in the shower.

One shower, and Keric was hooked! He LOVES taking showers, and would take 3-4 a day if I would let him. No more "Tubby Time" for this boy...it's showers from now on!

He has a sort of shower "routine." I turn the shower on and make sure that he has just enough "warms" and then he gets in.

He refuses to have ANY help, he instead insists that I sit outside the shower and wait for him, while he shouts out a play by play of what he is doing in the shower. A lot of times this is just "I just standing in the warms Mommy."

These showers of his can last anywhere from 10 minutes to whenever his warms run out, depending on how much patience I have to just SIT there and wait for him. I have tried to sneak out, but he has caught on to this little trick of mine.

Today while he was taking his shower, he kept pulling the shower curtain liner back and peeking out of the little clear round circles in the curtain to make sure I was still there. LOL

The peek a boo game at least made the long wait not so long!

February 26, 2012

Just last week as I was sitting in Sharing time with my class and they were handing out the next weeks prayers, scripture, and talks, I was thinking "I wonder when Keric will be asked to do one of those things?"

Well low and behold he got "mail" today in sharing time! Of course he would get his mail the week that I am home laying in bed with stupid back contractions, so I missed it, but he was SO excited to come show me his mail when he got home!

He was asked to give the opening prayer, and couldn't have been happier about it. He just gets more and more grown up as they days go by. It's a silly thing to get teary about, and I'm sure having to stay down all day didn't help my already overly sensitive emotions, but I cried a little after he handed me his mail and went to change his clothes.

Next thing I know he's going to be bringing home an invitation to the Stake Baptism preview!!! Why does he have to get so big so FAST?? *sigh*

February 25, 2012

Read any book on marriage, or even Conference talks on marriage, and you will always hear the advice "You need to keep dating even after you are married." The funny thing is, that no one ever defines what a "date" is, or at least I don't recall anyone ever defining it.

I guess growing up, I always assumed that a date was dinner and a movie, or some planned out activity that you did on the weekends. I always sort of wondered why my own Mom and Dad hardly ever went on "dates." I guess when you have 7 little kids, dinner and a movie is hard to do every weekend, but of course I didn't think about THAT part of it. :)

Now that I'm the one who is married with little kids, I have often remembered that little piece of advice, and have come to realize that it really is wonderful advice!

I have also learned that date nights don't have to be a planned activity, or even something that requires hiring a babysitter, or spending a lot of money if any money.

I have learned to really love Chris and my date nights. They usually don't last any longer than an hour, don't cost much if anything, and I have even been known to wear my hair in a pony tail and go in baggy sweatshirts and/or jammie pants.

Sometimes we go to Home Depot to look at tile, or paint chips. Other times we go to Wal-mart to get things for Sunday dinner or get something we have run out of like Milk, and other times we go to Maverick to fill the car up with gas, get a movie, or just get a drink and a treat.

They are far from "elaborate" and definitely not planned out, but what they ARE is a few minutes alone, without kids, to get our batteries re-charged, or at least it gets mine re-charged.

Last night we went to Maverick, but we went to the Stansbury Maverick because they were the only ones who had the movie "Puss and Boots" that the kids wanted to see. I have to admit, I wasn't too sad about the extra 10 mins that we had to drive to get there. We picked up the movie, got a little treat, and came home.

Nothing fancy, nothing expensive, but it didn't matter, I still always look forward to our "weekly dates."

As we were driving home I started thinking about weekly dates and all of these things I've just written, and it suddenly occurred to me how similar Chris and I are to my Mom and Dad. I was remembering my Mom and Dad leaving some of us older kids in charge for an hour or so and going out to check on some of my Dad's jobs, or driving over to check on an apartment or take a deposit down to the bank. Something small, but something that they could do just the two of them despite at least a FEW of us wanting to go. :)

Funny how things come full circle. I didn't understand then, but I sure understand now! Those weekly dates, whatever they are...really are important, and some of the best times and moments of my week.

Thanks honey for the fun "date" tonight, especially for the big chocolate chip cookie! YUM!!

February 24, 2012

Today was a big day for me and Carson. Today was my 35 week and 1 day Dr.'s appointment. We were going to find out if he was still breech, and whether or not a C-section would be the way to go.

Our appointment was early in the morning, so poor Keric had to miss pre-school today. He didn't seem to mind too badly that he wasn't going to get to go, but he may have forgotten that he was supposed to go, I'm not sure! ;)

We got to the Dr.'s office around 8:50 a.m. and waited for my name to be called. I got my blood pressure taken, and much to my surprise it was "perfect" according to the nurse! PHEW! Bed rest avoided for another week!!

Then came my favorite part...weigh in. I've gained a total of 7lbs this pregnancy! Not exactly what my intention was...I was hoping to LOSE weight this pregnancy, but I will say I am much happier with the 7lbs gained with Carson than I was with the 30+
pounds I gained with Keric! *sigh*

Then it was back to the room we went. Dr. Holmes came in and asked how everything was going and how I was feeling. Besides being exhausted and totally un-motivated to do just about anything and everything, I feel pretty good. I still have some sleepless nights, the occasional heartburn, which I have NEVER had before, and of course just the normal aches and pains that come with being way too big and pregnant, but heck...woman do this everyday! I don't have too much to really complain about.

She asked me if Carson had turned yet, and I said "I really don't think so. I still feel him literally dancing on my bladder, and I felt his head up in my ribs just last night." She felt around and said "Lets get the ultra-sound machine and see what's going on." She left and came back a few minutes later. I was SURE I knew what she would see, his head up by my ribs.

I kind of held my breath as she put the little wand on my stomach and there it was! Plain as day, his head, down in my pelvis! I was totally shocked! She said "He turned! There's his head, pointed down!" I swear the little monkey did it in the time she left the room to get the machine and came back! I wanted to cry! He did it!! He did it on HIS timeline, but he did it! How could I be upset about a child of mine doing something when he was ready, and waiting until the last minute? I mean seriously...Is that not what I do on a daily basis??

My blood pressure being good, the fact that Carson is in the right position AND I am dilated to a 2 and 50% effaced has changed things! To quote Chris "Wow! That kind of progress took at least 2 hours of being on a Pitocin drip last time!" I think two hours is being on the kind side...it was probably more like 4 or 5, but yeah...he's right. With Keric, my body simply had NO IDEA what to do with itself! Maybe it learned a few things with Keric?

Dr. Holmes said we could move ahead and try for a normal delivery. He is still on the big side, but she said as long as there is no risk in hurting my hip...we can go for it!

NO C-SECTION!!?!?! It was almost too good to even be true! I thought I had come to grips with that reality, and had almost become OK with things. I wasn't happy about it, but I figured if that's what was best for me and Carson, then I would get myself mentally prepared and go ahead with the plan.

Now I don't have to think that way, or at least I don't have to think that way for this week. The odds of him turning back around are slim, but still a possibility. Hopefully that won't happen. I suppose my blood pressure could get bad again this week too, but I'm going to think positive and keep praying that things will work out the way they are supposed to, and we will have a new little boy join our family sometime in the very near future!

Good job Carson!! Thank you for making your Mommy's life just a little easier today! xxoox

February 23, 2012

Look who made their own bed this morning!! :)

One of Cameron and Reagan's jobs in the morning is to make their beds before leaving for school. This morning when I went in to make Bubby's bed, he had already done it!

I asked him, "Who made your bed for you?" He said "I do it Mommy!" It honestly looked pretty good, and at least as good as Cam and Reag's look somedays! LOL

*sigh* He's getting way too big and independant these days!