I've Officially Lost It

Okay, I have now entered the phase of pregnancy that is just downright scary. I'm a raging lunatic ;-P You never know what might set me off. James just received a lovely phone call from me an hour ago because he bought the wrong kind of ham. Literally I yelled for 30 seconds about ham. (((SIGH))) This too shall pass, right?! Today was my first two week visit. She went ahead and checked me because I told her about all the contractions I've been having, and just as suspected, things are progressing. I'm 1.5 centimeters dilated at 32 weeks 5 days. The nurse practitioner kind of panicked about it and said I would need to go over to the hospital for monitoring, but I told her that I started dilating early with Ian and she checked my records and indeed I was 1-2 cm at 33 weeks back then. So she's ordered a fetal fibronectin test for tomorrow (it predicts if a patient will go into labor within two weeks) and modified bedrest (ie take it easy) and pelvic rest until 35 weeks (yeah right) if the test comes back negative. Fun times! And just so you don't have to stare at a solitary picture of the offending ham (yes, I pulled it out of the fridge to take a picture, I have a point about it being totally gross, don't I?) I included one of the boys playing together yesterday. Sometimes I suspect they might actually like each other. Gotta love the mess they created too, although to their credit they did clean it up last night.

Spring Break

We did it! We managed to get in one last pre-baby trip to Oregon. Thursday in Lincoln City was absolutely gorgeous - warm and sunny. We let the kids swim, ate dinner at Mo's, and just relaxed. Friday was a drizzly, blustery day, but we managed to do some shopping, ate at the Sea Hag (Ian loves popcorn shrimp and Hero really enjoyed the clams) and played on the beach. On Saturday we headed back home and it rained for about 6 hours straight for our trip! The kids had fun counting the myriad waterfalls, big and small, as we drove along the Columbia River gorge.

On the Road Again

I'm typing this from the laptop in our hotel room in Woodburn, Oregon. James has taken the three older children to the pool and the plan is for Colin to fall asleep shortly (as I'm typing in the dark LOL). We are ecstatic that we got to squeeze in a short but sweet Spring Break trip this year - most likely our last before the baby arrives. We left Boise at 7am and arrived in Portland around 3pm. We've done a little bit of shopping, but nothing the kids consider exciting just yet (although for some reason they really like the Hanna Andersson store downtown). Tomorrow morning we're going to do some more shopping and then we are headed to our favorite Oregon Coast destination, Lincoln City!

Why Me?

Lately I've had a LOT of extra time for philosophical ponderings, as I'm up for the majority of the night (thank you, baby). I've been thinking about what has compelled me to continue to have children well after most couples have called it good. I think it's a part of God's plan to transform me into a better person. I'm extremely competitive and very materialistic. I always have been. It's a dangerous personality trait. On the one hand I don't think there's anything intrinsically bad with appreciating beauty and quality, but it's SO easy to get caught up in the whole consumption lifestyle. The plain fact of the matter is that with almost five children we can have some of the little luxuries I like, but not all. And I think that's a very good thing. I've learned to differentiate between needs and wants and I think that's key. As long as you recognize that another handbag or a luxury car is just a want and not a necessity I think it is easier to have perspective. Of course there are lots of reasons that I love having so many kids, but it was nice to think about what THEY are bringing ME, instead of the usual thoughts of my huge responsibility to my children. And just for some comic relief after that somber "thought of the day" - here is a picture of Colin playing with Desitin (it's so hard to clean up), the boys hanging out together, and Rory, who obviously leads a difficult life, huh?

The Best Ultrasound

Today was baby day! Cecily is officially vertex and the placenta is nice and high. The amniotic fluid levels were right in the middle of normal and the ultrasound estimated her weight to be 3lbs 9 oz, which is right on for almost 31 weeks. Best of all, the u/s tech did a quicky 3D/4D scan of her face because she was just in a perfect position. She pushed her lips in and out for us a few times. We got a very short DVD of the 3D/4D scan as well, so hopefully when James gets home tonight he can figure out how to add it to the blog. Although baby is doing well I'm not the best - I have a lot of fluid on my ears so the doctor wrote me a prescription for some antibiotics. I sure hope it works. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, everyone in the house (except for James, now that I think about it) has been wearing green. I think I'll go one step further and request a Shamrock shake tonight. You know, just getting in the spirit LOL.

Girls Suck!

Okay, I'm completely kidding, but man, this pregnancy has been a bazillion times harder than Colin's or Ian's. I dunno, maybe it has something to do with the fact that I've been sick for two weeks now, that I'm feeling that end-of-the-road psychosis LOL. We get to see our little bean again tomorrow on ultrasound - the doctor wants to make sure the placenta has moved all the way up. I'm *thinking* that she's finally flipped head down too. I hope I'm right because I'll feel like a total dork if I get it wrong after so much pregnancy experience. The nursery is almost completely done - we bought curtains and rods this weekend. Now we just have to put them up and then I hope to pick up some purple ribbon to accent the white crib bedding. James, Colin, and I stopped into a new baby boutique on Sunday and I was in heaven - it had all high-end brands and they carried the Skip Hop City Chic diaper bag I've been dreaming of but had only seen online. But they had other cute ones too, so now I'll have to decide what I want LOL. Lots of exciting things are coming up - tomorrow is my last monthly appointment, I'll be going every two weeks from tomorrow until the end of April. Then Wednesday is our hospital tour. We definitely need to get that done because I have no idea where the Labor & Delivery area even is at St. Luke's Meridian, where we will be delivering for the first time. We are still tentatively hoping to take a Spring Break jaunt over to the coast. I know, a 9 hour car ride with four kids while 8 months pregnant should be loads of fun, right?! At this point anything to get out of the house sounds pretty good though. Thank goodness the weather seems to have turned a corner. The kids enjoyed some outside playtime and bike-riding this weekend.

Holy Hugeness Batman & Random Stuff

I had to share a picture because I am GINORMOUS. It's the time of year when I list kids' summer clothes on eBay and I was attempting to take pictures on the ottoman in the living room and it was so hard because my belly is in the way. Sometimes it's hard to believe I'm only 29 weeks and still have 10 weeks to go (although at other times that doesn't seem long enough). Now, James has been through this five times, so you'd think he'd be a veritable expert about what not to say to a pregnant wife, but noooo, what comes out of his mouth last night? "Man, your butt is getting bigger - it must be trying to balance out your belly". Seriously, man, come on! But anyways, on to the promised "random stuff", today is String Festival. I have a full afternoon and evening of judging ahead of me, but how serendipitous is this - I've been sick as a dog for the last week and my ears are so plugged up that I can't hear very well. Sounds perfect huh? Besides the regular stress of getting my students ready, for the first time Hero is performing. I've been pushing her pretty hard, I hope she can work it all out in therapy someday LOL. What is up with the weather, I ask? On Monday it was almost 70 degrees and absolutely gorgeous, and yesterday and today there is snow on the ground! Gross, gross, and more gross. I am SO over winter. Finally, happy birthday to Dad - wish we could be there and we hope you have a good one.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Hero finally got to showcase the last two months of hard work and multiple rehearsals as one of 16 children who joined the cast of Ballet Idaho for a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was an honor for her to be selected in the first place and we are so proud of our little girl. James and I got to attend the Saturday evening show together (what a treat in and of itself) and we just marvelled at how quickly our firstborn has grown up. The children were cast as Oberon's Court, and were costumed as little fairies and bugs. Hero was a ladybug. She was on stage quite a bit too. Way to go, Hero!