One Girls Dress is Another Girls Shirt

So with my impending baby I have a very large growth out front. I would say larger than most womens. It literally protrudes straight out in front of me. When I walk I feel like she is walking out in front of me. Cute, love! So, that said I am running out of shirts that are long enough on me. I have a couple but I doubt that people want to see the same shirt on me every other day. So this morning I went to my favorite store....not, and got a dress. Well in the juniors section it is a dress. Since they did away with maternity it will be a shirt for me. Three words......holy cleveage batman! Girl needs a tank under this thing. But low and behold it is long enough to cover said baby. And it has a lacy back, something like my bestie would wear. My bigs would say, "mom, that is sooooooooooo Ms. Amy." They crack me up. Like everything cute would be her idea.

Loving this pregnancy. By far the easiest. Trying to burn into my mind each little movement I feel and each set of hiccups that I experience. The bigs are doing great too. With us showing the house at any given time, it has to always been in pretty good order. They have been amazing in doing this for us. Yesterday they asked to watch tv, we said no. A few minutes later I looked at C and said, "We have packed up all their toys, arent letting them watch tv and there they sit playing dominoes together." Really blessed. So we surprised them and took them to the restaurant of their choice. Grannys buffet it was. Not what our choice would have been but they deserved it. My in laws took them there a month or so ago and they loved. Their favorite part was the never ending slurpee maching.

Yesterday was the first time we had no rain on an open house day. Joe showed our house to 7 groups of people and was really pleased that much traffic came through. I trust God in bringing our buyer and have relinquished hope that it would be before the baby comes. Took me a while to get there but we're here. Ok, well I am gonna go throw the house together. So happy my pervious blogs published, that was sure frustrating. ~Jaimie

Considering

There has been a tug at my heart over the last several months. My middle girl has been having some anxiety in school. We have always known this about her, it was evident at home in different stressful situations. So, at the beginning of the year we told her teacher about it and the whole year it wasn't a problem. Well, in the last month he told me that she has just been shutting down during tests. She will get overwhelmed with how fast it is going, or that everyone else is ahead of her and just start crying. He said that she will just sit there and cry for 45 minutes, what? So to combat this he told me that he has been telling her that she doesnt have to do the test right now (they take tests on Friday) and she can finish it on Monday when she comes back. Well, when we spoke he said that she had been getting scores int he 80's. On Friday when she came home from school, she brought me papers ranging from 55-75%, yikes. The two subjects she was tested over were math and vocabulary/reading comprehension. I brought her out to the computer and re-tested her over the math stuff. I knew that she had a grasp on it and luckily Math Connects has tutoring aids online. So, we retested and she got somewhere in the 80's. I am fine with that. Reading comprehension however we just need to work on. Read, read, read over the summer is what we are going to do.

All this to say that I am considering homeschooling her too next year. I am not sure if the solution should be to leave her in public schooling and force her to work through this, or if I should teach her at home. Decisions, decisions. My dilema is this.....I am homeschooling Dani for the first time ever in the fall. I will have a new baby in the late summer. Might have just moved or be moving. Can I do all this? Im sure I can but will I be running myself too thin? Will I be doing Dani and/or Alli an injustice? This was not our plan fo sho. We had visions of having one girl home at a time and being one on one with them. Well, heartbeat happened. And now we are considering keeping almost everyone home. Lou will still go to kindergarten as of now. If I took the bus ride away from her she might just be crushed. Lol.

stupid blogger

I have been having trouble posting blogs, anyone else? Oh well. I am 32 weeks now and trucking along. My bestie and her family got moved into their new house and we are no longer a large group of 11.5. It was fun to have them here, C and I really enjoyed our time with all of them.

Dani has started her first job, mowing my mothers lawn. I think my mom pays too much, but what are you gonna do? Im gonna make her save and tithe, that is what I am gonna do. She is so excited about it. Loving having her own money in her wallet. The only problem I forsee is that she loves to spend it as fast as she makes it. Literally burns a hole in that girls pocket. And unfortunately she usually buys junk that I will later find all over the house and throw away. Oh well, it is her money, right?

I guess next Sunday is National Open House Day. Joe will be showing our house from 1-3. I am hopeful but not anxious about it like I have been in the past. Maybe our buyer will come, maybe not.

In fun news, I am getting "medically prescribed" massage. 4 times a month for 6 months. BOOM! It is fabulous and I completely loved. I did spend the first 30 minutes wondering if the baby was ok as she had me propped up in an incline on my back for that part. Baby has been moving just fine so I am sure all is well. Loved the relaxation of it all. As my bestie would say, I was "Pudding" afterward. Love!

C and I are considering a staycation for this summer. We will not be going anywhere but thought about doing some fun things with the girls one weekend. Things we wouldnt normally do like take them roller skating (well him not me), go to the movies, lots of pool time somewhere, shopping. No chores, just fun. Any other local ideas that we could do?

We had a fabulous time yesterday with C's family. Chad is in town with the fam and the kids were in the pool for hours. Craig had cranked up the heater in the pool to 84 degrees and the weather was just perfect. At one point I tried to squeeze into a swimming suit and take a dip...... that was not happening. Oh well, I just dangled my feet in the pool and it was lovely.

Mom watched the girls for a couple hours last night so that C and I could go on an impromptu date. Loved. We rarely get to go out on a Saturday night as we attend Crossview that night, so it was a real treat. We just went to dinner and then picked up a few things at Fred Meyer as their sales were ending.

On a funny sidenote, we ran into two people from highschool that we NEVER see last night. One of them happened to be my first kiss. C was poised to embarass me but refrained thankfully. He did however go over to him and strike up conversation. In the short 30 second conversation he managed to bring up the topic of a "vasectomy" wondering if the guys to save him some money and take care of business right there. Morbid, I know. I am constantly telling him that he is lucky that I married him while I was still young and naive.

32 weeks! Eek!

It is hard for me to believe that I only have eight more weeks until I meet my baby. I have been in denial for quite some time because I truly thought we would be moved by this point. God has a different plan and I am resigned to that. He knows better than me fo' sho. At my appointment yesterday all looked, measured and felt well. I have been having a little back pain (just from the girl pushing everything of mine up) and my stellar doc thought that maybe I needed some massage. Two words, "Yes please!" The thought never crossed my mind that I might "need" such a thing. But baby needs I guess, lol. I thought mabye there was something wrong with my kidneys but all was well with that so massage it is. LOVE! I have had two massages before in my life and they were amazing. Although the problem I encounter is that I lay there calculating the money that it cost to do something like this per minute instead of enjoying it. However, if the insurance is going to cover most of it I might be more apt to relax, so excited!

Yesterday was my besties birthday. She approached one year closer to 30! She kept telling the kids that she was 20 but we both know that she is much closer to 30, WHAHAHAHAHAH! It was also moving day for her family to their new house. I was sad for them as the sale did not record until almost 5 and they spent much of their day waiting. Praise God for friends that were willing and able to help them.

Being 8 mos. pregnant I wouldnt have been much help and C came home sick yesterday. For those of you who know him, you know that this could be compared to that of an eclipse. It rarely happens. he comes from a long line of men who refuse to take a day off to stay home and get well. So when he came home sick I knew it was bad. We are thinking it was food poisoning from Pizza Hut. So on the up side, he is not going to give it to any of us, on the down side he is curled up in a ball praying to feel well. Poor guy.

I put the girls in swimming lessons for the summer. To my surprise my oldest did not want to participate. She doesnt want to dive and she knows that they will "force" her to do it. So, she can sit out with me and watch. My SIL and I scheduled them at the same time so we can see each other every day for two weeks and let the cousins play. Also in conjunction with that, they serve free summer lunches to kids 18 and under right across the street, so we can wear them out in the pool, feed them, and come home for some quiet time! Boom!

My BIL comes in town this weekend with his family. It is always fun to see them. I am praying for good weather so that the kids can enjoy the pool. it looks like it is going to be mild this weekend and cooler but Im sure that will not keep the kids out of the pool. Fun fun fun! The cousins have so much fun playing all together.

No A/C

Just when it starts to get nice, the a/c goes out. Figures. C will have some overtime on this next check and I should have known Gods intention to provide. I should have figured that something would be breaking. Praise Him for the provision. Last night the a/c went out. It was about 78 in the house as we were having our pizza smack down and it just frankly gets hot when there are 11 people living in the house. C walked to our neighbors house down the way (who happens to be a heating a cooling guy) and asked if he could take a look at it sometime today and he said "yes". Thank goodness. This morning is a lovely 57 degrees so I have some windows open and am enjoying the mild weather. Loving.

As I might have mentioned we have 11 people living in our house. My bestie and her family have a gap between the closing of the home they sold and the closing of the home they bought. Our days during the week were routine and filled with manning the kiddos, errands, laundry, calming fights, coffee and laundry. Did I mention laundry? Funny enough our two who usually play really great together have been butting heads. Leilani is tired (no doubt) as she has not been getting to bed until after 9 most nights. She is incredibly whiny and is taking huge offense to being looked at the wrong way (semi- hilarious). The weekdays brought some normalcy for the kids. C thinks we should build a compound together and bury a bus. Sounds a little David Koersh-y to me.

I had my 3-D ultrasound this week and all looks amazing. I have neglected to post a pic, as it has been semi crazy and the time I do have in the evening is spent just sitting. Anyway. The baby is a girl fo sho'! She has my nose (they all did) and is about 3.5 lbs. So in love. She moves around a bunch after I eat seemingly thanking me for the M&M's or pizza I just threw down. You're welcome! The ultrasound tech went a little slower. This time we might have been in the room for 10 minutes instead of the previous 5. I am excited to see my doc next week (smokes I am on appointments every two weeks, can you believe that?) and for her to measure the progress. I was measuring a little big but not too big. Ok, thats all for now. I should go check on the girls.

Sneak Peek!

We have an ultra sound today on our little girl. I love getting to peek in on her and see what is going on. I have never had a 3-D one so this will be a first for us. Very excited. Prayers that all is well and healthy in there. I am feeling heavy on my feet. This could be a very long 9 weeks. Ugh! I will scan in a couple pictures after our appointment today. Hopefully she cooperates and lets us get some good profile shots. I did not think I would get another ultrasound but to my surprise I am measuring a little big, so we get this one today, Yay!

C and I got a date last night. It was nice but I would be remiss if I didnt mention that it felt tainted by the stressful day that he had. Listening to the different things he encounters, internalizes and presses thru is just rough. When he is melancholy, I am melancholy. So to sum up date night, it was nice to have the time but I've had better. Oh, my in laws took the girls to Grannys Buffet and they loved. Evidently they have a slurpee machine there that is just the bees knees now. Girls were in heaven. Lou said yesterday, "Is Grandma and Grandpa going to take me somewhere that they have noodles?" Hilarious little girl. Her heart beats for noodles of all kinds. Again, making me think of the kids show, "Kung Fu Panda."

Did anyone see "The Voice" last night? We turned in before it came on so I am sure we will be huluing that today. We are really excited to see Javier Colon battle it out tonight. Cant wait!

ARe you having twins?

REally? Im not THAT big am I? I get a kick out of people. Mostly people I know as merely acquaintences. They feel free to comment about my size, gerth, hugeness, whatnot. Honestly, this is nothing. lets see what I look like in a couple months.....Brick House. Mostly the comments bounce off me, I am a big girl (lol) but the sheer amount of comments is astounding. Oh well, I am embracing my last baby. Enjoying each kick, each set of hiccupps, the largeness, the indulgences. My bestie got me some raspberry fig newtons last night, baby needs you know.

In other news, my hubs was on the news last night.....sporting the stache. Thats right friends. He was promoting the Al Valdez conference that will be happening on Friday. Love. He is our local version of Alan Stone. You see our friend Alan hob nobs with the rich and famous all over the world teaching them to golf and whatnot. So C, hob nobs with the local starlites and gets interviews on TV. I think this is as famous as we will get so I better enjoy the ride on his coattails.