The "Waiting Game" and Other Stuff

Yesterday I had my 37 week appointment. Since I was getting the "strep test" I figured it would be a great time for the Dr. to check the status of my cervix. Now of course I knew better than to get my hopes up too much. I mean, if you've been pregnant before, you know very well that you can be dilated to a 1 and still have a baby within a few days. You also know that you could be dilated to a 3 for three weeks. So it doesn't really matter, but of course, I was curious.
So the status for me is that her little head is down, but not DOWN and engaged. When he went to check the dilation, she would back up, so she's pretty high up there. I'm not really dilated, maybe a 1/2 or a 1. I am softened about 50%. He said my due date was the 22nd of August...which is "news" to me. He's been saying the whole time it was the 20th. I'm a little confused on that one. With that, he penciled me in for induction on the 16th. That feels so far away! I'm really hoping this baby will just continue in her sibling's footsteps and come around two weeks early! That would give me a week to a week and a half left. Until then I will be trying all the "things" said to encourage her to come. Apparently I don't have an appointment next week. It is in two weeks, so I may or may not get another check. And I may or may not get the membranes stripped. Who knows.



IN OTHER NEWS:
I just have to say I am surrounded by the greatest people EVER! I have such a WONDERFUL husband, and the Best friends anyone could ask for. This summer would not be the same without them. Alex has taken on more than his fair share of "babysitting"...if you could call it that. He has taken Logan off my hands more times than I can count. And when I want to go out, he takes all the kids. He does most of the housework around here. I just wouldn't survive without him.
As far as friends go, its like I said, they are THE BEST! They have really taken me "under their wing". We've spent so many summer days just sitting by the pool, going to eachothers houses, taking the kids to Burger King, today we ventured a free movie, and for a night on the town they took me out for a pedicure and dinner. Its just been so much fun laughing our guts out every week. Unfortunately there has been a mishap and I just wanted to clear a few things up for the people who may be getting a little misinformed. Without going into any details I just want to say Analee is a Wonderful person! She does not deserve any judgement from anyone. She is generous. She is a wonderful mother. She will make anyone laugh their head off. She goes out of her way for others and never talks bad about people. She is NOT Fake! She is for real, and she is a great friend to anyone who wants it. If you've been hearing anything otherwise, please do not believe it. It simply isn't true. I am leaving it at that. Friends are important, and anyone who needs a friend is always welcome to join in the fun!

Loves to all!

Another Day At The Lake

Friday my family made day of boating at Black Canyon. We had tons of fun. The lake wasn't too busy. Since we had a fairly big group, everyone went in turns. Dejah got to tube and had an absolute BLAST! I didn't get any pictures, but here are a few from our day.

What IS a Pedicure Anyway?

Yesterday I got a pleasant surprise from the BEST girlfriends around! Alex was in on it and I totally had no clue, all I knew is that I needed to look smokin' hot by 5. I kinda thought he was taking me out on a date. Its been a while, so it wasn't all unrealistic.Surprise Surprise...my favorite friends (minus a few) took me on a girls night to celebrate my upcoming event. They knew I'd never had a real pedicure in my life so they all treated me and themselves to a pedicure and dinner!! Wowzers! It was such a blast! Afterward we went to Target until it closed. I had so much fun and laughed so hard! Thanks Girls! I will seriously NEVER forget it!


Here are my toes in all their glory...

celebrating ALL GIRL!

What Do All These Things Have In Common?

Toilet Paper
Toilet Bowl Scrubber
Toilet Bowl Plunger
Anything in the toilet bowl
Bathroom Cabinets
Bathroom Garbage Can
Kitchen Garbage Can
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen Drawers
Dresser Drawers
Bedroom Closets aka Shoes
Couch Pillows
Laundry Baskets with clothes in them
Curtains
Hall Closet
Vacuum Cleaner
Broom
Flower Pots full of Dirt
Remotes
Computer Printer
Computer Key Board/Mouse
DVD Player
TV
Baby Wipes
Guitar
Anything Plugged In

Yes! Meet my One year old! If he can reach it, he is into it!
Question? How many times can a Mommy say
"no, no"
????
The number is
????
too many times to count.
The funny thing is, he totally knows it. He gets a smirk and takes off running!
Today (as usual) he was going after the toilet plunger just after emptying my movie closet, and I sternly said, "NO, NO!"
And his little lower lip poked right out and his eyes welled up with tears.
Awh. It broke my little heart.
Poor little guy is just exploring.
LOVE IT!
LOVE HIM!

Ugly Naked Belly Shot!

Never in my life have I EVER taken a "Naked Belly Shot"..NEVER NEVER NEVER!

But!

What do you do when your Husband is gone for four Days leaving you in a state of "madness"??

Answer: Take your very first "Ugly Naked Belly Shot"!

• All I have to say is Thank you...photo editing software! I haven't washed my hair today. No make-up was put on. The same ol' clothes I have been wearing since I began to expand are being worn yet again. So...a little contrast adjustment, removal of color and I'm not too extremely embarrassed to post this where the world can see it. Although I HAD to cover that belly button! Gag! Only my sweet husband gets that luxury (if you dare call it that)!

• You see, when I was a bit younger I thought it would be kinda' cool to pierce my own belly button...only I didn't want it deep. And I didn't want to pay for it! Needless to say, I did it, and I did it shallow and it was cute for about a week until my body started to reject its home-made shallowness! Leaving me with a nice little scar. My first baby came, then the second, then the third, welcome #4 and that scar is not so "unnoticeable"! Gross can't even describe its form. So, "ugly naked belly shot" is....not going to be as ugly as it would be without the hand covering it!

• I had my Dr. apt today. I am 35 1/2 to 36 weeks along. She is head down! In two weeks I will get the strep test and they will check my progression. YAY!! He told me if I were to go into labor in the next week and a half he wouldn't stop it. My goal...3 1/2 weeks! So in a couple weeks I will be doing everything possible to "encourage" quick progression!

• Again no names are solid. My pick so far is (drum roll please...)

Lexy/Lexie

• Alex is not sold on this name...not one bit...so any suggestion is greatly appreciated. Loves!

All Alone

So this week was the annual Beal Redfish Campout. Being in my current state you can probably guess my many reasons for not going. As I've said in my previous posts....I get to miss most of the fun this summer. This trip would have been anything BUT fun. So, here I am. "All Alone". That is, with my two youngest.

I really felt Alex deserved to have a fun relaxing campout without having to worry too much about kids. So he took our oldest daughter. She was SO excited! I was pretty lucky to snap this picture before they took off. I'm hoping they are having a blast! I haven't heard much of anything since they left, so I'm assuming all is well.

Two days down...two more to go.

Alex has been so helpful to me this summer. Really he has been a super dad, a super house keeper, and just an absolute life saver, he really deserves a good time.

Its been so weird taking the load of a one year old and three year old. Especially at this stage in my pregnancy. They are both kinda high maintenance so I've been doing all I can to keep sane.

I'm so grateful to good friends who don't mind me crashing their homes and entertaining us. It sure has cut out a lot of the fussing I would be hearing otherwise.
I went to the store yesterday and bought myself tons of "junk food" just to stop me from hitting up fast food every day. Its worked so far. Only last night was HORRIBLE! My acid reflux was out with a vengeance!

I've been watching the calendar! In 3 1/2 weeks I will be two weeks early. 5 1/2 weeks to the due date...which I've never made it to. Still crossing my fingers on that one :)

So here's the question of the day:

If you were home alone for four days and super pregnant with high maintenance babies...what would you do??

My Favorite Outing This Summer!

Being Pregnant this summer has really been no fun for me. I pretty much miss out on all the fun. Yesterday we were at my parents house and Dejah was begging Grandma to go boating. She didn't really have to beg. They were more than willing especially since they haven't been out with the boat YET this summer. So, lucky for us I had everyone's swimming suits packed (you never know right ;) Plus Dejah brought it up before we even left the house.) We packed up a few things and headed out. I swore I would NOT put myself in a swimsuit this summer, but when it is almost 100 degrees outside, there really is no avoiding it. We went to Black Canyon Reservoir. It is about 30min. from my parents house, and not nearly as crowded as the Boise hot spot....Lucky Peak. We love this lake!

Getting a start on boating! The girls don't look too excited in these pictures but they really were!

First trip to the lake, Alex always gets the jitters strapping that board on!....

....But once in the water, it is all FUN!

Meet the Driver!

We did a lot of swimming behind the boat (as in everyone else but me). I did get wet though. I was so proud of Dejah, she was so brave and got right in the water with that life jacket and swam around like it was no big deal!

We got Dejah and Mycah on the knee board just for the fun of it. Dejah wasn't too sure at first, but got comfortable and had fun. Mycah was just being competitive with her sister.

Here is me and my little guy...and of course the nameless baby girl curled up inside of me. This trip really made my summer!

Oh So Random

Well this is going to be a pretty random post. Basically a whole lot of different stuff...not so deserving of their own post or pictures (sorry).

Alex took our girls camping last week to Silver Creek Plunge. It was just an overnighter. Not too big deal, but the girls had a blast. They went swimming, and sat by the camp fire till midnight. I guess Mycah got a bit fussy the next day, but who can blame her? Shes three and requires much more sleep. This trip kind of determined that Alex may not be taking her on the big Redfish trip next week. He will have a much more fun and relaxing time without her. He really deserves it too. He's been working so hard around here doing all the things I should be doing. Anyway, that one overnight camp-out just about put me in the loony house with Logan. He was so bored! He needed my constant attention, and I just don't have the mobility and energy for it. Wish me luck on next week!

I've decided that Gardening and Flowers is not a talent I thought I had. Pretty much everything around me dies! Whats up with that??? The only thing I can seem to keep alive is Petunias and Strawberries. No brainers! My rose bushes are DEAD! Two out of three Rhododendrons are DEAD! My beautiful Azalea bush...DEAD! NONE of my bulbs came up! I'm seriously flawed. I won't touch it this year, but next year....bye bye to all of it!

So we have this Gazebo thing in our back yard. We got a random wind gust that picked it up and tore the top off. Seriously bummed me out. Those canvases are not cheap and we have no other shade in the back yard. Thankfully I have a very talented mom who can fix almost anything and did a repair job on it.

Logan, Logan, Logan. Can I just say this kid has found his voice! He's decided that diaper changes are annoying and he wants to object EVERY time! This last Sunday, Alex took him into the men's restroom to change his diaper, I stayed in the chapel with the girls and we could hear him screaming all the way up to the pulpit! This is just one little challenge I am facing with him. Whenever I get to change his little bumm, I get kicked in the belly really hard until I'm done. He also finds it completely necessary to scream at me whenever I eat! No peace. None. Here is a list of things he'll throw a tantrum over: Diaper change, Me eating, Getting out of the bath, Changing clothes, He sees a bottle of milk and FREAKS OUT, wants to be held, wants in the drivers seat, wants Mommy, Mommy, Mommy. Oh the list. And can I just say....great timing.

Pregnancy. Hoping it will end between August 6th and 10th! That gives me 4-5 weeks to go. My nights are filled with....lack of air, serious hip pain, charlie horses, acid reflux (I'm sorry but it is no fun waking up to vomit in your mouth), the constant need to empty my blatter, stuffy nose, sore shoulders....and....ears??...wierd., constant discomfort, ahhh the joy.

Still no name for this baby girl. Its coming down to crunch time so suggestions are still welcomed.

One of my favorite things this summer. Every Tuesday instead of going to Burger King with friends (which was still totally fun ), we take the kids swimming! Such a blast. I swear if I were rich I could totally be a "pool snob", or as I prefer to call it, a poolside junkie. My kids could go for hours and I love watching them have fun.

Well I know this post has no order, but its kind of a journal thing, not expecting anyone to read it. But if you did, congrats for making it through the boredom.

Burnt By A Sparkler

Yes, it was Mycah who got burnt by the sparkler. Who else but our most accident prone child?

So the day started at 9:30am. I took the girls to downtown Boise so they could be in the 4th of July parade. Alex took Logan to my parents to help my Dad fix the sewer and septic system.

I rode in the cow train with the girls. It was fun.

While riding along, I saw my Sister and her little family watching the parade!

After the parade was over. I took the girls to my parents while Alex finished up. My parents were packed and ready to go to Twin Falls to see my other sister for the weekend. Dejah wanted to go, so I had her packed and ready to go with them.

Later that evening we went to a friends house for a BBQ and fun night with Fireworks! There were tons of people there and tons of fun illegal things to keep us all entertained.

When it came time for sparklers, Mycah didn't want to hold hers. Of course, the girl can't make up her mind worth anything and saw the other kids having fun with theirs. I was trying to show her how to hold it. Then she would have a little fit that she didn't want to. Of course as sparklers do....it burnt out. Instantly her fear of the flame was gone and she started throwing a fit that she wanted it!! She reached out and grabbed it out of my hand. And of course as it was still HOT...she grabbed the part that had just been burning moments before. Well that is where her true screaming ability was let loose. She was wailing!!!! I stuck some ice on it, and after a while she calmed down. She basically sat there with her hand in a cup of ice until we left.

Battle wounds a day later.

Well, we thought our kids would really enjoy the fireworks. Truth be told...Logan DID NOT! Of course anything "legal" just sits and screams and pops really loud. He didn't like it one little bit.

Alex moved him away from the street and he was a little more content, but all in all it was really funny because our kids were having NO FUN.

We ended up leaving early. Oh well, fun times!

Hopefully tonight for the actual 4th Alex and I will be able to catch some of the neighborhood fun while our kids sleep in their beds.

Missing Out On Summer

The girls have been wanting to go camping almost all summer. Lucky for them they have a wonderful Daddy who is totally willing to take them. Unfortunately, I am in no position to camp, and Logan would be a bit of a handful. Yesterday was the day. Alex decided to take them to Silver Creek Plunge. That way they could have fun swimming, camping, playing on the playground, or whatever else. Of course that leaves me here to indulge in whatever "junk" I choose......

Even with the "junk", I cried when they left, and right now I'm a little emotional about it still. There is not enough whoppers, movies, trashy t.v. shows or Dr. Pepper to take the feeling of uselessness away. You see, I love camping. I love outings. I love bike rides. I love swimming. I love wakeboarding. I love vacations, and I LOVE summer...Only, I've pretty much had to say goodbye to this one. And it hit me like a led brick yesterday. Can I just say this totally sucks! Being pregnant is hard enough for me, and here it is again. One right after the other. I feel like I've been in this state since September of 2008 (that's when I got pregnant with Logan). I can't play with my kids. I can hardly hold them. I can't go on walks. I am not sleeping well. All my flowers are dead or dying. And to top it all off, I get to miss out on all the summer fun! Can you tell I'm feeling sorry for myself right now? I just needed a little venting. I know when my girls get back and I hear them fighting and whining at me I'm going to wonder what all my fuss was about.