An early intruder

At about 6:40 this morning Blythe came into our room crying. So I asked her what was wrong and she said "Ethan isn't in his bed". So I kind of assumed she went into his room looking for him and couldn't find him. Which worried me a little.

So anyway, then I asked her, "do you know where he is?"

She said, "He's in MY room in MY bed. I don't want him in my bed." So now that made sense. Blythe does not like to be woken up early in the morning. Especially by her brother who likely wants her to get up and play kitchen with him. So Braden went and got him and Blythe went back to bed. Crisis averted.

Okay, so everything is about ready

I got a haircut on Sunday. Bogie is getting a haircut today. House got cleaned today. And although work is still busy, I'm sick of it. So that means baby can come anytime now. Wait - need to pay some bills. THEN baby is allowed to come into this world.

A month or so ago I said I was enjoying my time being a mom of just 2 kids. But recently I've become practically immobile as it feels like sometimes like the skin on my stomach is going to tear open. Or it feels like the baby can't possibly be sitting any lower or it might just fall out. Thank goodness for my wonderful husband who has been doing EVERYTHING! Taking the kids to school and picking them up, going grocery shopping, cooking dinner, bathing the kids (okay, so he always does that), you name it. He has been a HUGE help!

So anyway, we've been hanging around the house a lot lately. Blythe still has her t-ball practice and games, so those are our big outings of the week. She's getting better at t-ball and actually fielding sometimes and hitting better. Maybe she'll actually decide to do it next year too.

But I think both of my kids are looking forward to the outdoor pool opening for the season. Though not sure it even made it to 60 degrees yesterday, so we're not exactly dying of heat exhaustion over here. Hopefully it'll warm up before the pool opens Memorial Day weekend.

Think they are ready?

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day yesterday! Every year they get better as the kids get older and start to actually understand what Mother's Day is. I got to sleep in until 7:45 and the kids woke me up by coming into my room and yelling "Happy Mother's Day". Then they gave me a card that they both made together. Blythe's favorite thing to draw right now is flowers. Ethan likes squiggles.

They had thought of doing breakfast in bed, but my huge belly makes that a little difficult, so I hung out and watched while they cooked breakfast. They decided to tackle bacon, eggs, and french toast, which basically meant Braden had to do them all at the same time. He was unhappy with his performance and gave himself an "F", but I disagreed since most of it was edible. But actually, seeing things not go as smoothly as he hoped made me feel more appreciated. After he fed me and the kids (and Ethan's bottomless pit of a stomach), there was not enough left for Braden. Which happens to me sometimes, so again it's nice to watch someone be in your shoes for a few minutes. It really does make you feel more appreciated than just being told so.

Later in the day I took Blythe to Christiansburg High School where they were putting on the musical "Beauty and the Beast". It was packed and was actually really good, for a high school production. The gal who played Belle was amazing. The show was long though - we were there for about 3 hours. Blythe did well and made it through the whole thing. At intermission she saw some people who had M&M's and said she wanted some. After she mentioned it, I really wanted some too. So we stood in a long line for concessions. The woman 2 people in front of us bought 4 packs of M&M's, then the guy in front of us bought 2 packs. All we wanted was 1 pack to share, but that guy bought the LAST ones! Ugh! What a terrible thing for a pregnant lady and her 4 year old daughter. We had to settle for crackers.

Anyway, after the play we met Braden and Ethan at Red Robin for dinner and then Braden took the kids home while I went to Walmart for groceries. Blythe was exhausted so she went straight to bed after they got home. I was a little bummed because I realized I hadn't spent much time with Ethan on this Mother's Day. But when I got home, he had just gone to bed so I snuck into his room to give him a kiss and hug goodnight. As soon as I walked into his dark room, he lifted his head up and said, "Happy Mother's Day". Awww...such a nice ending to my day!

37 weeks..."full term"

I'm officially considered "full-term" now, even though my due date is 20 days away. And I guess I'm at the point where I look like I could pop at any moment. Blythe says to me almost daily, "Mom, look how big your tummy is!". And random neighbors who I rarely see (and therefore don't even know my due date) say "wow looks like you could go at any time". Even about 3 weeks ago at Blythe's first t-ball game someone asked when I was due and I said 6 weeks and they said, "huh....I would have guessed like 1 or 2 weeks". Yep, okay, I get it. I'm ginormous. However - I just might come in under my 40 pound wait gain goal. To think I weighed almost 10 pounds more when I was pregnant with Blythe. No wonder I had such a hard time sleeping then.

And I think I was heavier then, not necessarily because I had 2 donuts and a french vanilla cappicino every day, but because I was allowed to sit on my butt and do nothing. No running after 2 kids. Getting 2 kids dressed and fed for school. No brushing kids teeth at night. No carrying kids around on my hip up or down stairs. Such was the life! But I've also never liked being pregnant. And I remember being pregnant that first time, knowing I probably wanted 3 kids and thinking "I have to go through this 2 more times". And now I'm almost at the end. And I'm not sad about it one bit.

And the answer is....

So if anyone guessed it was Blythe or Ethan without the ball...you're wrong.

Guess which one?

One of us DOESN'T have a ball under our shirt.

4 more weeks until "vacation"

Wow...it's been almost a week since my last blog? What's wrong with me? Work is what's wrong. I'm looking forward to being on maternity leave...as a VACATION from work. I'm trying to control the stress level so I don't end up with a premie baby (though I'm thinking baby probably already weighs about 6.5 lbs, so probably wouldn't be all that premie at this point).

4 weeks until my due date and the weeks are still flying by and the month of May doesn't appear to be a much slower month. Still have done practically nothing to prepare for baby. I did buy some Dreft, so I'm now prepared to wash the clothes I haven't gotten out so I can start to pack the bag I haven't packed. But I am now going to the doctor every week and this past week he checked and baby hasn't dropped at all, so appears I have a ways to go.

So anyway, other than work, work, and more work, this week has been fairly uneventful. For the first time ever as a family of 4, we actually all played a board game the other night. Okay, so actually Ethan "helped" Daddy. We played "Sequence for Kids". Fun game, but apparently I was the one who needed help since Blythe won the first game and Braden and Ethan won the next 2 games. Good thing I'm not a sore loser, even though I'm NEVER PLAYING AGAIN!

Anyways, Gommy and Poppa are coming to visit today so they can check out Blythe's t-ball "skills" at her 9am game tomorrow. Should have some nice, warm weather so will be a fun weekend.

And the polls are now open

So I've now entered my 36th week of pregnancy, which means if I were to go into labor now, the doctors would not try to stop it. This means it's a good time to start the guessing.

To follow in the footsteps of my cousin Sarah, I have created a poll. Just click on the link below and enter your guesses. Winner gets bragging rights.



Of course, I know I also have a lot of blog stalkers who don't want to admit they read my blog and therefore probably don't want to enter guesses for bragging rights. So for you guys (and anyone else who wants to), I'll also keep the polls to the right open until baby is born. Not to worry - voting on these is completely confidential. You can go right on stalking me and I'll never know. But just make sure you vote!

So that you all have an equal playing field, I will give you information about my last 2 deliveries:
Blythe - I was induced 1 day early (pretty much because I was sick of being pregnant). She was 8 lbs 10 oz and 21.5 inches long.
Ethan - I was induced 8 days early (because Braden had to head to NCAA's and I preferred he be home with me and baby for at least a week before he left). He was 8 lbs 8 oz and 21.25 inches long.

So anyway, both were pretty similar which means this one this one might not be (or maybe it could be similar too). Happy guessing!

Accident Report

I'm happy to report Ethan has gone 4 days with NO accidents! Of course now that I type that, he'll probably start having a few.

Blythe, on the other hand, has had at least one every day. Not at school (she hasn't done that in probably a year), but at home. I'm not sure what's going on. I personally think it's a cry for attention, maybe because Ethan has been getting more attention since he's been potty training. If that's the case, I hate to see what happens after this baby is born. Maybe instead she'll step up and want to be more of a big sister helper. Guess we shall see. In the meantime, she can continue to work on her dancing skills.

And nesting has begun

I think the nesting urge may have finally started. Barely. Up to this point I have felt no need to really clean, more to just keep up with the everyday clutter. But yesterday Braden and I both cleaned our cars...vacuumed and Windex and everything. Maybe subconciously I'm starting with the first place new baby will go (other than hospital room).

And I even got started in the nursery a bit going through some stuff. I didn't think I'd have time, but then yesterday afternoon my 12 year neighbor called and said she was bored and wanted to know if I needed any help with Ethan or Blythe. Ethan was napping so she came over and played games with Blythe (games like "Cooties" which I have no interest in playing with Blythe) and played in the sandbox with her. So while she was doing that, I managed to go through a few drawers in the nursery and some of the closet.

Later she thanked me for "letting her come over and play with Blythe". Um. Anytime. For real.

At some point during the day Blythe watched a Dora the Explorer show that was about riddles. So this is a new concept to her. Right before she fell asleep last night, she says, "Mom, what has 2 tails, 8 legs, and says "Ee-aw"?" So I say, "Um..2 donkeys?". She said, "No, a donkey with 2 tails". Hmmm..

Another thing she's very into these days is numbers. She's always asking me if I can count to 130 or one hundred thousand. She likes doing addition too and can do it pretty well and doesn't even have to use her fingers every time. She's also asking me to do it all the time...."Mom, what's 5 plus 5 plus 5 plus 4?"

First t-ball game

Blythe had her first t-ball game yesterday. Honestly I had zero expectations going in and didn't even know how 4/5 t-ball works. So here's the scoop - no score is kept, so I guess no one wins. We play 2 innings (though maybe sometimes they will play 3...not sure). Everyone bats and everyone gets on base (even in the very rare instance where the ball makes it to first base before the runner). Everyone gets a single (though I guess if they wanted to keep running, no one would really stop them). Then the last batter gets a grand slam.

Surprisingly, everyone on Blythe's team hit the ball within 2 tries. And I was shocked that Blythe actually hit it pretty far. She liked running the bases too. All players also play the outfield, so there are no benched players. Braden said they should change their name to the Bees because it's like a swarm of bees everytime someone hits the ball. Except Blythe wouldn't be on that team. She's the only one who just stands there when the ball comes with no attempt to retrieve the ball or throw it. So it's clear she got her t-ball "athletic ability" from me. So I'm going to guess she won't be a great tennis player, or volleyball, or basketball, or soccer. Because, like me, she doesn't like to hustle. Always seemed to me a waste of my energy to run after a ball. But of course she could prove me wrong.

I missed Blythe's second time at bat because Ethan said he needed to go potty, so we headed to the car where I was prepared this time with a little potty I brought from home. I haven't blogged about his potty progress in a while. I think today we might have turned the last corner. For the last 3 weeks he has done quite well with peeing in the potty. And in the last week has even started telling us when he needs to go. The problem has been #2 in the potty. He most definitely preferred to do it in his pants, and would only go in the potty if his only alternative was the floor (i.e. if he had no pants on). But of course he can't go pantless all the time, so we've had lots of accidents. Yesterday he actually went on the potty instead of in his pants and then today he actually told us he had to go and then went on the potty. So hoping that's it and that milestone has been crossed. Guess time will tell.

T-ball

Blythe had her first T-ball practice this evening. Pretty sure she had no idea what T-ball was. I just signed her up without asking her if she wanted to play, probably more for my own entertainment. She was being a pain in the butt before we left the house for practice, so I threatened that we weren't going to go and she said, "but I do want to go to Tennis Ball".

Anyway, she's in the 4/5 T-ball league and her team is the Cardinals (which in real world baseball are the arch rivals of the only team I halfway like...the Cubs). Though I guess White Sox are also rivals. Her friend Ginsey who lives next door is also on her team. Here they are looking like they might be able to play t-ball.

Blythe has some definite room for improvement in the catching department. And in hitting. And throwing. But so does the rest of the team.

Ethan, meanwhile, played with Ginsey's brother Frank. I hope Frank makes it to every practice and every game.

So the season has officially started. Play ball!

Hold on Baby

My cousin Sarah is due with her first baby just 6 days before I am due. I saw on her Facebook status that this past weekend she was washing baby clothes and getting the nursery ready. Made me think back to when I was pregnant with Blythe and how the last month was about the slowest month of my entire life because everything was ready and all set for the baby. Flashforward to now where I am so NOT ready for baby to come!

I mean, don't get me wrong...I'm pretty sick of being pregnant. But have I washed baby clothes? No. Have I even gotten any out? No. Have I put the new swing we got together? No. Have I moved the crib back to the level it should be for a newborn? No. Have I even really gone in the nursery recently? No. Have I bought any baby toiletries? No. Have I gotten out any bottles (to probably determine I need to buy all new ones)? No.

What HAVE I done? I did remember to email my HR rep at work to let her know I'd be out sometime in the near future so she could send me the paperwork. Feel pretty proud about remembering to do that.

This weekend it hit me that there is the (slightest) possibility that I could have this baby early. That I'll be considered full term (at 37 weeks) in just over 3 weeks. YIKES! That means I have to have a bag at least somewhat packed in about 2-ish weeks. How did this creep up on me so quickly? You wouldn't think it would if you've been counting your life in weeks since September.

But I've just been enjoying this time when I have just 2 kids. And the youngest one isn't SO dependent on me anymore. And the weather has been nice so we can play outside. We can play in the sandbox. We can play on the swing we hung up this weekend (actually Braden hung it up). We can go to the Hokie baseball game and actually watch the game (at least until the 3rd inning when Ethan asked if we could go home). Braden and I can go on a date and leave the kids at home with a new babysitter and not have to do anything to prepare for it.

Don't get me wrong - I really want this baby and am so excited for his/her arrival. I'm just hoping it's not coming in the next 3-4 weeks because I'm not ready yet!

Easter

Yeesh...it's been over a week since I posted! Probably had something to do with me being out of town for 6 nights. And now I'm home for a REALLY LONG TIME. Anyway, last Friday we headed to Gommy and Poppa's for our Easter celebrations. Such awesome weather we had, so we really had a good time. On Saturday morning we headed out to Dan Nicholas Park for an extremely over-crowded Easter egg hunt and then to enjoy the park. Blythe got no eggs in that hunt and Ethan ended up with 2 eggs (not sure how that happened actually). The park is a really cool park (would highly recommend it to anyone thinking of going) and you could spend more than an entire day doing everything it has to offer. But we went for the massive playground, train ride, carousel ride, and petting zoo. Had a picnic lunch, then headed back to the house.

While Ethan napped (or actually just played in his room for a really long time before falling asleep), Blythe headed to another Easter Egg hunt in my parents neighborhood. This one had much less kids, so Blythe ended up with 41 eggs (the most), but did not find the gold or silver egg, which would have won her a big prize and the $5 that was inside each of those! Anyway, she had a good time and racked up on some candy.

Because 2 egg hunts (actually 3 if you count the one we did here in Blacksburg before we left) isn't quite enough, we had one more on Sunday. This one we did as our traditional family egg hunt where we save egg shells, dye them, fill them with confetti, then cover with crepe paper. It's quite a long process, but the reward is getting to crack them on people's heads after you're done hunting them. Blythe hasn't quite figured out how to crack them without hurting her victim, so I think we all had minor headaches after she was through with us. But anyway, it was a lot of fun.

Grams (Braden's mom) had sent the kids some really cute Easter clothes, but we didn't make it to church on Sunday, so I asked Lynette to get some shots of the kids in their stylin clothes. It was hard to pick just a few to post, but here are some of my favorites.

Thanks Lynette for taking such awesome pictures!

Later on Sunday, the guys headed out so they could attend the practice round at the Masters on Monday. Sounds like they had a really great time. I need to check out the pics Braden took and then I'll post some. While they were there, I had to fly out to Oklahoma for work. Was supposed to get back Wednesday night, but got in to Charlotte too late to drive home, so I drove back to my parents, stayed the night, then drove home yesterday morning. And boy am I glad to be home!

The Sandbox

If we were smart when we built our house, we would have had them level our backyard instead of keeping it on the downward slope it has. But we didn't have kids, just dogs, and so those types of things just never crossed our minds. So anyway, we're left with a sloping yard (and we also put in a fence, so it wouldn't be worth it to fix it now). And that means no playground in the yard without some serious dirt hauling and retention wall building. The good news is that we have a playground in the neighborhood, so that is very nice. But I've been thinking with this new baby on the way that it might be nice for Blythe and Ethan to be able to play in the backyard.

So the next best thing...a makeshift playground. We already have a porch swing hanging under the deck. There is room to hang one kid swing (we have the stuff, just need to get that hung). We also already had a plastic slide in the yard. One more necessity - a sandbox. We had a little tiny crappy plastic one, but wanted a bigger one to fit some of Ethan's trucks. So Braden made a plan, we went to Home Depot, and he knocked it out in just a couple of days. And the kids LOVE it!

Nice job Braden!

And the kids are still enjoying the slide we've had for a few years.

In other news, I had a regular visit to the OB yesterday. All looked good with baby. No more protein in my urine. Blood pressure was good. Size of uterus is now measuring in the normal range. Weight gain...eh. Making up for the last time which was a bit low. Heart rate was about 135-140, so those of you who believe old wives tales will think it's a boy.