Due September 2011: Showering Ford!

Lacey had her baby shower last night.  Ford is one blessed little baby already!  Lacey and Ford received some GREAT things! 

The hostesses did a great job.  All the details were amazing!  So was the food!!

There was a table with Lacey and Mac's baby pictures and a tree you wrote a little "wish" for Ford and then hang it on the tree.

There were "mom"jitos for the preggers, and other delightful things to sip on as well!

All of her sweet friends!!!

Lacey's 27 week baby bump!

She's in the third trimester now!  The countdown is ON!!!

This Auntie's Got New Baby Nephew!

Here are some more pics from the Gender Reveal Party!!!  Mom has a blue and pink ribbon from all my kiddos, so she decorated the door with them!

Rayne, Mac's sister, brought a cake!!!  YUM!

Mac pretty much came in and started setting up the game!

We all took turns!  I would say it took roughly 20 minutes.  A long 20 minutes! ;-)

This is Mac doing the last few matches saying, "It's a BOY!  It's gotta be a BOY!!!"

Lacey's ultrasound nurse did a GREAT job!  She picked out the "boy" symbol and taped it to the inside of the envelope that included the "i'm a boy" pics! ;-)

We decided to eat the girl section of the cake!

I HAVE A NEPHEW!!!!!!!!!!

And the official 18w 1d belly bump pic...I threw myself in there too.  It's funny, in the background, you see a wedding pic of mine, Lacey's Portico magazine cover, a baby pic of Olivia and family pic of my family when Lilian was like 8 weeks old.  ;-)

Another random little fact, Lacey and play Words with Friends on our iphone and ipad.  The night before she found out, I played the word "ford".  And then nagged her about all the words she's been playing that I've never heard of.  (Lallands? Kora? Ain? Avo?  comeon...)  And she made the comment, is it a sign?!?  Because Ford is one of the names up for grabs for the baby.  He will likely be a IV named after his daddy.  Anyways, thinking back she was RIGHT!

Neice or Nephew!??!??!??

So.....we found out what Lacey was having last night!!!!  And she created the CUTEST way to find out!

It's called The Gender Memory Game!


Here is the video she shared!


YOU HAVE TO WATCH THE VIDEO!  IT IS SO CUTE!!

Also, if you want to purchase the game, she gives you the details at the end!

Next post, I will post pictures of the night!!!!!

Aren't they cute!!!  She hand painted and sketched them HERSELF!!!  Everything from a fishing pole, purse, shoe, dress, wand, baseball glove, jersey, etc!!!  All are either BOY or GIRL!

She explains it in the video!!

Anyways, I'm SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!  Can't wait to get my hand on that sweet little one!!!

First Day

Obligatory post :-) But how cute are they in their uniforms!

First day of 1st grade and 4K!!!

Landon definitely knew what was going on and was SUPER excited. Olivia fell right back into the swing of things like a pro. And was a very attentive big sister to her brother.


I think I had better first time obedience from him that morning than any other morning!! :-) He wasn't going to let anything go wrong!


Hugging sister goodbye - little does Lillian know that life's a changin' for her too!

Hugging brother goodbye! :-) So sweet!


When Landon was lining up to leave, I could tell he was upset over Olivia already being dismissed or trying to tell the teacher something. He looked stressed. So I ran over to make sure he was okay. I started saying, "it's okay, Olivia's going to her classroom, etc, etc". Anything to make him feel better.

The teacher touched my shoulder and said, "No, he's okay. He's ready to go to the classroom. He said wants to go NOW!" :-)

Bless his heart, he was just so anxious to get started he began leaving the room (not knowing where to go) before the teacher was ready!

I held up okay. It was a bit surreal. Not because we've been counting the days until school (we have out of pure excitement) but because the whole summer I've been telling the kids, "After school starts, it'll be time for the baby to come out!". And now school has started. WOW. Reality check.

I had good intentions of coming home and getting some big stuff done. But my body has recently informed me (in more ways than one) that I've overdone it lately. The only thing remedy for my issues is to lay down and put my feet up. Doctor said so. Gotta follow doctor's orders, huh. :-)

But the doc said baby is low (I could have told you that!!!) and I'm starting to progress. The doc also said 4th babies don't stay up there long. So it could really be any time.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ready to get this show on the road! I personally prefer the newborn stage over the last few weeks of pregnancy. But that's just me.

So here's to Operation Get This Baby Out! I will listen (and possibly do) anything that has worked for others - and I've love to hear any suggestions!

Ramblings

And ramblings of a pregnant woman at that! Who knows where this will go.

Anyhoo...I always liked when my pregnant friends posted updates about their pregnancies on their blogs, so I thought I could ramble on a little bit about the end of this pregnancy. I'm sure my out of town family would like to know what is going on too! ;-)

Let's see. 36.5 weeks. WOW. So close.....yet SOOOO far away. I always say the last month is just as long (if not longer) than the whole 9 months! But I'm feeling really good. Normal aches and pains for being 8 ½ months pregnant that aren't fun, but I really am blessed to have such easy pregnancies.

My appointments have been going well. I'd like think I'm my doctor's favorite patient. In and out in no time, no questions, no phone calls, and no problems! We'll just pretend I am anyways...makes me feel good. :-)

I opted out of being checked this week. Probably fearing news that would just discourage me. I'd be perfectly happy not knowing how "progressed" I am. I've stayed "nothing" for weeks, then went into labor and stayed 2 cm for weeks and went into labor. Then I've been overdue. So I tend to try and not listen to my cervix too closely. It doesn't consistently communicate very well in my honest opinion.

The doc did say it looks like we're headed towards a baby the size of Landon or bigger. I could have told him that. I've felt that this baby was bigger...especially compared to Lillian. It was nice for him to concur. But it makes me speculate "boy" a little bit too.

Baby names. Boy we are BE-HIND in this department. We have plenty of girl options (I like choices once the baby is born) but not really enough boy options. May have to work on this a little bit. :-) We'll see. It'll have a name eventually.

The only thing I really need to do before this baby is born is wash the car seat cover (even though I'm getting a new cover if it's a boy) and go through the newborn clothes. I will pull out all the white cotton gowns for the baby to wear for a while. Then I'll have a girl bag and boy bag ready to pull once we know the sex.

The only thing we absolutely needed for this baby was a chest-of-drawers. And there just happen to be an extra one in my grandparents garage that belonged to my parents. They said we could have it. And to top it of, to save on space, my grandfather built a cute railing around the top of it for a changing table. Voila! Now it just needs to put in the corner of our room and be filled with white blankets and gowns!!

Bad pic, but you get the idea. it can be removed once we are done with the changing table!

Next week will begin the waiting game - which is killer. I'll be "term" and it'll just be up to God and this baby to decide when the big day is. At my last appointment my doc and I had a wonderful conversation about delivery that really put a peace in my heart about things. I'm finally ready and can't wait to meet this little human that kicks me all.day.long. I know the kids are ready too! They are "so over" this baby-in-the-belly thing. They pretty much don't even ask about it anymore.

So, I think I covered most of the bases. It's been a pretty uneventful pregnancy. Let's hope the delivery is too! ;-) I'm ready to tackle the swing of things with 4 - and try and manage not to lose my sanity!!!

Comparison and Dreams

I find myself comparing these 4 different pregnancies often. And it's funny how each one gets more and more laid back. Here are some areas that differ a lot!

Nursery:

Olivia - It was set up by the time I was 6 months pregnant - completely!

Landon - We set things up a couple months in advance.

Lillian - We set up the crib 2 weeks before she was born and then made her sleep in a pack n play in the den.

#4 - Not even going to bother dragging the crib out of the closet!

Doctor's Visits:

Olivia - Had written questions for my doctor almost ever visit. Even went to the ER when I had round ligament pains. Can we say PARANOID!? And the visits couldn't come soon enough. Arrived early and didn't want to leave.

Landon - Looked forward to the visits. Probably still had some questions. Had a few complications (kidney stones) with pregnancy and therefore was in touch with the Dr/Nurses a lot.

Lillian - Didn't go to the DR until 2nd trimester. Tried to skip an appointment but got called out by the Dr.!! :-) Dreaded going to the Doc because I usually had a 2 or 4 year old with me.

#4 - Can I please just skip all the appointments and just start coming about 3 weeks before my due date???!?? Pretty please? I asked him to push my last appointment back a week and he obliged! Let's see if I can get him to do it again next time!! :-) Sometimes I just call back and move it myself - I know...bad pregnant lady...how dare I do that!! It is just such a PAIN and HASSLE to go to the Doctor with all that we have going on. Not to mention finding someone to watch up to THREE kids! Not easy!!

General

Olivia - Talked about her ALL the time! Daydreamed, planned, anticipated her EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. The pregnancy lasted FOREVER!

Landon - Was very excited, couldn't wait, seemed to last forever!

Lillian - Went pretty fast until the end. The last 2 weeks were killer.

#4 - The weeks fly by, though my guess is that the last few weeks, when the kids are in school, will go pretty slow. So we'll see.

Food/Exercise

Olivia - Ate everything in sight. Have never been on a treadmill at his point. I was a very, very "fluffy" pregnant woman. Didn't care to lose it either afterwards.

Landon - Ate everything in sight. Did NOT exercise. Though began walking after he was born and joined a gym for the first time when he turned 1.

Lillian - Was more conscious about the calories I consumed. Exercise regularly. And it came off quickly after delivery! Imagine that! lol I learned my lesson twice before.

#4 - Still trying eat well. :-) Not buying (and downing) a slice of Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake every Friday and Saturday night (like with Lillian - which is kind to the wallet). But not excluding ANYTHING from my diet! :-) Exercising often. But sometimes I pass off taking the (3) kids grocery shopping as exercise. Surely pushing that cart around is burning lots of calories!!! Not to mention carrying all the groceries upstairs from the garage!!! :-)

Cravings

Olivia - homemade ice cream (that I churned up in my kitchen) with peanut butter morsels. Ate this breakfast/lunch/dinner!

Landon - Steak (rib eye to be exact) and potatoes!

Lillian - grapefruits and Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake - at least twice a week.

#4 - can't quite pin down anything specific. Went through a mushroom/artichoke phase. And spinach salad phase. And a roasted butternut squash phase. But nothing that I'm eating every.single.day. I would definitely say salty foods. I recently decided to completely stopped salting my food because I believe it was making me feel bad!! :-( Though I want to SOOO bad!



This is just a few of the differences that come to mind. Maybe I can look back at these one day and laugh!


And speaking of baby #4, everyone keeps asking me what I feel that it is. I go back and forth. I thought Lillian was a girl until around 6 months and then thought boy. Then when she came out a girl, I felt really bad for thinking she was a boy!! So I'm trying not to get anything in my head. In fact, I alternate days thinking about how a girl or boy would fit into our family!!!

I have had 2 very vivid dreams about this baby. The first one I had the baby at the hospital, no drugs, with my cousin Abby helping me. The baby came pretty quickly and it was a girl!

The second dream was not too long ago and the baby came so quickly I had it at home. It was a little girl with a head FULL of black hair and she had very pale skin. I'm guessing that was in there because our kids either come out with Robert's complexion or my complexion. The being born at home part had to be thanks to my friend Annie who almost had her baby at home. Baby Rhiannon decided to come in the car instead!! Each of my kids come quicker and quicker I guess I'm a little anxious about how this one will debut!!!

In the next few weeks I think I'll put a poll up to see what all you bloggy folk think the baby is!! This baby could be here in the next 6-9 weeks! Still seems forever though... :-(


Do any of you have varying thoughts with each pregnancY???

The Results....

Well, thanks guys!! For those who participated, I thought your questions were great! I never know how much you actually want to know about the things I share. I guess I figure it might be boring....or overkill. But here it goes!

The topics that were asked about (in no particular order) were: the new baby, my diet/workout routine, how/when Robert and I met, # of kids, our budget/what's going on with Robert's job, and some of my sewing projects!


So I'll attempt the first couple of topics now! :-) With some pictures scattered throughout! :-)


A lot of you wanted to know about names for the new baby and if we found out. We did not find out at our 19 week ultrasound. We found out with Olivia and Landon, but NOT with Lillian. It makes it easy to not figure out if you already have a boy and a girl. But I HIGHLY recommend NOT finding out. The surprise is SOOOO much fun!!! And I don't see the rush in getting nurseries done before the baby's born. I found I never used them very much in the first couple of months anyways. In fact, this baby isn't even getting a crib set up for it before it's born!! haha I guess that's what happens when you're #4.

Names...oh the name game. Well, not knowing what it is does make it harder to come up with names. I literally broke out our family tree the other day. (My grandfather has a very detailed one printed out) That helped a little....I did jott down some names off that list.



We probably won't DECIDE decide until we are in the hospital and know what it is. We haven't really talked about it yet. It's hard when you have two people who aren't really decisive in that area. Robert would probably say, "You decide, I don't care" :-) Hopefully we can use some family names and keep the trend going. I feel like we're running out though...and not leaving any names for my siblings to use! Well...first come, first serve I guess! :-)

And to be completely honest, I won't be telling any names before the baby's born. (sorry) I will skirt the subject around and around until it drops. I for one just can't bring myself to name a child I cannot see. But again, TOTALLY just me! But if you name you're child in the womb, I will talk about it like it's in the room lookin' straight at me!! :-)

As for if this will be our last child, I cannot say. All I know is that children are a blessing. And you never hear people say, "I wish I hadn't had that last child." You always hear how they wish they had more.

I've had the privilege of being around some big families and really love it. Bigger families have to take care of each other. They have to learn to be less selfish. I just love the dynamic of bigger families. It's sad that society thinks three kids is A LOT! And that anymore and you're crazy. I say, the more the merrier! I don't stress about the financial aspect because we know God will take care of us. But I will say, with this one, I have thought about how much I will be cooking one day...and the amount of laundry. Whew...BUT, the good thing is you teach your kids to help out...that you work together as a family to keep the home going!



As for my diet/workout routine, I don't personally think I'm in that great of shape. I didn't jump on the exercise train until after Landon was born. And then after seeing my body change so much, got hooked. I'm much less hooked now. I learned the (very) hard way about gaining weight during pregnancy. I gained a lot with Olivia and Landon and it took A TON of work to get it off. I guess, in my head, I know that the less I gain, the less there is to lose afterwards.

My goal before I got pregnant was to work out at least 3 times (pretty hard) per week. It's harder to fit in my schedule with 3 kids, but I feel like it's a bit of a priority because I'm taking care of my body and myself so I can take care of everyone else (and be around when my kids are older!). Plus it gives me the energy to get through some of those long days.

Pregnant workouts are MUCH much different. I find it very hard to keep up hard cardio workouts with everything that happens to your body when you're pregnant. Plus, I get such bad pains in my stomach when I work out too hard when I'm pregnant. I'm about to settle into a 3x/week hour long weight class. My heart rate gets up just enough, and keeping my muscle mass up will keep those calories burning!! And help get back down after baby.

And I know people don't like hearing this, but kids keep you pretty busy. Just think of the calories I burn when I have to carry 20 pounds of cuteness on my hip in and out of stores and around my house. And when I'm pushing 60+ pounds of kids (not including groceries) around the grocery store! I have Lillian on my hip A LOT...and we have stairs in our house!!! I'm constantly moving around in the house, picking up things and going up and down stairs with loads of laundry in hand. And groceries? Well, we cart those up some stairs too! UP...DOWN...UP...DOWN...I get a workout just from my daily life!



As for what I eat...well, everything. But I'm pretty big at cutting calories wherever I can. Like in condiments, or taking the bun off things. I love the olive oil pam instead of olive oil. I use mustard instead of mayo - and I love the olive oil mayo. What I do know is that when I eat cleaner/healthier, I physically feel better. And it's math. The more caloires you take in (than you burn) the more weight you will gain. If you burn more than you take in, you lose. It's math to me.

My motto...eat to lose weight, workout to stay healthy.


So this post is way longer than I prefer to post! If ya made it through...thanks for reading!

We have a busy week - Olivia's last week of school, school parties, doctor's appointments, etc! So hopefully I can tackle some more questions soon!

HAPPY MONDAY!!

Desperate Times Call For Frugal Matters

Ahh, maternity clothes. It's very hard to fork over $$ for clothes you only wear for a few months. But then again, you HAVE to...or you have nothing to wear. At first, my goal for this summer was to go without buying any maternity jeans. Well, that's pretty tough. Sometimes, jeans and a t-shirt is just the way to go!

I've already had my one "splurge" for this pregnancy. White maternity jeans. And I plan on wearing those suckers OUT! They are so comfy too! And go with everything! :-)

Everything except WHITE t-shirts.

So I racked my brain on how to get some jeans without breakin' the bank!

MAKE MY OWN! Voila!

Step #1:

Find nice non-maternity jeans as cheap as you possibly can! I found some at The Gap. They were marked down to $13.97 (from $64.50) and were an EXTRA 40% off!!

That makes them $8.32 people!! Pretty good!

Wash and dry them before you sew them!!


Step #2:

Gather your supplies! You need scissors, pins, and a belly band. I had one from Lillian's pregnancy that I NEVER wore. Oh well...now it's put to good use. I think I got this one at Motherhood a couple years ago for $15. You can use any stretchy fabric though.


Step #3:

Cut off the top of the jeans dipping down just a bit in the front. Also, cut out the zipper (just the actual metal teeth part) and sew it up!



Step #4:

Pin belly band and jeans right sides together. Be sure to stretch the belly band as you pin it around the jeans. It'll be all bunched up, but you stretch it as you sew as well and it goes on smooth. Sew with a small, tight stitch so that it will hold for all the times you pull them up and down! ;-)



Step#5:

Take the pins out and wear your comfy new jeans!!!

First let me say I can't believe I put that pic of my belly on my blog. I had ABSOLUTELY NO intentions of ever posting belly pics. (sorry, I know you're all so disappointed) But there was really no other way to show the final product! :-)

And cost...I'm out $8.32. I dare you to tell me where I can get new, trendy maternity jeans for that cheap!

And second....Y'all, this was SOOO easy! And took me less than 30 minutes! (minus washing/drying time) from start to finish!!! You hardly need sewing skills to get this right! I got the idea from my white maternity jeans. Maternity jeans have changed so much over the years, and they basically put one of those belly bands at the top now. So it can go over or under your belly. I was looking close at them and just thought, " I know I can do that! "

In fact, I may do all my jeans like this...and just keep on wearing them post-baby. I heart stretchy waist-band clothing!!!


Updated Mid-Morning:

I just did another pair of my jeans. I cut off the top of one of my Citizens of Humanity jeans! (I know..call me crazy! I still have others to "get back into post baby"). And this time I used a tight, lycra, nude-colored tank top...but cut off the top straps part. And it worked like a charm! The trick is getting jeans tight enough through the hips so that they will stay up well!! :-)

My Twenties

And I'm not talkin' about my age. Though I am still hanging on a little bit longer there too. Anywho...

My twenties weeks in my pregnancy! Not quite the halfway mark. (My theory is you find out your pregnant at 4 weeks +/- pregnant so halfway between 4 and 40 is 22 weeks pregnant - get that?) But who's counting?

I still have a LOOOOOONNNNNNG way. No light at the end of the tunnel yet. I feel GREAT. Best pregnancy yet. Though I'm starting to feel a little more full. And fluffy. I know, weird. That's the best word I have to describe it. You body changes so much in the second and third trimester. Your blood volume doubles. You gain (or regain) assets all over the place. I'm just starting to feel it all.

I think I'm starting to show a little. Not quite enough where people want to ask me yet (no one has the nerve yet). But a little birdie snapped off a "bump photo" the other day while she was supposed to be snapping Olivia.

This is after a big lunch. And I think my back is arched quite a bit. But still...the beginnings of a hump. Though in the other pictures of me that day.....notta. So the bump comes and goes as it pleases.


But hopefully this shirt will clear things up for some.



The bag boy at Publix got a kick out of it the other day. And then proceeded to ask me if it really was true. Um...hello!? Why would I wear it if wasn't true!? I'm hoping my workout class will get the message. We're all workout "buddies" but not friends enough for the pregnancy to come up in conversation. And I'm sure I'm looking a bit rounder to them....and wondered why I don't lay on my stomach anymore. But I kinda want them to know so they don't think I'm a wuss since I'm not pounding it out quite as hard anymore. I swear, I think it's something about the doubling blood volume that makes it SO much harder to keep a cardio workout up. But I'm still trying...and that counts, right?

One more thing. I'm really looking forward (I say that now) to the all the kind, thoughtful, encouraging, well-thought-through crazy comments I'm going to get when I have a big belly and three others with me! I can't wait to see what people want to say to me. I get enough with just the 3. But I since I don't have them all with me all the time, and my belly isn't a "for sure pregnant" belly, no one says anything....yet.

But don't worry, I'm sure I'll let you know all the insane comments I'm getting! And the creative responses I give...HA! One of the wonderful perks of pregnancy!

It Doesn't Get Old

I have to post this stuff. For all the family and friends who aren't here to see all this. But I hope others enjoy it too. I love seeing cute ultrasound pictures!!

We had our big ultrasound the other day. I didn't go in with huge expectations of it being too fun or anything. But boy was I blow away.

I mean, I've had ultrasounds before. But none like this one! The other kids ultrasounds were quick and we never came away with any good pictures. I've learned that it's a lot about the tech you have. And we had a great tech this time!

We took Olivia and Robert went with me to (he's missed the last two kids ultrasounds). And the tech (also named Lindsay) was SO GOOD! She took her time and showed us everything! She got great pictures and chatted with us about everything. She made it so exciting and fun! Since she knew we didn't want to know, she turned the screen a couple of times just in case. She says she tries not to look if people don't want to know, but sometimes she accidentally sees.

I think it helps that this baby was putting on a show for us. Stretching all around and even sucking it's little thumb!! I've never had a kid put on a show like this before! She had to chase around it's little feet to get a decent shot. It was so fun feeling and seeing the little one move in there!!

I'm really regretting not videoing it, but we have plenty of pics to remember it by!!

I think it's something Olivia will always remember. She was so excited to take the pictures to school and show her friends!!!









Anyway, those are some of the pics. Hope you can tell what's what! :-) I'm just glad I have them in the computer in case something happens to the real copies one day!!!

Ultrasounds just don't get old. There's nothing like actually seeing the little baby move around in there. It helps make it really sink in for me...it has yet to...oh well. Thank you Lord for this incredible miracle you've given us!!!