28 weeks...about 10 to go!

But who's counting? ;)




I've also included some pictures of why it's so much fun to homeschool. :) We may put in the blood sweat and tears but we also get to reap the benefits...namely, a trip to Marble Slab Creamery today where we got to sample the goods--ICE CREAM made right there in the store.

School Room!

So, last night we moved almost all of our school stuff out of the house, got other stuff (that I've been doing without...) out of the garage and started setting up our school room. I've debated posting pictures of it yet because it's not "done" and perfect. (Need to get flooring in and finish decorating-oh and get the kids some chairs that will work for long term) But you know, life is too short to worry about "perfect". So, I will post the pictures of what we have for now. The only problem we've found is that our a/c unit (a window unit) is not cooling very effectively. The bad thing is it's hard to know if it's the unit or that it's so hot outside anyways OR could it be because I'm full of pregnancy hormones that make me sweat to death in a deep freeze!? That's the million dollar question.
So, here goes!






(obviously, the pictures at the bottom are "before" pics of what that part of our garage looked like)
Now, please remember, we are not all the way finished. THere is stuff to hang, stuff to organize...all of that. :) But, we're so excited...in fact, the pictures I took of the school room here where the kids are hard at work at their countertop/desk space?? It was 8pm! They wanted to be doing that! I'm sure the new will wear off and they'll complain once again, but for now I have willing, excited pupils! Yay!

I'm so Excited...

My school room is just about done!!! My dad (and husband) have been working hard this weekend to get it move-in ready! It will still have a few little finishing-touches needed but will be ready that we can move our stuff OFF OF THE KITCHEN TABLE!!! And, I will be able to use the cabinet we use for school stuff for...DISHES! Yay! I've been plotting what to put into said cabinet for, oh about a year. I"m putting all baking pans/implements in there. And darn it, it's time to get down to nesting! :) I have about 2 1/2 months to go before Nathan makes his appearance here in our world and I have done no real nesting. It's beginning to get me panicked. Oh, and the children's books that are always all over my kitchen floor (b/c Haley loves to pull them out of the shelves and yet, for some strange reason, does not love to put them back) will be gone from the kitchen too! :) **Nathan is excited about this. I know because he is kicking me**

Before, our school room was just 1/2 of our garage. Being used for...no, not the car or something silly like that, but a place to store JUNK. A place to allow us to accumulate JUNK. Now, we have only a 1 car garage and it will take some work, but I will need to keep junk accumulation to a minimum. (I did it before when we had a 1 car garage-in our favorite ever house!) Now, that half of the garage is a laundry room and school room. Yep, my laundry is still in the same place, but BUT it will be air conditioned! and have flooring! And be painted!! Oh, and a place to plug in our little chest freezer that has sat forlornly among the junk (unplugged) for about 5 years because we had no plug-in for it! My dad also had an electrician come out and put lights and electrical sockets in our garage! I didn't do a great job of doing before pictures because it just looked like "nothing"-just a dark garage with a bunch of garbage scattered about...but I definitely will have after pictures! :)

My next post will be after pictures! :)

Baths

Last night I was giving Haley her bath (because for some reason she screams the whole time her daddy does it lately-and it seemed easier to me to do it myself than to listen to them "fight") and that hot water looked oh-so-inviting as I was having a very achy day. So, I decided to join her. The only thing is, that is not a pregnant sized bath-tub for 1! Wanna know how I found out? When I sat in it. I did fit-barely. Then, Lindsay comes in and says "Woah mom, you put a lot of water in there". Uhhhh. No. It wasn't that full-until AFTER I got in. So, I had to talk to her about the science of displacement. All the while the two year old was attempting to bathe me-by THROWING cupfuls of water at my upper body! LOL This is a good life...not always an easy one, but a good one! Aren't you thankful there are no pictures to go with this post??

Oh, and I had a little discussion about "Nafan" with Haley too. About how he would cry when he needed something and when he was hungry he would cry for me..."what will we feed him Haley?" At this point she looks at me (this gargantuan bath taker over) and says "Ummmm, ba ba's?" Nope! Sorry dear Haley...not the answer. LOL So, we talked about boo-boos and milk (boo boo is her word-I didn't tell her to call them that) and she says she will change his diapers and clean his "body" (bottom)...This could be a very interesting year 2010! Stay tuned!

**Thanks Meredith for your kind words and offers of support! Much appreciated! :)

When Life...

hands you lemons, squeeze them into your water because it *supposedly* will make your ankles less bowling-ball-ish sized. Only, it doesn't really work so much.
But apparently, cutting waaay back on your sodium intake can help said problem. When I went to see my dr last week (for my 26 week check up) she was not too happy with the size of my ankles, hands, face, etc. What amuses me was that she didn't seem too put off by the size of my belly. It's the size of a belly expecting, say, quintuplets. And believe me, I hear it regularly.
"Are you sure there is only one in there?"
"You're due in December? Maybe they have the dates wrong!"
and all the other comments that go along that line. What amazes me is that at no other time in a woman's life would someone feel that they should comment on her size/weight. Except when she is pregnant. This is also the time when she is very unsure of herself and (dare I say) emotionally/hormonally unstable! Why would this be a good time to point out just how big she is? And the thing is I (as well, I'm sure, most pregnant women out there) KNOW that I'm carrying around a belly that is gargantuan. You know how I know this? I carry it around. My back aches. My legs ache. I can't shave the achy legs...

Now, here is where I stop complaining about being pregnant and remind myself...there are women out there (I used to be one of them) to whom this all sounds like a wonderful dream. To feel all of these things. To throw up every morning-oh and the rest of the day too, because morning sickness was a term coined by a man I'm quite sure (they won't love going through it when it happens, but it's still a dream) and to have kicks and jabs that hurt! Women who have never been blessed to carry a baby in their tummy. I get kind of sucked into my little world of pregnancy complaints until I run into someone who has never had this blessing. So what if it's not fun. It's still a blessing! In the end it will all be worth it! And it must be, or all children would be "onlies". :)

All that said, there are problems (associated with pregnancy??) that are not physical. The other day I had a no-good rotten horrible day. Everything overwhelmed me and made me mad and sad. It wasn't limited to things that *should* make a person mad or sad...anything that was required of me in any way made me feel as if I could not survive the day. Thankfully I had some good friends who were praying for me and others who were listening and noticing. It goes a LONG way. It's a feeling I'm not unfamiliar with. But usually it comes after the baby-depression. It really scared me to feel those feelings while pregnant. I'd love to make it through this pregnancy medicine free-that is my goal. Thankfully, it seems to have subsided. I don't know what it was, but I'm thankful that it seems to be gone for the moment. I have decided that for right now, the course of treatment is: being kind to myself. I am going to do my best to really just not expect more of me than I can give. If that means slowing down on our school work a little, then that's what has to happen. If that means we don't go to something that we are supposed to be at? So be it. I have to do the best I can to be a good mom to the three children that I have as well as the one on the way.