Not having a baby.. Let do something!

So after 3 days of almost solid contractions they have become few and far between.

 Since it is Friday and my Husband was home, He, my Mother and I took the kids here.

Jumping Jacks, a kids bouncy house. 

It was super fun, and so nice to get out of the house and think about something other than the fact that I am no longer having contractions. 

Now that we are back Jones is out getting ready to put a fence up in our backyard making it safe and kid friendly, so excited!!!

Here is to a fun weekend.

The way I Labor

I have been having on again off again contractions.

Right now they are on.

I thought they had subsided enough that I could go to sleep, but right as I think I could almost fall asleep the pain starts again.

They make me queasy which is unusual for me. 

I am so tired. 

I can't help but think Boo isn't even coming soon, because I had so many false alarms with my previous births.

I guess all I can do is wait and try not to throw up :)

Taking a break

My contractions are taking a break.

This meant I was able to sleep last night, which was awesome.

I was so tired.

Now we are just waiting to see if they will start up again.

Also,My mom is coming in a few hours. :)

Good Morning {extended}

I am up right now because my contractions are strong enough and close enough I can't sleep.

It is oddly very comforting. I don't think I am in labor, although since it has only been about 2 hours its hard to tell.

Like I said it is comforting, I was just telling my fam that it was unusual for me to be having so little contractions this late in my pregnancy, and I was beginning to fear that the lack of them was going to lead to a very intense and compact labor.

Yet here I am in pain, not too bad, hopefully I am not having the baby today, and hopefully these contractions are just preparing me for what is to come.

***
So it is now 12 hours since I wrote the above. At around 4 in the morning I started timing my contractions, because they were too distracting to watch tv.
They were averaging 3 minutes apart and lasting a little over a minute for a couple of hours.
By 6 they started to be less painful and My body was finally able to fall asleep at least til about 9. It seemed like they were going away but now they are back in full force 3-5 minutes apart over a minute long, and making me tired.
Still feeling good though.
Jones is awesome and excited, doing all the last minute chores I failed to do.
C is excited and keeps asking me when Boo is coming.
These are good times.

I know He Lives

Last year I had the blessing of teaching the 6 year olds at church. This meant I got to sit through singing time every Sunday and listen to children 8 and under sing the words to the song "I know that my Saviour loves me"

It is a beautiful song, but my favorite part was when they got to the chorus.

"I know He lives.

I will follow faithfully,

My heart I give to him,

I know that my Saviour loves me."

Such simple words, yet sung with such power and conviction. 

It would make me emotional, which I could just blame on the pregnancy, 

or more realistically on the fact that I do know that my Saviour loves me. 

I know that He sacrificed everything for me that I might have hope and joy and life.

I know he lives, that he "grants me daily breath..that I shall conquer death."

My heart I give to him, because I know that my Saviour loves me.

Beautiful day, Beautiful people

Today was probably the nicest day, weather wise, we have had all year.

It was wonderful to spend it outside with all our family.

Notice the bare feet, thats how nice it was.

All the kids were super cute when it came to finding the eggs, and T pants and C's baskets filled quite quickly.

One of my Favorite moments of the morning was watching Tober dance around having a good time, and then turn around and make this face.

 This smile is a very specific smile.

 It means Bopa is standing behind me. :)

And of course the only thing to do was run and jump into his arms.

It is such a unique smile, and I loved seeing it.

All the cousins in Bunny ears.

Another smile just for Bopa.

It really was a lovely morning, and now with sunburnt lips I think I will snooze in the warmth of the afternoon.

Easters

Dyeing eggs with an 11 mo old, 19 mo old, 2 1/2 year old and 4 year old...

awesome. messy. kinda funny.

I spent almost half of the day outside, which is just about the best thing in the world.

Having a backyard is probably the best thing that has happened to me this year, and tomorrow my kids and the cousins will get to search for eggs there.

Awesome.

I love Easter.

My super super Awesome Productive Wednesday

Today I woke up determined.

I started with the laundry

Gathering clothes from the kids room and other odd corners of the house.

Got 3 loads done.

Bam

Then I moved on to the fridge

which was completely filled with nasty old food.

Cleaned it out {ran in the yard with Tober who snuck out with me when I threw away the compost.} 

just in time for my Groceries to be delivered. 

Safeway delivers grocery and your first order has no delivery fees, 

so I thought I would try them out. Awesome.

Then I did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen.

Somewhere in there I got my Cardigan I ordered for C online. 

It was huge and square.

So I trimmed it down for him.

The arms were wide enough to be a grown mans and the whole thing was just baggy and square on C.

I am glad I bought it on super Clearance, because if I had paid $30 for it I would have been mad.

As it is, I just turned it inside out and stitched from the inside of the sleeve and down the sides of the sweater.

It is kinda goofy in the arm pits but way better than before.

Now I am laying in bed staring at the last load of laundry I did, thinking I might sleep a little before I try and tackle folding it.

Huzzah for a productive day. I think Jones will be very impressed. :)

Andy is Dandy

That friend of mine that I said could have her baby any moment, had her baby!

He is wonderful.

I dreamt about him all night.

I loved holding him, although I could not for the life of me imagine how He ever fit inside her, or therefore how Alfy could can fit inside me.

He has hair, and I love newborn hair.

When he sleeps he sucks in his bottom lip.

He is awesome. COngrats Yelnats!

You done good.

Boo Style

Mama R asked that I make a polyvore set to give an idea of the style I thought of when it cam to boo. This is what I came up with.

alfred perry by TheSpanishLady featuring knit tops

Knit top, $60

Paul Smith Capital Boys Stripe Sock, $40

Gap Striped kimono Onesie, $25

Gap Western print shirt, $13

Gymboree.com - Baby Clothes, Baby Boy Clothes, Infant Clothing and..., $6.99

Gap The New Chambray Onesie, $20

Walmart.com: George - Boys' Cardigan Sweater: Boys, $10

Gap Striped Onesie, $15

creative recreation pinstripe sneaker, $40

Gap 2-in-1 striped Onesie, $22

Gymboree.com - Baby Clothes, Baby Boy Clothes, Infant Clothing and..., $15

Newborn Boys' DwellStudio® for Target® Green Short-Sleeve Unionsuit :..., $9.99

And my sister, the pixie schtick sent me this list of newborn baby basics.

6 singlets (shirts)  -I have 0

6-8 bodysuits (onesies) - I have 5

2 spencers (long sleeve shirts) -I have 1

2-4 footed leggings -3 jamma type pants, not footed

2 rompers - I have 1

2 footed sleepers - 2 non footed sleepers/1 footed

1 sleeping bag -0

2 nightgowns -0

2 beanies - 1

2-3 pairs of socks -5 pairs, 

1 cardigan- 0

So I think I am doing pretty good. I would still like a cardigan, and more socks since my sleepers are footless, but I am feeling pretty prepared for the little guy to arrive, and in style I might add.

Also after about 4 weeks of working on it I have officially finished the blanket I have been crocheting for him.

Now all I need is the baby to wrap in it.

My 4 year old

Today has been a nice day. The weather cooperated enough that the kiddos and I were able to get out and enjoy it before nap time. When we go back, C wanted to play the racing game {mario kart on the wii} because racing is his life right now. Since racing is his life he of course has to document it on every piece if paper in the house.

We have dozens of pictures of race cars and trains and tracks.

I love it.

What I don't so much love is this.

This is what his coloring corner looks like.

I told him he had to pick up all the papers before he could do anything else. That was more than an hour ago. He has picked up 3 papers and walked around the house sighing, telling me how hard it is and how He wants a treat. 

I don't really care. He can go all day without treats and racing. Either he will get bored out of his mind and He will clean it or He won't. I just really want to enjoy the quiet as Tober naps.

For the love of Blogs.

"We are not apt to think of the importance of events as they transpire with us, but we feel the importance of them afterwards." - Journals: of far more worth than gold.

Pipsta has finally given in and started herself an online Journal. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to read her blog, as well as the blogs of the many Women in my life that keep them. The little glimpse I get of their life and strength is uplifting.

If you look through the Churches archives on journal keeping you will find many encouraging quotes about the blessings of writing down our life stories. As I read Pipsta's blog today I thought about how it was a manifestation of the marvelous work and wonder that God has planned for Her family. It is a Light to me, in a world where it is far too easy to get lost in the negative. Many of the blogs I follow feel that way. You are all examples, not of perfect women but of women who have faith, and desire, and knowledge, and the courage to stand for the truths we know, despite lifes difficulties.

We do not always know how the lives we live affect the people around us, today I wanted to let the leading ladies in my life know how much they lift me up, help me carry on, and teach me about the woman I want to be.

Thanks Chicas

Getting some sewing done

A friend of mine, {who should be having a baby any day now!}asked me to sew a new cover for her swing. So I borrowed a machine and got to work. 

It felt good to sew again.

 While I have the machine I decided to make a t-shirt and slim slacks for Boo. 

 Making clothes for a tiny baby is weird, they just kinda look goofy.

I had a great weekend. Some friends from church gave me a baby shower and it made me excited to see all the boy stuff around me. Sure does make it feel real.

In bed, Made another mobile

These aren't the best photos, but they are the best that I could take before my battery died. 

Even though I already made a mobile for Boo, I like the way it looks above the crib too much to move it, and since he will be sleeping in the swing next to my bed for the first little while I decided to make a cardstock mobile.

It was the easiest thing to make, Cut circles, tie thread, easy peasy. I love the way it moves. 

It had to be easy cause otherwise I couldn't have done it. 

I am mostly staying in bed today.

Baby Boo has positioned himself in a way that is putting a lot of pressure on me. It hurts. a lot. Jones thinks I should call my midwives but I know they will just say there is a baby's head pushing down on me.

I am trying really hard not to think about it.

Not to let the discomfort get to me.

Maybe this mobile was more for me, so that I would have something to look at.

Nesting

I am 36 weeks pregnant, so it makes sense that I would try and get ready.

Todays progress has been painfully slow. 

I fold about 2 pieces of clothing in between contractions. 

As I look around I feel like I have done more damage than I have good, or at least the kids have done more damage than I have good.

The day is winding down and I feel like it is time to abandon ship and just try and put the house back together as best as possible.

After We got back from the Hospital both Jones and I had picked up a sinus cold, complete with coughing, stuffy nose and worst of all, the aches and pain.

I feel like I am getting better now. 

Hopefully, slowly, over the next couple of days/ weeks I will be able to get things ready for Boo.

Her safe place

Anyone who knows Tober knows She is a climber. She happily dangles her legs over the tops of stair cases, sits at the edge of tables, and climbs out of cribs.

Her hospital room was on the 6th floor and her window sill was quite large, as you can see.

 So naturally that is where She wanted to be. 

I loved watching her there.

She was completely comfortable. 

Not like the day before, where she was terrified and in pain.

Although She was still not completely better, and still at the Hospital which she hated, She had found her safe place.

She is now safe in her own bed, back at home, hopefully to stay. 

She is one of a kind, our girl, and I am so relieved to see her feel like Her. 

Night and Day

When I got back to the hospital this morning Tober was sleeping. She had a pretty long night and hopefully she will be able to sleep a lot today. She is finished with the treatment and is now just being kept to monitor her recovery.

When She woke up She was much more herself. 

Thrilled to eat the mandarin oranges her Nana sent her.

Although it did make her mad that she couldn't use both hands.

She has to keep her hand in her little cast until they know she won't need a second round of treatment.

It is such a joy to see my exuberant little girl coming back to us. Squealing with joy as we blow bubbles that simply made her stop crying yesterday. By the time We had brought her to the Hospital yesterday, She had had a fever of over 100 for 6 days, bright red lips, a rash, a swollen gland on her neck and wouldn't use her legs because they hurt her too bad. Today Her color is coming back, Her fever is down, She will walk, only a little, and her Echo told us that We caught it early enough that it hasn't affected Her heart.

Today is going to be a better day than Yesterday.

Thats all I can really ask for.

I am so thankful that We had the ability to take her somewhere they could make Her better. 

I love my little girl.