The Countdown Begins...

A week from tomorrow and we'll finally have an ultrasound. Not just to find out the sex of the baby, but just a picture. I'm so excited. Last night I was having a hard time slowing down my brain for sleep and started imagining the ultrasound and finding out we're having twins. I'm pretty sure this is highly unlikely at this point, but without ever having had an ultrasound, surprises have happened. I have absolutely no desire for twins, let's set the record straight. My bro in law has twin girls, my older sisters are twins. My mom says she loved twins and actually wanted another set. Me? I'm good with one at a time. Even if that means I'm pregnant more often. It's all good. One at a time is how I like to do it. So I think I'm definitely getting anxious to get a snapshot of this little one, and to know if I can refer to it as "he" or "she". I think I'm almost most excited about telling Moose what the baby is. It's so much fun sharing all of this with him. He's so excited.

I forgot to update back on Friday. Baby 3 is now a bell pepper. Moose is amazed at how big it is. (5 1/2 inches from head to bum) As I was holding Monkey tonight for bed, she was sitting ontop of my belly and before I laid her down, Baby 3 made its presence known. It's still somewhat rare when I get to feel kicking or whatnot, but I enjoy it and look forward to feeling it more regularly, and being able to share it with the hubs and Moose. (I know eventually it'll get tiresome at night, but it's so reassuring to feel the baby moving and know "all is well".)

It's hard to believe tomorrow is November 1st. The fall is flying by so fast. It's practically winter. Which I'm not particularly looking forward to, being in a cold, dark, and snowy climate. But Moose is excited about snow play, so hopefully he's old enough now that it'll be more fun.

I'm almost half way through with the pregnancy. Can you believe that? And I know a ton of people who are pregnant as well. 4 who live here right by me. Plus my own sister, about 3 or so cousins (not counting the 3 who had babies over the summer) and 3 gals that I grew up with. It's crazy! I love it!

Getting married was the best decision of my somewhat adult life. (I wasn't too old) But having children, and creating a family with my hubs has by far been our crown jewel, greatest achievement and accomplishment. I suppose the only thing that will top it will be to see my own sweet babies become parents one day. I'm so glad so many other people apparently feel the same way!

Sleeping...

So today was an unusual day for Monkey sleepwise. She had another intense sleep-in. I'm guessing that was due to her sugar overload yesterday. So she didn't wake up til 10:20 or so. Then we skipped nap. I figured she wouldn't take one. We all went couch shopping instead. While we were out and about, she hit her peak at 3. But we kept her out and about til a little after 4 and she recovered without a nap. But we put her down at 6 and she's been asleep since.

I'm betting we'll still have to wake her for church tomorrow.

Happy Halloween...

So today was the big Halloween Party. It was a blast. Not everything turned out the way I wanted it to, and I felt like I could've been prepped a bit better for some things, but it was all in all a great time, and the kids had fun. What more can you ask for? We had 4 guests. Sleeping Beauty, a dinosaur, a bumble bee, and Alice in Wonderland. (with my Super Hero and Monkey, no costume required for her.) Here's a sum-up of our food and activities.

Mini pizzas. Dough made from Pillsbury Grand Biscuits. Pepperonis cut into bats. (I did this a as a kid with bologna. Apparently the only one who did. Fold it in half and bite either end. Of course I didn't bite the pepperonis. I used scissors.)

Hawaiian Punch (such a treat in itself) with ice cubes housing gummy worms. Moose loved getting his worms out of his ice cubes. Bit hit with him.

Apple slices with caramel. I tried to dip them in caramel and set them, but caramel doesn't stick to juicy apples. I learned my lesson.

We played musical chairs, but with pictures on the floor. (Thank you Stacee!) It was perfect for the age group we had. I made sure each kid won one time. (I picked the winning picture when the music turned off. At first it was random, but I wanted them all to win, so it wasn't all that random by the end.)

Ghostly pinata. I used a paper bag and covered it with white streamers and cut out some black circles for eyes and a mouth. It was actually way hard to break. I didn't think it would be so tough. But our fearless pinata holder (yes, fearless. Moose was super close to taking a swing at you multiple times.) helped the pinata out with a tear here and there.

They all left with a ball of mostly orange play-doh which we ran out of time to play with.

They also got a ball of orange candied popcorn. Another treat from my childhood. It was such a blast to make. Although I learned that if you want to make them into a ball, you have to form the ball while it's still warm. Once it hardens, if you move the popcorn and it separates, it won't stick again. So they weren't really popcorn balls, but close enough.

Moose had a blast having a party. He wore his cape and looked dashing. By this evening, I whipped out some wrist bands to match. (We had a family party with the hub's fam.) Maybe one day I'll even make a mask. (Since this is now in the toy-dress-up category since Halloween is mostly over.)

Overall, very successful. Tons of fun. Glad I did it. Maybe once I get the pictures downloaded, I'll share some of them. Not with the kiddos in them, per my agreement with the hubs, but of other stuff.

Happy Halloween everybody! :)

Silliness and potty breaks...

That was pretty much all today was. Tons of silliness from the kids and a bunch of potty breaks for me. Guess I was drinking more water today than normal. Of course, lots of silliness also leads to a good amount of tears, as any parent knows. But for the most part it was just silliness. The kids are sleeping for now. (Unless Monkey starts having her bedtime party, as she likes to do.) Tomorrow is a preschool day and I need to prep things for Moose's Halloween party on Friday. I've got a ghost pinata to make, candied popcorn (which I'm so jazzed about), some pizza crust (for the parents), and maybe some orange play-doh or a pin the nose on the jack-o-lantern.  I don't have many Halloween games. Any suggestions?

Moose's cape is awesome. Did I already talk about it? Red, with white borders on the sides and bottom, and a blue border on top/neck connecting piece. It has a big white heart (his choice of shape) and his first name initial in blue. He wore it to playgroup today and I must say he looked rather dashined riding around on his bike. (Which he's getting much better at.) We'll see if I get any mask or wristbands chomped out by Friday or Saturday. We'll see.

I'm completely looking forward to watching Alias with the hubs tonight. We're finishing the series. I was dreading it, since my friend said she hated it. But we were so invested, we have to finish. I was worried I'd hate it too, but accidentally saw a spoiler and think I'll actually love it. Still remains to be seen.

Ooh, and I just finished a book. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Absolutely fantastic. Highly recommend it. :)

Haunted Houses...

So today was our Second Annual Haunted House Making. I started it last year. We make "gingerbread houses" each year, using graham crackers. Last year I got the idea to do the same thing, but make them into haunted houses. So we decked them out with Halloween M&M's, ghost peeps, candy corns and pumpkins. Today was our Second Annual. :)

It turned out to be so much fun. Moose was way more detail oriented this year, filling in every little space. Monkey wasn't even involved last year. We probably did it after she went to bed. But she was there this year. Moose did his own, and Monkey, the hubs and I shared one. They literally filled every empty space on the roof and walls. I'm amazed they haven't fallen down yet. That royal icing recipe is pretty great. :) They even refrained from snacking on the candy. Although we let them both have one piece when they were done. Now all Moose is excited for is eating a little bit of his house each day. :)

After Halloween, we're pretty much stocked for candy til Easter. I only let him have a piece after lunch and one after dinner, so it lasts a long time. I can't handle the sugary candies anymore, so even I'm safe for the most part. (Except for when there's chocolate involved. But we won't go there.)

Sunday naps...

Today was a regular Sunday. Slightly busy, but overall quite relaxing and rejuvenating. Monkey is still sleeping in til at least 9 every day. Which means on Sunday she gets woken up in order to get to church on time. I hate having to wake kids early in the morning. At leat at this age. My theory is (have I told this already? It's likely.) that kids of a certain age don't sleep more than needed. Monkey is definitely still in this category for me. But naps were great. I napped, the kids napped. It was nice.

We carved our jack-o-lantern tonight. Tomorrow will be our second annual Haunted House making. Basically graham cracker houses decorated spooky instead of like Christmas. It was a hit last year. I used orange frosting too. Then of course, they get slowly eaten for the rest of the week.

So yesterday I went to an evening event. Still feeling dirty from a potato harvesting that morning (which was quite an experience, never having done it before) I took a shower right before. This was the first time I looked at myself and said "I look pregnant." It's still not super apparent when I'm all dressed up. But to me, with a naked eye (yes, there's a pun. So bad, huh?), it's very much there. My pregnant pooch is sitting up a bit higher than usual and I'm occasionally getting sucker punched by Baby Steve. Like yesterday in the shower. I still don't get to enjoy (and I mean that, the word enjoy) the more steady movement and feeling. I'm sure that's not too far away. But every other day or so, Baby Steve makes its presence known by giving me a nice swift punch or kick. For the most part, they make me laugh. I like to think the baby is communicating something, like "Hey! Get Monkey off me!" or "Mama! The shower water is too hot!" But in the end, who knows.

This week should be super busy. I've got a cape and mask to make before Thursday, a Halloween kiddy party to get organized (especially since I left the invites home today on accident and now need to get them out asap), and finish our last minute Halloween touches. Not to mention everything else non-Halloween related that I want to get done. But everything in it's time.

That'll be the mantra this week. Not everything needs to be done right now. Everything in it's time.

A Real Holiday...

The hubs had Thursday and today off from work. It has been such a great holiday. Yesterday felt like a Friday, today felt like Saturday, so technically tomorrow should be Sunday. But it's not! It's Saturday! Tomorrow is going to feel so luxurious. A second Saturday. It's been a slightly busy "weekend", but what a fun one.

My brother came up with his fam and spent a day hanging out and vacationing with us. We spent yesterday hanging out and the kids played. A lot. They had so much fun. His little guy is 5, and he gets along with Moose great. I love watching them play together. And Monkey loves their little baby, even though we won't let her touch the baby. (Which doesn't stop her from trying.)

We spent today hanging out at our place, then headed over to the Little Bitty Ranch. The kids all rode the horse and saw the other animals. Monkey was particularly fascinated with their massive turkey. They all fed the teeny tiny ponies some carrots. Monkey was surprisingly okay with feeding them carrots. Although if they got near her with their mouths when she didn't have a carrot, she was not happy about it. 

Then we got some sweet super hero fabric for Moose's halloween costume. He's going to be a super hero. No one specifically. His super hero name is "Super Moose". (Although, it's not really Moose, but his actual name.) We got fabric for a cape and mask. He's very excited, which makes us excited too. The kiddos took a late nap, I made invites for his Halloween party next week. Then we had some fantastic calzones (my new favorite thing to cook. And eat.) before a trip to the hub's school football game. It's their last home game, so we were excited to go. Moose asked me a few days ago if we had any plans for dinner, like going to a football game. I thought it was so neat that he asked about it, that we made sure to go. They had a blast. It was less crowded, and they actually did really well. We had extra food, as always, a trash bag of popcorn, and crayons and sticker books. Although it was way colder this time, and I was so glad the hubs decked the kids out in multiple layers. Moose was whining that he had "4 shirts" on, but at the game, he was totally glad. Guess we know what we're doing after all, huh?

Baby 3 is now a turnip. :) I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. I gained a pound or two, and the heartbeat was super strong. The ultrasound is in 3 weeks.

Hope everyone enjoys their second Saturday as much as we will. :)

Journals...

Today was a nice day, filled with more highs than lows. Monkey slept in til 9, which I enjoyed thoroughly. We had a nice trip to storytime at the library, and lunch and naps followed. Moose's nap was only 1 hour, which is a bit short for him and somewhat unusual. But he's old enough now that he can manage himself by that time and I can still do what I want. Monkey napped til about 4, which allowed me time to work on my to-do list. One thing, which has been on it for a while, was to write in my journals. Yes, that's plural. I have one, which I've kept since I was a teen. Then I started one for each of my children. I try to occasionally update them, include cute stories, milestones, etc. For the beginning of each, I try to keep track of doctor's appointments, ultrasounds, the beginning of movement, and other anticipations or excitements regarding the new arrival. I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it up, but I enjoy it, and hope the kids will enjoy them one day.

Monkey has been noticeably more agreeable since her sleep has regulated again. I love a well-rested kiddo. I always say that me and the hubs greatly value our sleep, so I guess we must have instilled that need in our kids. Either way, we know how to keep them happy and good sleep is a major factor.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. Then the ultrasound in 3 weeks. The ultrasound. Very excited.  Moose thinks that if it's a boy, we should name him Steve. It's become a bit of a joke, and now we lovingly refer to the baby as Baby Steve. But no, I will not name the baby Steve. Not on my list of possible names. But a fine nickname.

Or maybe it'll be Sally. (That's his girl name.)

Growing Girl...

Today Monkey had a doctor's appointment. She is finally getting back to her old schedule, sleeping in til 9 this morning and taking a nap from 1-4. (I actually had to get her up so we wouldn't be late to the doctor's.) I didn't catch how much the lady weighs, but I think it's around 24 lbs. She's a whopping 33 1/2 inches long. Growing in all the ways she should, and seems to be healthy as a horse. Or Monkey. :)

The kiddos are in bed, and I'm hoping for another good day tomorrow. She was such a happy girl this morning, it was so nice. Now that her teething woes seem to be mostly over, and her appetite has returned, I'm hoping to see more of my sweet little lady.

Oh, and she had 4 shots at the doctor's office. She was so brave. I couldn't watch. Moose sat in a chair and covered his ears. He was dreading it the entire time. Two nurses came in to get them done as fast as possible. They counted to 3 and did 2 at a time. She, however, realized what was going on, and was sad and almost crying before it began. She let into the crying after those first two. Then they did the second two, one of which is for MMR. They warned me that one hurts real bad, and boy could I see the difference. She was really tender about that leg for a while, and kept wanting to touch it. But that sweet girl calmed down so fast. I was very proud. Yes, there were some M&M's involved, but still. I was proud of my little Monkey.

They grow so fast. She's 18 months old now. (As of 2 days ago.) Six more months (a little less than) and she'll be a big sister. And turning 2. I can hardly believe it. Her babyhood has gone by so much faster than Moose's did. It'll only go faster from here.

Weekend Extravaganza...

So we spent the weekend at few hours away where my brother lives. My parents drove two days to be there on Sunday when my brother blessed his little baby. So we drove down on Saturday and spent a day and a half with them all. It was tons of fun. It was tons of work, and a bit of stress, but overall such a great time.  Here's our agenda, with my own little comments and notes.

Saturday Morning - leave
Drive 2 hours - stopping halfway because I felt absolutely awful. Luckily the second hour wasn't as bad.
Arrive at destination and drop off stuff at the hub's brother's house. He also lives in the same city as my bro. He let us sleep in his basement for the weekend.
Meet Moose's best buds and fam for lunch at a special play place. - It's a great indoor mall with a play area. So awesome in the winter. Our current city has zilch like that for winter, so we miss it a lot. The kids had a blast. Minus the end when there was a little girl barfing in a trash can, who was then allowed to continue playing. Come on Mom!
Meet up with my parents and head over to brother's house. - My mom gave us all some things she had stored up. Clothes for Moose, an adorable pillow/blanket for Monkey, with adorable Monkeys on it! And the remaining 4 boxes of my stuff from the garage that they found the day before they left. I didn't even know it was there.
Meet sweet baby (yes, the one born in the car) and visit a bit.
Then our fam went out to dinner while the parents ate with my bro and his in-laws. - By this point, we had driven across the city like 4 times. My bro and the hub's bro live across the city from each other, and we kept going back and forth. Oh, and the kids had no naps, so they were wired. Moose told us like 4 times Saturday that he was tired and wanted to go to sleep. We ate out at Denny's, which gave them a bit of renewed strength for the rest of the night.
We went back to my parent's hotel room that night, intending to swim, but ultimately didn't. Instead we all chowed down on microwave popcorn and the kids got silly.
Monkey fell asleep on the way home and Moose was asleep before his head hit the pillow. It was nice.

Now, the only problem we had was our sleeping arrangement. We brought our great queen sized air mattress. The big double thick kind. Except, at 3:30, we realized we were halfway to the floor. The hubs blew it up with air, to realize he could feel a leak. Well, we got back in, hoping it would last til 7. By 4:30 we were sinking again and he couldn't sleep. So he got up, showered, and rested on a couch upstairs. I stuck it out on the mattress alone. It was also pretty darn cold. It made for a slightly difficult night, but we managed to stick through it.

The next morning we went to church with my bro and saw his sweet baby get blessed. So precious. She's such a doll. After that, my mom offered to take family pictures for us. We don't have any with Monkey and thought it would be nice to do so before we have Baby 3 on our hands too. So we did that. It was pretty darn fun. Then us and the parents all went out to lunch at a great place. I stuffed my pregnant face. It was awesome. We then proceeded to my bro's house and visited for a short while before heading home. Me and the hubs were exhausted, our kids were still exhausted and we wouldn't make a drive 2 hours in the dark. Moose finally fell asleep over halfway home. Monkey had fallen asleep between our restaurant and my bro's house and woke up before we left for him. She stayed awake the whole time. We were back home by 5 and ate leftovers and put the kids to bed. It was exhausting overall, but completely worth it. If we hadn't had the air mattress issue, it would've been top notch.

So that was our weekend. Insanely busy, non-stop really. But so great to be around my fam and the hub's fam. A huge thanks to them for letting us stay at their house. Something about the hub's bro and his sweet wife make Moose so goofy and he's a complete goof ball the entire time we're around them. Well rested or not. It was a blast. So good to see you all.

Today was a day to try and get back on track. It went pretty good. Hopefully a good night's rest will get the kids back to themselves even more so. I hope so!