A wonderful morning!

Our church has a great bible study on Tuesday mornings called Inneract. I joined when Bry was 2 months old, and love it. I couldn't do it last semester due to my new job, and I missed it. This semester I am able to go, just maybe not every week. So today was the 1st morning I got to go, and it was wonderful. It was so nice to be surrounded by friends and great chrisitan women. It did feel really strange to come in and not have to go to the nursery counter to sign in kids, since they were at Pre-K and Mother's Day Out already. I loved learning more about Eve, and thinking about things that I had not noticed before. It was a great way to feel rejuventated for the rest of the day. Boy did I need that. lol

I feel like I have grown 2 feet tummy wise, although I know I have not. All of my pants are making my tummy really uncomfortable. Maternity pants in general are just kind of clingy, but I can't stand anything touching my tummy. Then my feet and ankles have been swelling really badly, to the point that when I get off at 3:30 I can hardly walk to my car because they hurt so bad. I have to figure out some way to prop my feet up while at work, and that will hopefully help. To top it off Dustin has a killer past 2 weeks at work, and is still there as I type. He worked 7:30 am to 11 pm last night and took 1 hour off for lunch and 1 hour off for dinner. He has done the same today, and was hoping to get off around 11 pm as well. Sadly, he is salary, so he doesn't make an extra penny and does not get compensated with future time off. He thinks he will have to work even more tomorrow. Fun! I have actually done pretty well and even gave all 3 kids a bath by myself before I put them in bed tonight. The problem is I am so beat I am physically not able to do any housework. I tried this weekend, and ended up sweeping the living room sitting down before I gave up. So since Dustin is gone that means my house looks like a bomb went off, dirty dishes, dirty clothes, just stuff everywhere and forget doing the floors or bathrooms. I washed the boys sheets, but hurt too bad to try to put them back on. The boys thought it was real fun to sleep on sleeping bags the 1st night, but cried for their sheets tonight. My mom is coming tomorrow to pick Brayden up from preschool for me, so I already called her and begged her to at least put their sheets on tomorrow. She lives in a small town with no stores, so when she comes on Wednesdays she is usually running errands all day, and never makes it by the house. At least she has been forwarned. lol I actually really do love being pregnant, but this time has been so much harder than the rest. The kids are older, and are generally easier than when I was preggo before, so I am not exactly sure the reason. Even just sitting at the computer long enough to type this post, my right foot is a sleep and numb and swollen to mid calf again. I am starting to wonder if it could be a pinched nerve, because my right hand, hip, foot, and leg go numb all the time while my left does not. Anyone know what that might be?

We still haven't decided on a name. Dustin really likes one, but Brandt has been calling the baby the other one. He has been telling everyone we are naming our new baby ____________, telling stories about baby ________________. So who knows what we will end up with.

Baby Update

I was 25 weeks on Monday and had my regular Dr appointment yesterday morning. After 2 ugly weight gains over Thanksgiving and Christmas, I was happy with 1/2 pound in 4 weeks. I made a comment to my OB that I was not really feeling the baby move very much, but when he put the doppler on the baby went crazy. He wanted to double check with an ultrasound so I went back that afternoon and had another ultrasound. The baby is currently about 1 1/2 pounds, and is still breech and makes a "C" shape. A lot of the screen shots had a head, hand, and foot in them. lol He is still a boy, and I don't think that is going to change at this point, so I now feel confident enough to buy some clothes and wash them. lol He started moving when the ultrasound wand went on as well, but wasn't really moving before that, even after I drank a sprite. It turns out I have anteria placenta, or something like that. There is no complications, but it is attached really high and tilted back a little. An anteria placenta makes it very difficult to feel the baby, so I feel better about that. He wants me to be very mindful and pay attention to kicks, and if I haven't felt them in a while to drink a coke and lay on my left side for 2 hours with no disruptions, while that sounds nice I have no idea how to make that a reality. lol Then he wants 10 movements in 2 hours. Even when this kid is being active, I don't think he does 10 movements in 2 hours. I am just hoping this means he will be laid back, since the other 3 were soccer players well before this point. He said if I don't feel movements to call him right away, and do not go for a day with no movements.

I have my last monthly appointment in 4 weeks, and then I go to 2 weeks. I will have another ultrasound to check on the baby and then the 3 hour glucose test. I failed the 1 hour with each of the 3 kids, and had to take the 3 hours. I passed with Brandt, failed with Brayden, passed with Bryson, but was later determined I had gestational diabeties anyway. So I told him I would like to skip the 1 hour and move straight to the 3 hour. He looked at me like I was nuts, thought long and hard, but finally agreed. I hate the 3 hour, but I am thinking it is at least saving me from 4 hours total, plus it is hard to get off of work, and this way I only have to take 1 morning off. So lets pray that the baby turns himself (they want him turned by 34 weeks so we still have lots of time) and that I pass the 3 hour test.

23 week belly shot

I will be 24 weeks pregnant on Monday, wow how time is flying by.
The boys are all very excited about their brother coming now, they were a little disappointed at the beginning. We have nothing done for the baby yet, I mean NOTHING! I haven't even really looked for bedding, because the ones I have looked at I don't just love. I get each of our boys their own bedding set that is special to them. Brandt did transportation, Brayden did baseball, and Bryson did jungle animals. I am out of ideas for boys. lol So if you have any great ones I would love to see them. We are going to have to move Bry to the trundle under Brandt's bed, but I am just not ready to do that yet. We have most of the big items still from the other boys, we sold our swing so we'll need a new one, and our playpen has seen better days so we'll need another one of those so I don't have to run up and down the stairs all the time. Other than we really have all the big items. That is nice, not to mention we don't need too many clothes, I got rid of some after Bry so we'll need a little in each size, but overall we are good.

Our main thing is trying to finish updating our house before he gets here. With all the medical bills and crazy life things I just don't know how we'll swing it. Then to mention how to find the time, what to do with the kids while we are working, who can help Dustin since I don't think I could do much with my back acting up. We both have or have taken Spring Break off so we'll have 1 solid week to work and bust it as a last push before the baby comes a month later. Hopefully my MIL (who is a teacher so should have that week off) and my mom can watch the boys that week so we can get a ton done. Sure praying that works out.

Target Toys 75% OFF

I went to Target this morning while I was trying to kill time from dropping Brandt off at school and waiting for the other boys preschool to open. All the clearance toys that were 30% off yesterday are now 75% off. I love this sale! There was only 1 toy that I can think of that I wanted to get that was gone by the time I got there this morning at 8:15. I grabbed presents for the boys and for my nephews for their birthdays.

You will not believe what this lady said...

Dustin and I took the boys and went to Target to get a few more wipes, the coupon expires tomorrow by the way! I tried getting the boys a pretzel and Icee so they would hopefully behave for us to shop (note it did NOT work). While I was getting the food, Dustin was talking to a lady who had 2 girls aged 7-9, a little boy around 3-4 years, and then a newborn girl. She asked if we were having a girl this time (yay for actually looking pregnant and not just fat. :o) Dustin told her no it was another boy. She said tell her she needs to get off the top. Dustin said excuse me, and she said "tell her to get off the top". OMG! Thankfully I missed that conversation and Dustin told me about it on the way home. I was 12 shades of red in my car, I couldn't imagine how I would have reacted had I heard her in the store.

Need menu ideas

Dustin and I would really like to cook at home for all meals except Sunday evening for sure, and maybe even after church on Sunday. We spend way too much money eating out, and really need to focus on eating at home. We never eat at a nice restaurant, almost always fast food, so it would be nice to save enough money that maybe we could occasionally eat at a nice restaurant. The problem is, I am quickly out of ideas on what to cook. My 5 yr old is fairly picky, he will usually try something, even if it is half heartedly. He won't eat veggies, but is pretty good on meat. My 3 1/2 year old is one of the pickiest eaters I have ever seen. It is a battle, and I mean battle to get him to try anything. My 2 yr old will eat anything in sight. He is the least picky child I have ever seen. lol He will eat plain lettuce, doesn't care if there is dressing or not, will eat any type of soup or stew. Dustin is fairly picky as well. He won't go near a salad or most veggies. I also would like to spend as little as possible per meal, the reason for eating at home is to save money. With both of us working we aren't home until after 4:30 and we like to eat shortly after 5 if Dustin is home. So it can't be anything that takes a long time, unless it is something I can start over lunch break at 12:30 and then leave it when I go back to work. So what are your wonderful meals? I have been searching for recipes, but most include weird sauces or tons of veggies that my family wouldn't eat. If you cook all the time at home how do you do it, a week, month? Do you set a schedule or just cook what sounds good to you at the moment? How far is your schedule out? HELP! lol

A much better day

When I woke up this morning I was so sore and really hurting all the way from my stomach to my back. Dustin took 1 look at my face and called in sick. Total life saver! He also had called and made me an appointment with a chiropractor for today. I didn't want to go, because I didn't want to pay for it. However, I was glad I went. He said I do not have a herniated disc, so that is a huge praise. On my lower back one side is very tight and one is very loose, so it is causing problems in both sides. When he adjusted me he told me I was going to feel much better, and my back was going to go nuts. Sure enough it must have popped 20 times in 2 seconds. I still hurt, but nowhere to the point of yesterday. This is almost liveable, where yesterday was not. The boys had their moments today, but for the most part were much better. We finished the night off by watching a movie in our bed. Totally the highlight of the day. Brayden was laying in my lap, Bryson on my arm snuggled in, and Brandt on the other side of Bryson reached up and held my hand several times. Pure bliss, I guess they knew I was really needing that!

Having problems with my back again...

Ugh, I had just started to feel better in regards to my back, but in the last few days it has goen downhill very quickly. I hurt so bad, and Dustin had to go back to work yesterday. We don't go back until Monday, so I have had all 3 boys by myself the last few days. I have no idea why I don't have children that can sit and do anything for more than 2 minutes. Every 2 minutes they are asking to do something else, or to have a drink, or to have a snack, etc. Brandt is the worst. He wants constant stimulation, constant! He doesn't just want to color, but make huge works of art that involve markers, glue, scissors, stickers, etc. Problem is he doesn't do that great of a job cleaning it up, so I have to come behind him. He can't grasp I am not up to that. They got the Cranium Fort for Christmas so I just climbed the stairs and put it toether thinking that would by me some time. Nope, Brandt wants to build his own boat out of blocks, no scratch that, he wants ME to build him a ship out of blocks. We finally get the ship built and Bryson knocks it down. So I have to go do it again, so this time I take Bry downstairs with me. He won't just sit and watch a cartoon, and is all over the place, in the dog water, trying to climb to get Christmas candy, trying to get something to eat from the fridge. I really just need to lay down, take my Rx, turn on a heating pad, and rest...that is so not going to happen! Thanks for listening to me vent!