It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Halloween

Halloween is a fun time these days, if maybe just a TAD overdone.  And this come from the Halloween Queen.  I am born on Halloween afterall, I believe that I have experienced most of the Halloween excitement that there is to experience.  I love Halloween, I admit.  But wow, we officially have Halloween coming out our ears.

The kids love it, of course.  My wish for them is that they take away fun memories with family and friends outside of the ridiculous amounts of candy.  I also hope they walk a little taller knowing their mommy made their costumes (because more than likely it is the last time!)  And maybe, just maybe I can squeeze in some discussions about how we are donating to various charities at some of the events that we go to. 

Mia was the cutest pumpkin at school (she did have some competition from one of her teachers) at her Halloween party and parade yesterday. 

Mia and I got together with her classmates at the pumpkin patch.

37 Week Doctor Appointment

Well, I made it 37 weeks.  That is awesome.  Now baby doesn't have to worry about being poked and prodded so much when she comes out, she is officially full term and they can just throw her up on my chest instead of whisking her away like poor Mia.  Her activity level just keeps increasing every day, I hope that means that when she is delivered that she won't be so sleepy.  If she is more alert there is a chance I might be successful this time with the breastfeeding.

Everything is good with the doctor.  I asked a few more burning questions, made sure I knew who the oncall doctor was this weekend and found out that I am dilated to a 2 now.  Baby is down and no longer "floaty".

I feel huge and cumbersome and am definitely ready for baby to come.  I would prefer, however, to not share my birthday!  Jeff and I discussed it last night and we would like to wait until next week! (Not sure we have that much control over the whole thing.)

36 Week Doctor Appointment

I am officially off of the medication.  Yay!  It really wasn't too bad, I wasn't having any more headaches.  But I didn't like setting an alarm to take it in the middle of the night.  I guess I have at least a few more nights to eat and sleep as much as I want to.  That may not last for long.

I am one centimeter dilated but not a lot of other action.  With Mia when she sent me home at week 36 I was a 2 or a 3, so a little further along.  I did gain weight this last week, which I hadn't been doing.  Good for baby.  My belly is pretty textbook size at 36 cm.  I am right where I should be! 

The only problem is that I don't have a lot of incentive to bake her much longer.  My belly button hurts!  I am like a turtle on my back trying to get out of bed or up from a chair.  I am not swollen, thank goodness, but I do have enormous difficulty in getting anything off the floor, shaving my legs or tying my shoes.  I would love to be able to pick up Jac and Mia, but that is a thing of the past for now.  I guess the incentive to keep her in there is if I go one more week, she is considered full term and there will be a lot less tests at delivery and while in the hospital.  She may also be more alert than my sleepy little Mia was for the first weeks. 

Good news, we have a name, including a middle name!  We will share it with you in it's finality when the big day arrives.  Bad news, if the ultrasound at 19 weeks was wrong and we are having a boy, we don't have a name.  Jeff and I have talked a little at least, but are pretty far apart still when it comes to boy names.  We also have the crib put together, the car seat cover washed and I have diapers and bottles.  There are still plenty of things to do to be completely prepared, but the necessities are taken care of.

I don't know if I am nesting or if I just have gotten completely disgusted with our house.  Regardless, every day that the baby stays in is one more day I can put things in order.  Some toilets need cleaning and some floors need mopping, along with a lot more! 

The last thing to think about is that Friday is a full moon.  Jac was born close to a new moon (as was Jeff) but my water broke due to a big storm that came through.  Mia was born smack on a full moon (as was I).  So Thursday, Friday and Saturday are all good guesses.  Or I could have a November baby, who knows?

Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Jac had so much fun on his first school field trip.  They went to the pumpkin patch and then to the park for lunch.  His first quesiton when he got hom was, "When is our next field trip?" 

Little Workers

Don't underestimate what a four year old and five year old can do.  I have received help from a lot of people this week.  Friends bringing me things and offering to bring me things, offers to walk Trucker, child care and bus services, prayers; all of it wonderful.  But to receive the understanding and help from the tiniest of people, that is also amazing. 

Jac and Mia have helped with the dishes, unloading mostly. They have helped me endlessly pick things up off the floor, which sometimes seems like the most insurmountable of tasks.  They have helped me with the laundry, switching it out and carrying to a nice high counter to be folded.  They have really helped in the self care, often getting their own snacks, trying to put their shoes on by themselves, washing their own hair and the list goes on. 

It makes me wonder why I didn't have them doing this stuff before?  But all in good time, they are becoming responsible little people that only whine about their workload every once in awhile.  They do ask for money a lot, so they aren't entirely altruistic! 

It takes a village, and even the tiniest are part of the village. 

The Final Countdown

So, Jeff and I had an interesting weekend.  I guess it shouldn't be considered that interesting considering we have done it two times before.  I was having contractions on Friday evening that just wouldn't go away regardless of what I did.  So around 10pm we decided to call the doctor and she said to go ahead and head to the hospital. 

Long story short, everything is fine.  Baby is fine and they were able to stop the contractions with medication.  I am on medication until next week when I will be 36 weeks.  36 weeks is not exactly full term but you have a very high percentage of babies who don't have any lung issues at 36 weeks.  Mia was born 24 hours after I stopped the medication at 36 weeks. 

I was a bit emotional about all of it.  Part of that is just, hello I am pregnant, and part is the medication makes me feel weird and gives me a headache.  I don't get headaches and don't deal well with them.  Also, even though I was taking the medicine yesterday I was contracting again in the evening, and I thought, great, I am going to have to labor with this viscious headache.  How would that work? 

But headache has gotten better and I have had a wonderful day of telling a lot of people what I won't be able to do over the next two weeks.  You can really clear your calendar when you need to, it's amazing.  I have also had so many people offer help and provide help, it is very humbling.  I know that it is a pay it forward event, because there is no way to repay all of my wonderful friends and family individually. 

So get ready folks, we are probably going to have an October baby.  Which day do you think it will be?  I am 36 weeks on Tuesday and that is when my next doctor's appointment is.  I will stop the meds that day assuming all is well.  It could be that day, but I doubt it.  But perhaps by the weekend we could have another bouncing baby!

Apple Picking

I have wanted to go apple picking for awhile.  I didn't think that it was going to happen this year, because of a busy fall and a big belly.  My DH asked if the family would want to go apple picking this weekend.  Yay!  What seemed daunting on my own now was easy with Jeff.

So we went to Illinois, the kids got a kick out of that; saying we needed to find some apples to pick in Missouri.  We had a great time with all of the fun things to do at the farm, but my favority was the actual apple picking. 

The Real Story of the Oil Spill

With a title like that you may think this is another big business hating post from yours truly.  Au contraire.  My five year old knows how it really went down.

If you look closely at the atlas that he has been coloring.  (Yes, Jac and Mia play with an old atlas lying around because in our house Santa brings my husband a new atlas every year; in case a road changes.)  I wasn't here to listen to the complete story, but down the Atlantic coast there is another highway, drawn in blue and green.  A car, presumably a large one, was driving down that highway and made it to the Gulf only to crash!  All of it's oil spilled out, causing the large purple stain that you see in the Gulf. 

There you have it.  Jac's version of the Gulf oil spill.  Who knew he even was aware of the oil spill?  Better start watch what I am saying in front of him!