Raise Your Hand

 The other night at dinner three kids were asking me for something at once and Hunter was crying.

I closed my eyes and quietly said,

“Anyone who needs something from me please raise your hand.”

Hunter immediately stopped crying and raised his hand. 

Like Daddy

 As you all know, we have had a contractor here doing work for the past six weeks... he's still here doing work.

Yesterday while my parents were watching the kids, "Mr. Mark" the contractor asked my mom to open the garage door.  He had been introduced to my parents (Howard and Chris) earlier in the week, and so he said, "Chris, could you open the garage door?"

My mom said yes and opened the garage door for him.

Lee Lee watched this entire exchange and then looked up at Grammie and said, "Grammie, Mr. Mark called you Chris... he must think you look like Daddy!"

1000 Words

 1000 Words

Preggers VI: 36 Weeks

 How far along?  

36 weeks, 3 days

Comparisons:

 36 Weeks with Tracey

35 Weeks with the Twins because they were born at 36 weeks exactly, and I never took a last picture

36 Weeks with Lee Lee

36 Weeks with Hunter

How I am feeling?  

Feeling well.  I'm definitely tired at the end of the day, and ready for EVERYONE to crawl into bed... I'm usually ready for bed before anyone else.

How big is the baby?  

The size of a papaya -- 18.7 inches long, 5.73 pounds

Sleep: 

Sleep is glorious.  Some nights I am only up a few times and other nights it seems like every time the baby kicks I need to use the restroom again.  I just keep remembering we're really in the final weeks and days of pregnancy, and before I know it, I will be up during the night to feed a newborn.

Boy/Girl Predictions: 

No predictions but I'm really getting excited to find out when the baby is born!

Baby Nicknames:  

Baby

  Best moment this week: 

I had a friend over yesterday who I haven't seen (in person) in several years, and it was SOOO nice to catch up in person.

 
 

Food cravings:  

Nothing in particular.

 

 

Missing:  

Missing a house free of construction.

  

 

Movements:  

Yes, and I really love them.  I will definitely miss feeling a baby move in my belly when I'm no longer growing babies... but to everything there is a season... and I feel so grateful that I've had the privilege of growing six babies and feeling them move during their time in my belly.

 

 

Labor Signs:  

Some contractions at the end of each day but certainly not any active labor.

General Attitude:  

I'm glad we're getting close to full term.  Lee Lee and Hunter didn't arrive until within a day of their due dates, so I could still have three plus weeks, but I will breathe a sigh of relief when we are officially full term (37 weeks) and it is safe to deliver any time.  I have plenty to do to keep me busy until the due date (but I can't help hoping that maybe we will meet this baby a LITTLE earlier than Lee Lee and Hunter came).

 What I am looking forward to this week:  

MY PARENTS ARRIVE and they are going to be a major help this week, which means I will have the chance to got A LOT of work done!!!  Also, there's a really good chance that construction will end this week.  An even higher chance than the last two times I've said it might happen...

Milestones: 

I've officially carried Baby Number 5 longer than I've carried the twins.

 

 

 

Sisters

 There's nothing quite like sisters

Dr. Hunter

 A few days ago, Hunter was determined to wear a toy stethoscope around his neck.  I couldn't get a great picture because when he noticed my trying to take his picture, he stopped doing what he was doing...

He spent several minutes putting the stethoscope around his neck, but it would promptly fall off his neck because his neck was too small for the opening.  So, then he realized if he tilted his head to the side, he could hold the stethoscope around his neck with his ear.

Then he'd walk a few steps and move his head and the stethoscope would fall off again.

He would pick it up and start the problem-solve process all over again.

I LOVE toddlers!

Still Needs Work

 I really love my Hubby, but when I saw this meme, it made me laugh probably too hard...

Preggers VI: 35 Week

How far along?  35 weeks, 6 days

Comparisons:

 35 Weeks with Tracey

35 Weeks with the Twins

35 Weeks with Lee Lee

 

35 Weeks with Hunter

How I am feeling?  

Well... ummm... pregnant?  I'm feeling slow but I feel like I need to be moving fast.  Everything from getting work done, to preparing for the baby, to preparing for my parents to arrive (they're coming soon to help), to keeping up with the children and animals -- I need to move quickly, but I can only move slowly.

How big is the baby?  

The size of a pineapple -- 18.1 inches long, 5.07 pounds

Sleep:  

I love sleep... in pregnancy, the Mama is supposed to sleep on her left side, and I've actually been really good about that for the past five or so months.  Apparently something about the baby's size or position now, all I want to do is sleep on my right side (which you're not supposed to in pregnancy).  Either way, just about one more month, and then I can sleep in ANY POSITION I WANT!!!  That is a glorious moment I always look forward to on my first night after I birth the baby -- laying back to go to sleep on my back, or flipping over and laying on my stomach!  That is a beautiful feeling and I'm getting excited about it.

Boy/Girl Predictions: 

Boy or girl.

Baby Nicknames:  

Earlier this week Lee Lee purchased herself a new stuffed animal and I asked her what she was going to name it.  She told me that she was going to name her new stuffed animal, "Ella".  Then, she went right on and told me that we was going to name the new baby, "Arnesta".  I have no idea WHERE she heard that name, and I had to try to impress upon her that I was not naming our new baby "Arnesta."

  Best moment this week: 

Maybe getting the guest room ready for my parents and hanging up the pictures upstairs that I took down prior to construction starting.  It feels like home again to have those pictures back on the wall.
 

Food cravings:  

Peanut M&Ms

Missing:  

A construction-free house.

  

 

Movements:  

Very frequently.  I LOVE that this baby moves so much.  That is something I will definitely miss when I am no longer in my pregnant years.  But, to everything there is a season.  I am determined to enjoy the season of feeling baby movements as long as I'm in it.

 

 

Labor Signs:  

Nothing of note.

General Attitude:  

I will be glad when the baby comes so that I can stop working.  The baby can't come until my work is done... but goodness that will be nice to be able to stop working when the baby arrives.

 What I am looking forward to this week:  

Maybe construction will end...?  Maybe my cleaning gal will come...?  I have some big work meetings this week that it will be SO nice to have finished.

Milestones: 

My due date is in less than a month.

1000 Words

 1000 Words

Ice Cream Date

 Last year for Mother's Day, I got coupon books from Hubby AND each of my big kids.  Included in the my coupon book from Caroline was a coupon for an "Ice Cream Date" just the two of us.

Well, last Mother's Day was the pandemic, so we didn't rush right out for that ice cream date.  Also, Hunter was still nursing so I wasn't going many places without him.  I kept the coupon and I told her we'd make sure to do that when we could.

So... yesterday we did.  LOL.

Honestly, I am not good at doing things with just ONE child at a time.  I know that the others will enjoy it too... I want them to do things as brothers and sisters and when I do something special with the kids, I want to take ALL the kids.  Hubby is much better at doing special things with children one at a time.

But yesterday, I spent all day doing laundry, and continuing to clean and organize the upstairs post-construction (construction is still going strong in the basement, but the upstairs has been completed for about a week, so I felt comfortable in some final stages of cleaning and organizing upstairs)... so by about 4:00, I told Caroline I was ready for our ice cream date!

We went to Baskin Robbins and ate ice cream in the back of our rental mini-van like a tail-gate party (our suburban hit a deer a few weeks ago so its being repaired).

It was short, sweet, and very special to have that time with just her.

She did say several times that we should get pedicures while we were out getting ice cream, which was really funny.  I responded by saying that the coupon was for an ICE CREAM date, not a pedicure date.  She told me that this next Mother's Day she's going to give me a coupon for an ice cream AND pedicure date.

When I asked her if she was going to pay for our pedicures since she was giving me a coupon, she said No, I was going to pay for them.

I love motherhood.

LOL.

Smile

 It has been a very full week... full of work, full of motherhood, full of children, full of making meals, full of construction projects, full of pregnancy, fully of marriage teamwork, full of balancing everything that needs to be balanced...

So, I have no idea what to put on my blog at the moment...

I will simply leave you with this picture that I found online today, and it makes me smile.

Suddenly

 Hunter is getting very close to my absolute favorite age of little ones.  Right around 18 months, the little babies that have been so baby-ish become these tiny people full of their own personalities full of joy about everything life has to offer.

Hunter is seventeen months and it feels like suddenly he wants to be a part of everything his older siblings are doing.

He has always loved watching them and he has always giggled and been entertained by them... but suddenly he is big enough to want to be a part of the games.

This past weekend, he was determined to play restaurant with Tracey and Caroline (whether they were going to include him or not) and he had such fun ringing the bell they had set out for costumers and then trying to get ahold of their spatulas to help with the cooking.  If they are running around, he wants to run with them.  If they are doing yoga, he wants to do yoga with them.  He officially wants to be a part of every game that's going and, and thankfully, his older siblings think it is adorable and are really good about including him.

Frankly, this is perfect timing because our new baby is about a month from making his or her arrival, and it will be wonderful to have Hunter taking an interest in some activities with the big kids.

Happy and Horrified

 I called the kids in from outside... and in came Tracey and Hunter... and I cannot express how this sight made me so equally happy and horrified at the same time.

Preggers VI: 34 Weeks

 How far along?  

34 weeks, 5 days

 

Comparisons:

 

 34 Weeks with Tracey

34 Weeks with the Twins

34 Weeks with Lee Lee

 

34 weeks with Hunter

How I am feeling? 

Well... less overwhelmed than I was a few days ago.  I'm feel READY for Construction to END -- but he can't leave this house the way it is, so I guess it has to continue until he's finished.  I re-organized the two upstairs closests over the weekend and that left me feeling a little better about the house... but I still have a TON to do once the construction ends.

 

 

How big is the baby?  

The size of a cantaloupe... 17.7 inches, 4.7 pounds (or a butternut squash according to the chart I made for the kids)

Sleep: 

I love sleep.  Unfortunately, a family stomach bug has encroached upon my sleep this past week.

Boy/Girl Predictions: 

Well, when I was sorting baby clothes for the hospital bag, I was excited to see the baby girl clothes... but then I immediately couldn't wait to find the baby boy clothes and I really hope to use those too.  Either way, I will be so happy to have one more newborn to cherish.

I also have some new ideas for names... its crazy for me to think that whatever gender we do not have -- those names will just never be used (unless we name a family pet that name someday).

Baby Nicknames: 

Baby 

 

  Best moment this week: 

Sunday was a great day -- tiring but really good.  I got a lot of projects done on Saturday, so when Sunday turned into church, and then family lunch, and the family Lowe's trip, and then family Costco trip, it was just fun, and it was nice that I had accomplished so much on Saturday that I wasn't stressed about missing the day at home.

Oh, and adjusting heartburn medicine so I am now getting heartburn relief!!!

Food cravings: 

Hmmmm... nothing in particular.

 

Missing:  

Honestly, I'm missing 20 hour work weeks -- LOL!

My work hours increased in January because of the number of students I'm currently serving... and now they have increased again my last few weeks of pregnancy.  It is a lot to juggle.

 

Movements:  

Yes and I really like them -- I can't believe I"m getting near the end where I'm never going to feel little baby kicks and flutters again.  Also the kiddos LOVE to feel them.  It's really fun.

 

Labor Signs:  

Well, I actually had some contractions this past weekend.  It was nothing to make me think we should head to the hospital, just enough to remind me that the end is a month or so away, and my body will be getting ready.

General Attitude: 

Trying to stay productive and positive... and praying that the construction ends this week.  PLEASE!
  

What I am looking forward to this week:  

Maybe construction ending?  Maybe children finally being totally over the stomach bug?  Maybe sorting through more baby clothes and trying to feel more organized with all the pre-baby home and work projects?

 

 

Milestones: 

I've packed my hospital bag.