Happy Holidays!

It's hard to believe this year is coming to an end already. It has flown by faster than usual with everything we have going on. We are really looking forward to xmas this year because Morgan is old enough to enjoy the presents! It has gotten a bit more challenging to wrap and hide the gifts with Carson being 6 now. He is so much more observant! The other night our neighbors husband stopped by dressed as Santa to visit with the kids and after he left, the boys said "That wasn't Santa, that was Madeline's Daddy". (They call all husbands Daddy!) Too funny!

On the baby front- I still haven't remembered to have Al take a belly shot of me. Hopefully over the next few days! The baby is moving often now and I think the kicks may be hard enough to actually feel from the outside. He is most active at night when I am watching tv or laying in bed. R & S- get ready for a night owl!

I am feeling good now with the pregnancy. My only complaint is that all of a sudden I have a varicose vein that has appeared on the back of my right leg. I have never had this before with pregnancies but I think it's a normal side effect. Lets just hope and pray it will go away after delivery! I am not really craving any foods yet regularly. Jimmy Johns is still good, but I haven't been NEEDING it like before. Mostly I have trouble deciding what to eat because things still don't sound good. Of course I have been eating plenty of sweets with the holidays here which is not helping my bum!

Here is another picture of my angels.

Have a great holiday!

HALF WAY DONE! IT'S A.........................

Can you believe it? We are already 20 weeks along- half way done! Amazing. Even with the semi-challenging first trimester, it has flown by! On Monday, we had our 4 week check up and the 20 week ultrasound and R & S were both there. The baby looked perfect- heart beat was 153 I think. We saw hands, feet, toes, legs, butt oh and yep- a little pee pee.

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!

It was a bit strange for me because I have never found out the sex with my own kids so that was really the first time I saw that on the ultrasound. There is no doubt about it. This little guy was showing off a few times with his legs wide open and it is definitely a boy! Congrats to R & S!!!!! Baby B will be the big brother in May, 9 months apart from this little guy. I am sure they will grow up to be the best of friends like our boys. Of course they will fight like my boys, but when they are apart- they miss each other like crazy.

The rest of the appointment was quick and easy. I have gained about 6 pounds so far and of course woke up this week with a tummy. If I remember tonight, I will take a tummy shot and add it to the blog soon. I imagine it will be only another week or two at the most before I give up on wearing regular clothes and give in to the comfort of maternity clothes full time. Maybe right after Christmas after I eat for days!

Oh and thanks so much again to R & S for the surprise package we received yesterday of Mrs. Fields cookies and brownies. They are absolutely delicious and all 5 of us LOVED IT! Thanks for being so thoughtful and "sweet"!

Here is an early holiday picture of our angels. Not sure when I will blog next with the holidays coming but I will be sure to add a few new pictures soon.

Wish us luck surviving the foot of snow expected tonight through tomorrow! Let's hope my work closes tomorrow!

Come and ride my roller coaster!

I can't believe it has been almost 2 weeks since I last posted. Wow, time flies when you are having fun! Or- when your life is too chaotic to stop the roller coaster to update a blog! We are still working endlessly on our house renovation and hope to have our new laundry room flooring done this week along with at least base cabinets for our kitchen so we can get our granite counter tops measured. At least I finally have a plywood counter top to prepare meals on and the horrible dry wall dust is finally gone! Now I am just praying we get the remaining cabinets put in before Christmas so we can host my family (about 20 people) for Christmas night. My fingers are crossed!!!! And hopefully sometime this month- before xmas eve, I can start my Christmas shopping! I am usually done in November but this year because of the house construction I pretty much haven't even begun. YIKES!

On the baby front........ I am still in regular clothes which is wonderful but also in the back of my mind I am wondering why I am not showing more. We will be 19 weeks tomorrow and I know by that time in my past 3 pregnancies I was definitely in maternity clothes. I should be thrilled with this instead of complaining, but since it is different then the past it makes me think about it. (Not stress about it yet.) I have felt some small movements probably only once or twice a day at this point but at least that is reassuring that the baby is doing ok. I know we are all looking forward to Monday when we have the ultrasound and the regular monthly checkup. Hopefully it won't be too crazy with my bringing two of my kiddos along with R & S's family in the room.

Oh and I finally told my boss and my coworkers the news last week. It went much better than I anticipated which was a huge relief. And just because I say I am not in maternity clothes yet doesn't mean I am not bigger. My lovely coworker told me right after my announcement that she thought my hips were bigger and I was WIDER. Needless to say I haven't spoken to her since! Just kidding. But seriously, why do people insist on insulting a pregnant woman? Some people just don't get it!

My husband is out of town for work again but luckily he is scheduled to come back home tomorrow. We can't wait!!! Hopefully my princess Morgan will be feeling better by then too. Poor baby- she is so congested and is coughing like crazy. I hate it when my kids are sick.

More updates to come next week after the appointment.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Being Thanksgiving and all I feel it is mandatory to express what we are thankful for. Every single day I thank God for the gift of our three wonderful, beautiful and most importantly- HEALTHY children. We truly are blessed to have them in our lives and I pray we will have forever- or a very, very, very, very long time to enjoy our time here together. I can't imagine my life without them- or Al. Of course we are also thankful to be going through this journey and truly appreciate all of the support and friendship we have received from all of you. Thank you!

We wish you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving. Our day tomorrow will be spent painting the house and eating pizza for dinner but luckily we will get to enjoy a feast on Saturday at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Have a great Holiday!

Dr. Appointment

On Monday, we had another Dr. appointment which went really well. R brought her mom with to this one which was really nice to finally meet her. The good news is- the blood results came back from the BUN test and everything was perfect. The bad news is- I have already gained 5 pounds! It took a little while to find the heartbeat which made me a little panicky but I tried not to show my concern in front of R. But then finally, the beautiful sound of a strong heartbeat at 159. The Dr. said the baby is VERY active. I think I might have felt a couple movements yesterday but they were so light that it's hard to be sure yet.

On the home front, our house is in complete disarray. Our kitchen is no longer in existence as of Tuesday. The sink, cabinets, counter tops, dishwasher- ALL GONE. We do still have a stove but it's nearly impossible to cook without easily accessible dishes and space to prepare things. And then of course washing the dishes by hand in the sink in our powder room is just strange. Our lives are absolutely crazy right now and will be for the next few weeks. I just can't wait until the remodel is done. It is crazy to try to keep any normalcy in the kids lives when it looks like a tornado went through our first floor. I am sure the pregnancy hormones are not helping my patience (or lack there of) but I know this will be worth it in the end. This home addition has been in the works and in discussion for years but now that we are actually in the middle of it I wish timing could have been different. Our original plan was to be done with the addition by September or October and we initially were thinking of not transferring until the fall to start a surrogacy but then everything changed. It's ok though- we are managing. I just wish some days I could have a glass of wine while I am sitting in my plastic covered family room and looking at sawdust and drywall powder everywhere.

I am worried about how we will "fit in" Christmas this year too. The house may not be done by then and I don't even know if we can decorate for Christmas because things just might get in the way. I hope we can though for the kids sake. They are obviously getting excited about Santa coming soon.

I am still squeezing into regular clothes (a size bigger) but haven't made the switch to maternity yet. I think at this point I would look funny- like a chubby girl trying to look pregnant. My tummy still looks pregnant only at night right now. Hopefully I can make it another couple of weeks before I make the switch. I guess I need to tell my work the news before I show up in maternity clothes sometime soon. Maybe next week................

So that is the latest in our household and in my tummy. The next appointment we have is on Monday, 12/15 and will be the 19 week checkup and ultrasound. It will be great to see the baby again. R is definitely coming with- hopefully S can make it too.

FEED ME!!!

I am sitting here in my office after finally caving into my recent craving....... Jimmy Johns! I was starving and unfortunately, nothing at home ever sounds good to eat these days. All I want is food out which is going to break my pocket book! I don't know what it is but lunchtime food is hard for me. Nothing ever sounds good- except JIMMY JOHNS! So, I gave in- again- and right now I am enjoying my Beach Club and chips. That is actually one of the strange things- I can't stand regular Lays or Jays potato chips with this pregnancy, (even though I loved them beforehand) but for some reason the crunchy regular chips at Jimmy Johns are heaven to me. I can't get enough! I guess it could be worse- I could be craving McDonalds.

Visit at IP's House

We had a great time on Saturday at R & S's house. It was wonderful for our kids to see them again and to meet baby B. Unfortunately, Carson and Gavin were a bit wild but luckily they didn't break anything. :) Al and I had a great time talking with R & S and getting to know them even more. There is really no other word to describe this journey other than "Surreal". It seems like it is just a dream but then we all have to remind ourselves this is really, truly happening. What an amazing thing. R & S will definitely have their hands full in May with two babies, 9 months apart. Life will be hectic, but this is what they have always wanted. It is obvious they are getting very excited about completing their family in just a matter of months.

I am looking forward to our Dr. appointment on Monday to hear the heartbeat again. R's mom is planning on coming too so this will be our first time meeting. I have to bring Gavin and Morgan with on that appointment so hopefully all will go smoothly. I am sure the Dr. office is going to be shocked to see 3 adults and 3 kids all there together for one appointment. Hopefully we don't get any dirty looks!

Hopefully my babies will do ok today. We kept them up extra late last night and took them to the Ringling Brothers Circus. I feel guilty because it was a school night- but life is short and I am all about making memories for our children. Their faces were priceless during the show. I think I spent more time watching them then the acts! Let's just hope this day goes fast because I am sure I will be the one to struggle with the lack of sleep! 11pm was WAY PAST MY BEDTIME!