The Mighty Middles

I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures of my adorable middle children.

You know, the ones who are busy playing 24-7.



The ones who get forgotten, at times.



The ones who still draw me pictures,



and bring me bouquets of weeds,



and fall asleep on the couches or the floor when we watch movies.


I can hear them giggling in the other room, so I'm thinking I'd better check on them...



You never know with "The Middles"!

Wednesday Pregnancy Report-- May 26

Well, not too much is going on-- pregnancy-wise. Which is very good. My midwife did mention at my visit on Monday, that this baby will probably be another big one. And seeing how the last two were nine-pounders, that doesn't surprise me. I'm just playing the waiting game, now...

Actually, I have waaay too much to do before the baby arrives, and so I'm not really anxiously waiting. More like trying to get all the things done that I know I won't have time to finish once a newborn enters the picture!

You know, I think after ten babies, that I've finally ingrained in my brain how little I'll be able to do once Baby arrives... That's progress! So to all you mothers out there who want to spend the last month pacing the floor, I'm telling you, get busy NOW, because you won't be able to later! Just a bit of friendly advice from a mom who's been there! ;-)

If you're interested-- or very bored and have nothing better to read-- here's my "To-Do List":

• Wash all the newborn clothes.
• Finish rearranging my bedroom to prepare for the birth.
• Wash all the receiving blankets.
• Wash the baby carseat cover.
• Put my house back in order after the kitchen renovation.
• Laundry... Laundry... Laundry...
• Make sure the pantry is stocked with everything needed for the menu. (Russell went shopping for me, so I'm not sure what we have and what we still need to get...)
• Plan the next few Activity Days so I won't need to make decisions as the birth gets closer.
• Finish planning the family reunion I'm in charge of so I won't have to make last minute decisions with a newborn.
• Finalize planning for the Homeschool classes we'll be starting in the Fall. (Location, marketing, enrollment, double check my teachers, setting up systems...)
• Work at adjusting my Shakespeare curriculum for the Fall. (Before I forget the stuff I want to change!)
• Scrub my bathroom.
• Find my "extra" sheets for the birth.
• Gather a bunch of clean, fluffy towels for the birth.
• Figure out how we're going to fill the birth pool.
• Find my labor music and make sure it's on Russell's I-Pod.
• Find Russell's I-Pod cord so we can actually use it.
• Make sure Russell has my "list of approved names," even if he disregards it. ;-D (Just in case, you know...)
• Find at least ONE girl's name that I like. *sigh*
• Read LOTS more birth stories for mental preparation.
• Go through the Sears' "Birth Book" for the nine-hundred-and-fifty-eighth time.
• Go through my other homebirth/herbal books for the nine-hundred-and-sixtieth time.
• Drink more water.
• Make sure I have all the essential oils I'll want or need.
• Think baby thoughts and get excited!

If I hadn't already taken a nap today, I'd be heading to bed now! Hmmm... See why I'm thinking this baby may never arrive? I simply have too much to do! LOL!

More Kitchen Renovation Pictures

Buh-bye, blue cabinets!

Out with the old, and in with the new!

In process...

Nice!

GRANITE?! Are you kidding me?!

This lovely new kitchen makes all my appliances and accessories look better!

I'm in love with the new faucet-- and with this adorable toddler who wants to explore.

See how the Pergo floors have been torn out, revealing the old linoleum?

Tomorrow, we get tile.

(Pray I can keep all my children OFF of it!!!)

*fingers crossed*

Wednesday Pregnancy Report-- May 19

I'm sorry to interrupt all the renovation excitement to post about being pregnant, but I did make a goal to report here every Wednesday, and by golly, I'm gonna do it! ;-)

Today was my first midwife "home visit", where the midwife comes over to make sure she knows how to get here in a hurry, and so she can get a "lay of the land", so to speak. My midwife, Stephanie, and her assistant, Kate, are so delightful to be around! They really make me feel confident and pampered, and I love how they stay excited about me having a BABY. (Somedays, I tend to forget that that is the final goal...)

So they came to my chaotic, torn apart house and got to meet all the other "babies" we've got around here.

Everything is looking good, I'm measuring just about right and my blood pressure is nice and low. My ankle swelling was even down today, so they also got to meet my ankles for the first time!

The only thing I need to improve is my *sigh* water intake.

Why is this a hard thing for me?

It may be that drinking more water makes me need to "go" more often. It may be because I'm lazy. (A distinct possibility...) It may be because I'd rather drink milk.

Who knows, but I DO need to drink more WATER.

Any tips?

As for the baby, his/her head is down, heartbeat is good, and he/she is pretty active.

The last few weeks, I've decided it's a BOY. My four year old daughter has reassured me that this is true.

As for names, it is Russell's turn to pick. But I keep following him around with my "approved names" list. I'm not sure he appreciates it a whole lot.

We DO have the middle name for a boy decided already, so that's good. As for a girl, we're both puzzled. Could that be a sign that this baby is indeed a boy?

I guess we'll have to wait and see!

(I'll post more renovation pictures in the next day or two!)

Kitchen Renovation!

NOTE: This is just my DREAM kitchen. Not my new one. But I can fantasize... *wink*

So, here's our ACTUAL leaky kitchen story:

Our Pergo floors started seeping water and warping, and it took us a while to find the source-- a pipe in the wall that drained the kitchen sink water into the sewer line. When we took everything out of our lower cabinets and got down to inspect, the wall was coated in mold. Eek! (Well, being pregnant, *I* never get down on the floor to peek in the cabinets! Sheesh! ;-D)







Anyhoo, the pipe got fixed yesterday, (yay!) the cabinets are being ripped out and totally replaced this week, and I'm not sure when the floors will be done. (They ripped up the warped Pergo floors last week.)

Ripped out cabinets, ripped up floor, moldy drywall cut away

This whole thing actually hasn't been a big deal. We're just glad we found the source of the leak and got rid of the mold.

Repaired water line-- YAY!

We are just renting our house, so we won't be picking out the new cabinets, flooring, or countertops. That will be our landlord's job. (Though I imagine his wife might be doing at least some of it!)

I know for sure that they will be replacing ALL the Pergo in the house with tile. (We have it in the kitchen, and some in both the living room and family room, as well as down the hall.) So that's pretty cool!

Here are the current cabinets and counter top.

If I could pick all the colors and patterns out, here are some DREAM examples of what I would choose:

I like the look and feel of wood floors, but I've had them before, and it was HARD to keep them dry and clean! The tile floors they're putting in will be nice!

But I love the white cabinets here and the black island with granite counter top.

I'm afraid Russell would feel this kitchen is too "precious", but I love the distressed cabinets and the antiques. White cabinets, again-- yes...

Here's another view of the first kitchen picture I posted at the beginning of this blog entry. White cabinets: check. Tile floor: check. Granite Countertops: check. European elegance: check. Two ovens: CHECK! ;-)

This next week should be a bit crazy with my kitchen being pulled apart and put back together, but I'll be excited to show you the results of the renovation! :-)

Stay tuned...

Temple Open House

The Gila Valley Temple

This past Thursday, our whole family got to attend the Gila Valley Temple Open House. It was so fun to take a day trip down to southeastern Arizona and see this beautiful house of the Lord.

Ronan, squinting in the sun.


Dierdre and Grayse


MacKenna and Grayse-- whoops!

The very BEST part was being in the temple with our ENTIRE family around us-- something that I always keep as a visualization for what I want for our family someday: Eternity together!

Ten of my FAVORITE people on the planet!

And the two people who started this family...

Together Forever is the goal!

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."3 John 1:4

Third Trimester Stream of Consciousness

I'm now 35-ish weeks pregnant, and feelin' it!

You'd think-- after having done this ten other times-- that I'd be used to the creaky hip joints, the heartburn, the swollen ankles, the crankiness, and the false labor.

You'd think so, wouldn't ya?

Humpf!

So... I'm far from perfect, I'm far from saintly, and I'm far from patient.

It's not that I'm ready for the baby to come-- noooo...

But I would like to no longer feel like the grumpy beached whale I'm morphing into.

And I'm sure my family would concur.

Oh, and just when I think I'm making it through all this third-trimester-drama without sugar, Pioneer Woman has to go and post this recipe:

Granny's Chocolate Cobbler

It's a conspiracy, I tell ya!!!

(Do we have any raisin bran left...? *sob*)

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Happy Mothers Day to my mom, to my mother-in-love, to my grandmothers, and to my sisters and sister-in-love, and to all those of you out there who have chosen to do the hard, but rewarding work of motherhood. I am so grateful for the choice I made 16 years ago-- the choice to be a MOTHER.



(I love you, Morganne, Brennan, Lliam, Bonny, Gavin, Dierdre, Ronan, MacKenna, Grayse, Avalon, and unborn little one!)

Wednesday Pregnancy Report-- on Friday

(Yes, I deserve a "Time Out". Does that mean I get a nap?)

*blush*

Okay, so I realized late last night that I never posted my Wednesday Pregnancy report this week.

OOPS!

But then, Wednesday was a CRAZY day here at our house, so I have loads of excuses I won't bore you with right now. *wink*

THIS WEEK-
Baby's been moving a lot, and that's good, though I'm becoming more and more uncomfortable. Earlier this week, it felt like the baby moved down much lower, so no more crossing of the legs for the remaining weeks! My hips are loosening up, so sleeping/rolling over are becoming a bit more complicated. Typical last month stuff!

HEALTH GOALS-
My daily goals include the following:

• Drinking 8 full glasses of water (I'm not so good at this, yet...)
• Eat some dark green leafy veggies every day (I am finding that fresh spinach is my friend. I add it to smoothies, eat it as a salad, or include it in omelets. Yum!)
• Pregnancy Tea (I make sure I drink at least one mug full a day. I use the "Traditional Medicinal" blend and really like the flavor. This is one goal that's pretty easy!)
• Eat at least 2 Eggs each day (This is another easy goal. There's nothing better than a two egg omelet cooked with onions sauteed in real butter, with cheese and fresh spinach added.)
• More fresh fruit and veggies (Lovely!)
• Exercise (Okay, so this one is still not easy for me. I won't be doing pilates or kickboxing any time soon, but I am trying to go walking in the neighborhood and doing more things outside like pulling weeds, etc.. Definitely room for improvement here!)

I did update my baby ticker here in the left-hand column, so it's now accurate. (See-- I can get some things done once in a while! ;-D)

But I still say that "due-dates" are a joke and I refuse to believe in them.

Bah-humbug!

Kid Pictures!

Our camera broke a while back, so we've been picture-less for the entire month of April. But I'm happy to report that we bought a cheap digital camera before Russell took off for Drupal-Con in San Francisco. (He couldn't go there for the first time without a camera!)

So, this post is especially for the grandmas and grandpas and other family members out there who are wondering if our children are still growing and healthy. ;-)

Here's Russell with Alcatraz behind him.
(I know he's not a kid, but I think he's pretty dang cute anyway!)

I really don't know where they get it from!
(Oh, wait. Yes, I do.)




Avalon, with her big brother/favorite transportation, Lliam.
(She bosses him around night and day, and the funny thing is, he does whatever she tells him to! *hee!*)



This little girl charms her way into-- and out of-- anything and everything.




Where Brennan studies. (He's working on his Constitution class work in this picture.)



Morganne hates to be interrupted when she's studying cookbooks.



Gavin is immersing himself in our Beatrix Potter collection.

I'll post more pictures of the "middle kids"-- the ones who have a hard time holding still for pictures-- in the next few days. (Oh, ki-ids!!!)