New Beginnings

This has been the Year of Change for us. If you've ever taken one of those personality tests, typically one of the subcategories defines you as one who enjoys change and adapts well to it or one who avoids it all cost. I'm the latter. 100%. So many aspects of our lives have turned upside down in the past year: our living environment, our education ideals, our church life, and without doubt, my heart. We sold our home of 8 years in August. We started homeschooling our daughter in September. We spent 6 months in an apartment while we searched for our next house. We've stepped back from the church we have been involved in for over 6 years and have been visiting a new church. And just two weeks ago, we officially moved into our new home.

Each of these instances, I had in my mind what our lives would be like. We'd sell our house in suburbia and move to the country, living on a few acres. Our kids would be in private or public school depending on the school district we ended up in. Our family would grow together in the same church our kids were introduced to as babies. 

Not one single plan went as I was expecting or anticipating or even hoping for if I'm being brutally honest. I had it figured out and not one of these outcomes were on my agenda. Not one single thing.

I never thought we'd be the family who home schools. Living in a 3-bedroom apartment on the top floor for 6 months was not an option. Leaving a church we were very involved in for many years was just not going to happen. And yet, here we are.

This is where the beauty began and where my heart has been impacted most. In spite of me, my heart and perspective started to slowly change. For one who is not fond of change, this has become one of the most refreshing times of my life. Sit on that thought for a moment. In spite of me. I try so hard to be in control and the moment I open my hand and begin to surrender that control, beauty is born.

I'm so excited to share these discoveries with you!

This blog was created over 5 years ago with the initial intent to document our family life. It's been on a hiatus, evolved, shifted gears and is in much need of TLC. I didn't realize at the time just how fitting the title would become. "Work in Progress" captures perfectly not only this outlet but also who I am as a wife, mom, daughter, sister, and friend. I hope you enjoy what you find here and above all, I hope it encourages you!

Sanity Manifesto

I saw this about a week ago and it is outstanding. Very impactful. It is from Ann Voscamp. Enjoy!

When I grow up..

You know the question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" That seems to be a common topic in our house lately and I always have a little chuckle when I think about what I used to want to "be" when I grew up.

If you know me, you know my answer fwas "I want to wear high heels, carry a briefcase and have a corner office." Of course that also meant I'd live in the city because that's where you have a corner office and wear high heels. People would then question me further, "but what do you want to be?" Well isn't it obvious? I want to be a cute business girl!? And "What type of business are you going to do?" Again, another dumb question. Any type of business where I can wear high heels, carry a briefcase and have a corner office! Come on now. Get with the program. It all makes perfect sense in my mind. How am I not being clear?

So off to business school I went. My junior year at the best school in the South - The University of Georgia - I knew I was getting the best education possible to persue my extensive and elaborate plan for the rest of my life. I started interning at a Winery and Resort in their Marketing Department and soon moved on to sell their wine and design wine labels. Just after graduation, my boss asked me to go to San Francisco for a month to help open a new wine gallery and help them get their wine labels set up.

My moment had finally arrived! I was going to be in an amazing city, wear my high heels, carry my briefcase (or cute bag - that kind of changed with the times..) and have a corner officedesk!!! They arranged for my flights, set up my hotels for the month and I would have the weekends to check out the city, have friends fly in to hangout and and just enjoy life on the west coast.

So I packed all my bags, flew out one weekend with enough time to get settled and get an idea of where my hotel would be in relation to the gallery. Monday morning, I was ready to start my dream! I put my high heels on, grabbed my bag, took one last look at my map so I wouldn't look like a lost tourist and was on my way!

By the time I walked those 11 blocks in my fancy-smancy high heels, not only was I sweating to death, I was cursing life and every person that walked past me in their tennis shoes. My feet were about to fall off and I realized my dream of wearing high heels was sooo ridiculously retarded at that point. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND BASES THEIR DREAM AROUND HIGH HEELS?!? This girl.

Did you know that in big cities when you go to work you either take a taxi or you walk but you keep your heels in your bag until you GET to your job? No one ever informed me of this minormajor detail!

My very first day of living my dream and I couldn't even walk by the end of it.

Oh the lessons we learn in life... That was the last day I wore high heels in San Francisco.

Even though it was the city that robbed me of my lifelong dream, it will always be one of my absolute favorite cities in the US and one of the best times in my life.

When I grow up, I can guarantee you I will be wearing comfortable shoes!!

Movie Night

Friday Family Fun Night. That's tonight and the kids and I are SO excited it is finally here!

We started this several months ago and it's been a huge hit. The kids get a couple of choices for their "favorite" dinners and get to pick out what we have for the night. This is a dinner I'm a bit more relaxed about and don't push (too hard) on being completely healthy. (I try!) It kind of rotates between homemade pizza, mac & cheese with broccoli (get those veggies in!!), crock pot ravioli, and burritos. Tonight we're having crock pot ravioli with this recipe. It's very tasty and the kids love it! We eat in the livingroom either on the floor in front of the table or with tv trays while we watch the movie. They think that is so fun. And of course, we have some type of dessert to chow down on after dinner.

We didn't really have a big selection of children/family movies when we started this but we stocked up on a handful for Christmas gifts. Also, we'll use Netflix from time to time. Tonight, we're watching The Rescuers Down Under which we recorded earlier from ABC Family.

We've been rotating who gets to pick the movie out for the night and that's been fun too. The other week I picked Mary Poppins - I haven't seen that in over 20 years, at least! I loved seeing it again - you can't beat Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke!! The best part was seeing Kathryn really enjoy it too. I didn't realize how long it actually was so Jake lasted about 70% of the time :) He got to pick the following week and made up for it by picking Cars. Smart boy.

I love that the kids can see some of our old "classics" that we saw growing up and we get to watch some of the new ones together too.

I'm thankful to have a night each week we can all look forward too and just be together. I remember watching movies with my family each week growing up and loved it. We'd either load up in the car and drive to the local hole in the wall movie rental and come home with our $1.00 or $.75 VHS for the weekend. Or we'd all watch the Disney movie that came on tv on Sunday nights.

It's always fun passing on a tradition.

Morning Chat

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me. Psalm 13:5-6

 

You know what a lot of us mom's have in common? We all think our children are brilliant (because they are). And we think they're gifted (because they are). And we think they're the funniest, and most amazing, and adorable, and all things in between.

 

Yesterday, when I picked Kathryn up from school her teacher informed me that Kathryn was rather "distracted" throughout the day and her teacher had to repeatedly redirect her and get her to listen and pay attention. Wait. My Kathryn? That can't be right. My Kathryn would never be the child called out in class. Right? Wrong.

 

Right after school, we already had scheduled for friends to come over to play and it was one of those visits where the kids are playing and your child is absolutely doing everything she knows NOT to do. Horrendous behavior. It was bad. Very bad.

 

Of course Kathryn and I (and she and her Daddy) talked about her behavior and addressed her school day and how things were when her friends were over.

To wrap it all up in a nice little bow, yesterday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day when considering Kathryn's behavior. But in spite of that, I got to rest in the words of Psalm 13:5-6 and I fell asleep to "for he has been good to me..."

 

This morning, Kathryn woke up before I finished having my quiet time and came downstairs. This happens about half the time because 1. She is an early riser 2. I am not. So we had some time just the two of us to chat and snuggle on the couch for a few minutes before the rush of the morning kicked in. I didn't want to bring her behavior from yesterday into today, but I did want to address how her approach today would be. We talked how we would work on making today better and what that meant for being at school and what that meant for being at home

 

Today at school was much better for her. Her behavior at home was much better also. I asked her later this afternoon what the difference was and she literally floored me with her response. She said, "Talking this morning about today."

I can't stop thinking about those words.

It makes perfect sense. How many families, including mine, wake up to the busyness of the world and GO. Sure we talk about what we have going on during the day but do we talk about how we're going to handle certain situations or talk through our expectations or what we may struggle with or how we should approach our day? Do we talk about the details of living before we rush out the door?

I thought of myself and how much I crave and treasure my quiet time in the mornings and how "off" my day is if I sleep through it or push it off until the end of the day. My days are infinitely better if I start it off with my quiet time and the main reason why? Because "talking this morning about today" with God sets the pace to my day.

It never occurred to me the impact it would also have on a child to take  make time to chat about the details of their day.
 

Family Times

Nothing beats good old-fashioned family time. Kathryn didn't have school yesterday because of MLK day nor today because of a teacher workday. Days when both the kids and I get to just enjoy each other are my absolute favorite. No agenda, no schedule or places to be, just us being silly and goofy and enjoying each other.

As I type this, I can hear Matt upstairs talking to Kathryn about her day and it warms my heart. Partly because it's about our day together that she's sharing with him and partly because their 'Daddy/Daughter' time is absolutely precious. During bedtime, we all pile on Kathryn's bed and read a bible story together and say our prayers. It's as sweet as it sounds. We never have to ask them to be quiet or to sit still or not play with their toys distractedly. They are always eager to hear the story and ask lots and lots of questions about each story. They always listen and they wake up every morning excited to put into practice all the great lessons learned! {Giggle} Yes, of course some nights are more difficult than others but I wouldn't trade all of those hard nights for one of the good ones. I hope it becomes something they grow to treasure and value.

The past two days, Kathryn has drawn me numerous "I love you" cards with a beautiful stick-rendition of she and I. She is so creative and has such a fun imagination. She and I can make up stories together and be perfectly content. She's the most dainty tomboy you'll ever come across. She loves being a ninja (with purple and pink fingernails) about as much as she loves being a princess. She informed me the other week at school that she was in "Ninja Training"... If I come to her school "after lunch time, she'd introduce me and see if I wanted to train with her." I'm still waiting on my ninja attire to arrive from Amazon. Back ordered at the moment... Can you believe it!?

Jacob is my heart-breaker. He's so jovial and Mr. Mellow. He's tender-hearted and if he is hurt or really tired, he comes up to me and tells me he wants "some lovin'" - you know, cuddles and snuggles on the couch. He talks so much these days trying to keep up with his sister (who of course is trying to keep up with me so we have lots of chatting going on in this house!!) He is ALL boy. Practically the minute he turned two, he decided to declare it to the world. Trucks, tractors and trains. Play any of those with him and he'll be your best friend.

I think that wraps it up for now. Feeling extrememly thankful for family and days when we can truly just enjoy our time together.

Secret Stash

For as long as I can remember, my mom has had a secret stash of dark chocolate tucked away in one of the drawers in my parent's house. If it's a Christmas present or Birthday gift or even something for Mother's Day, I always know I have go-to option with dark chocolate for her and she always acts as if she won the lottery when she sees she has more chocolate to add to her hidden treasure chest.

Of ALL things, I am not a huge fan of things "sweet". I never have been. My mom has always been confused by this trait and has questioned my true identity as that clearly did not come from her. My husband is baffled by it also. It is very common for me to bake a chocolate cake with cream cheese icing (because it sounds so good) but I will eat one slice and be perfectly fine to not eat any more cake for another month. This past year - oh my goodness, I'm really going to admit this - I had my very first "HOT" Krispy Kreme Donut (with my mom..of course.) It was delicious! I tried to eat another one..but nope, I maxed out on my sweet-meter and couldn't do it. What is wrong with me!?

During both of my pregnancies, I ate more sweets in those 18 months than I probably have my whole life! My husband thought he died and went to Heaven. My sweet craving only lasted during the pregnancies though. Once both the kids were born, I went back to my old ways.

Then, out of the blue, I was grocery shopping by myself and saw B1G1 Snickers bars. It was that moment that I took the plunge and bought TWO. Practically every.single.week. since then, I buy more and more and more and before I knew it, I had my very own secret stash! It's wonderful too because right about this time in the afternoons - you know the time, when the kids are down for a nap or "quiet time" and you can get a few things done on your own.. That's when I head to my little secret stash and chow down on a fully satisfying Snickers bar. Oh man. Life is good!

I'm pretty sure my mom's secret stash started after she had kid's too. I mean, why else would you need to hide it!?

New Year's Resolutions

Man, am I on a roll with posting or what!? It's like words are spewing out of me and I can't make it stop!

Do you make New Year's Resolutions? Every year the same thing happens with me and one of my best friends. I come up with a bunch of goals I want to tackle for the New Year and she doesn't have any. Not one.single.goal. I'm ambitious and pumped to kick off the year and she's mellow and passive, "Oh, it's another year already?" We always chat January 1st and we both talk about how we're going to hold each other accountable to following a budget this year and we're going to be really frugal and yada-yada-yada...and then by February, the budget is blown. Every.single.year.

This year though...This year was different. My list is through the roof! I keep adding more and more to it and I can't stop myself! I have no clue how many things are really on the list because I don't write them down but I'm sure it's about a mile long (at least). I read in a blog I follow that the woman had three goals for the year and a "Word of the Year'. When I read that, I laughed and thought, "What a joke!? Who actually has a "word" of the year??" And you know what? Now, I do too! Oh my goodness, I'm such a poser. I even copied her word. Is that sad? My word (or, I guess "our" word..) is: CALM. Why not? It sounds good, right? She had no mention of a "Number of the Year" or "Color of the Year" so maybe she's holding out until next year.. I'll keep you posted though because if this is the new trend, I know you will want to be a part of it. I'll just go ahead and declare mine now. Number = 10. Color = Blue.

Speaking of CALM. Is it just me or do you have 3/4 of your friends on Facebook "hidden"? It's weird because I'm only reading like 6 updates daily anymore and I have almost 500 friends?... ha.ha.ha. If it were not for people who lived out of state, Facebook would be history for me. I love how you can classify people on it. "Friend", "Close Friend", "Acquaintance", etc.. I started a new list, "Friend on Facebook but not in real life" and "Friend in real life but not on Facebook". It's been really helpful.

And on that note, I will be signing off. Stay Calm and Carry On...

Neighborhood Living

Hello again. I know you must be shocked to hear from me again and it's still January. I'm a bit surprised myself.

Lots of things floating around in my head and I thought I'd take a quick break from the world to type.

We live smack dab in the middle of suburbia. It is very easy to confuse the street that we live on as Wisteria Lane. Edie lives behind us, Gabby is two houses down, and Lynette is next door. I've never lived in a neighborhood until moving here. We've been in our house for almost 8 years now and I'm still not used to living on a street with so many other homes. I crave the country so bad.

I grew up on about 10 acres of land, surrounded by woods that backed up to a creek. If we wanted to play with our neighbor and we could hear them playing outside also, we'd yell loud enough for them to meet us in the woods halfway between each of our property's. My sister and I built so many forts, I couldn't even count them all nor tell you where all of them had been (and probably still are..). If you followed the creek towards the river and kept going about a mile up there was a cave along the rocks called Devil's Den. We loved treking through the river and climbing the rocks to see if the Devil really lived there. In one set of the woods, we found a 10x10 pile of old stones and rubbish buried under leaves that we called "The Plane Crash" site (obviously). The stories we made up about the things we found could keep us entertained for weeks.

I love being in the woods. I love the sounds. The leaves under your feet. I love trying to find different trails left by the animals. I love the smell.

Kathryn loves to tell me stories she's made up and is often asking me to tell her stories about princesses and fairies, and of course a purple and pink unicorn. One day she'll figure out every story I tell her starts off in Nonni and Papa's woods.

When we moved to NC for Matt's job, we had two weekends to find a house. I think the thrill of buying our first home and moving to a new place took the forefront on our minds and we never really thought about how long we'd actually be here. A dog, two kids and 8 years later, I think we're getting close to moving on. I'll never forgot getting our dog and taking him for a walk around the neighborhood for the first time and after he did his business, Matt handed me a bag. I said, "What's this for?" Matt goes, "To pick up his junk." I crack up laughing and go, "Ha! Yeah right. I'm not touching that." He said, "That's why there are bags throughout the neighborhood. That's what they're for." I told him, "Are you out of your everliving mind? You're picking that junk up, there's no way I'm touching it." Well. You know what? That's reason #983 I don't do well in a neighborhood. That's just ridicoulous.

Translations

A few funnies lately...

The other day I was chasing a fly with the fly swatter and finally got it. Kathryn thought I was "really super fast! Even faster than the fly!" And I told her, "the fly is going downtown!" And she goes, "to BUGTOWN!". Cracked me up.

The same day, she asked me something about Eeyore and "Shampoo"...

She calls The Teenage Mutant Ninga Turtles, "Teen Na-minga Turtles".

Yellow is "lellow"

Ninga is "inga"

For Jake-man, translations are below:
"Down" - means for me to pick him UP
"Carry-oh" - means to carry him
"Love-lou" - love you
"Help you" - means he needs help
"Pweeeeese" - please

Pretty much, all the boy needs to do is say Mama and I'm wrapped around his little finger. He is the most tender-hearted boy on the planet. They say so many things that are just too darn cute to correct. I let Kathryn call a window, "lindo" for over a year because it was the cutest thing EVER. Her preschool teacher corrected her this past year. I suppose they do have to grow up but they're growing so fast. I'm perfectly fine having a word or two linger in their sweet language for as long as possible...

Goodbyes & Hellos

Our neighbors just moved away yesterday. They've grown to be one of our closest friends over the last 5 years. More than just being one of my closest friends "away from home", they've seen Kathryn and Jacob grow up since the day they were born. That part is probably what makes me sad the most. The kids adore "Miss Brandy and Mr. Jason." It's one thing to have good neighbors; it's another to have good neighbors that are good friends. That's precious. There are many, many things I will miss but probably the most is knowing that any day, any time, we could walk across the street and get a much needed hug or know we have a friend who cares to listen. When you have good friends and they move away, it's not 'goodbye' but 'see you soon'. I hope it's really soon.

I made this for the family moving in. We've been told they're moving in from out of state - I sure know that feeling! I'll never forget meeting Jeff and Heather (our other neighbors who also moved away) the first day we moved in and her welcoming us with some baked bread from a local bakery. She won me over at day one. I hope our new neighbors feel just as welcomed as we did.

8 Year Anniversary

Today we are celebrating 8 years of marriage. EIGHT years. Isn't that incredible? I told Matt the other day that we were celebrating 8 years but I was thankful for 7.. ;) I really am thankful for each year even though of course it isn't always fun or "easy". The hard year actually makes the celebrating more meaningful. I know when we first got married I had a very different perspective on marriage than I do now. I imagine that perspective is ever-evolving as each year brings new things, lessons, twists and turns. Someone told me when we were celebrating our 6th year "oh, it's not a big year like 5th or 10th, etc..." Well, in my opinion, every year is a BIG year in my book. These days, that is not common anymore. I can say with absolute confidence and certainty that we are celebrating today, and each year, because of the grace of God. How blessed am I!?

We got to celebrate in Atlanta two weekends ago just the two of us. It was such a great weekend! Tonight, I'm making one of our favorite meals - actually something Matt cooked me on our "anniversary" while we were dating. And the best part, it's called Anniversary Chicken! Haha. Seriously. It's delicious though.

Here's the recipe:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/2 cup teriyaki basting sauce

1/2 cup Ranch-style salad dressing

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

3 green onions, chopped

1/2 (3 ounce) can bacon bits

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts, and saute 4 to 5 minutes each side, until lightly browned.
3. Place browned chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Brush with teriyaki sauce, then spoon on salad dressing. Sprinkle with cheese, green onions and bacon bits.
4. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Garnish with parsley and serve.

The Hiatus

Hello Blog World!

It has embarrassingly been nearly TWO years since my last post. What in the world!? It's like I've been 37 weeks preggo for forever now. You'll be happy to know that we now have a handsome little man, Jacob, who melts my heart as much as his big sister Kathryn does. He is my tender-hearted, full of smiles, sweet boy. Blessed beyond measure doesn't even come close to how thankful I am for my family. This is a big month of celebration for us. August 14th will be our 8 year anniversary!! Also, August 27th will be sweet Jacob's 2nd birthday! How do I stop time again?

I haven't figured out how I want to go forward with this blog. I'm not sure if I want to keep up with family updates; which clearly, I am awesome at doing. Or if I want to use it as an outlet to encourage others. Or for "lessons learned" as those seem to happen to me every single day! Whatever the case, I'm excited to be back and looking forward to blogging on a much more regular basis!

Goodnight for now!

37 Weeks

How far along? 37 weeks, 1 day!!!!!
Total weight gain/loss: 25ish pounds
Maternity clothes? Nope! Ok, just kidding..
Sleep: GOOD. I've been sleeping so well the past week. Thank the Lord!
Movement: He's still practicing his ninja skills. I'm so excited to check them out and see what he's learned! ;)
Best moment this week: Being able to be at WEEK 37!!!
Cravings: Sweet tea. Sweet tea. Sweet tea.
Belly Button: still out - or "not" if I'm having a contraction!
What I miss: sweet tea daily - go figure. And turkey sandwiches (COLD). Yum. That sounds so good right now. I am not changing this section either. I miss not being able to "easily" shave my legs. I miss not having as much energy although lately I have had some good bursts of energy! I capitalize on those moments :) Soon enough though, soon enough!
What I am looking forward to: Kathryn being the coolest big sister EVER and meeting our little man!!

 

Let's just say I'm a little over-the-moon right now. It's exciting to know that sooner than later we'll be holding our little man and I will be WELL 'over-the-moon'!!! But for now, I'm just so excited and THANKFUL to be so far along!! I have my next dr's appointment tomorrow morning so we'll see! 

 

Oh and here's something comical for you... Last Wednesday when I told Matt and my family about already being 3cm dilated/etc.. see if you can find the common thread between their comments...and believe me, we ALL have laughed over these!! :)

Matt: "Really!? Does that mean he might come tonight? What about tomorrow? I have a huge meeting on Thursday at 10am so anytime after 11am would be great!"

Mom: "Wow! So he could come any day now! My conferences won't be over until Tuesday of next week so next Wednesday would be the best!"

Kirsten: "Of course he'd decide to come when school starts up again and not during the 3 weeks I have off! I don't have classes on Thursdays or Fridays so..."

Dad: "Next Thursday would be the best for me; plus you'll be at 37 weeks.. I let the staff have half a day on Friday's so we'd have the whole weekend!"

So being the "people-pleaser" that I have been known to be.. Please note the following (you know, because I have total control of what they're asking for...)

Matt's request: CHECK.

Mom's request: CHECK.

Kirsten's request: Pending...

Dad's request: Pending...

 

I'll keep you posted!!! :)

36 Weeks

How far along? 36 weeks, 2 days
Total weight gain/loss: +24-25 pounds
Maternity clothes? you bet!
Sleep: Not too shabby - getting used to these 11pm/2am/4am/5:30am breaks..
Movement: He's getting strong! I think he's seeing how far out he can stretch his legs!
Best moment this week: The ladies from SS class gave me a 'Diapers and Wipes' shower!! It was perfect! We had lunch together, they had balloons and a cake and it was just so thoughtful. I was very touched by the girls and so thankful for such an awesome group of ladies.
Cravings: Sweet tea. Sweet tea. Sweet tea.
Belly Button: still out
What I miss: sweet tea daily - go figure. And turkey sandwiches (COLD). Yum. That sounds so good right now. I am not changing this section either. I miss not being able to "easily" shave my legs. I miss not having as much energy although lately I have had some good bursts of energy! I capitalize on those moments :)
What I am looking forward to: Kathryn being the coolest big sister EVER and meeting our little man!!

I had my 36 week check up this morning. Turns out, I'm 3cm dilated and 80% effaced (hope that's not too much info for anyone!). WHOA. This is uncharted territory for me as by this point, Kathryn was already BORN. Hopefully we can make it to 37 weeks -- full term! I'm very excited though. I'm confident in Christ taking care of us and our little boy and we all know His timing is perfect. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding"... Prov. 3:5 has always been a favorite for a reason.

35 Weeks

How far along? 35 weeks, 3 days
Total weight gain/loss: +23ish pounds maybe??
Maternity clothes? yeppers and not really planning on that changing overnight!
Sleep: On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say about a 5 or 6. Definetly could be worse and I'm so grateful it really isn't 'that bad'. Those darn bathroom breaks get the best of me!
Movement: Moving like a ninja!!
Best moment this week: Being able to say that I'm 35 weeks and 3 days along! I'm so thankful that the Lord is keeping our boy safe and sound. And not that this isn't a 'best moment' everyday, but spending my days with sweet Kathryn. She just amazes me daily and I'm so excited to see you as a big sister!
Cravings: Sweet tea. I'm soo tired of drinking water all the time! ;)
Belly Button: still out
What I miss: sweet tea daily - go figure. And turkey sandwiches (COLD). Yum. That sounds so good right now. I am not changing this section either. I miss not being able to "easily" shave my legs. I miss not having as much energy. Today I missed not being able to 'jump up' and run and grab the mail lady before she drove off!!
What I am looking forward to: Kathryn being the coolest big sister EVER and meeting our little man!!

This has been another great week! I'm really excited and grateful to be so close to "36 weeks"!! A friend the other day said I was probably one of the few to be excited 'near the end of pregnancy'. We just have so much to be thankful for and are just praying that he camps out as long as need be! Although, Kathryn almost every other day now keeps asking me when we're going to see Baby Brother...or she'll say, "I want to see Baby Brother tomorrow..and we'll feed him, and change his diaper, and he'll sleep, and play with my blocks, and watch me dance, and..." And every time I tell her she's getting to be such a big girl, she always replys, "and Baby Brother is growing big too!"

34 Weeks

How far along? 34 weeks, 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: +21 pounds
Maternity clothes? yeppers and not really planning on that changing overnight!
Sleep: Not too bad - praise God! Still not a fan of the bathroom breaks but I'll live :) I did get up this morning around 4am for a bowl of cereal and good solid quiet time but other than that, sleep has been decent.
Movement: Moving around like a champ. He's strong!
Best moment this week: We had our 34 week check up yesterday and had an ultrasound - of course it was WONDERFUL getting to see our little man. He's approx. 5 pounds, 1 oz and in the 40th percentile. WooHoo!! He's measuring perfectly and fluids and all look great. Thank you Lord!!
Cravings: Food.
Belly Button: still out
What I miss: sweet tea daily - go figure. And turkey sandwiches (COLD). Yum. That sounds so good right now. I am not changing this section either. I miss not being able to "easily" shave my legs. I miss not having as much energy.
What I am looking forward to: Kathryn being the coolest big sister EVER and meeting our little man!!

 

It's been another great week! I'm so thankful he's doing so well measurement/size-wise. I'm just so excited for him to actually get here!! I told mom last week I thought I had mastered the art of "nesting". I don't think there's anything left on my list left to do - except continue to be thrilled and excited!! :) I actually have my hospital bag packed and kept thinking, "so this is what it feels like to pack a bag in advance!" We didn't really have that luxury with Kathryn. I don't think I'll ever forget the day she was born and seeing Matt run around the house throwing anything he saw into a bag! The thought makes me smile every time I think about it.

Tractor & Truck Show

Yeah, we're cool. We drove out to the country today and had a great time at our very first Tractor & Truck Show! Sweet tea, BBQ, country folks, good music and some big ol' trucks and tractors - can't beat that for a Saturday!!

 I also have a picture of Matt trying to have Kathryn go potty in a "porta-potty" without touching ANYTHING. Probably not appropriate to post but hilarious nonetheless!

Holden Beach 2010

Few favorites from the beach...

 

 

And a few other random favorites from the past couple of days...

33 Weeks

How far along? 33 weeks, 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: +20 pounds
Maternity clothes? yep and i feel kinds a cute too! :)
Sleep: Other than bathroom breaks in the middle of the night (at least FOUR a night!), it hasn't been 'that' bad. Last night though, I laid awake until 12:30am unable to get comfortable, slept in the lazyboy recliner until about 4am, woke up starving..debated about half an hour whether to get up and actually eat, fell back asleep close to 5am in bed. Hope that's not the new trend for the next several weeks!
Movement: Yep, he's a ninja.
Best moment this week: Kathryn ran up to me with an old cell phone up to her ear and she yelled excitedly, "Mama! I'm talking to Baby Brother!!!" And another day she randomly declares, "I want to see Baby Brother tomorrow!" She's too stinkin' cute!! Every day she talks almost constantly about or mentions in some way or fashion about Baby Brother and what they're going to do together or something about his room or his "outfits". She's going to be such a great big sister!!!
Cravings: Food.
Belly Button: still out
What I miss: sweet tea daily - go figure. And turkey sandwiches (COLD). Yum. That sounds so good right now. I am not changing this section either. I miss not being able to "easily" shave my legs. I miss not having as much energy.
What I am looking forward to: Kathryn being the coolest big sister EVER and meeting our little man!!

Other than my lack of sleep last night, it's been a great week! I've been drinking over a cup of prune juice every single night and eating my 'iron fortified' cereal :) A friend asked me yesterday how I could stand nasty prune juice and I said it actually wasn't that bad anymore -- I told her after eating a tablespoon of tar (black strap molasses), prune juice was like a gift from God on my lips! ;) haha. Although, if my dang numbers don't get up for my iron after all this, I'm going to be one mad mama! 

It's so interesting to me people's comments during pregnancy. I'm getting comments left and right these days. What cracks me up is getting opinions from complete strangers!!

"You must be having a boy. It's all in how you carry." - Random lady at WalMart

"Ohhh...look at your cute belly! Come here, look at her cute belly!" -Random Lady #1 taking my money "Awwww, it looks like she swallowed a basketball! So sweet!" -Random Lady #2 bagging my food - Women working the drive-through line at Arby's when all I wanted was for the nice ladies to just give me my roast beef sandwich!!

"Honey, how are you standing this weather? It's so hot. Are you due any day now?" - Random lady at store.

"You're pregnant??" - Random lady at hair salon ***This comment and the comment above it literally happened within a DAY of each other!!!*** 

"Wow, you're very PREGNANT." Random Lady. "Umm. Yep. Thanks." Me. "What's your due date?" Random Lady. "Sept. 13th". Me. "OH. You're not THAT pregnant!" - Random lady in the bathroom at church. 

---Matt's response after I tell him the dialog with the random lady in the bathroom.."Yes, she knows everything. She's clearly an expert." <>