T Minus 6 Weeks

Oh this baby can not get here fast enough!!! And yet, I need about 6 more months to be ready for her. But I can't do anything to get ready for her until I find some energy. And, apparently, I am not going to have energy until I stop sharing my body with her. This is a tough spot to be in! The fact that Cline is now sick, working for the next 4 days straight, and all of my free help decided to leave town tomorrow isn't helping matters right now.

At the moment, I'm having a decorating crisis. If I were a more decisive person, I would have a nursery ready to go and a room for Christa ready to go. But I keep changing my mind about which room should be whose, what Christa's big girl bedding should look like, and which curtains look best in which room with which paint color with which bedding. It's an exhausting process, and one that I'm tired of now... mainly because I just can't seem to find the right combination of bedding, curtains, and wall colors. Then I feel guilty for stressing out so much about curtains and quilts - there really are more important things going on in the world. I'm blaming it on the hormones - the stupid, annoying, energy-sucking, tear-jerking hormones that I am so grateful for because they're keeping my baby healthy until she's ready to be born.

She can't get here fast enough. But I need 6 more months to be ready for her.

Nesting??

Not so much, but I *am* getting a few things done around here. Today alone we got Christa's big girl furniture moved to her new room, put the bassinet together, almost finished Abby Kate's baby quilt, cleaned the toilets (they were embarrassing), and did some normal housekeeping chores. I have a ton of things left on my to-do list, but I'm feeling a little more prepared for this baby than I did a week ago. Physically, I am more than ready for these last 6 weeks to be over and done with, but logistically, we have a long way to go before we are ready to bring Abby Kate home. I'm hoping to be finished with all of the "extra" preparations within the next two weeks. That way, if she comes a little early, or I am put on bed rest for some unforeseen reason, then I won't freak out about all of the things I'd have to ask someone else to take care of on top of all of the childcare and favors I'm already planning on calling in from various family members!

Pictures are still coming. Honestly, I'm putting them off because I have about 6 months worth that need to be downloaded and printed. It's going to take a while, and I'm doing better with smaller, more manageable tasks right now. I will get to it soon, though, because I need to clear my memory card for Abby Kate's arrival.

Random question: does anyone know where I can get baby laundry detergent (like Dreft) for high efficiency washers? That would be awesome information.

Well, I'm off to get some rest after my exhausting day of non-stop, hard core labor accomplishment of a few small tasks that Cline did most of the work on :) As the due date gets closer, I'll have more regular posts on what's going on.

Have a great day!

It's a Girl! It's a Girl!

Hello all! I just realized I have not personally weighed in on my doctor's appointment. Speaking of weighing in, I did not realize it was possible to gain 12 pounds in 1 month!! I'm not saying I did that... a hem... but perhaps I should ease up on the Easter chocolate :)

Thank you, Kimberly, for your adorable post with our news. I couldn't have done it better myself! Great minds think alike because I, too, was going to do something similar with a sneaky and misleading title :) Everything looked great, according to the doctor. They want to do another ultrasound in 8 weeks to get a better look at the spine because the baby was not cooperating, but the doctor said there was nothing to indicate there would be any problem at all. We got to see the baby sucking her thumb and kicking her legs hard when we were trying to determine that she was, in fact, a girl. She looked a lot like Christa, but I guess all babies look the same at that stage.

Speaking of Christa, I do have a funny story. I mentioned before how well she's doing understanding that there is a baby in mommy's tummy. In fact, every time she notices my belly she wants to kiss it. So sweet! Well, I'm thinking she doesn't quite have the concept down, because last week she started pointing to Cline's belly and saying "baby"... and then her own tummy and saying "baby"... Now, I'm pretty sure we've just confused her and she thinks all tummies are called babies!

Cline is off this week to celebrate our anniversary - 4 wonderful years! Maybe I'll tell our dating/engagement story or something on my next post. We thought about going somewhere for the week, but decided to stay here and relax instead. We're hosting a prom dinner here on Saturday for Cline's brother and a group of high schoolers, and we have plenty to do to make the house presentable. Cline agreed to my not-so-subtle hints that I wanted him to hire a Spring Cleaning service for my Mother's Day present, so I'm getting that a little early. So we're spending the week cleaning in preparation to pay someone to come clean. Hmmm... perhaps I didn't think this plan through...

Well, I guess I should go shower since it's like, 1:30 in the afternoon. Have a great day!

Have a "Good Friday!"

Hello all, and Happy Good Friday to everyone! I have pictures, today, to brighten your day if it is not "good" so far :) These were taken the weekend before last when we skipped the unseasonably cold and rainy weather up here and enjoyed 70 degree sunshine for a couple of days in Hilton Head. We stayed at a resort with an indoor pool and discovered that Christa is quite the little fish. She has no fear of putting her head under water and would have played all day if we'd let her. On the day we left, we promised her she could swim one last time. Well, we were confused about what time the indoor pool was closed for a water aerobics class, and thought we were in big trouble, because we didn't have time to wait for the pool to re-open and still get cleaned up and on the road by check-out time. Luckily, there was an outdoor heated jacuzzi, that was not too hot, and Cline had the brilliant idea of taking Christa swimming in there instead. Never mind that it was only around 50 degrees this particular morning. Christa didn't mind freezing one bit and had a blast swimming with Daddy before we left!

These last two were taken on Christa's 21 month birthday - March 28. She refuses to sit still for cute, posed pictures nowadays, so I had to take what I could get.

We have started telling Christa about the baby in Mommy's tummy. Yesterday, when I got out of the shower, she pointed to my tummy and said "baby," then leaned up to "kiss" it. It was so sweet! I hope she likes the baby this much once he/she actually gets here! Speaking of which, my ultrasound is Wednesday, so I'll take guesses on whether it's a boy or a girl in the comment section. I have no gut feeling on it whatsoever. At first, I thought maybe it was a girl, but now I'm starting to think it might be a boy. Who knows?? We'll find out Wednesday, I guess. And if you want to send up a few extra prayers this week that everything on the ultrasound will look as it should, that would be great! I honestly don't care if we even get to find out what the gender is, as long as the baby is healthy. I have been surprisingly at peace recently, and not freaking out over every little thing like I was in the beginning. Hmmmm.. I don't think I've called my doctor since my last appointment, over 4 weeks ago - yay me! Anyway, I'm trying not to get nervous as the ultrasound gets closer.

In other news, Cline has started working at his new job and is loving it! The 5 minute commute makes soooooo much of a difference, especially when he gets off work in the middle of the night. The staff has been great, so far, and the hospital seems to run smoothly. The pay system is totally different, so that might rock my accounting world for a little while, until I get used to the new system. It'll work out, though, and I'm so glad my husband has a job that he loves.

Well, I'm off to either clean my house or take a nap while my child is still sleeping. I'm betting I'll do the latter :) Have a great weekend and Happy Easter to everyone!

A GREAT Day!!

Hello all! I just got home from the doctor's office, and we had a great appointment. We did get to see the heartbeat, which was such a relief. The ultrasound tech was really nice and understood our anxiety. She immediately pointed out the heartbeat as soon as the screen showed and reassured us that all of the other measurements looked perfectly normal. We are soooo excited!
We have another new addition to our family, in the form of a minivan! Yes, I am officially one of "those" moms now :) We made the purchase last week - a very nice 2002 Honda Odyssey that has lots of extras - my favorite being the seat heaters! Christa is appreciating not getting her head bumped on the roof of the sedan every time I get her in and out of her car seat, and I am appreciating the space and child-friendly setup. I am thrilled with my new car, and will pass my dear Honda Accord onto Cline so that he can have a car that does not rattle every time he turns right or one that requires manual turn signals. Although, his Buick has gotten us many places safely and we have been thankful to have it the last few years.
Alright, I'm off to rest for a little while, as it's been a busy day. Thanks so much for all your prayers!

The One We've All Been "Expecting"

Hint, hint... :)

So, we received some wonderful news on Christa's 18 month birthday - we are having another baby! We have our first ultrasound scheduled for this Wednesday, and we think I am about 6 weeks along. I have to confess that telling you all about this so soon goes against everything I thought I would do "the next time around." But I've had a hard time keeping it a secret thanks to my newly acquired weak stomach and a noticeable plummet in my caffeine consumption. Plus, I know me, and I'm going to tell most of you about this sooner or later, regardless of what happens. So, I figured I might as well spill the beans today and ask you to pray for us as many times as you are able to between now and Wednesday.

We are feeling a strange mix of excitement and terror; (Cline's excited, and I'm terrified). In fact, I'm thinking some sort of pregnancy-approved sedative might be required to get me into the ultrasound room on Wednesday. We are very much hoping to be able to see and hear a strong, healthy heartbeat, but we do realize it might be a little too early for that. Please pray that everything looks great, and that we are able to see the heartbeat. Please pray that if it is too early to see the heartbeat, that my hormone levels will measure perfectly and that I will have peace and joy until we look again. Finally, please pray that this pregnancy will be free of any complications and that we will get to bring a precious, healthy baby home after all is said and done.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

Easier said than done, but I'm trying!