Introducing: My Evan.

(Disclaimer: I make an effort to put a modicum of humor, snark and good natured self deprecation into most of my blog posts. I may not always be successful in this but still, I try.

 This post however, is not intended to be humorous. I feel a need to tell my story as it happened. It will include details of my son's birth. It will also be longer than usual. If you are seeking some lighter reading, feel free to skip to my next post)

It has been a little while since I have written, and with good reason. My little Evan is now over two months old and has been occupying my time and attention since his arrival. 

The last 'growing tummy' pic at 37 1/2 weeks.

My due date was March 27, but I somehow knew that I wouldn't make it that far. I have come to the conclusion that my babies are as impatient as I am with their 'due dates'.  March 10 was a monday and  began with Rob leaving on a trip that would have him gone for three days. The thought of me being home by myself with the kids so close to my due date, and with my history of going into labor early, made him nervous so we had my mother come over on monday to stay with me until he came home. We ended up with my sister in law Allison with us as well.  I had begun my evening primrose oil routine that had been a sure way to encourage my body into labor with my first two pregnancies, and I was counting on it to do its job with this one as well.

      By Wednesday morning I was feeling anxious, knowing somehow that it wasn't going to be much longer. I had a dr. appointment that morning and knew that Rob was due to be home by about lunchtime. My regular dr. had been very busy so I saw the nurse practitioner. She was very personable and I knew she would be checking my cervix for dilation at this appointment. I mentioned jokingly that if  she wanted to sweep my membranes while she was up there I wouldn't say no. I recall that she was surprised at how low the baby was, but I was dilated to a 2-3 so she did a membrane sweep and sent me to make an appointment for next week, though she mentioned that she didn't think I would make it another full week with as low as the baby was, and my current cervical dilation. After the appointment my mom and I went to Babies R Us to walk around some and see if that would trigger any contractions. Shortly after that Rob came home and we made a trip to Best Buy to upgrade our phones (something we had been planning to do for a few weeks, but had just reached our 'upgrade date') We came home with our new iPhone 5s's and proceeded to transfer info from our old phones to the new ones. I remember feeling the urgency to have my phone set up and ready to go quickly.

       After my phone had all my data and apps transferred onto it, I decided I needed to walk some more to try and bring on some steady contractions. I had been having some off and on all day, but none were very strong and there was no discernible pattern yet. I put on some comfortable clothes and went to the park across the street with my mom and Allison. we walked the path for probably a half and hour to forty five minutes. I made a point to walk with purpose and as much speed as my constantly, sore hips would allow. After we finished my sister Jennifer arrived. She was planning on spending a couple of days with me and the other kids, and was hoping that I'd go into labor while she was there. We ate dinner, put Andy and Aubrey to bed and watched a movie. Rob had been up since early that morning so he fell asleep on the floor during the movie. I was conflicted about trying to go to bed myself since I wasn't sure I was in early labor or not. All day, since my dr. appointment, I had been having sporadic, moderate contractions, and had been spotting since my membranes had been swept. I was starting to feel like I was leaking just a tiny bit of fluid. By around 11:45 we made the decision to head to the hospital to see what was up. I was afraid of going to bed and waking up in transition, and having a baby in the car on the way to the hospital, since this was my third delivery and was likely to be shorter. (and I am prone to quick deliveries anyway)

         I remember on the drive to the hospital not having any contractions at all, and thinking that maybe it was a bad idea and we should just turn around and go back home. I almost said something a couple of times in the car, but my curiosity and concern over the irregular contractions won out and we made it to the hospital with my sister and (almost) sister in law in tow. Mom had stayed home with the kids, since they were both in bed and we didn't want to wake them and  take them to my in-laws house until we knew for sure that I was going to have the baby. Especially late at night.

         We arrived at the hospital at about 12:30 and I walked in to the nurse's station very nervous, because I hadn't felt a contraction in nearly 45 minutes. Rob and I were taken into the triage room and I put on a gown and was hooked up to the monitors. I told her that the contractions were random and had no pattern but that I had my membranes swept that morning and I thought my water might be leaking. She was very friendly and checked my cervix which was dilated to a 4-5 at that point (which was encouraging to me since it WAS progress from that morning) and did a test with a swab to see if I was leaking amniotic fluid or just the normal discharge. during that time  the monitor showed that I was in fact, having regular contractions. The nurse went out of the room for a minute and I started to get excited, because I was almost certain that I was in fact in labor. She came back and checked the test, which was showing positive for amniotic fluid, meaning I was about to be admitted for sure. She checked me again and said I had already progressed to a 6.  

       She went out again to get the admitting process going and, as though triggered by the news that we were about to be admitted, my contractions went from moderate and uncomfortable, to sharp and extremely painful. I felt a gush of fluid in conjunction with the contractions and felt certain that my membranes had ruptured further. All the sudden another nurse came rushing in and told me to move onto my left side because the baby was having heart decelerations. She put an oxygen mask on me and I told her about the fluid gushing with each contraction. She lifted the sheet to confirm this and gasped a little (not something you want to hear from your nurse at that point) and told me that it wasn't just fluid, but quite a bit of blood, and it concerned her (another thing I didn't want to hear) I remember her bringing a bath towel folded up and stuffed it up between my legs to keep from drenching my legs in blood. The contractions continued to get harder and sharper, and started happening one on top of another.  I couldn't concentrate much during them and had less than a minute after one ended before another began. I was very scared by now and asked Rob to give me a priesthood blessing, which he did, quickly because I didn't have much time in between contractions.

         Rob stayed beside me the entire time and held my hand during each one. The intensity was so extreme that grasping his hand during each wave of pain, became my lifeline. It was as though I would implode if I let go during the most excruciating of the pain. I lost track of time at this point and the nurses were in and out, inserting the i.v. and having me sign paperwork between contractions (NOT an easy feat!) The triage nurse introduced me to the nurse on call, who would be "my" nurse. She told me they thought the bleeding might indicate a placental abruption (the placenta was detaching from the wall of the uterus early)  and she told me that my dr. was not on call and the 'on-call' dr. wanted to have me sign a consent for a C-section and to prep the O.R.  in case the baby showed any further signs of distress. I remember she said, "We aren't saying that you will for sure have a c-section, but if something happens to the baby, it will happen fast, so we want it to be ready." 

        At this point I became very scared, but didn't have much time to dwell on the fear because the pain was only intensifying and coming faster and faster. Each pain seemed to build upon the last one, compounding the intensity so I never had a chance to adjust to it. They pushed the bed I was laying on into my room, because they didn't want to move me from my left side and distress the baby. I was quite okay with this because the thought of moving even to a wheelchair was more than I could handle. I began to worry that they might have to cut into me to get my baby out. Somehow though, I couldn't shake the feeling that, that wouldn't have to be the case. His heart rate was still good and I knew that these wretched contractions were making rapid changes to my cervix. It was like my body knew there was something not entirely right, and was working overtime to get my baby out as fast as it could on it's own.

      Once I was in my room my sisters (who were not allowed in the triage room and had been in the waiting room) were brought in by Robert. My mom had been called when we had confirmed that we were being admitted and she had dropped my other kids off at Rob's dad's house and was on her way to the hospital. The doctor on call came in and checked me (8 centimeters) and I remember hearing vague discussion about a possible c-section and having the 'section cart' ready to go. My mom came in about then and I think Rob must have explained what was going on, because I don't remember being able to talk much, even between contractions at this point. The pain was so intense I was no longer able to endure each contraction silently, and found myself making low, guttural, groans with each wave of agonizing pain. 

    I heard the doctor say he wanted to make sure my bag of water was fully ruptured to help labor progress even faster (I also remember hearing the nurses mentioning how fast everything was going already). He took the amnio hook and ruptured the bag further. More fluid, but also more blood gushed, and then checked me again. (9 centimeters)  I curled back onto my left side to brace for the next pain-wave and the doctor began talking about "going ahead and letting 'mom' push"  Rob says he could tell that he was anxious to get the baby out. The bed was quickly transformed, the stirrups were pulled out and I somehow found the strength to move from my fetal curl, into a more appropriate birthing position. My feet in the stirrups, my body pulling itself into a more upright position, the doctor began stretching my perineum for pushing. I knew this was coming, but didn't anticipate it hurting quite so badly ( I was completely unmedicated ) I felt like he was forcefully, trying to rip me in half  ( I asked about this afterwords and apparently it looked exactly as it felt, and well....ouch. ) This took a bit of the wind out of my sails, as it were, and my first push wasn't as strong as it could have been, though I did bring the head down so it was crowning. I pushed again, and he crowned and receded again. At this point the doctor mentioned something about "giving mom a little help with the vacuum extractor." I distinctly remember hearing this and my thoughts became very clear, No, that is not acceptable, or necessary. I looked the doctor directly in the eye and told him, "No. I've got this." He began to say, "well we are just going to help a little..." and the contraction built again and I bore down with every bit of strength I had, and some that I hadn't possessed until that moment, and I pushed and the pain overcame me and I cried out. I put so much into that last push that everything inside my head was muted but the task at hand: "pushing as though to move the earth itself"   I heard someone say, "You're baby is HERE! He is HERE!!!" and I thought "Oh yes, my baby!"  and at 2:52a.m. I looked down and sure enough, there was my tiny, little guy being placed on my stomach.  I took a deep breath and gasped the first words to pop into my head, "Oh, my gosh that hurt SO bad!!" I reached down to pull my baby closer to me and was stopped because the umbilical cord hadn't been cut. They clamped and had Robert cut the cord, severing my first physical connection to my precious offspring, and I pulled him up to my chest so that I could hold him close.

      Time had little meaning to me during the whole ordeal, but my nurse looking over the chart, said that the doctor was only in my room for 14 minutes before my baby was born, and that I a total of 3 minutes elapsed from the time the doctor started talking about "letting mom push". 

     This had been my fastest and most intense, painful labor and delivery, and yet I knew I would have done it all over again 20 times in a row for this little guy:

Evan Saul Attaya, born March 13, 2014
2:52 a.m. 7lbs. 3oz. 19in long

I had been in "active labor" for just about two hours, my shortest labor and delivery yet. Once he was out and the cord clamped and cut, he was placed directly on my chest, skin to skin. we were both covered with a warm blanket and left alone for an hour and a half. This was the most amazing time. I was able to just relax and bathe in the endorphins and oxytocin rush with my little boy. It's the most amazing 'high' feeling, the first few moments with a new baby. I was sore, exhausted and completely worn down, but still felt better than I ever had.

Having my babies does that to me, and I am so glad.

"Not" nesting.

36 weeks. I am 36 weeks pregnant today. Do you know what that means? It means that I am officially in the ninth month! It means that stuff is about to get real. Especially since my last baby was born when I was 37 1/2 weeks. (I realize this doesn't necessarily mean that this baby will follow suit, but a girl can hope right?!)
       This last month is when (according to all the books, and babycenter.com) all the "nesting" instincts are supposed to set in and give me all this energy to get things done and motivation to spotlessly clean my house in preparation for the new baby.  I can't say I have ever been really familiar with this phenomenon. Which ought to be evident by the fact that it is just about lunchtime now and I am sitting on my sofa, in my super, comfy, maternity bathrobe, with my laptop on my lap, writing a blog instead of scrubbing my bathtubs with clorox clean-up, in full, perfect make-up, full skirt and pearls. (which is clearly what I SHOULD be doing...)

And this. It's about birds so...
this counts as "nesting" right....?

I mean, I mentally know that certain things must be done because, you know, having a baby in a few weeks and all. So the last several weeks I have made myself get up and get certain things done. For example: The "catch-all" corner in my bedroom had to be modified to become a mini-nursery.

I'd have posted the "before" picture, but I am pretty sure it would have made
me look like I should be on an episode of 'hoarders'

My little townhouse is only equipped with two bedrooms. (Three bathrooms though. Not that I am complaining with as often as I have to pee lately, but still) 

We aren't planning on living here for TOO much longer. But since we are here for at least a few more months, and contrary to to popular tongue-in-cheek philosophy, I need more than a dresser drawer to put the baby in. Hence, we created, 'The baby corner'. And by "We" I mean my awesome husband and I. And by "husband and I" I mean my husband, under my magnanimous direction. 

So baby has a place to sleep now-Check.

I have also been washing all my infant sized baby boy clothes, and burp cloths and blankets. And okay, I DID spend a day last week really getting the downstairs cleaned really well, and there was an afternoon a couple of weeks ago where I totally cleaned out my refrigerator, and washed all the shelves in it. And, I mean yeah, yesterday I got on my sewing machine and made some hooded towels, because the baby will need to be bathed, so he will need some towels. Then I figured since I was already at my machine  I made a quick pillowcase out of some leftover fabric I had so I could bring one of my own pillows to the hospital. (You aren't supposed to bring them in white pillowcases since the hospital staff could get confused and take your pillow with the other linens, and they CAN'T HAVE MY AWESOME DOWN ALTERNATIVE PILLOW! But I digress...)

 So...Okay, maybe I HAVE been "nesting"....a tiny bit. Nothing like the dramatic stories I have heard about women rearranging all of their furniture, or reorganizing each cupboard. (because those girls are CRAZY! Also, a colorful pillowcase is much more important! And, there really isn't any other way my furniture could be set up in my tiny house, and my cupboards are already organized...)

 So my house is clean-ish, or at least parts of it are, I have even been keeping it vacuumed once a week!  Today I plan to go through all the pins I have found on pinterest regarding what to pack in my hospital bag, and then ignore them and pack exactly what I already know I need to pack, because I have already done it twice before and pinterest should stop enticing me to pin ALL the useful baby pins!

Someday I'll see my feet again.

When you become pregnant, it is difficult to really think about anything else. It really dominates every facet of every thought I have. So, I apologize in advance for yet another 'pregnant-centric' post. Also, I cannot promise that it will be my last. (My due date is still about two months away O_o )

I am now well in my third trimester, which is always encouraging to think about, (despite being two months away from having the baby. Did I mention that I still have TWO months of waiting left??)  it means babytime is getting close-ish. It also means I am that much closer to an abrupt end to all the mind numbingly awful uncomfortable symptoms that have fully set in.

"Uncomfortable" symptoms and what I have learned about them over the course of being pregnant three times:

• Sciatic nerve pain- This is one I have suffered from with each pregnancy. It differs from traditional back pain in that it isn't in my back. At all.  It is just easier and more socially acceptable to say "lower back pain"than to say "stabbing, upper butt pain that sometimes shoots down like electricity to one or both legs at the same time". It is stealthy, it is awful, and can strike at any time. Often it stays around for long periods of time. As in, always, it is always there. 
• Loose Joints- When you become pregnant your body goes all dramatic and releases all kinds of fun hormones to make your body all ready to give birth and stuff. One of those fun hormones is called 'relaxin'. Relaxin is responsible for all the joints getting loose, (get it? it "Relaxes" things. And yes that is the clinical term for it) especially the ones in the hips and pelvis so that the baby can get out. I get this, and I respect it. What I don't appreciate is that it's efficaciousness is increased with each pregnancy. I can seriously hear my hips popping in and out of joint at any given time during the day. Ever cracked your knuckles, neck, or knees? Oh yeah? Well I can do it with my pelvis!
• Indigestion/heartburn/reflux- Remember that little hormone relaxin that we were just talking about? Apparently it is also responsible for the near-constant hot lava that has taken up residence in my esophagus. Apparently that little valve in there that is supposed to keep stomach acid and all the stomach stuff in the stomach, relaxes too and allows it to travel back up where it doesn't belong. This is particularly miserable when I have forgotten to take into account my uterus-compressed stomach and the lack of room therein, when I get hungry and accidentally eat too much and it sits there in my stomach forever and ever and then refluxes into the back of my throat JUST as I am about to fall into a deep sleep and causes me to choke on my own bile and wake up in the most unpleasant way possible. It's...it's gross.
• Reduced bladder size- Everyone knows that pregnant girls pee a lot. I won't waste much time discussing this one. Just know that it is, in fact, very annoying.
• Sleep issues- Not being able to fall asleep at night because I am uncomfortable. Not being able to stay fully awake during the day because I am so tired. It's all in preparation for the sleepless nights full of baby feeding and diaper changing to come. I know this. It doesn't mean I like it. 

Now, I am not a COMPLETE pessimist. While I am often more aware of the negative side effects of pregnancy, simply because they demand my attention, The pleasant effects do not completely escape me either.

Pleasant aspects of my pregnancies:

• Feeling baby movement- Feeling the baby move inside me is all at once weird and cool. Early on its hard to determine actual baby movement unless I am lying very still and paying attention. Now though, It is not only noticeable at all times, it is very visible. I swear my kids start trying to punch and kick their way out as soon as they are aware that they can make their own arms and legs move! There is obvious movement that appears to be jumping and/or flipping, and can be seen as my belly undulates, violently, frequently throughout the day and night. Thats what I get for procreating with a parkour enthusiast I guess. 
• Limited physical deformity- By this I mean that I don't tend to get the "all over" deformity that often accompanies pregnancy. My feet and ankles pretty well stay the same size as before, my face doesn't change shape, and I don't really 'widen' too much more than necessary. Being tall has a few benefits, one of them being that my belly grows straight outward when I am pregnant. As a result I can do the belly"fakeout". Rob demonstrated this when I was pregnant with Aubrey by taking these pictures from the bedroom while I was standing in front of the mirror: 

  

  Possibly not pregnant...

  

  BAM! Totally Pregnant!

  
  Getting told that I "don't look pregnant from behind", is definitely encouraging. Also getting pregnant is better than getting a boob job! Seriously, I am up two full cup sizes!

• This view- 

Perfectly round belly.
And
Boobs. For. Days.

• Maternity clothes- One of the very best things about pregnancy are the maternity clothes. These days we aren't relegated to the muumuus and circus tents that were once the staple wardrobe of the gestating. You get to dress in cute clothes, while still being comfortable because everything is designed to allow room for the growing belly! Maternity jeans are the absolute best!  All the look of a cute pair of jeans, with all the comfort of a pair of yoga pants!
• Baby clothes- I recently pulled out the box of newborn boy clothes that I have had packed away in one of my hoarder closets. I am as yet, afraid to get rid of my kids clothes once they outgrow them, so I pack them away in case I have more kids who might need to wear them. Turns out, that was a pretty smart move on my part since I am totally going to re-use all of Andy's baby clothes! I did have to do some serious stain removal on a few, but that is okay since I have PINTEREST to help me!  I found a homemade stain pre-treater recipe that really does work

(This is an example of one of the about 12 items that I treated with this stain remover. If you want to try it, you can find directions Here. It is pretty awesome.)

Awesome right?!

• BABIES!!!!- I mean...obviously.

  

  This. (Andrew)

  
  

  

  .....And this. (Aubrey)
  
  

   We are two for two as far as adorable kids go, so of COURSE I am excited to meet #3! 

General Gestational Venting.

Pregnancy is one of those things that brings about mixed feelings in pretty much everyone who discusses it. Everyone has an opinion, and frequently those opinions are strong ones, and why shouldn't they be? When you are talking about making people and all, you ought to have pretty strong opinions. My whole world lately is consumed with being pregnant, so my opinions on the matter are definitely substantial these days.
Mostly though lately, those opinions are not super perky and cheerful. Being 7 months pregnant does that to you I guess. Okay, it does that to me. A year ago, when I was at the height of my fitness euphoria, I had myself convinced that if/when I ever became pregnant again, that I would be one of those 'fit pregnant girls' and run/workout/be healthy/perky/cheerful through the whole thing. After all, I had committed to being fit, and thin, and healthy, and I was doing it, and doing it pretty well at that!

Guess what has yet to happen this pregnancy?

That is correct! I failed to take into account what being pregnant does to me.  The first three months are spent in attempt to find things to eat that aren't repulsive,  and trying not to fall asleep on every moderately comfortable surface. Then of course there is the lovely 'light-headedness' side effect that makes me look like the most over-dramatic person in the world.
Ever seen someone walk around the grocery store,  pale and sweaty, clinging to the cart as though its the only thing keeping them from collapsing?
I haven't seen it either, but that is because I wasn't fussed with finding a reflective surface to observe myself being pathetic at HEB.
Supposedly the reason for this has something to do with circulation, increased blood volume and all that.

Feeling that way doesn't lend itself very well to being able to go for a nice, five-mile, run.

Now we are into the thick of it. And I mean that literally, I am getting thick...again.
 I more or less fit every eye-roll inducing, pregnancy stereotype out there. I can turn a corner and knock things off of shelves and counters with my abdominal protrusion. I have the"waddle", though it has been around for longer than I have been "big pregnant" because my sciatic nerve likes to team up with my loosening hips and stretching, round ligament to make general moving around pretty much a joke.
Shifting to turn over in bed at night is absurdly painful and I am pretty sure you could liken the sounds I make during said shifting to an injured walrus.
Also now the baby is big enough to put all that lovely pressure on my delicate, 'lower region', which also hurts.

And I think my new gestating baby is getting jealous of all the attention I give to his older brother and sister. I got really busy (like SUPER busy) the weeks between thanksgiving and Christmas. I had to make use of every free minute I had to make sure everything was wonderful and magical, because that is just what you DO when you have two small children. (one of whom has a December birthday and NEEDS a princess party)
Apparently the little bladder-puncher  decided enough was enough and I had some bleeding on Christmas eve, which put me frustratingly, off my feet for the rest of that day. (it quit as soon as it started so I didn't end up in the hospital or anything)
I TRY to 'take it easy' but I get this horrid combination of boredom and exhaustion, where I want to get up an accomplish things, but I feel too tired to do anything.
It's really kind of annoying and depressing.


And I still have another 2 1/2 months to go.

I know that it is all worth it. I really do. I really am ecstatic at the prospect of having a brand new baby. I DO however know that pregnancy is not all a pleasant walk in the park, and sometimes we just need a good rant.
So there.

*sigh* At least I can brag that pregnancy has increased my bra size again.....like, a lot. Seriously my bra could now double as a fairly, size-able fruit basket.
My mom was making fun of me because I even sleep in a bra.
But really I kind of have to.... They'll fall off the bed if I don't.

a 'purpose' for vanity?

I have seen a lot of memes and blogs and stories on the interwebs lately regarding 'selfies' (I even wrote one a few months ago!) The thing is, I get as irritated at the number of gratuitous selfies as the next guy, but it has led me to ponder the "why" of it. Why do we girls (yes I group myself among the number, even though I 'try' not to overdo it) take so many pictures of ourselves?
While I cannot speak for all girls, I can speak for myself:
 I like the way I look when I have done my hair and make up and I like to document it for my own, personal self esteem boost. Especially when I know what I look like without said effort being put into my outward appearance. Now, before I go any further, I AM going to give photographic evidence of this.

WARNING: These are NOT photographic evidence of the impending zombie apocalypse. It is just me first thing in the morning. Please return your rifles, chainsaws and pitchforks to their original, easy to access areas for when the actual zombie apocalypse occurs. 


So I decided when I was about to get ready to go out today that I would do my own little "study" on 'selfies'

Here is what I discovered:

Before: "Are you feeling alright? You sick?
Tired?"

After: 'Normality'

I even made sure I had the same, blank expresson! 

To be fair I tried the "Everyone frowns in the 'before' pic to make sure the 'after' looks even better"

And, well.....this:

Before: Abject misery.

After:  OMG guys #poutyface!!

I even  tried legitimately smiling to see if that would improve it!

Nope. 

Yep.

So there it is. We take selfies when we feel like we look good......Or, at least I do.

Grab Bag.

I try not to write unless I feel like it is something at least moderately interesting, but I also try to keep  my readers "updated"on what trivial things are going on with me since I am pretty sure that the majority of my 4 followers are only doing so because they are related to me and feel begrudgingly obligated (Hi Mom!)
As a result, today you are left with a veritable 'halloween candy style' assortment of 'fun size' subjects all fit into one post!

On: Being a Human Incubator (pregnant)
So my last post was almost two months ago (I know, I know I am getting LAAAAAZZZZZYYYY) and it seems appropriate to update on that business.
I've done the 'pregnant' thing before twice already. Don't get me wrong, I am not going to say that it isn't worth it or anything, but there is something very different about being pregnant for the first time, and subsequent pregnancies. The first time is always sort of special and exciting, despite mostly feeling weird and gross. For me the first pregnancy was like, "Oh man will I ever stop feeling dizzy and queasy and exhausted? But hey there is a PERSON growing inside of me!! And will food stop sounding like death...WAIT I need a chili dog RIGHT NOW....nope it passed you can eat it....but go do it in the other room the smell is making me gag....Oh HEY I totally can feel my uterus now....my baby is GROWING! Wait, WHO is the invisible person stabbing me in the lower back with invisible steak knives?? BABY!!!" etc, etc... Despite all the discomfort, the novelty won out.
The second pregnancy was a little different, but just in that the nausea part was actually worse. I guess I am lucky that I didn't spend a whole lot of time throwing up (very little actually) but I FELT like it most of the time, leading me to seek out a remedy and learning that a unisom combined with a vitamin b6 at bedtime kept it under control.
This time I feel more like, "yeah I am all for a new baby, but is it really necessary to feel gross like this EVERY day? OMG Andy and Aubrey stop doing EVERYTHING and sit still for a few hours! LETHARGY!!!!! Ugh, Oh yeah I remember now, my hips and sciatic nerve hate it when my uterus does it's job.... Crap....I've gotta pee again, YES again!...Wait for me guys, the 'waddle' has nothing to do with my growing fatness, my hips are falling off!.... Jeez, this is not a comfortable way to live...I need some chocolate."

Also, after nearly three years of spending lots of time getting into, and keeping myself in decent shape, I get to watch myself get fatter again....fun.

Excuse my expression. Trying on clothes does not bring out the best in me just now...

.....Except when I am pretending not to be fat.                         Ha! J/K.....still getting fatter.



















One positive thing to come out of all of the yucky weight gain, (you know, other than the cute, new baby I get at the end of it) is that my boobs are looking AMAZING these days.

On: Part Time Single Momming.
When you are married to a pilot, you accustom yourself to being left for periods of time while said pilot goes out on trips. I have been doing that quite a bit this year. (It's the primary reason I quit waitressing)  Its really okay because I know that Rob is happy pursuing his career of choice. I also get to have  several days at a time with him once he gets home which I really try not to take for granted, because it is awesome to have him home with me, and also, he does the dishes when he is home.
However, when Rob does have to leave for days at a time, it leaves me spending the majority of my time with two very small (albeit adorable) people as my primary companions. For me, this means questions All. Day. Long.

Some are reasonable: "Mommy, where is daddy?", "Mommy, can I have a go-gurt?", "Mommy, what day is it today?", "Mommy, can we watch 'Wreck it Ralph'?" "Mommy, where is the baby now?" I like those questions, easy to answer and send them back to whatever they were doing.

Some are a little more complicated: "Mommy, how big is the baby now?", "Mommy, What color happens if I mix orange with purple?"  "Mommy, how is the baby going to get out?" "Mommy we don't want to sleep in our beds, can we 'snuggle' with you?" "Mommy, what means 'ridiculous'?"

Some, I am convinced, are concocted simply to annoy me and test my meager, pregnant, patience: "Mommy, what means 'not right now'?", "Mommy, what is a *unintelligible string of consonants resulting in some made up word*?", "Mommy, do you wanna hear a funny joke??" (this is usually followed up by a ridiculous knock knock joke that involves a 'banana door'.)

 I mean, it IS a pretty good life with these two.

 On: Home school and Halloween.

For many years I have known that I was going to home school my kids. I'm not going to go into all my reasoning behind it, that is a blog post in itself! Fact is, Andrew is Kindergarten aged this year so it was time to get started. I am lucky that I have my mom (who has been homeschooling for 23 years) as a resource, or I may not have gone through with it!
It has been super fun watching him learn and seeing what he already knows (and I therefore don't have to teach him)
Also, I so enjoy cutting and pasting....

Andy told me when we made these that mine was, "Not very good"
...he even wrote a big X on the lower corner later that day.

Halloween this year was a source of enjoyment for all of us as well this year. Back at the beginning of the year when we bought the kids the movie "Wreck it Ralph" Andrew decided right away that he WAS in fact "Fix it Felix Jr." and insisted that we address him as such for a while. It just worked out that Aubrey is comparatively the proper size to be Vanellope, so he decided that is who SHE was. Of course that left his daddy to be the 'giant' Ralph. Back in about August we decided that we absolutely must be the characters from Wreck it Ralph for halloween this year!  We had always talked about doing a "family group theme" costume. The only problem at this point was what my costume would be. I HAD initially considered dressing as Calhoun, but the idea of a fitted, armoured bodysuit, on my burgeoning midsection, was laughable at best.

 I decided to do something simple and not as "costume-y" so the attention wouldn't be drawn to my more or less frumpy frame just now. Then I had to go find costumes for my kids. Starting in right after the "back to school" things are pulled from the shelves, the stores start setting up the "seasonal" sections that include Halloween decor and cheaply made, pre-packaged costumes and masks. You see lots of Super Mario's, Disney Princesses and whatever Marvel superhero is most recently seen in theaters. (I guess this year's favorites were iron man and thor.) Also there are usually a fair amount of animated character costumes from the past year  represented. You wanna know which kids movie was NOT represented in pre-made costumes this year, AT ALL!?!? Wreck it Ralph!! Not a SINGLE item that could at ALL be used as a character costume from that movie! I had to start from scratch. I searched through multiple goodwill stores, Wal mart, Target and a Michaels craft store to get all the elements for all the costumes I ended up putting together, which included a zombie wig that I had to spray red for 'Ralph's' hair,  white tights that I hand painted to look correct for Vanellope, the "cookie Medal" for Ralph, the 'FF' logo for Felix's hat, a little tool belt, and gold spray paint for Felix's magic hammer.

To answer your questions; I am a
pudgy,  video game player.

This was the better looking group by far.

All in all I think it turned out really great, (but I am more than a little biased, since I did all the work.)

He had been practicing this pose for MONTHS!

"Who doesn't love a brat with dirty hair?!"

I even sprayed my two year olds hair black.
THAT is how dedicated I am to a costume!

I had to at least give myself a "halloween" manicure.
That is a candy corn on my middle finger, couldn't you tell?

So...this happened.

I know I haven't been writing much lately. You don't need to remind me, I am aware. There is a reason.
Minds have been inquiring and a few clever pinterest stalkers followers have played detective and put two and two together.
  My family has been given the heads up, but other than that I have been keeping a lot of things to myself. It's fun having secrets sometimes.
BUT, I think, we are well enough into it that I can "go public" as it were. So, this happened:

Awww, cute, right?  No, the head os that blobby part
on the left side...yes, I'm sure.

Look, I was nice enough to keep the part that I peed on
OUT of the picture, okay!

So, yes, to all the hushed, tentative questions, and gestures towards my bloated abdomen, Yes. I am pregnant....again.
That means we will have three kids. Three. I am aware that puts us outnumbered by our offspring, and I will admit it has me moderately apprehensive. However, we are in it now, and if I am really questioned I will admit that I wanted it this way. I have a nice little handful of brothers and sisters and even Robert has three other siblings. I wouldn't want to deny my own kids the best friends they could ever have. So we embarked on a third child and sometime late next March the adults in the house will become the minority.
 This is probably the longest I have ever kept the information to myself. I all but shouted it from the rooftops when I found out I was expecting Andrew, and I didn't wait very long with Aubrey either. This time however, I figured since it's the third, it isn't exactly the headline news that a 'first baby' is. I am nearly 12 weeks into it.
Not that I'm not excited, I am. I am very excited to have a teeny baby again. Right now though, I am more excited to feel 'good' again. The whole 'feeling queasy and exhausted and spacey all the time' thing, is old. I have said it before and I'll say it again: I Hate the first trimester. I hate everything about it. I hate feeling pregnant but not looking like it, so people look at you like you are an idiot when you hold back a gag during food commercials or at the grocery store.
 Anyways, I have determined a few things so far this pregnancy:

• I don't think I want to have more than four kids. I think my patience can deal with this stuff MAYBE one more time, and that's about it.
• I am not really sure how I worked through my last two pregnancies. I know I felt like this before, but getting up and going to work feeling like this? Geez I was insane or something!
• Being at any stage of a pregnancy during a Texas summer makes me viciously hateful towards the season, to the point that even television commercials that mention 'summertime' in a positive manner, cause me to throw things at the t.v. NO I have NOT waited all year for it!!! Quit telling me that I have!!
• My husband is pretty much the best person in the world. When he is home, he caters to me like a freaking personal assistant! I am thinking that a made a good spousal selection.

I decided to go ahead and wait to "announce" this time until I had seen a doctor and all that stuff, and I did that yesterday so now you all get to know!

Doctors office selfie!!! iPhones make waiting
in a paper sheet less boring.

Waiting for my new dr. made me realize just
how badly I need a pedicure.

So most of my posts and facebook status's will involve pregnant and baby stuff for a little while (sorry, not sorry)
I can't tell you how much I wanted to complain about how randomly throwing up at a friends bar-b-que just about killed my labor day.

There is a nice little bruise there now. They
took like 7 vials of blood for testing!!

One more thing; apparently there is a new test that has come about since I was last pregnant. I don't have to wait till the 18 week ultrasound to find out the gender! There is a blood test that they do and I should get the results in about three weeks. Oh the coolness of modern medicine!
So I will leave you all with this:

Enjoy this: the first of many profile 'preggo pics'!
I personally just feel bloated and out of shape
but I revel in having the excuse!