Where Has Time Gone?

So, I've been delinquent in my blogging. Yeah, several months deliniquent. So sue me. I now weigh 30 pounds more than I did this past summer, the nerve in my butt gets pinched every time I stand up, thus sending shooting pain down my leg, and I have knees and feet and other body parts sticking out of my stomach at any given point in the day. I am, officially, very pregnant.

Very pregnant and getting very excited for the arrival of this little baby.

It's a boy, by the way. I never got around to posting that news, and I feel like I've already forgotten many, many cute comments from Gabe expressing his excitment over the arrival of said baby brother.

But, my favorites:

Gabe: "I knew it was a boy, Momma, I just knew it. You and Ada were wrong, weren't you!"
Gabe: "When I'm like 5 years old, I'm going to teach him about Transformers and Star Wars."
Gabe: "Where is he going to sleep? He can have the top bunk and I can have the bottom bunk."
Gabe: "Hello, baby!" (shouted right into my stomach after a discussion on how the baby can hear us already.)
Gabe: "Momma, I wish God didn't make girls. Well, maybe just mommas."

And so on ... It's been an interesting ride. Gabe has asked so many questions (some of which I refuse to answer for at least another three or four years). I've enjoyed having him excited about Baby Boy's arrival.

And his name will be Benjamin Jerome. Gabe sealed the deal when he started calling my belly "Ben."

So, eight weeks to go. Eight weeks until baby arrives and about eight weeks until spring starts to sneak into Wisconsin. I can hardly wait ...

Secretary, please!

Sometimes I wonder if Al knows what a good thing he has going for him. I wonder if he even realizes all of the things that magically get down by the housekeeping-financial advisor-social secretary fairy that shows up at our house. Stuff like setting up online payments and balancing checkbooks and paying bills. Stuff like keeping track of daycare forms and sick days and doctor's visits and vaccinations. And who maintains random facts like the kids' shoe, pant and shirt sizes?

And then there's the housework. We have a laundry chute in our house, which I love, and I often tease Al that it's a magical chute. You know the one ... you shove clothes in it, and they magically appear, clean and folded, in your dresser drawer. It's magic!

Sigh ... being the behind-the-scenes person sure ain't glamorous.

Let's All Go to the Pumpkin Patch!

Yesterday afternoon, I took the kids to the local pumpkin patch/farmer's market while Al cleaned up the yard.

Here is what I learned:

Although I might have been a tomboy - one who could climb into the upper beams of the barn to steal pigeon eggs and who shot her first deer at the age of 12 - that doesn't mean my daughter inherited said traits.

While out on the hayride, we stopped in the pumpkin patch so the kids could pick their own pumpkins. Gabe scurried around, looking at this one and that one. He just couldn't decide which pumpkin was the best. He touched them, poked around, felt the leaves, got dirty.

And then there was Ada.

My little girl didn't want to step in the field. I'm not sure if it was because the ground was too uneven for her or if it was the dirt, but she insisted on being carried. I set her down next to a little pumpkin and had her pick it up. She was genuinely excited until she realized that the pumpkin had made her hands dirty.

"Dirty, momma," she said, holding out her hands for me to see. "Wipe ... off."

Sigh ...

So maybe we don't have a future Annie Oakley on our hands. But that's OK. I never said there was anything wrong with dollies and princesses ...

PG-Brain

Ever heard of pregnancy brain? Basically, it means you lose your mind when you're pregnant. You do stupid things that you're expected to do when you're 80 or 90 ... not 30.

So, here are my idiotic moments from the last few days:

1. This morning, I almost gave Gabe cumin-sugar toast instead of cinnamon-sugar toast. I saw the "C" on the container, grabbed it, and dumped it into the sugar. Good thing I noticed before serving him.

2. When we walked out the door, I realized that although I had neatly locked all of the doors last night, I had left my keys in the door. Yep, on the outside. Any burglar would have laughed himself silly upon seeing that.

3. At noon, I went home to get some stuff I had forgotten this morning (more pregnancy brain). I left my house keys at my desk and had to break into my own house. Note: Never leave lower level windows open when gone. They are scary easy to break into.

And the worst thing? I'm only 14 weeks along. Can't wait to see what the next six months bring!

Gabe Makes Everything Better

Yesterday morning, my morning sickness came back. Well, at least my version of morning sickness. I never manage to actually throw up ... instead, I just feel like I've been hit by a semi-truck right after eating Thanksgiving dinner. It's that full-but-sick feeling mixed with utter exhaustion. Blech ... I'm shuddering just thinking about it.

Anyway, Al had to work yesterday because he's on deadline and leaving for a fishing trip this week. As he walked out the door, he told Gabe "to be extra good because Mommy doesn't feel good." I guess Gabe took that lecture seriously ...

A while later, the kids were playing nicely in the living room, so I stretched out on the floor in an effort to try to get some energy back. Gabe looked over at me.

"What are you doing, Momma?"

"Momma, doesn't feel so good right now, Gabe," I answered.

Gabe walked over and threw his little toddler arms around me and in a big hug. No words, just a hug to make everything better.

I gotta say, it might not have taken the exhaustion away, but it made my day a little better.

Quickening?

I think I'm feeling baby move. Not positive, but there is a definite flip-floppy feeling going on once in a while. And occasionally, there's a light tapping. Maybe in a few weeks, I'll be able to say for sure, but until then, I'm happily imagining a little one notifying me of its presence.

And, for the record, I think this is a boy. Well, that's according to the ridiculously vivid dreams I've been having. I think I'm up to about eight or nine baby dreams where I give birth to a very strong baby boy. He's always strong in my dreams. Not sure what that means.

So, we'll see how accurate these dreams are in a few months. Let me tell you, if this is a girl, I'm going to be shocked! Dreams can be rather convincing things ...

As the World Turns

Blah. I am so hot-and-cold with this blog. Some weeks, I'm in here every day, and other times, I conveniently forget about it until I feel guilty for not documenting my kids' life.

So, here goes, the updates, the highs and the lows of the last few weeks.

Biggest High
We heard baby's heartbeat!!! At my 12-week appointment on Sept. 9, we heard baby's heart beating away at 166 bpm. Such a sweet relief. I think I might finally be accepting the fact that I've got something cookin' in the oven.

Second Biggest High
And now, because I kept my promise to Al that he could buy a van once we heard said heartbeat, we are the proud owners of a Toyota Sienna minivan .... in metallic gold. Love the space. Hate the idea that I'm one step closer to being a soccer mom.

Lowest Low
Al got disqualified on Day 1 of his Winona FLW tournament. He and his fishing partner got stuck behind a river barge in one of the locks and missed check-in time. Oops. It was still a fun trip.

Biggest Temper Tantrum
And the award goes to ..... drumroll ... ADA! Screamed her bloody head off this morning when I dropped her off at daycare. That girl is feisty! I'm tellin' ya, we've got a family full of strong personalities. Ask Grandpa Jer-Bear about that some time ...

Biggest Accomplishment
Ada is using the potty!!! Yeah, for pee-pee and poopies! Not consistent yet, but getting there. But hey, anytime I don't have to change a poopy diaper is a victory, IMO. :)

Funniest Comment
Gabe: "Momma, you look like a blueberry!"
(in reference to my growing stomach and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where the little girl turns into a giant blueberry.)