The Obligatory Christmas Post

We tried,

and tried,

again, and again,

to get a decent picture of the kids for our Christmas cards.

This was the best we got.

Merry Christmas!

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"For unto us a child is born...
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
The Everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace."

Birth Announcement

Announcing the arrival of the Little Prince!

Born November 26, 2008,

at 11:02 pm,

measuring 20 1/2 inches,

and weighing a whopping 10 pounds, 11.3 ounces.

My royal court is complete.

Wordless Wednesday--A 4 1/2 Year Old + Photo Booth

Question: What do you get when you let your 4 1/2 year old play around with Photo Booth?

Answer #1:

Answer #2:

Answer #3:

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For more photos, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

My Thanksgiving Turkey

My little turkey of a baby boy is still refusing to come out on his own. So, he's being induced tomorrow morning at 7:00.

I have actually avoided thinking about the induction as much as possible today. My mind is so clearly focused on everything I need to complete before then.

There are laundry, bills, meals, schedules, packing, planning, activities, etc. My mother-in-law is still here, so she'll actually be in charge of most of this, but I still had to lay it all out.

Or, wanted to lay it out. I'm kind of a control-freak in that way. I feel better knowing I've figured everything out for the girls while I'm in the hospital, and now I just have to hope it all gets followed.

It won't, but I'm prepared for that, too.

I'm not entirely ready for an induced labor. My compromise, however, looked something like this: induce this week, or induce next week.

I'd rather induce this week.

Thanksgiving dinner at the hospital! Yummy! While the rest of my family enjoys Thanksgiving dinner at my house!

Fun times.

Oh, yes. My mother-in-law is cooking Thanksgiving dinner at my house this year.

It's actually very sweet of her. My parents and my in-laws will be in town, so it makes sense for them to celebrate together. Besides, they like each other.

This will be the first time in 5 years that I have not cooked Thanksgiving. I'm actually disappointed. I really like my Thanksgiving menu. I've actually found a stuffing recipe that I'll eat.

I don't like stuffing, usually.

Or pumpkin pie. Blech!

Pecan pie, however...That's good stuff!

So, there's your update. My Thanksgiving turkey is coming out of the oven tomorrow, if everything goes well.

Please pray it goes well!

This Really Is the Sweetest Thing

Nope. Still no baby, in case you were wondering.

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I will admit that at times I like telling people what to do. I'm bossy by nature (first born habit), but it's usually within boundaries. This is probably outside of the boundaries (they're loosely set), but you HAVE to check this out. It really is the sweetest thing.

I submitted one. Will you?

(Almost) 12 O'clock, and All Is Well

It's almost midnight here, and I'm still awake. I'm exhausted, drained, drooping, but awake.

It's probably the slice of chocolate pie I ate for dessert.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Three days until my due date, and still no baby.

He's dropped, I'm huge, no contractions, but plenty of intermittent pressure.

We have enough stuff to get us going, though it's not as much as I'd like to have.

My mother-in-law is here to relieve me from my parenting duties help.

The diaper bag is packed. My stuff is ready, though not packed.

My parents and father-in-law are ready, but not packed.

My mother-in-law was packed for over a week. She's definitely ready.

I keep remembering Sleeping Beauty's birth. As much as I'm looking forward to seeing this new little one (and not being pregnant anymore), I'm not looking forward to the hospital stay.

Although, the hospital food here isn't bad. And I don't have to cook it.

I'm not looking forward to the first few days of nursing. Or the first few nights of nursing, either.

Cinderella needs to work on her attitude. Sleeping Beauty is teething again.

But, it's almost 12 o'clock, and all is well.

It really, truly is.

And I am blessed.

Psst!

Have you heard? Christmas is coming!

Normally, I wouldn't have anything to do with Christmas until after Thanksgiving, but with the baby due in 9 days, I've had to reassess my convictions.

In fact, I'm done with my Christmas shopping. (*blushing from embarrassment*)

Now that I've confessed, let's move on, shall we?

The fabulous twins at 5 Minutes for Mom are hosting their annual Christmas Giveaway during the month of November.



They have tons of giveaways lined up, so go check them out! Click the sleigh up above to see a list of current giveaways, but make sure you check back every day.

Good luck!

International Babywearing Week

It's International Babywearing Week. There's a wonderful giveaway going on over at Adventures in Babywearing to celebrate. The prize? A brand new sling from Nonny and Boo! Who couldn't use a new sling? I could. I like variety.

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I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't wear Sleeping Beauty nearly as often as I did Cinderella. The Little Prince, however, will be worn all the time. It'll be a necessity with 3 kids in the house, the two youngest being only 18 months apart.















On Grandma and Grandpa's boat, snuggled up with momma.

Sadly, this is the only picture I can find of wearing Sleeping Beauty. I remember wearing her on many other occasions, but I tend to be the "photographer" in this family.















In Texas, snuggled up with daddy.

I do, however, have a picture of Prince Charming wearing Sleeping Beauty. He is wearing her, I swear! See! You can just see her little leg sticking out.

I do have some darling pictures of Cinderella in the sling, somewhere. I'm too pregnant to go find the CD's, though. My favorite one is of my mom and I walking on the beach together, and Cinderella is comfy cozy in the kangaroo hold. I'm not sure how she ever managed that hold; her feet inevitably ended up by her face. It was her favorite position, though. Sleeping Beauty? Not so much.

If you'd like to celebrate International Babywearing Week with me, head on over to Adventures in Babywearing. There are already quite a few links up filled with tips and pictures. Go check it out!

T-Minus 14 Days

...and counting.

Always counting

I'm still not mentally ready to have this baby. I keep remembering Sleeping Beauty's birth, and I start to feel overwhelmed with everything that's about to happen to me again.

The due date hasn't changed, but the doctor says I'm measuring 39 weeks this week. He's expecting me to go into labor next week.

I'm really not prepared for that.

I'm not too worried, though; both of the girls came within days of their due dates: Cinderella was 3 days early, and Sleeping Beauty was 2 days late.

I'm not ready for early; my parents can't do late.

I'm hoping this one will be as "on time" as possible.

As much as I hope that, though, I know the timing isn't up to me. It's really the only comforting thought I have as far as the timing goes. It's in better hands than mine.

I went into labor with the girls in the exact same manner, almost down to the hour, actually. I keep watching for the one definite sign I've experienced that lets me know labor is imminent. Of course, I know each labor and birth is unique.

Still, I watch, and I wait, and I hope, and I pray.

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If you want better updates than I've been posting here (I've been terrible lately, I know), join me on Facebook.

Unless you're related to me. Then I'll just call you. I promise I'll call you as soon as possible.

Aloha Friday #54

I needs me some advice, lovely people!

My Little Prince is due in 3 weeks, and I'm all of a sudden freaking out!

I know baby girls. I know how to care for them.

Boys? Baby boys are a mystery to me. I'm woefully unprepared.

For example, I just learned, this last week, that when changing a baby boy's diaper, you must point "it" down or you'll have a mess on your hands.

I didn't know! See? Woefully unprepared.

So here's my question: What else do I need to know about taking care of baby boys?

And if you don't mind answering another question: To circumcise or not to circumcise? I'm leaning towards not, but we just started discussing this. Terribly, woefully unprepared.

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Check out An Island Life for more questions you just may have the answers to.

Wordless Wednesday--Soccer Star

My soccer star had her last game tonight.

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For more pictures, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

The Itchy, Itchy Shake

The inevitable has finally happened:

There is a lice outbreak at Cinderella's preschool. *shudder*

I have no idea who the offender is. I don't think I want to know.

Cinderella, of course, is fine; she doesn't even know what a louse is.

I, of course, itch all over. It's a mental thing.

So, after preschool today we headed on down to the local health food store to get some tea tree oil (recommended by a hair dresser friend). The lady at the store told me to mix 2 cap-fulls of oil with every 8-ounces of shampoo (and conditioner, but I rarely use conditioner on Cinderella's hair), and we'd be all set.

Tea tree oil won't kill lice, but it will help prevent Cinderella from getting it. It creates a nice lice barrier.

Needless to say, both girls have already had a bath today. Right after lunch, in fact. I would have done it sooner, but if I didn't feed them first, they would have revolved.

The only downsides to this are 1. the cost of the oil ($12 for an ounce!!!), 2. the fact that I now have to wash Cinderella's hair EVERY DAY (which I don't already do; don't judge me too harshly), and 3. the EWWW factor I am currently experiencing.

I feel like I need to wash and/or burn everything in the house. I know I'm panicking, but EWWW! Lice are nasty.

I had lice. Once. It was not a pleasant experience. Especially the part where I had to lie down in the bathtub surrounded by dead lice bodies while my mom washed the lice shampoo out of my hair. *shudder*

Excuse me while I go freak out over every piece of lint in Cinderella's hair.

And scratch my head for the next week.

The Many Faces of Sleeping Beauty

Surprise

Confusion

Entertained

Disgust

Joy

Concern

Alice Cooper

Fate or Coincidence?

Have you ever met someone and had the feeling that this person and/or his family were somehow supposed to be a part of your/your family's life?

I have.

When we first signed Cinderella up for ballet lessons, I put her in the 4/5 year old class. She was the only one in the class, so her instructor asked if we would transfer her to the 3/4 class. No big deal.

That's where I met Ballet Dad.

Ballet Dad is a nice, easygoing, laid back, talkative, stay-at-home dad. We began to chat week after week, due to the fact that there were only 3 kids in this ballet class: Cinderella, Ballet Dad's daughter, and another girl who just dropped out, forcing the instructor to cancel the class.

Ballet Dad was nice enough every week, but definitely not one of the ladies I'd befriended last year at ballet.

Then Cinderella started 6 weeks of soccer.

And who do think was on her team?

Ballet Dad's son.

Prince Charming met and talked with Ballet Dad some after finding out our children were involved in the same activities.

That night he asked me if I thought Ballet Dad looked familiar.

I thought about it and couldn't really answer one way or another. I thought he might look familiar, but I'd seen him at ballet for long enough to confuse my memory.

Prince Charming was fairly certain we'd met Ballet Dad before, so we wracked our brains, trying to come up with ideas of where we could possibly have met Ballet Dad before.

Then Prince Charming saw the picture (one of almost 4000) flashing by on the slide show on our computer's screen saver.

Last summer, when Cinderella was 3, Prince Charming did a parent/tot swim class with her. Guess who else was in the swim class?

Ballet Dad. And his daughter.

That's 3 entirely different activities over the past 5 seasons that our children have been a part of together.

Granted, Moses Lake is not a huge city, but seriously. Ballet AND soccer? At the same time? The exact same swimming class time and session?

Add to this the fact that Ballet Dad's children go to the Christian Academy, which our church is heavily affiliated with, and we've potentially got fate working for us.

Or coincidence.

Status Report

Five weeks left until the Little Prince makes his appearance.

I'm still not ready.

We really need to start collecting some baby clothes. I actually broke down and bought some 0-3 month sleepers today. I never buy 0-3 month clothes, for myself or others.

I bit my tongue so hard during church last Sunday that it not only bled, but also left a bruise. On my tongue.

I have schoolwork to finish, but I'm just too tired.

I nap every day now.

Leavenworth was fantastic! I had a whole post planned about it, but I almost think it's too late. Maybe not. We'll see.

Cinderella started preschool 3 weeks ago and is absolutely loving it!

She also started ballet again, but the class is being canceled since there are only 2 girls in it. She'll be transferring to a combo class, which includes ballet, jazz, and clogging. I'm going to have a clogger in the house! Lord, help me!

Her last soccer game is next week. She still doesn't quite get it.

Sleeping Beauty now has 12 teeth and a whole slew of new words added to her vocabulary. My favorites are "shoe" (said clear as a bell), "taintoo" (thank you), and "yeah."

The school in our backyard now has 4 walls and a roof.

The PUD has been replacing all of the utility poles on our street for the last 3 weeks (more construction!).

A new house is going in next door (even more construction!).

We are going to have to pay for road improvements and sidewalks, as well as give up some of our property for these sidewalks (stupid easements).

That's the last 3 weeks in a nutshell. Plus whatever I forgot.

Like the new look?