"The best day Ever" -Carly

Carly had an Easter party at school today. She was so excited and kept saying to her friends "This is the best day ever!" It was so cute!

They had two Easter Bunnies walking around the school, an Easter egg race, some Easter snacks and then finished off with the Bunny Hop. It was a cute party and Sam even got to participate. I love that I am able to go and be a part of the fun and see the excitement on Carly's face, It makes me feel good knowing that she wants me to be there!

**Our house addition is coming along. I will get pictures up in the next day or two. They are done with the outside other than some painting. They have put up Sheetrock, next step is texture, painting, wood trim, and then carpet. It's been fun to watch the process but it has just made us anxious to re-do the bathroom now! :)

32 weeks!

*I know I just did a post at 30 weeks but I feel like so much has changed the past two weeks.

*I now FEEL pregnant every second of the day (and night)

*Baby girl has decided that my ribs are fun to kick.

*She also somehow manages to punch my bladder at the same time while kicking my ribs.

*My groin muscles are killing me. I don't remember that with the other two kids.

*I pee probably 5 times at night.

*It takes approximately two years to roll from one side to the other while in bed.

*My feet actually get a tad swollen if I stay in one position too long (again, didn't happen with the other two)

*I pretty much have to force myself to eat healthy. Food does not sound appetizing, unless it's sugar. It's driving me crazy!!

*I am tired 99% of the day and yet wide awake during the night.

*Still crocheting like a mad old woman. I've now moved on to baby shoes.

*I am super anxious to get this baby here! I have been waiting forever for this third little one!

*I am scheduled for another ultrasound this coming Tuesday. I hope little Miss decides to show her face this time! :)

gone fishing...

30 weeks

Sam's photography skills

Carly's 1st try

Carly's 2ND try

*Not sure how I got to 30 weeks! When I look back it seems like I've been pregnant forever, and yet it also seems to be flying by so fast!

*I have been feeling pretty great! (cross your fingers)

*I'm still sleeping pretty good at night, other than trips to the bathroom or Sam waking up about something.

*Not too uncomfortable yet. I have moments in the day where I feel huge and I FEEL pregnant. I also have moments in the day where I forget I'm even pregnant!

*The little lady inside of me likes to move. Just like her siblings.

*Still haven't decided on a name yet.

* Carly was pretty sad when we told her for sure her name would not be Ariel.

*I haven't had any strong cravings but I find myself at times loading up on plums recently.

*I've had a little bit of heartburn but only in the evenings before I go to bed.

* Sam and Carly both think this baby is their birthday present. Let's hope she doesn't decide to come on the 12th (Sam) or make me wait until the 22nd (Carly)

*I've been thinking a lot about labor recently. I was induced with the other two and won't need to be induced this time around. I've been really curious at how different it will be.

* Confession: I actually put on real clothes for the above picture. I'm usually in some form of sweat pants with my hair pulled up. Not exactly how I want to be remembered.

fun stuff!

We have been having such great weather recently, I have been enjoying it so much! It's much better than last year when it hit freezing weather for about a week straight (i know, boo hoo right?) Anyway, yesterday seemed like the perfect day for a boat ride. The wind was a bit chilly but sitting in the sunlight made it perfect! The kids enjoyed it, chad and I enjoyed it, Dolly enjoyed it, and even Baby McLane enjoyed it! We didn't see too much wildlife other than some birds and some water splashes from some pretty big fish. The kids had fun each taking a turn driving the boat. We definitely need to do this more often.

We finally made some changes to some things around the house. Since this will be the baby's space we figured now was a good time. I didn't take too many before pictures of this space, maybe because it wasn't my favorite?? I did manage to snap a picture of the "Lovely" rock art that the previous owners put up. I was so happy to get rid of that! In it's place we had double doors put up. We also put up a door that leads into our kitchen, after it's all done it's turning out to be a pretty good baby space. Chad got ahead of himself one night and brought the crib in. We mostly wanted to see if it would fit and sure enough, it fits perfectly! Although, staring the the crib for two months isn't going to make time go any faster!

I took these pictures in the evening, not the best time of day to capture the room. I'm still debating on whether or not to paint the wood walls??

This is the crib spot. I'm so happy that it fit. It makes the space not so crammed full. Obviously the cork board will be removed to another spot. There is still a bit of work that I would like to do in this space but for the most part we are ready!

The double doors into our bedroom turned out better than we thought! It definitely makes our room feel much bigger when they are both open. (next to go....hopefully the red and yellow walls in our bedroom!)

I have already posted these next pictures on facebook but I figured I could post them here too. The pasture in front of our house it full of flowers and I couldn't resist letting the kids play and snapping a few pictures.

Here is my completed baby blanket. I started it pretty much when I found out I was pregnant (the white squares) I added the girly colors when I found out we were having a girl. It's way bigger than what I thought, it pretty much covers a crib mattress. It'll be good though, she'll be able to use it for a long time!!

Like I said before, crocheting much be my craving this pregnancy. I've crocheted 3 hats for Baby McLane, 2 hats for a friend's baby, and I've started on another blanket, a smaller one with leftover yard from this blanket. It's a very rewarding hobby, plus I can sit while I'm doing it!! It's the lazy person's hobby! :)

Valentines and other stuff....

Yesterday while cooking dinner I looked out the window to check on the kids. They had found a patch of flowers that had started to grow and were picking and picking and picking to their hearts content.

They ended up bringing those flowers to me for "Balentine's day." I LOVE them!

(looking at this picture makes me realize that I really do look as tired as I feel.)

Carly had a school Valentine party yesterday. She had so much fun! I forget how crazy a classroom full of little kids can be though. Sam was able to tag along so he got to participate in all the fun!

The night before I hung up hearts everywhere. Carly thought they were so cool! They saw their little Valentine treats from Mommy and Daddy and then we were off to school.

I can't remember when these were taken. (my sis-in-law took them) They have chickens, a lot of chickens actually. The kids love playing with them probably chasing them around when we go there. I love these pictures! I love that my kids get to grow up around so many animals. They'll never know how lucky they are!

Happy 28 to me!

Yesterday was my 28th birthday. Do I feel 28? Not, really. I'm not really sure what 28 is suppose to feel like. It was a good day though. I kind of had a birthday weekend which is always fun. Chad took me out to dinner on Friday night. It was a nice little restaurant right on a lake near our house. It was fun, we had both never been and it's always great to get out of the house without the kids. Thanks to Sharise who watched our rugrats for us!

Saturday we went to a birthday party (not for me but for some little munchkin who turned 3!) Afterwords, we went and I had Chad pick out a birthday cake for me. I didn't feel like making my own.

Sunday was nice, Chad let me sleep in while he made breakfast. He surprised me with another gift. We spent the rest of the day going to church and relaxing. I got to skype with my family and my sister and her friend offered to make me dinner for my birthday, of course I agreed! I don't think they realize how awesome of a gift that was for me. I DESPISE making dinner most nights so it was fun to have a night off and not even have to think about it.

All in all it was a great birthday and I felt very loved!

some thoughts....

Here's my baby belly at 25 weeks.

Facts:

*I have been feeling extremely well the past little while. It's been kind of weird. I'm actually enjoying being pregnant! Maybe it's a blessing because of the fact we had to wait for this little one to arrive. That's what I like to think. Other than minor issues like being tired all day or random bouts of nausea I have no complaints!

*I feel baby girl move all the time!! I love it! Except for the random moments when she kicks, or punches or head butts my bladder.

*Still haven't chosen a name yet. I was stressed about it for a while but than I realized we didn't have a name chosen for Sam till about a month before he was born. We have a couple we are deciding on, we might just wait till we see her to actually decide.

*I still have weird random moments where I don't think I'm having a girl. I know it's very possible that ultrasounds can be wrong. Our ultrasound lady was almost 100% it was a girl. And even I could see and tell it was a girl. But I still get random feelings (thoughts, fears...however you want to put it) that it's a little boy in there.

*I would be totally fine, happy and thrilled if it's a boy. I have just been preparing for a girl. All my projects would be in vain if this little one came out as a boy!

*I still don't really crave any one certain food. I have however become obsessed with crocheting! Can you crave crafts??

*I have been getting really exciting for this little one to arrive. I've started getting Carly's old clothes out and it gets me even more excited!

Here is a picture of what will become our little baby nook. It used to be where I had the kids coloring table and book and puzzles. However, the fact is. We won't have our addition done before this baby arrives and probably well after that so, we've had to improvise and really come to grips that we'll have three kids in a two bedroom house for probably (realistically) another year.

I admit. I was a little freaked. When we moved into this house we had been trying for a year to get pregnant. We knew we could deal with the two bedrooms with just Carly and Sam and we figured we'll just start saving for an addition (as soon as we bought the house) We did. We met our goal in savings but the addition plans we finally came to are going to be more than what we have saved. Plus, we were really surprised when we got pregnant which put us in a pickle. (although we were still hoping to get pregnant, I think after two years we kinda thought or felt it wasn't going to happen for a while)

Anywho....back to being freaked out. I've finally realized that it won't be so bad. The door in the right of the picture (by the lovely rock art piece on the wall...previous owners idea) is our bedroom. All we need to do is put a door in our kitchen doorway (which is behind me in the picture) and we'll have our own separate master/baby nook room.

It's not my ideal way of doing things but we could be way worse off and I needed to remind myself to be grateful.

My prayers were answered.

We got pregnant.

How could I be complaining about something so trivial, when in 1 or 2 years from now it won't even be an issue.

It will take some adjusting. I'm sure I'll get frustrated at times. But life is about changes and unexpected situations. You just have to learn to roll with it.

I absolutely LOVE where I live. I love our house (despite all it's weird features) I love our property. I wouldn't change it! So, if dealing with Chad and I and three kids squished in a two bedroom house for a while is what I have to do. Then I'll do it!

SEVEN!

So, this is not the best picture but A. We don't have many pictures of just us together and B. all our old pictures are on our old laptop which has a virus :(

Today marks the day of our marriage. Seven years have gone by! Even though we aren't together today to celebrate together I am still grateful for Chad and the fact that he is my best friend and husband!

I am extremely grateful for him and for ALL that he does for me and our family.

I am so glad that our paths crossed in life and that we were able to even meet, better yet we will be able to be with each other FOREVER!!

an update.

We haven't been up to much around here lately. We have been enjoying the nice weather we've been having. It's been so perfect! It's hard to believe that it's January. I'm sure we'll have another cold front come through, but for now, we are loving it!

The kids decided to "plant" sticks in the yard. And of course, Dolly was right along side them!

I finally decided to stop being a slacker and help my son know his alphabet. I attempted a little ABC time with him months ago, but then I got pregnant and sick and lazy.

He's been so excited to learn how to write the letters.

Dolly, she has definitely molded into our family real well. She's such a goofy, fun, good dog. She really is so well-behaved. Not sure how, because we didn't take much time to teach her obedience. oh well! She's become a sweet part of our family for sure!!

Guesthouse, Sunbeams and 21 weeks!

My Christmas present from Chad was getting our guesthouse painted. He didn't tell me till Christmas day. So, when we got back home from our trip we came home to a much nicer, newer looking guesthouse!

The before picture is the bottom picture, just in case you couldn't tell.:)

(p.s. The couch was only on the porch for a couple hours)

Now all that is needed is a new porch and steps....

Sam's first day in PRIMARY!! I can't believe it! I really don't know when he got so old. He was super excited to go. I am the secretary in primary so it was fun for me to watch him and see how he did. He did awesome. He sat the whole time, sang the songs, and waved to me a couple times. He is one cute little Sunbeam!

21 Weeks

Facts:

*I am SOOOO tired! I think you can tell just looking at my face. I don't know if it's catch up from the Holidays or what but I could seriously sleep all day. It's quite annoying to be tired constantly. I suppose this is just the beginning though.

*I have been feeling Baby move like crazy!

*I'm still not used to calling "Baby" a girl. I thought for sure we were having another boy.

*Still thinking of girl names. We have a list, now we just need to narrow it down to one.

*I have been feeling pretty great, other than the whole tired crap :)

*I am super excited for a girl. I find myself browsing Etsy for all the cute girl things out there to buy.

*I am even more excited to be able to pull out Carly's old clothes to use again!

*I am so glad that Carly is going to have a sister! I love my sister's so I'm glad she is going to have one!

*I don't have any cravings, other than when it's time to eat, then I feel like I could eat a whole cow!

*It still seems unreal that I'm pregnant and that in a short matter of months we'll have a new little one on our hands but I am so excited!!

New Year!!

For New Years Eve we invited some friends over for some tinfoil dinner, smores and fireworks. It was so much fun (although I was dead tired by the end of the night!) The kids (mostly the big boys) had fun with the fireworks. It was a fun way to end a fun year!

( My third attempt at getting the photos the right direction, I give up!)

On the 29th we found out we are having another little girl. I must say I was surprised. I thought for sure I had another little guy floating around inside of me. I am super excited for another girl though. I can't wait to meet her! (since she wouldn't let us peek at her face!)

This year will be a good one! I am so grateful to be going into this new year knowing that we are adding one more crazy to our little family!!