So thankful

I just want to say that I am so thankful for my boys - all 3 of them: Eric, Mason and Miles. I am so thankful that even though Miles is always sick (or so it seems) and has been for the past two years, it is always minor and gets better.
My heart is so sad this morning. I follow several mom's blogs. I have never met these women, but their stories and their honesty makes me feel more normal most days. Like I am not the only one that struggles with the day-to-day of raising kids.
This little boy, Stellan, has been sick for almost 3 weeks. He has a heart condition that I do not even pretend to understand. He is most likely being moved to Boston next week (ironically, when we will be there for Eric's marathon) for an extremely risky heart surgery that is never done on kids his age. Scary? Yes.
This precious baby girl, Maddie, lives in California. She was born premature and has fought her entire life. Over the weekend, she started having trouble breathing. Scary, but happens often enough that they keep oxygen in the home to help her out. It usually works itself out. She passed away last night. Those big, blue eyes are almost haunting. Her personality is huge. My heart just hurts for her parents. I cannot imagine what happened and the hole that must be in their hearts.
And, one year ago yesterday, the Angie and Todd met their 4th baby girl Audrey and held her for 2 1/2 short hours before she went home to be with Jesus. She celebrated her first birthday yesterday in a big way in heaven, I am sure. The celebrations at home were probably a little more bittersweet.
So, today, I am thankful. I am thankful for my boys. I am thankful for Sweet BabyBoo growing in my tummy. I am thankful that God has allowed us this 3rd miracle. I am thankful that I can hug my babies and rock them to sleep at night. I am even thankful that they wake me up in the night. At least they can.
Hug your babies today. Spend extra time with them. Get on the floor and tickle them until you both cry. Play that game that you have been telling them "not right now" to. Thank God for your littlest blessings - may they be 1 or 12 or more. I know I will be.

Sweet BabyBoo

The boys have nicknamed our precious surprise Sweet BabyBoo (I added the Sweet, they just say BabyBoo). We needed a nickname that Miles could say and those are too of his favorite words lately. :)
We had a first trimester sono on Monday to check for the risk of downs, etc. Everything came back great with that. Heartrate looked great at 163 and baby measured slightly big (12weeks 6days and I was 12w2d on Monday) - I know shock - I apparently grow them big!!!
We asked about gender and the position of the cord made it unable to tell for sure, but she was about 90% certain that BabyBoo is another boy.
We will be scheduling a c-section and it should be 1 - 1 1/2 weeks before the due date of 9.26. The boys went with Eric and I Monday to the sono and were so cute. Miles kept patting the screen and saying "baby baby". Then, he would look at me and my tummy and say "baby". I think he is trying to figure it all out still. Mason wanted one of the pictures she printed out for us - one had the baby's hand up in the air and that is the one he wanted. He asked to put it in his room. I thought that was very sweet!

We bought the boys bunk beds. They are so excited. Mason will be on the top bunk, but so far has been going from top to bottom each day. Once Miles turns 2 in May and school is out, we'll work on moving them in together and getting the nursery ready. I think we will redo it this time around. I am tired of the room after almost 5 years.

We are working on potty training the little mr. It was going great until he came down with a bad cold and pnemonia last week. Ugh! He is better now and we'll pick up again this weekend.

Going offline for a few days

Things are so busy around here.
I am working on potty training Miles. Mason is a big help, but wants to be right there and makes it a little hard at times.
Both boys are on spring break this week.
Miles ran a fever all weekend and is not sleeping great again.
Mommy is tired and feeling/looking way bigger than the 12 weeks pregnant that I am.
Had a sono yesterday and Sweet Baby Boo looks great. Measuring a little big (shock, I know!). Heartrate is great (163). About 2 1/4" long.

I need to take a few days and go offline. I need to just take a few days for me to enjoy our boys and not feel the pressure to update the blog. I know I haven't been doing that a lot lately anyway, but I think about it all the time. I promise a big announcement will be coming when I return .... probably early next week.

It's been a while

Well, it has been a while since I posted last.
I am sorry and sad that I have not made time. Things have been busy. I have been SO exhausted.
My laptop and Miles got into a fight a few weeks ago and Miles won. The laptop's screen is cracked. Luckily, the computer works when tethered to a monitor. So, since I am not mobile (and the boys always are) anymore, I can't take the computer with me and post/check email while they are playing. But, at least I did not lose my entire computer. And pictures. On the higher priority list is getting an external drive to back-up pics onto.
And, I am hoping to choose a new camera. My Christmas present :)!! So happy!!
We are also having work done on the house - new tile in the entry, front porch, hall half bath. Looks great. Really dusty in the house from the work though. I guess I have to take the good with the bad.
Baby Boo is doing well. Growing. I'll be 11 weeks tomorrow, but look, well....let's just say a little larger than 11 weeks. :) Have a sono on 3/16. Looking forward to seeing baby soon!

Just a few random thoughts and update on what is going on here. I promise to update again soon. I have some fun new pictures of the boys helping our tile guys out this week!

I have a new appreciation

Day 2 of not feeling well.... I thought yesterday's "morning sickness" (all-day sickness) was because I took my prenatal vitamins in the morning. Haven't taken them today.
The boys and I are just hanging out at home all day today. I'm doing laundry. Boys are still in PJs. We just built some awesome train tracks and they are (so far) playing very nicely together with trains.
So, my new appreciation is for moms of more than 2 kids. I am not sure how they were able to grow another human being and take care of the kids they already have. Seriously. I know a ton of families with 4+ kids and I just am in awe of the moms lately. Maybe things will look better after a nap. Almost everything looks better after a nap.
Did I mention it is only 10:22am. Long time until nap time..... darn.
:)

Going to bed

It's 8:48pm and I am exhausted.
Two friends (Keely and Irini) and I took our 6 & a 1/2 kids (yes, Sweet Baby Boo counts as a half right now) bowling this morning. We celebrated President's day with bowling, fries and of course, ketchup. Mason seemed to enjoy throwing the ball as hard as he could at the lane. Miles just wanted to be in the middle of the action. As always!
There was a little drama in the parking lot as we were loading the kids up to come home.... it involved a 4" screw and Keely's tire. We had ridden out there together, so it was a quiet drive home. 3 kids napped at my house while she was sent to 4 places to get a new tire. Really??? Shouldn't have been so difficult.
Anyway.... it is being fixed and no one was hurt. Thankfully!
OK, It's 8:54pm and it is past this momma's bedtime.
Miles finally slept all night last night. Praying he repeats it again tonight.

Just wanted to update.

What's your name's hidden meaning?

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

(I agree with about half of this.... the other half is just not me. Thoughts?)

You Are Smart and Curious

You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life.

You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip.

People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.

You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.

At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.

You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.

You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row.

You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace.People can see you as stubborn and headstrong.

You definitely have a dominant personality.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.

You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.

You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.

You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.

You have the classic "Type A" personality.

more numbers

Forgot to add a few more numbers yesterday.....

Mason's birthday - 01.26.05
Miles' birthday - 05.26.07
Baby's due date - 09.26.09

Mason and Miles' birthdays are exactly 28 months apart.
Miles' birthday and the baby's due date are exactly 28 months apart.

I don't believe in coincidences. I believe in a God that has an amazing plan for our lives.

God never ceases to amaze me with his sense of humor and his sense of timing. After Miles was born I said that I would wait longer if we decided to have a third because 28 months was a little closer than I would like the next 2 to be. Haha thought God. Clearly he knows better, but to put them 28 months, to the day, apart (when we weren't even trying for #3 yet) is just funny to me. It feels like God is showing me in one more way that he is in control. He has a plan. He has a reason. He has perfect timing. Even though I may feel overwhelmed, he longs for me to put my hope, trust and plans in his hand and rely on his strength to get us through the hard first year.

155

155 ... baby's heartbeat
7w2d ... progress of my pregnancy (7 weeks, 2 days)
7w2d ... where baby is measuring in the pregnancy
1 .... number of babies in there :)
2 ... number of weeks until my next appointment

Just a run down of this morning's sonogram.

3 ... number of kids playing in my house (mason, miles and a friend)
Better go monitor the playing! :)

Sono

Sorry for the lack of updates. Morning sickness (which is the worst misnomer ever. EVER. I feel ok usually in the mornings, but start going downhill mid-day until bedtime) is kicking in hard this week.
I am struggling to keep up with the boys, the house, laundry, grocery shopping. Most other things are just falling to the wayside. Sorry.
But, I did want to post that we have a sonogram on Monday morning. I am excited to see this little peanut and make sure there is only 1. You never know......... so many things about this pregnancy are a surprise. God might just think bringing me to my knees is funny. Yeah, so not funny to me though.
The boys are great. Miles is starting to talk all the time. He repeats everything he hears and his favorite phrase is "did you see that". I hear it often. Usually when he is doing something he should not be doing. This kid is the one that will give me grey hairs. Mason is steady as always. He is a delight these days. He is so excited about the baby in mommys tummy and reminds me that there is one in his as well. We had his second parent-teacher conference at school this morning and he received a glowing report. I am proud of all he is learning and so happy that he is becoming more confident in his abilities. I do realize that he needs a lot of praise and encouragement in order to be self-confident. Both boys are such sweet boys. It almost feels that my heart will explode with one more to love.
Take care and I'll update early next week about the sonogram.