Almost Time

My heavens, the third trimester has just zoomed by, and now we're just a few weeks away from (Lord willing) welcoming our new little girl home. Yes, that's right, the second ultrasound indicated that the wee one is going to be wearing pink rather than blue. Adara is thrilled about having a little sister, and to be honest, I was sort of hoping for a girl myself.

We're pretty much set up here, as much as we can be. We've moved Adara and Con and their respective carseats to the back row of the van, and they're happy as clams about the change. Not only can they see more, but they can reach their own cupholders, which is apparently a very big thing. The baby's carseat (not installed yet but cleaned and ready to go) will go in the middle row behind the driver's seat, and then the console between the two middle seats has been removed, so that the other middle seat is right next to the baby's, but folded down and out of the way. That way if we have an extra passenger, we just flip the seat up. We've set up the crib, change table, rocking chair and all that baby goodness in a corner of our room (our bedroom is quite big, so there's room), and will deal with the 'who's rooming with whom' question once we see how light a sleeper the little one is. We've talked with Adara about the three days I'll be spending at the hospital - Con's too young to get it, unfortunately, so it will come as an unpleasant surprise to him. Hopefully he will have enough fun with his Daddy that he won't mind too much. I've tried to buy a few things each week to prepare, so we have itty-bitty diapers and all that too.

I go in to see the surgeon on Monday, to give him all of my information and to get a date set for the surgery. I am still so reluctant to have a planned C-section, but feel like I have exhausted all other options. At least this way I will skip the labour part. Once we have a date set, Trev can finalize his leave from work, and we can do the last preparatory details. I'll post again once all of the details are in place, and after that, who knows? Depends on how long it takes me to get enough sleep to function again. Good thing babies are so worth it!!

Close to the 6 Month Mark

I'm definitely an obviously pregnant lady these days, but I don't mind much. Just a few more months to get through now. We're still making progress on my "Get Done before Baby Arrives" list, and although Trev's time off didn't feel like much of a holiday, it was certainly a very productive time. We got a lot of sorting and tidying done, tackled a few long-neglected tasks, and tried to have a bit of fun too.

The time we spent out in Saskatchewan was great, although the drives out and back were not. The back spasms that plagued me with my first two pregnancies came back to haunt me within an hour of setting out, and made life uncomfortable. Sitting for extended periods of time will be avoided for the summer. Still, it was great to see Trev's family.

Trev's back at work now, and we've settled into the regular routine again. I like routine, and the kids are settling down a bit now that things are more predictable. Adara's got a new (at least to her) bike this year, and is loving riding about whenever we head outside. Connor isn't much interested in his tricycle and prefers running along. We're enjoying the start of warmer weather, and are outside a lot. Life is good.

Update Prior to Heading Out

I've let time slip by again since posting - but I've been busy, which is good. Adara's soccer season has been going for about three weeks now, and she's loving it. Trev is enjoying being the team's assistant coach, plus his ultimate frisbee season has started. He entered to be on an ultie team for the 'spring session' and the 'summer session', thinking they would be one after another. Amusingly, they are concurrent, with the spring session starting only a few weeks before the summer session. So he has ultie on Monday and Wednesday nights, as well as soccer on Tuesdays.

Trev took Adara for her photo session for dance class this week, and came out emphatic that she would not be in dance again next year. He said it was like being backstage at a beauty pageant, with these little girls in the pouffy dresses, with hair curled and makeup on. So we told her she wouldn't be taking dance next fall, and that she'd be in a music class (Orff music lessons) and a multi-sport class instead. She didn't care a whit; I think the fun of the class was all about the social interaction. I'm quite excited about the sports class, as it's specifically for homeschoolers and during the day, and she can keep taking it at different levels as she gets older. It teaches the kids the fundamentals of several sports, giving them a chance to practice each. I'm part of a local Yahoo homeschoolers group, and the parents who have reviewed the program have had only positive things to say.

We're heading out to Saskatchewan early tomorrow morning, and everything's all packed up. I should get some sleep. Before I forget (again), here are some pictures of the "Day Out with Thomas" we went to (both kids love the Awdry books).

Adara managed to convince the face-painter to combine her love of pink and her fascination with cats, and was thrilled with the results.

Hormones?

I feel like there is just so much to get done before Lil' Baby Bump arrives, it's making me frantic when I think of it...which is often. I thought perhaps I was making a mountain out of a molehill, so I sat down and started a 'brain dump' list of all of the things I was worrying about finishing. At the end of my scribbling, I had 51 things and I didn't feel like I had covered it all. However, I was determined to make some progress, so I categorized the items, and left room for more in each category. My ever-patient Trev, seeing my distress, is helping me chip away at the list, and I'm hoping that will help the anxiety levels. That, and prayer...a LOT of prayer.

This past week was a very long week indeed, as Connor continued to be sick, crabby and clingy right through to today, and Adara was over-excited from all of the birthday hullabaloo and took several days to get back to her sweet self. The snow did NOT help, and the snow coming down right now and predicted for tonight, tomorrow and Tuesday is not helping either. Grrrr. Enough whining, though, let's focus on the positive.

I've finished the 16 pages that completed my last photo album, had them printed at Costco, and then put them into the album. I am so pleased with the quality of the 12"x12" photo pages! The embellishments really do look three-dimensional. And the best part was it only took a grand total of two hours to do the 16 pages for Adara's album, since there were only two pages I replaced with new ones; for the rest I just edited the text and swapped out a few of the photos! So her pages have now been sent in, and I'll pick them up in a few days and can start tackling the new albums. I was leery of digital scrapbooking, I must admit, but I can't see going back now. The kids will all have their own photo albums for when they grow up and start families of their own, with so little extra effort.

What else has happened on the good side? I've been monitoring Freecycle carefully the last little while, and this past week I got a fishbowl and free betta stuff, as well as a box of size 6x/7/8 clothing to put away for Adara's future use (she'll be wearing size 6 very soon). We have just tonight installed a resident betta into the fishbowl, and he is Adara's first official pet. She has named him "Smart Fish", I call him "Red Angus", and to Connor he is "Fishy". We'll see how he does as part of the household.

Oh, and I've finally been transferred to a maternity clinic. After 3 months of promises that it would happen any day. The good news is that the clinic isn't far away, which will make the many trips there for checkups easier. The bad news is that they're affiliated with the hospital in the NE part of Calgary, so visiting the hospital will be a much further drive (but at least I only have to go there once). And if it is in fact a scheduled C-section, then there won't be the frantic rush to the hospital, either.

So there has been good news, really there has. And once my head cold dies down and the snow finally goes away, I'll be much more willing to dwell on it. *smile*

Five already?

My little girl will be five on Wednesday...it's mind-boggling, really. I'm loving watching her develop into the wonderful little person she's becoming, though. Such a leader - if you show the slightest hesitation about what you're doing next, she's in there trying to organize the whole family's day. She's not bossy, honestly; but she was born with a desire to lead, and the Lord is going to do amazing things with her life. We're working at finding a middle ground, not killing her natural leader instincts, but making sure she remembers that she must still defer to proper authority in the final decision, and also that she must respect the feelings of others and only lead where they are willing to let her take charge, rather than ramming in and bossing everyone about. It's definitely challenging, but I wouldn't miss it for the world.

While she's getting ready for her playdate/birthday celebration tomorrow (very low key, no presents, but still making her feel a little special) and then her birthday the next day, Connor is struggling with the cold his big sister is already finished with. The poor little guy has just been miserable the last 3 days, with fever, cough, stuffy runny nose, the whole bit. He's been almost permanently attached to me, which I don't mind when they're really ill. It gives me an excuse to sit still for a bit. *grin*

Lil' Baby Bump is growing happily, although the little blighter was so darn active during the ultrasound that they couldn't tell us the gender. Major disappointment for me, as I absolutely hate surprises. Such is life, though, and since it looked like he/she was normal and healthy in every regard, I'll just wait very impatiently for August. I console myself with the thought that we have sleepers in both colours already anyway. *smile*

Let's see, what else? Adara's having a ball with her dance classes, but we'll be finding an alternate activity next year. Reason? I've hit my limit. First of all, dance is about 3 times as much as her other activities. Strike 1. Secondly, I knew there was a recital at the end of Adara's dance season. I found out 2 months ago that the preschool costume for the recital looked like a spangly prom dress with crinolines. Strike number 2. The topper was the email I received today that outlines her hair and makeup requirements for three separate occasions: the picture night, the dress rehearsal, and the actual recital. That's it - strike 3, time for a new activity. We'll be leaning towards sports this fall, as she's so active, and if I can find her a drama program she'll be in that too. Nothing fancy, though, just fun and letting kids stay kids.

I need to go and finish setting up for the playdate tomorrow morning, so I can get some sleep. The little guy has been up every two hours with his cold, and I'm needing every bit of extra sleep I can get!

Gardening Decisions

Trev has convinced me to skip vegetables or any 'useful' plants, and to stick with low-maintenance perennials in the backyard. So in the sunny bed, I'm alternating Stella d'Oro dwarf daylilies with some pretty blue Salvia, and on the mostly shady bed, I'm alternating dwarf bleeding hearts with a random selection of hosta plants. I ordered from a lovely catalogue company that actually sends plants and not just roots; that will keep me out of the garden nurseries and all the temptation they bring. Trev can pop into Home Depot or some such and pick up some manure to mix into the dirt, and some bark chips for mulch. Since both beds are in the backyard, if the plants look somewhat sparse the first year, I don't mind - they'll grow into their space in time.

One more thing checked off the list.

Charging Ahead

My goodness, I've had almost a whole week of not feeling nauseous, and it's wonderful. I'm back to liking being pregnant again, a much happier state for me. My most exciting news is that I've booked the ultrasound, and managed to get in with a place that does the 3D imaging. I'm going in April 16th, and even though the clinic is downtown and the appointment is perilously close to Connor's nap time, I figure it's worth it for the extra clarity in the ultrasound, and the CD of cool 3D pics I can get for $20. Plus, I figure this way there's a better chance of finding out whether 'Lil' Baby Bump' (as we've taken to calling the baby) is a boy or a girl, not only for us but for Adara who so desperately wants a little sister.

Other signs I'm feeling better:

• I used up a giant bag of 50% off organic bananas, and made a double batch of jumbo chocolate chip banana muffins as well as the "world's best banana nut cake" (that's the title, honest; it was good, but not that good)
• We hosted the first coffee night for homeschooling mamas of preschoolers in the NW
• I've hosted several playgroups with some of the above group, and even fit in some extra playdates with some moms I especially like
• We took the kids to Homeschool Day at the Telus Science Center; Adara got to attend the same preschool/kindergarten presentations that any class going there gets to see, plus we got to explore the rest of the place
• I have cooked dinner regularly every night this week, instead of just throwing things together at the last minute (It's kind of sad, but this is a big thing for me!)
• I am feverishly internally debating whether to plant useful vegetables or pretty flowers in the backyard

That last one's a really big indication I'm much more myself than I have been the last few months...I love planning gardens.

The other neat thing that happened this week is that we found a kit at Costco that lets you assemble your own little plastic skeleton (maybe 18" tall?) with 24 pieces and moving joints. It has a little plastic dome to protect "Mr Bones" when he's not being prodded at, and an interesting book explaining the basics of how the human body works. Adara and I have read two books about the human body from the library, and she's been very interested in seeing a skeleton, but none of the museums here have a human set of bones. So now she has her own mini set, and she's just ecstatic. Only ten dollars, too! I admit, we did get some funny looks as we lined up at the cashier with her clutching the box and singing "I've got my own skeleton, my very own skeleton" but we're getting used to being oddities. *grin*

Oh my, it feels good to be me again...