Day 120

Last night the kids got wet with the hose for the first time this season and of course, they wanted to play in water again this evening. It wasn't as hot today though, thankfully!

 

The sprinkler was on, but they ended up playing with a hole in the hose the entire time.

Getting a drink.

 

I grilled (I can finally light it! We need a new one soon.) We had dinner outside and the kids had popsicles. Such a nice evening, not looking forward to Summer.

Day 119

Back to babysitting today...and dealing with a really grumpy baby. Ugh. Somehow I got through the day, even with a raging headache.

Sitting with me is a daily fight. Tonight Rian got up and AJ stole her spot. She said, "Hey I wanna sit with a piece of Mommy too!" haha. She's been calling me her "little mommy" lately.

Cuddles with (almost) three babies.

 

Aiden made our family with his lunch. Steven was the hard boiled egg yolk. :)

Love that he included the baby!

 

Day 118

I was excited to get to church to see my babies this morning! They were going with Grandpa and Grandma since they spent the night. My parents, Steven's parents and his grandparents all go to the same church. So picking one was super easy for me!

I was woken up by this baby going crazy!

 

 

Almost every Sunday after church, the kids go home with my parents since we eat over every Sunday. I figured they'd want to come home with me since they'd been at Steven's parents' house, but nope! I let them go because I didn't feel like dealing with fits and grumpy kids all day because of it. I felt a little bad for Steven though since he hadn't seen them at all the day before. Poor guy. Regular working man's schedule soon! :)

 

Close to two days with no kids. It felt a lot like being pregnant with Aiden back in the day. Just me, Steven and a baby bump. I've been thinking so much about that time period lately. I think it's because AJ's approaching age 5. These last five years have flown by. And I know the next five will too. :\

Day 117

Last night Steven told me his Dad mentioned something about the kids spending the night over there tonight. It ended up working out perfectly because I also got a message on facebook from an old friend that his band would be in town for a show! One of Steven's old friends is also in the band.

The kids were picked up around 4ish. I always have a "Now what?" feeling not long after they leave, at least til Steven gets home! We were off for a little date night and to catch the show.

Brad and I met in 8th grade, he moved after that school year and I moved after the following one, but we've kept in touch all these years. His grandparents still live here, so we see each other almost every time he's here for a visit.

It was so fun to catch up with them and laugh for a few hours, then see them jamming out on stage. Seeing people in your life doing what they love and having so much fun doing it is awesome! I'm so happy for them.

Day 116

AJ cracks me up! Since he's started school, he cares so much about his "Look." If he has a stain on his shirt, can't won't wear it to school! He always makes sure to ask me how he looks using either, cool, cute or handsome. He now always remembers to wash his face and check to make sure it's actually clean. And he must have his hair done! We compromised and I take turns styling it how he likes (all up in the middle, faux-hawk style) and how I like it (combed to the side, like in the picture below.)

Then there's Rian. My little diva. The outfit she picked out today was very normal. Usually they're something on the nutty side! She is all about accessories. Her heart shaped sunglasses are with her at all times. She's wearing a blue choker that came with her dress-up stuff in the picture, always with some sort of jewelry! Sometime last week I found an old green purse in my closet and let her have it. Anytime we go to the store or wherever, she brings it with. She gets lots of smiles from people!

My big kids.

 

After we took our guy to school, we picked a few things up at Target. Now that we're in a money saving craze, it's a good thing we're not finding out this baby's sex! I've been seeing so much cute stuff in baby sections lately! It's the only thing that makes not finding out hard.

Day 115

We were in Rian's room and the kids were on their bellies, an identical picture from 3 years earlier popped into my head!

 

My "twins." We get asked allllllll the time if they are. They look a lot alike to me, but so different at the same time. I can't wait to see what the new baby looks like! I think I probably think more about that then if there's a boy or a girl in my belly.

This picture below is actually from Saturday. (I'll get better at these updates soon!) I was inside painting Steven's bathroom door and heard the kids giggling nonstop outside. It made me feel so good.

:)

 

I'm amazed at the amount of peace I've had dealing with everything, the baby's heart and Steven's job situation. Typically my thoughts would be consumed by it, nonstop worry that would keep me up at night. And I know it's because I have so much faith that God will get us through it all. We got word that our new insurance won't kick in for 90 days after Steven starts the new position (because he'll be considered a new hire) and both of his boss' are trying to make things work for us so we're not left uninsured.

 

We're so blessed. 

Day 114 (21 weeks pregnant)

Wednesdays with Grandpa are back! It's so nice to have a few hours to myself, especially this week without babysitting.

I've been super into frozen banana fake ice cream, (just frozen bananas and almond milk blended together- SO GOOD!) salad, dark chocolate covered almonds and peanut butter toast. Ah! I love the Jif/Skippy Natural peanut butters they have now. I'm sure they're not as healthy as some of the other stuff, but they sure taste yummy! My mom used to buy natural pb, ugh it was horrible.

 

Twenty one weeks!

I almost didn't take a picture today, I thought maybe I'll start doing them every 5 weeks instead, but now's when I'm about to get really big! I should've just done them every 5 weeks before, oh well. So I'll just continue with the weekly's.

Steven came home from work all stressed out about the whole job thing. I've been trying not to worry about it, but I'm the worrier! When he's not calm about things, that makes me extremely nervous. We're not only losing a portion of the income he makes now, but our new insurance is going to cost us seven times more a month. Augh! (Fed Ex has two options: a cheap plan or a more expensive one, DTC just has a really expensive one!) We're going to be okay, we just have to cut out everything extra. I know it could be so much worse, so I'm trying not to stress. I'm also going to try to babysit as long as possible and maybe we can even work something out so I can take a little break when our baby's born, then start watching him again sometime after. I don't know. I don't even want to think about it anymore.

I just can't believe both of these things are happening at the same time, new baby/job transition with an income loss. Being a grown up is lame.

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
-Psalm 28:7

Trust Him. It's what I gotta do. We'll get through it.

Day 113

AJ's learned how to swing by himself in the last few weeks. He did pretty okay before (there's a swing set at my parents' house) but having access to one every day, he's now a pro! And he goes really high. "I could just keep swinging all night long til the morning, Mommy!" :)

It's always exciting (yet a little sad) when they start doing new things. But lately, it makes me cry (dang hormones!) I want time to stand still so bad! I know we have so much happiness ahead, but I want to soak in these last few months of having just two kids and before I have a kindergartner. How are we almost there already?! A-FIVE-year old. It's gone by unbelievably fast. And to think when this baby's five, Aiden will be ten. Oh geez.

I've decided I really need to start recording more videos. I want to remember their little voices forever.

Day 112

AJ's been really into puzzles for almost a year now. He's really good at them! His teacher has also noticed and mentioned it to me a few times. He has three floor puzzles that he does all the time, over and over and over. For Christmas my parents got him this Toy Story puzzle that changes pictures depending on how you look at it. Both my dad and Steven had tried it with him but couldn't do it for too long, they said it made them dizzy. My sister was over a few weeks ago and she did it with him. After that, he could put it together in no time. It was a regular puzzle, not a floor one, with 48 medium-sized pieces.

Earlier I was cleaning the hall closet (its always a disaster in there!) and came across a box of 8 puzzles my parents got us. Three of them are 300 pieces and the other five say 150 or more, for ages 6+. The kind of puzzles with the small pieces. Later after dinner and baths, we sat down to do one.

I helped him with the boarder, the rest was all him!

And he did it in about an hour. Nuts!

 

I call him our little puzzle master. It's crazy watching him! He just looks at a piece, looks at the puzzle and puts it right in. His brain has always amazed me. :)

Day 111

This morning I finished painting Aiden's door, then we compromised and Steven put a new one in his bathroom, instead of mine. The door jambs in this house are ridiculously uneven! The extended kitchen area and Steven's bathroom/laundry room were built by his dad, so that one is perfect. I decided to be nice and let him do an easy one. ;) He didn't have to measure and cut a million times until it fit like he did with the others, just cut the hole for the knob, chisel the hinge parts and it was in! We're almost done with all of the doors. The one that goes into the garage needs to be exterior and they're a lot more expensive, so I'm not really sure when we'll get around to buying that.

L O V E

 

We grocery shopped, cleaned, did yard work and went to my parents' like every Sunday. We used to always watch movies afterwards, but since I've been watching Sean, I don't last through them anymore. I don't have him this coming week because they're going on vacation, so we were able to watch one. I'm so excited to be baby free!

Day 110 (DIY muslin swaddles)

Since I've been pregnant, I've been looking up the latest and greatest products, etc. Things in the baby world change so quickly! Everybody's gaga over these Aden and Anais swaddle blankies, but they range from $30-$40 for a 4-pack. I've also seen super cute ones on Etsy but those are just as expensive. That's crazy to me! As cute as they may be, I can't bring myself to pay that much.

So since I have stencils, I decided to make my own. I googled the fabric for the muslin wraps (gauze) and since I had a day off (kids were at Grandpa and Grandma's!) I headed to Joann. I was prepared to buy just one yard since that's all the coupon counts for, but it was on sale! $3.50 a yard.

Ready to get busy.

 

Before I did anything, I was going to have my mom hem them, but I liked how they looked when they came out of the wash. Curled and frayed edges, they can still be hemmed if it gets too bad. I started with the gold birdies, its turning out really cute but I ran out of paint so its not complete. I also had one in the tub with the dye. 

 

 

Next I did the tribal pattern on the beige blanket. That one took forever. During this time, the dyed one was done but I didn't like how it turned out, neon orange. The bottle color looks like a pretty sunflower yellow. Oh well. Last I did the bronze flower pattern, it'll be fine for a boy. :)

In love with them!

 

They came out way better than I expected, I couldn't be happier! I plan to make a couple more. I already had the stencils (and they'll be used over and over so I'll more than get my money's worth out of them) and the paint. I bought a bottle of dye and I'll probably get a couple more paint colors. So they came out to roughly $4 each. Can't beat that! Original and cheap. :)

 

I did paint one side of AJ's bedroom door while they were washing before I started, but the swaddles pretty much filled my day. I was cleaning up when Steven got home from work. We both expected the kids to be home way before he did, but since they weren't, we went on a dinner date before we picked them up. Love having alone time with my hubby. Later that night he felt Baby move for the first time!

Day 109

We all woke up feeling like brand new people! Well, except Steven. It was his turn to be sick. Today was AJ's very first field trip. I felt bummed all week that he might miss it.

When we got to school, they were waiting for the bus. He was so excited! His very first bus ride. Rian and I waited until they got on. When I got to the car, I called Steven and whined and held back my tears. The littlest things are so hard when you become a mom! I wanted to take a picture of him getting on, but I held back. :)

Baby's movements are so strong lately! And can be felt from the outside, Aiden tried to feel but he got too impatient. I can't wait til he does!

Day 108

Today was mine and Rian's turns to be sick. Plus Aiden still wasn't 100%. We didn't have it near as bad as he did, just really bad stomach aches. I had Sean , it wasn't easy! I felt exhausted. Thankfully his mom picked him up an hour early and said she'd work something out for the next day.

I took a shower after he left and when I came out, the kids were sleeping. I took a little nap too, we woke up a little before 6 and were all in bed by 8:30.

Day 107 (20 weeks pregnant)

Halfway through a pregnancy that feels like it just started! Rian's also flew right by for me. And lately everybody else announces they're pregnant and it feels like they deliver so soon after. Time goes so fast these days.

So much movement! I was in my 20th week the first time Steven felt AJ, sadly I don't have it written down the first time he felt Rian. Oops. I only felt him/her from the outside that one time. I want other people to be able to feel! I don't mind people rubbing my belly, I actually like it. Although it was weird the one time some random lady started doing it at the store when I was pregnant with Rian. But I guess in some cultures its bad luck to not touch a pregnant belly if you see one? Something like that.

Happy twenty weeks to me!

I'm SO excited to have a good pump this time! I got it new/unused online for $170. I saw it at Target for $299. Heck yeah! I was planning to try to get one covered by BCBS, but we're on a pretty crappy plan so I doubt it's likely, plus who knows when we'll be switching insurances with all this job stuff. So I went ahead and got one on my own.

I don't talk a lot about my breastfeeding experience. Not plural because I only tried with Aiden. I don't have very well equipped nipples for the job. We worked really hard in the hospital, I only syringed fed him because I didn't want to give him a bottle, but he still refused me. When I finally caved and gave him a bottle, he would scream his head off, even if you wiggled the huge bottle nipple around his mouth. He was so difficult when it came to latching. So I used my little cheapy single pump for three days and I was so upset when it broke. I had so much guilt that I wasn't able to provide for my baby.

I didn't even want to try with Rian. I didn't want the joy of those first few days and weeks to be ruined by my sadness for not being able to breastfeed her. My mom bought me a pump, the same brand I had for Aiden. Crappy. I used it for about 6 weeks. Now that I look back, I wish I would've tried with her. She wasn't the same baby, maybe she would've loved my flat nips!

I'm definitely going to try this time, but at least if we don't succeed, I have a good pump and I will do everything possible to provide breast milk for as long as I can.

I totally could get into how annoying some breastfeeding moms are, but I won't. I just wish the ones that have it so damn easy, would realize not everybody else does. You're a better Mom, we get it. ;) End rant.

Day 106

No pictures or anything really.

Yesterday we kept AJ home from school and he was perfectly fine. I made him go to school today and about twenty minutes after I got home from dropping him off, I got a call saying he threw up. I felt so bad. :( He loves going to school, I should've known he wasn't feeling well since he said he didn't want to go.

Later that night, he brought me a race car and asked if the number on it was "43"- I  told him yes. Steven asked him how he knew and he said because there's a four and a three on it. Steven asked what it would be if it had a two and a three. Aiden said, "Two-ty three." so seriously. We both cracked up!

I need to get better at updating these things. Doing it just a few days later makes me forgot a lot!

Day 105

Today I had my monthly check up and it left me feeling even worse than the last.

I met with the other midwife. She was looking over my ultrasound results and said, "They want you to come back for another one at 24 weeks, did they already tell you or am I breaking the news?" I hadn't been told. She said the doctor that reviewed the results didn't see what they like to see in the heart pictures, they want to be sure the baby has 4 chambers. My heart fell. She said the baby was "butt up" so it was probably due to the position, not necessarily abnormalities and if they do it later on, there's a better chance of getting a better picture. She told me not to worry. (Yeah right, lady.) She said it usually takes a week to get results but if its anything serious, they won't let me go home. :\

 

We heard B3's heartbeat right away, I made my next appointment (I was going to decide which midwife I wanted to see throughout the rest of my pregnancy, but when she asked if I wanted to see the same one again, I just said sure. I didn't feel like thinking about that,) made the ultrasound appointment (not for another 5 weeks) and made my payment, but my mind was somewhere else the entire time. I got home and told Steven, went inside and started warming up milk for Sean. And because I would've been surprised if they hadn't, that's when the tears came. Lots of them. I felt so sad. Steven came in and hugged me for awhile. I prayed. I asked for prayers. And of course, I googled it. A majority of what I read said the second ultrasound went perfectly well. Some said their baby's had to have open-heart surgery a few days after birth (I can't even imagine!) And then there were the handful that had lifelong conditions. :( After all of that and talking to some of my favorite people, I felt so much better.

I know if this is anything, it'll be serious. But I also know that we'll get through it. It'll be on my mind a lot over the next few weeks, but I can already tell it won't be something I'll lose sleep over... at least until the night before. Without Steven, those around and my faith, I know this would be a lot worse to wait for.

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well

-Psalm 139

Day 104

AJ spent his day complaining about his stomach. It didn't seem like a sick thing, more like he was in pain. He would grab his belly every now and then and curl up in a ball moaning. It was sad. The first thing that came to both of our minds was his appendix- ugh! After 5-6 hours of that, he ended up throwing up at my parents house. After that, he was good as new! Til the drive home. Good thing I brought bags just in case!

I was sitting in his bed later that night, trying to get him to sleep and thinking about this last week we had. I let myself get so stressed out about the smallest things. I thought a lot about other parents sitting with their children who are suffering through SO much worse, every day. I know I'm so blessed. I need to stop sweating the small stuff.

I love checking on Rian every night before I go to sleep. I find her in all sorts of different ways. Sometimes not even in the same spot I left her! Sometimes she has a bunch of toys, sometimes she has on shoes, hats, jewlery- you name it, I've found her that way. :)

I didn't find her in a silly way tonight, but for some reason this gave me the biggest smile!

Day 103

Today was a million times better than yesterday! I'm loving that the kids are napping on Saturdays, why didn't I try this sooner?! AJ especially has always been a great napper.

Ri went in her room with a regular pony tail, woke up with it sideways.

Just thought it was cute. :)

After Steven got home, we went to a party for his boss' daughter. We don't usually go to stuff like that, but we better get used to it! When he becomes a salesman (aka a "full-timer") they're silently expected to go to all of the events. I've never really talked to any of the full-timer's wives. They're all pretty snobby. That's part of the whole job transition that I'm not looking forward to, having to be around them more. But I'll suck it up and act just as fake- HA!

I'm sure people think, "Your husband just works at a tire shop, why would they be snobby?" But it's actually a very well-off company. It helps its employees in times of need, they paid a part of Steven's coworker's daughter's medical bills when she got burnt in an accident last year. The owner paid for our friend Ryan's expenses while he was in boot camp after he left. Things like that happen every day throughout the company. I brought those  things up, because maybe that's why some of the wives have their noses in the air... it really is more than "just a tire shop." But still, no excuse for them being so rude! It does make me wonder how things will be when I become "one of them." Maybe then they'll at least say hi! I guess we'll see.

We had to drag this guy off of the dance floor!

Day 102

This evening ended up with me in tears. Rian has been a little, no, big brat lately.

We always go outside after dinner, if it's nice. I'd had enough and she wasn't allowed to go out, until Steven got home to deal with her. Sometimes I feel bad for him, he doesn't see the kids all day and looks forward to coming home, but more days than he'd like, he has to come home and deal with all of their naughtiness throughout the day instead of enjoying them. Anyway, he talked to her and it was over with. He let her play and he was pushing them on the swings and for some reason, I lost it. I came inside so nobody would see me cry, but Steven came in after me, followed by Rian. Who immediately burst into tears seeing Mommy cry, especially when she heard I was crying because of her. Two crying, emotional girls. My first thought was, "Oh hell. If this baby's a girl we're in for it!" And poor Steven, having to deal with three hormonal ladies. Yikes!

It just gets so frustrating. I go to sleep every night, making promises to myself to not lose my temper, to not yell, to just let them be little. But when you deal with a child who purposely chooses to do something they know they're not supposed to, over and over and over... eventually you break. It's all little things, but they build and build. This isn't how I ever pictured things being with Rian. When you're pregnant, and sometimes long before that, you have so many dreams of how you want to parent. I've learned from the very first day with Aiden, that nothing will ever go as you planned on this crazy journey. You can't ever prepare yourself for this. Because this is real life, not a dream.

I know they're good kids. I know we're doing a good job raising them. But sometimes, I feel the complete opposite. Nobody ever said parenthood is easy. Bringing up these little lives is the hardest thing I'll ever do and it's going to be a long time until it gets even the teeniest bit easier. But I know we'll get there. With lots of tears (and laughter!) along the way.

Day 101

Today I went to the store with all three kids by myself! Oh yeah! It wasn't bad at all. I remember how scared I was my first time with AJ and Rian. It was awhile til I was actually 100% comfortable with it. They say you're a "Pro" by the time the second child comes around, but I disagree. You can be pro with one kid, but add another- two is a whole nother level! It's like you have to relearn everything all over again, because you have two littles wanting complete different things from you... or maybe that was just me because I had mine so close together. ;)  I know three will be a challenge too, but at least this time around I have experience on how to handle it all, I'm a multi-tasking master! Sometimes. ;)

Since we moved the little slide to the side of the yard (the junk area, I hate it over there.) The back wall looked so bare. So I got some plastic adirondack chairs, until I feel like splurging on some nice wood ones.

They were only $18 a piece, they'll do for now!

Here's a part of the yard that I try to never, ever show:

Look at all of that junk!

That car's been here for...ever. To be honest, I guess I don't mind it, at times, but I wish it were behind the board the kids draw on. Then we wouldn't have to see it. Without that car and the cement slab, we'd have a much bigger yard! One day it will be gone.

Day 100 (19 weeks pregnant)

Day 100? 19 weeks? Whaaaat?! Time's flying. My countdown is now in the "140-ish days left," it just got out of the 200's! I'll be in the double digits to my EDD in no time.

19 weeks (+2 days in Ri's picture)

 

I'm feeling a lot more movement, still really light but then there are some that totally take me by surprise! Love every little bump. My appetite's been insane lately. I had three lunches yesterday, three! But thankfully, I wasn't too hungry by dinnertime. Mid-day is when I feel like I could eat nonstop. I only had one craving each with the other kids, there's been nothing I absolutely have to have yet, but everything tastes and sounds sooo good. Still trying to eat as healthy as I can, I don't want to blow up! 

 

Rian can't really sit on my lap anymore, she's not very happy about that! She has to sit at a diagonal, instead of straight on like she likes. The kids are so into the baby, wondering what s/he's doing in there and how big s/he is. "Is our baby this big?" is what I hear all. day. long. :)

Day 99

Rian spent most of the day in her room, refusing to clean it. She is so stubborn! (No big surprise with me as her Mom.) Two naps later and a phone call from Daddy, she finally did it. And finally got her lunch at 3pm- seriously!

After dinner we went outside, it was so nice out! I was pushing her on the swing and thinking about just how little the kids are. Sure they've grown a lot and I always think about how big they've gotten. But in the grand scheme of life, they're still so, soo little. And I need to remind myself of that more often.

Last week I was looking at pictures of them from this time two years ago... one day soon, I'll look back to right now and think the same thing. I'm one of those Moms that misses the past a lot, my little babies. They're growing right before my eyes. I need to stop being that way. I'll always long for those days when they were smaller, but I don't want it to take away from the Now anymore. My new goal is to work on that.

Totally in love with this picture.

 

The rest of the swing set was put together before and after Steven got home from work. It's so awesome! Two swings, a bar swing, a slide, a little clubhouse area with a shade, a "lemonade stand" (or it looks like it can be a sand box if you want it to) and a little bench. A lot of the reviews said the picture makes it look bigger than it really is, but the size is perfect for our backyard! It's definitely going to be getting a lot of use!

Day 98

Steven's using his Fed Ex vacation time this week! We're happy to have extra time with him and see what our near future will be like, a regular one-job working man! :)

The kids' swing set came in on Saturday, we started on it today- exciting!

We were expecting it to be an all day ordeal, according to most of the reviews. I gathered the parts for each step and Steven drilled, teamwork! In 4 1/2 hours we were almost done. The stupid wind forced us in and didn't let up for the rest of the day.

Talk about torture for the kids! First day their biggest and best toy is set up and they can't play on it.

 

The school I want to get AJ into started registration today, so I went over there to fill out the open enrollment form. There was already a big stack! I overheard the secretary tell another parent that Kinder is usually always filled. :/ Fingers crossed he gets in, but we'll survive if he has to go to the other school.

Day 97

This morning we woke up bright and early for our drive to the annual Discount Tire family picnic, for all of the Arizona stores. We haven't been since the year before last. Its always right around fair time and last year we wanted to go to the fair with our cuzzies instead.

Its so fun! Castles N Coasters is closed to the public and everything is 100% FREE. Tons of rides, mini golf, a zip line, go-karts, a bunch of raffles and each person gets a card worth $10 of arcade games. Plus hamburgers, hotdogs, nachos, potato salad, ice cream, popsicles and drinks. All we have to do is pay for a tank of gas that gets us there and back (way cheaper and way more fun than the county fair!) The part we both like most about the fair is the photo booth pictures, which we were excited to get anyway! They had a booth with the arcade games. It stunk though because inside the booth, we all fit perfectly in the shot, but when it printed, Rian was cut out.

 



The look on the kids' faces on the rides was priceless. Aiden especially. He had so much joy, it made me want to cry. He was having the time of his life! They both went on their first roller coaster ride (Aiden's been talking about going on one for months!) Each ride goes through the track twice, so poor Steven had to ride it a total of 8 times. He couldn't handle much more, old man! I wasn't allowed to do anything. Even the carousal had "No pregnant women" in its rules. I snuck on anyway. AJ also loved the golf, "Golfing is the best thing ever!"

Such a fun day. :)

Day 96

Last night Steven fell asleep in the living room (happens pretty often!) Throughout the night the kids ended up in bed with me, so I woke up to this:

:)

We spent the day grocery shopping, cleaning and getting ready for our day out of town tomorrow.

That night I made quick and easy muffins so we could have breakfast on the road. I think I have a recipe pinned, but I didn't feel like searching so I just winged it. The batter from however you typically make pancakes (mix or homemade) plus any fruit, I used blue berries. Sprinkled the tops with cinnamon sugar and popped them in the oven for about 12 minutes, my oven runs hot. They were really good, them being so easy was a huge plus.

Day 95

I kind of over did it today.

I had Sean for a few hours this morning, while he napped, I painted.

One door down, a bunch to go!

It was too breezy out, so I had to bring my project in.

(PS: Ignore that ugly carpet.)

 

After he left, we headed to the store to get a few things. I pinned a recipe for homemade fruit snacks a few weeks ago, I couldn't wait to try them! The kids love fruit snacks, but I hate buying them- so much gross junk in them! The recipe was so easy.



Ingredients:

(Berries, fresh squeezed orange juice, gelatin, honey)

 

It was a pretty big fail. Boo. I made two batches, blue berry and blackberry. The sauces both tasted really good before I added the gelatin. The recipe called for gelatin made from grass-fed cows, I bought regular. I'm not sure that would've made a difference anyway. As I was stirring it in, it had a really distinct smell and it didn't smell good. At all. That's exactly how the fruit snacks (with the weirdest texture!) smell and even taste. Gag. After you chew for a few seconds, that taste goes away, but its definitely not worth enduring. I looked up a few recipes and a lot of other people used way less gelatin. But I don't think I want to try again. (I'm back-dating this. On our trip yesterday, we passed by an area of cows. The smell in the air was a mixture of manure and the gelatin smell- disgusting!!!) Aiden ate a few and said he liked them, Rian was unsure. Steven spit it out haha! I was pretty bummed. But before I bought the gelatin, I was talking to my mom and she said I could use her dehydrator, so maybe I'll try a recipe that way instead.

 

After that big waste of time, I made a homemade potato salad. Has anybody ever had the red skin potato salad from Walmart? Its my faaavorite! But I never go to that annoying store anymore, (unless I absolutely have to, I've yet to find another store that sells what I need to make laundry detergent) so I found a recipe online. Yum! After dinner, I finished painting the other side of the door. Then did a few loads of laundry.

 

I was exhausted that night. My feet were so swollen and my back was aching. I was in bed reading and my book bumped up. I pressed on my belly and felt Baby Three from the outside! So exciting! Can't wait til Daddy can feel. :)

Day 94

Saturday night, these two were begging for a bath in the kitchen. Where they got the idea, I don't know! Rian was about two months old the last time I bathed her in a sink. Tonight I gave into the idea.

So cute!

 

It got me excited to give the new baby baths. Even though they scream during them the first month or so, I love having fresh clean babies.

 

Plus I LOVE my sink, so it'll be even better! ;) In the last couple of weeks, I learned how to get stains out of it (Comet) and all of the scratches. I was super bummed about the scratches, but I was cleaning behind the jars on my counter and came across this little packet of cleaner that came with the sink. It worked wonders! Every scratch is gone. Perfect again.

Day 93 (18 weeks pregnant)

It was definitely different getting ready, heading to the doctor's office and waiting for this ultrasound. Every second didn't feel like a minute. I didn't feel like I was about to burst with anticipation. But I was still excited to see the baby! It was especially nice not having to deal with all of those feelings and hold in an insane amount of pee. :)

She walked in and said after she got her measurements, she'd be able to tell us the sex. I instantly shook my head no, said we don't want to know and she started laughing, apparently Steven was shaking his head just as fast. We didn't really see a whole lot of the baby, just at the very beginning and end, mainly body parts here and there.

She counted all of the fingers and toes, don't remember that with the other two. S/he was trying to suck its thumb- cutest thing ever! She had us look away a few times so she could get what she needed without us accidently seeing anything. The second time we looked back, the baby had totally flipped, its back was now facing us. It was pretty cool, I wish we could've watched it happen though!

Perfect.

For some reason, this is my favorite ultrasound picture that I've ever gotten. We have a profile picture of AJ, I was about 28 weeks, so its not that... I don't know what it is. I feel like the baby's so cute already! Love.

When I was pregnant with Aiden, you could bring in a blank dvd or buy one there for them to record. We stopped at Walgreens on the way to Rian's ultrasound, but they didn't have the right kind so we figured we'd buy one at the office, but they no longer sold them there. So we don't have hers recorded. For this one, they offer a free dvd. Changes every time! I can already hear her, "How come you don't have a recording of mine?" :) I thought it'd be neat to show the kids, but I don't know if we'd be able to see something that we don't want to... so we'll wait!

18 weeks!

Day 92

Tomorrow's our ultrasound! I wonder if it'll be weird leaving without knowing if the baby's a girl or a boy. I don't feel overly anxious like I did with Aiden's and Rian's, I'll probably sleep tonight, unlike the nights before theirs! And we still most definitely don't want to know. Steven is all for not finding out, it's cute. :)

I saw a picture on Pinterest awhile back, of a bunch of baby names on a belly. Loved the idea! The belly was way bigger than mine, but I thought it'd be good to do around ultrasound time.

 

 

Boy Names:

-Asher

-Max

-Pickle

 

Girl Names:

-Ellie

-Haddie (I forgot the "e" in the picture- oops! Pregnancy brain.)

-Pink

Obviously Pink and Pickle aren't really in the running, but I thought it'd be cute to add the kids' current choices into the picture. Aiden's been picking out name's since the beginning, I wish I'd written them down!

I'm really excited to see Baby Three, even though we're not finding out.

Day 91

AJ finally has his allergy appointment this morning, yesterday was horrible for him. His eyes were swollen and watering nonstop and his nose was soo stuffed. When I called to make his appointment, the nurse had me start giving him a different OTC medicine. He had it for a few days and it was working well, but I had to take him off of it 5-7 days before his appointment for testing.

The poor guy was suffering big time without his meds. Steven took him since I had Sean, it kind of ended up being a big waste of money (we'll definitely be meeting our deductible this year!) The doctor said its not a good time to test him since its the peak of the allergy season.. um okay. Would've been good to know! You'd think they'd already know that at the office. He did give us a new prescription, but he also said we could just keep using the same med the nurse suggested, but up his dose to twice a day. Like really? I could've been told that over the phone and saved us $150!

They want him to go back in a month for testing, but I think we're going to wait until next year. We just have too many medical bills right now (got my bills for lab work and ultrasound- eek!) and with Steven about to change jobs, I'd rather hold off since he's doing so well with that one medicine.

Waiting to see the doctor with Dad!