Another Classic Prayer

One thing that I absolutely love about the ages of my kids right now is listening to them pray. Makayla and Ellie are both old enough that they can pray by themselves, with an occasional prompt from me. I love finding out what's going on inside their little heads and learning what's important to them. Listening to their prayers is a perfect opportunity to do just that.

On a lot of nights, I am thoroughly entertained by what comes out of their mouths. It was Ellie's turn to pray tonight, and she didn't disappoint.

"Please help my teeth not to fall out or turn black. And please help my teeth, and my sister Makayla's teeth, and my sister Kimberly's teeth, and my mommy and daddy's teeth not to have cavities. And that we can all remember to brush our teeth. And please help the baby in my mommy's tummy that she can grow some teeth when she gets out."

"Please help me to dream about unicorns and goats."

". . . and don't let my doll or Makayla's special toys fall off our beds tonight when we are sleeping. . ."

Pregnancy Woes--Probably a Little TMI

I had such high hopes for this pregnancy. I started out feeling so good. Tired, of course, but good. My morning sickness was nowhere near as bad as it was with my previous 3 children, and it ended a good 3 weeks sooner than it did with previous pregnancies.

Early contractions have been a problem in the past. And the bad thing is that they start 4 weeks earlier with each baby (Makayla-32 wks, Ellie-28 wks, Kimberly 24 wks). When we decided to move, I knew I would have to be extra careful. And I was (unless you ask my mom who thinks I did WAY too much), but the contractions came anyway. At 18 weeks. After seeing my doctor and being told not to lift more than 20 pounds, with the exception of Kimberly who weighs 23 pounds, I was a lot better. I have been better. And honestly, after we got moved in I was feeling so much better.

But then a few days ago, all that changed. I started getting some pretty bad cramps. Not so much contractions as "if I was on my period I would be downing a Pepsi and some Midol while snuggling up with a heating pad" kind of cramps. And they come from doing the simplest things--walking up the stairs, being on my feet for 30 minutes, squatting down to put shoes on somebody. Little things that you wouldn't think anything of. And if little things cause this kind of cramping, imagine what it does for me to lift Kimberly into her car seat, go grocery shopping (even with a friend who is pushing the cart and unloading the food at my house), insert any number of things here.

And then there are the headaches. Does anyone else get headaches when pregnant? I've heard it happens but never experienced it. My headaches get so bad that I literally cannot see. I open my eyes and all I see are black spots. I am completely useless to do anything but lay in the dark with a cold rag on my face. Medication does not help. I am simply at the mercy of the pain until it goes away on its own. Sometimes hours later. And one time, 2 days later.

I do not want to have a preemie baby. I want her to be full term and plump and healthy. But at the same time, I am soooo ready not to be pregnant anymore. Because I know it only gets harder from here.

Ugh! I am so bad at being pregnant!

Mine

Kimberly has learned to say "Mine." It wouldn't be so bad if she simply said the word. But no. It's more like a shriek. "Miiiiiiiinnnne!!"

Or sometimes she says it over and over. Not unlike the seagulls on Finding Nemo.

And let it be known that everything belongs to her. I know because she's been yelling it at me all. morning. long.

Heaven help us!

Passing Notes in Church

I found a note this morning while I was picking up the living room. It was mixed in with some other papers from church.

Stoopid yur mad me in chrabl {angry face}

I translate it to say

Stupid you made me in trouble

At first I was a little upset that Makayla was calling Ellie "stupid." But then I just had to laugh at her phonetic spelling of the words. And I especially love the angry face she drew. It has vampire teeth. Even though I don't condone the name-calling, I'm tempted to keep the note.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Update: I talked to Makayla about the note, and she denied having written it to anyone. But the guilty look on her face proved otherwise. When I asked her if it was nice to call someone "stoopid" she shook her head no. Then she snatched the note out of my hand and tore it into little pieces. I'm a little bummed that I don't have it to show her when she is 20. At least it's on the blog.

Ch-Ch-Changes

Whew! We have had a crazy, crazy summer.

June is a blur. I found out I am expecting baby #4 and pretty much slept most of that month away. We probably did stuff, but I have no pictures to document it. For all I know, June never happened.

We spent the first 2 weeks of July visiting Kasey's family and some of our old college friends. We had so much fun! And even though I was eager to get home and back to a normal routine, I still felt like we left too soon. We were home for less than a week before we headed south to stay with Kasey's brother for 4 days. We went swimming every day, and the girls had a blast!

August brought us more traveling--a family reunion with my side of the family, and several day-trips to the city. I think we went somewhere every single week off that Kasey had this summer. Although we had so much fun, I am glad to finally stay home for a change.

Well, that is until we found an awesome new apartment that we couldn't pass up. We knew we would have to find a bigger place when the baby came. Because 6 people in a 2 bedroom apartment? So not happening! While looking at the classifieds one day, I found a 3 bedroom townhouse for rent. I called the lady and was meeting her 15 minutes later. I fell in love with the space (twice the square footage of where we were living) and the dishwasher! and washer/dryer hookups! (my washer and dryer had been in storage until 3 months ago when my sister asked to borrow them) and the his/her closets in the master bedroom! and the HUGE kitchen/pantry! Basically, the only thing better than this townhouse would be owning my own house, which in all honesty will not be happening for a while. And an extra bonus--this place was about $400/month cheaper than most of the other 3 bedroom places I'd been seeing in the paper.

So over the past 2 weeks we have slowly been moving our stuff over and unpacking. It already feels like home.

As a result of our move, Makayla had to start at a new school. The first 2 days she was really nervous. But now every day after school she excitedly proclaims, "This is the Best. School. Ever!" I'm happy about her enthusiasm and can't wait to see what first grade will bring for her.

In the middle of our move, I got to take a little break and get my 20-week ultrasound. We found out that Kasey will be a little more outnumbered than before. That's right! We are having another girl!

So that's what we've been up to all summer. Hopefully with school in session and getting settled in our new place I'll be a little better at blogging. But if not, I'm so blaming it on the pregnancy.

Not Quite an Update

It's been a long time. I know. My family reminds me of it frequently.

I have to admit that it's hard to get back into blogging after such a long break, but I'm determined to do it.

Tomorrow.