Mixed Feelings...

In four days I am scheduled to be at the hospital to meet our new addition. While part of me seriously can not wait to get this kid out of me I have some mixed feelings. let's review...

reasons I am ready;

I want to see my baby!
I want to know if he/she is a he or she.
I want to get the house back in order, there is stuff piled everywhere ready for organization pending the arrival, and what room baby will be in.
I want to be able to go up the stairs without a 20 minute rest afterwards, or be able to put on one shoe and not need to rest a few minutes before I put on the other one.
It will be nice to be able to bend over again.
I want to sleep on my STOMACH
I want to not feel like something might fall out of me.
I want to wear REAL PANTS with a BELT
I want to put on a shirt and it be long enough to cover what is supposed to be covered.
I am so clumsy, it is ridiculous.
I want my energy back.
I want to be able to get up out of a chair without a crane.


Reason I'm NOT ready:

It gonna HURT! and I'm worried!
What if this is the one kid who doesn't want to come out! and I am in labor FOREVER?!?!
I'm really not sure daddy can handle the other 3 while I'm in the hospital for 2 days. Have I mentioned he has forgotten a child on TWO different occasions! (we have introduced the "head count" method, look and count, if you don't see 3 your missing one)
Matt says this is our last baby (we'll see).
the feeling of this little person growing inside me, kicking and wiggling around.
the manager at price chopper who calls the stocker boy to come help me carry my groceries to the car even at midnight.
When your pregnant there is a special look you get, and I will miss that look from people.
I really fear Halsey will freak out!
I worry about the hospital expense it will bring. cause it will.
Jonathan still has another week of school after I get home! yeah...he might miss a couple days.
Matt is taking the week off and that means he doesn't get paid.

Once I look it all over again, really nothing stands out as the biggest thing that is weighing on my mind, I mean, I really am worried about the pain since the drugs don't work on me and this time I decided to not even try, but really that is the one thing that really scares me. The rest just adds to the weight of it all.

I know I have done this a few times already but "what if..." is still in my head and I am having trouble letting go, so I was hoping if I share it with the few friends and Internet world I might feel better and so far. I think it did. Thanks for listening Internet.

Smuggling A Watermelon

I have in fact heard it all.

got a beach ball in there?

I feel like I should get ready to catch something!

Are you sure there is only 1 baby in there?

wow, you must be tired.

you must be busy!

are you done now?

have you heard of birth control?

Oh, your tiny.

and my favorite, from a 5 year old...ARE YOU HIDING A BABY IN THERE?

My favorite is the expression on the face of the person who with the slight head tilt to the left says; ah, is this your first? and I reply Nope, this makes 4! I should really carry Kleenex so they can wipe the drool of their amazed faces. Really, Its my favorite, It makes me giggle...and want to have one more just to really show them.

So this picture is actually from 2 weeks ago but well, as usual I am bored with the blog, blah. Next post will hopefully be of a new sweet baby face.

And I feel like I should warn you some changes on here are pretty likely so maybe I will want to keep up again.

Official countdown to baby #4 is 7 days. what do you think it is? Girl or Boy?

4 weeks to go!

Your welcome!

Here is a belly shot. I have been a slacker on the pictures. poor baby number 4...getting gypt already :( I have been trying to get the camera out more the last few weeks, It is just REALLY not easy to move quickly to get the camera. Sometimes it would require juggling children and well then they want to pose and take videos of silly stuff. Like, mommy take a video of me playin with this action hero.

I am also not sure I will keep the blog going. I dont think anyone actually looks at it soooo...well, except for Grandma King. Hi Grandma!

Our First Camping trip of Spring 2010

Fishing, Bike riding, playgrounds, sunsets, early morning walks on the trail, ghost stories, s'mores, grilling every meal, meeting new friends and enjoying the beautiful spring time weather! We had a great trip this weekend. The weather was perfect, the kids we really good. I was worried about going camping this time and it not being fun, and not being able to rest since I am almost 8 months pregnant! But the sleepless night was well worth the look on my sweet babies face as they enjoyed the sunshine and fun we had this weekend. Although I would be lying if I said i wasn't counting down to bedtime in MY bed :)

my kid is weird.

This is how my daughter spends most of her day. Making messes and taking her shirt off the hard way or just wearing it as a skirt. She also likes to take fake naps on the kitchen table covered with a dish towel. OR stand on the kitchen table and lift her shirt to put her warm belly on the cold glass just to shriek with laughter and a loud "BRRR". It makes us laugh and she is laughing and not running just to fall and hit her head on something hard, so I must not complain, right?! She is so much like me! I love to put my belly on the window too. Oh wait, not that, I mean I guess I do weird stuff too but I was watching her lift her shirt to put her belly on the glass just thinking how completely in love with her and (the other 2.5 kids) I truly am, and it hit me like a blast of winter air. I am doing exactly what I have always known and wanted to be as a child. I think this is why I could never settle on one specific occupation I knew I wanted to be when I grew up. You can't really go to school or major in motherhood until you are living it. Covered in boogers, prepared for the next fever armed with Tylenol, cleaning up the over spray from the missed potty breaks. I just hope and pray I am getting an A+ in this "class". I love my babies to pieces!

Birthday Girl!

Happy Birthday to my Halsey princess! Today she is 2. I really Can't believe it, she is so big (actually she is tiny) but she acts like a big girl most of the time. We are showing some signs of terrible two-ness. Temper tantrums on the floor and such, but for the most part she is just as sweet as candy. I had an idea for her 2 year pictures even though she would not cooperate and this is the best picture of the 40 pictures I took. She wouldn't smile or say cheese, she just laid there crunching on candy.

She loves to read books, talk on her phone, eat and play. Watch Snow white, walk around in everyones shoes, wear boots, talk about boots, look at boots, use boots as a purse...you get the idea. I am thinking about getting her some cowgirl boots this weekend if I can find some that would fit a tiny girl foot that don't cost me an arm &leg.

She is talking in sentences. Loves her Brothers, and run to daddy the second she hears him open the door. It makes me cry sometimes she loves him so much, it is adorable! We really have to be careful what we say she repeats EVERYTHING. Her favorite sentence right now is, "hmmmm, let me see." or "This is for Halsey"and "i wanna watch da movie", "what happened?".

Peek-a-boo!

Halsey's favorite game is peek-a-boo, she and Griffin do this almost everyday and I finally got it on video! Let me tell you it was really cute and worth picking up the 400 puzzle peices they dump out of the cabinet at first but now I am getting tired of all the puzzles on the floor everyday!

Halsey turns 2 this week. I turned 30 on Friday. We are all getting ready for the February and March birthday madness with a big party with the family on Sunday. I am making a couple cakes and am going to try one for Halsey with fondant.

The bunk beds lasted a week! They are back to the ground level again after Griffin decided to roll off the top in a wresting match last Sunday. Nothing was broken thank God, just some bruises and sore hand and ankle. *sigh* I don't know what we are going to do with this kid, seriously!

I had to take Griffin to the ER for an asthma attack on Monday, poor kid couldn't stop coughing and the regular meds for coughing wern't doing ANYTHING! So we went to the ER for some steriods and a heavy duty breathing treatment. I tell ya, If I keep the meds on hand they expire, If I dont keep them on hand we need them and end up in the ER at 3 AM. what to do?!?!

I counted last night 14 weeks left until we meet the new baby! seems far away but I bet it is here before I realize.

Everyone is finally starting to feel better and We are so ready for spring and some time outside at the zoo and farm.

Jonathan is doing AWESOME in school. His parent-teacher conferences were all good reports. He is above average in most everything, and is already reading at the level they expect for the end of 1st grade.

Griffin tested in a 5 to 6 year old range on all of his assesment stuff we did last week. Recognizing differnet shapes, objects, numbers, letters. Writing and other motor and social skills. He can even write his name! I love his "G's" they are so cute.

Buster is on his last chance...he has until the 18th of March until I decide if he can stay here, so far...not looking good for the little buddy.

That is an update on what's going on with us. Birthday pictures coming soon!

Bunk Beds

The boys have been wanting the bunk beds back up so Sunday we went ahead and gave their room a major scrubbing it deserved and put the beds back up. They were just laying in a row all cute watching scooby do, so I snapped a quick picture.

January 2010

Just a little picture for an update. We really don't have anything much going on.

I am getting giant, at 22 weeks preggo this week. we had the ultra sound a couple weeks ago and so far we still have a surprise coming in May! Really proud of myself for that I have to admit. I am a little more than half way done and soon will be counting DOWN to a birthday!

Stats:

This week I measured and weighed everyone,

Jonathan is 48 # and 48 inches

Griffin is 33# and 41 inches

Halsey is 20.4 # (yes the .4 is very important to me) and 29 1/2 inches

baby #4 is about 11 ounces and about 8 inches from the top of the head to rear end.

Jonathan is 1/2 way done with 1st grade and has brought home many 100% spelling tests, recently. One more and we are going to cosmic mini golf next week. He loves Math and is also realy good at ART! some of the pictures he has drawn I asked him if he traced them! I need to get the scanner working and get some art on here.

Griffin is getting to a point where naps are no longer neccesary during the afternoon and we use that time when Halsey is napping to play candy land, operation, hungry hungry hippos or do something just the 2 of us!

Halsey is talking up a storm these days and is the biggest daddy's girl EVER in the history of daddy's girls. Most of her conversations are about birthdays, being 2 (with 2 pionter fingers to show the 2) and to tell everyone she want Boots for her birthday, and of course where her daddy is at all times in the day.

Next month we have a million birthdays. Halsey will be 2, and I will be THIRTY! yikes :)

playing in the snow...inside.

It has been below zero for most of the last 2 weeks and we have had more than a foot of snow since Christmas. The boys have been asking to play in the snow but I thought it was way too cold. Negative any degree is too cold for ME! So I thought maybe if I brought some snow IN they would play longer than 5 minutes and I could skip all the bundling and laundry! They played with the soldiers and animals for about an hour and it only took a few minutes to clean up! Way better than sub zero temps and waiting for coats to dry :)

Santa Day 2009

Santa Day 2009 at Matt's Plumbers Union Hall. We waited over an hour to talk to Santa and get some presents. The pictures posted the opposite way. The one on bottom Griffin is waiting for his turn to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas and Jonathan is going over his list, and in the top picture Griffin is getting impatient because Jonathan was still going over his list with Santa! Halsey didn't have any problem getting up there and Daddy had the camera soooo well the pictures suck! (sorry honey, photography is not an occupational option for you!)

Merry Christmas!

One if these was the Christmas Card picture and the other one would have been super cute but didnt work.

For Christmas we went to Grandma's on Christmas Eve and spent most of the day playing games, opening presents and hanging out playing with papa and grandma and all our new loot.

Christmas day was the 2 place shuffle. 1st stop was Grandma Spragues to celebrate with Sprague's and Smith's. It was great to see everyone and do our annual ornament exchange. I made off with a pretty cool candy cane ornament and a Twilight ornament!

After G. Grandma's we went to matt side of the family and spent the evening eating dinner and watching the kids open gifts at Matt's cousins inlaws house. Then it was home for baths and BED!

Happy Thanksgiving

I just wanted to put a few things down that I am thankful for.

I am thankful for...

...A hard working husband who works so hard for us just so I can stay home to take care of them.

...Jonathan , who is a sweet, healthy, loving, caring boy.

...Griffin, loving, sweet, healthy, caring boy that loves to help and sometimes get into trouble.

...Halsey, who is a petite little bundle of girly goodness, and has her daddy wrapped way around that little finger.

...a healthy growing bundle of baby joy growing inside my body.

...a mother who loves me unconditionally and is my best friend in the whole wide world.

...a father who modeled what a hard working man looks like.

...my faith in God, his unfailing mercy and the grace bestowed upon me daily even though I have not done anything to deserve such unconditional love.

...grandma and grandpa king who are all so awesome to come take care of us at the drop of a hat when i feel under the weather or need a break.

...all that we have, own and almost own. Sometimes I worry too much about what I dont have and need to be thankful for all that I do have.

...Freedom

...friends

... health

I am sure there are many more things to list. Happy Thanksgiving! Have a safe and thankful day.

playing in the leaves

A couple weeks ago the leaves were falling and it was a beautiful day, and the next day was supposed to rain so we found the rake and raked up a pile of leaves and played a good 2 hours in the pile. They buried each other in leaves and would find the lost kid, crashed the kid car in the pile and really had more fun than I can explain, we were out there forever! Now it is snowing and nasty so I am really glad we did that when we did!

Trick Or treat

The last couple years we went to Town Center for their Trick or Treating thing with some of our friends. Then we were off to Chili's for some dinner. After all 20 of us were finished eating we parted ways and we went to Grandma and Papa's to get some more candy and show off our Transformer, Ninja and purple butterfly. Jonathan had a second wind and wanted to T.O.T around grandmas neighborhood too, so Daddy and Papa took a couple laps around. Great time was had by all, and it was a beautiful night. We came home and went to bed after a nice candy coma.

All good and knocked up...

Look who got knocked up again! If you have no clue what this I guess I can explain it for you. The little black circle in the middle is my uterus and the little kidney bean in the black hole is my BABY! ( I cant believe I just made mention of my uterus on the Internet, but there you go world.) I am doing very well just some rough days here and there, but mostly if i stuff my face non-stop i feel pretty good. I am however looking forward to the nesting stage so I can maybe go a day without a nap or crashing at 7 PM. We are expecting this little bean in May and can't wait for the surprise! Yes, I said surprise. We are going to try to not find out the sex of this baby until it comes out, as one final surprise for us all. It will be fun, I think I can wait...I am such a planner I am afraid I might break down just because I need to know where to put it when i bring it home. I keep telling myself it will be fun to get to be surprised on birthday, little bean will will be with us in our room for a little while anyway so really i have plenty of time to rearrange furniture. We were trying to wait until the 2nd trimester to announce but if you catch a glimpse of you would KNOW in about 2 seconds, since I have a volleyball hanging out the front of my shirt.

***halloween pictures coming soon!

Powel Pumpkin Patch and Louisburg Cider Mill

I can't believe it is October! Time for the Cider Mill and Pumpkin Patch with Marcia, Daryl and Lynsey. We went on Friday night after school/work. It worked out great and was actually a pretty good evening to go. First we stopped at the Cider mill for our annual "torture the children for a picture" routine. Then we stop and get donuts and hot cider. After that it was off to the pumpkin patch. We searched and searched for the perfect pumpkin. The kids agreed on one REALLY BIG pumpkin this year instead of one for each of us. BOY did we find a big one! It weighs more than Halsey I know because I cant even pick it up. A quick play in the hay maze and sand and we good to go! Once the sun went down it was pretty chilly so we headed back toward home and stopped at Taco Bueno for Dinner. It was a great time as usual! Thanks for the tradition Marcia & Daryl.

on a side note: I have been forgetting to take the camera or once we get somewhere I am too lazy to get it out and try to get them all to look at me and smile sooooo..that doesn't leave many blog updates if you don't have pictures. PLUS...Since Jonathan is at school I feel bad he is never in the pictures. :(

I will try to do better, I promise.

A lesson in grocery store etiquette

If you see me at the grocery store and you don't know me already and I am making this face...

or this face...

or I have any of these with me...

I am probably in a hurry to get out of the grocery store. So the likely hood of me wanting to stop for chit chat about, well, anything is going to be slim to none. just an FYI! *none of this applies if we have any previous acquaintance*

Happy 7th Birthday

7 years ago today, this wonderful little person made me a mommy. I can't even put into words how much I love this little guy. No seriously, I am trying and all I can do is tear up.

Jonathan is loving 1st grade, growing like a weed, has 2 adult teeth on the bottom, 1 loose tooth on top, He is gentile, smart, loving, kind, loves to play games with daddy,and eat at Red Lobster.

I love you Jonathan and I am so proud of my big boy!

Happy Birthday!

Jonathan's First day of 1st grade!

Yesterday I sent my big boy to 1st grade! He went right in, wasn't nervous or worried. Pretty sure he was excited to go back! I walked him to his class but I didn't go in. This year was a little easier for both of us! It doesn't seem like the summer should be over yet, but I guess it is...

Talk about a week! Jonathan went to 1st grade, Halsey is 18 months old, we just got back from Branson vacation on Sunday. amazingly I am still in one piece and managing to keep it altogether.

When I picked Jonathan up from school I asked him who was in his class that was new and who was missing from last year? he said the mean girl is not in his class this year (YAY!!) and his best school friend Joshua is in his class. I asked him who he sits next to and he told me he sits between the girl with glasses and the girl with red hair, he would ask them their names another day.