Best Buds

M, N, and best twin buds A and G hung out yesterday at the Train Expo in Eagan.  What fun! 

Old Wives' Tales

I research them online in the middle of the night. Tonight's topic is wether thunderstorms or a change in barometric pressure can start labor. The verdict? Yes....and no. Just like every other old wives tale, it works for some and not for others. A dear friend K has told me twice this month that two of her three were born in spring thunderstorms. I've heard this could happen, and tonight, when I woke at 1:00 am with contractions and hearing thunder, I thought, maybe she's right! So I laid there watching the clock, feeling my tummy tighten, and counted up the number of old wives' tales I've tried this week. 1. Long walks. This is debatable only because "long" is rather subjective...my friend M was told she had to walk for 3 hours. I can walk for maybe 30 min, so I'm not sure if they counted. Either way, walking hasn't worked yet. 2. Pineapple. Minus a few pieces for my kids (poor hubs is allergic) I've eaten most of two whole pineapples in about a week. They were delicious, and helpful in other ways, so I don't mind splurging on the del monte gold treasures that I never buy unless they are on sale - because I have to eat the whole thing (mostly) myself. Include a McD's pineapple smoothie and pineapple orange juice for breakfast and you get the picture...it's not working. But I might still buy another one tomorrow, they were so good. 3.Sex. Everyone says it works and why not, it's what got us here? But no, it's not working either. 4.spicy food. I did actually get some Indian food from Chapati's on Sunday night and it was delicious...6 days ago, so clearly that didn't work. 5. Thunderstorms. Not that I can create my own, but now that the storm seems to have passed, two hours later, I'm feeling no contractions. 6. Pedicure. It's almost 8 days old so that didn't do much. It felt great and seems to be holding up well, though, so hopefully my toes will still be pretty when (if) the day ever comes. What's left? Apparently, I need to do squats, which sound worse than walking, but may be worth a try. Also, bouncing on an exercise ball - which would be a much better use than its current state, that of being thrown all over the downstairs by the twins, knocking down every upright item (why I don't bother with much decorating to begin with). Note that both of these are exercises? I'm a much better eater, so I'm hoping for more Chapati's and pineapple this weekend. I draw the line at castor oil, though. My hairdresser K says it's a terrible idea and I trust her completely. Everyone keeps telling me to relax, that the baby will come out, that it means he's going to be a very calm and relaxed child (a girl can dream!), that I won't be pregnant forever. Maybe Elaine is the one telling the truth. Maybe she's a prophetess? Maybe I will go 6 weeks late like she did and he'll come out pedaling a bike!? Maybe I just need to go back to bed. After all, I'm "only" 39 and a half weeks pregnant. Just wait till I'm REALLY overdue, folks!

Interior Decorator

I could use one.  I wish I had some feng shui or were one of those crafty girls who can refinish garage sale finds or at least have an "eye" for what looks good in my house.  But my craftiness is more of the food and yarn kind...which isn't so bad because I'm more of the eating kind.  

My son N, however, just may be well on his way to HGTV stardom.  If I don't "lock" his closet, he decorates his bedroom with hangars during naptime.

He is very very proud of this and gets incredibly upset if I take them down!  I had to make a game of hanging up shirts yesterday in order to get him to take the hangars down so that I could get in and out of the dresser - and put the drawers back on track, too! 

This is not his first interior decorating attempt.  You may recall him magic markering the kitchen cupboards about a year ago, just after we moved in? Re-read it here.

I'm considering allowing him to finish setting up the nursery for baby brother.  I'm pretty sure he could do it!

No Soup For You!

Come back, one year!
"No Soup for You" You Tube Clip

I feel like Elaine in this Seinfeld episode, when the Soup Nazi won't give her the mulligatawny she orders (complete with a laugh track from my MIL's friend, Elaine, the one who carried her baby elephants to 46 and 44 weeks).

My 39 week appointment this morning netted the same result: No Dilation For You!  Come back, one week!  With a little postscript: then we'll schedule a C section for 41 weeks.

Boo.  Hiss.

But I'm taking it well.  Handsome Hubs had a hunch this was coming I think, so while I was gone this morning he swept, mopped and vacuumed, as well as changed N's pee-pee bedding, and was shopping with the boys at Menard's for a snake (auger) to fix my clogged kitchen drain when I got home.  That definitely softens the blow.  He's turning into quite the Mr. Mom.  And I like it!

Here's a funny for you: last night we walked to a nearby playground and chatted with the neighbors who were out doing yard work.  Coming upon a neighbor who was weed whacking and showering her driveway with debris, M piped up and loudly asked, "Why you making such a mess?!"  

No Soup for You!

Wordless Wednesay: Our Easter Photo

Healthy Kids Day

Daddy and the boys had a special morning on Saturday at the local elementary school investigating fire engines, police cars, and buses at the Y's annual "Healthy Kid's Day."  They brought home a haul of freebies like frisbees, water bottles, coloring pages, toothpaste and floss, but their absolute favorite is the toothbrush timer.  It's one of those 2 minute teeny tiny hourglasses you usually find in board games that they're supposed to turn upside town while they brush the entire time the sand is falling.  But they're just trying to "open it!"  Either way, it's keeping them busy.

They know most of their letters and have been repeatedly spelling "MN Orthodontics," the business who sponsored the frisbees, asking me repeatedly what it spells.  Sometimes I say, "Minnesota Orthodontics," sometimes I say, "very expensive braces!" followed by, "Dear God, let them all have my teeth!"

P.S.  I've decided to give up on giving birth.  This baby just isn't going to come.  I'm going to be pregnant forever. 

Well!

Apparently, it is possible to carry a baby longer than 38 weeks, I've learned thanks to all the "encouragement" I've received from you ladies. The winners are.....

1. EK, who carried her children 4 and 6 weeks late 30+ years ago....what kind of crazy doc did you have?!

2. JK, who delivered #4 last year 2+ weeks late...and like me had her set of twins early, wondering what was going on!

3. MW, who carried each of her 3 girls to 41 weeks and who worried her Japanese doctor about having a huuuuuuuge American baby, making her do acupuncture and moxibustion to get her to turn and start labor.

Honorable mention goes to EP, who carried her daughter to 41 weeks just 15 months after having open heart surgery.

So there you have it. I have not carried this baby longer than anyone else in the world.

Baby Update: 38 Weeks

No dilation, nothing happening, all is well, see you next week. 

I'm not as disappointed this week, I was expecting it. But I'm going to spend the next week working on some of those home remedies I found last night in hopes of making progress by next Thursday morning (except for the castor oil, ew).  It's the best excuse I've EVER had to get a pedicure (not to mention they're looking pretty gnarly) tomorrow afternoon.  And A, by "other things" I meant eating an entire fresh pineapple.  What were YOU thinking ;)?

At least I've been feeling better the last few days, like second-trimester-better, so I don't mind waiting one more week if I feel like this.  Plus I think my Michigan-dwelling help will not be too happy if I go early.  But they'd all get over it when I deliver a ten pound turkey.

Just sayin'...I was a 9 pounder, my brother in law was a 10 pounder, and I know for a fact that my uterus can hold 11 pounds of baby.  So when I say I don't want to go much longer,  I reeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyy don't want to go much longer! What's wrong with wanting to having a normal-size baby in the normal way? Really?!  Can't I do anything normally?  (Sigh)

Okay, this is a very unflattering photo of me (taken on a not-feeling-well-night to boot) but the boys are SO CUTE at bedtime, hugging and kissing baby brother goodnight, singing "Twinkle Twinkle" into my bellybutton, where they've decided is the hole where he will come out - and I'm not telling them any differently.

Mommy and her 3 boys

Late night research project

When you can't sleep and want to know how to induce labor, read some of the crazy threads on babycenter.com! I'm sure there are a million sites out there, but I've spent the last half hour reading all about all the things to do to start labor! Now I've got some great ideas and an excuse to order something hot and spicy at Chapati's. I'm thinking of getting some takeout and a pedicure....among other things.

Why I Ate a Dorito Taco

We are getting reacquainted with fast food for a few reasons:

1. Hubs and I prefer restaurants without a drive thru, so even when we traveled we tended to choose places like Jimmy John's or Quizno's.

2. My sister M was right when she warned me that there would be a time we would refuse to take them out to eat. It happened sometime last fall, after our sweet babies turned two and suddenly had opinions, attitudes, and great pitching arms.

3. As much as I love cooking, it is nice to not have to cook every now and then, so we're relaxing the restaurant ban these days. Besides, mY boy's weren't wild about the delicious shepherd's pie I made from scratch with the leftover Easter mashed potatoes last week. I told them someday they'd be dreaming about Mom's home cooking. They don't believe anything I say.

4. However, the only places we can take them with any degree of success (defined as the kids ate most or all of their food and we didn't slink out with our tails between our legs in shame) must have some of the following:
A. A play structure. I love our new town, buy there is not a single indoor play structure anywhere, so they are all the more valuable to me.
B. nuggets, fries, ketchup and ranch. My kids don't know what a kid's meal is. I know, I'm such an awful mom! They are content with sharing a 10 pc and small fry, which is way more food than 2 happy meals but costs the same as 1. M discovered a neighbor's table littered with chocolate milk containers and the toy from the box at our last McD's outing...sigh.
C. soft tacos with ground beef and cheese. Taco Bell is like their heaven, don't ask me why. We tried an authentic Mexican restaurant in town last weekend, one where we knew the kids would be accepted. Our meals were delicious, but the boys were not digging authentic corn tortillas and chopped beef.

Hence, my introduction to the Dorito taco today. I've eaten more Taco Bell the last few months than I have in all the years since college, and I'm still experimenting, trying to find something I like. Because it looks like I'm going to be spending our restaurant money there more and more. Know what I think?

It doesn't matter what you order because it all tastes the same.

It was like eating a taco and a side of Doritos. The burrito which came with the meal was simply a soft taco only musher with beans in it. The hard taco got eaten by the kiddies because they inhaled their soft taco no "salad" so quickly. I guess we will have to start ordering two apiece soon!

Despite the lack of culinary finesse we are experiencing, we are witnessing some success with the outings. The children are eating food AND feeding it to themselves, they are practicing staying seated in public since they are way too big for the high chairs now, and they are being socialized beyond church and school.

And I don't have to fix every single meal.

I just have to figure out what to order for myself.

Save the Date

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Let's Go Fly a Kite

Sometimes I feel so Mary Poppins it's ridiculous. 

Haha, just kidding, you all know I'm not a "spoonful of sugar" type of mom!  But when the Easter Bunny found kites for just 2 bucks apiece, she snatched them up for the baskets and a breezy day.

Which came yesterday after I'd had a nap so was feeling ok, the weather was cooperative and we needed to kill some time in the afternoon.  Hence, my brilliant Mary Poppins moment. 

M was interested in the kites for the first few minutes while we were assembling them.  Watch how his interest wanes as the outing unfolds.  Maybe it's because there was some kind of Mexican fiesta party happening in the park pavilion that we were not invited to.  He didn't quite understand how there could possibly be a party happening and he couldn't go!  N wasn't interested in assembling them, but once we got them up in the air, crashed, and repaired, he was really getting into it.  

Oh, boy!  My new Brobee kite, I can't wait to fly it!

Kite?  Huh? 

Watch this, kids!

La la la....

Whoa!  That's what a kite does?

M: boring.  N: lemme try!

N trying to get it off the ground.  I had to put the camera down to help him.

N has Brobee in the air!

Quite pleased with himself

Kites are fun!

What you don't see is M running toward the porta-johns a half mile away, screaming, I gotta go potty!  Which may or may not have been true.  He is enamored with every porta john we pass by, which are many many more than the normal person would believe.

Mary Poppins I am not.  But I'm pleased with a 50% success rate with N enjoying the outing!

Baby Update: 37 weeks

Today was my 37 week appointment, the one where you're finally really and truly considered full term.  I was keeping my expectations really low, as in expecting Doc to say, "you're fat and not dilated," so that if the news was any better than that, I'd be happy.

He left out the "you're fat" part, so I guess I'm happy.  And all the other stats were good: blood pressure, heart rate, belly tape measure, etc. 

But I won't lie: I was really really hoping that he'd say I was dilated to at least one. 

So that there was a least a reason for waking all night to contractions the last few nights. 

Oh, well.

Maybe next week.  

Happy Hilarious Easter!

From our family to yours!  We take time today to celebrate our Lord's sacrifice for us and reflect on the miracle of our salvation in Him.  Normally, Hubs and I would travel back to MI to spend time with both of our families and attend service with them, but this year I'm under strict no-traveling orders.

Good Friday morning, M got straight to work lining up his cars!

Saturday afternoon, dying yellow and blue eggs with Daddy

N and I dyed green and pink eggs

Cheese!

All finished!

Dyeing eggs was a big hit this year!  It was certainly one of the highlights of our weekend.  They were SO into dipping and checking, dipping and checking...and taking ownership of their colors.  If I'd have known that dying them was the trick to getting them to EATING them (duh!) I'd have dyed them months ago!  Dyeing eggs may be the new norm over here.

This morning, we attended and served at our new church, then hosted another toddler-parent family for an informal Easter lunch since taking our children out to eat - on a VERY expensive day to do so, at that - would have been a disaster.  (Or so I thought!)

I knew that we'd be getting family photos taken at church today, so I made a special effort to curl my hair and get the boys dressed in button down shirts, no small task at my stage in the game, not to mention Hubs was already at worship practice so I was flying solo.  I'll skip the part where dressing and pottying N was akin to dressing and pottying a wildcat, to tell you that M was a very good sport about it!  So everything started off great (snicker, snicker).

Here's where I would (and perhaps will) insert the family photo taken of us at church today.  I do so hope it turned out since the last photo we have of all four of us smiling at a camera was taken when the boys were 16 months old (October '10!).  Not to say we haven't tried....

Then I took the boys home only to discover my precooked ham....wasn't.  Yeah, I had less than an hour to cook my ham for 3 hours.  WHO KNEW that they even sold hams that aren't pre-cooked?  Me, I guess. 

Oh, and did I mention that in the "less than an hour" before Hubs and the company arrived that the boys backed up the toilet, had a potty accident, and I totally clogged the garbage disposal with a massive amount of potato peelings? And that when they walked in I was trying desperately to swiffer the week's yogurt off the dining room floor but that the batteries were dead so I was spraying cleaner in one hand and swiffering with the other? 

But the cavalry DID arrive and us four adults were able to tame the three toddlers and get dinner on the table at 1:00 as planned....HAMBURGERS with salad, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and King's Hawaiian rolls.  It was quite delicious, just not exactly  what I had in mind when I planned it.  They boys ate the rolls and the eggs, which is probably what they would have eaten even if my ham had turned out gloriously.

There was about an hour of peace as the boys napped, we finally got to actually talk  to our guests, watch the Master's and eat a dessert that I didn't screw up (okay, I did yesterday, but it turned out today!).  (Insert ham story)  Oh yeah, speaking of gloriously....I still cooked the ham according to its package directions and estimated a 3.5 hour cooking time based on its weight and the minutes directed for each pound, so that we could still eat ham for our evening meal and have leftovers.  I should have gone upstairs when our friend said, "I smell bacon," as that was yet another red flag that something not quite right is going on with this ham again.  But I waited another half hour until I heard the timer, only to discover...a ham carcass.

I gasped, then laughed, then brought my friend up to see the remains.  Normally I think I can hold my own in the kitchen but not today, not this holiday, not at 36+ weeks pregnant!  We all had a good laugh and the poor ham got unceremoniously trashed later in the evening, while I was waiting for the Liquid Plumr to work on the garbage disposal.

But that's not all, folks......................

We found our friends' son awake in the pack and play in our room, rifling through a dresser drawer he could reach.  At first it appeared he was only trying on my bracelets, but about an  hour after they left, Hubs discovered that the kid ate an ENTIRE tube of Chapstick!  I texted her just 30 minutes before she found out what that does to the diaper on the other end.

FINALLY, the Easter Bunny came for the boys!  Good thing he brought candy, because they didn't give a rip about anything else!  The eggs were scattered about and they had a good time finding them, scarfing the jellybeans, then repeating.  This year we tried to get them to at least put the eggs in their basket, despite the eggs being empty.  They sort of got it.  Here, take a look:

Candy!

Jelly beans!

Look, Easter Bunny brought you sunglasses, too.

I don't care!  More candy!

I found another one!

N puts all his eggs in one basket.

Theyr'e sharing!  Glad Hubs snapped a pic!

Taking a break in the hallway where they found a stash

Cleaning up the last of the eggs

It was a rather unusual, somewhat hilarious and definitely memorable Easter for us!  Hope you all had a good time where you were with good food, good company, and lots of laughs.  We did.

Upstairs, Downstairs

While brushing teeth tonight the boys were being so CUTE that I actually thought, "I should take a picture of that," so I ran (waddled) to get my iphone and snap these quick.  I made them do "upstairs teeth" and "downstairs teeth" again to capture these.  Also, this will satisfy those of you who want to see my baby belly.  I'm HUGE, but not as big as I was when I delivered the twins.  Someone, another twin mom no less!, called me "big mama" last weekend.  I told her I was feeling downright skinny!  (No one calls me "big mama" but ME, got that?) 

Happy birthday to my own skinny mama back home in MI.  Love you!

Many Blessings

I have a sister, two nieces, a brother in law and friends in the DFW area. Tonight I'm thanking God for many blessings, namely that all are safe from today's horrific tornadoes down there. Knowing they were so close, as in funnels were seen forming at the schools at which they work, puts everything into perspective. A couple crazy toddlers and some contractions aren't much to deal with there's a half mile wide tornado touching down in your county! Thank you God for keeping my loved ones safe tonight.

A Whole New World

Today I am 35 weeks and 4 days pregnant with Baby Boy 3, 1 day longer than I was with the twins. And I'm wondering....how in the WORLD does a girl carry on for 4 more weeks?! I felt great last week, hardly pregnant at all, and last night, the same day I got to the boys' "birthday" day, I kind of fell apart. My goal today is laundry laundry laundry, but it's 10 am and I'm on the couch writing you. Having never experienced those last 4 weeks, I'm a bit surprised how I have slow down even more. Wish that laundry fairy and dust bunny fairy and bottle disinfecting fairy would stop by. But she says she's waiting one more month!
Washing machine is calling me now. Must. Get. Up.