My Lists...

Things I will not miss when this pregnancy is over:

1. No one lets me do anything...

2. Running to the bathroom 4-5 times a night.

3. Outgrowing clothes that just fit yesterday.

4. Not being able to bend over to pick up what I dropped in the floorboard of the car.

5. Avoiding Advil (I love Advil!)

6. Having Scott look at Italics with murder in his eyes when Italics' claws get within 20 feet of me. (although to be honest, I'm not sure this will actually go away)

7. Incessant trips to the doctor.

8. Avoiding strawberries... they are so yummy and give me such bad heartburn right now!

9. A constant inability to get comfortable to sleep at any time other than during the day.

Things I will miss when this pregnancy is over:

1. No one lets me do anything...

2. Having people tell me I look great even though I'm huge.

3. Having a good excuse to wear Scott's XL tee-shirts on Wal-mart trips.

4. Having a good excuse NOT to eat sushi.

I'm sure there are a ton of other things I"ll think of as soon as I post this... but it's a start. I guess it's a good thing list 1 outweighs list 2 by quite a bit, since there is actually no way to stop the pregnancy from ending! We are 5 weeks and 5 days away from our due date... so It'll be over soon whether we're ready or not!

:(

My poor Scott has another kidney stone... no fun! You know, people compare the pain to childbirth... and I'll grant you I have not experienced it yet... but at least after I go through that pain we get to bring home a baby. Once he passes that stone it just gets flushed down the potty. At least my pain will be worth something when it's said and done! Sorry baby... hope you feel better soon.

The Countdown Continues...

Yesterday was a very busy day, marking 1 week until Katie's wedding! It was so much fun I almost didn't realize it marked another date... 1 month until kids come back to school! I go back August 18th, but we have a week of workdays first... which are usually a bit easier as I can spend more time sitting down! Scott believes with all of his heart that it will be about the time the kids come back (that's that one month from yesterday marker) that I'll go into labor. This triggers several thoughts for me:

1- Holy cow... I'm having a baby somewhere in the next 4-6 weeks! Where did the time go?

2- I really need to finish my lesson plans!

3- I hope my water does not break at school... gross and embarrassing!

4- How early can they start the epidural?

5- Wonder if anyone will notice if I take a nap at work... it's become a big part of my day?!?!

As the time grows closer I realize I still have a lot to get ready for! My bag for the hospital is not packed... I don't have any baby bottles... I'm sure I don't have a million other things that I'm not even aware I need... the list goes on and on.

I'm going to start making a list for Rebekah so she'll know who to call or text when the day comes and Kaleb gets here. With my brain so full worries such as "will I have time to make a peanut butter sandwich before we leave for the hospital" and other such necessities I'm pretty sure I won't remember to call everyone! My plan is if I can remember to call Rebekah she can take care of letting everyone else know! Let me know if you want your name on the Rebekah list... and I'll see that she lets you know!

By the way... in case you were wondering, Target makes superiorly strong cribs! Scott said that since he paid for it and he put it together, he should be able to try it out and see if it's comfortable. So he helped himself to climb on in! It was hilarious! I ran to get the camera but he got out before I could snap a picture. Crazy boy... and to think there are about to be two of them! The good news is that the crib should hold a child newborn to 260 lbs.

Bathroom Diaries

I've been spending more and more time in public restrooms these days, as I have to pee approximately every 12 minutes. It seems impractical, unfortunately, to come home (or find another clean potty at someone elses home) to use the bathroom that often. So, as I said, I'm becoming well aware of the state of most public bathrooms in the area. For example, the bathroom in the back of Walmart (by the toys) is always cleaner for some reason that the one at the front of the store!

As I've made it further into my pregnancy and grown exponentially larger... I've come to realize something. All bathroom doors at public restrooms swing inward. WHY? You open the door, you walk in, and then... where are you supposed to go while you close the door? You get in your own way! You have to climb behind the toilet to make enough room for you, the toilet paper holder, and the door to swing shut. So impractical. Clearly the person who designed those stalls was either male, tiny, or stupid.

People keep asking me if I'm ready for Kaleb to get here... and I'm not. Not yet, anyways... give me another 7 weeks. What I am ready for (what I've been ready for for a couple of months now) is to go back to a regular potty schedule... one that allows me to make it through a meal without getting up to run to the bathroom!

Potty Girl

7-19

Today is Scott and my 1st Wedding Anniversary! He has officially put up with me as his wife for 52 weeks! For 33 of those weeks we have been joined by Kaleb. In about 7 more our family of 2 will become 3. If you had asked me if a year ago today if I'd be able to say that... I would have laughed at you! Guess God got the last laugh there... but we're banking on the fact that he knows what he's doing.

Scott is working 3rd shift right now so he is gone at night and comes home early in the morning. This morning I woke up at 6:00, about the time he was clocking out of Wyeth and headed home to see me. Normally Kaleb is fairly calm when I first wake up, but today he was turning somersaults or something in my tummy... definitely going crazy!

Scott came in before too long, anniversary card in hand. So I sat up in bed to open and read my card. I was telling Scott that Kaleb must have been excited for daddy to get home because he was so topsy-turvy... and Scott wanted to know what kind of shenanigans he had been up to waking up so early. Knowing Scott and his love for using words such as shenanigans, I just figured it was an open opportunity to do such, and didn't think much about it. Now remember.... my husband is weird (I love him, but he is)... Scott asked for my pillow... who knows... I just handed it to him. At this point he starts pointing to the former location of my pillow and saying "what's that?". I turn and look and there is a (rather crumpled) card which has apparently been under my pillow all night. The card was from "Kaleb".

Happy Anniversary Mommy & Daddy... Love Kaleb (misspelled, poor handwriting, little drawings... cute!)

He may be weird, but he is certainly a sweetie! Good husband for a year today... good daddy already... many more good years to come. I'm a lucky girl!

Success

I found a dress! Now let's just hope I still fit into it in 2 1/2 weeks because "all sales are final!"

Never did find a maternity dress... just bought one that was 3 sizes larger than I'd normally wear and I'm putting momma's sewing fingers to work taking up the parts that are too big!

I'm just curious if I'm the first pregnant person to ever look for a formal dress... because no one seemed have any! Oh well... the search is over as long as Kaleb and I don't grow too terribly much in the next few weeks! (A girl can hope)

Sarah

Dressing for Two

My cousin Katie is getting married in a matter or weeks... August 1st is her big day! I'm so excited for her, I remember how crazy these last few weeks before my wedding were. Last minute details and lots of extra hands helping get everything done! It's a fun time (as long as you don't ask the mother or the rest of the family, who are the ones really doing the hard work while the bride just gets to be excited!). Scott and I have been asked to do the registry at the wedding, which I am very excited about... even a month from my due date it should be fun! I had no worries about this at all from the first time she asked up until just a few days ago. That's when I realized that my usual attire (Stretchy gym pants and one of Scotts old T-Shirts) would probably not be appropriate for such an occasion!

So I set out on a mission to find a dress for the wedding. And I found one fairly quickly which is really cute... but it is also short. For those of you who know me, you know I would be a distraction from the bride if I wore a short dress with no panty-hose! Betsy calls me Elmer's for a reason... I am very white! Under normal circumstances... no worries... put on hose. But just in case you've never tried to put them on over your pregnant tummy... let me just tell you it is not fun and it is certainly not comfy.

So the search continued for a long dress! And I found tons of them! The problem was I was not willing to take out a second mortgage on the house to buy them. Who can afford $250 maternity formal wear? Maybe some folks out there... but not his little school teacher!

At this point momma and I decided to get inventive. We went online and did a google search for "maternity formal wear on .sale" and found tons of options! Looked great! Then we realized that buying dresses online is hard enough without being pregnant, but when your size changes virtually by the moment, it adds an extra kink! The solution? We ordered 2! Figured one of them had to fit, and we'd return the other one. Smart huh?

The first one came in the mail today. It already doesn't fit. Let's hope the other works out! I'm thinking another trip to the online sale sites might be in order for today, just in case! So I'm off to re-pack and return a beautiful dress and continue my mission to find another beautiful dress... this time in size whale.

Regardless of what I find, and I'm sure I'll find something, Katie is going to look beautiful! That's the good thing about weddings... everyone will be looking at the bride, and maybe nobody will notice me!

Elmer's (Sarah)

Kaleb 4D

Scott took me to have 4D ultrasounds done today! Momma went with us too... and what an incredible experience! It is amazing how much you can see while he's still two months away and in my tummy.

This is our little sleepy Kaleb. He was not extremely happy with us because we woke him up to have his picture taken! The ultrasound lady said he was turned with his back to us, so she had to poke and prod at my tummy get get him to turn around. He must have been sleepy because he kept his hands in his face and was rubbing his eyes!

This is Kaleb sucking his thumb. You'll also notice he has hair! Lots of it, according to the technician. She said her guess from the pictures is one of two things: really dark hair or really thick and curly hair! Either way very possible with daddy's curly locks! Speaking of daddy... Kaleb is apparently going to take after him! He's gonna be a long baby she says... growing fast! Her best guess was around 4.5 lbs so far. With 8 more weeks to grow, we are apparently going to have a big baby boy! Let's just hope that means he's nice and healthy!

Kaleb clearly did not want his picture taken! That might be a problem since Daddy loves to take pictures! Sorry Kaleb... you might have to get used to it!

Our chubby little guy. She said his nose looks squished because he's pushing it up against my tummy. Notice how he likes to chew on his bottom lip! He did that almost the whole time we were there!

I wasn't kidding when I told you he was big! Look how squished he is already. I'm pretty sure this is the only time in life you could ever ball up that tiny! She said he's already folded in half and stretching from the top to the bottom of my uterus. Guess from now on he'll be growing out... and so will I!

We also have a 30 minute video of him moving around in there! I'm going to work on posting part of that as well. Until then... Bye Kaleb... see you again in a few weeks!

Sarah

Daddy-To-Be

Yesterday Scott and I went to Ronald and Crystals wedding. Scott spent half the time playing with, feeding, walking... etc... their little girl, Karsyn. So cute! He quickly returned her when she needed changing though! It's a good thing he's good with kids, because someone is gonna have to teach me! Such a cute daddy-to-be!

SG

Impending

Summer seems to be such a busy time of the year... especially this year! Weddings, Showers, Quick Vacations, Babies-to-be... there seems to be something all the time!

This time last year Scott and I, with the help of our families, were putting final touches on wedding plans! That said, we are quickly approaching our very 1st anniversary! Sounds exciting, however I am beginning to wonder if I'll even get to see him that day! :( There is always something going on... I'm teaching Sunday School that morning, Katie has a shower that afternoon, and Scott is working night shift and goes in at 6pm that evening. Plus, Crystal reminded me today that we need to eat the top of our wedding cake sometime that day too! So much to do...

So as last summer was full of wedding stuff for the two of us, this summer is being consumed as the summer of Kaleb. It struck me yesterday that he is just 2 months away! When I shared this tidbit with Scott, he told me he thinks Kaleb will come sooner! He feels like once I go back to work Kaleb's arrival will be come eminent. Something about my kids stressing me out and being on my feet all day... at any rate I thought 2 months was soon... he's thinking less than that!

Along with all of this ruckus there are weddings of family and friends, birthday parties, baby showers, and a nephew on the way! So much going on.

Scott says next summer we need to slow it down... I think we can probably count on having busy summers (as well as fall, spring, and winters) from now on though! We'll have a little one to entertain!

Tuesday Scott is taking me to have 4D ultra-sounds which will hopefully result in some fantastic Kaleb shots. I'll be back then to share about the experience... and hopefully to share the pictures as well! Until then...

Sarah