Happy Thanksgiving

The plight of the Native American continues....

Collins Rose

It's hard to believe it's been a week since Collins Rose graced our lives.
It's hard to imagine what our lives were like without her...
She brings our hearts such unspeakable joy.
To say she she was worth the wait would be a gross understatement.
Thank you , God, for the most perfect gift.

Let's do this thing...

 

And now, this prego is off to bed...I have a very important 4:45am wake up call.

Random Thoughts and Actions from this past week

I was chatting with my good friend Rachel this past week and she asked me what my last thoughts were before becoming a mother of two...
I gladly obliged and let her know most of what is swirling around this mind of mine and she listened so well, bless her heart...
So what have I been up to this last week of pregnancy before officially embarking on a new chapter in my life?

1. I have lingered over a long casual breakfast with Jason complete with 2 cups of coffee and 1 big Belgium waffle with lots of powdered sugar and gobs of maple syrup. AND DID NOT FEEL ONE ONCE OF GUILT.

2. I have completed 75 percent of my Christmas shopping.

3. I have vacuumed a basement carpet that has not been vacuumed for a year and let's face it folks, this next year ain't lookin too bright either.

4. I have celebrated a birthday in a low key kind of way-complete with Costco pizza, a Curious George birthday hat and a cookie cake from Marsh.
Pants are just optional when you open birthday gifts at our house(see picture below).

5. I have visited  St. Vincents Emergency Room with Hollis after a mis-diagnosis from a Peds nurse.
After her visit, she got in the car and promptly asked for a hotdog from Costco. I pretended I didn't hear that request.

6. I have cleaned up the proverbial red Kool-Aid  vomit on the couch cushions. Don't believe what they tell you. It is Soooooo overrated.

7. I have slept as close to 7:30 as possible without the guilt.

8. I have run my hands over my belly over and over this week-relishing the thought that this is probably my last time to help assist God in the miracle of life.

9. I have been humbly overwhelmed by phone calls and emails this week wishing me luck, sending me love  and covering me in prayers.

10. I have loved ducking out of chores that were "unsafe" like raking the leaves from our one tree we have in the yard or bending down to let Wrigley out for the 789th time in a day. I'm so gonna miss playing the pregnancy card.

11. I have been to Costco 3 times this week- some have nesting instincts- I have food hoarding ones.

12. I have felt my heart drop to the floor when Hollis asked me today if we could go out to lunch and I said no and she burst into tears and sobbed, "But Mama, it's our last lunch out together before the baby comes."
Gulp. We went straight to Eagle Creek for grilled cheese. Her Choice.

13. Celebrated Jason's birthday in a lower-key kind of way(if that was possible). No card and no candles on the cake- but take heart- he did score a really cool alarm clock from Hollis. Sorry babe, you didn't really want that IPAD, did you?

14. I have stuck my tongue out at those heinous compression apparatus I've been sporting the last 2 months and walked by that bottle of Merlot with a wink and a smile.

15.Still get quite perplexed when Jason is referring to our family and uses the phrase "our kids" in it somewhere.  Are we really going to be parents of two??

16. I have prayed ceaselessly for a healthy baby, a healthy delivery and a smooth transition for our little family. I need to remember that the will of God will never take me where the grace of God will not protect me.

And there you have it.
Some of  the thoughts of a pregant woman before the big day..I never said they were gonna be deep. :)

Almost There

I know some of you have been under the misconception for awhile that I have no "tummy".
The proof is in the pictures my friends.
That's all I'm sayin...

LARGE and in charge.
Ok, maybe not in charge...but I certainly have the "large" part nailed.

And of course, every famous photographer has to have a "self portrait".

I cannot believe I am actually posting this on my blog.
I will NOT win any beauty pageants with this picture, but it was so dang cute of Hollis...well, I had to post.
I just hope some "Mommy Makeover" show doesn't call me after seeing this picture.

Sat night Jason and I escaped for our "birthday /we're going to be on house arrest for a loooong time after Nov 15 so we'd better get the heck out of the house" now dinner.
After dinner we decided to make one last hoorah to Sullivans and delight in a little decaf  coffee(for the pregant lady), a little late night jazz and lots of chocolate souffle.
If you have never had their chocolate souffle, well, I just feel downright pity for you...but that's another story.
As we were leaving/waddling, I heard a woman speaking several decimals louder than she should say," And speaking of dropping, my God,you look like you could drop right now."
Hmmm.
She could be talking about someone getting ready to drop dead of a heart attack.
She could be talking about someone bringing a a loaded gun into the restaurant and "dropping" somebody.
Or, she could be talking about me and my fat tummy.
I'll give you one guess who she was talking to.
And that's ok..because at this point I don't think anyone in their right mind could disagree with her.
The truth shall set you free...and give me a good chuckle in the meantime.

Preparing

They say a picture is worth a thousand words....

 In 10 short days or less, life as we know it is about to change.
Our days will be long, and our nights will be longer.
Diapers and breast milk will once again be a part of our everyday routine.
Our home will once again be filled to the rim with excitement and chaos and sleep deprivation.
Our hearts will be bursting at the seams as it grows to make room for one more little soul.
Yep.
We've waited for this day for 3 years now.
And it's finally here. 
Really here!! 
I'll officially be a Mom of two. A family of 4.
I love the sound of that.
Thank you ,God, for giving me another chance to be a Mama.
I'm more than ready.
And you know what?
When I finally get my arms around this new baby, I may never let them go.

Boo to You...

From our family to yours....

May you Halloween be filled with more treats than tricks...
and thanks Mom and Dad for the 1950's costume...she totally rocked it!