And we wait and wait..........

As we waited for baby our days were filled with........

 Badminton

 Talking up the responsibilities and fun of being a big sister

 Playing on the play set

 Play-doh time

Lots of sand box play and just plain relaxing on the back deck.

WE MISS THE OLYMPICS!!!!

 So as always the Olympics were a huge hit in the O house.  The TV was pretty much on for two weeks straight.  Something that only happens when the Olympics are on.  We let the kids have many late nights up watching their favorite events.

 There is no better way to spend a morning than playing with Lego's while watching.

The kids are already figuring out how long they have to wait for the Winter Olympics 2014.  The winter games are never as much anticipated as the summer but it's nice to have something to break up that long four years of waiting for the summer games to return.

Why I'm {Sort Of} Happy I Still Haven't Had This Baby

So......I'm still pregnant.  I'm not sure which is more hilarious, the fact that I tend to scare myself when I walk in front of a mirror or the look on my doctor's face when she has walked into the room for my appointment the past few weeks and acts completely surprised I have NOT had this baby yet.  She offered to break my water this week....but I declined.  I'm pretty sure I have gone completely insane!  It just didn't feel right and technically I'm not overdue for a few more days and so I decided to wait until after my due date to schedule anything.  Because I have gone so early with the last two it seems like I'm a month overdue right now!!!!  But I sit and I wait.  My doctor has had a few stints of time where she was out of town which was a tad worrisome.  I basically relaxed in bed or sat outside with my feet up and did absolutely nothing.  While I am feeling like I may be pregnant forever I have also seen the blessings that have come from this time of waiting.

1. We have never had this time of being so completely prepared and just sitting and waiting.  Because this is number five we feel so relaxed about the whole process of labor, delivery, and having a new baby that this last month has been pretty enjoyable.
2. I have spent some great cuddle moments with Lovebird this past week when she couldn't sleep.  Her not being the baby anymore doesn't seem as bad as it did a few weeks ago.  She seems to have made that switch from baby to toddler even more in these last weeks.
3. Our house is in a good schedule of keeping picked up.  I'm not saying the house is spotless at all times but we can easily have the house "guest" ready in 30 minutes.  Laundry is on a good schedule and I'm keeping up with very little effort.  Clothes are being put away within hours of coming out of the dryer.
4. There is no question if the baby's lungs are developed enough and we know that NICU won't have to be there at delivery as a precaution.  Even though we have never had a problem this is a good feeling.
5. While I do feel like we have not spent as much time at the beach or the neighborhood pool this summer we have made other special memories.  Mini Golf, badminton, the slip and slide, and just playing in our backyard have filled our days.  It's nice to just sit outside and relax.
6. It's kind of fun to feel like first time parents!!!  The not knowing and going against our usual pattern of having a baby is keeping things interesting!
7. I've had plenty of time to prepare for the upcoming school year.  I have decided we are taking an extra week off than we had initially scheduled but because we have been doing part time school for most of the summer we are still sitting great and we should mark off that 180th day well before Memorial Day.
8. Our kids have learned about patience and putting others needs first.  They understand that I'm not up to doing certain things right now.  The older two have also started taking on extra responsibilities around the house.  
9. I have not really wanted to leave the house or really talk to people.  Not really like me but I'm so thankful for texting, email, and social media to keep in contact from a distance.  In this time I really have just wanted to spend time with my family and I'm seeing the benefits of just staying at home.  It kind of makes me want to get rid of all our phones and move to some remote place where we can just have good family fun with no distractions!
10.  I have never been so ready to have a baby!!!!!  Because the last two came 4 weeks early I always felt really sad that things went by so fast and this time that has most definitely NOT been the case.  I did feel a little depressed because I felt like the whole summer has been waiting for baby but I quickly focused on all the fun things we can do this fall to make up for some of the things we didn't get to do this past summer because of pregnancy.  When this baby comes I know I won't have the feeling, "That pregnancy went so fast.".......because it didn't!  {smile} 
    
    
    Added Bonus!  I am going to have such a head start on working out those stomach muscles considering I've been having bouts of strong contractions for almost four weeks!!!! 

Waiting for Baby and Keeping Up on the House While Doing So

If you would have told me last Monday that I would still be pregnant one week later I would have told you that you were nuts.  Last Monday I went into my Dr. for my regular appointment but having contractions and it felt like it was going to be "the day".  She sent me over to the mall to do a few hours of walking and to see where things would go.  We walked, we shopped, and I grew more and more uncomfortable. We ended up going to a nearby cemetery to walk where there was shade and we could be alone without a bunch of people around.   I went back to be checked and still the same 4cm.  My Dr. could tell that I was contracting though and she believed I was in labor so I was sent to the hospital to be watched.  After more walking and harder contractions.......still at 4cm.  Now I normally have a baby within a few hours so this whole process was not normal for me and I was getting a tad frustrated.  For about an hour I was having painful contraction every two minutes and then..........everything halted.  I was still contracting but not nearly like I was......and I was still only 4cm.  I was sent home.  That night I finally got to sleep in between contractions and woke up the next morning feeling better than I had in weeks.  My Dr. is now out of town for a few days and so I'm really trying to make it until she gets back.  So we wait.

This time of waiting has actually been very relaxing and I think a huge part of that is because everything is done and the house is being kept up with very minimal amount of work.   Now we aren't doing our normal weekly cleaning schedule and just focusing on maintaining.  So after the baby comes I will probably have to spend a day dusting, doing windows, etc. but then I will be able to!!!

I have food in a bin on the counter and in the freezer so when "the day" does finally arrive I know my sister will have meals to feed the kids.  There are also lists and instructions waiting on top.  Can you tell that I didn't want to walk up the stairs to get fancier tape than the duct tape that was in the drawer closest to me?

The Aerobed and sheets are set out for my sister and her husband as they will stay overnight so Prince Charming can stay with me.

Now my kids are also a huge reason why things are going so smooth and why I'm making it through these 5 days of my Dr. being gone and trying not to have a baby.  I have given the older two each four areas to keep picked up.  This leaves me with the kitchen, our bedroom, meals, and keeping up on laundry.  B.W. is my muscles and he has been carrying all the laundry up and down the stairs.  We try to vacuum and swifter all the floors every 4-5 days or as needed.  Curly Bear has been doing a great job at keeping the kids bathroom counter and toilet clean.  Our pick up time only lasts for an hour and then we are done.  I have also been containing the kids to certain parts of the house which also keeps down on the mess.  Thankfully the Olympics has come at the perfect time for this season of not being able to do a lot!   I also try to take the kids outside if it's not too hot and I sit with my feet up and watch them play.  Again the big kids have been doing a great job at chasing after Lovebird for me while we are out.

This is my life saver in the kitchen.  When I was pregnant with Cuddlebug over the holidays and had all the holiday baking to do I found this counter height stool was a HUGE help to keep my standing at a minimum.  Now I still do a lot of standing in the kitchen but this really helps.  Especially when I'm halfway through cooking a meal and just want or need to sit down.

While I'm feeling like I may be pregnant forever it has been nice to be able to relax a little bit this last week and enjoy the end of pregnancy.  It's nice to enjoy the fruit of my labor from the last few months of organizing and setting some new schedules in place.  I feel like not only are we setting good for the upcoming arrival but also for the upcoming new school year and that feels fantastic!!!!

Blueberry Ranch

Prince Charming took over taking the kids to the Blueberry Ranch since I was not feeling up to it.

They came home with 20 lbs. of fresh blueberries and 10 lbs. of frozen.  Thankfully everyone loves blueberries!!!!

At the Stable

Curly Bear at an early morning riding lesson.

Swim Lessons 2012

The older kids look forward to swim lessons all winter.  They love Ms. Grace!  They also love looking for the pet tortoise that roams around their yard!  Cuddlebug took lessons this summer too and at first was not excited about it but by the end couldn't wait to go.

No, their teacher is not yelling at them.  She is cheering for them.  Listening to swim lessons always makes me smile.  I love how encouraging she is. 

B.W. has a pretty mean freestyle.  Curly Bear's favorite stroke is the breaststroke.  Both kids don't care for the backstroke because they both are worried about hitting their heads on the wall.  Ms. Grace taught them how to count their strokes but they still would always be looking back.

Lovebird joined the lessons the second week.  She fell in love with Ms. Grace's daughter, Laura.

Cuddlebug made such an improvement over the two weeks.  The first day she was terrified.  By the end she was diving to the bottom to get toys with a little help from Ms. Grace.

More importantly she became much more comfortable in the water which means it's much easier to take all the kids to the pool by myself!  The kids might take a few more weeks later in the summer or early fall.

Curly Bear is 8!!!!!!

Curly Bear's birthday turned into five days of celebration.  She started the weekend off by having a friend stay the night.  It turned into an impromptu spa night and avocado masks were sported.  Now these two L.O.V.E. their avocado so there was some eating of the facial masks going on.  Which was fine since it was just an avocado mashed.  There was pizza for dinner, movies watched, swimming, and McDonalds for lunch the next day.  

Later that evening we grilled out and then had Curly Bear's Duffy Bear cake.  This was a cake that went together in a flash with no problems.  Which was good considering I was making and decorating it a few hours before we ate it!

Curly Bear's big present was a trip to the American Girl store.  The Girl of the Year is McKenna who is a gymnast so Curly Bear was pretty excited about seeing her. 

Cuddlebug also joined us.  She loved that she got to come on a big kid trip.

We had brunch at the cafe with the girls dolls.

Lanie thoroughly enjoyed herself.

So did Curly Bear!

After brunch we made our purchases.  Curly Bear decided to use her birthday money and some she had been saving and buy the McKenna doll.  Daddy and Mommy added in the fun bar and beam set.  It was a very fun trip.  We then headed to IKEA to pick up some dressers and then it was back home.  The next day we went to Uncle B's skating party.  It seems to be a new tradition that for your 30th birthday you rent the skate rink to feel young again.  Because Curly Bear and him share a birthday she got to take a ride in the big skate and have Uncle B push her around.  They almost ran over a few people with there crazy speed but much fun was had.

Bear Hugs

 The girls have been wanting to go to Build A Bear for a really long time.  I figured with the boys gone this would be a great super special treat.  We had planned on going tomorrow but my phone was having issues and I had to go in to the Apple store for a support appointment so we moved bear making since we would be at the mall already.  They each got to pick a bear and an outfit.  I love how Lovebird was just as excited to do this for the mere fact that she knew her older sisters were excited about it so it must be cool.

We then came back home and watched Mary Poppins.  Everyone dozed on and off during the movie and got some much needed naps.  It was Mickey waffles for dinner which I made way too many of.  I keep forgetting that Prince Charming and B.W. are not eating and keep making way too much food.  But it looks like with all the leftovers I can put grocery shopping off for a few extra days!

Girls Only: Saturday

The boys are in California on an "All Guys" trip.  The girls are trying to keep busy at home.  We have a list of things to get done around the house and a list of fun things to do while they are gone.  Yesterday we did better on our fun list than we did on the To Do list.  It was extremely hot and we worked outside until about 10am and then came in.  Lovebird loved playing in the dirt while we tried to figure out what to plant where.  We did get the back deck planters done and now we just have the front planters and the container vegetable garden left.  Hopefully it cools down in the next few days so we can finish.

After everyone was bathed and showered. We relaxed around the house for a little bit while Lovebird took a nap and then we headed out.  First stop was Panera Bread for a late lunch.  I'm not sure if the weather really was soup kind of weather but the two older girls LOVE broccoli cheddar so there was no question what they would be eating.  Then we headed to Hobby Lobby, Target, and Home Depot.

When we were finally back home we broke out the fun activities and crafts we found at Hobby Lobby.  Balloons are always a hit!

This is Cuddlebug's concentration face.  They were trying to see how many balloons they could keep up in the air at one time.

Then it was time for some crafting fun.

Lovebird joined us and well.....she mostly just threw all the pieces all over the table but she still had a good time.  With a little help she finished her craft.

Curly Bear and Cuddlebug then made another craft while I tried to keep Lovebird happy and occupied.  She is really missing B.W. when it comes to play time.  I have caught her in his room numerous times looking for him.  She also has been singing a "Dada" song every time we go anywhere in the car.  I think she is hoping we are going to pick up the boys.  We ended the night with painting toenails and then had a light dinner.  We have many more fun activities planned and hopefully the next few days will be productive and most of all fun!

At the Car Wash

 Car washing has been a favorite activity so far this summer.  I pulled in and found a car wash party going on.  I barely was out of the van before they started on it.

"Surely Daddy didn't mean to wash all my cute little finger prints off the car.  I'll go make sure they get back on before he even pulls it back in the garage."

Weird?!?!

I have absolutely no idea why homeschoolers get the reputation of being "weird".  What?  You don't read hanging upside down?

Stubborn

Lovebird is definitely winning the award for "Most Stubborn" child.  She lives up to her names meaning of Princess.  She is now 18 months old and at her well baby check up was refusing to walk.  Now we knew she could do it.  We had seen her do it.  If she felt like it or something was being offered that she really wanted.  She also wasn't using as many words as she should have been.  Why use words when shrieking at the top of your lungs and pointing always gets an immediate response from an older sibling?  He asked me if I wanted to have a First Steps consultation.  Thankfully he's the father of 5 and really was relaxed about the whole thing and trusts my judgement.  I told him if she wasn't walking or talking more by 20 months then I would consider it.  I told him I think she is just stubborn and really just chooses not to walk and talk.  To which Lovebird immediately looked straight at him, smiled big, and shook her head yes!  He looked at me and said, "I would definitely agree.  I think she is fine."  Oh and she started to choose to walk and talk a few days after that appointment.  She obviously didn't want people to think she was not living up to what those medical books say she should be accomplishing.

This is her stubborn look caught on camera.

 

I FEEL HUGE!!!!!

I'm blaming it on the summer heat.  But I'm not sure if that is completely the culprit.  This pregnancy I feel H.U.G.E!!!!  I think part of the problem is I go to my closet and see all of my cute summer clothes........and know that unless I want to be one of those women who lets the world see their huge belly those clothes will more than likely stay on those hangers for the ENTIRE summer.  Just for the record, I do not think it is ever attractive to have your big pregnant belly sticking out.  I think another problem is I did a ton of ab work before I became pregnant and am now feeling the pain from it.  I guess I should say feeling all my hard work rip apart with every movement, kick, and flip.  But I can't wait until I can start working out like normal again and I can hope that we will be heading to either Florida or California this winter so I can take those favorite summer clothes off the hangers before next summer arrives.  And that concludes this pregnancy rant.  Sometimes it's good to let those frustrations out.  At least I know that it is always worth it in the end. {smile}