Special Delivery!

Baby Joy is here! 

Our little peanut - Joy Leanne <3

Little Joy blessed us with her presence on Monday evening. She was born at home at 9:25 pm, weighing 6 lbs 3 oz, and is 17" long. 

It's a good thing we had planned a home birth, because there is no way we would have even made it to the car to go to the hospital! Her daddy delivered her, she wasn't about to wait for the midwife! In spite of being a tad early and arriving so quickly, she is perfect. We are thrilled she is here!

It's November!

It's November!!! I have been looking forward to this month for so long! Although this pregnancy has been easy, we are eager to hold our little baby in our arms and see her sweet little face.

The carseat I ordered just the other day arrived today! I got even more excited about baby's arrival and did some 'nesting'. :) Lots of putting things away that had wandered from their places, cleaned the top of the refrigerator, put some new decorations in the living room, and painted the office closet.

I cannot believe I've only got 3 weeks to go! It can be overwhelming if I think about that and the things that I would like to accomplish before baby comes, but I know these next few weeks are going to fly by. And in the end, it doesn't matter if every nook and cranny of the house is scrubbed and organized (or not...), or if my freezer and pantry are well stocked (or not...), although those things would be helpful, I know the baby won't hold it against me if it's not done... I just need to keep reminding myself  of that. :)

One Day at a Time

Happy October! I think it's time for an update.... September was busy and full of challenges, but it's over, things seem to be slowing down for the moment, I have caught my breath, and am ready to start a new month!

I am now 32 weeks along in this fourth pregnancy! I cannot believe I only have 8ish weeks left! Nesting has taken over me, and I have been making progress on some things I wanted to get organized and done.

I got the kids summer clothing put away and got out 'new' clothes for Julianna (Emma's hand-me-downs). Emma and Ethan will be needing new fall/winter clothing as they don't have anyone to hand clothes down to them.

I was also able to tackle the disaster area that is my 'sewing room'. It had turned into more of a dumping ground of materials and odds and ends that I just didn't have a place for, or had plans for 'later'. The bureau that I was using for my odds and ends now belongs to Ethan, and the bureau he was using is for the new baby.

I went through a tub full of baby clothes that I was hanging onto, full of things the girls wore. It was fun to go through and see what I would be able to use for this little one. It brought back a lot of memories of when the girls were infants. I can't believe they were ever so small!

Our back entrance, which is part of the garage, had also become a disaster. Hubby has been cleaning out and rearranging his things in the garage, and that usually means that things get moved to inconvenient locations. We had gotten a lot of rain, and a couple of the ceiling tiles had gotten wet and fallen through, making a very large mess. Well, I started moving things to more convenient locations, vacuumed up the mess, did some rearranging, and now the back entrance is functional and neat again! for now anyway......

Our daily routine has also been interrupted by the fact that Ethan has given up his morning naps. :( I always did Emma's school and morning chores while he was down, but we have had to figure out a new routine. We're getting there. After breakfast cleanup, I put in a video for Ethan (he LOVES Signing Time!) and get school going with Emma. Julianna will sometimes join us, or she will watch a video with Ethan. Well, the video only lasts so long... sometimes we get everything done, usually not. Like I said, we're still figuring this all out. But, we did manage to complete a full week of school and finish the lesson this past week! I am really trying to stick with it until the baby comes, so that I can take a break when I will need it.

My last big project that I hope to accomplish this month is the closet in the office. We are putting shelves in it (that my hubby made!) so that I can have some more organizational space for school stuff and whatever else needs a home. I ran out of paint after the first coat, planning to get more in a couple weeks. But hopefully once everything is painted it will all come together quickly.

Phew. That is about it for now! I really hope to get back to blogging a little more frequently. Each day is different, energy levels are unpredictable, so we shall see what the future holds one day at a time... :)

26 weeks - Third Tri!

I have officially begun the third trimester! I cannot believe how fast the time has flown by. Only 14ish weeks to go! I am very much looking forward to meeting this little one! It has been an easy pregnancy, but these past 3 weeks have been more of a challenge. Growing a baby can really tire one out!

The whole family came to my appointment this week. The girls were really excited to hear the heartbeat. Julianna kept asking if we were going to take the baby out. :)

My insides are being smushed all around (sounds pleasant, doesn't it?...) And I have to be careful with what I eat, like in the first tri. Starches don't do me any favors, so I've been eating high protein and naturally gluten free foods. ie: fruits and veggies, and peanut butter....  :)

Oh, and we did settle on a name that we both really like! But we are not planning to share that little tidbit of info just yet - even with the kids. It's fun to have a secret.. :)

Halfway! (a pregnancy update)

First of all, I apologize for my blogging absence lately. Life seems to be demanding more time and attention these days. And the only thing I want to do at the end of an exhausting day is go to bed! But today was a good day, and I've got a litte extra mojo... :)

I am officially halfway (more or less) through this pregnancy! Since things have been so busy, I can't believe I only have 4 1/2 months to go! I had so much I wanted to accomplish, and I know it's not going to get done, but I seriously need to start making some lists of things I want/need to make for this little one.

We had an ultrasound 3 weeks ago. We tried to find out the gender. The u/s tech gave us her guess, but she really couldn't get a good look between the legs. So, we are somewhat planning to expect what she told us, but I am still a little skeptical. It's a baby, that's for sure, and we are thankful to be blessed with another little bundle of joy, no matter what the gender! Also, according to the u/s I am officially due November 24th. If you haven't looked ahead at your calendar, that is Thanksgiving Day... I already have plans to do some cooking ahead and freezing, whether the baby comes before then or not, it will be all done and we will have a very relaxing Thanksgiving day, unless the baby decides to come on that day, then we will have a very exciting Thanksgiving day .... ! :)

Still going through names... I have some I like, but none that I truly love just yet. We have some time anyway.... for now.... :)

Baby #4

Yes, it's true - Baby #4 is on the way! We are so excited for this new little one! Yes, I'm one of those women who actually enjoy being pregnant! I love the preparation and anticipation of labor and birth. Call me crazy... that's alright. :)  I'm about 8ish weeks along, feeling.... pregnant.. :)

This will be my first 'gluten-free' pregnancy. And so far, I'm doing alright. My belly has gone into super-sensitive mode, so even the gluten free grains are difficult for me to digest right now. If I stay away from them and any other carbs and sugars I feel pretty good. Although, that is much easier said than done!

I have been so tired this time around. I haven't felt this tired since my first pregnancy. I'm going to start taking some iron and see if that helps. Usually by the second trimester I need to take extra iron anyway.

Well, I will try not to bore you with pregnancy details... But there is my explanation for lack of posts lately! So, stick with me. I'll do what I can. In a few weeks maybe I'll have some more mojo. :)