Really enjoying this time

This pregnancy is in the home stretch.
Somehow, I managed to lose a couple months. I'm quite sure it was the holidays, but it was dragging, and now I can't believe how near the end is!
Being pregnant with a girl is definitely different than with a boy. I feel like she is really out there. Bending down is much more difficult than it was with the boys. I feel like they really nestled down inside me more.
Her movements are also totally different. I have always heard people talk about being able to feel a knee, or an arm, or any other body part. With the boys, I never felt that. I just felt general whollops. Little miss though, she's a different story. I can feel specific legs and arms and her little bottom. And it is so great! I love to watch my belly because she is always moving, and poking out in different areas.
Compared to when I was pg with Collin and Zachy, I am feeling great. I have some general aches and pains, but nothing nearly as terrible as what I went through with them.
My biggest complaint is complete and utter exhaustion. I have zero energy. I can't seem to get enough sleep, and I can't seem to get anything productive done. My house is falling apart, and it is killing me. And yet, I start to clean up, and I just can't. I am so tired. I don't remember feeling this exhausted with the others. Maybe I'm just old! I told Matt today, that at this rate, I just might opt for that epidural because I can't imagine having the energy to get through labor! I'm sure that adrenaline will kick in, but right now it just seems impossible to get through labor.
All in all though, this is a really enjoyable time for me. If only I could get some energy! Maybe I just need to eat a liver.

In other news, Matthew is doing much better. He had a follow up appt today with the pediatrician who said he was on the mend. Hooray!
All of the kids seem to be sick though. I can't tell if it is sick, or allergies. I am also totally stuffy. Matt was having major sinus pressure a few days ago, so who really knows what is going on.

On Sunday, my wonderful friends at church are throwing me a shower. I feel so loved. I have better friends here than I have had in a long time (and you know that doesn't include you Michelle!!). They have become my family here, and I am so grateful to them. Yeah, Theresa..I'm talkin about you!! I love ya!
OK, I'm off to bed, I'm so tired.

Just a quickie

I had my 32 week appt yesterday, and everything went well. I'm measuring big. Big surprise. My blood pressure was lower than it's ever been.
Which is amazing considering Matthew was feeling totally under the weather, and stressing me out. We were able to get him to the dr, and then to the ER to find out he has an infection. Poor thing. He is pretty miserable right now. But hopefully the antibiotics will clear things up. He follows up with a dr next week sometime.
Dillon and Matt have been hit hard with allergies the last couple days, so they are pretty miserable as well.
Thankfully, the other 3 of us are doing great. I am always extremely tired, including now, so I'm off to bed.

A simple little project...

So in Science we are studying about the ocean. And have studied sandy beaches and rocky shores. The boys were supposed to take some sand paper and create a sandy beach. I left this project for Matt to help them with, because he is definitely the more creative one. I told him that they needed to create a beach, with animals that would be there, shells, and a strandline. I then went to the store.
This is what I came home to!! Simple..HA!!

~~~ Edited to add..you really can't tell, but Matthew's has a swimming area, sun bathers, a bird, a sting ray, a shark, a turtle, sea grass, jelly fish, a crab, and even a bottle of sunscreen. The boy's got some talent.












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And because Robin asked so nicely, here is a 32 week belly shot. It is really a bad bad picture. But alas...complete with stretch marks..my belly.

Update on the ice storm

So none of these pictures do it justice. The pictures in the last post were from the first day, and the second was much worse. Basically, any exposed object was covered in a layer of ice.
Matt finally went back to work yesterday, after being off all week. South Texas is not equipped to handle ice, so therefore just shuts down. It was interesting. And very nice, I must say. We enjoyed having Matt home.
But now, all the ice is gone. And it is supposed to be 65 on Sunday. Go figure.
Anyway, more pictures for your viewing pleasure.


This tree usually stands upright, it just couldn't handle the weight of the ice..it is back to being upright now though.

We have ICICLES!!

I never thought I'd be able to say that here, but alas, we are under a sheet of ice.
The entire city has closed down. The freeways are closed. Matt was supposed to report to work at 10:30 this morning, but didn't know it and went at regular time. Around noon he came home. The base closed down. I didn't know that bases closed down! Lackland was the last in the city to close though.
The freezing rain is supposed to carry on until tomorrow afternoon..maybe he won't have to go in.

Does anyone need a gorilla??

It has been raining here, and Zachy keeps telling us we need a gorilla. We say, "you mean an umbrella?" and he says, "yes, a gorilla" It is pretty funny.
So, I promised an update after my ultrasound, and I neglected to do it. It was totally uneventful. Baby looks great. Approximate weight is 3 lbs 11 oz. So sweet. She did yawn during the scan which made me want her RIGHT NOW. I can't wait to see those little yawns.
The weather has turned here. It is freezing. Literally. It is so wierd. All of the schools are closed tomorrow, and lots of the roads are closed, to be honest, I'm not sure how anyone is getting around town..everything is closed. All because of freezing rain. It is supposed to continue on through the night and through tomorrow.
Last week, the kids were playing with waterguns on the trampoline, in swimsuits! Craziness.
Matt had the day off today, for MLK day. It is always so nice having him home. The only problem is that then I miss him that much more when he goes back to work! Too bad hospitals don't close due to bad weather, we'd get him for another day!
This entry has been totally all over the place. Life is just so boring right now (I am NOT complaining about this) and it seems there isn't much to report on.
Stay tuned for more exciting entries.

Good News!!

First of all, my friend Maria (she is the one who's son has the same defect as Zachy, she was in the heart walk pictures) just found out she is pregnant!! I am so excited for them! I know the gamut of emotions she is about to go through, and I know she'll get through it all wonderfully!
Anyway, Congrats to you and hubby!!!
Then, I got word that my cousin is expecting her third boy. I didn't know she reads here, but she left me a comment, so she must! So CONGRATS on the boy! Boys are such a huge blessing, and I wouldn't trade a single one of mine for all the girls in the world. And it is fun to be able to say, "my three sons"!
And lastly, Matt got official word yesterday that he will be promoted to Captain in July!! WOOHOO!!! This is really exciting for us! I'm so proud of him. :-)
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I have an ultrasound appointment today, I'll try to update when I get home!

Huge accomplishment

Woohoo!! The boys all saw the dentist today. It took forever, but it is good to have it done now for 6 more months. They were all free of cavities! Zachy thought it was so cool to look at himself in the mirror with a big smile after they cleaned his teeth..he kept walking up to it with the biggest smile on his face. They all did so good. Dillon goes back next week for sealants on his molars, but that's it till July!
It feels good to have that big ole appointment done. Now I have to manage to get the cat and dog to the vet for their shots before March. I'm trying to get all these big appointments done before baby comes.
I'm waiting on appointments for Collin and Matthew to see the ophthalmologist, and Matthew has his MRI on the 17th. After that, we should be good for a whole year. YAY!!
Ok, off to watch Barnyard with my kiddies!

YIPPEE!!

Houdini has been captured!
This morning we woke up, and there was a hole in the wall where the scratching had been last night. We are pretty sure it was Houdini in the wall, but we have no idea how he got in there.
At any rate, tonight I checked under the fridge and he was there. He is back safe and sound in his cage.
Thank goodness!!!

Scratching

There is scratching coming from our walls. Very. Loud. Scratching.
Matt was first convinced it was Houdini. Only, there is no way for him to have gotten in there. I think it's a rat.
I'm disgusted. I'm freaked out. I, quite frankly, don't know what to do. Do we call housing? Do we call the exterminator? What do we do?
When I was growing up, we had scratching and thumping in the walls. It ended up being a big ole rock chuck who was stealing our cat food and living in the wall. We caught it with a fishing net when it came out from the hole it was using to access the wall, and were going to take it to the lava beds to set it free. It escaped before we could take it. We saw it once, in our yard, after that.
I doubt we have a rock chuck. I don't even think those live here. Maybe we have an armadillo..but I highly doubt it. I'm thinking a rat is much more likely. GROSS.

More pictures

Pictures galore

Just a ton of pictures from our park day, yesterday. I have more to upload, but am going to take a break for now!

Hello Hello

No luck catching Houdini yet..but he keeps stealing food, so we at least know he is well! Tonight, we are on to yet another plan of attack!
I am pleased to announce that I passed my last 3 hour glucose test with flying colors! WOOHOO!! I hadn't heard anything about it, and was really sweatin it. I figured they were being nice and letting me enjoy the holidays before breaking the bad news to me. But no.
Matt has had all week off, and doesn't go back to work until Wednesday. It has been so fun having him home, I so don't want him to go back to work. It will all be ok though, because we will have to start school up again. Can't play all the time, now can we? But, it's been fun while it's lasted.
Yesterday, we went to a park we hadn't been to before, and took lots of pictures, I'll have to upload them and get some on here.
Today, Matt is spending some quality time with Dillon and Collin. I'm home with Matthew and Zachy, so need to get going.
I just wanted to update on Houdini.

Houdini...the hamster that is sure to be the death of me!

OK, so his name is really White Spot, but I'm renaming him Houdini.
The hamster can escape out of anything. At first, it was easy to find him, he always went to the same closet.
The week before my mom came, he got out of his cage overnight, and was nowhere to be found. We had told Dillon that if a week went by and we couldn't find him, we'd assume he was dead and get him a new hamster. Dillon was certain Houdini was in the cat's tummy.
Well, over a week went by, but my mom was here, so we didn't do anything. One night I was in the kitchen and he went waddling past me, behind the fridge. We were able to catch him and put him back, safe and sound.
Not even a week after that, Dillon was holding him. Some time later, he says to me, "Can I move the couch to get my hamster?" I thought the hamster had been put away a long time before. Of course, he was no longer under the couch.
Since then, we have not been able to find Houdini. I think that was last Thursday.
We put carrots in the kitchen, in various locations to see which one he would take, to try and give us some idea of where he might be. No such luck, he takes them all!
Last night, we decided to try leaving his cage out on the floor in the kitchen, hoping he might find his comfy bed too irresistable to leave!
The silly thing took ALL the food out of his dish, and evidently is stashing it somewhere. How I wish I could have seen his cheeks full of all that food!
We have searched high and low and cannot, for the life of us, find him. At least we know he is alive and thriving! I told Matt, tonight is stakeout night, and we will be watching all night till we find him!

They say your blood gets thin

Today it is in the 50s and VERY windy. I am FREEZING!!! Two years ago, 50s would have felt great. Not now..I am soooo cold. BRRRRRRR

Feliz navidad

Sea World fun

We went to Sea World when my mom was here. The boys wanted to get a little wet during the beluga whale preshow. By the way, Collin wasn't into getting wet, the kid in the yellow was just a little girl who also wanted to get wet!

Busy Bees..that's us!

It seems like it's been awhile since I've done a real, true update. And I was kind of thinking of doing a year in review type post, but we'll see.
Last week we were so busy with my mom and stepdad visiting. We had a great time and hit Sea World and the Riverwalk. Dave even took the eldest 2 boys down to Corpus Christi for a day at the beach. They had a blast! He even built them a campfire on the beach and let them cook their own lunch. They climbed sand dunes and played in the Gulf. It was over 80 degrees that day, so it was perfect for them.
Last weekend, the 16th, Dillon was baptized. He had worked so hard on all his studies and was so anxious to be baptized. Matt sang the song, 'I wanna be just like you' and dedicated it to the boys. He had made a video to go along with it with loads of pictures of the boys. Of course, I cried like a baby the whole time. He sang that song way back when Dillon was dedicated, so it was extra special.
The day started out really rocky though, and I was afraid I wouldn't make it to church, but there was no way I was going to miss it. Zachy got very sick at about 4 that morning. He was breathing so hard and fast and loud. I thought he must have pneumonia. We couldn't get him awake enough to get him to stay propped up to try to help his breathing. And he was shivering fiercely. At that point, he wasn't hot at all. I finally decided to give him a breathing treatment, and that helped a bit. But shortly after that, he was burning up. His temp was 104.9. This went on the rest of the morning, but after another breathing treatment, tylenol, and motrin, he was improving. We took him to church and he slept through the whole service. Which was quite nice, actually, I was able to focus all my attention on Dill, where it belonged. Zachy woke up after church was over, and ate a good lunch, and did great from then on. It was totally wierd.
Matt's song, will always be a highlight of the day. You see, the lyrics talk about a man wanting to be like God, because his son wants to be like him. It was moving the first time Matt sang it, but really, his heart wasn't right with God at the time. This time it meant so much more, because his heart is right with God.
This has been a wonderful year, spiritually, for us. I can't believe how our lives have changed since this time last year. It feels SO good to be equally yoked.
Matt and I were in charge of the Christmas program we had last night. And I say, "and I" loosely, because Matt did all the work, and he deserves all the credit. We just seem to come as a package deal. It turned out so good, and exactly how I had it pictured. It is always good to reflect on the true reason of the season. I am glad to have it over though. What I did do, was stress about it. That was my job! Now we are free until this summer when VBS rolls around again. And we were told last night that we have officially been nominated to run the Christmas program next year. Thank goodness there's a whole year till that!
I had a drs appointment last week, with my regular OB and was surprised to learn that I am already down to bi-weekly appointments. I can't believe how fast things are going right now. On Tuesday, I'll be 28 weeks...12 to go. Crazy. It sure changes things when you are pregnant through the holidays! Time flies!
This hasn't turned into ta review of the year, but my boys are all doing a 3-D puzzle and I think I'm going to go join in the fun.
I hope you all have a very merry Christmas, and enjoy your time with your families. Matt has all of next week off, and I plan on enjoying him immensely.

Ultrasound yesterday

My u/s went really well yesterday.
We were finally able to see that her lip is INTACT!!! And her nose as far as we can tell, but that one is a bit trickier!
Also, they did the echo, and as far as we can see, her heart looks great.
The doctor said we could repeat it later, but really, I'm ok now. I will have them do one when she is born. Not to mention that yesterday's set me back $100. Wasn't expecting that. Oh well.
Anyway, she is such a wiggle worm, and the doc kept giggling, which is so unlike her. She said, "I try and grab a picture and she moves"
She is sooooo cute. I want her now. Well not really, cause she only weighs 2 lbs 4 oz. So she can bake.
I am so frustrated with pictures though, I have yet to get a really good one. I did get a good one of her lips and nose, but that's it. Oh, and her other lips!! Matt looked and said, "oh, I guess that's pretty obvious" FINALLY HE COMES TO HIS SENSES!!!!

For all you nursing mothers out there

I stole this link, but it is GREAT!!
For all you nursing mommies out there! Gina, this is especially for you!!
YAY BOOBIES!!