Dr.

I went to the Dr. Monday morning. I go every week now. Only one more visit with Dr. high risk. So, Monday was pretty low key. everything is fine. Scheduled c-section for Sept. 1st at 8:00 am. I am hoping baby comes Sat. before though. I want it to actually be time. I don't care for this whole scheduling thing. that is not how God intended it. They did a stress test on baby. She is happy. No stress there. I did show some uterine irritability which I believe are Braxton Hicks contractions. So I go back on Tues. That is really about it.
Ciao

Miniature cupcakes

Thank you Bakerella for such a cute thing. I made these for a friends birthday and they were YUMMY! Don't look too close. Next time I will have to make a better point to have the two chocolates meet.

Sugar crystals.........

Remember these? We finally got something. The pics dont do them justice. A.J. had a good time eating them!

Claiming "Big Boy" status

Yesterday was a very unusual day in our household. First, my little Benny-pie woke up at 7:30. Then he played in his bed during his 3 hr nap time. Happily, I might add. Finally, at 7:15 I put Ben in his bed and it made him mad!! Normally he would play for anywhere from 1-2 hrs and then go to sleep. This time, he was so angry and I couldn't figure out why, until I could hear his crying getting closer and closer to the kitchen table. He decided his bed was not good enough for him and climbed out of it 4 times in a five minute period. He was so upset that I picked him up and rocked him for a few. I made up some song and he then wanted A.J.'s bed. Reaching for it! So I put him in it. I hope that was not a mistake. He laid there and listened to me sing and then climbed down to get the cup of water he angrily threw from his crib, and then climbed back up. That was it. I left the room and he stayed there awake for a good 5-10 minutes, and the next time I checked on him he was fast asleep. I think he just decided it was time to be a big boy. He even refused his crib after I took off the outside rail. To him, it was still a crib. Andy is picking up the bunk beds the second weekend of Aug. so until then, A.J. might be stuck in a muck.

___pressed

Fill in the blank. Sorry my blogging has lacked emotion recently. I decided I could fill you in on why. I don't typically share my relationship stress but, eh, why not. Being married is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much work. It involves sharing intimate moments, even when you don't feel like it ( no complaints ), agreeing on the best way to raise our children, or not, privacy invasion, trusting each other even when you aren't really sure that you should, crying, laughing, putting up with bad habits, selfishness, selflessness, beer, online gaming, and on and on and on. O.k. some of the things I just listed are my own flaws. They don't all belong to Andy. The best part is, just when I think the whole thing is falling apart and slipping away, I realize that if something should happen to my beloved husband I would never find anyone comparable. Then I pray. Then comes more work. And then, a breakthrough. Andy and I have been together for the last ten years just this week. If you had asked me 10 years ago what I thought our relationship would be like by now I would have probably said We would have it all worked out and running it smooth. It isn't all worked out. And from what I hear it won't ever be ALL worked out. We will spend the rest of our lives together becoming one. I am so excited about that. That I get to live and feel loved, by another human. That I have someone to share my life with, who loves me. And not just someone, but Andy. So the reason my posts have lacked emotion is because I have been pouring it all into my marriage. With my current pregnant state, once our bickering, disagreeing, agreeing, and make up session is over, I am drained. Whatever is left in the reserve tank is given to my children. And that is all. Here's to TEN....

Dr. today

I went to the Dr. today. Both obgyn and high risk. -Dr. high risk was first. My cervix measured at 2.2 cm . Baby measured at 4lb.s and 13 oz. Almost 5 lb.s which he said is very generous for a baby at this gest. age. -Because she measured so big my EDD changed to August 31st. That's 10 days earlier. I pray that she doesn't come before the 28th. A.J. starts kindergarten the 26th and I would like to get through the first 2-3 days of school before baby Micah gets here. My OBGYN said absolutely nothing in the vagina for a few weeks at least. She doesn't want labor to be triggered yet. I don't think that will happen but I also don't want a preemie either. In the next day we should get the FFN test back which I also don't think really means anything. I wish I knew everything...........;) Anyway- all is well including my 28 lb. weight gain. Wish me luck in my choice of foods over the next few weeks.

Look at my boys. I can't believe Ben is going to be a big brother. hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The corner's edge......

Does anyone know anything about applique? I think that is how I am going to do the crib bumper. I want it to look hand done and a little less than perfect. And yes......I added red to my color palette once again. Here are a few things I have already done. Should I make a cover for this old chair?

ON TO WK 32

Why do I insist on having my belly photos taken in front of a white wall? I guess we really don't have any pretty landscaping around here. Especially now that everything is beginning to turn brown from that scorching sun.
I have officially entered the part of my pregnancy that makes me feel old. I can't cut my own toe nails, It is really hard to wipe (actually takes longer than peeing), my back constantly hurts, the only thing I want to eat is sugar, I have banned bending over to pick anything up, Not sleeping well, hearty heart heart burn...........need I go on? I am looking forward to not being prego anymore! Part of me enjoys the fact that my work load has not gotten harder quite yet. As soon as Micah gets here only a few of those things will pass but will be replaced with many others. I also have been really needy of Andy's attention lately. It's a good thing he loves me...........

Here I am at 32 weeks.

Friends

Yummy, yummy cookies.........

A.J. found these fossils at Bebe's.

Some of our very close friends moved to CO. a few years ago and their oldest little girl came to visit for a week. She is three and talks like a ten year old. Here are a few pictures of the fun we had at Bebe's house. They have this huge water slide. We had enormous burgers which I wish I had taken pictures of, and the boys and I took Snicker doodles.

A moment of compassion

This picture says quite a bit....

We decided to have a lemonade stand some time ago and have not had the time!! Our sub-division is very active in the evenings from March to Dec. There are a lot of walkers around here. To support good health we decided to quench their thirst with a few sips of lemonade. I believe it was a 100 degree day. We only had two recipients before a huge storm blew in taking everything with it. It is kind of funny to think of myself juggling a big belly, a toddler, a camera, a pitcher of lemonade, cups, two lawn chairs and a small plastic table in the gusty wind. The tip bag blew away. Good thing our friends next door were out there helping us. We would have lost it all!

Independence

A.J. is on the bike with the balloons on the front.

We celebrated Independence day with our subdivision. Every year we have lots of food and kid stuff and parades and even a kids bike decorating competition. You know I only got a few pictures. My Dad even came out to celebrate with us and I didn't get any pictures of that either.

A.J. was very disappointed because his non-competitive mom forgot about the competition part and sent him on his way with a partially decorated bike to the kids parade. Daddy assured him he would come to his aid next year. I tried to make up for it by painting his face. That got his mind off it.

1-2-3

Ben has learned the concept of counting to three. It started at the pool. Now we have moved on to the couch. He kept trying to jump onto the hard floor so A.J. made him a pillow puddle to jump into. He did this over and over for about 45 min.

What does Hard Knock Life mean?

I sure do wish my husband had the same days off every week. It isn't easy scheduling Dr. appointments and errands and outings for the kids when your husband needs the car for work and his days off change every week. I do sort of enjoy living the simple life. I don't mean easy. I guess what I mean is that I enjoy trying to live the way people did a hundred years ago. As Americans, I think we tend to over use the Earth's resources, because we feel that we need all this stuff. For example, my husband went around to every light fixture in our house and unscrewed every light bulb but one in each fixture. Why on earth do we need 10 huge bulbs blaring at us in the bathroom. Two seems to get the job done. I am about to start drying our clothes out on a clothesline as well. Obviously not the undies!! The dryer produces so much heat, which in turn makes our air conditioner work that much harder. I wonder how much we will cut out of our electric bill? I think the boys and I might try walking into town one morning. It will probably take about twenty minutes and we could get donuts! I wish we had a farmers market! That would be fun! Then we could hit the pool on the way back to cool off before lunch. I could be getting in way over my head so we will just call it an adventure and see what happens.

The last couple days ....

We have been to the pool a couple times. I am so thankful that we have a pool within walking distance. If that wasn't there I might rip out my hair. We pretty much stay indoors because of the heat, and at home because we are a one car family. It really isn't that bad living with one car, I just forget how spoiled we are. I think it challenges me to be positive and creative and to do things most Americans look down upon.

We went to the movies yesterday. It was Andy's day off so we took the boys to see "Kung Fu Panda". It was really a cute movie. Ben did exceptionally well. I only took him out twice. He isn't a movie watcher like A.J. has always been. He is too busy.

Today, A.J. and I started the first part of growing sugar crystals. (See pic above) In about a week we should have some rock candy to nibble on. If it turns out, we might make them for a party favor sometime.