40 weeks, 3 days

First, some of the fun the girls have been having, playing in a fort in the backyard of the friends we are staying with and reading together (M is loving the childrens' picture Bible right now)


Having fun reading together...not very ladylike Liv!

M was born the day after her due date (by c-section after an induction for PIH), and Liv was born three days after her due date. I was thinking the trend would be for earlier deliveries with each child?!? I guess if we had 10 more children I had better plan on 43 weeks or so:)

We spent 3 hours at the Family Beginnings Birth Center monitoring my BP after it was high for my visit with the midwife. The monitoring (both mom and baby), blood and other tests all came back fine. So they released us to be seen in the clinic on Thursday morning, which is fine with me. The good thing is the midwife checked and a lot more progress had been made, as much as after a whole day of labor with Liv! So we are encouraged by that and hoping that will cut a few (maybe more than a few!!) hours off labor this time, since Liv's was 44 hours long. So...could be the next few days, but no guarantees. Looks like if baby hasn't made his appearance by Monday though we'll try the foley catheter to try to get things moving. If my BP shoots up again before then it will probably be sooner that we'll try some things. Hopefully we'll have something exciting to share soon:)

Still here (40 weeks, 1 day)

Baby boy is going to keep us in suspense for awhile longer. We are heading to the midwife (Daniel and I.... we decided 3 hours in the car plus an hour at a small clinic with the girls might be too much this time**) to do a routine check so hopefully things have progressed some. Let you know tomorrow!

**the girls both have colds and were up half a dozen times last night. And very cranky today...so are we! We are ready for baby brother to come:)

39 weeks, 7 days (tomorrow is due date!)

Nothing exciting here, but we had a fun day at the Manchester State Park. We were planning a ferry ride to Seattle to go to Pike's place, but didn't end up wanting to rush to get on the 7:20am ferry. That was the only one we could do and still get back for naps. So we decided to go to the Ilahee State Park, but upon arrival it was closed! So for plan C we went to Manchester. It was a gorgeous day on the Puget Sound.
Showing off their daisies:

Pretty girl on a rock:

Racing:

Daddy Love:

Another pretty girl on a rock:

39 weeks, 6 days

We sent Daniel packing, not too far though. He just left for a couple hour hike on some nearby mountains. I figure having a sane husband for our impending labor marathon is well worth the morning with no help (which I realize is normal for the rest of the world, I am blessed this pregnancy!). In the meantime, don't forget your free Starbucks brewed coffee or tea when you bring in a travel mug today! Its earth day and I have mine in hand right now (Daniel brought some back for me after early morning mens' Bible study).

Here are some pictures of the girls playing this morning: M with her balloon puppy, "Perry".

Liv and M and their constructed "gate" by which they could decide who comes in and out of their room apparently.

39 weeks, 5 days

Today was a busy day for me and the girls. I had hoped that people were right when they said that if you make a lot of plans, baby will come that day. Nope. I took the girls to the store (Safeway for $0.99 pineapple, organic tofu: $0.50 after coupon found in store-see picture below), and marked down natural ground beef), to Ladies' Bible study and then to a friends' house to play. This afternoon I went to an hour long "aqua zumba" class at the Y (my favorite, so fun!)

So, we wait. Somehow I've pulled something in my inner leg, so many movements are painful, which is going to be a bit of bummer when in labor (if it happens soon). Meanwhile, here are some pictures of my shopping trips. I am buying small quantities of things I find good deals so that we don't have a ton of food leftover when baby comes!

Albertson's on the last day of double coupons: total $2.49 (the juices were both on markdown bonus buy).

39 weeks, 4 days

I almost forgot to post today...and you all would have thought I had my baby! No such luck. Swimming, fatty donuts, walks up hills...yet nothing. Baby must not be done cookin'!

Daniel and I have chosen days and bet on which one baby will come on. Tomorrow is one of my days...so here's to hoping!

39 weeks, 3 days

Here I am in all my 39 week glory...

Midwife appt. went well yesterday and my blood pressure is still within normal limits! Baby is measuring right on for 39 weeks and his heartbeat sounded great. My body is making slow but sure progress toward "baby readiness";). Daniel and I are thinking a day or two after my due date (April 24) will be labor time! Before that would be REALLY great though!

My two "goofballs":

Time to head off to "water walking" class at the YMCA!

Menu Plan (39 weeks edition)

Here's what we'll be eating this week:

Breakfast: cold cereal, milk, fruit, eggs, juice

Lunches: leftovers

Dinner:

Monday: Tacos with corn tortillas, beans, ground turkey, cheese, salsa, ranch & peas

Tuesday: Spaghetti, broccoli

Wednesday: Brown Sugar Chicken in the crockpot, mashed potatoes, zucchini

Thursday: Beans & Rice, green beans

Friday: Grilled Cheese or...depending on what's on sale possibly something else?

Saturday: TBD, maybe whole chicken in crockpot and stove top stuffing or pasta dish?

Sunday: My Due Date (or baby's rather...) and also Easter! We'll have brunch at the church and then have an early dinner at our favorite Indian Rest. here in town to celebrate the baby's due date (something to look forward to in case baby is still cookin'!

39 weeks, 2 days

I thought last night might be it because Liv woke up with a horrible cough (and then proceeded to throw up). I guess I have an odd sense of when its all going to happen...thinking that it will be at the worst possible time (after a night of no sleep for example). I know that's not necessarily the case, but am trying to imagine worst case scenario just in case:). But no baby, so the wait continues. And after a rough night, Liv is doing okay. Seems to be just a cold with a noisy cough. I have my 39 week midwife appointment in Seattle today. The drive is not my favorite, but its nice to listen to music and have some time to think on the way over and back (the drive is about 1 1/2 hours). Last night I did some double coupon shopping after the kids went to bed since I can't sleep for the first few hours of the night anyway! I spent just under $7 for everything below and got stocked back up on snacks (we were totally out minus things like fruit and cheese!). 4 bags frozen veggies=free 2 boxes wheat thin stix $0.49/each 5 boxes Ritz crackerfuls 3 free, 2 $0.99 each 2 packs oreos $0.99 each Idaho instant potatoes $0.49 each 1 pack stove top stuffing $0.49 each McCormick spices (all free!) Ritz munchables $0.49 each.

39 Weeks! (and counting...)

The baby countdown has begun. Sometime in the next two weeks baby boy will be here! Yay! The next two weeks only because since I am going for a VBAC they will try some things at 41 weeks if he's not here on his own. Praying that it won't be nearly that long though!

With the previous two pregnancies I was very busy the last couple weeks (working full time with M and packing up a house/caring for M most hours by myself while Daniel renovated our house) so this waiting is hard. The Lord is working patience for me (and us!).

The wonderful thing is that Daniel has been able to care for the girls while I rest this time and put my feet up. Very little swelling and my blood pressure has been holding steady at just below high levels (136/84 was my last reading).

From here until the baby comes I'll post some sort of update here, if nothing else to keep myself busy:)!

Fun around our temporary house

We are still in waiting for baby mode, possibly for up to 2 weeks more! So we are trying to get in a balance of family time, visiting friends here in Bremerton and rest (for me). I also have a monthly membership to the YMCA so I can do some swimming. Yesterday I tried "Aqua Zumba" which was a lot of fun. Girls playing "princess": The girls "hiding" between a shelf and the kitchen sink. Good thing they aren't clausterphobic! Some of the fun things we've gotten to do while here: go out to lunch with a friend from our old fellowship group, walk to a local bakery, feed chickens and get fresh eggs, visit friends with 4 kiddos, Daniel and I went on a date while a friend watched the girls (they got to play with kitties, watch "Tangled" and eat cookies and milk....rough!). Daniel and I both have gotten to attend weekly mens' and womens' Bible studies here as well. The biggest blessing that although we are spending so much time at "home" the girls are playing really well together and having a lot of fun pretending together!

Menu Plan (38 1/2 weeks edition!)

No baby yet, so I am going to resign myself to the fact that I need some ideas for meals written down in case I have a while longer until baby comes!

Breakfasts: bran flakes or life cereal, toast, eggs. Might make a trip to the bakery for a treat one of these mornings.

Lunches/dinners:
~mac n cheese w/hot dogs, green beans (today)
~Quesadillas, salad (need corn tortillas)
~Pasta w/Marinara, ground turkey, salad
~Peanut Noodles
~Chicken (buying today at Safeway for $1.49/lb) in the crockpot over noodles and brown rice
~sloppy joes (need buns)
~PB&J
~Tuna sanwiches or melts

Well, that should buy us a few days!

Workin' hard in the garden

Daniel and the girls have been enjoying some sunny days here in Eastern WA. When not working Daniel enjoys two things immensely: studying God's word and theology type books/sermons etc., or doing projects for my parents. His latest has been working on getting the garden ready. Roto-tilling, making cages for tomatoes and a compost bin have been a creative outlet of sorts and a bonus for me is that he watches the kiddos at the same time:)



All I do is provide the snacks!:)

Getting ready for baby brother

This is the carseat that both girls used as infants. We dusted it off for baby brother last week and the girls have been having a ball pretending to play with "baby brother" in it.