here we go...

Dropped the kids off at daycare this morning a little earlier than normal, 7:00 a.m. Got to the hospital around 7:35 and got all checked in and got to my room around 8. Started pitocin a little bit later. Having a few contractions, but nothing bad yet... Loving the wireless Internet.

the light

I finally can see the light at the end of the pregnancy tunnel. The end is close. I had my 40 week Dr. appointment this afternoon (and only had to wait an hour to get back to actually see her). I've made a little progress since last week. I'm now 2 centimeters and 75% and the baby is at -1. So, some progress but not lots. It's kind of disappointing. I feel like I am doing so much, keeping busy and still not much. I guess I've just made a super cozy place for this baby girl and she is content to just stay put. ;) Dr. asked me when I was ready and I said "How about tonight?" ;0 She just laughed and said she was on call on Wednesday and she would check with the hospital to make sure it wasn't too busy and if it was ok, we could plan on Wednesday. She checked and they gave her the go-ahead, so as it looks now unless something happens between now and Wednesday we will go to the hospital Wednesday morning around 6:30 and hopefully meet this new one sometime later in the day. I've had a little bit of pre-labor signs, but no contractions, not even the fake contractions. We'll see. I'm just excited to know the end is near and to know that soon we will meet this little one. We will soon be a family of 5! That seems weird. I'm getting pretty uncomfortable, having a hard time catching my breath and not sleeping well at night.

On Friday Chad and I found out that we could have other teachers donate their personal days to me and the corporation would match them. We are hoping that we have enough people donate days that I wouldn't have to go without getting paid or go back at the end of the year. We sent a letter today and already had 4 days donated giving me a total of 8. I need about 4 more days donated to me giving me a grand total with donated days and matching days of about 16. I decided to be done with work. Friday was my last day. It was just getting too hard. So I had my sub start today. I tried working as long as I could, but also knew that I didn't want to go into labor at school, so I think it's best. Got lots done around the house today, cleaning wise. Hope to finish up tomorrow and then get our bags packed in the car for bright and early Wednesday morning. Again, we'll keep you updated.

still nothing

Had my 39 week Dr. appointment yesterday. Not much progress has been made since my last check. I think I went from a finger-tip to 1 centimeter. whoa. Needless to say I was a little disappointed. I'm getting ready to be done. I have been induced with both of my other two (a week early and a day early) so I'm kind of wondering if my body knows how to go into labor on it's own. :) I guess I just need to give this little one an eviction notice. ;) I know it's not exactly time yet...5 days.... but who's counting.... wait, I'm counting. Dr. said that she was still floating around kind of high. So...guess I need to do lots of walking and stay as busy as I can. That's why I guess it's not so bad working, I'm on my feet most of the day staying busy and keeping my mind off of this wait. I go back next Monday and the Dr. said she would talk about a possible induction date at that time if nothing seems to be happening. Of course, this could change at any time. It's so funny every morning when my kids get to my class, they kind of peek in the door to see if I'm still there or not. I tell them it could be any time. Same with the other teachers, every day I hear at least 20 times..."Still here, huh?" I'm kind of getting sick of that question to be honest. But I know why they say that. Not sure when my last day will be at work, just kind of waiting to see how I feel and how much longer I can go. I'll keep you updated....

new do's

Took both girls to get their hair cut tonight. We were planning on taking them here (Presley's been there before) but drove up and saw they had closed their business. We weren't sure what we would do then, I kind of wanted to get it taken care of before the baby, so we drove for a bit and saw a sign that said all haircuts $4.99. I guess you can't beat that. Plus I went in to check and there was no wait. I wasn't sure how Addison would do, I have trimmed her hair before, but she had never gotten it cut by anyone but me. And lately she throws a fit everytime I even attempt to comb her hair. But both girls did great. Funny how I said the exact same thing to both of the ladies cutting their hair and they both came away with different cuts. Oh well. Presley's looks cute, not a whole lot different, but definitely shorter and Addison's is really short, compared to what it was.I wasn't sure I liked it at first, but I think it's growing on me. I just wanted it a couple of inches longer. I'm sure it won't take any time at all for it to grow out, so it's fine. I think maybe part of the reason I wasn't sure if I liked it or not was because it made her look more grown up, like a little girl, not a baby anymore. :( Presley was loving the haircut. Kept looking in the mirror and smiling at herself. She even let the lady blow dry her hair, which she has never let me do. I just realized I didn't get as many pictures of her, I guess because her cut wasn't much different, just a bit shorter.

wonderful

The weather today was wonderful. Loved it. After work took Addison to the Dr. appointment to have her ears checked again to make sure the infection from a couple of weeks ago had cleared up. From the Dr.'s we went here for dinner. It was McTeacher's night at our school. So lots of our teacher friends were there working and part of the night's profits come back to our school. Girls had lots of fun playing at the playplace. Chad tried to take Addison and sneak off quickly so she wouldn't throw a fit, but didn't look at the sign on the door and ended up setting off an alarm. ;) Whoops. That worked to scare Presley so she left willingly without a fit either. I guess his plan worked. :)After dinner came home and played outside for a LONG time on their playplace and at their water table while Chad mowed the yard. We decided to dump the sand out underneath their playplace for now and just use it as a water table. Seems like it would be less messy. Not sure if we will add sand back in later or just keep it separate. Presley tried to help out with the mowing on her tractor too. :) I even mowed for a little bit, kind of wondering if it would get anything started with me... you know all the bumping up and down. No such luck. Each girl got a ride with Daddy on the tractor when he was finished. Two baths later, the girls went to bed exhausted from all that playing and running around outside. Love that. Finally got all the baby clothes hung up and put away, got the girls overnight bag packed and my bags packed too. Just need to get the diaper bag ready and make sure Chad has his bag packed, then we're set. Did a little housework and laundry tonight. Always trying to make sure things are in order in case we go. So far, not feeling anything. I go back to the Dr. Wednesday. One week left from tomorrow.... Tomorrow is 39 weeks already!

guess who?

Guess who is sleeping in a big girl (kinda) bed now?

I guess it's not a big girl bed yet, but a step closer. We took the front of her crib off yesterday and put up a safety rail. She did ok with it last night. Went right to sleep, slept for a couple of hours and then woke up for about a 1/2 hour crying on and off around 10:00 p.m. After that we didn't hear a sound from her. She didn't make any attempt to get out either, which kind of surprised me. I thought for sure she would. She would sit up, but didn't even try to stand up. Tonight she laid right down and I haven't heard her yet... Hopefully this transition will go smoothly. If it does, we may be able to move her sooner than we thought into a twin bed in Presley's room. The only problem with that is, she will have a partner in crime when the two of them are in the same room..... One step at a time...

BIG savings

Chad and I went shopping here yesterday and came away with some GREAT deals. We went to get Chad a few shirts and pants for work (his old ones are a little big since his weight loss) and to get Presley some new summer clothes. They were having a great sale to begin with (buy 1 get one for .88 cents), plus we had another coupon we had gotten at work for an extra 20% off all sale and clearance items for friends and family. I added up our total of what we would've paid if everything was full price and then subtracted what we actually paid and found that we saved over $540 and we didn't even spend 1/2 of that. We spent less than $200 and saved over $540! I was shocked! So that means if we would've paid full price, we would've spent over $700. We came away with a LOT of good deals needless to say. I think everyone but me got something. We got great summer clothes for all 3 girls and Chad found some great deals as well. I didn't even bother looking for me because I am just trying to hold out until I get a little closer to normal. I am running out of options that cover my ever-growing belly, but I can't see spending money on clothes that will be too big (hopefully) in a couple of weeks.

treats

After work and dinner played outside for a LONG time with the girls. Then we convinced them to come inside by bribing them with ice cream from here. (Thanks Kathy for the idea.) Plus we remembered that one of Chad's basketball kids had given him gift cards to there, so we didn't have to pay for our yummy treats. Nice smile, huh? ;)

not yet

Nothing happening here at least labor wise. I've gotten a few emails asking so I thought I better write. Just haven't had a whole lot to post and not much time to get to the computer either. I'm now down to a about 1 1/2 weeks until my due date. I didn't get checked when I went to my Dr.'s this week, so as far as I know, nothing is happening with me. Haven't had any contractions so far. I go back next Wednesday.

Monday Chad took Addison to the Dr. while I was at my Dr. and her Dr. said that she had the flu. Picked Presley up after the Dr. appointments and she started spitting too, so she was unfortunate enough to get the flu too. Chad stayed home from work Tuesday and Wednesday with them and he started getting a little sick too. He never got sick to his stomach but got a queasy. Thankfully they all seem much better today and so far I've steered clear. Chad went back to work today and the girls went back to daycare.

Presley started her new gymnastics class today and did great! She is in the same class as last time. I took her tonight because I don't know when the next time I will be able to go with her. They usually do the class 2 or 3 times before getting promoted. There are two other girls that were in her class last time that are in the class again this time, and then the rest of the kids are new. Presley did great. She was like the leader of her class. Her teacher kept saying how awesome she was doing. So proud of her. The only bad thing is that her good friend Grace moved up to the next class. I was kind of worried how Presley would do without her, but she actually did great. Chad said she probably wasn't distracted and trying to act silly so she actually listened and paid attention. She was showing the other little kids how to do everything.

I met with the girl who is taking over my teaching job today after school. We talked and went through my room for over 2 hours. I'm really feeling good about this. She seems to be a great choice for the kids. That helps me feel more relaxed about leaving. The hard part is I don't know when I am leaving for sure. I'm still planning to work as long as I can, so I kind of have to have specific sub plans for every day even if I don't go into labor, but just in case... So, it's making a little more work for me every day to be extra prepared. When I do my lesson plans for me, I don't have to write much out because I know what I'm doing, but I need to be specific in case I am not there. Looking forward to relaxing a little this weekend and finishing up some errands that still need to be done. We'll keep you posted.

change of plans

Plans changed a little today. We did get some of the baby items out and I got most of the baby clothes put away, Chad went to the grocery store for us, but I didn't end up getting my hair cut. They did have an open appointment today when I called, but Addison woke up last night around 11 not feeling good. She ended up spitting on and off from 11 - 3. It was not fun. Since I didn't know how she would do today I didn't want to be gone. She seemed a bit better today, hasn't spit but hasn't seemed completely herself either. She slept a lot today so we're hoping she's better. Not sure if it's something she ate, or what. Just hoping Presley doesn't get sick now. So far so good. So I didn't get my hair cut today but got an appointment for this week. After we got the swing and the bouncer out the girls had a great time playing with their babies. I just kept reminding them that when their new sister came she would get to swing and that their babies would have to find a new place to nap. ;)

Spring Cleaning

Got up early today and went to breakfast with Mom and Dad B. Then we went to the Farmer's Market to see if we could find any good deals. Came home with some Amish meat and a few baked goodies too. Can't wait to try the cinnamon rolls we bought for breakfast tomorrow. Chad got the house power-washed and also washed the inside and outside of all our windows. I got all the babies clothes washed, dried, and folded. Just need to hang them up and put them in the dresser. I also need to go through and make sure we have everything we need. Got the floors cleaned and the house dusted. Tomorrow hoping to get my hair cut (although I haven't made an appointment yet), pack our hospital bags, get gifts in bags for the girls for the hospital, and also get out the baby furniture - swing, bassinet, etc... We need to go grocery shopping too. Also need to start working on lesson plans for school for after this baby. They finally hired someone to replace me. She has subbed in my room a couple of times the year so the kids kind of know her. She is planning on coming in this week so I can show her around and kind of give her an update on where we are. I told her I would do a week's worth of lesson plans for her and then she can go from there. I haven't had to do any lesson plans with Presley or Addison, so this is different. With Presley the person who took over for me was my aide that had been in my classroom all year and with Addison I had her before school started so the person who replaced me just started the year for me. I would say our spring break has definitely given us time to get a little closer to being ready for this baby. Still have a few things to do, but feeling much better about things. I have so many things crossed off of my list, I think I will just start a new one and add the few things I still had left.

Spring Get-Away

We didn't have any big plans for getting away during spring break this year. We knew we had lots to get done around the house but we did want to get away for a little bit. We went with our friends, Bob, Nikki and family. We left Wednesday after naps and after getting a little lost on our way (due to construction) went out to eat here. Chad and I both love that place even though we don't go often. It's definitely easier to eat there without kids, but they all did ok. Just wanted to get up and dance, and I can't say I blamed them because they had just been stuck in a carseat for a couple of hours. Good thing it was still early and during the week, so it wasn't busy at all. After dinner we went to our hotel and got ready for the pool. The kids liked it, but it was a little too cold for the adults. We swam a little before we convinced them to leave and put our feet in the hot tub. That was hard for me. There is almost nothing that sounds better when pregnant than getting into a hot tub to get rid of aches, but just can't do it. I did sit with my feet in like the kids and that was nice, just not the same as getting all the way in. After the pool we went back to our rooms and let them swim in the bath. Our rooms were right next to each other and had a doorway in-between which was really nice, especially for the kids. The kids stayed up way too late and had a hard time falling asleep, which we knew they would. After they finally fell asleep they did sleep in until almost 8:30 our time so that wasn't bad. Got up and around for the day, picked up breakfast and were on our way to the aquarium. The weather outside was cold and rainy. We had to park quite a ways from the aquarium, so it wasn't a fun walk, but once we got inside, warmed up and dried off, it was ok. We were all running in the rain to try and get there as fast as we could and I told Chad he better hope that running didn't send me into labor. Luckily for all of us, I was fine. Just a tad out of breath. ;) It seemed pretty busy with lots of school groups. We stopped at the dolphin show first and the girls all liked that. After that we walked around looking at all the different fish. Once we saw everything we wanted to, the guys ran back in the rain to pick up the cars so we didn't have to take the kids out in that yuck again. So the weather wasn't the greatest, but we had a good time anyways. No major melt-downs or fits. The kids did really well considering they didn't get much sleep the night before and it was quite a bit past their normal nap time. They did fall asleep for the last hour or so on the way home. And they were both in bed by 6:30 for the night after we got home. It was a nice little get-away with some great friends. Pictures of our trip here.

nesting?

Got both of the girls closets cleaned out and organized yesterday. Moved all of Addison's clothes (closet and dresser clothes) into Presley's room. Brought up the tub of baby clothes to get ready to wash. Got my closet and dresser cleaned out and organized. Put most of the winter clothes away although I hear the s*** word (rhymes with toe) is in the forecast for later on this week. I did keep a few warm clothes out just in case. Got out all of our spring/summer clothes. Yesterday we had the girls take naps at Grandma's so we could get some errands done. We had to get some new jeans for Presley because all of hers are becoming to short. Chad got some new shoes and I got a couple of pairs of pajama pants for the hospital. We got the girls both a small gift to give them at the hospital so they have something to play with when they come up to visit.

I think Chad is nesting just as much as I am, maybe even more so. A shelf broke in the garage yesterday so he bought a new one and installed it and then ended up cleaning up the garage. Also noticed our garage door spring was broke so we had to get that fixed last night as well. Thankfully Chad's uncle is in the garage door business and came over after hours to fix that for us. I love getting things checked off of my list. My list is getting smaller and smaller everyday. Basically just need to pack for the hospital sometime. Speaking of hospital... I had my Dr. appointment yesterday (37 weeks). Dr. had me do a NST (non-stress test) to make sure everything was fine due to a little decrease in movement. Completely normal because there isn't much room for her to move around anymore. Baby passed and everything looked good. I had several of those tests with Presley and at least one with Addison. Dr. said I'm barely dilated which made Chad thrilled. Sounds like she will hang out there for a few more weeks. But the even better news is I think we have finally agreed on a NAME! I don't think with either of the girls we were 100% sure before we went to the hospital. We'll see if we change our minds, but I think for now we have it. And yes, you will still have to wait to find out...

This morning we got up early and went out for breakfast. Stopped for awhile to shop here. The girls kept picking up everything saying that they wanted to give it to their new sister. It was cute, but not fun trying to convince them to put it back down. Daddy was able to pick out a cute stuffed monkey for our new little one. He has a tradition I guess of buying a stuffed animal for each of the girls to put in the little bed at the hospital when they are born. Presley was upset that he didn't pick the giraffe. That's what she wanted to give her new sister. We are trying to decide if we want to purchase a double jogger or not. We have kind of been looking for the last few years and just can't decide. We have a nice double umbrella stroller that we use all the time, so we aren't sure if we need the other one or not... hmmm. Getting up early must've worn them both out because they were both in their beds (actually asking to go) for a nap by 11:30. They are getting used to sleeping in I guess during our spring break. We'll have to start slowly adjusting them back to early rising times towards the end of the week.

Let's go...

fly a kite...

Perfect weather today to try out Presley's new kite she got for Easter. The sun was shining, still warm and the wind was blowing just enough. She got a kick out of it. Addison even gave it a try.

Got lots done today. Chad took down all of our shutters and painted them and put them back up again. They look so much better. Chad washed the siding around the shutters. We also picked up the power-washer to do the rest of the house. Hope to get that done later this week if the weather will hold up. Kids played outside on their playplace. Hard to get them to stop and come inside. Addison had her Dr. appointment and I got all of our sheets washed and changed. Put away the flannel sheets for the season! LOVE that. AND even did the ultimate spring cleaning today..... got our septic/sewer pumped. We hadn't had it done since we moved here almost 4 years ago. They say every 1 - 2 years depending on how many people live there. The guy said ours looked good, full but good. I wonder how sewer can "look good"? ;) I was just thankful it didn't smell up our house. I was at Addy's Dr. when the guy came, but Chad said it didn't smell at all. :) Tomorrow hoping to tackle the kids closets and dressers as well as mine. Putting away winter clothes, making a garage sale pile and combining two closets down to one. Plus getting the newborn stuff out. That's the plan for now, but we'll see. The plans may change. Also have to get to my Dr. in the afternoon.

first trip

to the zoo for the year. Chad and I took the girls to our local zoo today. We weren't really planning on staying long, just knew we wanted to get our family zoo pass for the year so we thought we'd stop by for an hour or so. That was just about perfect since not all of the animals are out yet due to the weather. It was plenty of time to see the animals that were out. I planned well enough to actually take the camera, but not well enough to make sure the battery was charged. I only got a few shots before it died. Oh well, I know we'll be back lots more this year since we have our zoo pass now. Actually the reason we picked it up is because we are planning on going to this zoo later on in the week and staying the night with friends. The zoo pass will work there too! So between going today and then going later this week, we basically just paid for the zoo pass for the whole year. What a savings! It will be great to go since it is so close.

enjoying the great outdoors

Saturday the weather was great. We spent lots of time outside. While the girls took a (long) nap Chad and I got out our swings for the playset, got out patio furniture out and cleaned up, cleaned up our landscaping, and even got our dinner started on the grill before the girls got up. When they got up they got to play outside for a bit before we sat down for dinner. They loved it. Hard to convince them to come inside. Looking forward to spring break this week. Hoping to get lots done outside and inside. I have big plans for some serious spring cleaning of my closet and both of the girls' closets. I need to get winter clothes put away, pull out Presley's clothes from last summer and see if any will fit Addison. I need to move Addison's clothes into her new room (with Presley) and then also get out our baby clothes, toys and furniture. Get everything washed and set up. I'm also hoping to get our hospital bag packed and pick up a few presents for the girls for when they come up to the hospital and also need to get a few things for me and the new baby too. Throw in two Dr. appointments (Addison and me) and hopefully a pedicure/manicure and hair cut for me sometime and I should be set for this week. Plus, we are hoping to get away for a least a little bit. Not sounding like so much of a break, but at least a week to get caught up hopefully.