just waiting...

I'm getting excited about this little one's arrival. It's hot and I'm huge and no matter what I do I am uncomfortable all of the time. Even though 2 out of 3 of those problems will be solved by the birth of this child, I'm just looking forward to meeting her. I remember when I was pregnant with Max and thinking "what in the world is this going to do to our marriage?" Then when I was pregnant with Molly I thought "what in the world is this going to do to Max?" Now, the person I'm most worried about is the one still inside me. "This poor little one....she is just going to have to go along for the ride." This thought and other similar ones are what usually rolls thru my mind when I think of her joining our family. I know our marriage will still be great and I know that the kids are going to be super with her...I'm worried about how she will adjust to our crazy schedule when we are supposed to be revoloving around her schedule. When Max starts school she will be around 8 weeks old...I've already decided that my shower will have to be taken the night before on school nights. The chances of me getting 3 children in the car AND Max to school on time is asking a lot...let alone me getting 3 kids in the car, Max to school on time, getting teeth brushed, remembering to put a bra on, shoes on the correct feet (although I'll settle for the wrong feet if I don't have to bend over to put them on), diapers changed, one last potty trip, etc. etc. God entrusted me with 3 of His children. He wouldn't allow me to screw up too badly would He?

What is she going to be like? That's another question I find myself asking ALOT.

Max is so inquisitive...always thinking of something...you can almost see the wheels turning in his head. He has been like that from the beginning. From the day he was born everyone always commented on how alert he was. I remember him coming home and watching Michigan football with his Papa that first weekend. I should've have noted it as a sign. He LOVES television...too much I'm afraid...but that's another post. His new thing these days is "Momma, (as he looks at me with those burrowed eyebrows) I just don't understand this". And when I explain it to him..."ooooh....ok" and then he repeats what I've just explained to him.

Our Molly, she is either sweet as sugar or not so sweet. I suppose that she has a lot of me in her. When she wants something she makes it known in not so pleasant ways. Aaron usually looks to me when she starts acting a particular way....I'm sure that he keeps most of those thoughts to himself. She is extremely caring though. When Max is upset she'll come over and touch him and say "it's ok Max". Or when he coughs, "You ok Max?". And she says "Bless You" when you sneeze.

This new little one...what are you going to be like? Are you going to be a princess or a little girl with a pigtail and a baseball bat? Are you going to be stubborn like your sister or cooperative like your brother? Will the three of you pal around everywhere together? I hope so.

We spent the evening at a friend's birthday party. The kids had a blast. They were so well behaved...it warmed my heart. It really does help in my mom moments when I see that they really can and do listen and respect what their father and I have been trying to teach them. The pictures up above are from the party. I'm so happy that they have made some friends down here. I think we might just make it here :) (As long as it's not this hot in October!)

37 weeks...

No change from the last couple of weeks. Oh well...I guess that she is still pretty happy in there and I can't fault her for that. I'm sure she'll come out when she is good and ready. And after keeping up on a new blog about a mom who just gave birth at barely 26 weeks to a 1 lb. 7 oz. little one, I'll try to keep my complaining to a minimum. We'll head back next Wednesday and try again. We'll see the midwife and then our doc will be back from vacation the week after next. The nurses all decided that we should name her Maggie. Of course! I told them that my husband would be happy with what they came up with...a little weird since that name seems to be taking all of the votes.

It's getting hotter and hotter in our new homestate. We spent almost 2 hours in the doctors office today and then headed to the pool. The kids had a good time. Max had a good time watching the "big people" jump off of the diving board. Molly got stung by a bee (we think it was a bee). She decided that she wanted to put ice on it. So I gave her ice...she rubbed it on her pinky for a few seconds and then decided it would be best if she ate the rest...it made her feel better. She was a little champ. I told her that her Aunt Stacy wouldn't have handled it so well!

Speaking of our little Molly...last night I was on the phone with my mom and Molly wanted juice or a snack...she was tugging at my shirt whining "can I momma? please momma? can I?" Over and over she said that. Now it DRIVES ME CRAZY when my kids talk to me when I am on the phone let alone whine like that so I really try to ignore them. I was doing a good job until she made one last ditch effort...she grabbed onto my big ol' belly, opened her big blue eyes, and said, "Please, Suzanne....can I?" The way she says my name is adorable. I know it's completely disrespectful, but I can't help but smile when she says "Suz-zanne Tuwner". Can't help it...too cute.

We are looking forward to the next couple of days. Tomorrow we are going to pack our dinner and take it out to the "duck pool" as the kids call it. Friday night we have a birthday party for our 5 year old neighbor. The kids are SO excited. Saturday we have t-ball at 10 and then the baby shower at 4. Again...some of the nicest women I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. I'm really looking forward to it. Sunday, we'll keep our fingers crossed that someone wants to buy up our house. Hopefully, the open house will be a success.
Sunday...Sunday rolls around and I feel as if the one of the huge things I was excited about when I knew that we were going to be moving down here is completely absent from my life....my relationship with the Lord. I really liked the Lutheran church that we attended in Lexington....and if I'm being honest the drive does bother me a bit. However, what really bothers me is that I really want to be involved with my church and that might be a bit hard to do on a regular basis when we live more than an hour away from it. It's weird that I haven't shared these thoughts with Aaron yet. I feel like I haven't really seen him in the last couple of days. Weird that that just popped into my head.

My prayers:
For my Grandpa & Grandma...Lord, I know that you have a grand plan...I know we aren't meant to understand it. I know that you will be with them both as they go thru this horrible disease. Please let them feel your love....Please don't let him suffer. Give him energy, strength, and especially peace. Hold my grandma's hand...please.

Time wasted & jinxes...

Is that even spelled correctly? Jinxes? Either way I jinxed our trip to the pool this morning. Told the kids when the little hand reached the 11 we could get our suits on, pack our lunches, and head to the pool...only if they cleaned their room. Max immediately went to his room and cleaned the whole thing....then it started thundering. I might have to come up with some grand idea to keep their mind off the pool until after my doctor appointment tomorrow. Maybe paints...we'll see.

My thought for this morning...how much time I waste on doing small nonsense tasks around the house. I could conduct a whole bible study session in the time it takes me to try and put the darn rubbery straw back into the hole in the Dora sippy cup. Why don't I just toss it you might ask...b/c it's one of Molly's favorite and the mother guilt grabs a hold....and which is more efficient...putting the clothes away immediately after I fold them or leave them on the couch until all of the loads are folded and put in their respective piles only to take the chance that the kids will come thru and bulldoze them...crazy thoughts, I know. But I am a mom.

A note on my kids...Aaron has been teaching Max how to step when he throws a baseball and is up to bat. He'll say "step" and demonstrate for Max. Molly just sits by and you don't think she is really taking anything in. Well yesterday we went to Aaron's softball game. Molly had her pink ball and we were practicing throwing and catching. She would throw the ball to me and only then would she look at me, pick up her leg (kind of like how a dog does when he pees on a tree or hydrant), and says "step" just like her daddy says to Max. As much as her "I am 2 going on 15 attitude" has been getting to me, it's times like those where I just smile and laugh and am reminded of the greatness of being 2 and having a 2 year old.

Ok....well now that it's looking like the pool is definitely out due to thundering and downpours I need to find something just as good to do with the kids to keep their mind off of slides and waterfalls.

Contractions, laundry, & haircuts

Been contracting for almost an hour now....every 3-5 minutes. It reminds me of when I contracted with Molly from midnight to 6 a.m. before finally heading to the hospital. They are definitely uncomfortable, but nothing like waking up at 4 a.m. with Max. I knew right away I was in labor. No question about it. So I'll keep writing down the time and we'll see how I do once I sit down and rest today after laundry, walks, dishes, & making dinner. I'm not too worried yet...I would like her to stay in there at least until Thursday, but know she'll be just fine if she comes in the next couple of days. She probably won't arrive until well into July!
June started off a little cloudy, but the kids spent a chunk of the afternoon outside with Aaron weeding around our little crabgrass out front. We had a nice dinner which means the kids ate every last bite on their plates. That usually doesn't happen very often. The not-so-nice part of dinner was that the kids were making some "noises" during dinner. At one point Aaron turned to Max and raised his eyebrows at him as if to say "what do you say?" Instead, Max looked at Aaron and said, "daddy why do you look at me and do this?" and he proceeded to raise his eyebrows right back at Aaron. It was hard to keep the laughter in b/c he was dead serious and looked just like Aaron when he did it.
Later on, Max came over and gave my belly a hug and a kiss. We asked him what we were going to name her.
He said, "how 'bout Marlee?"
Aaron said, "what about Maggie?"
"Oh yeah, Maggie"
Molly pipes up across the table, ice cream running down her hands and arms, "How 'bout Morgan?"
We'll see. The front runner seems to be Maggie right now, but we'll see what strikes me when they bring the birth certificate in to fill out.
I'm getting really excited to meet her. I think the kids are too. Molly found a burp cloth today and asked what it was for. So we got a real baby blanket, the burp cloth, & a real baby bottle and I showed her. She spent 20 minutes doing the drill. Too precious...we'll see how she is with her new sister.
Well Aaron gave Max the haircut and baths to both so I should probably go help get them dressed.