What's Up Wednesday

What we're eating this month:

With the weather change we are moving from easy and grilled meals to more hearty, filling ones.  I couldn't take it any longer, Saturday for lunch I had to make Chili Over Fritos.  Such a Fall/Winter meal, it's one of my family's favorites.

What I'm loving:

Blanket scarves!  I don't have one but it is definitely on my list of must haves this fall! That and some cute booties!

What we've been up to:

Working on the basement, doing yard work, getting geared up for the arrival of the little girl.

What I'm dreading:

I'm dreading hunting season.  It starts October 17th.  Hopefully Andy will get a deer the first weekend and won't be gone too much.  Last year he called me about 30 minutes after hunting season started and told me he got one.  We didn't need meat last year so he gave it to his brother, which meant he didn't have to clean or cut it up either.  Easiest, fastest hunting season ever!

What I'm working on:

I'm working on the baby's room and have the material to start working on a blanket for her.  My mom is making the most awesome blanket for Sweet Pea but I just couldn't resist making her one myself.  It gives me so much joy to see how loved the blankie is that I made for Tate, I'm excited to see that again with this little gal.

What I'm excited about:

I'm excited about 'October'. Such a great month!  Also, excited about FINALLY finishing up the boys' rooms and decorating Baby Girl's room.  I'm excited to get a good chunk of my Christmas shopping done - want to be 90% done before the baby arrives.  I'm excited that the boys will be excited for Halloween.  I'm excited to watch some more Hawkeye football.  I could go on and on.

What I'm watching/reading:

I am so ashamed, I haven't read a book in months.  It used to be that I couldn't keep enough books around, but now?  I can't seem to bring myself to pick one up.  It's not even about the reading, it's just about the starting.  It won't get better with a newborn around, either.  Oh well, there will be time to read again someday. For now I'll enjoy playing with my babies instead.  As for watching, football.  It's football season and we watch it every chance we get.  These boys, they've turned me into a sports fan! :)  I'm also watching RHOC, just finished up the last season of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and Andy and I watch Ink Master on Tuesday nights.

What I'm listening to:

2 songs - Eric Church's "Wrecking Ball" and Luke Bryan's "Strip It Down".  If you haven't listened to either of these you MUST!  I am not a Luke Bryan fan but this song, da-yum!  They both get my motor running, lol!

What I'm wearing:

Jeans!  It cooled back down Tuesday, highs in the mid 60's, and I am loving wearing jeans again!  I also can get out my 3/4 sleeve maternity shirts, hallelujah!  I'm so tired of the rest of the stuff I've been wearing since April!

What I'm doing this weekend:

Well, not a whole lot.  Andy's at his annual guy's Iowa game so I haven't figured out anything fun for me and the boys to do yet.  Aiden needs new church shoes so who knows, maybe we'll run to the big city and do a little shopping.  And Sunday we are celebrating my nephew's 11th birthday.  Gosh, 11.  Did I just say that?  I used to beg my sister to let me keep Charley once a week (or more) when he was born, we had so much fun together!  I lived about 3 blocks from the school my sister taught at so we walked up there so her class could meet their teacher's baby.  I loved that time with him.

What I'm looking forward to next month:

Next month is October, and I'm looking forward to all things 'Fall'.  I'm also looking forward to enjoying the last few weeks of my pregnancy.  I've said before how much I love being pregnant, and I do, so when it gets down to the last few weeks I get sentimental and sad about it all being over.  I'd much rather hold my sweet baby in my arms than be pregnant, but still.  I'll miss it.

What else is new:

Somehow I got roped into planning a 5k run.  Me, someone who has never ran or attended one before, planning the darn thing!  I have 2 gals helping me but they have claimed I'm the one in charge.  Oi.  The run is a Glow Run, Saturday October 24th.  That will occupy my mind for these next few weeks.  We are organizing this for a fundraiser, I am on a committee that's focus is beautifying our little town.  Our first real project is to update and improve the trailhead of a trail that connects our town and two others.  Currently the trailhead runs through a gravel parking lot between a bunch of anhydrous tanks.  Sounds welcoming, right?  So, we are purchasing just over an acre of land to re-route the end/beginning of the trail. There will be a shelter with a picnic area, restrooms, a nice paved parking lot and the trail will be paved for a short distance.  I believe our little project will cost just shy of $500,000 - that's not a small task raising that amount of money in this tiny little town.  We have applied for grants and other funding so fingers crossed we can get a good chunk of that money raised so we can break ground next year.  Thus the fundraiser 5k.  Not that the 5k will really raise us *that* much money, but we are hoping to build on it every year from here on out and to use those funds for this and other projects around the community.  I've been told the first year won't be a huge success but not to give up, each year following it will get more and more participants.  We thought it'd be good to do it later in October, the runs are dwindling and people are wanting to get one last 5k in.  We'll see.  Any good mojo you can send us would be appreciated!

Bonus Question: What's your favorite Halloween tradition:

Halloween is not a very big holiday for us here at the McGuire house.  I don't love it so have never gotten too hyped up over it.  But, our tradition every year is to go Trick or Treating to the grandparents, aunts/uncles, and great grandma's houses, then do a couple of streets/house to house treating in our hometown.  This year, though, things might be changed up a bit since Halloween is a Saturday and the town we live in is having trick or treating on Friday the 30th instead.  Not sure what our plan is going to be, but guessing we will TorT here in this town for something different, then Saturday go visit the family houses.  What are you Halloween traditions??

Go link up with the gals and share your answers to "What's up Wednesdays"!

Weekend Rewind

Good Monday morning!  Sort of.  Ugh, the weekend went so fast and we worked around the house most of it so didn't get much lazy down time.  I'm exhausted!  Add to that hardly any sleep Saturday night and no nap yesterday to catch up and I'm beat!

Friday night was fun - we set the baby crib up!  We cleaned the Princess's room top to bottom that night, too.  Last night we hung the shelves and clothes rods in the boys' closets so all of their clothes are out of the little girl's room which means now I can paint her dresser and finish putting her room together!  So excited to get to the decorating part!

Saturday was a full, long day of yard work.  My brother in law came with all of his equipment and we got the dirt patch tilled up, smoothed out and seeded.  We had a couple of other spots around the yard that we needed dirt added to fill in low spots, and those areas were tilled, also.  Andy and I were wiped out that night!

Yesterday Andy tilled the dirt in those low spots because it was too wet and cloddy the day before.  Then we smoothed those areas out, seeded and covered them with straw.  We also trimmed the bushes and did the Fall cleaning out of the flower beds.  It was a little early for the cleaning this year but I knew I needed to get it done while the getting was good because I'm sure in a couple weeks I won't want to bend over and work on it.  Plus I had the energy to get it done, something that is rare as of late.  After that we ran to town for sprinklers, came home and set them up and started the process of watering and growing grass.  Ugh, at least 2 weeks of watering every single day.  If it was just leaving the sprinklers in one place and only having to turn them on and off it'd be no big deal, but it's such a big area that I have to move them 5 times!!!  Seriously, going to spend over an hour of my time every morning dealing with that. It'll be nice to have green grass in those spots again, though, so I'll try not to complain too much.

We finished off the weekend with hanging the shelves and clothes rods in the closets, then moving all of their clothes down to their rooms.  Not a huge job but figuring out where to put everything is always a job in itself.  I got everything hung, folded and put away and for the next 2 days it'll look nice and organized. After that I'm sure the boys will have it destroyed. :)  All that's left in their rooms is to hang the closet doors, but we need to sand and paint those first.  Not a big job, just not one that sounds like a lot of fun right now.  Hopefully we'll get that done this week and I can finally do a big reveal post next week.  Fingers crossed! XXX

Saturday night Tate woke up 4 times crying.  I believe it was his teeth bothering him.  He had a fever of 101 degrees, which luckily Ibu Profin took care of.  But it made for a sleepy day for me yesterday. Luckily it didn't slow me down, somehow, and I was able to get all of that stuff done.  But I was too tired to stay up and really experience the Super Moon and eclipse.  I saw some of it, tried taking a couple pics that didn't turn out, then gave up and went to bed.  I slept like a rock last night!

Today I have my 32 week baby check up!  In 3 days I get to say "Next month Baby will be here!"  Can't wait!

Have a great one!

Thursday Musings

Remember how Tuesday I told you our microwave kicked the bucket? Well guess what - our toaster did the same thing Wednesday morning!  Same kind of deal - it was a graduation gift from 16 years ago so it had lasted quite a long time but still - ugh!  And of course all I wanted for breakfast was toast! What a bummer!  You don't tell a pregnant woman that the one thing she wants to eat she can't have, ha ha!  Luckily there was less fanfare surrounding the death of the toaster compared to the microwave - no fire, no bad smells, it just wouldn't work.  For the second time in less than a week I made a mad dash to town to buy a replacement appliance.

Funny thing about this is that at Christmas last year I had asked my in laws for a 4-slice toaster, which they got me.  But the darn thing's button wouldn't stay down so we had to exchange it.  The second toaster did the same thing!  I got tired of messing with it so just took the money and ran.  I kind of forgot about it this whole year, until yesterday when the darn 2-slice toaster died.  I found a different brand 4-slice toaster, which Andy is now calling The Boheamuth because he thinks its huge. I like it and it toasted my toast this afternoon for snack perfectly. :)

Tuesday night I had a hair appointment. With Baby coming I decided to go back to my natural color so I didn't have any upkeep so we put in quite a few low-lights to phase out the lighter brown balyage hi-lights I had done a couple months ago.  I love it, it'll make growing out those lighter pieces much easier. Plus, the beauty of balyage is that the growing out process is easier than with foiled hi-lights, so these low-lights will really make it easy!

I want to thank 'Jessica' who left me a comment yesterday.  It meant the world to me, was so sweet and I wanted to tell you thank you.  You are a 'no-reply blogger' which means I can't reply to your comment directly but I wanted you to know your words were so helpful and kind.  THANK YOU!

Have a great Thursday, friends!

Baby Girl - Week 31

This week I'm going to change it up a bit.  Instead of answering the same questions I've been answering for the past 12 weeks I'm going to break away and share some of my fears with you.  And boy do I have them!

I am a creature of habit and absolutely hate change.  Any little change in my life and my world is totally rocked and I struggle to cope.  Change can be good, I am well aware of this, but that doesn't change the fact that my anxiety goes through the roof and I become a bit of a basket case.  You can image how hard it is for me to bring a brand new baby home then!  Talk about a major change!

With each baby it's gotten a tad easier - I've known what to expect more, I've had experience with newborns so have a few tricks up my sleeve, etc.  But, it is still a major change in our lives.

Aiden, of course, was the hardest one to handle since he was our first.  Add to that no sleep.  Add to that freaking the heck out because all of a sudden I was 100% responsible for this tiny little guy and had no idea what I was doing.  Etc, etc, etc.

Then Brennan.  I remember sitting on the bottom step of the staircase and just hugging Aiden while I cried when we found out we were pregnant.  I told him sorry over and over for having done that to him.  Like it was a bad thing?!?  Sheesh, Erin, pull yourself together!  We were giving Aiden an amazing gift, a sibling!  But at that time I was totally freaked out for him.  I had no reason to worry, Aiden loved and adored Brennan from the get-go and that never let up until they were older and could fight and get on each other's nerves like siblings do.

When I was pregnant with Tate we had all of this fear about him getting Anencephaly like the baby before him.  It was a very scary time for us until all of that was ruled out.  And once I got past that fear, the fear of how Brennan would handle not being the baby anymore came into play.  Yea, he'd had a nice long run of almost 5 years playing that part, but still, he was my Brennie Joe, my little baby boy, and then out of nowhere he wouldn't be anymore!  I cried many tears over that.  But of course, that turned out great, too.

And now, this one.  The baby girl. The last baby.  Poor, sweet little Tatie Tot has only had 21 months of being the baby, only 21 months of getting that special title and treatment.  How will he handle sharing his mommy?  Will he be able to sleep through the baby crying at night? What happens when her and I are in the middle of a marathon nursing session and he needs me?  Or gets hurt?  Or gets into something he shouldn't?  Will they both suffer because I won't be able to give either of them 100% of my attention??  Will I get short with Tate because I'm so tired and can't handle all of my feelings?  It's not fair that he doesn't get to be spoiled as long as the others were.  He's going to feel left out.  He's going to feel rejected.  He's going to grow to resent his baby sister.

Or maybe not?  I pray not.  I know he will adore her, he will shower her with kisses and tractors.  But then he will want some mommy time, some mommy snuggles, and it might be when I'm having to give her all of my attention.  I'm afraid I won't be able to handle this.

Now, I know millions of mommies before me have had children close in age like my last two will be. I know they have all survived, all done well, all learned to adapt, and we won't be any different.  But I still have those fears.  That's what I do.  I worry and fret and fester over things, and then they all seem to turn out just fine.  Great, in fact.

Another fear I have is about the relationship Baby Girl and I will have.  I want that super close, special Mother/Daughter bond and connection that I've always read about.  I want her to call me just because, every day.  I have a million and one dreams planned out for us, but what if none of them come true? What if she isn't a girly girl like me?  What if she doesn't want to go get pedicures while the boys are off hunting? What if she doesn't want me to help her plan her wedding?  What if she doesn't want me to be there when she has her babies?  What if she hates me and leaves me and never wants to have a close relationship with me like I do with her?  What if I annoy her and she hates all of my ideas and we argue all the time?

I have always envisioned a daughter to go shopping with, to make a run to the craft store with, to paint her toe and finger nails with, to be my best friend always and forever.  But what if she doesn't want that back?  I'm afraid I'll smother her with my love and attention and will drive her away.  I am scared of my own daughter's rejection.

One more thing. And this is less of a fear, more a feeling I have.  I keep having this thought in the back of my head that I will go into labor early.  I don't know why, but it's always there.  And I'm not talking a week early, I'm thinking weeks early.  I don't know why this thought is there.  Isn't that weird? (Not like the rest of this post isn't weird, ha!)  Time will tell, but I thought I'd jot that down, just in case it does happen. Then you can all be impressed by my psychic abilities, ha ha!

Next week I'll be back with my normal Week 32 update.  Until then, 60 days or less to go!

Life Lately

Stop worrying!  Nothing wrong here, just busy!

Here's a taste of my Life Lately.

Thursday I was melting butter in the microwave and it started sparking inside.  Well that's not normal!  Then I put in potatoes to 'bake' and holy smokes, did it really start sparking then!  I looked inside and guess what -- FIRE! Just a tiny little flame on the side where the light is but that's definitely NOT a good thing.  I hollered for Andy who came running, grabbed the thing and hauled it outside to the deck.  Boy did it stink!  We had a good laugh. And on Friday I ran to town to get a new microwave.  The one that died was a graduation gift to me from all of my aunts and uncles on my mom's side, so that's a 16 year old machine there!  I used it all of those years but the 5 we were at our old house, because it had an over the stove one.  I've been secretly waiting for it to die so I could get an over the stove one here but we decided to just get another counter one so we didn't have to mess with removing the cabinet that is currently there.  And we have a little 'cubby' where the microwave sits so it's not taking up any counter space.  P.S.  I like the new one!

Saturday we left the boys with my parents and went to the Iowa game.  It was out annual FFBF game - Friendly Friends Being Friendly.  That title was coined by a friend and has stuck ever since.  This was, I think, our 6th annual game together.  This year we had 7 1/2 couples there, tons of food and a lot of fun!

Then the game.  Holy smokes, you guys, it was the most emotional game I've ever witnessed!  One of Iowa's greats, Brett Greenwood, was the honorary captain.  Doesn't sound like a big deal but guys, he's around my age (30's) and had a stroke a few years ago.  He barely walks with a walker and help. So, there he is, standing on the edge of the 10 yard line waiting for the team to come out of the tunnel in their "Swarm" formation.  Normally they come running out to the song 'Back in Black', but this time they come walking out, grab hands and walk up behind Brett.  Then Brett starts walking with assistance and his walker and the team just walks out onto the field behind him.  I mean, TEARS RUNNING down my cheeks!  It was so dang powerful!  You HAVE to watch it.  Click on this LINK HERE to see it.  It's not the best quality video but it's the one that shows so much more and you can hear the music which makes it more awesome, so that's why I chose this one.  Please watch it!  So powerful, so emotional!

That was just one part of the game that had me crying.  The Kid Captain, a 5 year cancer survivor out in the middle of that big ol' field with 70,000 fans cheering, just standing there waving and smiling!  Gah!  My heart!

Then the Game Hero, a military vet, probably in his 30's or 40's, sitting in a wheelchair out on the field being honored.  More crying.

And Robert Galloway, another past player, winning the ANF (America Needs Farmers) award.  I was so proud to be there and be a part of that!

Anyway, lots of crying on my part. Then we were tied 24-24 with less than 5 seconds to go and our guy, Marshall Koehn, kicks a record long field goal in Kinnick Stadium to win the game!!!  No one left their seats for a solid 10 minutes! The celebration was beyond awesome!!!  I jumped up and down 2 times, then about delivered the baby right there, so I had to just clap and yell and scream and cheer!  It was amazing! The best game I've ever been to, hands down!  The Iowa Hawkeyes really know how to honor those who are deserving!

Here's me and my handsome guy before the game got started (and before the tears started to roll!). <3

We were on such a high from that game, couldn't stop talking about it Sunday.

And Sunday, we did nothing.  We were beat - the game started at 7, we didn't get out of the area and on the road until 11:30, so we were just beat.  We had plans but didn't do any of them.  Andy did go scouting for deer in the morning, but otherwise the lawn didn't get mowed, the baby's room didn't get painted, I didn't go to a cousin's baby shower.  We took over an hour long nap and woke up feeling like crud after.  I hate long naps - they don't refresh me, at all.  I did take Aiden to his very first 4H meeting that evening!  We had fun, it totally brought back memories from my days in 4H.  We came home, watched football and went to bed.  Lazy lazy lazy day.

Monday we got Princess's room painted!!!  I got it all trimmed while Tate napped then Andy rolled on two coats of paint after work.  It's PINK. The color was called Barely Pink, but it's not as 'barely' as I thought it would be.  But I think I'll love it once it is all decorated and put together.  Today I ran to the big city to have stitches removed (more on that in a second), so Tate and I ran all over the city running errands that I've needed to get done and just kept putting off.  Baby Girl's room got a few more items for decorating it, plus curtains.  I also bought fabric to make her a special blanket.  My mom is making her one, too, but I just couldn't resist making her one from me.  You know I'll show it to you when it's done!  We also got shelves and clothes hanging poles and brackets to finish off the boys' closets so we can move their clothes downstairs and out of Baby Sissy's closet and dresser.  Today was a productive day for sure!

Now, the stitches.  I went in to the dermatologist 2 weeks ago for a full body skin check.  After working in the hot summer sun for 5 years as a teenager, while wearing very little clothing (think skimpy shorts and bikini tops and sports bras) I thought it was a good idea to get a good checking over.  The doctor checked me all over, found nothing, then looked on my lower back just under where my undies start. Yes, she found a spot on my ASS!  Ha ha!!!  Totally cracks me up - no sun has ever seen that low on my back/ high on my butt, but that's where she found a spot.  They removed it, I about fainted, and I got 3 stitches.  Last week the results came back as fine (thank goodness!) and today I went to have those 3 stitches removed.  I didn't get queasy at all!!!  I might be growing into a big girl finally!!! :)

And that's Life Lately!

Flag Football 2015

Football season has been in full swing since the first day of school around here.  The boys have a 6 week schedule, 6 games, and we are over halfway through it.  Last night was Game 4 - I can't believe they only have 2 games left!

Last year Brennan had a great time his first game.  For some reason, in his second game when he was running the ball, he got freaked out because some of the boys were more aggressive in pulling his flags.  He totally freaked out, cried and cried and said he was never playing again.  Our rule is always that they have to finish what they started so he finished out the season, grudgingly.  When the sign ups came home at the end of last school year for this Fall's season Brennan wasn't planning on playing.  I ended up talking him into trying it again since he would be the older kid on the team.  (They are in the K-1 group.)  Guess what, he loves it this year!  He's running after flags, he's gotten a few touchdowns and he's totally into it!  Glad he gave it another try.

This is him, #9, running the ball!  He made a touchdown on this run!

Their huddles are the cutest things!

Aiden's been having a great season, too.  This is his last year for flag football, not sure I'm ready for all the tackling.  Aiden's been a machine, going after flags, rushing the quarterback, intercepting balls and running in for touchdowns.  Football is definitely his favorite sport!  This year he's wearing #1.

Aiden's dream is to be an Iowa Hawkeye football player some day - lots of hard work is in front of him! And lots of football is in front of me! :)

Baby Girl - Week 30

How far along: 30w4d

Total weight gain: 17lbs

Sleep: Between the stomach virus and the cold virus I didn't get much sleep over the past week. But the last 2 nights have been good, sleeping all night through.

Best moment of this week: Seeing our sweet little girl on the ultrasound!  At first she was pretty relaxed, then she got into things and started moving around and showing off.  We were able to see her 'drinking' the fluid, her mouth was open and her tongue was moving quite a bit!  She measured in around the 48th percentile, which is unheard of for our big boys!  She was somewhere around 3 1/2 lbs, so Andy did some quick calculations and if the 1/2 lb per week thing holds out she might be born our smallest baby yet!  What will we do with an 8lb-er?? :)  Towards the end of the US she was rolling a little bit and moved her hands up by her face and head. She was opening and shutting her hand!  It was incredible to see!  Oh, and the placenta looked great after our fall so no worries there.  Should probably mention that, ha!  We invited my mom to go along with us, I think she really enjoyed and appreciated that.  

Another 'Best Moment': I really enjoyed being monitored Sunday night, even though it was for a scary reason!  It was nice and calm in the room, Andy and I were laughing and talking and watching football - almost like a date!  It was a fun preview of what's to come on delivery day in 9 short weeks!

Miss anything: Snuggling in close to Andy.

Movement: Of course!  She is most active in the evenings when I'm laying on the couch or in bed.  She seems to be head down because I feel her kick more up top.

Food cravings: The other day out of nowhere a steak sandwich from Subway sounded good, so Andy brought it home for lunch before our appointment.  Not sure I'd classify it as a craving, necessarily, but it did really sound good!  Tasted good, too!

Have you started to show yet:  

Gender: GIRL GIRL GIRL!!!  We had my cousin (the tech) re-verify that, just needed to be sure nothing had grown down there. :)   

Labor signs: I've had some Braxton Hicks contractions, nothing major.

Happy or moody most of the time:  This was one of those weird weeks where I was sick or scared most of the time so I can't say I was super happy but miraculously I wasn't crying my eyes out, either!

Looking forward to: Painting the princess's room.  I'm about to get started on that.  We have a busy Saturday but I'm hoping maybe Sunday I can get a good start on it.  That's my plan, not sure what Andy's is, though. Ha ha!

Symptoms/Side effects:  Heartburn.  I've been on a prescription for Zantac for 6 weeks but come about 4:00 every afternoon it's not cutting the mustard.  I take it twice a day so am starting to take the second dose around 3:00 in the afternoon instead of waiting for supper to get ahead of that burn.  I can't wait to see the head of hair on this little dolly!  We could see a little bit growing towards the nape of her neck, nothing as major as I expected with all this heartburn.

Name:  I am feeling the pressure, believe me, but still no name!  I'm about to give in to Andy and just go with his made up name.  I like it, just not sure I love it.  Ugh!!!  Are you tired of hearing me whine about this yet?  Because I'm tired of whining about it, ha ha!  I've started saying it out loud to him when talking about her and it's starting to grow on me.  I threw a new name out there yesterday and of course Andy kind of liked it, but as soon as I had hit send on the text I knew I didn't really like it enough to use it either.  But, for now, it's on the short list with 2 other names.

Another week in the books - 9 or less to go!  Have I mentioned we discussed being induced at 39 weeks due to the size I was measuring?  If we did that she'd be induced (and born) on Friday the 13th. I'm not superstitious but really, can I do that to her?  Now that we know she's not measuring HUGE I'm guessing inducing as soon as possible won't be necessary anymore. So maybe we'll induce on that following Monday, November 16th.  Who knows.  Maybe we'll just let things go naturally.  Currently she's head down, hopefully she'll just stay content that way and we won't be worrying about her being breach.  So many variables, aren't there?

For fun, here's my 30 week post from Tate's pregnancy.

Show and Tell Tuesday - Dinner Party

Happy Tuesday!  It's been awhile since I've linked up with Momfessionals for Andrea's 'Show and Tell Tuesday' series so thought it was high time I did!

This week's topic is "Tell us who's coming to dinner (the 5 people you'd invite to your house)".  Join in on the fun!

There are so many ways you can go with this topic - 5 people who are dead, 5 people who are famous, 5 family members, 5 friends, 5, 5, 5.  Do you want to laugh all night, or do you want to take a trip back in history and learn what life was like from the mouths of those who lived it?  Are you wanting it to be a serious night or do you want the night to end with you dancing on the table?  I decided to go the fun route with 5 people who are famous and living.

First up, you need someone funny to help keep the ball rolling when there might be a lull in the conversation.  There are so many comedians out there to fit this bill but one of my most favorite comedians is Conan O'Brien.  Plus he's adorably cute, then he makes you laugh and you think he's almost sexy - ha!

Next up, I have to have Josh Groban over!  I seriously love this guy - he's smart - very smart, he's adorable, he has a fun sense of humor and he can serenade us before, during and after each course!  I just smile when he starts singing!  Love you, Josh!!!

Lets add some female perspective in on this meal conversation.  Let's go with Amy Schumer.  I mean, come on, that girl is funny!  And brash and sassy and pretty and I bet she can drink any guy under the table!  Oh man, the fun we'd have!!!  Oh, and I love her hair so maybe she could help a girl out with some tips!

Someone who could totally hold their own with group would be Lily Tomlin!  Love her!  Plus she has to have some of the greatest stories to tell!  I bet she'd hold us all captive with those stories. Yes, she's a definite on this guest list!

And finally, someone to tone things down just a bit. Someone who isn't flashy, but has confidence, who doesn't mind sitting back enjoying things but doesn't have to be the center of attention but grabs the attention by making a single, simple comment.  Kirk Ferentz, the Iowa Hawkeye football coach.  Or, as I lovingly call him, Kirkey (it rhymes with Herkey, our mascot!).  He would fit in great to be the calmer of the situation, plus I bet he'd interject some amazing comment or anecdote at the perfect moment to crack all of these funny people up and leave them loving him, too.  Yes, perfect!

In case someone can't make it here are a couple of fill in's : Jon Hamm and John Slattery.  The only problem with them is I'd sit there drooling all night because they are so dang HOT and SEXY, then I'd forget to pull something out of the oven, it'd get burnt, I'd have a mess or a fire and the whole night would be shot.  Darn, maybe not them...

Andy and I are going to have so much fun hosting this dinner party!  Now, what to cook... :)

Weekend Rewind

Before I recap my weekend I have to tell you about how cruddy my past week was.  It started Tuesday when I went in for a full body skin check. They found something to remove, pretty sure it's nothing but better be safe than sorry.  So they removed that and I have 2 stitches now.  Wednesday I had my 3 hour glucose test and was poked 4 times for a blood draw. Thursday I had some cruddy stomach virus that left me laying on the couch all day while Tate took care of me.  Friday night we started moving my sister's family and I pulled my 'belly' by trying to help save the guys' lives from the deep freeze - I ached and ached all night after that.  Saturday was moving day, the big Iowa vs Iowa State football game and a party to attend - Andy was at the game so I went it all alone with the boys.  I was exhausted and just not myself that day. And then last night.  Last night I tripped going into the kitchen, fell like a big old dead tree and landed hard.  My knees took most of the blow but I did land on my belly a little, too.  I just laid there, paralyzed with fear.  What had I just done?    All 4 of my boys came running, Tate lay down on my legs to take care of me, Aiden and Brennan kept asking if I was ok.  It was so scary.  Long story short, we ended up going to the hospital to be monitored.  Baby Girl was very active, the whole time, and her heartbeat was great, the oxygen flowing to her was perfect and they released me after and hour and a half with orders to take it easy and rest for the next few days.  I slept awful last night, partly because of that and partly because I have one hellacious cold going on.  This morning she has been very busy again and I have my 30 week check up this afternoon, which will be good to have yet another check to make sure I didn't hurt her or this pregnancy.  Some extra prayers would sure be appreciated.

Now my recap -

Friday night we helped get my sister's family  moved to their new home.  They bought a pretty little acreage that has a barn and a 120+ year old farmhouse.  The view is amazing, looks over their pond and a little timber area.  That night we just moved their bed and the kid's beds, the deep freeze, a couch and recliner and few odds and ends to allow them to stay their that night.  Tate grabbed ahold of my niece's baby doll so he held it and loved on it the whole way out to their new place (about a 15 minute drive).  So sweet!

Saturday they moved the rest of their stuff.  They are keeping their current home, too, where my sister does in-home daycare, so it's kind of nice that we didn't have to haul every single thing from their house to the new place.  It was a gorgeous day, perfect temps in the high 60's, sunshine - we unloaded everything by 12:30, ate lunch then spent the rest of the time there outside.  The kids tried fishing in the pond, my mom and sister weeded the flower beds that were overgrown, I unwrapped all of her china and got that put away in her hutch.  The boys and I left about 3:30 and headed home quick to grab a few things before going to a friend's party to watch the big Iowa vs. Iowa State game.  I honestly hate this game - so much negativity thrown back and forth between people.  The party was fun, Iowa won (Go Hawks!) and it was time for us to head home. Tate's teeth are moving again so he was not feeling himself, plus he needed a bath after playing at Auntie's house in the dirt all afternoon. :)

This also happened Saturday -- 30 weeks!!!

Sunday I got up early to bake 2 pies for our church's annual Fall Festival.  It smelled like Thanksgiving in here!  The boys started religion classes for the year.  We picked them up and headed to town for the Fall Fest and lunch.  This year we didn't stay for the auction, the big money maker, because we had stuff to get done around here.  Of that whole list we only got one thing done - cleaning up the garden.

It was another gorgeous Fall afternoon, we ended up with an entire wheelbarrow full of ornamental gourds!

We hauled the garden waste to the dump, came home and I did nothing but blow my nose and take a nap.  Andy and the boys watched the Bears vs. Packers game, poor Bears lost again.  We were just lazy, which felt good for a change.  That's when my big fall happened and the rest of the evening was spent at the hospital.  Thank Heaven for my mom, she came running when we called and took the boys for us.  So glad it ended well, this could have been a completely different post.

And now for a new week! Lets hope this one is less taxing on me! :)

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Baby Girl - Week 29

How far along: 29w4d - can you believe on Saturday I'll be in the 30's???  That's just nuts!

Sleep: It's not been super great this past week - waking up once a night, having a hard time falling back asleep.  Last night, though, I slept all night long.  Then I woke at 6:28 a.m. with a start because I had wanted to leave the house by 6:30 for my glucose test at the hospital.  I made it out of the house 18 minutes later so didn't do too bad.

Best moment of this week: Saturday when Back to School shopping with my mom and sister I found the sweetest little clothes at Target that had the Shy Kitten from the Little Golden Books on them.  Like, super cue stuff!  I absolutely love the cute little kitten and wanted to get one of the shirts for the Princess but walked away from it, hoping I'd be able to keep my eye on it until it went on sale or clearance.  Well, yesterday I was in the big city and was at Target getting a baby gift for a cousin and thought I'd just check them out again.  I ended up walking out of there with one of the t-shirts for next summer.  I couldn't help myself!  I do not like cartoon characters on my kid's clothes (sorry, Sweetpea, but no Minnie Mouse shirts!), but I was just so smitten by that sweet little kitten face, plus most people will not know it's from a book, so I caved over the cuteness and thought of seeing our little girl in it.

Miss anything: I'm going to miss chocolate covered donuts.  I'm sitting at the hospital right now waiting for my third of 4 blood draws because I failed my glucose test last week.  I wasn't surprised, not upset like last time, just knew it was going to happen.  I might cry a little when I fail this 3 hour test because of the pain of pricking my finger 4 times a day and the pain of having to really watch every little thing I eat, but then I'll be fine because I've done it before and it wasn't that big of a deal.  And I did it while my day was in the hospital after his accident, which made it extremely difficult. So if I could survive that, I can definitely survive it again.

Movement: I love this wiggly little girl!  It is so fun to feel her move around in there.  Lately she is doing more pushing out with her little feet.  At night I'll lay in bed on my side and just wait for her to start her daily exercises.  She'll push out her little foot and I'll gently push back at it. Sometimes she pulls away quickly, like it tickled, other times she'll push back a little then slowly move it away.  I just cannot wait to meet this sweet little baby!

Food cravings: I'm the most boring pregnant woman ever - no cravings!  I've never had those "I can't stand it until I get it" kind of cravings with any of my pregnancies.  Where's the fun in that?!?

Gender: GIRL GIRL GIRL!!!    

Labor signs: I had a few Braxton Hicks hugs this week, some pressure 'down there', but nothing terribly exciting.

Happy or moody most of the time:  Pretty happy for the most part.

Looking forward to: Getting the results back from this glucose test so I can just get it figured out and move on.  I'm tired of it hovering over my head.

Symptoms/Side effects:  Well, I've been pretty smug up til now that I can still move, roll over, bend over, etc. with out any extra effort. That's all changed this week.  Monday I got out of the shower and went to bend over to dry off my legs and I couldn't - it was a struggle!  So for the rest of this pregnancy I'll be putting my leg up on the edge of the tub to dry it off. And the days of bending over to get something off the floor are over - she's too big and in the way now.  Getting up off the couch if I'm laying down on it is quite the feat.  I am still rolling over in bed fairly easily, but that's by way of rolling over my tummy.  Rolling over quickly by way of my back, not so easy.  

Name:  Nope.  I got everyone excited yesterday by calling her Princess Grace.  I thought I had mentioned that before but I guess not.  When we found out she was a girl I wanted to call her something other than just The Baby.  I love Princess Grace, she is so beautiful and classy and perfect so I started using that.  Grace is NOT the name, as pretty as it is.  Sorry to get everyone all worked up! :)  We are still working on a name.  Less than 10 weeks to go, I'm afraid I'll just settle on Andy's made up  name because we are desperate.  That's what I did with 'Brennan', and I grew to love it within in hours of him being born. We shall see.

I'll have a bump picture for you next week. 

Weekend Rewind

Happy Monday!  Sorry I'm late in posting today, I was busy with family this weekend and didn't take the time to get my post written.

Gosh, I guess my weekend started clear last Friday!  I dropped the big boys at school then high tailed it to town to pick up my aunt, grandma then out to my mom's house to get her.  We all headed south to a big craft show we go to the Friday of Labor Day weekend every year.  It was HOT and HUMID that day.  We got there and parked in our usual parking lot.  The emptiness of the lot should have given us a hint that the crowd was going to be small but I don't think any of us put two and two together.  We walked over to the town square where the craft show was and got to it.  I had one booth I absolutely HAD to stop in - it's a girly booth I've passed by every year, full of headbands and bows and barrettes.  Not this year, though, this was my year to stop and take my town oogling over all the pretties.  On our way to that booth we noticed a few empty spots, even commented on the fact that there were open spots where in years past there never have been.  We get around to the side where 'my booth' always sets up and guess what - it's gone!  There's a big empty hole there.  What?!?  I was crushed!  I gave myself a little hope that maybe they had moved to another spot on the square, but no, there weren't up there and neither was any other bow booth.  Talk about disappointed!  I wasn't the only one disappointed in the lack of booths, either.  The mum booth wasn't there, there was only one winery there with a booth and taste samples, another booth my aunt was specifically looking for wasn't there, either.  I'm not sure what happened, if people thought it was too hot to be up there, or if they don't make money at that craft show anymore, or if the show raised prices on spots - whatever the deal, it was disappointing and if they don't get filled back up next year or the year after we might stop going.  What a bummer!

We left the square and walked down to a store that sells repurposed and refinished furniture.  It was neat to look around but super pricey!  Then we headed back to the square to grab lunch at a pizza restaurant there.  Has anyone from the Midwest ever heard of Breadeaux Pisa?  (Des??)  We used to have one in my hometown and once it closed it was such a disappointment.  That was actually where Andy had his first job, way back when!  My friend and I used to drive by there stalking him, hoping that I could catch a glimpse up him tossing up a pizza crust in the back. :)  Anyway, we had lunch there then headed back to town.  We were so hot, the weather was miserable!

Saturday my mom, sister and I went on our annual Back to School shopping trip.  We tried a different town that has a Kohl's and Target, thinking those are the 2 main stores we usually hit up anyway.  We were super disappointed and won't be doing that again.  Plus they didn't have any great deals, which usually on Labor Day weekend there are sales everywhere you look!  Another reason we were disappointed.  I did get Aiden 4 pairs of what I call comfy pants, Bren got 2 pairs, Tate got 1. Tate also got a long sleeved shirt but I didn't see any shirts for the big boys that they would like.  My mom got the kids' Christmas jammies so she can mark that off her list already.  And the Princess got to 2 sets of tights - one for this winter, one for the next.  I couldn't pass up the ones for next winter, I had the exact same tights when I was little except mine had red hearts instead of the pink ones I bought PG.

We were on a deadline to get back home by 4:30 so when I got here I loaded up Andy and the boys and we headed to town to grab a few groceries.  Nothing exciting there.  But I did finally get to meet my cousin's baby boy, Finn, when I stopped by my aunt's to grab somethings.  What a sweetie!  Baby girl was kicking and wiggling while I was holding him, she must have been excited to meet her playmate!  Then my aunt took him out to the car where the boys were waiting and Tate got to give Finn a sweet little kiss and rub his little head.  It was so sweet, Tate was in awe of that little baby!  Can't wait for him to meet Princess Grace!!!

Sunday we cleaned up the house and prepared lunch for my family who was coming over for Sunday Dinner.  Andy grilled some BBQ chicken, which turned out great.  My sister brought her yummy Tomato Bread Salad and my mom brought a pumpkin spice cake, perfect for those craving a little bit of fall food.  We stuffed ourselves then I gave my dad a haircut and whacked my sister's hair off.  It was a nice, relaxing afternoon with family.  We ended the day watching football and breaking my heart over what happened on Bachelor in Paradise.  I still haven't watched last night's finale so please don't spoil it with a comment!! Thanks!

Monday we ran to Menards to grab a few things for the basement.  Andy sanded some trim and then I painted it.  I mowed the lawn, Andy trimmed, then we headed inside to get out of the humidity.  Andy finished the suspended ceiling in the basement bathroom and I started working on hanging things on the boys' walls.  We are so close to getting things all buttoned up down there, then I'll finally get to do an 'after' post.  Finally!

For supper Andy's family came over.  We grilled burgers and had a few sides to round out the meal.  It was still a little humid but not quite as hot so we were able to sit out on the deck finally.  And Tate was let outside to play, first time in a week.  That humidity last week was so awful, after we'd get back from a morning walk I was too hot and pooped to sit out in it any longer than necessary, so poor Tate was cooped up all week.  They all left about 8, the boys went to bed and we watched more football.

It was a fun, busy but not too busy, weekend.  We got a few things done, we had fun, and we were with family.  No pictures, sorry!  Sunday night my phone started shutting off all by itself, then it would take me a while to get it to start back up again.  Was so irritating! I couldn't get it on at all yesterday in the morning so I had plans to go to town this morning to get a new phone. Then last night I finally got it turned on - I sat down and went through all of my contacts and wrote them down because I worried I wouldn't get it turned on again when getting the new phone.  After that it stayed on all night and is still on, so I'm hoping to not have to get a new phone yet.  I've been trying to get along until Black Friday when they have deals on phones.  Fingers crossed it lives that long!  What a pain, though!

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Baby Girl - Week 28

How far along: 28w4d

Total weight gain: 16lbs - I didn't gain any in the 2 weeks since my last appointment, bonus!

Sleep: Really good!  I'm amazed how well I'm sleeping this time, it's like how I slept with my first pregnancy.  Does this mean Baby Girl will sleep like Aiden did? Which means he was up every 2 hours, around the clock, for the first 4 months.  Send caffeine if that's the case!!!

Best moment of this week: Going to my appointment yesterday.  I love hearing her little, but strong, heartbeat.  Right in the 150's still.  She's been very consistent as far as that's concerned.  While there they gave me a TDaP booster (Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis/whooping cough).  They have started recommending these shots to all pregnant women after 27 weeks gestation.  Didn't even feel the poke!  I also did a second 1 hour glucose test.  I had to do one at 22 weeks because of my past history of having Gestational Diabetes.  That one I squeaked by, just under the 140 benchmark (I was at 137).  I'm sure I have it again, and so is the dr. I saw yesterday.  I am measuring at 31 weeks already, yikes!  I honestly don't feel that big!  But we discussed how I will be having a bigger baby again and that we'll likely induce right at 39 weeks, before if medically necessary.  So in about 10 shorts week I'll be meeting our little princess!

Miss anything: Sugar.  Because of the major chance I'll have GD I am back on a low carb/low sugar diet.  It starts today and I already know I miss sugar.  Totally worth giving that up for a healthy little lady, though.

Movement: YES!  She goes on these marathon wiggling and rolling sessions that last 5 minutes or so at a time.  She's still very quiet during the day but very active from about 8:00 in the evenings until I go to sleep. Who knows what she does while I'm asleep!  And then first thing in the morning she's bouncing around quite a bit - kind of a 'good morning, Mommy!' thing! :)

Food cravings: Nope, none.  That will change now that I am limiting my sugar intake, though.

Anything making you queasy or sick: If I brush my teeth too long the feeling of the toothpaste bubbles in my mouth makes me gag.  I haven't made it to the 2 minute mark in about a month, ha ha!

Have you started to show yet:  2 times this week I've had people tell me I don't look as far along as I am.  I told one of them it was because my chest was so big, it helped camouflage how big I really am. And I totally believe that! The girls are ha-UGE! Dang, girl!

Gender: GIRL GIRL GIRL!!!    

Labor signs: No.  I love Braxton Hicks, where are they??

Happy or moody most of the time:  Last week was an emotional roller coaster for me.  I cried about EVERYTHING!  So far this week I've been much better, happier, HAPPY.  Thank goodness I get a break from the crazy - or should I say, thank goodness Andy gets a break from the crazy? That guy is a saint!

Looking forward to: Finding out my glucose test results so I can move forward and make changes.  

I really can't believe we are talking about only having 10 weeks left of this pregnancy.  As slow as the first half went, this second half is going so fast!  I have said before and I'll say it again - I love being pregnant!  Yea, there are a lot of not so fun things but those pale in comparison to all the neat things about it - the baby moving in there, having a nice round belly to rub, the knowledge that you are growing a little miracle in there...  Can you believe in 10 weeks time I'll finally be holding our little princess in my arms instead of my belly?!?  Time to start working on her room, eek!

Just for fun I thought I'd share the link to my 28 week bumpdate from my pregnancy with Tate.  You can find that HERE.