My kids have been cracking us up lately. Of course, we have our moments where they make us want to pull our hair out, but they are both at really great stages. They have been through so, so much during this pregnancy and it really breaks my heart how little time and attention I was able to give them. Things have really improved and we're enjoying reconnecting with each other now that mommy is back to semi-normal.
Cassie is totally into pretend play. Last Sunday, she informed me that she had changed her name to Safari. She came to me wearing a Safari hat. Ok...we went with it. A bit later she said, "Mommy, I'm in the mood for some ice cream." I told her that we were not having ice cream, as it was almost dinner time. She said, "Well, it's a good thing I always keep some ice cream in my hat!" She pulled off her safari hat and she had a pretend ice cream cone in the hat, which she proceeded to eat. All I could do was laugh.
Conrey has grown quite well into his name of Ornery Conrey. Oh. My. He is his daddy's boy, that is for sure (and his grandpa's). My grandpa and my dad (and some of my uncles) are famous (you know...not like famous, but with people who know them well) for the twinkle that they get in their eye when they are being ornery or are up to no good. If you ask anyone what they remember about Grandpa, that will always come up in the conversation. My kids both have the twinkle, but I am seeing Conrey's a LOT lately. He took very early on to my dad's insurance manager, Justine. I've always asked, "Whose boy are you?" The answer was always, "Momma's boy!" Now, with that stinkin twinkle, he says, "JUSTINE'S BOY!" and then he flinches waiting for the tickle that he knows accompanies his answer. This is the game that we play multiple times a day. Sometimes, out of the blue, he'll shout, "JUSTINE'S BOY!" It is sometimes Grandpa's boy or Grannie's boy...anything to not say Mommy. This little game, however, has enabled me to catch a glimpse of his sweet, soft heart. If I make a sad face and ask him the question, he whispers, "Mommy's boy......." and gives me a hug and kiss. :) He is so sweet and tender and I just love it. I hope that he can be a "manly man" or "tough boy" while still having his soft side. I don't want my son to be a wuss or a wimp, but I want him to have the compassion and gentleness that Jesus asks of us.
Probably my most rewarding thing of late is catching bits of conversation between my children as they play. They have their squabbles like any siblings, but they love each other deeply. The other day, it was a Tuesday, I believe, I overheard Cassie teaching Conrey all about the story she had learned in Bible class on Sunday. She was trying to get him to understand that the whole point of the story was how much Jesus loves us. It was precious and I wish that I had a recording of it. She loves sharing Bible stories and "lessons" with her brother. I always feel guilty when we get almost home and she has to ask, "Wanna know what I learned in Bible class today/tonight?" She loves to tell us about it, too, and the times that I fail to ask, it seems that she lasts as long as she can wait for me to ask before she just has to tell us. I try my best to ask once we're leaving church both to reiterate the lesson and therefore solidify it for her and to encourage her in her "evangelism" as it may be, to Daddy, Mommy, and brother.
I can't believe that in less than 2 weeks, I'll officially have a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old. This time 2 years ago, I was in and out of the hospital, passing out, and pretty unfunctional. Prayers would be appreciated that Keaton doesn't steal Momma's iron the way his brother did.
Everyone have a blessed Memorial Day weekend and I'll try to blog about our experiences next week!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Every Pregnancy Different
I know that they always say that every pregnancy is different. Seriously...this one has had every surprise possible.
***I was sicker longer with this one--only a week longer, but when you've been sick for 10 weeks, an extra one is killer!
***I cannot sleep soundly--with my first two, my head would hit the pillow and I would wake up when Mark left for work. Now, I toss and turn to go to sleep. I toss and turn throughout the night. I usually wake up earlier than necessary just to...you guessed it...toss and turn some more before finally giving up and getting out of bed.
***I am exhausted! I attribute this to the 4-year-old, 2-year-old, and lack of sleeping. It makes for loooong days.
***Speaking of long days, right now, each day seems to last 2 weeks each! This is the stage of pregnancy that went by decently fast for me the first two times. It was the beginning with the sickness and the end with the waiting that were eternally long.
***I want ALL THINGS SWEET!!!!!!!!!!! I like dessert like the next gal, but I would typically take more meat and potatoes and have a small dessert. Not right now! I want sweets, more sweets, and all of the sweets that I can get my hands on! Not the case with the other 2. I DID crave ice cream with the other two, but that was about it, really, in the sweet department.
I know that I'm whiney with all of the "afflictions" that I have going on with the pregnancy. I just want to clarify that I am joyful to have a healthy, happy baby growing in there. At least, I assume he's happy. He sure kicks and moves around like a happy baby! :) God blessed us in a way that we didn't ask for, but I know that it will prove to be a great blessing as we watch our boys play together (and fight) and as we do our best to instill a love for God in their little, blessed hearts.
We're at 21 weeks now, baby! Only 19 more to go! We're over the hump!!!
***I was sicker longer with this one--only a week longer, but when you've been sick for 10 weeks, an extra one is killer!
***I cannot sleep soundly--with my first two, my head would hit the pillow and I would wake up when Mark left for work. Now, I toss and turn to go to sleep. I toss and turn throughout the night. I usually wake up earlier than necessary just to...you guessed it...toss and turn some more before finally giving up and getting out of bed.
***I am exhausted! I attribute this to the 4-year-old, 2-year-old, and lack of sleeping. It makes for loooong days.
***Speaking of long days, right now, each day seems to last 2 weeks each! This is the stage of pregnancy that went by decently fast for me the first two times. It was the beginning with the sickness and the end with the waiting that were eternally long.
***I want ALL THINGS SWEET!!!!!!!!!!! I like dessert like the next gal, but I would typically take more meat and potatoes and have a small dessert. Not right now! I want sweets, more sweets, and all of the sweets that I can get my hands on! Not the case with the other 2. I DID crave ice cream with the other two, but that was about it, really, in the sweet department.
I know that I'm whiney with all of the "afflictions" that I have going on with the pregnancy. I just want to clarify that I am joyful to have a healthy, happy baby growing in there. At least, I assume he's happy. He sure kicks and moves around like a happy baby! :) God blessed us in a way that we didn't ask for, but I know that it will prove to be a great blessing as we watch our boys play together (and fight) and as we do our best to instill a love for God in their little, blessed hearts.
We're at 21 weeks now, baby! Only 19 more to go! We're over the hump!!!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Planning, Preparation, and Positive Thinking
Now that the shock of our baby boy #2 has worn off, we are all getting very excited with visions of brotherly love, future bunkbeds, big-sister-bossy-itis, and all things blue. I am praying from this minute forward that Conrey and Keaton be friends, not rivals. I'm not niave enough to think that there will be no conflict between them. I simply hope and pray that they will grow up being friends and companions. I pray that Cassie loves being the only girl and that she is not too spoiled.
I pray that sleeping situations work out with a small baby. Keaton will be rooming with big sister, so I just hope that that goes as well as I believe it will. Cassie is a much sounder sleeper than Conrey, so I hope that the baby being in her room is the better option. The kids' rooms share a wall, so I just hope that Conrey isn't disturbed even without the baby in his room.
I'm currently trying to figure out how to make Conrey's June wardrobe fit an October baby. Conrey was big, so I don't have any hope of stretching his clothes for Keaton unless Keaton is giant baby, which would not be mommy's preference! :)
We reached 20 weeks yesterday. For those of you that have never counted down week by week inching ever closer to the end, there are typically 40 weeks in a pregnancy. The day you hit 40 weeks is your due date. SO, 20 weeks is a pretty huge milestone as the halfway point. 24 weeks is typically when they say your baby has a chance of survival if they are born prematurely, but babies have been saved as early as 21 weeks. I'm not planning to have this baby early (well...maybe a few days or weeks...), :) but I was just giving perspective to where we are in the process. My dear friend, Holly, had a baby at 27 weeks 5 days (1 lb 11 oz). It was a terrifying 80 days in the hospital for their little princess, but nearly 2 years later, she is a beautiful, thriving, healthy little thing. Medical Science is truly, truly amazing and God is GOOD to reveal His mysteries to us little by little!
That was a really random tangent. Wow. Sorry 'bout that.
I have been having issues with sleeping well lately. It comes with the preggo territory, but I have never had the issues that I'm currently facing so early and so brutal. Yesterday, I could. not. walk. I could not take a single step on my left leg. After MUCH work from my dad at his office (he's a chiropractor for those of you who do not know that), MUCH freezing from ice packs, some tears, and prayers, I slowly "unlocked" and was able to get some relief. This morning, we've taken a few steps back, but I'm up and walking around, just slowly.
With my previous 2 pregnancies, I would get to a point where I would have to crawl to the bathroom if nature called in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning without time to stretch and massage that particular muscle. That was at like 30 weeks or something. This time is much more quickly (20 weeks, remember?) and much more vicious. My chiropractor is leaving town until Monday, too, and I told him that he couldn't go! :)
OH! This has NOTHING to do with the baby or pregnancy, but I'm going to share it anyway! I have started making "Green Slushies/Smoothies" for Cassie and SHE LOVES THEM! They are quite sneaky, so you have to make sure that you make them when the littlies aren't watching. Here's the recipe:
2 c. frozen strawberries
1 c. frozen peaches
1 c. FRESH SPINACH
5-6 drops stevia (which I don't use, so I substitute) 2-3 TB of sugar
1 to 1-1/2 c. water to make it slushie.
Blend it all up until there are no green chunks left. Serve with a spoon and a straw or let it thaw some and put it in a sippy cup.
When it is fresh, we call it a slushie. When it is thawed, we call it a smoothie. You can sub bananas for the peaches or most any fruit, really.
I do not care for them. I can taste the spinach and it weirds me out. If I used less spinach, I would drink them, but who wants to use less when I got a 4-year-old DRINKING SPINACH!!!!!! She won't touch veggies with a 10-foot pole!
Ok...that's my story for now. Everyone have a blessed day and remember that God is BIGGER than whatever issues you might be facing!
I pray that sleeping situations work out with a small baby. Keaton will be rooming with big sister, so I just hope that that goes as well as I believe it will. Cassie is a much sounder sleeper than Conrey, so I hope that the baby being in her room is the better option. The kids' rooms share a wall, so I just hope that Conrey isn't disturbed even without the baby in his room.
I'm currently trying to figure out how to make Conrey's June wardrobe fit an October baby. Conrey was big, so I don't have any hope of stretching his clothes for Keaton unless Keaton is giant baby, which would not be mommy's preference! :)
We reached 20 weeks yesterday. For those of you that have never counted down week by week inching ever closer to the end, there are typically 40 weeks in a pregnancy. The day you hit 40 weeks is your due date. SO, 20 weeks is a pretty huge milestone as the halfway point. 24 weeks is typically when they say your baby has a chance of survival if they are born prematurely, but babies have been saved as early as 21 weeks. I'm not planning to have this baby early (well...maybe a few days or weeks...), :) but I was just giving perspective to where we are in the process. My dear friend, Holly, had a baby at 27 weeks 5 days (1 lb 11 oz). It was a terrifying 80 days in the hospital for their little princess, but nearly 2 years later, she is a beautiful, thriving, healthy little thing. Medical Science is truly, truly amazing and God is GOOD to reveal His mysteries to us little by little!
That was a really random tangent. Wow. Sorry 'bout that.
I have been having issues with sleeping well lately. It comes with the preggo territory, but I have never had the issues that I'm currently facing so early and so brutal. Yesterday, I could. not. walk. I could not take a single step on my left leg. After MUCH work from my dad at his office (he's a chiropractor for those of you who do not know that), MUCH freezing from ice packs, some tears, and prayers, I slowly "unlocked" and was able to get some relief. This morning, we've taken a few steps back, but I'm up and walking around, just slowly.
With my previous 2 pregnancies, I would get to a point where I would have to crawl to the bathroom if nature called in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning without time to stretch and massage that particular muscle. That was at like 30 weeks or something. This time is much more quickly (20 weeks, remember?) and much more vicious. My chiropractor is leaving town until Monday, too, and I told him that he couldn't go! :)
OH! This has NOTHING to do with the baby or pregnancy, but I'm going to share it anyway! I have started making "Green Slushies/Smoothies" for Cassie and SHE LOVES THEM! They are quite sneaky, so you have to make sure that you make them when the littlies aren't watching. Here's the recipe:
2 c. frozen strawberries
1 c. frozen peaches
1 c. FRESH SPINACH
5-6 drops stevia (which I don't use, so I substitute) 2-3 TB of sugar
1 to 1-1/2 c. water to make it slushie.
Blend it all up until there are no green chunks left. Serve with a spoon and a straw or let it thaw some and put it in a sippy cup.
When it is fresh, we call it a slushie. When it is thawed, we call it a smoothie. You can sub bananas for the peaches or most any fruit, really.
I do not care for them. I can taste the spinach and it weirds me out. If I used less spinach, I would drink them, but who wants to use less when I got a 4-year-old DRINKING SPINACH!!!!!! She won't touch veggies with a 10-foot pole!
Ok...that's my story for now. Everyone have a blessed day and remember that God is BIGGER than whatever issues you might be facing!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
NAME!
Baby #3 now has a name. We will be excited to introduce to you all, Lord will, KEATON JAMES in October! Cassie, Conrey, and Keaton...I love the way they go together!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Names
We've narrowed down to 2 names. I will tell as soon as we choose one. I don't need 100 people telling me why this name or that name is lousy. :) I love both names and it is just picking between the 2. Can't wait to have a name for this boy! I think that I'm still in disbelief that it is a boy! WHAT?!? :) So excited about it, but just still can't believe it!
Anyway, today is a busy, busy day getting ready for Mark's family to come and for Cassie's birthday party here tomorrow. SO, I had best get with it. I have to really force myself to not go dig out baby boy clothes. Seriously. It is tempting, but I have so much to do! Thanks everyone for all of the prayers, encouragement, and sharing in our joy about baby boy! It takes a village (or a church family) to raise a child and I know that those of you that read my blog whom I actually know love our children and want to help grow them up in the Lord. That means SO MUCH to me! :)
Anyway, today is a busy, busy day getting ready for Mark's family to come and for Cassie's birthday party here tomorrow. SO, I had best get with it. I have to really force myself to not go dig out baby boy clothes. Seriously. It is tempting, but I have so much to do! Thanks everyone for all of the prayers, encouragement, and sharing in our joy about baby boy! It takes a village (or a church family) to raise a child and I know that those of you that read my blog whom I actually know love our children and want to help grow them up in the Lord. That means SO MUCH to me! :)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
It's A...
BOY!
I am still in shock! That was the first thing the little guy showed us on sonogram was that he was definitely a boy! I'm so surprised and just cannot believe it! We are super excited for all of the brotherly bonding that we HOPE will occur! No name yet. We've got to switch gears and focus solely on boy names now!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Excitement
I am so, so excited. I feel like a kid the week of Christmas. I know that Santa is coming and I cannot wait until he does!
Okay...not Santa, but the sonographer! That's right! My sonogram is in 2, short (read that as infinitely long) days! Thursday, we will be seeing our little baby C and will hopefully be able to decide upon a name that is better than baby C once we know if we're having a sweet baby girl or another ornery baby boy! We haven't seen our little one in about 6 or 7 weeks and the wait has been long. That last sonogram was sono number 4, so we had seen baby C several times up until that point. Yes, we were quite spoiled, but you must understand all that we were going through previous to that...scary pregnancy stuff.
So, I'm sure you'll all be checking my blog all day long on Thursday now. Let me just tell you that I won't be home from the appointment until probably 4:00, so don't be expecting anything until late in the day. I WILL, however, probably get Facebook updated before this, though, so keep an eye out there.
Seriously, these days are going to be forever long. Please send up your prayers for healthy baby, healthy momma's insides, and that baby will not have those legs crossed! :)
Okay...not Santa, but the sonographer! That's right! My sonogram is in 2, short (read that as infinitely long) days! Thursday, we will be seeing our little baby C and will hopefully be able to decide upon a name that is better than baby C once we know if we're having a sweet baby girl or another ornery baby boy! We haven't seen our little one in about 6 or 7 weeks and the wait has been long. That last sonogram was sono number 4, so we had seen baby C several times up until that point. Yes, we were quite spoiled, but you must understand all that we were going through previous to that...scary pregnancy stuff.
So, I'm sure you'll all be checking my blog all day long on Thursday now. Let me just tell you that I won't be home from the appointment until probably 4:00, so don't be expecting anything until late in the day. I WILL, however, probably get Facebook updated before this, though, so keep an eye out there.
Seriously, these days are going to be forever long. Please send up your prayers for healthy baby, healthy momma's insides, and that baby will not have those legs crossed! :)
Friday, May 7, 2010
Appropriate?
I think not.
I am talking about a book that I found at Border's yesterday. I was in the section for young children. The target age was like 6 and under. I was picking up the "I'm a Big Brother" book by Cole for Conrey. Cassie loves the sister one and I wanted to get it for Conrey. Right now, we read it all as "I'm going to be a big brother..." He has really enjoyed it. We've already read it multiple times. If you have a little sibling coming, I recommend these books.
However, I do NOT recommend the book next to it that was called something along the lines of "There's a Baby in Mommy's Tummy" or something like that.
Where do I begin? I thought that it would be a good one to get to go along with the big sister/brother books.
Then, I started reading it.
It started out good enough...My name is Elizabeth! You can't really tell by looking, but there is a baby growing in my mommy's tummy!
I flipped a few pages and saw a questionable picture of "mommy" and "daddy" in bed with Daddy on top of mommy and, though it wasn't graphic, it was obvious that they were naked. Curious, I read something along these lines and I am NOT embellishing...in fact, I'm kind of cleaning it up:
"Sometimes Mommy and Daddy like to lay in bed together naked. They hug and kiss a lot. That makes them feel good, so they want to touch each other all over. Then, when Daddy gets really excited and can't wait any longer, he slips his
Yes, it went on from there to describe what a daddy does and how great it is, etc. etc. This is for people the age of my completely innocent daughter!!!!!!!! I was flabbergasted. I flipped back a page before and there was, complete with pictures, diagrams of male and female anatomy. There was a picture of what a daddy would look like when he's ready to make a baby (yes, you get my point) and a gynecologist's view of mommy. Seriously not joking.
I am not only disturbed by this book, but am offended that it even exists! Is this seriously the point we've come from? I feel that sex has been made very taboo and is portrayed as "wrong" among Christians via the poor light that is cast upon it. I believe that it is a huge injustice to Christian youth because it is misrepresented and very often causes confusion and issues for teens that have waited until their married feeling guilty, ashamed, etc. I think that this needs to be corrected, for sure! HOWEVER, I believe that there is a time and place for education and I do NOT think that that is preschool! Yes, there are questions about how baby got in mommy's tummy. Children are curious. Isn't there something wrong with a 4-year-old knowing that much? Doesn't that sort of TMI so early in life cause promescuity and too MUCH curiosity?
What are your thoughts. I can't get this out of my head, because it really bothers me. How do I know that school won't using something like this to teach my kindergartener? How do I know that the next door neighbor doesn't own this book and thus expose my daughter when she goes to play? I am just freaked at the moment.
Where is the value in innocence, imagination, and protection for our babies???
Oh, and if you think that I'm crazy, overacting, etc., please comment, as well. Thanks!
I am talking about a book that I found at Border's yesterday. I was in the section for young children. The target age was like 6 and under. I was picking up the "I'm a Big Brother" book by Cole for Conrey. Cassie loves the sister one and I wanted to get it for Conrey. Right now, we read it all as "I'm going to be a big brother..." He has really enjoyed it. We've already read it multiple times. If you have a little sibling coming, I recommend these books.
However, I do NOT recommend the book next to it that was called something along the lines of "There's a Baby in Mommy's Tummy" or something like that.
Where do I begin? I thought that it would be a good one to get to go along with the big sister/brother books.
Then, I started reading it.
It started out good enough...My name is Elizabeth! You can't really tell by looking, but there is a baby growing in my mommy's tummy!
I flipped a few pages and saw a questionable picture of "mommy" and "daddy" in bed with Daddy on top of mommy and, though it wasn't graphic, it was obvious that they were naked. Curious, I read something along these lines and I am NOT embellishing...in fact, I'm kind of cleaning it up:
"Sometimes Mommy and Daddy like to lay in bed together naked. They hug and kiss a lot. That makes them feel good, so they want to touch each other all over. Then, when Daddy gets really excited and can't wait any longer, he slips his
*****SSSSSSSSCRREEEEEEEEEEEECH*****
WHAT?!?
Yes, it went on from there to describe what a daddy does and how great it is, etc. etc. This is for people the age of my completely innocent daughter!!!!!!!! I was flabbergasted. I flipped back a page before and there was, complete with pictures, diagrams of male and female anatomy. There was a picture of what a daddy would look like when he's ready to make a baby (yes, you get my point) and a gynecologist's view of mommy. Seriously not joking.
I am not only disturbed by this book, but am offended that it even exists! Is this seriously the point we've come from? I feel that sex has been made very taboo and is portrayed as "wrong" among Christians via the poor light that is cast upon it. I believe that it is a huge injustice to Christian youth because it is misrepresented and very often causes confusion and issues for teens that have waited until their married feeling guilty, ashamed, etc. I think that this needs to be corrected, for sure! HOWEVER, I believe that there is a time and place for education and I do NOT think that that is preschool! Yes, there are questions about how baby got in mommy's tummy. Children are curious. Isn't there something wrong with a 4-year-old knowing that much? Doesn't that sort of TMI so early in life cause promescuity and too MUCH curiosity?
What are your thoughts. I can't get this out of my head, because it really bothers me. How do I know that school won't using something like this to teach my kindergartener? How do I know that the next door neighbor doesn't own this book and thus expose my daughter when she goes to play? I am just freaked at the moment.
Where is the value in innocence, imagination, and protection for our babies???
Oh, and if you think that I'm crazy, overacting, etc., please comment, as well. Thanks!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Preggo Pics at 18 weeks
Sorry that I've never finished my saga. My brother should shut his pie portal, though, because he hasn't written a REAL post in a really long time. Loser. *ahem*
You know I love you, bro.
Anyway, here are 4 very unattractive pictures of me at 18 weeks. They were all equally bad, so you get all 4! WOO HOO! No, I didn't get my hair cut before the poor quality one. The quality plus the fact that I threw my hair back over my shoulder made it look as though I had. Be waiting for the haircut pics, though, because they're coming. It is HOT!
You know I love you, bro.
Anyway, here are 4 very unattractive pictures of me at 18 weeks. They were all equally bad, so you get all 4! WOO HOO! No, I didn't get my hair cut before the poor quality one. The quality plus the fact that I threw my hair back over my shoulder made it look as though I had. Be waiting for the haircut pics, though, because they're coming. It is HOT!
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