Me and You...

Thought I'd start off with some tears in case you haven't seen this one.  This preggo mom about lost it!

sniff, sniff...So...I had a big day Friday...I was fortunate to attend two very special Mother's Day programs.

JAY

Jay's class sang a really sweet song and each of the children read a paragraph they wrote about why they love their mom.

One thing I found interesting was that not a SINGLE child said they loved their mom because she BUYS them THINGS, takes them on TRIPS, DRAGS them to multiple organized sports...etc.  I did a similar exercise with Jay's Sunday School class yesterday, and the result was the same.

All of the responses were ACTS of love...and many of the boys responses were related to food (I guess "the way to a man's heart"...starts early!).  Examples...
-I love my mom because she plays games with me.
-I love when my mom spends time with me at the zoo.
-I love when my mom rides bikes with me.
-I love my mom when she makes me macaroni and cheese...or "steak, broccoli and chicken"...or spaghetti.
-I love my mom because she reads books to me.
-I love when my mom paints my nails.
-I love when my mom holds me and hugs me when I'm hurt...

As mothers, the responses of these little people show us that all the "extras" that we THINK may matter to our little ones really don't.  When it comes down to it they just want US.  Like newborns...what matters to them is for us to spend time with them, feed them, comfort them, hold them and love them.  


It's that simple.

BETSY

I have heard many wonderful things about the "Mother's Day Tea" at Montessori schools.  It is a really BIG deal and a very special event for the children and the mothers.  Usually it is for 5 year olds (I was very disappointed when Jay didn't get to do one last year since he wasn't 5 on Mother's Day).  At Betsy's new school there are only a few 5 year olds, so the 4 and 5 year olds got to participate.

It was yet another example that if you expect more out of your children, they will EXCEED your expectations.

Betsy met me at the door and led me to my table.  The children decorated and set the tables all on their own.

The table looked beautiful! 

The children made our plates and served us.

After bringing our food.  They poured our tea, complete with sugar and cream!

They sang several cute songs and then recited long poems in pairs (Will try to upload Betsy's in the next post).  The finale was them singing Kenny Chesney's "Me and You", with their little thumbs pointing to themselves when they said "me" and their little pointers outstretched to their moms when they said "you".  Not a dry eye in the room!  I will never think of that song the same way again!

Produce and Ice Cream...

One of my favorite things (and my friend Missy's!) about the baby website I used with Jay was that each week it compared the baby to the size of some type of produce.  I was so excited this week to see an update in my "I'm Expecting" app that added this exact thing!  I've really been missing it!  FYI, this week, Week 25, baby Lucy is the size of a zucchini! (Last week was a grapefruit, next week is an eggplant.)


Speaking of produce (which I need to be better about working into my diet), I'm getting really close to having to take my glucose test.  I guess, considering that I had ice cream 3 times yesterday, that means I'll have to watch my sugars a few days before!  My former boss is hyperglycemic and he was really helpful in telling me what foods to avoid before my sugar-test with Jay...I'll have to email him for a refresher!


I spent last weekend in Charlotte with dear friends and, as always, we had a fabulous time!  What could be better than shopping in IKEA with friends?...

...Shopping in IKEA with friends while eating $1 soft-serve frozen yogurt cones!!!

Car Seats...

The purpose of this post:  Just because you are expecting a third doesn't mean you have to sell the sedan and buy a van!  How can you make it work?

So in August my back seat will be 3-wide with car seats.  One comment I've been getting is "So, when are you getting a van?"

Although,

• I've totally warmed up to the idea of a Swagger Wagon.
• If someone gave me one/or I won one, I would NOT turn it away.
• If I'm in a van I definitely get "van envy".
• MOST of my neighbors have vans.  When we moved in, some friends came to visit us and their son Spencer said, "If you live in this neighborhood, do you have to get a van?"

...I'm not giving up on Cammie (my Camry) quite yet.  She's got some spunk left, gets fabulous gas mileage and is paid for!  JB and I are on track to reach big DR goals this year, and I'm not about to set us back out of "want" instead of true "need".  Especially since instead of "gazelle" speed, we've reached our goals more at "goat" speed. :)

So, where do you go with random questions?...Google!...There I found an answer to my search:  three car seats in a Camry.  I found post after post and the Radian car seat was a common theme.  The Radian has a very narrow base and a 5-point harness, which allows the seats to be extra close because the kids don't have to reach down between to buckle.  So instead of buying a new car, we had my car detailed :) and bought two Radian car seats.  Since this change, I've been obsessive with keeping my car clean and neat (which is VERY unusual for me!) and I must say it makes me and Cammie even better friends.  Now if I can just get to cleaning out the trunk...


When ready, these will be side by side and the baby-seat will be on the end.



Buttons!

Betsy has been doing the "button lesson" at school.  At her school four-year-olds are trusted with needles and scissors and are sewing buttons on little scraps of fabric.  It is truly remarkable what little people are capable of!  I'm constantly amazed by their lessons.  She has been SO proud of this new lesson...as have I!



So inspired by Betsy's button lesson, Tara's Post, and these MJ pants I dolled up some leggings with big white buttons (which I already had in my sewing box!).  I pretended to have Betsy "teach" me (although I really DID need a refresher since I haven't sewed a button in a LONG while!) and she talked me through all the proper steps.

22 Weeks and Feeling Great....FINALLY!

I'm getting REALLY excited about Baby Lucy.  I'm pretty sure I'm already nesting and I'm only half-way there.  It took me 20 weeks this time to really start feeling "myself", so once I did I got to work!

I remembered really loving being pregnant, but for a long while I've been asking JB, "WHEN did I start really loving being pregnant?"...Of course his response was, "Never?  I don't remember loving it?!  First you're sick and SO tired, then the heartburn starts and stays the whole time, you have to worry with what you eat so you don't feel "too full" or "on the verge of vomiting", then you are up and down all night peeing, then you get to where the heartburn is so bad, sleeping is impossible...you can't get comfortable so you move from room to room trying to find a comfortable way to sleep sitting up..."

It's funny how us mommas remember only the good when it comes to pregnancy...and labor for that matter...and our husbands remember the bad, ALL the bad.  He rattled off that list MUCH faster than I expected him to.

Well, even though all the above is true, just recently I HAVE been loving being pregnant!  And I finally remembered at least some reasons why (JB-Read this post! :))...

• I'm OUT of the "Is she fat or pregnant?" part.  Thank goodness!  That is such an awkward phase.
• I finally have my energy back!!!
• I LOVE maternity clothes!  PLEASE can I always wear pants and skirts with an elastic waistband?!
• My absolute favorite part. - I feel Baby Lucy in my belly a lot more than a flutter.  I LOVE this!  Between Betsy and being pregnant this time I would lay in bed and have phantom feelings of a baby rolling around in my tummy.  Is that weird?  Has anyone else ever had that feeling?  Needless to say, it is much more satisfactory (and much less creepy) feeling a baby rolling around in there when you know that there actually is one! :)
• Baby Clothes!  Now that my energy is back, Mom and I pulled boxes from the attic.  I purged my boy clothes to Missy and started stacking up my boxes of girl clothes to see what I'm missing.  I've washed up all my newborn and 0-3.  Doing that is so much FUN and it took me right back to our old house when I was pregnant with Jay and folding all those sweet LITTLE clothes.

• I love that Every. Single. Time. I walk into Target I get popcorn...without the guilt!

•  I love how excited my kids are about their new sibling!  Jay was so bummed that he wouldn't be sharing a room with a little brother that BIG tears welled up in his eyes at the ultrasound.  Thankfully my mom let us use Bart's old bunkbeds anyway and both kids are BEYOND excited about that!  (Bet's been sleeping on the top bunk while Jay has been at my parent's this week.)

• I love that I know that I'm having a girl. So when Bet and I see matching dresses in a 9 mo. and 5T for next summer at TJMaxx we can both get REALLY excited!  Are these cute or what?!

• I love wondering what she'll be like.  Jay and Bet look so similar to me...Will she look like them?  Will she have curls like Bet, or straight hair like Jay?  Will she talk as much as they do, or will they never let her get a word in?  Will her infant personality be easy-going like Jay, or exhausting like Bet?  Will she play princess and "mommie" with her babies like Bet, or will she be a tom-boy?
• I love when we are out and Betsy wants to buy things for Lucy.  She has two very soft blankets that she adores..."soft-soft" and "so-soft".  She insisted when we were out the other day that she buy Lucy her first soft blanket.  So, I let her feel them all for appropriate softness and she picked out a really sweet one.  (Now I'll just have to watch close so she doesn't smother her when she tries to wrap Lucy up in it like she does her baby dolls.)

I'm sure I could keep going...I'm just so happy that I can finally come up with a list of "loves"...even though it did take 20 weeks! :)

What are some things y'all loved about being pregnant?

A few pics from our Easter weekend...

THURSDAY

Ready for the Egg Hunt at Bet's School



A zoo trip with friends...This "photo session" was a DISASTER.  Funny thing about it...while all the "big kids" were being wiggly, Sweet Tripp is patiently posing and smiling in ALL of my shots!  What a sweet boy!

Mason and Jay on the rock wall.

Tara was really proud of Jay for choosing to ride on the tiger!



Sweet Duncan's first zoo trip!

 

FRIDAY



Easter egg hunt at the McCarty's.  No time to be still for pics...These kids were on a HUNT!

 

Best I could get of the girls...Pretty sure they had mouthfuls of candy!

 SATURDAY

Games at our church's Easter Party.

More games!

Another hunt!

The bounce house was a nice surprise!

Picnic-in'.

An amazingly GREAT group shot (considering there were +/- 40 kids)!  The hunt was at a parishioner's house that just turned 99!  It was SO sweet of her, and her family, to have us all over for festivities and picnic-in'!  It was a FUN event!

Easter egg decorating...

...with Cookie!

 SUNDAY

The release of the butterflies!  The kids have watched caterpillars grow into butterflies at our Wednesday night program.  Like the tomb, the cocoon is now EMPTY!

We added some flowers from our yard to the cross.

The family in our Easter best...Isn't that cross just gorgeous?!

Uncle Bart with me and the kids.  (The Easter Bunny brought both kids their very own devotional Bibles.  (Click on link:  These devotionals are so sweet!  I highly recommend them!  AND the whole "God's Little Princess" book series.)  I was so pleased with how excited and proud they were of them!) 

Cookie and Bet with their matching Easter head flair!  Betsy's little squinty face here is too funny.  I love that little girl SO much!





Happy Easter!

One of our current favorites!!!  The kids and I get LOUD with this one!