Nesting Nesting Nesting

I am in the nesting mode lately! Last night we cleaned the carpets. Our carpets are terrible. It is one of those things we need to replace but are not touching until other projects are done so we do not ruin new carpet or hard wood floors. All of my obssessive carpet cleaning has paid off and they look a lot better than they did when we moved in. I also have been scrubbing walls and random appliances. I never had this with Eli so I am guessing its a good sign.

Today I was supposed to have maternity pictures done. I was very excited but a little bummed Anthony would not be able to join us for them. Well my midwife delivered 3 babies this weekend so she was tired and rescheduled for Friday which works out sooo well since its Anthony's day off!! God is good! I was very excited about that. Also the fact that Eli is getting braver and braver in the big boy bed and keeping me up. Last night he tried sleeping with us! Not going to happen! I was up a lot getting him back to bed so I feel like a walking zombie today so it all worked out great.

I have many goals this week.......

~Pack my bag for the birthing center
~Dust the house
~put the car seat in
~get all the baby gear downstairs and put my doll in it so Eli can start realizing he is not to touch things
~do some gender neutral laundry
~make lasagna to eat after having the baby

I am noticing all my goals pertain to baby so yet more nesting kicking in! Reality is coming and I can't wait to meet our 2nd child. I am getting excited for Labor...yes I am weird I know! Maybe it is the education and information I have received through my midwives. I think probably it is so tomorrows topic I think will be on the not so "normal" birth but the gentle way of birthing.

9 long months

Today marks the official day of being nine months pregnant. While I am uncomfortable and sometimes wish I was not so huge I can't say I am 100% ready to have this baby. Here are some comparison pictures.

This picture was taken the day I got my positive pregnancy test. It was June 14, 2010.

This was taken today at 36 weeks. Its amazing what the human body can do in 9 short months. Only God could have possibly created something to do the amazing things my body has done in these few short months. I can't say I enjoy all of them as at the moment I feel like a walking ship but that is ok. A growing body means a growing baby. I always compare to how big I was to Eli so for fun here is a picture of when I was pregnant with Eli around the same time.

Thank goodness with some work God also designed our body to go back to somewhat normal although I never achieved that with Eli. All in all I can't complain. I have minimal aches and my blood pressure is stable. I do wish I were more mobile but I think I am doing pretty good for as big and far along as I am.
Today has been a very trying day for us with Eli. He just is crazy and seems to have a lot of energy. As we speak it is 7:46 and he was in bed but not sleeping so I bundled him up and shipped him outside for some fresh air to hopefully wear him out. I know Winter is hard and he loves to be out but can't so I am hoping this helps. He has also not wanted to be dropped off anywhere. He seems to want to just be at home with us. He is at the mimicking and copying stage which means some funny things. I said today that some kids were driving me nuts so he proceeds to say, "Kids driving mom nuts!" Lol it was a classic. All in all it was a great day! Here is a special moment Anthony captured with Eli and I and then I took a picture of them playing video games today something they rarely do but when Anthony does it with Eli he enjoys it a lot.

Such a Proud Mom

We went out to run our errands tonight. I do not feel like cooking lately...I attribute this to the lack of appetite and not even wanting to think about food but I have been craving Pizza Hut pizza from the beginning of this pregnancy and never have fulfilled it. So we decided to go. All I have to say is you know the economy has been bad when in the past 2 years 3 pizza huts have shut down in surrounding towns that we frequent. We finally had to end up at Michigan State campus for a campus atmosphere and pizza hut pizza. It was good but much different than the normal resturant style it seems. They did not have a salad bar so I was super bummed. Being there made me realize how old I am getting. I was so proud of Eli though. He was so good as he usually is but he also used the potty!! He is scared to death of the dryers in the bathrooms but used the potty 4 times while we were out and had no accidents!! I was so thrilled.

We also went to Motherhood...here comes a rant so beware. I am so sick of commercialism at times. First, let me say they do not make maternity clothes for short people I have decided. Everytime I go in there they never have anything in my size. It does not matter if I am small to extra large. The color I want is never there. Oh and the real kicker is everything is WAY over priced!!! Seriously $30 for one shirt I am only going to wear for maybe 3 months is ridiculous and their clothes can wear out quick. Normally I would never buy anything this late in the game but I really did need a shirt for my pictures on monday and I also needed to get some new pants as I tore my one pair this week. I did look at goodwill but was not able to find anything. Then we check out and they want all sorts of information. Really?? Who cares when my due date is...are you going to send me free diapers or something not that I would use them. Also they want you to buy all this unnecessary stuff like pregnant fitness bars. Just go eat some fruit and veggies and take your prenatals!! OK my rant is over but it made me realize why this is only the second time I have been in there this pregnancy. Thanks to having clothes and my wonderful friend Meghan Murari because she loaned me a ton. If I had more time and inclination I would start a maternity clothes store just to compete. Sadly this is another idea and would be a project I would be in way over my head!!

Then we went to get groceries. Eli was so good again and he went potty twice there and told us. It was nice to have all errands done and tomorrow we will just go to church and relax as much as possible as Anthony will be working on the remodel. I have to say today was a very successful day with the potty and I am thrilled we were able to be out for such a long time and Eli did not have one accident. He is going to be such a good big brother!

Lunch Meat=Skin

There is never a dull moment in this house when it comes to Eli. Today Anthony gave him a ham and cheese sandwhich. He never wants to just eat it like a sandwhich but instead takes it all apart. Well after halfway through he would not eat the ham anymore and continued to say something over and over. Finally Anthony realized he was talking about the lunch meat being skin. He had placed it on his hand and was comparing it to his own skin!! Silly boy or should I too smart for his own good.

Today is going to be our real test of potty training! I have to go to Motherhood Maternity and get a shirt for my maternity pictures on Monday and we plan to go grocery shopping. I am hoping and praying he does not have an accident. I will be very prepared but I just never know how it will go.

Keeping Up

I have been inspired to write a blog in hopes of keeping up with events for my kids scrapbooks and also for those family members that live far away from us to be able to keep up with our family. Honestly, writing is not my forte'. My mom really tried with us but it never has or never will be my strong point.

We are about to embark on a new adventure in life as we become a family 4. I am terrified and excited at the same time. Some days I am ready for this baby to arrive and some days I am not ready to take care of two. I do hope Eli is not jealous and since we have potty trained him this past week does not regress. Either way we have been blessed with one wonderful little boy and I can not wait to watch this child grow and see what God has given to us in his/her.

When we bought our house a little over a year ago we knew we would be doing a lot of work to it. It really was in great shape for being built in the 1860s. We just would rather get rid of the plaster and update a lot. All that to say our orginal plan was to get a master bedroom done and another room upstairs. We currently only use the downstairs and it has just two rooms. Well, I had terrible baby fever and Anthony is never opposed to more kids. If he had his way we would be giving the Duggars a run for their money. Sadly, after each pregnancy I am cutting my limit because my body just does not do well pregnant...too many complications. All this to say we are not finished with this remodel and it has been difficult for me to get over as nesting has been driving me nutty lately. I know many families get by with two rooms for 4 people but Eli's room is so small. Anthony has assured me it will be done by the time my mom, sister, and niece visit at the end of March. I am ok with that. We co-sleep anyways so I just need a place for baby clothes and I have cleared a spot in Eli's room. I will be glad when it is done though. We have been blessed with our house as I know it was a great price and bigger than what I grew up in. I can't wait to enjoy all of it. We have a lot of plans for it. It will be work in progress for a while but that is ok. I remember growing up and watching my parents transform our house. It was a long process but there was always something to do and it taught as a lot.