Boy or Girl? We Will Wait and See

***note - ramblings of a pregnant women and pictures completely unrelated ***

The house is quiet, with the songs of lullabies floating from Kaylin's room.  She's our non-sleeper and we've (thankfully) discovered that quiet music does the trick.  The trouble is that the music is so peaceful that while I tidy and put away the traces of the little ones all I really want to do is light a candle and close my eyes.  

It was a beautiful day today, I had an ultrasound, and knowing it would be the long one my parents stepped in and moved in for a few hours..  Which removed all my stress of dropping/picking kids up.  

Seeing the little arms waving around and the little heartbeat pumping puts my mind at ease and I feel comforted, prepared for whatever lies ahead.  Healthy babies, healthy pregnancy is not something we take for granted.  As I sat and waited, for a long time with a very full bladder....ahem, I saw many children being wheeled in and out of rooms.  Hospitals always give me a pair of different eyes.  Seeing parents who live that life, seeing kids patiently waiting, obvious to the viewer that this is not their first time.  Then there are those of us who are in for regular appointments and we wait.  I've noticed that the waiting in a hospital seems a bit more peaceful, as though we're all on the same page.  Knowing that there are simply higher priorities than the regular ones and seeing one young Mom cradling a newborn, waiting her turn made me thankful.  Thankful that if it was me, or one of mine in need of an emergency procedure/check-up that they would find the time, they would make the time to see to it.  And so I waited and cheerfully lamented to another soonish-to-be-Mom about having pregnant ladies fill up bladders, which does create the perfect trampoline for rather active unborn babes, stick them in a waiting room and make them wait for over an hour.  Its rather torturous actually :) 

And then it was my turn and it went well.  Although the technician's never say too much, I got some great views of the baby.  Him/her, we'll find out in 4 months and the waiting this time seems harder than the others.  We decided to not find out, we didn't find out with any of the others and fell head over heels in love with that moment.  Its not for everyone and I get that, but it is for us.  And the waiting, the hours, the weeks, heck - the months leading up to it all roll into that one moment.  A moment when all preconceived notions of wishing for a boy, or wishing for a girl are completely washed away in a land of silliness, because this perfect baby cradled into my arms is exactly who he/she was born to be.  And that moment is something I've clung to the last two c-sections, that moment which gave me such focus and determination to make the best of something that I really wished wasn't necessary. 

And watching the screen today was powerful, something that never grows old.  The little kicks and "dancing" which are slowly and steadily getting stronger, though much more relaxed than our last one. A reminder that children are so very different, even in the beginning.  And I find myself content and happy and excited to slowly watch our next stage of life begin.

The older two have many questions this pregnancy, Jacob with his "I can lean on your tummy, thats okay but standing on your tummy would be bad". "A boy" Kaylin informed me, is what she's asked for.  Simply, "because".  "Because boys like boy things and they don't like my things....".  And sure enough we have a 2 year old who's currently obsessed with whatever her big sister is doing.  I secretly love and adore this, although I fear my almost 6 year old does not see the beauty in it. 

Sometimes the fuzzy pictures really are the best

As for me, I'll continue to crochet my way through a blue blanket and then a pink one.  I'll prepare two little piles of clothes, one with shades of pink the other with shades of blue.

And with that rather random post about baby ultrasounds and really, baby wonderfulness in general I need to prepare our home for a soon-to-be 6 year old.  Cause really, when "you turn 6 its like, the best birthday year ever". 

Adios friends!

    Cuddling with the newest baby in our friends group. 

Cold days of Winter

Its been wickedly cold the past few days and I always find it a struggle when getting out with the kids becomes difficult.  Its interesting to me how when one is forced to stay in a house the walls slowly start to close in, the rooms definitely become smaller, the atmosphere more tense.  Its also interesting to me how once you get out of the house for a morning with the kids, the rooms appear to have stretched back to their normal size and life continues.

Winter, I know is hard for moms with young ones at home.  As they get older the kids become a bit more resilient to the cold and find that the joy in skating or playing with snow much worth the effort of getting ready.  They seem okay with frozen red noses and icy cheeks. But when they are young, winter becomes a chore. Bundling the littles up in their winter protection gear takes time and the time they are willing to stay outside seems much shorter than the effort to GET outside. 

Yes, January and February are difficult.  The days of throwing sandals on the kids and racing to the park for 45 minutes to escape the confinement of the house feels like years ago.  The joy of kicking kids outside to play and run around while you clean the house seems almost a forgotten luxury. 

A few weeks ago the kids and I packed up and meet with cousins and aunts to play at an indoor playground.  In which all I could think is, this place was an oasis for us Moms in the midst of winter.  I also have discovered that these places take competitor's coupons, which is a huge score as I can never find a coupon for the actual location that is most convenient to meet.

The feeling of I'm-stuck-in-the-house-I'm-going-to-scream feeling is not unusual and so I'm going to share a few of my go-to activities when the days get cold.

• Crafts/painting - I pour a coffee or tea, Kaylin cranks the kids favorite music (Steve Green - Hide 'em in your Heart).  If you don't have crafts on hand, find old magazines and let the kids go nuts with scissors, hand them a glue stick and some paper.  Their favorite magazines to cut?  Home decorating/food magazines.
• Movie - curl up WITH the kids on that day that is particularly cold and draining and pop some popcorn.
• Playdoh.  We love playdoh in our house and I always give the kids dull butter knives to practice cutting with, kids scissors too.  Great way to help their fine motor skills.  Great recipe HERE.  I've used this and loved it, although if your playdoh is a bit sticky you simply have to knead some more flour into the dough. 
• Build a fort in the playroom/bedroom, turn off the lights and hand them flashlights.
• Have your own story time - the kids bring piles of books and we lay on our bed and read.
• Send them to their rooms and set the timer.  Individual playtime is not always welcomed right away but ALWAYS within the first 5 minutes they find something.  Knowing they're not allowed out until the timer goes off works wonders (and you - YOU find a book and read for a a bit).  
• Bake - it takes 2x longer but the kids love it and its always fun watching them "steal" the chocolate chips out of the bag thinking you don't see.
• Splurge and go to an indoor playground.  Find coupons or see if the place your going takes coupons from their competitors.  WagJag can be an awesome place to find deals for indoor playgrounds!
• Make hot chocolate in "fancy" tea cups and add marshmallows.
• Invite another Mom over for a playdate.
• Library days - a favorite weekly outing in our home, much worth the effort of packing up kids.
• Lego - we pour the bucket on the kitchen table and build cities, towers, cars, everything.  

These are just a few of my go-to activities, I would love to hear more! And now for some pictures of summer - long ago:)

Beach days with cousins

Parks and pretend tractors

Ice-cream...

She's not quite so innocent looking anymore!

Until next time!