Week 23

I sorry I have not been on in a while we still have not figured out what to do about our computer problems. I had a doctors appointment last week. Belle is growing and is right on track. I gained a whole .2 pounds which still puts me under my prepregnancy weight. Several of my friends are pregnant too and all generally play the "guess the date game", but I am considering changing it to "guess the weight"  :) I only gained 23 lbs with James, and 16 with Jewel, and go home from the hospital weighing what I did before I was pregnant, so I am hoping this pregnancy will be a little bit of a "diet" for me (I would love to lose 10-20 lbs).

Cravings- Bacon, I have been loving bacon on salads and cheeseburgers, and anything!

Emotions- I cry over everything!

I am so excited to Olympics are on we have been watching non-stop.

I do need to ask for some prayers as I have been having several contractions lately. I am not sure if they are Braxton hicks or if they are actually doing something. I have not been to the hospital yet, but I am concerned with my two toddlers. Please pray for no bed rest!

Week 21

I am so tired this week. I am not sure if this pregnancy makes me more tired or if it is that I am chasing two toddlers on top of being pregnant. I have also been working on my projects around the house (We have already rearranged the living room). Bell is the size of a pomegranate this week. I am so excited to be on the down hill side of my pregnancy. Movement- She was actually pretty mellow up until this week, but now she is starting to become very very active. I guess she is just trying to keep up with her older siblings, that is something she will be doing for a very long time. Indigestion- Yes! I had it the other night after I ate some homemade chicken noodle soup. I have heard the old wives tale about it giving the baby hair, and have actually found it to be true. I had it from about this time on with my daughter and she was born with hair (yay! I love hair bows). My son on the other hand, I only had it at the end when he was so big that his feet were resting on my stomach. Chocolate milk is the only thing that helps, but sadly she does not like it, so I gag it down, and pray I do not lose it. Weight- I have an appointment next Monday. I have been afraid to weigh myself since my tummy has really popped out. Emotions- I cry at just about anything. I have been known to start crying when I look at one of my older children, because it really does go by very fast. Each pregnancy makes you think of previous ones, it really does seem like yesterday I was pregnant with him. Yesterday Jewel was sitting next to me when Bell started moving, so I put her hands on my tummy. She smiled so big and said "that Bell" and started kissing my belly. I pray they always have that love for each other :)

RIP Computer

Our computer died recently. I am blog when I can from my husband's iPad. He takes it to work, so I don't have it for the majority of the day, but I will try to at least post my pregnancy updates. Hopefully I will have a computer sometime in the next couple of weeks!

Week 18

This week we had our ultrasound to find out how the baby was progressing and find out the gender. The doctor said the baby looks perfect, and right on schedule. James and Jewel were unsure of what they were looking at, but it was sweet to stop and listen to the heartbeat.

Weight Gain- I am still -2 pounds. My doctor is not concerned, because the baby is growing nicely and since I started out a little overweight and I have not lost any more weight then he is fine.

Nausea- I still have some, but it is mostly smells that will start me gagging.

Cravings- Chinese!!!!

I am getting some work done around the house, and I am excited to be nesting a little. Ok I won't keep you in suspense any more the baby is a GIRL!!!

I think my husband was a little disappointed, but he is still happy with another girl. In case you had not realized I do not share my children's first names, so her middle name will be Bell. We name our children after family members. My son is named after my husband's grandfather and my cousin. My oldest daughter is after my mom and my husband's nanni. Bell is after my aunt and my husband's nanni. Nanni's name was Jewel Bell and we fell in love with it, so we just had to use the whole thing!

I was very emotional the evening following finding out the baby was a girl. I feel so blessed and honored that God would give me two children to care for, but the thought of another girl. I feel overwhelmed. I feel honored that God would allow me to have another girl to guide through life, and scared at the thought of I hope I can be a good example to both of the girls. I am looking forward to meeting her in November.

Discussion Question- I nursed my son for nine months. When he was nine months old I found out I was pregnant with Jewel and he was beginning to lose interest and I was beginning to dry up, so weaning was no problem. I started weaning Jewel at 11 months and by 13 months she was down to only nursing before nap and bed time. These were the two most difficult times to wean, because she was wearing her brace for her hip clicks and I am a wimp. I had to do it cold turkey when I started some medicine that was not safe for her. It took a couple of months of rocking and cuddling, but she did fine. I am hoping to nurse Bell for at least a year. 

Week 17

This is the last week of my fourth month! I have not done half of the things I wanted to and I wanted to be ready by week 27, so I have 10 weeks to do my projects. My sweet children have started loving on my baby bump. My son likes to lay his head on it, and my daughter likes to hug it and say "Oh baby!" I cannot wait for them to feel the baby moving. The baby is the size of an onion this week. Next Monday is my ultrasound when we will find out the gender, and I am so excited to find out whether there is more pink or blue in our future. The current count (for guesses) falls at girl-3 and boy-1 (my husband). Sadly my daughter is the only one who says she wants girl, I will be thrilled with whatever God gives us, but most of us would love another little boy :)

Cravings- Chips and Salsa (the kind of a Mexican restaurant)!!!!!

Week 17

Nausea- Is mellowing down, but still present

Fatigue- Very very present, with two toddlers, and helping my mother-in-law

Emotions- My emotions are running high while I deal with a lot of things right now, so tears are usually fairly close to falling at any time

Discussion Question- I like to have shower things, but especially a hairbrush and a hair tie. Chapstick is important as well.

My projects

I am not going to post any pictures yet because well, I am a lot little embarrassed. I am currently trying to purge, organize, and deep clean our home. We currently live in a 900 square foot, 3 bedroom, 2 bath apartment. It works great for us! I am trying to figure out the best way to use the space we have.

I am currently doing one room at a time. I will show pictures and explain what I do with each space.

Kitchen- We have a small "galley type" kitchen, our kitchen has some cabinet space, but no pantry. There is space on top of our cabinets for decorations and storage, and I am trying to balance both.

Dining/Entry- Our dining area is right inside the front door, but we do not allow shows inside our home, so there is also a space for shoes, and jackets right next to the door.

Family Room- We have a couch, glider, tv, and quilt rack. I try to keep very little in this room, since this is where we spend most of our time, and the children bring their toys in there to play.

Hallway- Our apartment is actually a made to be a handicap unit, so the hallway is over sized. This allows us to use some of the hallway space to store some things. We have the shelves for the toys in the hallway. We also currently have a bookcase in there as well.

Kid's Bathroom- Typical bathroom, except that we keep our emergency items in here because it is our safe space.

Master Bath/Laundry Room- We use this area for our family closet, storage, and bathroom. We have purchased several shelving units to help with the organization of this space.

Master Bedroom- Has our bed and the crib for baby #3. We also have a dresser, that is used for storage and as a changing table.

Kid's Bedroom- My children currently share a room. It works well since they love being near each other and my daughter has a fear of being alone. There is a dresser, twin bed, toddler bed, and a few toys.

Third bedroom- Well, it has become somewhat of a dumping ground, for boxes (I will explain what happened when I get to this room), our DVDs, and toys in "time out". We hope to make this an office space where we can also do our homeschooling.

I may take a few before pictures, but only after some work has been done. I hope that as I go through this process I can be a help to someone else who made need some motivation (and since I am actually coming out and saying it on here I am hoping to be held accountable). It will take a while, but I have 4 months right ;)

Teaching my Daughter

Spandex Shorts

Leggings

Pants

God has been laying on my heart more and more a desire about really teaching my daughter about modesty. I know she is only 22 months, but I am saddened so much lately when I go out in public and find little girls with their little bitty shorts or dresses. I know some parents say "but they are still little", but what concerns me is the lesson you are instilling in them (I am not going to get into the pedophiles who are enjoying all of your child you are revealing). When our children are young, we are starting to train them. They will constantly be in training until they leave our nest. At what point do you say well those shorts are too short or those pants are too tight, what magical age does a child hit. I have heard when a child starts to develop. My only problem is what if you have a child that develops early and one that develops late. How is it fair for a child like me who started at 9, to be told now you have to stop dressing this way, and my step-sister who started at 12. Boys are boys, I catch my 3 year old son drawn to commercials (from what very little TV we watch when home) that have women in bathing suits. I know he does not really understand, but he is a boy and that is the way he is "wired." It is my job as the mom to teach my daughter what modesty is. I have to not only show her what clothes are modest according to the Bibles standards, but I also have the responsibility to show her how to carry herself modestly. Modesty is not only dress. I am very disappointed in how many little girls today are wearing dresses and not taught how to sit in them. I am not saying that I expect my soon to be 2 year old to be able to sit modestly all the time, but as the person who dresses her I know there are things I can do to help her stay modest until she has MASTERED the ability to stay modest. I dress her in little spandex shorts, leggings, and sometimes when it is cold she will wear pants. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen little girls sit in a way that is revealing, it has been on a floor while I was teaching, at the library, on a playground, in church, at a restaurant, and I could go on, but the point is we have dropped the ball. Somewhere through the years moms have stopped teaching their daughters about this important virtue. I hope I can teach my daughter about loving by example, and I pray that she will have heart that will desire God's will in every aspect of her life!