I do love y'all, i'm just tired.

I think K is too!

I don't know WHY Blogger rotated this but... this is K sleeping on her brother Saturday early evening.

We've been busy going here and there and well I've been pregnant and in pain. Combine all that and I'm short on pictures and time. Last night the pressure was so bad down below that I told Chris if there were contractions i would be pushing right then. He still doesn't believe me I think.

Kinsley has been VERy clingy lately... see above. I went to a thirty-one event (NEW CATALOG!!!!) on Saturday morning and didn't get home until around 130. Well that little girl was NOT going to take a nap. She didn't for Chris and when I tried she still didn't. Finally I brought her downstairs with me (after my nap, because I'm an awesome Mom like that made her stay in her room for "quite time" while I slept) and she went right to sleep on my belly for around 40 minutes. OMG she's so cute!

Parker, besides making me feel like he's going for an early exit, has been beating me up from the inside. When he moves it is powerful and painful. He doesn't just stretch or roll he stretches, presses down on whatever he can find and THEN rolls WHILE still pushing out or down as hard as he can. He's going to be a strong one... good things since he's going to have a very "caring" big sister to battle with and two pups.

Lately I've been feeling like a terrible friend. I haven't been staying in touch with my girlfriends like i used to. I know part of it is life, part of it is pregnancy/raising a toddler, and part of it is sure laziness. But i miss my girlfriends, I miss their love and support. I miss relaxing with them. I hate it that with some you feel like a kid is in your picture and not theirs so that distances you. With some you allow physical distance put emotional distance between you. And yet others, when the convenience is gone then you allow the friendship to fade. I don't want to lose my friends because I changed churches, they moved, I had a kid, or any number of other things. Sure I can't just pick up like i use to, BUT i CAN pick up my phone! I'm sorry friends! I will be a better friend soon! I miss y'all!

Have you lost touch with a friend lately?

Thankfulness

So I could get all warm and fuzzy with you and tell you I'm thankful for my daughter, for the baby I'm growing, for my amazing husband, for my family... but all that is a given right? I mean you KNOW despite my complaints that I'm thankful for them and everything else right? okay... so lets talk about what I'm REALLY thankful for!

1. The minuscule half dose of caffeine I'm allowed in my BIG coffee that helps me prop open my eyes when I'm trying to get myself and a fussy toddler ready too early in the day
2. For under eye concealer that hides (sort of) the fact that I'm often a walking zombie
3. Make-up period, makes people think I have a pregnancy glow when really i just have an awesome blush!
4. Big, supportive, covering panties! I'm sure the hubs would not agree on this one but, as my ever growing ass gets larger and larger the tiny low rise string of nothing panties are just not cutting it for this honking chunk of meat that is wiggling the strings off despite my best attempt to keep them on.
5. Grandmas. I mean I'm thankful for them as people but especially as grandmas that want to take my toddler for a few hours here and there to give me rest and my mind back.
6. books on CD. These prevent me from going into a raging conniption fit during my commute to and from work, you should all be thankful for this.
7. Fruit snacks, muffins, lollipops these are all amazing bribes that i use when i need a happy toddler
8. Daycare, seriously, even if she were only there for a few hours i would still love them! sometimes momma just needs a break. plus they do cool things too like teach her stuff
9. Charmin toilet paper. when you are peeing as much as I am you like anything that is soft down there
10. Schwan's: this is a frozen food delivery service and their food is amazing. Taste homemade and so i just pop it in the oven with no effort and it taste like there was effort. Score lazy momma!

So what are you thankful for?

What's in a resolution?

So it's the new year and I'm five days late in naming my New Years Resolutions... maybe punctuality should be one of them? Yea that's a laugh with a slow husband, a toddler and soon to be new born...

So lets talk about resolutions. It's all the rave on the blogosphere these days, might as well jump on the bandwagon... All the cool kids are doing it!

I would LOVE to start out the obvious and doable like Have a baby! But, that might be a bit of a cop-out since well... it's going to happen whether I want it to or not. So lets move on to some things that will actually take some effort (not the labor and deliver isn't effort) on my part.

1. Get back to MAKING meals for my family and making the healthy
    See the problem is I've been very tired with this pregnancy and Kinsley has been very particular about what she will eat. So I've been lazy and McDonald's might have become one of our "major" food groups. Sad I know. So, even though I will be tired with a toddler AND a newborn I want to get back to making healthy meals for my family... bring back Kinsley's love of veggies! Which this resolution will lead me into my next one...

2. Lose weight.
    OMG can i get any more cleshay? I mean it's not like EVERYONE on the plant doesn't say this for New  years. That's why the damn mini gym in my work basement is full and I'm forced to walk stairs! But here's the thing; I'm starting of this year pregnant so once this baby comes out I'm bound to lose SOME weight so there's that goal already met! But, I guess for sake of resolutions I should be more... specific? God you people are demanding! Alright so here it is. I weighed 172 when I became inpregnanted with Parker. OBVIOUSLY I want to be at least that weight again... but by the end of the year I would like to be 152 (or less). Eventually I would like to be 135-142 (I know that sounds like crazy talk people but in college I was 125 dripping wet) but, I think that might be asking A LOT for me with my crazy life of people, breastfeeding, etc.

3. Paint and decorate my bedroom
    This sounds easy to most but since it took us three month shy of 6 years to paint the rest of our house, this is a GOOD New Years Resolution. My bedroom is cream. The walls are cream, the trim is cream, the ceiling is cream, even the outlets are cream. This MUST change. I do not have any curtains up nor do we have any artwork/ decoration of any kind up.

4. Find a Church and GO TO IT!
    This should be number one, but it would be a lot of work to move it now with all that cutting and pasting. So here it is at number four. We had a great church, the Pastor is great, the congregation is great, but it just didn't feel like home, especially to Chris. Maybe it's the worshiping in the gym (I know, God is everywhere, but we're traditionalist), the constant slue of praise songs with little to no Hymns, or the two month long sermons about giving money. It just wasn't home to us. We want to try out a more modern Catholic church in town, but it scares us since there isn't a nursery so we'll have a crazy two year old running around screaming "Baby Jesus" every time she sees a baby... i guess she could be saying worse things? Anyway we want and need a church to call home and raise our kids in AND we would prefer to not drive 40mins to church every Sunday...

5. Become more Organized
    I have a problem, I have a lot of stuff. I purge but it's still everywhere. Coupons, shoes, thank you cards, thirty-one stuff... it just keeps building. And another huge problem, there's no where to really put it all. We don't have an office. We don't have a large kitchen. It's just hard to find a home for items that i use sort of regularly but not in a designated area. So yea, I've got to figure something out.

6. Have more date nights/alone time with the hubs
    We have really let it slip lately. We're either too busy or too tired to do anything. We'll get a babysitter in a heart beat so we can paint but, get one for an actual date, yeah right! We need to work on keeping us connected so that as a family WE are connected. We still have a deep love and respect and passion for each other, we just need to give each other our time. He needs to give me his time that he's always pouring into work (which he has been REALLY great about lately, we get to see him all the time! I love it!) and I need to get better about putting him before Kinsley and soon to be Parker. It's hard right now since I'm in pain and completely out of energy thanks to this kid growing in my belly, but after he's out and we've recovered I need to step up my game.

So there you have it. My resolutions. Are YOU going to hold me accountable?

Roll when you hit the pavement honey!

When Kinsley was a baby I found myself RUSHING home to get a few extra minutes of play time with her. I would wake up GLADLY at 430am to get to nurse and cuddle her before I had to drop her off at daycare. Those days are over... mostly.

Now are the days of the toddler tantrum. Toddler demands fruit snacks in the morning, and since we've already had two meltdowns I gladly give in to make her happy so that I can get a damn cup of coffee made... But wait, I've AGREED to fruit snacks so she no longer wants that. Now she wants grapes. OKAY, coffee on hold, I give her nice healthy grapes while patting myself on the back that she chose something healthy. But wait, I've AGREED to grapes, so she throws them all over the counter and demands chocolate. You'll be happy to know that despite the fact that I still haven't gotten my coffee I put my foot down. No Chocolate! Enter meltdown three. Somewhere between that meltdown, getting our stuff together, getting coffee, and having another meltdown we made it out the door with me carrying 4 bags, a bowl of grapes, coffee, AND a still fussy toddler who is now pissed that the white lighted deer that were in her front yard for Christmas are now gone.

On our way to daycare Barney playing on the in-car DVD system helped slightly (Brother if you comment on this I will personally drive down to NC and clock you over the head. Barney shut her up, BARNEY made the tears stop, we LOVE Barney!). We arrived at daycare and she actually walks in by herself. I start to put her stuff away and she decides to run. Whatever. I follow, set up her breakfast (crack muffins as Cowboy and i so affectionately call them) and she's decided she does not want breakfast, she only wants me and she wants to fuss and whine WHILE on my lap. Normally this would not be allowed, tough love and all that (or the fact that i was going to late for work now) but she does have a runny nose and must not feel good.

Finally I tell her I love her, I'll see her later and hand her off to one of her favorite teachers while she's SCREAMING (is this five meltdowns now?) for me. I get into the car and lose it. I later call to check on her to find out she was fine after about ten minutes. **Head hitting desk**

This is our new routine. At night too. She wants cheese, I give it to her... oh well since I gave her that she now wants cake. No kidding, the kid is ALWAYS asking for cake. I don't have cake just lying around my house, if I did then I would be eating it!! Then we fight her through the entire bedtime routine and she falls asleep all the while Cowboy is asking me "what did you do to her"... oh DON'T ask a pregnant lady that is getting kicked and screamed at by her toddler that when YOU know good and well that I didn't do ANYTHING, no one did. Except maybe I did do something just by breathing in the same space as her. MAYBE my air pissed her off?

From now on I'm just going to call her teachers and tell them to be out on the sidewalk when i drive by and tell Kinsley to roll when she hits the pavement!

My butt hurts, and a Christmas preview~

So my ass hurts... badly. I don't know if it's from Parker or my sadistic co-worker that convinced me to climb stairs with her yesterday.

My co-worker, who is 3 weeks farther along then me and has always been a runner (like a real, NEEDS to run runner) and has been working out her entire pregnancy while I slept, convinced me to workout with her at lunch. Just to do "something" so i would get into something of a groove before he was born and then keep it up afterwards. yea... see where this is going?

So I brought in my gear and headed down the gym with her. Well mistake number one, it's the new year so EVERYONE is heading down to the gym... the small gym. So all the machines were taken. My "take a nice gentle stroll on the elliptical" was taken. She being the hard ass that she is said she didn't get all changed for nothing (while i was thinking just changing was a workout in itself) and said we should walk some stairs. Somehow I agreed to this... can't be shown up ya know...

So we started up. It's 9 flights. ten if you count from the basement, which we only did that flight once. NINE flights. Um, I do paper, rock, scissors with hubs to NOT take the dogs outside at night so then i won't have to walk up just two flights. So we did it. Went down and she looked ready to do it again. I said to hell with it and joined her, rallying myself that I could do it once more. We got back to the bottom, I was sort of in one piece and she informed me she had ONE MORE left in her. I finally sucked up my pride and told her that last time WAS my one more time. But I didn't have my card to get back into the gym to change and I didn't want to sit in the stairway to be asked a million times if I was okay so I told her to go at HER pace and I would just meet her on her way down.

Ladies and gentleman I made it to the 7th floor! It hurt, it still hurts. But I made it! I will NOT make it again, unless by elevator.

So my ass hurts and I'm not sure if it was the stairs, Parker, or a combo of both of them.

ANYWAY....

Here's some Christmas pics to get you through until my family sends me theirs.

Pre-Santa... getting pumped up with Chick f la straws!

She looks unhappy here but she actually did NOT cry... I'll show proof with the official one soon.

Post Santa reward cookie! Piece of cake (or cookie) in her opinion.

Yeah she's all "See I'm a pro"... when in fact she was TERRIFIED!

Helping Momma get the presents to hand out, since bending is not my forte anymore.

I have a weird smile on my face, ignore that please.

K was really excited about some Elmo something or another... can you tell she likes Elmo by the PJ's?

Christmas, round two with Grandma...

It was great, but i can't wait to show the pictures of her in her Jeep that Santa brought! Also when is it appropriate to get rid of the Elf on the shelf TV special. Even though Chippy is drinking away his life with the booze and K thinks he's back at the North Pole we are still subjected to daily Elf on the Shelf TV watchings. Sometimes more if it's a weekend day. I know all the words.... Chris is starting to quote it... it's out of control.

Dear Parker

Dear Parker,

I haven't gotten to write you like I did your sister because y'all keep me so busy! Between work, your Dad, your sister, and your doctor's appointments Mommy just forgets. I'm sorry.

Right now we are 32 weeks and 4 days along. You have been making your own mark this pregnancy and making sure that you are different from your sister. You've even added a few new stretch marks to Momma's already riddled belly, thank you for that. I will now have a perminant reminder of your time in my belly for life, or until I convince your Daddy I need laser treatment, as well as a boob job, but that's not a conversation for you and I.

You're growing at about the same rate as your sister, always staying a week or two ahead on the scales. This frightens Momma for labor time but keeps me relived because I know you're doing well and thriving. You are also very determined to be paid attention to, I'm sure you'll have quite the "voice" when you are out here in the world. No matter what I'm doing (even sleeping, ahem!) you'll move and dance and punch to let me know you're there. You've also taken it upon yourself to move my pelvic bones for delivery, early. Now while it HURTS LIKE HELL, I'll forgive you if you'll come out and visit Momma and Daddy two weeks early! I really think February 10th is a MUCH better birthday, don't you?

You have been doing some fun things lately. Your future BFF Collin was born almost two weeks ago and every time I hold him you get excited, or jealous, not sure, but I'm going with excited because that's cuter! You normally like to punch Momma down in her lady regions but when I'm holding Collin you're all about "playing" up high where he's resting. And you know what? He doesn't seems to mind, sleeps right through it! He's REALLY excited to meet you.

Daddy and I have been busy getting your nursery put together and painted. Honestly little man, I can't WAIT to hold you! Seeing all of your little sleepers and tiny diapers has gotten Momma emotional lately, but a good emotional. Emotional that I'm going to have a son, a little man. To know I'm going to get to see your Daddy teach you how to be a man, and you couldn't have a better teacher! You are so lucky to have your Daddy and we're so lucky that we're going to have you. You are completing our family for us! We have the most amazing little girl and now we're going to have you too! God has surely smiled upon our family. I love you more then I can put into words right now and can't wait to meet you. So how about we set a date for February 10? Yes?

Love,

Momma

Wow, Happy New Year!

I took a break from blogging to enjoy my family and to get things done! It was an amazing Christmas and New Years for us and I'm so blessed to have such an amazing family (local and long distance)!

So WHAT have we been doing for the past week plus you may be asking? Well, sadly, not taking a lot of pictures, even though I DO have some, they just need to be edited and then more collected from the family.

What we HAVE been doing is the house, which I WILL get pictures of ASAP for you!

We have...

• finished Parker's room
• Finished painting the hallway/stairway walls and trim AND doors
• Painted the kids bathroom (now it just needs my co-workers magic!)
• repainted the Kitchen
• Got an ultrasound (more on that later)
• Ran 230,948,239 errands
• took down the Christmas decorations
• spent lots of time with family and friends
• organized all the baby toys and baby items in the basement
• took stuff to be donated after all that organization
• CLEANED
• reorganized the cabinets, will have to go this again once we need to add in bottles, etc for the breast milk I'll be making in February
• Organized Kinsley's toyshop (meaning we donated, threw away, and reorganized their set up)
• took Kinsley to see Santa (where she didn't cry this time!)
• hosted Christmas dinner (with lots of help)
• Chris built my washer and dryer a stand so i wouldn't have to bend over to do laundry!
• and even rested this big ole belly some!

So see, we've been VERY busy this last week, but I'll show you pictures to prove it soon!
Happy New Year!