pregnant with two... so far

sob:

comercial for aspca. 

women's ice skating nationals - long program.  

reading kisses from katie.
having the flu.
trying to tell anyone about the "jane" story from the book kisses from katie (double-ugly-sob).
discussing my grocery budget.
that dang operation christmas child promo video.
church.
select episodes of parks and recreation.

starving:
my body feels like it has exploded in the last couple of weeks.
i eat approximately 7-10 small snacks meals a day. i'm starting to feel like a hobbit.
my tummy grumbles and i feel shaky and nauseous.
if i don't eat enough during the day, the grumbles wake me up at 3am, which is cool.
truth be told,
i'm tired of putting food in my mouth.
that is unless it's chocolate cake.

the belly:
it's large and the skin feels stretched tight.
i shudder when i think about how much time i still have.
and i'm extremely grateful for my husband's sweat pants & hoodies.

aches and pains:
yes. already.

so there you have it.  a brief summarization of what's going on in regards to my pregnant self.  i have an appointment on wednesday and i'm really looking forward to finding out some details, like a due date.

...

and in case you only come by here to read what hilarious things come out of my children's mouths,
here are a few that made me laugh:

bo.

after one morning where all the other kids had finished breakfast and moved on to fun morning chores...

me: "bo, tell your bum to stay on the bench until your breakfast is done!"
bo: "but mom, my bum just likes to follow you around."

after giving our sweet respite baby girl some cuddles.

bo: "mom, is this a robot baby?"
me: "no."

jane.

after whining about wanting to go for ice cream at 9 am.

me: "jane, whining will never help you get what you want. "
jane: "when i'm done with my whine, then can we go for ice cream?"
me: "nope."

char.

while driving past the road crew digging up massive chunks of road on our street.

char: "mom, are they looking for jewl-ies?"
me: "mmm.  i don't think so.  i think they are working on putting in new water pipes."
char:  "ah. that makes more sense."

happy weekend.

a thought

my people do this well.

i don't know how to say this

my life is many things.

 dull is not one of them.

...

i'm concerned charlee believes me to be much older than i am.

and perhaps much older than my peers.  

(maybe it's time to toss the white granny nighty 

and get a pair of yoga pants like all the other mom's my age.  

for the record,

i hate yoga pants.  

that is unless we are talking about a goucho.

and i really do love my granny nighty).  

here are a few of the recent comments she has made:

"mmmmm.... you smell like grandma."

"how can an old woman have a two babies in her tummy?"

her: "mom, i don't want you to die"

me: "i'm not going to die! why would you even think that?"

her: "but you have grey hair!"  

eternal-youth culture plus hair die is not doing our children (or my self-confidence) any favours.

...

speaking of my beloved granny nighty...

the belly is growing.

and fast.

felt one of the little suckers kick tonight.  

not a flutter.   

a real kick to the gut.

i do miss my camera

i'd love to be following around the kids in their "explorer outfits" 

(think sparks vests, winter hats and magnifying glasses)

 as they search for 

living and non-living things in our fall strewn yard.

...    

however,  i am grateful for a working computer again.  

...

i realized i never posted these photos 

from our trip home from california with the family in may.  

 they are just too precious not to share.  

jane-z:

no words needed.

bodhi:

in a family sandwiched by two strong females, 

this child has found a myriad of ways to exert his... 

maleness.  

or something.

beautiful char:

it is with pride i share the following-

our mowgli-girl.

i love that my children see the sea 

and they run with abandon.

too bad it was so so cold.  ;)

daddy:
so handsome in plaid.

home and happy

so.

gary and i where able to get away last weekend.  

we had three nights at a hotel/ "resort"

in carlsbad (paid for 2 years ago),

we had points to book flights,

and we had family eager to take our children. 

...

it was lovely.  

we did not take a single photograph.  

as we were too busy

holding hands,

napping,

eating mexican, 

drinking coffee and

missing our kids.  

we had time to connect and refocus.  

it feels so good to be on the same page.  

in regards to discovering our surprise "baby" is actually 

"two babies,"

we've both come to the same place.

after seeing their little bodies on that black and white screen, 

it's hard not to feel like we've always wanted them.
both of them.  

we know it's going to have it's challenges

and we also know the lord will provide for us.

we feel very loved and supported by our family 

and our incredible community.  

it's going to be an adventure.  

...

since arriving home:
i have been recovering from a little cold.
going to bed early.
loving my children
and our routine.
i have also been enjoying a couple good reads.

this one, i spotted at a friends house earlier this year.
she read a few lines to us and the next day i ordered it on-line.
i do recommend.
...
i have been feeling
peaceful, purposeful and grateful.
 it's amazing what a couple days with my man can do.

(it might also have something to do with the fact that i'm not feeling nauseous 24/7).

game-changer

found out this week

that surprise baby # 4

is actually

surprise baby # 4 & 5.

we are 

laughing.

hard.

sometimes with tears.  

i think

"one crazy a day"

may be on it's way out.

5 kids, 6 and under

sounds 

absolutely

 nut-balls!

*good thing nut-balls is our specialty.   

homeschool style

"just for today, i will ask for his grace to make my priorities all things unseen."

thank you - this lady

 that is what we i am working on over here. 

so.

now.

 we are going to take our 

 seen-clashy-clash-knee-socks-and-little-house-on-the-prairie style

to costco.