I Wish I Was More Insightful

I guess all of my brain power is going to figuring out how to pack and move out of here in the next week and a half. I feel like I haven't written anything very funny or insightful in a long time. But, maybe when things calm down a bit, I can try.

We closed on our townhouse, yesterday and we should close on the new house on the third. We can't be done quick enough! With the gas prices over $4, now, we are ready to stop needing to drive so much. So much of what we need to do is in our new town. I will miss all the places to shop, here, though. It is so nice to be able to be away for a hour and go to 4-6 places and then go home. Once we move, we'll have to drive about 45 minutes and then shop. Plus, they just built a Hobby Lobby in town, and I'm going to miss it, even though I've only been once. It looks like a place I could spend a lot of money!

It will be easier to leave the car parked more. We can walk or ride bikes to a lot more places and that will help save so much money. It will get us into better shape, too!

So, I'll leave you, now. I need to pack some more today!

School's Out

At least for Luke, school's out for the summer. He is really excited, but I am wondering when the boredom will begin. Especially after we move, I hope to get in a routine of doing some "school stuff" everyday. I don't want him to forget what he has learned. He's come so far this year. So, he's no longer a kindergartner! That is kind of weird. Next year, he'll go to school for the whole day. It will be weird to have him gone for so long everyday.

I hope I can keep up my energy to be a fun mom this summer, with the baby and move that are coming! I hate having to say no, because I'm pregnant. I know it will happen, but I just feel bad for the kids. I'll have to take them to explore the parks in our new town!

Side note: We did buy Wii Fit! It is really fun! I love it. I used it both yesterday and today and I feel great! You can do yoga, strength training, aerobics and balance games. It keeps track of the time you've used it. It is really nice because you can mix up your workout so easily. It also keeps track of your weight, BMI and goals. I wonder what it will do when I lose 15 lbs or so all in one day! Even our kids can use it! They both think it is a lot of fun.

Sooner??

We got a call from our real estate agent asking if we could close on our new home sooner. The bad part is that it would be next weekend (a good week and a half earlier than we planned). The great part is that we won't have to camp out at Grandma's house and farm our stuff out for 3-5 days!

I think we can pull it off. It seems crazy, but when I think logically, I think we'll be fine. We were really going to pack in earnest a week before, anyway. We have a relatively small amount of stuff, since we were showing the house so much. It is just a different week.

So, I may be blogging sporadically or only at the times when pregnancy demands that I take a break!

So, It's Probably Time to Get off of My Butt!

So, at my last OB appointment, I had only gained one pound in a month. This time, after only two weeks, I gained five pounds! I just don't want to gain the 50-60 pounds that I gained with the other two. The problem is, well I guess there are several.

I have an internet addiction. I don't like to exercise. I love food. And pregnancy has been not allowing me to sleep very deeply. I wake up a lot of mornings and I feel like I slept a lot, but I am still really tired. I did better last night, even though I woke up about three times to go to the potty. I slept really heavily and had strange dreams.

But, do you think I have gotten any decent exercise with my relatively better energy level...Yeah right!

Maybe I should make sure we get Wii Fit really soon! It does come out tomorrow! Hubby would like that!

60 Days

Finally! A number of days until my due date that isn't so depressing! In that time, we'll be pretty busy with moving, so it should go by pretty quickly, too!

I've been looking at a lot of baby wearing sites and I am getting really excited to have this baby out and in a wrap! I was only able to use a wrap for Belle for about a year, because of when I discovered baby wearing, so I am excited to wear this one from the start!

Whenever I see someone carrying a car seat with their baby, I reaffirm to myself that I will not do that, again! It is so heavy to carry around a car seat and a baby out away from my body! I just don't want to do that! This way, I can take her where ever I go and still be able to keep up with my little runner!

Speaking of running...We bought a harness and leash to keep Belle safe. She will not stop running away from us and out into the street for anything, lately. I'll have to get a picture of her in it. It is a really cute one with a monkey that looks like it is hugging her back. She is getting too heavy to carry all of the time and wants to walk. This way, she can explore safely.

Speech Problems

Luke barely spoke until he was 2 1/2. That is when he went to daycare part of the day so that I could go back to school. I think a large part of the problem was that he didn't feel the need to talk, since he could get whatever he wanted with minimal talking/sounds. I could understand him, so he continued. He was only able to be understood by Mom and Dad. When he was 4, we put him into speech classes through the local school district. When he started kindergarten, he continued. A new speech teacher as well as his wonderful kindergarten teacher have helped him so much! Since Christmas or so, he has leaped forward amazingly. Most of the sounds he has trouble with now are the ones that are expected for his age. He is able to be understood by most of the people we are around, now. I rarely have to translate for him. (Sometimes, I wish people couldn't understand when he is being rude. We are still working on manners and when it is or isn't appropriate to say something.)

Now, Luke wants to talk constantly. He has a favorite toy. It is an action figure of a stormtrooper. He has loved it for over a year. He tells stories about it all the time. It is hard to get him to stop. He has a wonderful imagination and also involves any story, movie or game he comes in contact with, in his tales.

I just feel really bad that I get tired of hearing the same things over and over. I love to talk to him and see what he is thinking and feeling. The Stormtrooper stories are harder to listen to all day...

I am trying to appreciate the fact that he has become a wonderful talker and that he has a wonderful imagination. I don't want to discourage him in anyway. But, it is really hard to listen to, "And then on my stormtrooper..." so many times everyday. We are going to work on turning his tales into a book with pictures for him to read. He is excited and I think it will be a lot of fun to do and really good for him. I'm trying to appreciate how far he has come and that we no longer have to worry about his speech. He is a great kid!

Picky Eaters

My picky eaters actually ate carrots, cabbage, onions and garlic! So what if it was wrapped and deep fried! We had homemade egg rolls for dinner tonight, and both of my kids decided that they really wanted to try it. Usually, they won't touch something like that, but they both ate and loved it! I think it helped a lot that we chop the veggies until they are barely recognizable. I hope this is the beginning of a great thing!

Good Reads

I just joined Good Reads! My SIL told me about it while we were having a conversation about some books we'd read. It is a fun sight where you can keep track of books you've read as well as those your friends have read. You can leave or read reviews and rate books. I just started, so I know there are a lot of things I don't know about. I like it, though! If you are a member, or want to join and be my friend, let me know! I'd love to know what you think of the books you've read!

Maternity Shopping

I don't know if every pregnant woman in town has gotten to the dresses before me, or if designers just don't think pregnant women would want to wear dresses, but I just can't find them! I had the same problem when I was pregnant with Belle. There are a few, and by few I mean like one to three and in horrible styles that usually aren't the right size if they are half way acceptable. There aren't racks full of these awful dresses either, there are literally three dresses on the rack! It is driving me nuts. We have a couple more places we can check in town. It's been recommended to buy online, but I've not had a lot of luck buying clothes and shoes online. I need to be able to try it on.

While we were shopping, I saw a really funny t-shirt! It said, "Does this baby make me look fat?"

Speaking of fat, I've been really excited that I haven't been gaining the weight I did with the other kids. With each of them, I gained between 50 and 60 lbs. So far, I've kept it down. Last month, I only gained one pound!! Yay! I just hope that in this time of mega-weight-gain they call the third trimester, I can keep it up. I think it hasn't really been me, but the fact that we have been showing our house as well as cleaning and organizing to be ready to move! There are still a few more weeks until we move and then getting settled in. I always do better when I can be busy and not bored at the refrigerator!

New House

We don't get to move in until the first part of June, but we are on our way to being home owners!!! We accepted a counter-offer and we are excited about this house! I'll have to post pictures when I can take them. I feel really good about the whole deal. It is a bit small, but it really will meet our needs and we are happy about that. We may choose to sell it again in a few years when the market is better and after we've added rooms to the basement! Or, we may just love it and not want to move! (Right now, that is my hope. I don't want to sell and move again any time soon!)

I also have a possible source for boxes! That should help a ton!

Stuff

I am still alive, though, if this whole process weren't almost over, I think I'd want to at least be the pile of goo over in the corner! It has been exhausting, physically and emotionally! We sold our house and made an offer on another. They were unwilling to budge and we didn't want to max out anyway, so we are going to try for a cheaper and cuter house. It has an unfinished basement, so there is lots of potential! I think we'll enjoy it and maybe it will be a step up to a better house later. (or maybe we'll love it more than we want to move again!)

We still may need to live with relatives for a week or two. If we hurry, it'll be shorter. I wish we didn't have to move our stuff twice in a month, though!

Breastfeeding

As an advocate for breastfeeding, I was excited to see this article, this morning! It talks about a study showing that breastfeeding rates have gone way up! It is wonderful!

I wasn't able to nurse Luke for very long. It only lasted for about 1.5 months and I felt so bad afterwards. Now, I know that the situation just wasn't suited to it and I think it could have gone a lot better. I nursed Belle until she was 13 months. It was a great experience. I was able to do it even while I went to school full-time!

The benefits of breastfeeding are so awesome! I know there are illnesses that just passed her by while the rest of us were really sick. It is really neat that nature is this way.

Luke has been just fine and is really smart and happy (most of the time HA!). He was a lot more expensive to feed, that's for sure!

Offers!!

We got two offers on our house! Neither one was perfect, but we counter-offered on one of them and the other has added an addendum, so we have a bit more time to see what is going to happen with everything.

We are going to go house hunting in earnest, tonight. Before, it was more to see what was available in our price range. Now, we can decide and start thinking about making an offer. We are getting excited! It is looking like it is all going to work out and we can be moved before the baby is born!

It looks like we are going to have to decide what is the most important to us. The houses have 1-2 bathrooms, 2-4 bedrooms. Some have unfinished basements. Others have huge yards. We have always said we wanted a little house and a big yard. There is one that fits that perfectly, the question is: Do we want that small of a house, so that we can have the huge yard (that needs a ton of work)?

So, we've been trying to decide what we really want and jump on it, before someone else does.

The good thing is that we are in a buyer's market. It looks like we are going to make it through the selling part alright, and since we are at an advantage as buyers, we may just make it through that, too!

I am so glad that things like this can be led by God and that he knows what is best for us. So many times our plans have been changed because we didn't go the way He had planned for us. Now, we've been taking it slow and praying a lot that things work out the way He would have them for us!