Readiness makes me feel better!

So, since my last entry, I have laughed a lot at myself. I truly was stressed about needing a baby thermometer and a new changing pad for my little bundle due in APRIL! Pregnancy just does weird things to women. My body is changing faster than I can blink and clearly my mind is quite a bit "stretched" too.

Just in case any of you guys were concerned about my baby stressors, I thought I'd update you on my progress. First off, I found a green changing table pad cover on clearance at Target for $4.88...so, obviously, I snatched that up. I have also bought 2 different styles of newborn pacifiers, and a little rectal thermometer - did you even know that had ones SPECIFICALLY for taking rectal temps?

Oh, and I switched D's cream lampshade with the baby's red one. Solved that problem too! I also got a huge refill pack of Huggies Sensitive baby wipes (I am boycotting Pampers for their new "dry max" technology that left babies with chemical burns. I will only buy Huggies products if I buy anything disposable!)

I have decided on just putting a cheapo roller shade up behind my valance to be able to block out the sunlight for naps and early bedtimes in the baby's room too. This decision solved my dilemma about how to create a room darkening affect without spending an arm and a leg or making it TOO dark when I wanted to let in the sun. So many things to think about...

I also did one splurgy baby purchase with our Sears Heroes at Home Gift Card. I ordered my new little love the softest wool diaper cover ever. He's going to be the coziest baby on the planet in a cotton diaper, a cashmere soft cover and a gown....all swaddled up. Perfection!

Anyway, enough about what I have bought for the little bean. He is GROWING at an astronomical rate these days. When I was 18 weeks pregnant, I hadn't gained a single pound. Now at 25 weeks pregnant, I have completely caught up to the average 25 week pregnant woman...if you do the math (and the research), that's about 14 pounds gained...in 7 weeks!

I am really having a hard time seeing the scale move up, but fortunately it isn't ALL going to my hips and thighs, haha. The vast majority of it is all in my belly. My big ole' belly. Which I am now slathering with Bio-oil since the skin is starting to feel taught. I am trying to avoid "new" stretch marks. I have plenty of old ones that my belly should just utilize, haha!

Oh well, I will lose the weight after my sweetie is born. For now, I just just bask in the "glow" of hugeness! Happy Friday friends!

The Overwhelming Realization

This is going to be another post about the baby. Just be prepared in case you're tired of reading posts about my children...but really, what else do I have to write about right now?

Let me start by saying that I am totally excited about the pending arrival of our newest son at the end of April. He now has a name that I adore and his room is starting to take shape. I am loving walking in there even though it is still far from finished. Just seeing the crib and the bedding all set up for him makes me happy. I run my hand over the sweet little turtle crib sheet and imagine how it will be to lay him in there all swaddled like a burrito. There is nothing sweeter than a swaddled sleeping newborn :-)

Anyway, I am also 100% overwhelmed about the thought of this little man joining us so soon - his arrival is now less than 4 months away. That is NOT a lot of time! I have so much I need to get done in that time. Plus, my first son, D, still has some maturing to do, haha.

Though the babies room is starting to look like a baby's room, I still need to:

-paint the walls

-hang the cute wall appliques

-find a new lampshade (the current one is from D's room and it is red - this isn't going to fly in my sea of blues and greens)

-find a new changing table pad cover (again, the old one is red)

-organize the entire nursery

-organize the closet most importantly (his closet is currently being used as storage/overflow for the rest of the house)

-buy a few packs of disposable diapers and wipes (because I KNOW I will still be using some of them on occasion)

-buy a new thermometer (every baby deserves his own rectal thermometer...nobody should share that!)

-buy a few packs of pacifiers....this is VERY IMPORTANT!

Then there are the things that I really don't need but would really love to acquire as well:

-a new diaper pail liner (they come in such adorable prints and colors...it may make diapering just a little more fun!)

-D needs a new toddler bed mattress. His weighs about 50 lbs and is slowly becoming my nemesis - it came with the toddler bed from the garage sale...ewwwww.

-a small trash can in which to throw the disposable wipes that I know I will most likely be using.

This is why I am overwhelmed that the baby is coming in less than 4 months. That list seems long to me -not just to go to the store and get, but to be able to afford, haha! I am a great shopper, but I still have to come up with the funds first. All of this coupled with the fact that I will be bringing home a new baby into my already crazy home just sends me about over the edge.

How am I going to keep up with the laundry when I have a 10 day old at home?

How am I going to survive those first 3 weeks of nursing my adorable little piranha (those of you that have nursed before know what I mean) with a 2 year old under foot?

How am I going to stay up until 11pm waiting for that last feeding only to get up again between 2-3am and then again around 5-6am...and then stay up because by them D will be waking up?

How do moms of three young children survive?

I need wisdom. And a lot of help. I am praying that my husband gets to take the leave he's hoping to take from work. I am also praying that the timing of this little one's arrival works out so that someone either from my family or my husband's family will be up here with us to help with the other two kids.

It takes a village to raise a child...only up here, its just me and my husband - and we will have 3 kids! Ahh!

Breathe in, breathe out....

Okay, I realize that I will survive this. But I will still be stressed about it. I appreciate any words of wisdom and/or encouragement from those of you with more than 2 children. How does it work?

A trip down memory lane...

We transitioned D to a toddler bed this past week. He is now officially out of the crib and in a super-cool fire truck bed. He is doing way better than I ever expected in his new bed - going right to sleep without coming out. He does, however, come running down the hallway to our room around 6:15 every morning, but, oh well...he's doing pretty well overall!

This got me thinking about how much he's grown in his 2 short years of life. Here is D snuggled up in his sleep sack and crib when he was abut 5 months old.

(April 2009)

And here he is tonight.

(Jan 2011...such a big boy!)

About 2 years ago, I ordered D a big boy car seat for when he outgrew his infant carrier. The day it came in the mail, I put him in it since I knew that one day, I'd want to see how little he was the day he got it. This was that day:

(Feb 2009)

About 20 months later...here is D in his seat. Time flies. It makes me sad. Sometimes I wish I could slow it all down. Just thought I'd share :-)

(December 2010)

Giveaway Winner!

After letting my daughter choose a name out of a bowl, the winner for the Mommy-Grams and More giveaway is:

Rachel

I happen to know Rachel and am so excited for her! I know she will be able to find something super cute for one of her kiddos (or the one on the way!). Rachel, email me at idnar82@yahoo.com with your contact info so I can put you in touch with Mommy-Grams and More.

Thanks for my first giveaway success! I had fun!

Early Nesting

I would call it Early Nesting Syndrome. Or maybe Baby Mania. Or maybe I am just excited :-)

I am offically 23 1/2 weeks pregnant, so I am over half way to the finish line! However, I do realize I still have a long way to go... er, grow.

Either way, I have begun serious preparations for the new baby due in April. I have not only ordered and received his newborn cloth diapers, but I have actually already washed and folded them. They are ready for a teeny tiny bum! Some of you may not care to see my new diapers for the baby, but some of you might. Here they are!

The top three are One-Size Bum Genius pocket diapers. They will fit the new baby from about 10 lbs to the time that he is potty trained. The three in the middle are very small covers to be used over the newborn prefolds on the left and the newborn/small fitted diapers on the right. The teeny tiny green on on the bottom is an XS all-in-one. I love it. I just can't afford a whole stash of them! And the one in the bottom right is a fleece cover that is oh so soft and cuddly. I can just imagine how snuggly the baby will be in this fleece under one of those gowns babies wear as newborns :-) He's going to be so spoiled!

Of course, I have a lot more diapers that this. The rest of them are the same diapers that I used with D. Most of them are One-Size so they will be useful for a very long time. I hope to not have to buy anything more than detergent and maybe another pretty laundry bag for this baby's entire diapering life. Perfect!! Economical, good for the environment, good for baby, and easy on the eyes...

A close-up of the super cute ones...because I can't help but to love to look at them :-)

A Giveaway!

My friend over at Mommy-Grams and More and I are beginning my very first giveaway today. I am so excited because I see giveaways on blogs all the time and always wish I could do one. So, to celebrate the new year, here it goes!

Mommy-Grams and More is an Etsy store owned by an old college friend of mine. She is an at-home mommy of three children (under the age of 5, I should add!) and she is THE craftiest person I've ever met. Seriously, in college, I referred to her as, "My Martha Stewart friend." She was one of my roommates, so I got to enjoy all of her (and her mom's!) craftiness....and good cooking!

She has graciously donated ANY ONE product from her Etsy store to the winner of the giveaway! So, take a look at her site. Drool over all the adorable things for the children and babies in your life. Think of how you would want it personalized....Enter the giveaway. Then watch and see if you win!

HOW TO ENTER

Simply leave a comment below on this blog entry telling what your favorite product in her store is (click HERE)! Its that easy. One entry per person please :-)

The giveaway will be open from today and will run through Sunday, January 9, 2011. I will randomly draw a winner from all the entries at 7pm EST Sunday evening. I will post the winner that evening! The winner will have 48 hours to contact me back via email to claim his/her prize :-) My email address is: idnar82@yahoo.com

What oh what will the New Year bring?

I am a huge fan of Christmas. The New Year always just sort of gets tacked on to what's left of the Christmas holidays for me. After spending nearly 2 weeks in Atlanta visiting family and friends for Christmas, I was grateful to be home in my own house with my own little family by the time 2011 arrived.

Our 2010 holiday season was really quite bittersweet. Of course, we had a blast visiting family and going home for the first time since moving to Virginia, but it was definitely the most eventful holiday season I've ever encountered - both in good ways and in not so good ways.

First off, I was FINALLY spending Christmas with my beloved. Its been so long since I've spent a Christmas with him; it was incredibly joyous. Just having him here to load up the van when we headed home, having him do the driving, the unloading, and the getting of the gas, everything...the list could go on and on. I felt so blessed to have him see the faces of our kids as they received their awesome gifts at Christmas. It was beautiful!

Our first family picture on Christmas morning in 3 years!

My Dad in his first picture with all three of his sons-in-law. First time they've all been together in one place!! From left to right - My Army hubby (traveling or deployed frequently), my youngest sister's fireman hubby (works crazy shifts), my dad, my middle sister's Air Force hubby (lives 7 hours from my parents and 18 hours from us!)

Though my heart was on cloud nine at the beginning of the holidays, it became heavy quickly. Just as we finished making plans to see our great family friends one evening, we learned the next day that their house burned down the following morning. They lost everything. My heart broke for them. I couldn't sleep at night because each time I'd awaken, I'd find myself praying for them. My heart just ached for their loss. Please keep them in your prayers as they make plans to do whatever they feel the Lord is leading them to do in the ways of a building a new home.

Next, we learned that my hard working husband finally got promoted!!! This was AWESOME and very welcomed news! He and I were incredibly thrilled to learn that as of January 1, 2011, he was officially promoted :-) What a great way to start the new year!

As you know, this is the year of the baby in my family. My sister and I are about 8 weeks apart in our pregnancies. Well, my cousin was also pregnant with her first baby - a boy as well - due mid-January. He surprised us all by coming 3 weeks early and was born on December 26 instead. It was amazing to learn of his sweet birth and see his beautiful pictures. I love babies and I love seeing families develop and grow. I couldn't be happier for my cousin, her husband and their whole family with the addition of this new little life. Praise God!

Here is a picture of us three preggos just one week before her sweet baby made his debut!

Unfortunately, my husband's grandfather was in the hospital the whole time we were in Atlanta following a series of falls. My husband was able to go and visit him shortly after we arrived. By the time we were packing to leave, he had been moved to hospice care, and on our way home at 3:30am, his mom called us to tell us he had gone to be with the Lord. It was bittersweet because this lovely man was 87 years old - married for 67 years to his bride. He had lost most of his memory and remained pretty confused for the last few years. His mind is now perfect. His body walks without a hitch. I hope he is playing a game of golf and chatting it up with old friends in Heaven. Please keep his wife, my husband's Nana, in your prayers. After being married 67 years to this sweet man, I can imagine the silence and loneliness in her house is now deafening.

By the time we made it home a few days ago, we thought we had seen it all within a matter of about a 10 day period. It was then that I learned of a complete tragedy in the life of a fellow Army wife and MOPS mom in my old town. I will not go into details (most of which I do not know), but I learned yesterday that she tragically lost her husband, and father of their 2 young children, on New Year's day. He wasn't deployed. Completely unexpected. I can't imagine how she must be feeling. Shock. Numbness. Confusion. I feel these things for her. Once again, my heart is heavy and burdened. I can't stop praying for her and her babies. Each time I awakened last night, I found myself again in prayer. I keep reminding myself how short this life is. How sweet each day truly is. How blessed I am to have my husband not only here on this earth, but here in my home. Please keep my Army sister and sister-in-Christ in your prayers this year.

If you made it reading this far, thank you. You are too kind! I'll leave on a happy note...my friend and I are going to be doing my very first giveaway very soon. So, keep checking back with me this week. I should have it up and running soon! You'll definitely want to get your entries in. The prize is wonderful :-)

Have a Happy and Blessed New Year. Now go hug and kiss someone in your family. Tell them how special they are to you. Then, thank the Lord for them.