Getting ready for Graham

So today I officially have 4 weeks left until my due date. This pregnancy has flown by to say the least. I am so excited to meet this little man and to complete our family. I have enjoyed all of my pregnancies very much and am sad that this will be my last, but happy to know that I will have 4 wonderful children and a great husband to make a lifetime of memories with.

Duncan, Maxwell and Laurel are so ready to meet their little brother too. Every morning when Duncan wakes up he says good morning to me and kisses my tummy to say hello to his brother. He constantly tells me that he can't wait to meet him and that he is excited he will arrive around his own birthday. He also says that baby Graham is going to be just like him... that would be great because Duncan is an awesome son! Anytime Laurel sees a baby she just goes nuts! I am a tad concerned that she will be a little too lovey-dovey with Graham... but I am sure after a week or so she will get over it and go back to beating up on her older brothers. Maxwell adores babies too and I know he will be a great big brother to Graham and be a huge help to me when I ask for a favor when I am in need.

So yes... we are all anxious to meet baby #4 to say the least. I have been busy nesting and getting the last of the "must haves" for when he arrives. All of the kids have co-slept in our bed so we don't have to worry about getting his room ready, as I am sure he will be in our room for at least a year... heck, we still have Laurel in our bed most nights... even the boys manage to sneak in at some point during the night. I am a little concerned of how all of us will fit in a queen sized bed though. Some nights I find myself going into Laurel's room and getting into her bed just to get a bit more space to sleep. Seriously though, I am sure Erghe will help out and do some shuffling of the kids back into their rooms and we won't have to worry much about the space issue... it might just take a few weeks for it to stick.

This past Sunday my friends threw me a little party for the baby. Holly and Summer were awesome planners and hosts and gave me a wonderful non-traditional shower. We played a really fun dice game called LRC, had some finger foods (thank you all for bringing the delicious dishes to share) and just had a nice relaxing afternoon with some of my favorite people...

Tomorrow I have a prenatal appointment and the doctor is going to get personal and do an exam. WOW... it is crunch time! These last weeks are going to zoom by so I need to make sure that I take a step back and enjoy the kids and my husbands company as much as possible... I have no idea what it will be like to go from 3 to 4 kids. I hope my hormones don't get too crazy these last few weeks before and the few months after he arrives.

Oh my... time to go pack my hospital bag. I hope that this labor and delivery are as easy as the last two. Geez, I just hope I make it to the hospital in time. I can't wait to hold you in my arms Graham!

I Love You G-ma!

My G-ma finally entered into rest yesterday, January 25, 2010. She gave a tough fight and amazed us all with her strength. It won't be the same without her around.

Oh so crafty

I am feeling oh-so-crafty these days (Thanks to Ohdeedo and the fabulous craft bloggers out there for their inspiration) and have a project to-do list a mile long in my head. I thought I better write some ideas down before my mommy brain kicks in and I can't remember them:


For Laurel's Room:
~ Finish Embroidery Hoop Wall
~ Make "LAUREL" with Scrapbook Paper
~ Bunting Banner
~ Repaint Fabulous Chairs... Thrift Store Find !!!
~ Repaint Dresser


For Play Room:
~ Re-upholster Bench
~ Sew Throw Pillows

General Crafts:
~ Make a Grocery Bag Holder
~ Finish Laurel's First Year Scrapbook
~ Update Family Scrapbook
~ Get Baby Graham's Handmade Announcements Figured Out

OK so the list isn't a mile long, but in my head it seemed that way. I have two craft sessions this weekend so I am hoping to get some of these items checked off.

why i love being a mom

duncan got in trouble last night for not listening to his dad. he was sent to his room and of course he protested. i told him calmly to go wait for me in his room and he listened and marched up the stairs. when i made it to his room we sat down on his brothers bed. he looked at me with his teary eyes and i just melted. i knew what i needed to do... teach him. i talked to him about why he was sent to his room... for making a bad choice of not listening to daddy. and then reminded him of the consequence for that bad choice. i told him that he is still so young and has a lot to learn and that he learns from his mistakes. i went on to tell him that mommy and daddy sometimes make bad choices and that we are sorry for them and learn from our mistakes as well. i could tell that he was taking it all in. i finaly told him that his consequence for not listening was to spend 5 mintues of alone time to think about what his bad choice was and why he was having some alone time. It is moments like these, when i teach the kids and see them learning about life that make me so proud to be a mom. i know there is no better rewarding job in the world. i have a tough rough ahead of me with 4 kids, but i wouldn't change it for the world...i was meant to be a mom! this is the life that i am building, the memories we make together will pull us through the bad times. how lucky i am.

Total Randoms...

I so love the cold winter days... especially the days that begin with fog. Something about the mist in the air makes me feel alive! After a morning of errands, the kids and I spent a good two hours after lunch hanging outside and playing at the school behind us. Just riding their bikes and taking their jeep out for a spin and I took some pictures of them having fun, being kids.

We have been in our new house for a little over a month and a half. It is awesome! I love that everything is so spread out. More to clean, yes, but so worth it to be in our own place. Duncan and Maxwell are still adjusting to the huge space. Still don't want to be left alone for too long by themselves. Laurel is doing fantastic in her bed at night... a few occasional spills off the bed, but she loves having her own space too. The office/stringing/craft room needs some work. Erghe and I have so much stuff that shelves are desperately needed. He is in the market for a saw of some sort so that he can build a workbench, so that he can build us shelves, so that we can put stuff away properly... but man, those tools are pricey! Our list of home improvement projects is very long, but in time we will get them checked off.

Oh I am super excited... last night I braved my sewing machine and hemmed a pair of Erghe's pants. Although it wasn't the prettiest of hems, I did it! Maybe now I can start some of the many sewing projects I want to do. Practice, practice, practice.

Recently we have been doing some research on schools for Duncan to attend when he starts Kindergarten next fall. OMG! I cannot believe he will be turning 5 in just three short months! Ok... so we had high hopes of me homeschooling the kids. I so wish I could be that mom... but I have to be realistic... I just don't think I have the patience to do it. There will be a new baby here soon and Laurel will be two and Maxwell is in that 3 year old mindset of whining and not listening to anyone and add on all the housework that needs to be done daily... yep... no homeschooling for me at this point in motherhood. So anyways, we have this great school behind us which is so convenient to have him go to. Yet, something just doesn't sit right with me sending him there. I really would like to get Duncan into the CA Montessori Project. Erghe looked into it too and he was very impressed and likes the academic program. The downside is that the closest campus is a 20 minute drive.... We will take a tour of a few of the campuses and get a first hand look at the school. If all goes well we will send in a few applications and hope that Duncan's name gets selected from the one of the lotteries in April 2010.

WOW... I am super excited to have Duncan start school next fall. He will be able to meet new kids and make some friends his own age. Hopefully I can befriend some moms too! So much to look forward to in 2010!

A bad day...

the good that comes out of the bad stuff... hoping that more journaling will help me stay sane.

yesterday, i had a meltdown. i am sure my pregnancy hormones are mostly to blame along with the fact i was living on only 2 hours of sleep. it was so bad that i asked erghe to leave work early so that i could vent to him. it started when i couldn't fit a bookshelf into my car that i so wanted from someone off craigslist. i paid the lady and tried for 20 minutes to get it into my car. then i tried to call a few friends to help me and they didn't answer their phones... so i had to go back up to the ladies house and tell her i had to give it back. from there i spiraled... i started sobbing, thinking about how much time i wasted driving to get the bookshelf, how i could have been at home taking advantage of the kids sleeping, thinking about how i have drifted from my friendships and how much i desperately want to have a close friend to share my motherhood woes with, thinking about how i shouldn't be feeling sorry for myself.... i was feeling really pathetic, crying over such nonsense. but i couldn't stop. i cried the whole way to pick up erghe from work. thank goodness for him. he talked some sense into me and i ended up feeling not so pathetic.

oh yeah, the 2 hours sleep thing... monday night i was in the hospital visiting my grandma who had a cardiac arrest and was hanging on by a thread. whew... she knows how to stir us up. we thought we were going to loose her that night, the doctors had nothing good to say. she is a fighter... on a ventilator and heavily sedated, her vital signs improved so much! later today they are going to remove the breathing tube. the numbers aren't good, and she has a big fight ahead of her, but we are hopeful that she can pull through this.

things on the home front are going good... i am looking forward to having our first christmas in our new home. it is so nice to be able to have space to be alone, for the kids to play, for us to have dinner together as a family and the list could go on forever. there is a lot of things to be done to the house, in time we will get them done. i am so grateful for erghe's mom who through all of the bad times has stuck with us and gave us such a wonderful gift and made it possible for us to get this house! she has such a big heart.

whew... i feel better. yesterday is behind me and i am ready for now! kids playing, better hop to getting some gifts done...

free time... oh my!

All of the kids are asleep and Erghe is playing tennis. Deciding between doing the dishes, picking up the the hundreds of toys thrown about, catching up on sleep or dedicating time to type up a long overdue post for my my blog was tough. The blog won this time.

Where to start... oh yes, our lovely little lady Laurel turned one in May. Whew - she is so much fun! She wakes up every morning with a huge smile on her face and wants to give everyone kisses. "Duncan" is her latest word... although "Duh" is all that comes out of her mouth.

Maxwell decided that today was the day that he wanted to start potty training. Only one little accident... way to go Max! This boy is so darn cute and can be so sweet... but boy... is he a two year old. My mom tells me it is paypack for the way I treated her when I was a little girl... whew.. so sorry mom!

Duncan is great at recalling things from months and months back... he even remembers what gifts he got from his third birthday (his bling ring from holly is one he loves to talk about). Today he was telling me about a birthday party he went to last October and how someone took his helmet and wore it and chased him around with a sword... crazy stuff this kid comes up with. These stories never fail to put a smile on my face.

Erghe is playing a lot of tennis and stringing a lot of tennis raquets. I wish I were able to watch him play more. Taking the kids to see him on Saturdays is nice and all... but I can't get any watching in and so I never know what the score is. But even if I just catch a glimpse of him smashing the ball... I am in love all over again.

And as for me, I am enjoying being a wife and mom. Wish there were more time in the day... there is always some project on my to-do list or some chores that don't get finished. At the end of the day, those tasks aren't important... it is the love and joys we share that keeps me going. (on that note... I did take 10 mintues - or more - in between writing to clean up the kitchen a little.... I HATE waking up to a dirty kitchen)