Are you ready?!?

I did promise 3 days and alas it has been 4.  Sorry about that- there were proper people that needed to receive our news before Blog World did.

 After no further ado- I must let you all know that our sweet family of 6 will now be a sweet, even more chaotic family of 7. That's right folks, we are pregnant with another little blessing.

I am due August 3rd, however since I will be having a scheduled C-section(Mason was born via C-section due to severe preeclampsia and I attempted a VBAC with Will, however my preeclampsia mildly resurfaced at 37 weeks. Since I had major complications with my first pregnancy, and the signs were there that it was headed that way again, doctors and Matt and I decided to opt for a C-section again. Now, having 2 under my belt, my only option is a C-section.) my doctor has already told me that I will be delivering in late July.

Let me answer a few questions that I know will surface:

1. This pregnancy was PLANNED! I always knew I wanted Will and the next baby to be very close together in age. Knowing this, we never took any precautions to stop future children. I nursed until very recently and that halted any conception efforts. However, Will then decided to go on a nursing strike and Hello Baby!!

2. Yes, Will is 8 months old and having a baby in July will make my youngest babies 15 months apart. I cannot even express how thrilled I am! I have talked with many brave moms who have blazed the trails before me and they all say the same thing- You adapt. The first three months are the hardest and then it gets easier. 

3. Yes, I do realize I will be pregnant during most of the summer. Seeing as how both my boys were April babies, being pregnant this chunk of the year is very new to me. I am a little nervous about being my biggest in awful heat. 

4. This little bean will be our last. So I am going to cherish every movement, every pound gained,  and every stage. I am working on cherishing the nausea- which has been the most extreme and intense out of all three of my pregnancies. Check back with me when it's gone and then I can trivialize it.

Even after knowing at any moment it was possible for me to be pregnant, when it finally happened, it shocked me to the very core. The third discovery of pregnancy was no less thrilling than the first or the second. I instantly had a thousand and one feelings and thoughts. Am I capable of taking care of three children on a daily basis, two of which will be 15 months apart? With Daphne and Jack here half time, I will be responsible(with the help of my fantastic husband) for 5 little lives. Just say it. 5 LITTLE LIVES! That's enough to make anyone feel sick for a moment.  I felt scared, elated, nervous, nauseous, and then promptly burst into tears. At this point, Matt just held me. Once I calmed down, I realized it is going to be ok. More than ok- it's going to be wonderful. It will be a crazy ride and some may think I am nuts for choosing this voluntarily. I am a little nuts which may be why I am ready for this crazy ride! Bring on the chaos!

Get Ready!

Get ready for it. 

The winds of change are blowing their way into our family. 

I will have some surprises coming your way exactly 3 days from now.

1..2..3..4..5..

Off to venture into the snow and cold with:

1 very fussy baby with a cold who needs some Motrin.

2 very belated birthday cards that need mailing filled with family pictures as my way of apologizing

3 very important items on the list to buy for our trip to Target.

4 very trustworthy tires on my highly capable LandRover that make me feel safe in the snow with my boys.

and 

5 very good reasons as to why we should just stay home!

You could win!

If any of you lovely blog readers are interested in winning a very neat baby tummy time gift, hop on over to 4 little men blog! It's a great giveaway! Good luck!!

Rebel For A Cause!

Hello fellow bloggers and friends, 

As many of you know, my heart is near and dear to MckMama and her crew. MckMama is now hosting a Raffle-Way(raffle, giveaway) to raise money for families dealing with a fatal diagnosis for their unborn babies( I can't even imagine) and also for two organizations that help families adopt special needs children from China. 

So- go to her blog and chip in!! Just click on the Rebel for a Cause icon on my sidebar and it will take you straight to where you need to be. It's only $10.00 for a raffle ticket, which enters you for some AMAZING prizes, including a Canon camera and tons of other fun camera toys.

Good luck!

Nicole

Not Me Monday- Round 3

It's time once again, for Not Me Monday! Head over to MckMama's blog to see what other bloggers did not do this past week.

-I did not let Will drink orange juice out of his older brother's sippy cup just because it was on the floor of the living room, and he crawled(in record speed, I might add) over to it. No, Not Me! 

-I also was not somewhat proud that my 8 month old can drink out of a sippy cup.

-Speaking of 8 months old, I did not have to count and count again the months since Will's birth because I could not believe that my sweet baby is 4 months away from being 1 year old! No, Not Me!

-I did not try to help pass a Thanksgiving dish when I already had my hands full with the baby and I certainly did not drop lid of said dish on my mother in law's Rosenthal china set and break the plate. No, Not Me!

-After not breaking said plate, I certainly did not justify it by saying, "Well, that's the china set my husband will inherit, so really it's ours, so really it's ok." No, Not Me!

- I did not blow off friends, my sister and family member's phone calls because I am not feeling so sick that even talking on the phone feels like a huge task. No, Not Me!

-Because I did not feel sick this week, I certainly did not walk around in my bathrobe for 4 out of the 7 days this week. No, Not Me!

So...it's your turn. What did you not do this week?

It's the little things...

It's all about the little things in life.

Like feeling deeply loved by your husband even though he is states away.

Like laying next to my sweet baby and spending 10 straight minutes watching his chest rise and fall.

Like having a quiet, peaceful night with just my sweet baby Will and I. (It's Mason's night to be at his dads.)

Like feeling just how incredibly blessed I am.

Like feeling so excited for the future, but finally learning to live in the present and appreciate what I have been given.

Like realizing just how much like my Mama I really am, and with that, realizing just how proud of me she would be-proud of the parts that are just like her and proud of the parts that are just like me.

It's absolutely all about the little things...

Not Me Monday- Round 2

 

It's been a week since I last posted and I can't think of a better way to break the silence than with another round of Not Me Monday.

- I did not sneak down to the basement, on my lunch break, to check MckMama's blog. I did not know that the internet at our facility is only for residents. No, that was not me who knowingly broke the rules to satisfy my obsession.

-I did not almost pee my pants when I had an email in my inbox from MckMama in reply to me wanting to buy some Stellan bracelets. I mean, really, I am 24 years old, I don't get excited when MckMama emails me, as if she were a celebrity. 

- I did not pick up Will's binky after it fell on the floor at the old people's home, wipe it on my shirt, call it good and stick it back in the kid's mouth. Not me, I would definitely not do that!

- I did not sit on my butt all weekend with my husband and the kids, instead of accomplishing the 3,000 things around here to get our house finished. 

- I did not pop my breast out of my shirt to nurse Will, in front of several other moms and a dad at the park because my child was hungry and they can look the other way.

- I did not find out some news this last week which rocked me to the very core. This news did not make me scared, excited, happy and sad all within the same minute.

- I did not bawl uncontrollably in my husband's arms last night.

-I did not just leave you all in the dark about said news. 

 

What have you NOT done this week? 

Not Me Monday

I am following in the HUGE footsteps of MckMama and participating in my first Not Me Monday!

Her story and life are inspiring and completely addicting!

- I did not have to wash the same load of laundry three times last week because I kept leaving it in the washer and got busy with other things.

-I did not placate my son with way too much Halloween candy so I could look at blogs. 

-I did not put off my son's nap time to an hour and a half later than normal, 2 days last week, just because I was enjoying my time with him. 

-I did not, then, have a very cranky 4 year old boy, come bedtime. 

-I did not go out in public this last week with baby puke all over my jeans.

-I did not hand a very awake and playful baby Will to a sleeping Matt this weekend, just because I was wide awake and wanted my husband to be too. (Sorry, babe!)

- I did not miss my 7 month old so much that instead of letting him sleep when I arrived home from work, woke him up to nurse. (Hey, I needed relief!)

-I then did not keep him up by playing with him and staring into his eyes for another 30 minutes.

- I did not let my baby sleep in bed with me, just because I wanted him as close as possible, even though I knew I should probably not put him in his bassinet, to  not give Matt and I more room in bed.

What did you NOT do this week?

"Get Sump-ing"

I am so fortunate to be able to stay home with my boys. My husband works hard to make it possible for me to spend just about every waking moment with Mason and Will. However,I do have the option of working some hours with my on-call job at an Assisted Living facility, a position I held onto from the days of being a single mother. That basically means if someone calls in sick or needs time off, they call me. I can take the shift or not take the shift and it gives me lots of freedom and some extra spending cash. 

  I worked the evening shift last night and tonight and I arrived home about 11:30. Mason, as most of you know, does the whole "every other weekend" thing with his dad. I was at work when Matt picked him up. I was at work when he went to bed. I haven't seen him since Friday afternoon and it never gets easier having to share my son. I am blessed that I only have to share him so minimally- and if you knew his father, you would really think I am blessed to only have to share him so minimally. However, I still miss him like CRAZY and it was hard for me to not be home when he came home. 

If ever I do work and come home after he is in bed, I tiptoe into his room and tell him good night. Sometimes he wakes up, sometimes he doesn't. However, I always promise him I will tell him good night when I come home and I keep that promise!

So, tonight...I tiptoe into his room, climb up the ladder on his bunk-bed(he sleeps on top),hug my boy and whisper, "I love you." Tonight, he woke up. My Mason says to me, "Get sump-ing"(translation: something). I ask him what he said, just to make sure I heard him correctly. He repeats, "Get sump-ing." I ask him what I should get. Mason tells me, in a sleepy whisper,  "A kiss," and plants one of his "smoochy kisses" on my lips. He then lays back down and is fast asleep again in seconds. 

  I think I just fell more in love with my beautiful, firstborn son, if that's even possible. That 30 seconds in his room reconfirmed to me how truly blessed I am to have this resilient, sweet-hearted, 4 year old entrusted to me. I love my Mason.

This is a 3 year old, cellphone version of Mason, but peaceful, sleeping boy nonetheless.

Halloween comes late on my blog...

As promised, here are some pictures of our Halloween night with our 4 kids. We went over to Matt's parents neighborhood to trick-or-treat.

This is one of his mom's pumpkin creations. 

Mason was an awesome pirate! He had the arggghhh down pat. Plus, any excuse for a little boy to carry a sword, is welcomed.

Jack was Harry Potter. The costume was complete with cape, wand, glasses and a jagged scar on the forehead. So cute!

Our vampire girl. Her face in this picture freaks me out a little- she played the part well.

Our sweet Will was a sock monkey. He is such a laid back baby, he just went with the flow all night. 

Until we saw this:

This figure actually took the face part off and there was this really awesome green light underneath. That's what I was showing Will because he loves colors but he was not thrilled.

After the traumatic experience, he needed some love and kisses from his mama.

Mama kisses always restore Will, even at his grumpiest.

And the trick or treating continued well into the night...

Now, would someone please come take all this candy off our hands before I eat another piece?

Finally!!

 There have been many requests from family and friends and so, I present to you: MY BLOG! I am thrilled to have a place to update everyone as to what's going on in the world of us and post pictures of my georgeous kids! Going to be putting up some late Halloween pictures tonight.

Until then...

Nicole