Maniacal Musings of a Mother of Many

We had Jenna’s party early this year since I will either be too huge to want a party or have a newborn come her actual bday (Aug 13).  (Hopefully we will have a new baby boy!!)

So the theme she was going with was Kitties and the colors orange and yellow (her favorites right now).

She invited her closest friends from school, and they were ALL able to come (which NEVER happens in August!).

They made friendship bracelets and had lunch.  After lunch, Jenna had made up a game for them to play. She had different activities for them to do, like getting fish out of the wading pool, jumping on the tramp, hula hooping, etc.  And they found puzzle pieces along the way.  They didn’t get a chance to finish the game, cuz we were running out of time.  But when they got the whole puzzle together, it was to lead them to the pinata.  We had to just jump to the pinata, cake and gifts quickly at the end.  They all were having a good time together.  It was fun to watch - from inside, in my case.  (It was too hot for me to stay outside for very long that day.)

WHAT balloon?

Okay, here are some prego comparisons from Ty, Brooke and this one.

On the way to the hospital, to be induced, with Tyler.  3 days past due date.  He was 10 lbs. 11 oz.

On the way to the hospital, to be induced with Brooke, 4 days BEFORE my due date.  She was 9 lbs. 9 oz.

One month before my due date with this one.

These aren’t the best comparison pictures.  I mean you can sorta see the difference.  But not as well as with bare tummy shots.  So, get ready for gross…

13 days before due date with Brooke.  I figured she’d be my smallest cuz I was so much more comfortable than with the others.  (She wasn’t though.  Ash was only 9′4″.)  I’m definitely bigger than that right now!  But I’m a totally different shape too.  Hmm?

34 days before due date with Tyler.  UM…huge difference.  No wonder I was so uncomfortable.  I was dying for the last 8 (or more) weeks with him.

30 days before due date with this one.  I’m not too uncomfortable–just can’t stand the heat and swelling feet.  I definitely LOOK more like I did with Ty, but I don’t FEEL like it.  Hard to tell if I’m just USED to being pregnant, or if there’s actually a big difference.

Man, I never realized that I AM shaped differently with boys vs. girls.

Yah, uh huh, I’d say that estimate the US tech gave me of 8 pounds last week was VERY conservative! Cuz this picture was taken July 8th and the US was a week later.  This kid is probably 9 pounds right NOW.

I have NO desire to be induced, but I also have NO desire to have an 11 pounder.  What to do, what to DO?

If my doctor offers to induce me tomorrow, do I take him up on his offer?  Nah, I’d wait another week for SURE.  But if he offers next week, when I know he’s gonna be gone for the next 3 weeks afterwards ….hmmmmmm.  I don’t know.  I might do it.  I REALLY would rather not be induced.  REALLY REALLY REALLY.  But I also prefer to have MY doctor, a smaller baby, and earlier in the summer would be nice.

HOWEVER - Jenna, the only one I was NOT induced with, is also the only one with NO signs of ADD/ADHD.  I think there’s a great chance of there being a connection with these guys.  They’re probably genetically prone to it anyways, and then I don’t believe they actually know as much as they think they do about the effects of pitocin and epidurals on babies.  I don’t need another crazy child.

BUT - if I have the baby sooner, I’ll be more ready for taking care of things when school starts up, instead of still feeling like dying/crying/lying around, hemorrhaging with sore, even bleeding, nipples - I know, TMI!  But that’s the way it is, why pretend it isn’t?

Andrew is of little help making a decision like this.  He will support me with whatever I decide…it’s MY body afterall.  That’s awesome.  But but but but…….I don’t know what to do.

Yes I do.  I will just expect to be pregnant for 4 more weeks and roll with what happens.  BIG PICTURE, have to remember the BIG PICTURE.  It’s better to go as natural as possible, even if it messes with the whole school schedule.  I’ll just have to depend on others for help - I HATE THAT!  I HATE needing help from anyone but Andrew.  I will just plan on the first weeks of school being a TOTAL NIGHTMARE of being exhausted and feeling like crying.  I want to be there for Ty, (BIG PICTURE–he needs me there) so I will just suck it up and BE THERE, sore nipples and all.

I will cry in the shower, as usual.

I will get up at 4 with the baby and just stay up if I have to, in order to be there for my needy crew.  Brooke will have to be my big helper all during the school day.  I’m sure she will WANT to anyway.  Hopefully she doesn’t mind me passing out on the couch.  We will plan on leaving 30-45 minutes earlier than necessary (gotta be ready for her to pee her pants, the baby to need to nurse and have a blow out RIGHT when I need to leave) to pick up everyone at 2:20, 2:30, and 3:05.  Then the big kids will HAVE to pitch in.  They are doing a good job of it now, so that won’t be different.  But I think chores will have to come before homework.  That’s different from what we are all used to.  Oh well.

Heavenly Father blessed me with little, or no, post-partum depression with the last two babies.  Perhaps He will bless me again.  Actually, it’s also harder to be depressed when you’re overly busy.

Dang it.  I know that whatever I PLAN on, WON’T go that way.  It never does.  POOP.  I am the type to need a plan for this kind of stuff and I don’t do well when things don’t go according to my plan.

Hope for the best, but EXPECT the worst.  That’s usually what I try to do.  But then, somewhere along the lines, I get my hopes up that it won’t be that bad, and then SLAM I’m surprised with stress.

Can you tell I’m starting to get a little freaked out?

Okay, I was doing much better when I didn’t try to plan anything……………..go with the flow………………I need a new mantra.  NO PLANNING……….owooommmmmmmmmm……….go with the flow……..owooommmmmmm………..

What I really wanted was to get pregnant a month sooner………..why couldn’t that have worked out?

 Oops, no crying over spilt milk.  Not part of His plan, I guess.

No planning………..go with the flow…………..

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!   oops, no freaking out………..

relax……….that’s why they invented xanax……….take a nap in front of the a/c!

go with the flow!

Lots has happened in the last couple of weeks.  I’m trying to be better about updating it all.

With so many kids, it will probably be difficult.  But here’s the last week, or so………..

Ashley greeted me in bed this morning like this:

She made up a NOSE commercial.  Pretty silly.

You HAVE to have a sense of humor to survive in this house!

Last night was the kindergarten performance of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

It is such a cute little program.  It was only about 20 minutes long and I thought Andrew had missed it all.  He was stuck in traffic for 1 1/2 hours TRYING to make it.  The crowd was so thick when he got there that he couldn’t see that we had a seat saved for him.  So the videos that I got are of me wiggling and trying to video while Brooke tries to climb on me or the chair next to me.  I haven’t previewed it all yet.  So if there’s anything worthy of posting and I re-figure out how to post vids, it’ll be here later.  Until then, you’ll just have to enjoy the funny pics.

The door to the MP room

Ty after getting “into costume.”  The SECOND the camera flashed, he was GONE and looking for a book.

“On stage.”  Actually, they were just on risers.  Before the program started, Ty was swinging his arm around and singing like crazy.  I thought he was going to either hit someone or be a big ham.  But during the program, he looked pretty nervous.  This is afterwards and he’s just waiting for Mom or Dad to pick up him and his Kindergarten Certificate.

I was cleaning in the kitchen the other day.  And even though our weather has been in the 70’s this week, I am H-O-T!  (I wonder why!)  So when I’m working in the kitchen, I turn on the window AC that’s right nearby and try to aim it at the kitchen.  It usually works pretty well.  But it also blows onto the couch where the kids like to sit.  So I was freezing out Tyler and Brooke and they had to figure out a way to survive.

Ty ran and got his pillow and blanket and covered them both up.  I came around the corner to find them all snuggled up like this!

Jenna’s 6th grade class built bottle rockets and launched them.  I didn’t have my video ready to go when Jenna’s launched because she was the very first team to go.  So, I didn’t get it on video . But it was pretty fun.  Every team had different designs to see who’s would stay up the longest.  They were very scientific about it all too - recording wind speed and temperature and other weather conditions and everything.

It was fun.

Wednesday when we were getting ready to leave the elementary school and go home, Brooke was being a bit cranky.  The usual distraction techniques weren’t working, so I asked if we should go to a bunch of different places.  Should we go to the store?  Should we go to the farm?  Should we go to….. You get the idea.  When I asked if we should go to the sea of monsters, she got this funny look on her face, which I interpreted to be fear.  I giggled and drove home.  When we got in the drive way, Brooke said, “Mommy, we not go to see monsters?”  I thought she was afraid of what I had said, so I reassured her, “Oh Brookie, I was only kidding.  There are no such things as monsters.”  She got really sad and nearly cried.  ”Did you want to see monsters?”  She nodded.  Jenna and I quickly said they could go inside and pretend to be monsters.    PERFECT IDEA.  Brooke loved it!

She was some kind of hanger monster.

Too funny!

Jenna playing along.

Uh oh.  She fell over and couldn’t get up without help.

Tyler’s turn.

Jenna too.  I forget what they called this…something like Underwear Head Monster.

This was something like Fluffy Head Monster.

They had a blast.  I got some funny video too.  If I have time to re-figure out how to do video, I’ll update with vids later.