Ambivalence

am·biv·a·lence n. 1. The coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings, such as love and hate, toward a person, object, or idea.

Today I went to the hospital to pre-register for birth. This involves sitting down with a nurse and signing consent forms, going over birth plans ect... One of the questions I had to answer was:

Does the upcoming birth make you feel 1. Happy 2. Fearful 3. Ambivalent

I answered ambivalent. Remember, were talking about birth here, not the baby. Having a baby makes me happy, the birth part makes me nervous. When we went over the birth plan I said "my birth plan is to just get it over with!"

With Isaac, I had high expectations of a natural drug free birth, that lasted until 5cm. With Elijah, I had expections of a virtually painless labor. I thought I would get to the hospital, get an epidural when I was 4cm and that would be it. Turns out there were long hours of very painful contractions to get to 4cm! With Samuel, I expected to feel as good as I did after I had Elijah, turns out I had to recover from a c-section.

So the bottom line is that I have learned that you really don't know what to expect, and that in itself is a little scary to me.

Trust Me, I Know

If you know/meet/come across a woman expecting her 4th boy, and you feel so inclined to make a comment about it, please, please, please don't:

• Go on and on and on that the ultrasound might be wrong, and how great it would be if it turned out to be a girl!
  
• Say "you will just have to adopt a girl" There is absolutely nothing wrong with adoption, however this comment implies that a family cannot be complete without both genders.
  
• Offer sympathy. "Awww...I'm sorry". "Thats just not fair". "Oh, you poor thing".
  
• Tell her that she needs a girl.
  
• Tell her that shopping for boy clothes is boring.
  

She may smile politely if you choose any of the above statements, but inside she is probably fuming.

Do feel free to say "Congratulations!! Boys are great!" ;)

What could be better than a popsicle on a hot day?  

The Countdown Begins...

One month from today is my due date! I can hardly believe it, seems like I was just writing a post about it being three months from my due date. This time next month my whole labor and delivery could be behind me or I could be one irritable pregnant woman. We'll see...

Yesterday, I truly felt like the worst mom ever. I had some Hershey's Hugs* and I gave Sammy one. He has been eating a couple M&M's here and there with no reactions, so I let him try one. He ate it and we had no problems. He took a nap, and woke up with a diaper rash (the child has been eating nothing but fruit). I did two things as I changed his diaper, I gave him another candy ( it melted all over his hand) and I sprayed Dermoplast on his diaper rash. Dermoplast is something that numbs the skin a bit, good for sunburns and stuff. The hospital gives it out after you have a baby for your perinium area. After his diaper was changed I cleaned up his hands. We said good bye to Tanya and her girls who had spent the afternoon with us. I saw Sammy's face starting to puff up, and hives starting to break out. By the time I got the Benedryl his face was extremely swollen and he had hives on his arms and chest. This was the fastest I have ever seen him react to anything, for the first time ever I actually had the epi-pen in my hand ready to use. I was starting to feel a little panicky, as Jeremiah was gone with our vehicle. Finally, the Benedryl did it's magic. Now, the question is did he react from the candy that melted in his hand (which I feel terrible for giving to him), or was it the Dermoplast (Benzocaine). He had no hives on the area I sprayed it, yet ate none of the candy.

*I made a very bad assumption without reading the label that white chocolate is different than milk chocolate as Hugs are mostly white chocolate. White chocolate also has milk in it.

Did You Know

That yesterday our Supreme Court chipped away a little more at the constitution? They ruled that homes can be taken for private use as well as public. The constitution includes something called Eminent Domain which means the Gov't can take private property for public use. Yesterday the Supreme Court decided that property can be seized for private land development. Basically, if your home is in the way of a tax generating development, too bad.

Yes, I Remembered...

That today is our anniversary, unlike last year. Eight short years. Eight years ago we were both college students living off two work study jobs. We couldn't afford to do much, so riding our bikes to the library was our entertainment. I loved those bike rides. We were active in His House Christian Fellowship, something I still miss today. We sure didn't feel as poor as we were. We absolutely love being parents, but those first couple years without kids are so special to me and I'm so glad we had them.

Recently I heard on the radio that the more similar you are to your spouse the less work marriage will be. I have to agree, Jeremiah and I are very similar on the major issues so there just hasn't been conflict. Its a joy and an honor to be married to him, he is a man who values his family with his actions and not lipservice. How can you not be head over heels for a man who tells your boys to "tell mommy you love her" or "tell mommy she is beautiful" on a regular basis? Or encourages you to go out with your friends, or shopping? Or comes home from work at 7:00 a.m. and asks if I want him to stay up with the boys for awhile so I can get more sleep.

So, on behalf of the anniversary I forgot last year, Happy Anniversary x2!

And in other news...

We brought the boys to see Madagascar today. The boys seemed to like it. I didn't find it particularily enjoyable, but than again, I didn't expect to.

Isaac at the beach.
More beach pics here.

35 weeks and starting to feel it. My "to do" list each day far outweighs my stamina. 

Father's Day

So maybe its another Hallmark Holiday, but if there is one day that Jeremiah deserves accolades its today. As far as Dads come, he is the best. A while ago I ran into somebody from church at the mall and he told me "you know, its a delight to watch your husband with your boys". That pretty much sums it up. He enjoys the boys, spending time with them is fun for him not an obligation. Not that he is only about fun, from the moment Isaac was born he has dug in his heels and helped. There is not a single doubt that they come first and that he would do anything in his power for them. Last paycheck he used his blow money to get them toys instead of something for himself.

I feel my words have fallen short today in expressing what a great dad he is and how much we appreciate him, but anybody who knows him knows exactly what I'm talking about. Happy Father's Day Jeremiah!! We love you :D

To "P" or Not to "P"...

Megan raised a good question before...are we going to use another "P" middle name? In fact, this is something Jeremiah and I have been discussing. Isaac and Elijah's middle names were chosen for specific reasons. A month or so before Isaac was born, the former Chicago Bear Walter Payton had passed away and Jeremiah really wanted to use Payton as a middle name. Elijah's middle name is Peter, after my dad. It was just a coincidence that they both started with P. With Samuel we just decided to go with the flow and use Phillip, which is a name I really like. Actually, I kind of wish we had Phillip as a first name option this time.

However, there are very few P names left to choose from. I joked that we could just use the initial P. instead of a name (hey, its not unheard of). So now we are in a conundrum. Do we use a P name that we are not totally crazy about just because it starts with P? Or do we break from the pattern and go with something different?

So, Im curious what any of you all think, what do you think? What would you do?

Hung Out To Dry

The quickest way to put a kink in the smooth running of any household is to break a major appliance. In this case, the dryer. For the past week or so poor Jeremiah has been subject to lectures about "overstuffing the dryer, the clothes aren't drying right!" I didn't stop to think that it was the dryer and not my husband (whose dryer habits haven't changed in the three years we have been here). Finally, on Saturday the dryer quit drying at all. It's not a new dryer, we got a year or so longer out of it than I expected. You just don't realize how much we take these appliances for granted until they are not there! We do have clothes lines that we use in the summer, in fact two loads of clothes have been rained on since our dryer broke.

So, it was off to Sears for a new washer and dryer. The washer does still work, but it is just as old as the dryer and I have been wanting one that does huge loads (remember, soon to be four kids) so we decided to get a new washer too.

Of course, I immediately go to the matching, nice looking washer/dryer set while Jeremiah goes to the cheapest. After much shopping, we got what we wanted (even though they don't match, not even the same color!) and I think we are both happy. The only problem is they won't be delivered until Friday!! It wouldn't be so bad, but its supposed to rain until Wed.

One a side note, I can pretty much guarantee that next time I ask Miah "should we put Elijah and Samuel in the double stroller so they are not running around like wild monkeys while we try to shop and talk to the salesperson?" he will not say "no, I think they can walk".

Books, Boys, Beach, Baby Names

I just realized I haven't blogged since Sunday. Why is it that when other people go 2 days without updating their blog it seems an eternity, yet with my own blog 4 days can pass quicker than lightning between updates?

Really, I haven't updated because there hasn't really been anything to update about. I have been spending my days reading junk fiction (John Grisham, Oprah's Book Club ect...) and responding to the never ending requests of three young boys who remind me of the Very Hungry Caterpillar. Eating, eating, eating, all the day long. While we are on that topic, why does Elijah insist on asking for string cheese when he NEVER eats it? He holds onto it for 20 minutes, than hands its back to you all warm and sticky. Yet, he doesn't understand why we don't let him have anymore.

Its been very hot and very humid. We finally got a room air conditioner which makes it tolerable but is nothing like the central air we used to have in our apartment. Jeremiah has brought the boys to the beach a few times. As soon as I can find the top to my maternity swim suit, I think I will join them one of these days. I remember how nice it felt to swim (okay, float) when I was pregnant with Samuel.

The boys carpet is ordered and should be installed in a couple weeks. Their room is the main project I want done before the baby is born. Once their room is finished I will relax.

And I know everybody is still wondering about what this poor nameless baby is going to be called. We have a list, it is narrowing. However, since everybody already knows the sex of the baby, and since something has to be a surprise, you all just have to wait seven weeks! Aren't we annoying ;) But, seriously we don't even have a name yet.

33 Weeks. I'm surprised how big I look!

Busy Stuff

We had a beautiful week here. Perfect 70 degree weather almost every day. We were pretty much outside all day, every day. Jeremiah even brought the boys to the beach once. Isaac has finally took an interest in riding a bike. We went for walks around the block twice a day so he could ride his bike. Its a bike that his cousin Johnny handed down to him, and he looks so big on it! I have finally been getting some work done in the yard. Last summer my plan was to really focus on the yard this year, of course I wasn't really expecting to be having a baby in July!

Alas, its suppose to rain all weekend, so its time to switch gears. I'm going to start removing the border in the boys room (they already ripped half of it down), then I will touch up the paint in there so we can have new carpeting put in. The carpet in their room is in sorry shape, not to mention they have been tearing out the carpet pad!

Sooooo....on that note I think I will go get started on that border.

Its June!

Its June today! That means next month we are having a baby! I'm super excited, but also feeling nervous and unprepared for labor. I just want to skip it (but NOT in the way of a c-section) Last night I actually had a dream that Jeremiah went to the hospital and came home with the baby! LOL... how is that for subconscious wishes!

Anyways I wanted to pass along this story from Snopes.com about huffing. FYI Snopes.com is a cool and informative site that investigates urban legends. I highly recommend checking there before you forward any email "warnings". I was saddened by this -true- story and I think the info in it is valuable to parents, specially parents of pre-teens and young teens.