S Club Mama

The last 2 mornings I've been having one to two contractions. The Braxton Hicks are not fun; I didn't have these with Moose. I don't need to practice - ouch. And I'm still praying that this baby stays put until our doctor gets back. I just keep thinking that "ok my due date really isn't until the 18th so even now that's really early to come; 18 days." Oh wow...yeah, that's too early, right? This baby needs to keep cookin'. I have cakes to bake and a birthday to celebrate!!! I apologize now if these next few posts sound the same; I just really want things to go my way! ha I leave you with a picture (that I feel is sort of unflattering): PS For those of you who were holding your breath for my contest, it's probably not going to happen. We had some money stuff come up so it'll have to wait. I guess more time for me to come up with a brilliant idea for it.

Thank you all so much for your well wishes. I just had one of those days where it felt like Big A & I were bickering at one another the moment we woke up and it just didn't seem to end until later that night. Ugh! And it's all over stupid stuff, too, and that's the worst. I feel MUCH better this morning. Even the poopie diaper didn't dampen my mood. I don't know, maybe because I got some much needed sleep (finally). I ended up getting...I don't know, heat exhaustion or something....anyway, I threw up last night around supper time. I tried so hard to stay up to spend time (better mood time) with Big A, but around 9pm, I headed to bed. I woke up at 11:30 and was like "really?" I felt like I'd been asleep way longer. Then again at 2:30, 4, and not again until Big A got up. That's not bad. My hips are still bugging me. I had a Braxton Hicks this morning (or at least, I haven't had another so I'm guessing it was a fake contraction). I am

I hate being in a crappy mood.

This video makes my heart just melt. I know I've been voicing concerns about having two kids, about Moose being a big brother. But if he handles it half as well as he handles this, he'll be fine (minus the biting part...you'll see). PS Excuse my singing but listen close because you can hear him trying to sing.

Well, I tried. Interviewing an almost two-year-old isn't quite easy. But I really wanted to try so here's my (second) attempt: For more interviews (and other fun prompts), go on over to visit Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop .

Remember Nintendo 64? It's somewhere between Nintendo and PS3. We still have ours and we dragged out Mario Kart on Sunday. I raced against Big A a few times (he won one set and I won one; we're pretty friendly when we play), then we decided to let Moose at it. Here's he's got our PS2 controller. I wanted him to not feel left out when we had controllers. When it was his turn, he just ran his guy into a wall and kept pressing buttons. This is when he realized the red button (pause) made noise. He just kept pushing it and pushing it, leaving Big A's game paused, unpaused, paused, unpaused. Oh my, it was HILARIOUS! Look how proud he is of himself! It was so sweet. This is an awful picture of Big A but I think they look adorable together. Gaming time! But honestly, one thing makes me confused about these pictures. Where did my chubby little baby go? This little boy in these pictures is skinny! Where's his pot belly? I swear it disappeared overnight! ...I guess this m

Alright, this tooting thing isn't going to be a weekly thing, but I am really proud of myself. My best friend, Laura, taught me to crochet back in like October. Then she moved and I never got past that first night. In January, we moved and got so busy, I never got a chance to re-learn or keep going. Well, just weeks before we moved back, I got the nesting bug. Now, I hate (HATE) to clean so I picked up my crocheting. I was working on a dark blue thing (at that point it could have been a blanket, a scarf, anything) but the weather was SO nice that I just couldn't use such dark yarn. Yuck. So I picked up the only other yarn I owned: pink - bubblegum pink! Everyone was telling me that I was having a girl (most people have told me that either because of how I'm carrying or some other old wives' tale), so I thought this was appropriate, not only just more fun. I kept going at it, even when it was too frustrating for my Type-A personality. I added this bright green (not quite

This is not my first time menu planning. Actually, before our big move to Virginia, I was getting quite good at it. However, after 6 months of not having done so I am out of practice. Then I saw one of my bloggy buddies was doing this menu plan thing from I'm an Organizing Junkie . I thought I'd give it a try again. Well, sort of a try. I've had the same menu on my wall for about 2 weeks, so I'm starting from scratch. I also have a bit of a push this week as we're having friends over on Wednesday (thankfully). Without further ado, I give you my menu (please don't compare it; it's really simple): Monday: Cheeseburger Macaroni HH (Hamburger Helper) with green beans. I think I'm also going to throw together a sort of fruit salad: white peaches, strawberries, apples, and bananas Tuesday: sloppy joes (per request from Moose who has been playing with the Manwich can for weeks now) with rice of some sort and creamed corn Wednesday: chicken fried chicken, mashed

My Love, I can't imagine a day better suited to thank you. Thank you for our beautiful children. *I hope they all grow up to be like you Thank you for asking me to marry you *especially for asking me here: Thank you for always protecting us *I know that we're safe and secure with you Thank you for providing for us *staying home with our babies means so much to me (and you, too) Thank you for being a man of God *and asking for directions (earthly & heavenly) Thank you for helping around the house *nothing would ever get done without you (yeah, you know it's true) Thank you for not laughing at me when I call you crying about cockroaches *and for spraying for them Most of all... Thank you for painting my toe nails when I can't reach them *they were looking nasty Big A, You are the best husband anyone could ever ask for. I know that many women do not have the love, support, and guidance that you offer. Although I realize this isn't "Happy Husband's Day,&quo

Went to the doctor today. I am measuring almost exactly at 36 weeks! She said I'm all baby (yay). One appointment next Friday. The following Thursday, the 2nd, I have an ultrasound to determine just how big this baby really is (we tried to guess last time and thought 8 but Moose was closer to 10!). Then Moose has his 2 year appointment (sad) and I have an appointment. Finally, the inducement will be approximately the 10th or 11th - of course this is all subject to change with the ultrasound & such. I'm just getting ready for this baby. It's getting harder for me to pick up Moose (yes, I realize he's almost 40 pounds): in and out of the tub, in and out of the crib, up to dance. He's just getting heavy and it makes me so sad. I want to carry him around. And it's not necessarily the weight but also the lack of room! And I'm also just so ready for my kids to meet. We had lunch with our good friends, the A-Team. Their little guy is 2 months old and I sat by M

Big A passed his written CDL test today!! He's been taking it the last 3 Fridays (maybe?). There are 4 tests and he passed one of them last Friday. Then he passed the other THREE today! It just makes me so happy for him because I know he was getting down (sometimes you can totally tell how his upbringing and lack of confidence from his parents just infiltrates his self-esteem...but that's a whole other post). I just kept telling him that he could do it and I prayed over him last night that he could do it if it were His Will. And he did it! Apparently, this is a really hard test that a lot of people have a hard time with. So now he just has to pass the actual driving test, and he gets his CDL (which also means a $.50 raise!)! But he's driven big vehicles before: a big truck (close to a semi) for his job prior to the group home, a Penske truck twice halfway across the country. I'm not worried for him but we'll see how it goes. Personally, I am never planning on taking

According to thesaurus.com this is the definition of pregnant and its synonyms: Main entry: pregnant Part of speech: adjective Definition: carrying developing offspring within the body Synonyms: abundant, anticipating, carrying a child, enceinte, expectant, expecting, fecund, fertile, fraught, fruitful,gestating, gravid, heavy, hopeful, in family way, parous, parturient, preggers, productive, prolific, replete, teeming, with child Many of these names I can handle: anticipating, carrying a child, expecting, fruitful, gestating, in family way, with child... However, I HATE when people call me prego or preggers. I am not a jar of spaghetti sauce, thank you. I am not some dim-witted, knocked up girl. I am pregnant. When I hear someone say (or wear a shirt saying) that they are "prego," it just makes me want to gag. It sounds like a teenager (and really, no offense to teen mothers here...it just sounds immature). I've been meaning

Browns' Donte Stallworth Gets 30 Days for DUI - ABC News Shared via AddThis Check out this link. I am just shocked and very disgusted about this incident. This football player gets behind the wheel drunk and kills a man. He gets 30 days in jail???? What??? How many days would you get if that were you? Even Michael Vick got 19 months for the whole dog fighting business. What kind of message is the court trying to share? That dogs are more important than a man's life? (I do realize this isn't the same court but I'm sure they were aware of this case - and I'm not a dog hater or anything. I really like dogs, but not more than a man who was murdered and his family that was left behind). What do you think?

I'm reading "Bringing Up Boys" by Dr. James Dobson (founder of Focus on the Family). I LOVE it! It has just affirmed what I know to be true: that my husband is a MAN, a REAL man (who I love to death), and that raising a boy is so important (not that raising a girl is unimportant, but if you read the book, you'll understand that it's just really different). This is not my point to this post. It is actually about why we feel disconnected to others. I'm sure if we dig deep down, we all know that it is - in part - due to technology. We keep up with people on Facebook, email, MySpace, text messaging, etc, etc. He says it a lot better than I can. "Are you one of these harried women running in endless circles? Have you found yourself too busy to read a good book or take a long walk with your spouse or hold your three-year-old child on your lap while telling him or her a story? Have you taken time to study God's Word - to commune with Him and listen to His ge

You like the new blog name? Big A thought I should be more numerically correct so here it is: S Club 3.85 - an almost-quartet Ha! I love it; he's so funny. Only about 26-27 days until we induce! Woo-hoo/Eek! I told Big A today that I just feel time is going to go SLOW until Moose's birthday and then go by TOO QUICKLY! And I've changed my mind about the birthday party. I'm going to decorate all the cupcakes with the Wonder Pets symbol rather than as the characters. I just don't think I'm up for it (plus, I don't know if I honestly have the talent for Linny haha) - not with a one-almost-two-year-old to chase around and an eight-almost-nine-month-old-in-the-womb baby to carry around. Makes me sad because I was seriously gung-ho about Moose's birthday last year, but I know it's the thought that counts (and he probably won't remember this). And there is still much thought and LOTS of love going into this party - well, the cake. The party is easy - no

That wonderful Tip Junkie is at it again! She is hosting a Going Dot Com Birthday Bash . Click on the hyperlink for details or keep reading. She wrote, "Tip Junkie is 2 years old! To celebrate as well as feature some of the amazing women who have joined the Mom-prenuer Shops , I have set up the Going Dot Com Birthday Bash where there will be 10 winners every day this week!" Click here to check out the amazing prizes, and really, they are amazing. I would by lying if I said I wouldn't mind having any of them. They're really beautiful!

Honestly, today's sermon was so beautiful. It centered around 2 Corinthians 5, the whole chapter. Our Heavenly Dwelling 1 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to pl

It's too hot for me to sleep, so....I'm researching baby slings. I really would like a sling this time to wear with this baby. I had/have a backpack-type carrier that I'll probably still use but I just really like the contact with slings. I want an adjustable one, preferably with a ring. And, if possible, I'd like to buy one that both I and Big A can wear. Something like this: Problem is, I don't know much about slings. I bought one that is not adjustable and it's probably too small so I think I'm going to pass it on to one of my smaller friends. The other problem? They are not cheap! $50+ and that may not seem like a lot to someone, but it is to me (especially with the new car). So rock and hard place, here I am. Anybody have suggestions about slings (regardless of price, really)??

We did it; we bought another car. It's always kind of scary when you make big purchases (especially when you have a new baby on the way, too!). However, we felt this was kind of necessary. Now if Big A has to work, I can take myself to my doctor appointments or Moose to his. I can go grocery shopping or elsewhere. I can go to friends' houses now (anyone want to hang out?). When MOPS groups start up again, I can find one I like and go to that! It's liberating to have a vehicle, even if we won't use it ALL the time! But it's also a comfort thing: you know, what if Moose gets hurt or sick? Now I can take him to the doctor myself (instead of having to call an ambulance). Well, my little after-bath streaker is coming to find me. So ttfn.

Oh man, I loved this movie! PG-13 even! Star-studded! And (mostly) a good ending. I adore movies that intertwine people. Crash, Vantage Point. I just love the whole "it's a small world after all" theme. It's so true. The thing I didn't like about this movie? Drew Barrymore's bit part (c'mon, she's Drew Barrymore...give the girl a plot). And Jennifer Aniston looked old (sorry, Jen, you know I love you but your makeup artist in this movie should be fired). And I did NOT like Scarlet Johannson's skeezy part. Ugh. My favorite part? Ginnifer Godwin (that's her name right? From Walk the Line?) reminded me SO much of myself in high school - and not in a good way. But I felt for her from that deep place in my heart. I was embarrassed when she was embarrassed. I was sad when she was sad. And I was happy when she was excited or happy. Anyway, I enjoyed the movie with my friend, Monica. It was nice to have an adult conversation, that's for sure. Moose

I have met some of the most amazing women through this blog. I know I don't have a huge following but I have some serious sweeties who comment. I've received prayers, encouragement, and even some gifts from some spectacular people. And I've won a couple of giveaways, too! Most recently, I've won a really cool thermometer so I can stop using the rectal one on Moose (he says, thank God). And Aubrey has been really encouraging through my sleep process and just my pre-baby blues stuff I'm going through (you should go over and tell her how amazing she is, because...she is). In the spirit of Paying it Forward, I really want to host a giveaway. I'm not quite sure what I want to give away though. I'd like it to be something special (I'd really like for it to be homemade, but I'm not sure if I have the required craftiness to take on something like this). So, let me gestate on it for a few days, possibly the weekend. You can submit ideas, if you wish... Check

Ok, I have Wonder Pets on the brain and can't get their songs out of my head. But that's not what this post is about. Here's the latest baby bump picture (with much commentary): Last doctor's appointment, we talked about inducing July 10 or 11. Do you realize how close that is? It makes me choke on the air! I will never again be the mom of one child; I will have two kids to look after and love and be creative so they don't get bored for. (EDIT: I'm being induced because Moose was SUCH a big baby and did some damage, so we're trying to avoid more damage or a c-section). Once again, I will dress a baby in only a onesie. I don't even remember when Moose last fit into a onesie. Once again, I will nurse a baby and/or feed one with a bottle. No baby food for awhile...more preparation when that time comes. Once again, I will wake in the middle of the night (numerous times) for something other than to pee. Once again, there will be milestones: rolling over, craw

...we're on our way, to help a little Moose celebrate his birthday! That's right! I am again planning a birthday party for my little Moose. I'll probably write a sappy post about how I can't believe he's turning two (yes, I will, you know it), but for now, I'll focus on my big bash plans. I debated between an Elmo, Wonder Pets, or a Super Why! birthday party and Wonder Pets won. Probably because they're my favorite (and so many others do Elmo). Then I started to research cupcakes or cakes. I want to make his cakes again, otherwise I'd go to Walmart and get a pre-made one. But I really like doing it myself. Someone somewhere on some forum turned me toward the Nick Jr. website. Ah-ha! I found Linny , Tuck , and Ming-Ming (too) cupcakes! They look slightly complicated, but....it means a lot to me to celebrate his birthday before the new baby comes and to make it special. So I'm going to try - they may not come out perfect but that's just fine! I wa

My hips have finally stopped hurting, thank YOU GOD! But...now my pelvis hurts. And I mean, it hurts worse than both hips put together. I talked to my doctor about it and she said it's normal (and apparently, I hurt like this with Moose, too - I don't remember haha). It's getting ridiculous, though. I get up, you know, the 50 times a night to pee. Every time I stand up, I just feel this rush of....not PAIN but hurt....it sucks. I know, pregnancy is a blessing and I'll be done soon, but it still hurts. And now the little squirt is RIGHT on top of my bladder and it hurts, too. Can you bruise your bladder? Last night while I was trying in vain to get comfortable, I was talking to the baby. I was telling him (or her) how excited I am to meet him (or her!). I really am. I'm scared (to death) about all the changes and challenges of having 2 kids, but I'm really ready. That's so odd. I was NOT ready for Moose to come when he did. I am scared, like I said, too. I

I won a really cool thermometer. It's an Exergen Temporal Scanner! Kristen at All in a Mom's Life held the giveaway that ended yesterday - and I won! This is amazing, and let me tell you why (or go to her blog and read my comment as to why I need this). I still take Moose's temperature rectally. I giggle right now only because I feel really bad about this. I've tried the whole armpit thing, and, to be honest, I just don't trust it. He's too young for an oral thermometer (which we don't have one of those at our house either). And we just haven't gotten an ear thermometer. We haven't bought a new thermometer, although we've talked about it plenty, because Moose does REALLY well with the rectal one. He's never squirmed or acted like it hurts (of course, we lube it up for him) or even uncomfortable. We've always just laid him down, put it where it belongs, and gave him a toy or a book (but not all the time). He just lays there, maybe not hap

but this is just so hard. I hate sleep training. I hate letting him cry. It goes against my very motherly instincts to just rock him. But I know if I did that, I'd be in his room every night sleeping in his recliner/rocker with him in my arms. Or, better yet, I'll wind up on Super Nanny for letting my kids walk all over me. Those facts don't make this any easier. The worst part is that we did this with him when he was 3 or 4 months old. It sucks! Shouldn't I be done with this? Twice with the same kid? Ugh. It's been 10 minutes of non-stop bawling and shaking his crib side (yes, we put the side back up just to keep him in because otherwise he'll just come out of his room or - worse - pound on his door so bad that it shakes him terribly). Silence. Is he asleep? Big A went to find out. Hope he didn't kill himself or make himself sick. Yeah, maybe checking on him was a bad idea. The silence is now replaced by more bawling. I'm so not looking forward to nap t

After a ton of crying (on Moose and my parts) at bed time, he finally fell asleep. He screams like....I can't even describe it. It's horrible. It makes me cry and I just want to hold him and hold him. But I know that won't solve our problems because he just wakes up when we lay him down. Anyway, then around 2am, I feel Big A get out of bed. Apparently, Moose is crying and I'm oblivious. The same thing ensues: crying like he's terrified, rocked to sleep or semi-sleep, waking upon being put down, crying again and again and again. Seriously, this all loops together until around 4am!! 4am?!? What? That's when Big A goes to sleep on his floor. That works until Big A comes back in around 4:30 and shortly thereafter, Moose decides to come in our room. He scares the you-know-what out of me which makes me yell an explicative, which makes him cry. I pick him up and tell him it's ok, he just scared mommy, and I take him back to his room. I lay on his floor (which in my

Thank you to everyone who gave me advice. I tried the monster-away/scare-away spray; that didn't work. We tried putting him back in his old bed toddler-style; that didn't work. So we put the crib side back on; that didn't work. We aren't sure if we'll leave it as a crib or not; the good thing is he can't get out of his crib and can't just go to the door and start knocking to be let out. Big A, I think, figured out the problem. It wasn't that he is scared of anything but there are two things. 1. He wants us to be there. What kid at some point doesn't want his/her parents there? I've seen it enough on Super Nanny (good news is, his bed is too small for us to sleep with him! ha). 2. He is weaning himself off of his thumb. When he has it, he falls asleep faster. When he doesn't, it's screaming that sounds like he's possessed (no joke). I wish he'd wean himself off of it during the day; it's always in his mouth! Any advice on this

Late last week we had spaghetti. Big A hates when Moose gets messy eating (probably because he always cleans him up). His dilemma was how to clean the kid off before getting in the bathtub (I mean, spaghetti noodles and pieces of meat floating - yuck). I said to spray him off in the sink. Big A came back that he didn't want the kiddo dragging a saggy diaper to the tub. I said to take it off. And wa-la! We had bath time in the sink. It reminded me of when Moose was first born and we would bathe him in a bowl in the sink. Two years later, it doesn't look quite the same. But it's still so darn sweet. Join in the fun over at Angie's Seven Clown Circus for more Wordful Wednesday entries! ***Question: At naptime and bedtime, Moose is increasingly freaked out by something in his room. I know we just moved about a month ago and that's about how long he's been in his toddler bed. But this seems more. I don't know what it is. I thought the dark, but that wouldn't