Monday

It's been a while since I wow'd you with my ability to string together completely random thoughts.  Here ya go!

1) A couple of weeks ago I impaled my big toe then whined about it for about 6 days.  It looks like this now:

But then something even worse happened.  Lu smashed her finger in a drawer and her little cuticle turned blue.  Maybe that's why I smushed my toe...so I'd sympathize with that little finger more whole-heartedly.

2.  Baby Jack was head down at our appointment last Thursday!!  I don't know if it was completely mental, but I swear I felt better.  My pelvis hurt less, I could breathe better, I slept better...I think head down is best for everyone.  But then, I'm almost certain he flipped over again this weekend.  I'm almost certain that the mass in my right lung is a head, not a bottom.  Praying.

3.  The girls just discovered holding hands.  Presh!  They lead one another around and just giggle and giggle.   They also call each other 'Sissy'.  So ridiculously cute.  No pic/video of this yet, but here's a hug, kinda!

4.  Rolling over in the middle of the night while 9 months pregnant should be considered an olympic event.  I know I used to accomplish this task without so much effort, but for the life of me I can't remember how!

5.  I've never been this pregnant before.  Yes, I've had a bigger belly and been more miserable, but the girls were born at 35 weeks 5 days, and I will be 37 weeks pregnant tomorrow!  I've been putting off taking/posting a picture until I was dressed better, had my hair done, had on make-up, etc.  But, that may not happen before man-cub makes his appearance!  Then I remembered that I try to keep it real on this here blog...and this is as real as it gets:

I showered today, washed my hair yesterday, and there's a good chance I'll sleep in this get-up and wear it til about noon tomorrow....keepin' it very real.

6.  Snack time.  1 banana, one scoop of peanut butter, a little honey, a splash of milk, a handful of ice cubes.  Blend.  Watch Kate go.  That girl must be immune to brain freeze!!  She can just get on her straw and camp out.  Lauren likes it too, but Kate really enjoys it and mourns that last slurp.

7.  I hope we're having an off day, and not entering a new phase.  I'd give 'em away for a nickel today...in all fairness it might be me, not them.  We're all gonna go try to have a nap.

Real, very real,
The Momma

The Move

**We moved.  There was getting new internet service, finding my computer, getting the pictures from Dodie, and then they (the internet czars) changed the format of how I post blogs.  I'm as low-tech as they come.  This was as fast as I could get this accomplished.  I missed you too.**

Old House

The move went GREAT!!!  Dodie and Pop survived tax season and then came to help last Wednesday.  We packed, cleaned the new house, loaded stuff to go to storage, played with the babes, and just hung out.  Friday was move day.  Pop and his friend Ken came to the new house early that morning to lay sod!!  Pop couldn't stand for his babies to have nothing but sand to play in...and sand with weeds and stickers at that.  So they laid us a yard!  Then, the movers came about noon and the fun began.

I have moved approximately 11 times in the last 14 years.  Some of those were nothing more than a trunkful to a dorm room, some were whole apartment's full too my parent's garage, some were one apartment moving a quarter mile to a different apartment, some were 100's of miles with trailers of stuff...none of those 11 moves involved real movers, or real trucks for that matter!  When I first considered hiring movers for this move, my first thought was that my daddy would never approve!  He's the master of make-do.  Tie it down, drive carefully, do it yourself kinda dude.  BUT, he had been sitting behind a desk for approximately 5 months straight, I have found myself in an extreme family way, Dodie has no business carrying stuff up and down stairs, and Dan didn't really want to.  I called movers.  Best decision ever.  It was painless - thanks mostly to Dodie and Pop and Ken.

We are settled now.  We have approximately half as much space with approximately half as much of our stuff and are equally happy.  Downsizing is good for the soul.  We have the things we need around us...and a few things to make it feel like home.  No, this house won't be permanent, probably not even very long term, but it is perfect for what we need right now.

The neighborhood is adorable.  There are parks and walking trails and it's so much closer to the places we had to go to anyway.

Moving still sucks.  It still took me 4 days to recover.  It took the girls a few nights to settle into their new rooms.  We miss Roxie.  But overall, it has been as good as moving gets.

Love,
Momma

Oh Excuse Me, I Think My Hormones Are Showing...

Goodness gracious, sweet Jesus, bless my heart, and God bless...I'm a mess!!

I wanted to move.  I wanted/begged/pleaded for the house to sell.  I knew it was coming.  I am unprepared.

I came home as a newlywed to this house.  Dan and I decorated and furnished and DIY'd and sweat and swore this house into a home.  We survived some serious fights with each other here.  We had a ton of laughs and more than a thimble-full of tears.  We've had great friends for dinner and fun family for long weekends. 

We found out I was pregnant with the girls in our master bathroom, then found out about peanut #3 in the exact same place.  We brought our tiniest little babies home to this living room - and I say living room because that's where we lived for the first 6 weeks.  Me topless, nursing; them swaddled and snuggled together; and Dan or Dodie or Pop running interference.  The B's learned all they know to do in this house.

We have experienced nine months of this pregnancy in this house, but will bring this new baby home to a different address.

And then, the cherry on the top of this emotional week is that Roxie is going to be staying with the house.  It just worked out this way...the buyer loved her and asked, we love her but our family dynamics have changed and are changing even more, she'll get to stay in the yard and home and neighborhood she knows, we'll get less guilt about not walking her as often as we should, it'll be fine.  It's sad.  Dan and I adopted Roxie about two months into our marriage.  She is the best dog I have ever known...house broken, doesn't bark, doesn't jump, doesn't pick on other dogs, excellent with kids.  We love Roxie and that's why we are making this decision.

Pullin' up my big girl panties...
Momma

My Day in Numbers

As the number of days left in this house is dwindling (2!), I have found myself counting all kinds of random things.  (A sign of OCD...possibly.)  Thought I'd share.

10-12 - the number of diapers we change a day.  (Remind me of this tiny little number in another month!)

4-6 - the number of times I have to re-do their hair when it's up.

0-16 - the number of times my living room goes from this:

then back to picked up and normal (totally depending on my mood...sometimes it's important, sometimes I could care less).

5 - the number of times left to carry both little ladies (and my giant belly) up the stairs for nap time.  Funny story:  I used to carry them up and then sit and talk or pray or sing in their dark room for a little while before laying them down for naps.  Well, now by the time I get to their room, I am so out of breath, and sometimes a little light headed, that it would hardly be a relaxing experience!  I just plop them down, then go catch my breath in my room!

42 - the number of times Kate says "shoooooes" everyday.

67 - the number of times I have to pee a day.

0 - the number of times I pee alone.

Love,
Momma

Tell Me You've Done This...

It didn't start out as a lie...but 8 months later, it feels like one.  Tell me you've done this.  You don't tell about an event in your life...for no good reason other than you just didn't say it.  You didn't know how or if or when it would turn out, you didn't want to make to big of a deal of what may not be a big deal, etc.  It wasn't a big, bad secret, but then, after not talking about it for 8 months, it became a big, bad secret, and now to reveal it, it seems like a really big deal.

Confused?  Yeah, me too.

So, here's the deal.  We're moving across town.  We put the house on the market in September, and I didn't blog about it then, so therefore, since I didn't tell you, dear bloggers, about step 1, I haven't told your about steps 2-892 either.  I'm sorry.  It wasn't a secret, it's still not a secret, I should have talked.

Maybe, though, you should be VERY happy that I didn't.  You see, you missed a lot a whining in those 8 months!!  There was listing the house, and then finding out like 2 seconds later that I was pregnant.  Then there was morning sickness and two 10 month olds and having to keep the house "show" ready.  Then there were spur of the moment showings, showings that I had cleaned and prepared for that no one showed up, dishes hidden in my oven just so I could run to Target quickly and still leave the house "show" ready.  I whined.

Then it took way longer than we thought.  Then we lowered the price.  Then we sold it and didn't know for sure where we'd live ('cause it took longer than we thought).  Then it all worked out and I wanted to tell you, but I hadn't told you that we ever listed the house!!!!!

So, this is my apology, and my confession, and my conglomerate whine.  It's my praise report and prayer request.  It's a big reason why I haven't blogged as often!  (You try packing with two little helpers!!  Oh my!)

But I needed to talk about it.  It's a part of our story and is kind of a big part of it.  Change is happening, I'm rolling with it, and now, get ready....I'm gonna tell you about it!!

Love,
Erin

 They love it as cabinets get emptied out!!  So much exploring, so many squashed fingers.

Catch-Up

I saw a cartoon once that said, "I'm not rude for interrupting, I am just a fast listener!"  Settle in, folks, be a fast listener...we're going to catch-up, Erin-style.

Babies:  They are totally adorable.  They are fast, say more words - outside, shoes, baby, sissy, thank you, and much to my dismay....NO!  They play together so well.  Yesterday, Lauren got up from her afternoon nap before Kate.  I brought her downstairs and we were playing, but about every 10 minutes she went to the gate at the bottom of the stairs, looked up, and with her little palms up said, "Sissy?".  They don't always play nice or fair or well, but they prefer to play together.  On pretty days, I leave the back door open and they come and go as they please.  They broke 20 pounds!!!  Lauren is definitely taller than Kate, probably less than an inch, but you can see a difference.

Pregnancy:  This morning I woke up in my 34 week of pregnancy, confident about the natural birth process to come.  Partly because I'm a hippy and I want to, partly because it's an option and there's no reason not to attempt, partly because it's cheaper, we have been planning on a natural delivery for baby #3.  Then I went to my regular OB appointment and found out that the head she thought she could palpate down very low in my pelvis was in fact a baby bottom.  Breech.  Don't worry, I wasn't deterred for long.  I know a guy who is a chiropractor and have seen/heard/been told that with some adjustments, you can coax a baby to turn.  But then....I dropped our giant double jogging stoller on my big toe.  It hurts so bad still that I could cry.  After this new discovery of my pain in-tolerance, maybe I'll just scrap the whole thing, have them put me out, and miss the whole having-a-baby event.  (I kid, about all except for how badly my toe hurts.)

Dan is good.  Working hard, loving his babies, and is patient with his giant, whiny wife.

I am unemployed!!  My last day of work was last Thursday.  It is and was bittersweet.  I love chiropractic.  I love my patients, those that I work with, the break from the day to day of being a stay at home mom....but, it was time.  I'm big, there was a lot of parts touching patients that didn't used to!  I'm tired.  But mostly, I want to soak up as much time as possible with these two little ladies before our lives change.  (And, except for today when I laid around with my toe up, whimpering, it's been a blast!)

I'm back now.  I'll blog more regularly.  I think I can, I think I can.