think we may have ruined them.....

in preparation for the arrival of baby, joe and i decided to let celia and drew sleep together  in her bed, as we had been playing an all night game of musical beds, hopping from one to the other as they called out "mommy, come lay with me" or "daddy, i need to go potty". we figured this way they may keep each other company and not depend on us so much when the baby arrived and needed our all night attention.  it worked, but think a bit too well; now drew will not lay in his bed alone at all - celia claims to not like drew sleeping with her (he kicks me and keeps me awake sucking his paci) but from the looks of things, I really don't think she minds :)

waiting.......

39 weeks down, one to go! I can't believe by this time for sure next Friday, we will have another addition to our family. This pregnancy has flown! (though these last couple weeks are dragging right along, as I carry almost 40 lbs of extra weight, waddling due to sciatic nerve pain, and can't get any sleep between my huge belly, numerous nightly bathroom breaks and the calls from my other 2 children to "come lay with me"). I am starting my usual worries (well, wouldn't say just started, as I am a known worry wart). I am hoping the delivery goes smoothly, new baby is healthy, and Celia and Drew love their new baby brother or baby sister as well as they've grown to love each other. I truly am blessed to have such great kids - though their are MANY days they simply wear me out with their, shall we say, energy, they really do get along amazingly well. Drew runs right along with Celia, playing part in all of her imaginary games with her animals, being her pet dog on a leash, playing store, basketball, jumping on the trampoline, putting on dance shows for me, and whatever else their little minds can come up with. Their giggles melt my heart. It's scary to wonder if I still have room in there to love another child as much as love them? I know I will...it's just going into the unknown that's a scary thing. I can't wait to meet you little bean!! My prediction for your birthday was today, February 17th; daddy's is February 22nd. I have a scheduled induction on my due date, next Friday the 25th, so either way, we will know you by then!!!!

ice storm

so this week we got hit with this crazy ice storm that left the streets, lawns and driveways as nothing more than huge skating rinks, with a nice thick 2" layer of ice. the kids and I were iced in our house for about 4 days straight due to school being cancelled, and me not being able to get our car down the driveway. needless to say, we were all a bit stir crazy!!! we filled our days with coloring, play doh, decorating a big cardboard house, lots of tea parties, playing house, numerous bubble baths, tee ball, plenty of iCarly and Dora, and Celia doing a bit of 'butt sledding' down our icy lawn.

But we survived! mom and dad thankfully had already agreed to take the kids that following weekend for me to get one last relaxation weekend in before baby arrived. Thank you!!! It was just what the kids and I both needed! We are so lucky to have wonderful family around that love our kids so much.

big boy undies!!

drew is potty trained!!! We really thought he might go to high school in diapers :) (sorry baby) as he had NO, ZERO, ZIP interest in the potty whatsoever. For a couple of months he's been wanting 'privacy' when pottying in his diaper, so we kept trying to get him to sit on the potty. No way, wasn't having it. "But I not big yet, I only 2" he would say. "Maybe tomorrow" were his famous words about when he would sit on the big boy potty. Then one day, as usual, daddy suggested Drew try to pee on the potty. He agreed, much to our surprise. He didn't want the small training potty though - went straight to standing on the stool, peeing in the big potty "like Daddy". He was SOOOO excited, running around saying "I'm so proud of me!!" wish I would have gotten that on video. this is him having some special diet coke and proudly wearing his big boys. Since that first day, there has been no turning back - accident free (aside from a couple in the hotel we stayed in the next night at Caribbean Cove water park - not exactly the ideal time for him to pick to potty train when we are staying somewhere else the next day). Other than that, he's good to go. Yay Drew!!!

mini van mama

after much, much resistance on my part, I have given in and become a true suburban mom - got me a mini van, oh yeah. Joe and I went round and round about the pros and cons (he was listing all the pros of the mini van, I was listing all the cons, top one being I am just too cool - ha! as if).  He told me that I needed to face the music, I'm a 35 year old soon to be mom of 3 and my cool days are long gone. sniff sniff. Though I still believe I have some cool left in me, I gave in.  I shall now fit in with the mini van parade at Celia's school line pick up.  All in all, she's not so bad. Very, oh what is the word everyone uses to describe a mini-van, yes- PRACTICAL (ugg, horrible!). Yes, it's true they are.  We've not had a new car since 2003, so we are just enjoying all the new technology and the kids absolutely love it. Celia proudly tells everyone she sees about her new van with "a TV and my own back row!". Drew, who is always hesitant on any kind of change and cried for his old car every time we went car shopping, now says "I wike ar new car".    I just imagine I'm really rolling in a Land Rover when I'm out and about.  Goodbye Harry Honda, hello Ollie Odyssey!

joe and his baby - so sad to say goodbye!!

alien belly

I have always wished Joe could feel what I feel when I'm pregnant, if only for a day. The sensation of a little growing baby inside of your belly is indescribable, if not a bit freaky (in a completely awesome way). This is what I miss the most when I'm not pregnant; after carrying this little life around for 9 months, with a constant reminder tickling your belly all day long, it's sad when it's not there anymore.  Celia loves to feel the baby move too. One of her favorite things to do at bedtime (when baby most active) is to feel it moving around inside and try to guess the which part it is (is it baby's head? baby's foot? baby's bum?)  It's so fun that she's old enough for this pregnancy to really enjoy it - she's so very excited for her baby brother or baby sister (ask her and most days she'd prefer a baby brother), and I think she's going to be an awesome big sister, as she already is with Drew man.  She's the sweetest, most caring little girl I know.

 I tried my best to capture some of this movement on video so I would never forget.....

to blog or not to blog?

that is the question..... I have resisted for so long, this whole “blogging” thing, never thinking my life was interesting enough for others to even care enough to read about. We are a typical family of 4, soon to be family of 5, living in the ‘burbs of Indianapolis. Nothing too exciting there. But what I have come to realize is, this is MY life, and I want to remember it. So I am taking the plunge....I realize this is 2010, soon to be 2011 and blogging is SOOO 2006 (ha!), but I'm always a bit behind on the trend. I am using this blog not as a tool to show off how incredibly smart and cute my kids are (and yes, they are! lol) but instead to journal our day to day lives, as a reference for me and our family to remember how young and innocent the kids once were, as well as to re live all the growing pains we experienced as a family. Since I've missed about 5 years or so since welcoming our first born into the world, I am going to attempt to do some backtracking and cover the 'highlights'. Welcome to the “miles life”!!!