I'm almost 37 weeks. There's only so much longer I can wear a few of my maternity items so... I'm just gonna keep them on repeat for a while. You know how it is! You've seen this before.

Side note: How do you like that impeccably-organized homeschool bookshelf?

7 {Sick} Takes (In Which I Am Still Pregnant)

--1--

I was sick in bed all day yesterday and went to bed early even after all that sleep, so of *course* I woke up crazy-early, unable to get back to sleep...

But I still feel too gross to get up and do much of anything so... Lying on the couch blogging it is!

--2--

I seriously hate the part of 3rd trimester where my body is like, "Oh hey! You know what's gonna take a break here? THE IMMUNE SYSTEM!!!" and I get every. single. illness. that I've even been remotely exposed to. Nobody else in the family is getting any of these ridiculous colds, stomach bugs, whatever... Just me. The worst they've gotten is runny noses. And I suppose it's all for the best because it's easier to take care of a sick adult than sick kids but oof. I'm so done.

--3--

Like, did you know that if you have a bad enough stomach bug and get super-dehydrated, your body decides to go into false labor? Because THAT was fun! Contractions 2-3 minutes apart with no real relief in between... Called the midwife, who accompanied us to the hospital where I wasn't dilated at ALL (well, 1 cm, which in my world means nothing). But they gave me Zofran and pumped me full of fluids and a few hours later we were headed back home, baby still safely in-utero.

40/52: Gender Reveal!

Well, we *weren't* going to find out the baby's gender before delivery this time around... But with all the complications, we thought it would probably be a good idea to find out, if for no other reason than having that uncertainty resolved amidst other uncertainties! 

The problem is, I was having a really tough time keeping it a secret... So I begged Andrew to let us tell the kids!

They were pretty excited to find out, as you can see.

My Sunday Best, Vol. 26: Matching Twins, Newsboys, and Lazy Photographers

Happy Sunday! After a rather chilly day yesterday, we're back to our usual fall weather (thank goodness!) - cool enough in the morning for the twins' hand-me-down coats & dresses from Abbey's twins, which they were VERY excited about!

 

Baby News for the Excessively Nosy

Well no, I don't think you're nosy... But I really did leave you hanging with some vague "it's okay-ish" updates after our marathon day at the hospital, and since we met with the MFM specialist again this morning and have more answers, I figure I might as well use my "kids are eating crackers at my mom's house while I try to keep things quiet so Peter goes to sleep" time and hammer out a quick update. 

My Sunday Best, Vol. 25: Sick Day

Happy Sunday from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Clare!

39/52: Chicken Love

We're in the throes of glorious fall weather, cool in the mornings and warm in the afternoons, so everybody is rather confused when it comes to getting dressed... Hence Peter in the long-sleeved shirt and pants and Elizabeth in the sun dress!

Library Finds!

Christina's got a new library linkup going on, and we're taking advantage of the library a ton lately so I figured while I'm sitting down not washing the dishes (not because I'm lazy, because I'm pregnant! Hmm... same thing? I blame the contractions - it's my duty to sit down!), I'd blog our favorite finds!

Affiliate links included, but I'm sure you can find these all at your library! If you do purchase anything through my links, I get a tiny cut, which will very likely go towards post-partum snacks... Thanks!

Freight Train

This is such a classic - I don't know how we don't own it already! It's on Peter's wish list now and he's getting it for his birthday. It combines two of his major loves: trains and colors. I love the illustrations, and it's nice and calming to read. This is one that belongs on every family's bookshelf!

My Sunday Best, Vol. 24: In Which Peter is Unbearably Cute

Happy Sunday!

We're well into beautiful fall weather (I think this is the first *real* fall we've had in years, where it got cooler and STAYED cooler, and it doesn't look like it'll be bouncing back up to the 80s so woohoo!), so long sleeves are in and sleeveless dresses are (mostly) out!

38/52: Chugging along

In the ridiculously busy days we've been having, it's hard to find a reason to pick up the camera and document anything... My mind is on other things - the leaky roof that needs to be repaired ASAP, the mold in the girls' closet that will probably mean attic insulation needs to be replaced (also ASAP, because this baby will likely be prone to respiratory infections and I'd rather keep chances of that fairly low), the laundry situation that I just can't manage to get on top of, the heartburn & reflux & third trimester nausea & lack of appetite that make eating less-than-enjoyable, the produce that needs to be picked and preserved before the frost comes, and OH! That crazy-important appointment at the hospital that I've been losing sleep over.

Well, let's just say I've probably been a less-than-pleasant person to be around lately. Hence this abundantly joyful post! Sorry about that - you know I'm usually not a whiner, but oof. The hits just keep coming. And there's been more screaming than usual coming from the 5-and-under crowd (ohhhh the cat fights...), which just makes me snap more. This is one of those survival mode times when frozen pizza is on the menu at least once a week (allowing this blog post to get written, because hopefully getting all this out will at least ease the constant stream of thoughts in my mind little?), things never return all the way to a "clean" state by the end of the day, and the battle of the hairbrush is just not getting waged on a daily basis.

My Sunday Best, Vol. 23: Harmonica-Style

I don't know what I was thinking when it came to taking pictures this morning...