30 weeks!

Today officially marks the 30 week point in pregnancy. Which means I only have 7-8 weeks left! How can that be? I'll see the OB on Thursday and hope to have some fun updates and maybe even a possible date for Baby's arrival!

I guess I'm starting to get some nesting instincts going on. Cleaned out the girls' room and closet last week and Steven Joseph's the other night. This afternoon I folded all the laundry, which if you know me, you know I put this off for weeks on end and we live out of baskets of clean laundry. Now most of it is still folded on the couches, so I'm just praying nobody knocks it all over before I get around to putting it away this evening! "My Maria" is coming tomorrow and I can't wait to have things all nice and tidy for a few days!

We started back to homeschooling yesterday and it's going pretty well. Thanks to candy :) We've needed some incentives this summer to keep us going, so toys and candy have been the trick! I know I keep saying how I love having these lesson plans, but I really do! Both girls are learning a cute poem I'll have to video when they finish learning it in the next week or two. Mary Clare is learning all her states and capitals! Today we put together a big US puzzle I bought at the thrift store. It's neat to see her putting together all her knowledge and experience with Geography. Reading is still a bit of a struggle with both girls, but we're forging ahead, convinced that it's going to really click one of these days! They are both on target for their grade level, but just not as fluent as I'd like them to be. They're doing great at Math though!

Today they've kept busy with playing house, paper dolls, playdough, dance class...I love seeing the kids playing together without (much) fighting. It's been so hard to be stuck inside much of the summer. I just don't have the energy to do our usual activities or even the pool much anymore. They get really hyper in the evening, but we get through and have been getting pretty good sleep when we're not coughing with this darn lingering cough that SJ, now Ellie, and I have had for awhile now.

Steven Joseph is such a sweetie pie. Yesterday he kept coming up and hugging me, saying "I proud of you Mommy, finding my Spiderman glasses." He talks about being "Mommy's big baseball boy" and loves snuggling and watching little YouTube clips on my iPhone. I'm trying to soak in all his babyness, because pretty soon he'll be the big toddler and my mind and body will be occupied with our newest little one.

I'm having tons of dreams about pregnancy and delivery. I've had a c-section in a hair salon, been left belly-open on an operating table in a house while everyone left me alone, and last night had one of those funny dreams I've always gotten where I feel the baby's foot through my belly and then all of a sudden it actually kicks through my belly and I have to poke the leg back inside me! Definitely lots of vivid dreams right now, I'm just glad I'm sleeping well enough to have dreams, and getting naps many days too!

The past couple weeks have been really busy with coordinating homeschool activities. As a moderator for our group, I've been dealing with lots of emails, little scheduling issues, and registration for new activities. I think I'll be glad once things actually begin and the planning part is ending! Then it'll be time to take a break for baby...looking forward to that...but still scared at the thought of taking care of 4 kids 24/7!

I better go check on my laundry piles on the couches and figure out something for dinner. I'm sure I'll get around to posting our San Diego Zoo photos sometime soon! Hope you're all having a wonderful week!