St. Valentine's Day Dance

The boys' and girls' clubs with our homeschooling friends had a family dance on St. Valentine's Day at a local Catholic church. We had a potluck dinner, the kids exchanged Valentine cards, and we had some dancing time! It's been a few weeks now, but I wanted to post the photos before too much more time went by...

What I Wore Sunday, 37 weeks!

Well, it looks like Thomas (#4) has won the contest for earliest baby so far! He was born at exactly 37 weeks along, which is where I'm at today and there's no sign of baby girl coming now! My contractions picked up as the week went by, but I'm still feeling like I have some time. I'm hoping for the end of this week, but at the latest we'll probably be meeting her a week from Friday (around the 28th). 

You can see that my belly is still growing, as are my feet, hands, and chin! I just have a good photographer daughter who was able to climb up higher than me for a better angle ;-) This is of course an old faithful outfit which has probably been worn monthly since Easter! Pretty soon it will be put away for awhile, since I don't think it will be nursing-friendly. 

We had a great 3rd week here in town. We attended two Valentine parties, and the one on the actual holiday was held at a park and we had gorgeous weather! It was so nice to see all our dear friends. Everyone is so supportive and offering every means of help, from middle of the night babysitting to chasing my toddler down at the park. I can't explain how much that means to me right now, being in such a vulnerable time. Just knowing that I have family and friends ready to help at a moment's notice gives me a lot of peace. 

Yesterday we finally celebrated Mary Clare's 11th birthday with a skating party and a few good friends. The girls have continued their ballet classes at our old studio here, which is a nice evening distraction. Steven arrived on Thursday night bearing Valentine flowers and worked just a half day on Friday. Friday evening we had a family date night at Outback, and today we went to Mass downtown, followed by a long lunch/dinner at a favorite Mexican restaurant with our good friends and all the kids. 

I've got my doctor appointment tomorrow and a few little playdates planned. We'll see what else this week has in store!

Some iPhone pics from the past few days...

Valentine date night

Belly on Valentines

MC with her cake

Tommy, the 3yr old roller skating star!

MC and her godsister

Getting to spin the birthday wheel, and she won a t-shirt!

Singing (more photos on my camera I'll share later)

And saying goodbye to friends after our lunch this afternoon. 

Thanks to Fine Linen and Purple for hosting the link up!

http://www.finelinenandpurple.com

Cabin Fever?

When people hear that I'm staying in a little cabin, with four kids, at 36 weeks pregnant, with my husband working in another city...they look at me like I've got two heads! And if I'm out for an activity like a Valentine party or a ballet class, they really think I'm nutso! But honestly, by God's grace, things are going very smoothly. 

Sure, the kids are really trying my patience. But it's the same at home. Sure, taking everyone to the ballet studio in 40 degree rainy weather with only one iPhone for entertainment can be a bit tricky.  But it would be the same at home too. Sure, having no help for bedtime, bathtime, cooking, or chores most of the week is a bit of a challenge that I probably wouldn't have most nights at home. The weather is giving most everyone in this country cabin fever, us included! And for us it's a real life cabin!

Getting out for a few activities during the week helps me cope. I'm definitely an extrovert, and I need some kind of social interaction to regain my energy after a long day. So although I tend to lose my patience while trying to get schoolwork done and make it out of the cabin for an event, I also find it necessary for my emotional well-being. Other current coping strategies include: multiple bubble baths each day, chewing on pellet ice, eating Double Stuff Oreos, climbing back into bed, and zoning out on Facebook. 

But overall I'm just trying to breathe in these special days with the kids. It's a different dynamic being away from home, kind of like a little vacation. Having a television gives me a bit of a break, and they're having fun watching the Olympics, cooking shows, Full House, and America's Funniest Home Videos. We have Legos and Duplos, they had Valentines to work on and now to look at, the boys have army men in the bath, and they enjoy exploring outside. Of course there's always schoolwork to catch up on, and I'm trying not to get too worked up about that. 

Our family life will be changing very soon, and we can't wait to meet our newest member. Speaking of our littlest one, I had my 36 week appointment on Monday, and everything looks good. She could arrive any day, but my guess and hope is that we have about another week or a little more. My contractions are pretty mild, although I do have days when I overdo it and end up quite crampy. I'm really trying to gear myself up for the surgery. I've been reading some c-section birth stories and I talked with my OB about some of my concerns. I'm not overly uncomfortable at this point although I do have a sore muscle in my upper back that makes if difficult to lift Thomas the Tank! My indigestion has gotten pretty bad, but last night I tried some essential oils around 1:00am (Lemon in water and DigestZen on my throat), and it didn't bother me the rest of the night! I'm swelling a bit and my weight is creeping up to a number I don't want to pass...but I'm looking forward to exercising again after I recover. 

Most of all I'm just feeling blessed to be carrying this new life, to have made it to 36.5 weeks, to be back in my hometown and comfort zone, to have a doctor and hospital I'm confident with, and to have our cute little cabin in which to spend these special days. All thanks be to God who provides for all of our needs. May His loving care be upon us in the coming days, for a safe delivery and recovery and a smooth transition to a family of seven!

Thank you for praying for us!

{pretty, happy, funny, real} St. Valentine's Day Edition!

~Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life~

Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter

{pretty}

Our St. Valentine's Day started with a pretty breakfast 

with heart-shaped cinnamon rolls, which has become our new tradition.

I just used 2 cans of cinnamon rolls and unrolled them a bit to form hearts.

This year I was actually planning to make homemade rolls 

for the first time since before we had kids!  

But the yeast was bad when I started at midnight, 

so I had to run to the store for the canned ones at 5:30 this morning!

The kids had remembered our breakfast from last year,

so they were excited for another special celebration!

...even though it was 6:30am!

Later in the day was a beautiful St. Francis Nature Club at the Botanical Gardens.

{happy}

The kids were happy to celebrate St. Valentine's Day with our homeschool group

a little early. We had the party last Friday.  Here are Mary Clare's

adorable origami Valentines.

Ellie made some simple little cards in envelopes with lollipops.

Steven and Thomas had the cutest Valentines that my mom created,

and we filled with bubble gum.  But I didn't get any photos!

Here are what they looked like, but with a sports tag and the boys' names

Later that day after the Valentines party, Thomas was happy playing in the street

and at the park

{funny}

This past Saturday, we spent the afternoon
at a nearby bay resort town and went to their science center.

This giant crab was across the street.

Thomas wouldn't get near it.

"That big giant dinosaur crab gonna bite me!!!"

Meanwhile, the girls and Steven listened to a fascinating science film

that was projected onto a sphere.

She's got the whole world in her hands!

{real}

I was taking pictures around the house today

and thought some couple photos would be real appropriate for Valentine's Day!

These are all in mini frames on a wall shelf by our bed.

Our first date:

Our wedding day:

and what may be my favorite photo of my

maternal grandparents, Doris and Al.

Aren't they precious?

Hope your day was filled with love and laughter,

and all things pretty, funny, happy, and real!