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the pumpkin patch last October in North Carolina

The Super-Big, Really-Great, Baby P Announcement

First off, let me apologize for not posting sooner. I really wanted to yesterday. I tried to, more than once, but couldn't get my computer to connect to the hospital's wireless. (I'll blame that on getting barely more than an hours sleep the night before - a long story for another post!)

So, without further ado...

We are now a family of 5. 3 girls and 2 boys!

Levi David was born yesterday, March 4, 2008 at 11:17 in the morning. He weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 20 inches long.

I had a quick labor, being induced at 8 that morning, which was a blessing. I'm feeling very good and will be ready to get home tomorrow. Thank you all for your prayers and words of encouragement.

Levi seems to be a content baby. We've only heard him cry a handful of times. He's nursing well and sleeping well.

Bryan and I are thrilled to get to know our son and excited about all the changes a little boy will make in our family. The girls are ecstatic about having a brother. As Addi said yesterday, "Now I have one of each!"

Some pictures for now and I'll add more later tomorrow or Friday.

Keeping Track

So, Congratulations to those of you who guessed Baby P would be a boy! The only other correct guess we had came from Poppa. He was exact with how long he thought Baby P/Levi would be.

Do you remember this post?

Well, some of you aren't fairing too well with your guesses, but some of you are still in the game. Here's the recap:

Karla - boy
Carrie - girl
Tracy - girl
Grammy - boy, 2/29, 2:10 pm, 7 lbs, 7 oz, 20 3/4"
Elysa - boy
Jess - girl
Cara - girl
Ashley - girl
Shana - girl, 2/29
Poppa - angel (well, of course), 2/25, 10 am, 7 lbs, 5 oz, 20"
Nana - boy, 2/24 or 2/25
Holly - boy, 2/17, 7 lbs, 6 oz
Aunt Lisa - boy, 2/20, 6:30 pm, 7 lbs, 11 oz
Bryan - girl, and while not in his comment, he keeps saying I'm going into labor tonight and having Baby P tomorrow, 2/29 girl, 2/20
Diane - boy
Kim - boy
Jeanine - boy
Angie - boy, 8 lbs
CJ - boy, 2/17, 9:01 pm
Unc Brett - boy
Ma - boy, 3/7, 7 lbs, 13 oz, 21"
Me - girl, 2/29, 2:43 pm, 7 lbs, 13 oz, 20 1/2" (just wait, mine will be the furthest off!)

Quite a lot of us are off on the date, if I don't start some contractions up pretty soon!

*I wish I knew how to keep this post at the top until Baby P's born, but I'm not that technical. And, I don't feel like spending any more time on the computer right now to Google it. Maybe one of you Techies (as in technical people, not red raider people who the Aggies just happen to BTHO last night (did you catch that game, Rhett?!)) can fill me in. I guess if Rhett knows, he won't tell me now! I'm just kidding you, Rhett!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful

Really.

It is snowing and sleeting.

Right now.

In March.

In Texas.

The night before my baby's Birth Day.

Might make for a fun trip to the hospital tomorrow morning at 5:30, especially since I love weather like this and driving/riding in it makes me want to hide my face and cry. The silver lining is Baby P will actually get to wear the sweater and matching hat home that I've packed. Well, that is if the cool temps can hang on for the next couple days. What is more likely to happen is we'll be sweating on our way home from the 85 degree weather. It was just Saturday that I was sweating while we were at the park with the girls. But, it will make for a more memorable Birth Day for Campbell/Levi.

Look for news on our new little one tomorrow!

Looks like March 4th is the day

Not much is going on around here. It's been a quiet day. My children are with their Nana and Poppa, so Bryan and I have done fun things like lay around and watch movies while enjoying our Long John Silvers and Blue Bell ice cream. The labor thing, it's just not happening. And believe me, no one is more disappointed than I (or is it "me"? Whichever.)

I'm scheduled for an induction on Tuesday morning, which I'm fairly conflicted about, so I'd appreciate prayers. I had a great experience when I was induced with Libby, but I know many, many people who haven't. My doctor has told me she'll break my water first and only start me on pitocin if my body doesn't respond. I was so looking forward to a labor free of iv needles and those horrible baby monitoring straps! Those straps are the worst! Well, there are worse things, of course, but I really, really dislike those straps.

I may or may not post anything tomorrow. It's sure to be the most quiet day of the last 5 years for me. Such a contrast to the next day filled with a new baby cry and big sisters telling me all about their stay with Nana and Poppa and all the grandparents, aunts, and uncles making predictions about who the baby looks more like. I can't wait!

I don't have any hospital baby pictures of Addi on the computer, but here are a couple of her at probably, I don't know, 2 months old. I know she wasn't any older than 3 months because Bryan hadn't deployed yet.

And this one is Libby, minutes after her birth.

The 3 Parker girls about to be wheeled to the post-partum room.

A bit of a change

I went to the doctor this morning for my You're-Past-Your-Due-Date appointment. I have become all too familiar with these appointments since this is my third in as many pregnancies.

So, the baby is as happy as a clam, according to my doctor!

I had an ultrasound and everthing looks good. My amniotic fluid is perfect and the baby's heart rate (and peaks and valleys from the non-stress test) was text-book, also according to my doctor. The ultrasound estimated (how accurate is this?) the baby's weight to be 7 pounds, 7 ounces, which is bigger than either of the girls at birth. The change is that I have dilated some more. All good news, in my mind.

My doctor is comfortable letting me go until next Tuesday. So, her nurse will schedule an induction for March 4, if I don't go into labor on my own before then. I see it as having a 50/50 chance of making it to the induction. Addi was born the day before her scheduled induction and Libby was induced. I don't want to be induced. It was a great (if you can say an induction is ever really great) experience last time, but I would like to avoid it, especially since I would like to manage my pain naturally again this time. However, I know I can do an induction without an epidural.

Whatever happens, this time next week, I'll be holding a new little one in my arms. That is certainly good news!

Have you been waiting for this?

No, it's not that!

Just another update to tell you there is nothing new. Today's my "due date", but my babies never mind with those silly dates anyway! I had a pretty crampy, uncomfortable night last night, but have felt remarkably well today. I want to go run a few miles, but I know (from past experiences) the effort would be in vain. It will happen when it is supposed to happen.

I was reading this earlier today and read, "According to Your Word, Lord, there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 4)."

How many times have I read over that scripture and, today, a time to be born, registered?! (sometimes I could knock myself in the head when a simple concept takes me so long to get) This baby won't be born when the baby feels ready or when I walk/run enough or whatever, the baby will be born when God wants this baby to be born. Period.

And even if it is the middle of the night, in the car, in a snowstorm, when I happen to be all by myself, it will be His perfect timing. His hand has been on this pregnancy from day one. He knew of this little life long ago. He's been waiting to share this gift with me for much longer than 9 months. How could I now let a little impatience interfere with the pure joy and anticipation that comes from the birth of a precious life?

So, while I am excited to meet Baby P, I'm confident it will happen exactly when God has planned for it to happen.

Praise the Lord that the pressure of "making" it happen is not on me at all. And, praise the Lord that there is a time for everything.

Today's update is a little late because

there is still nothing happening.

My due date is tomorrow.

Start praying for my homones! I should be used to this since the other two were each born a week past their due dates, but I know as the day wears on tomorrow, I will be more and more discouraged.

I'm ready to hold my new little one.

Today's update

Still nothing.

This baby's gonna let me finish everything that needs to get done. Wonder if he/she will be that cooperative once they're 2?!

I pulled out a package of newborn diapers to arrange them on the changing table this morning and let me just say those are the sweetest little things I've seen in a long time. I showed them to Bryan remarking that they'd still be too big for Baby P at first. I even made Bryan smell the diapers. I'm not sure when or why Pampers/Huggies stops making diapers smell so good, but I know Libby's diapers, fresh from the package, don't smell like that!

We'll let you know if anything changes.

Ooooh, I'm having a contraction right now. But, it was a wimpy, not real one - didn't even last as long as it took me to type that! Bring on the pain!!

Baby P update

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

3 days until the "due date".

Advice, please

If you have ever read this blog (I'm talking to you!), please take some time to give me a little advice.

Oh, and you probably need to be a woman. And, probably a woman who has given birth or, at least, is planning on giving birth and has heard of products from other women who have given birth. And, also, if you are a man, you may just want to stop reading right here since much talk of breastfeeding and such will surely follow.

As I was packing my hospital bag last night, (and it's finished except for toothbrush and essentials I use everyday - so yay!) I realized a few things.

1. I only have 2 nursing bras that I like, so I only wear those 2 and they are, how shall I phrase this? A little worn. I've had them since Addi was a newborn which means I've worn one of them roughly every other day for 2 years or so. They are also a sports bra style, so they aren't always right, if you know what I mean. What brand/style of nursing bra could you not live without? Where did you get it?
2. Nursing pads. I have some left and I think I really liked them, but I do remember not liking several brands. What's your favorite and where do you get them?
3. Nipple cream? I've used Lansinoh in the past and like it fine, but maybe there's another miracle cream out there I haven't tried. Any other tips for sore nipples or, more importantly, avoiding those all together?
4. What baby gear could you not live without, particulary something that's soothing? Neither of the girls liked the swing and we haven't had a bouncy seat. We had a seat that vibrated, but it was so big, they didn't like it until they were big enough to crawl into it by themselves. I already have what I believe to be the most wonderful strollers made, so I won't be needing any. Maybe you're looking? I can tell you these are worth the money and you can usually find them online for less (plus free shipping sometimes) than at a store. What did you find to be the best of the best in the baby gear category?
5. A sling. I have a sling that I love. (And this is a little off topic, but how cute are these? I can just see both girls and me at the grocery store with ours on!) I didn't have it with Addi, but Libby loved it. I think I've found a brand I would like to try, but, you know, these things are investments. I want something that is a little more versatile. Libby did really well in my New Native when she was a tiny infant and then after she was confident in sitting on her own. I've had the Baby Bjorn type carrier (both a Snugli and a Maclaren), but haven't been super-thrilled with either. I really think I am in the market this time for a sling, as opposed to a pouch or carrier. I think it's what will suit us best. Did you have one you loved? Where did you get it?

I believe that's it, for now. I may be back with more later.

I would really, really, really appreciate any tips/recommendations you can give me, but I do understand if you aren't comfortable essentially discussing your baby feeders on the internet! You can always just email me, if you'd rather. Whichever you choose, please just help me. If you've never commented before, I won't expect you to ever again, but if you have even 1 tip, help me out! And, of course, you can comment without leaving a link to you and/or use another name or your initial if you're hesistant.

Thanks so much, in advance.

In the interest of honesty

Since I posted a few days ago about my (sometime) desire for honesty, I thought I should go ahead and reveal our new development.

Bryan has accepted a job in Alaska and we will be moving in 6 weeks.

Yes, I know it's a little shocking, but we really feel like it would be a fun place to live. If you've known me for any time at all, you know I L-O-V-E cold weather! The girls are hoping there's a Great Wolf there so we can play in the water while it is 20 below outside. And, Bryan, with his circulation issues, is already preparing to loose a hand or a foot : )

Did you really believe we'd be moving again?! I bet I got some of y'all. At least for a second!

Actually, (off topic, but that is Libby's favorite word...she uses it correctly all the time!) I thought I'd tell y'all the first names we've chosen for Baby P. We decided just a few nights ago.

(In case you don't already know, we choose names that are towns in Texas. Addison and Reagan are both Texas towns.)

If Baby P is a boy, his first name will be Levi.

If Baby P is a girl, her first name will be Campbell.

We have yet to decide on a middle name for either gender. And, we aren't shortening either name. I know, I know, it's so unlike us. Who knows what little nicknames will just evolve once the baby's here, but we aren't planning any "shortenings" with this baby.

I hope this helps with some of the suspense. I know there have been rumors floating around that we really do know the gender and we know what name we will use, but are choosing not to tell y'all. Honestly, we do not know if this baby is a boy or a girl. We have guesses, just like you do. My OB doesn't even know. The sonogram technician did see in my last ultrasound, but she doesn't write it anywhere according to my doctor's orders. She made us look away anytime she was near "sensitive" areas. And, we didn't peek : )

We've just had a hard time getting on the ball with this baby. But, we did have the baby's room recarpeted yesterday and put the bed together last night. I'm washing all our gender neutral clothes and blankets today and I plan on packing my hospital bag by the end of the weekend. We're just trying to make things exciting for everyone : )

Oh, and if you love the names that's great, but if you don't like the names that's your opinion and you are welcome to never name your own child either of those names. In other words, keep it to yourself...we aren't asking for opinions! Now that's some honesty : )

We went, we ate, we swam, we slept, and we ate and swam some more.

On Sunday afternoon we loaded the girls up and told them we were taking them to a surprise place to spend the night. Addi wanted clues and wasn't too happy when we wouldn't just tell her where we were going. Fortunately, Great Wolf Lodge was not that far of a drive because her pouting was really putting a damper on all of our excitement.

We got to the Lodge about 2:45 and our room was ready. While the girls and I waited in the car, Bryan walked into the lobby to check-in. Since it was a chilly Texas February day (a high of 78 or something), people were walking around outside the Lodge in their swimsuits.

That's when the girls figured out we would also be going to a swimming pool. And, that's when we all started calling the waterpark a swimming pool until Monday afternoon when I suggested we call it by it's correct name so there would be no wailing and gnashing of teeth this summer when I said we were going to the swimming pool. I tell ya, I've learned a few things in my years as a mother.

We spent about 2 hours in the waterpark that afternoon where Addi surprised us with her courage. She wanted to start out on the "adult" slides, the ones she was just barely tall enough to be allowed on.
Then we went up to our room to change for supper. We found a restaurant in the Lodge that was filled with flat-screen tvs all tuned to the Super Bowl. That suited the Mister just fine. He didn't even complain when the little Misses took forever to eat as they are accustomed to doing. The entertainment was great. The food was disappointing. The menu was full of yummy sounding stuff. Many of it boasted being created specially for this Great Wolf Lodge by some professional sounding chef. I could really help them out.

1. Fire professional sounding chef and burn menus.

2. Go to foodnetwork.com and pick anything. It will taste supremely better than what we ate and your customers might not be so disgruntled when you charge them $15.95 for a hamburger.

That being said, we did order a dessert I would like to recreate at home, but that was through no skill of the chefs/cooks. It was simply because the Lodge uses Blue Bell ice cream. I am not kidding when I tell you that on the platter was at least a pint of chocolate ice cream with probably half a pint of vanilla in the center. You couldn't see the vanilla because it was covered by a mound of cotton candy. Four long pretzel sticks covered in chocolate stuck out of the ice cream and met tee-pee like over the cotton candy. Plenty of hot fudge, whipped cream, and cherries topped it all off.

This is pretty much how we all looked while eating our sundae:

And this is pretty much how we all looked once our blood sugar was sky high:

We got back to our room and the girls were thrilled to watch movies on the flat screen tv in their very own tent for a while. At 8, we made our way down to storytime in the lobby. We found out once it started that Wiley Wolf would make an appearance for pictures after the story, so I ran walked, as quickly as possible up to our room to grab the camera. I made it back in time to find everyone else gone, my oldest cowered in a corner, and my youngest high-fiving Wiley. Everyone was relieved to see me with the camera. That's about the time Libby figured out there was something a little off with Wiley.

As a result, this is how the picture of Libby and Wiley turned out:

And this one (notice her grip on Bryan's shirt!):

Monday morning we woke up, ate a ridiculously priced breakfast (you'd of thought we would have been smart enough to load the girls up and run to Whataburger for some taquitos - tastier and cheaper!), and spent about an hour relaxing in our room before we had to check-out. Check-out time was 11 o'clock. Bryan and I thought we'd make sure the girls were well rested before heading back to the waterpark in the hopes we'd avert an early afternoon meltdown or two.

Of course, it worked.

Oh, wait, no it didn't!

About the time we decided we'd, once again, pay the exorbitant prices for lousy food and eat lunch, the kiddie area was evacuated and roped off. Even though we were planning to leave the area to eat, Libby almost drowned herself trying to stay. Then it took forever to get our food. Then we smelled The Smell near the table we'd already claimed. Fortunately Mondays aren't too busy, so we easily moved our gear to another table further away from The Smell. The kiddie area remained closed for quite a while which meant we had the perfect opportunity for Addi and Bryan to ride more big slides while I tried to guess when she'd come out to capture her expression with the camera. If that had actually happened, the picture would be here.

But it didn't. Instead of taking that perfect shot, I was picking my 2 year old up off the floor while trying to keep my digital camera dry and not teaching her some words I would later regret when she repeated them. I have these instead.

The first time Libby went down the kiddie slide:

And the second time (surprisingly she went again and again after this "flip"):

Addi ending a "medium" slide:

Libby also went down this slide all by herself while I was at the bathroom. She led Bryan to it, said, "slide", and showed up at the bottom with a horrified look on her face not long after Bryan went down himself. Needless to say, she did not go on this one again!

Finally the kiddie area reopened. Bryan and I pretended that it had just been closed down for routine maintenance while the girls continued to enjoy all the splashing, squirting, and sliding.

This was one of Libby's favorite attractions. In fact, on Sunday she was heading over to one of these when an older boy (we're talking at least 4) saw her and immediately raced over to climb up. She continued, completely undeterred. They got to the jet ski at about the same time and she was the one who ended up sitting on it. Not sure how it happened. Maybe he was so stunned by her determination??!

Both girls also enjoyed the "lazy" river and the wave pool. Addi was quite the little floating fish in her life jacket. She swam all over the place. Libby was a little more cautious in water too deep for her to reach the bottom.

Neither girl particularly enjoyed having water poured over their heads. A trait they come by honestly from their mother.

We really had a blast. I expected a little time for relaxation and that wasn't the case at all. In my current condition, 24 hours was the perfect stay. In a couple months, or years, a few days might be fun.

We finally made the girls gather up their things to leave about 5 and made it home to eat, throw them in the bath and have them in bed by 6:30. Bryan and I were snoozing by 8:30.

I think they've asked me everyday this week if and when we can go back. Next time, I'd like to try another location where it will actually be cold outside while we are enjoying the water inside. But, that is a long way off. I think next time I'll want Baby P to be at least 3. And, let's face it, 3 years is like an eternity to little kids, so my standard answer has been, "We'll see." Yet another thing I've learned from my mothering years - Never make a promise you might not be able to keep to children who remember everything.

It turned out to be a landslide

Thanks for all your guesses. It will be fun for me to look back after Baby P is here and see who was close.

After the first few hours, I was sure most people were going to guess "Girl", but the "Boy" voters held out and won it in the end. In fact, it wasn't even close - 13 to 9! (I'm including myself and Karla who'd emailed me about it the day before the post, but it doesn't really matter because our guesses cancel each other out.) Oh, and I shouldn't forget, we had one vote for "Angel". I'm sure that one will be right :)

The Birth Date predictions ran from February 17 all the way to March 7! The most predictions came in for February 29th, which is just a month away. It's hard to believe that I have less than a month to go until my due date. The time of day ranged from early morning to night, but people were kind enough not to make any middle of the night predictions! They must talk to my husband and know what an unpleasant person I can be when awoken from a peaceful slumber.

Baby P's birth weight guesses came in all bigger than either of the girls' birth weights with 7 pounds, 5 ounces being the smallest and 8 pounds even being the greatest. I think I could handle any of those. His/Her length predictions were pretty close, too, ranging from 20 to 21 inches long.

We also got some suggestions for names and we appreciate them all. At this point, I'm praying for a girl because a girl's name is the only thing we've got! I thought we had agreed on a boy's name, but Bryan is having second thoughts today. I think we'll keep the names to us for now because, the way things are going, they're liable to change a few more times! But, you can be sure that either the first or middle name will be after a place in Texas (just like Addison and Reagan).

Thanks again for your guesses. We'll be sure to post asap when we know the answers!

Lemme hear 'em

I think the time has come.

I want your guesses.

Just for fun.

[Wow, if I was more clever like my husband or my dad, I would continue with the rhyme. Maybe next time!]

What is Baby P? A boy? Or a girl?

That's what I'm most interested in hearing, but you can throw in birth date, birth time, weight, length or whatever you wish. Just no guesses having anything to do with my weight, please. In fact, you can throw name guesses, too, since we don't have those picked out! Joking. About the guesses, not that we still haven't nailed down names.

So, here are the facts and then I'll list all that might pertain to any old wives tales I've heard:

• I was officially 35 weeks yesterday. (Last week I thought I was 35 weeks and was so relieved when I realized that I'd gotten a week ahead of myself.)
• My due date is February 25.
• I had Addi at 1 week past my due date and, actually, the day before I was scheduled to be induced.
• That didn't happen with Libby. I was induced at 1 week past my due date.
• I had an appointment today and the baby's heart rate was 160. (Guess this one could also go under the old wives tales list)
• And, of course, y'all know when you have 2 of the same sex your likelihood of having a 3rd of the same sex is somewhere around 75%. Just in case you didn't realize, we have 2 girls.

And, now anything else I can think of that might facter into your guesses:

• Well, the heart rate today - see 5th bullet above.
• I was very sick, actual vomit, with Addi. Didn't gain an ounce until 22 weeks and was still throwing up every day until then.
• I was more nauseous with Libby, only throwing up a few days. That lasted for probably the first 16-18 weeks.
• I was sick with this one again. Vomitting everyday for about the first 15-16 weeks.
• I think I'm carrying the same as with all 3.
• I gained more with Addi than with Libby. I've almost gained my total weight gain I had with Addi with this one - and I have 5 weeks to go.
• This is the first one that I've measured right on throughout the pregnancy and the ultrasounds have shown my due date to be accurate. I was always smaller than I was "supposed" to be with the other two.
• The Chinese Birth Chart says it is a girl. Of course, when I was pregnant with Libby, the one we saw online said boy and then the one in the sonographer's office said girl.
• Not sure what the correct version of this tale is, but when I was pregnant with Addi, I had a man tell me I was having a boy because I didn't look like a cow from behind. (Yes, I'm sure he made a sensitive and loving husband!) A couple weeks ago a lady who cut my hair told me I was having a girl because I wasn't spread out from behind. Either way, I'm feeling pretty spread out from behind, and from the side, and from the front :)
• Bryan and I each have 1 sibling of the opposite sex.
• Oh, and this goes along with my own wives tale, we are pretty sure about a girls first name. We don't have a girls middle name picked out and we don't have a boys first or middle name picked out. Both of our girls' names came to us much more easily than a possible boys name during my pregnancies with them.

I can't think of anything else. Feel free to leave a question in the comments if you have some absolute way of knowing and I haven't already answered it. But, definitely leave your guesses in the next couple days. It will be fun to look back and see who was the closest. Oh, and if you've already told me what you think, guess anyway. I'd like to have a record. Maybe I'll print off the guesses to put in the baby book.

As for me, I'm not good at keeping what's in my head in my head, so I'll go ahead and throw my guesses out to start things off. I debated about this, not wanting to influence any of you. Here goes...

• Girl (I think, although I've been questioning this recently)
• February 29 (both because it would be kind of neat and because I usually go past, but I don't think I'll go an entire week past this time)
• in the afternoon, maybe 2:43 pm (other girls were both born in the afternoon, 1:50 and 3:27)
• 7 pounds, 13 ounces (this is probably wishful thinking - my other two were 7, 4 and rounded up to 7 - so I'm hoping the "extra" weight gain is 'cause the baby is bigger :)
• 20 1/2 inches long (again with the bigger baby theory - Addi was 19 3/4, Libby was 19 1/2)

Just leave your guesses in the comments or you can email them to me, if you'd rather. If you don't have an email address for me you can click on View My Complete Profile under the heading About Me toward the bottom of my left sidebar. Once you do that, you'll see a link that says Email. If you click on the link, you should be able to email me from that. But, really, wouldn't a comment just be easier?!

Maybe a picture of my "spread-out-ness" will help in your guessing.

*Yes, I'm aware that the comments are acting crazy. Mine come and go. Don't know if you can still comment while it says there are comments and then you click and "No Comments" appear. I'll try it the next time that happens to me. If you can, know that I will still get them comments via email and I can go directly to Haloscan to read them. Hopefully this is just some sort of glitch Haloscan or Blogger is having today and it will be fixed soon.

An explanation is in order

I know the last post was so long ago that most of you have either called to asked if I had Baby P early, have left messages through family members that my name is mud until I get another post up, or have long since abandoned checking our blog.

(Which leads me to a somewhat random point (and yet another - Becky, weren't you just commenting on how random Libby can be?? I guess I can't deny where she gets it :) Back to the beginning of my randomness...Bloglines is a wonderful way to check your favorite blogs. Not sure if I've mentioned it before, but you just go the the website and copy/paste the URL addresses of the blogs you'd like to read. Each time you go to the site and click on "Feeds", it will highlight your feeds that have new material since the last time you checked. Then you just click on whichever one you want to read. Some blogs, mine included (I think, it has actually been so long since I looked at mine) have little Bloglines buttons you can click on that will subscribe you to its feed. There are also a few other sites like this, but I use Bloglines and would recommend it.)

Now, for the explanation...

A few days after Christmas the hard drive on our laptop crashed. And, I don't know if I ever posted about this, but our desktop needs a new motherboard or something, so it is actually in a dumpster somewhere now. We were computer-less until a couple days ago. I've just been so overwhelmed at everything there is to blog about that I've avoided the computer all together. Well, that and I'm afraid if I touch it, it will break again :)

To make things easier on myself (and you, Dear Readers, who surely do not wish to read a blog post version of War and Peace), I'm just gonna list 10 Parker family current events.

And, I promise, if you're sticking with me, I'll post fairly regularly as long as I still have a working computer.

1. My grandmother, aka Rea, Momma (or Mom, which do y'all call her?) Ma, Memaw, Mawl came to stay with us after Christmas for a while. The girls and I drove her back to Austin last Wednesday and we got to see 2 of my cousins and my 2 aunts who we'd just seen at Christmas. The girls were able to sufficiently torment my Aunt Dee's cats and sufficiently torment my cousins at 7 am! We ate some delicious food (both home cooked and bought) and got to meet Bob (we'd been hearing about him for a while and enjoyed getting to put a face with the name). The only people missing were my other cousin Lauren and her new husband Will, but, hopefully, we'll be able to see them soon and get the opportunity to meet Will before he's deployed. It was a wonderful thing to see all my Austin relatives twice in a matter of days!
2. Baby P is doing well. I am sick of being pregnant! Be sure you catch that I did not say, I'm ready to have the baby, I'm just ready to not be pregnant! This pregnancy has really made me wonder at the resiliency and patience of women who have 6,7, 8+ kids. I used to think I had a lot of patience and I used to think I was a "good" pregnant person. Of course, adding in a major move and two major holidays might have added some stress :) I have a little less than 6 weeks to go until my due date (although my babies never like to be rushed) and feel like I have about 6 months worth of stuff that must get done before the baby arrives!! A computer falling apart doesn't aid in the completion of said stuff.
3. Speaking of Baby P, the girls will be participating in a sibling class at 1 of the 2 hospitals I could deliver her/him. It is in the morning and, according to my OB, very cute. I'll try to remember my camera.
4. Addi started preschool for the very last time on Wednesday. She attends on Wednesdays and Fridays and has loved it so far. Libby misses her and stares at me like I'm really kidding myself when I tell her that we'll pick up Addi soon, but isn't it fun for it to be just Mommy and Libby sometimes?!
5. Libby's differences when compared with her sister are really shining through. She is determined. Even when utterly frustrated with something, she wants to continue to do it herself. While she's good-natured and enjoys a joke as well as the next toddler, she sometimes has no patience for kidding around. The other night when Bryan put her to bed he tried playing a game Addi used to enjoy at bedtime. Addi would ask him to sing a certain song, he would start singing another song, she would giggle and correct him, he would sing yet another song and the cycle would continue. Libby asked him to sing Jesus Loves Me. He started singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and she furrowed her brow, popped him in the face and said, "No! Daddy! Sing Jesus Loves Me!" I supspect he won't be continuing the Song Game with sweet Libby Lu.
6. Bryan continues to work hard. He's gone before the sun is up and home after the sun goes down. He's also eating well. A few times a week he comes home and tells me that he won't even share with me where he ate lunch. Of course, that only serves to peak my interest. You would think going through a pregnancy for the third time, he would know once he peaked the cravings of a pregnant woman that he may, in fact, have to drive the 40 miles to the Dairy Queen in Hutchins for a steakfinger basket late one night.
7. One day last week the high was below freezing. Today the high was in the mid-60s. I mentioned it being winter in conversation with Addi and she looked at me like I'd lost my mind replying that "Winter is when it snows, Mommy!" Honestly, I don't mind. I'm not crazy about it being in the 80s during January, but a sunny day in the 60s is perfect to me. We aren't stuck inside and I don't have to try and squeeze into my non-maternity coat. While Addi was at preschool today, Libby and I took a walk and found a new playground. I was literally sweating before we got home, but loved the idea of pushing the kids outside after naptime for a snack on their new picnic table and some energy expension on the new trampoline. We have a shoebox sized back yard and big windows along the walls of the breakfast room and living room, so if I love to send them outside while I'm cooking supper. Hearing them giggle and squeal is precious!
8. Don't tell the girls, but we're taking a family "vacation" of sorts before Baby P makes an appearance. A new resort opened in Grapevine and Bryan made reservations for us in a Camp room later this month. I've heard this referred to as a babymoon. Like our honeymoon, our babymoon will consist of lots of time wearing a swim suit. Unlike our honeymoon, this time around, I will not be allowing any photos to be snapped of any part of my pasty-white, very pregnant self in a swim suit. It just wouldn't be pretty.
9. Bryan bought a cookbook for me as a Christmas gift. It was one I'd asked for and I've used it quite a bit. You may have heard of it, Deceptively Delicious? I think I've used it enough to recommend it. There have been a couple recipes that have flopped, but mostly we liked the food. The idea is you get all these vegetables and spend some time steaming them, pureeing them, and putting them in quarter cup servings in freezer bags. Once you get through that, which is time consuming and messy, the rest is pretty easy and quick. You just thaw however many servings of whichever vegetables are called for in the recipes. The author (Jerry Seinfeld's wife) wants you to use brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat tortillas and whole wheat bread. We already ate whole wheat bread, and the tortillas and pasta don't really taste that different to me (or my kids). I just never bought those because I didn't think I would like them and they are more expensive. The brown rice is going to take me some time to get used to, but Bryan and the girls seem to like it. There has only been one meal in which I could detect the taste of the "hidden" vegetable and I think that was because I used Rachael's advice and "just eyeballed it". I've made breakfast, lunch, supper, and dessert. Some of our favorites include the pancakes with sweet potato, the French toast with sweet potato, the Sloppy Joes with red pepper and carrot, and the tortilla cigars (like enchiladas without a sauce on top) with squash and carrot. Everyone except Addi also enjoyed the guacamole spread with their cigars and I really liked the oatmeal with pumpkin. So, if you have anti-vegetable eaters in your house, you might this book a try. Also, she says you can puree meats and sneak them into foods also. (I rememberred this after I talked to you today, Angie).
10. If you're looking for a van, I must recommend the Honda Odyssey. I had a Pilot and loved it. I didn't want a van...ever. But, when Libby was super-little and I was still toting her around in the infant carrier while trying to keep a hand on my 2 year old so she wouldn't dart in front of a car in a parking lot, I always envied the moms who pressed a little button on their door lock remotes so their children could just climb right in to their vans without having to set the infant on the ground while keeping one hand on their 2 year old and opening the door with the other hand. The first thing Bryan said when I told him I was pregnant again was we'd have to buy a van. Let me tell you, I fought it. I had a Pilot I loved and it had a 3rd row. I told him there was plenty of room and Addi could just climb in the back once the baby arrived. It would have worked. It would have, but this works so much better. The dvd screen is bigger than the Pilots, there are built in side window shades, about 300 cup holders, the leather seats are much more plush and comfortable than the Pilots, an 8th seat that comes out completely and can be store under the floor, and it tells me how much oil I have left and when my tires need air on my odometer. Plus, I really love driving it. And, it cost us less than the Pilot did 4 years ago! I couldn't imagine there would be much difference. The Odyssey drives so much like a car. It is so much easier to park and really has some get-up-and-go. I don't even mind driving it when I am kid-less. After all, who am I kidding? I am a thirty year old mother of (almost) 3. The Odyssey was designed with me in mind.
11. One more for Bryan...we are going to the Cowboy game on Sunday with his dad and my brother. I probably shouldn't put this on the internet for the world to see since I was raised in a house not 15 minutes from Texas Stadium, but I'm not really a fan. I'm excited because it can be fun to be in that atmosphere, around all the lunatics who paint their bodies blue and because everyone else I'm going with are fans and so they will be really excited.

So much for brevity. If I can keep up better, I won't have so much to catch y'all up on. Be writing again soon...

This one's for you, Tom!

My brain is fried.

I don't know where to begin. There has been so much to blog about and now that I'm sitting at the computer, I can't think of one thing.

But, threats have been issued and so I can no longer put off the task of blogging. (I would hate for you to have to make a comment, Tom :)

I guess I'll begin with the most recent and work backwards and then, I promise, I won't wait forever to blog again.

Blogging Before Boxes! Blogging Before Boxes!

I had an appointment with the baby doctor today. It was a grueling appointment filled with bloodwork (that didn't work the first time - I can still feel pain shooting down my arm into my fingertips!), talking with the doctor, an ultrasound (and, no, we still don't know!), and - I've saved the best for last - talking with the financial coordinator to confirm that this child will be the financial death of us.

You're on your own for college, Kid! Bringing you into the world will cost us a small fortune!

We did find out some encouraging news though. It seems that couples with more than one daughter versus more than one son are 50% more likely to remain out of a nursing home because daughters are more likely to take in their parents. (I wonder if I could've thrown in another "more"?!) The doctor shared that tidbit and I looked at Bryan and proclaimed that I could so see Addi being the one adding on to her house to make room for her aging, senile parents. Libby will be the one who moves far, far away. Kind of like us...No, not like us at all :)

Addi really wanted to stay home with Meme and Papa (my grandparents who came over to watch the girls for me), but only after she made sure Bryan would be at the appointment so I wouldn't have to go by myself. Her sweetness melts my heart.

[Ashley and any other first-time pregnant readers should probably skip right over this next paragraph]

I have about 12 weeks to go and I had a mild anxiety attack on the way home from the appointment. 12 weeks will fly by and, at some point, I am going to have to get this baby out of me! I've done that twice already, so this is not a Fear of the Unknown thing. It is most certainly a Fear of the Known :) Bryan asked if it would help me to realize that there isn't a thing I can do about it, at this point.

And, he, obviously, has never given birth - I'm actually wondering if he was present the other 2 times I did! The realization that nothing can be done about it is exactly what scares the pants off me! But, thanks for your attempt at encouragement, Babe. It really warms my heart :)

In other Baby News...my old friend, Becky just had her second, a little girl this time. Funny enough she and Steve lived in Fayetteville, NC when they had their son Cade. A week or so before her due date with Cade, Addi and I drove down to visit. That night she went into labor.

I moved back just in time to do it again! Our other old friend, Ashley (who is also pregnant...her first), the girls and I drove to Belton, TX last week to see Becky (and Steve and Cade, of course) while we were all still pregnant at the same time. She went into labor the next day!

If I could figure out a way to sell that service, I would be very rich!

Man, if I could just figure out a way to do it to myself, I'd be very happy :)

What else is going on? Well, we've decorated the inside of our house for Christmas. Actually, I'm pretty sure we're missing a few boxes of decorations, but we've got the trees up. I don't think the outside is getting done this year. There are too many things I want finished inside that I need Bryan's help with than to send him outside to stake lights along our front walk. I didn't hear him complain too loudly about that decision. In fact, it took about 30 seconds for the "Outside Christmas Decorations" boxes to disappear into the attic after I made my wishes known.

Both girls really got into decorating the trees this year and they both seem really excited about Santa. We'll see if that lasts when we get in line to have their picture taken with the Jolly Old Man.

Besides that we've been really busy. I'm not sure with what though! It even seems like going to the park near our house has been something we've wanted to do more of, but other things have taken priority. The girls and I did take a walk Thursday morning and ended up at the park. You can literally see it from Addi's bedroom window. It is closer (and much better) than our neighborhood playground. The girls played until I almost froze and forced them to leave. We should have gone back today since it was warm again, but, honestly, I couldn't have any sugar until this afternoon when I was finished at the doctor (gestational diabetes screening), so I spent the late afternoon hiding out in small increments of time. I think I might've eaten an entire bag of cookies and washed it down with a cold Dr. Pepper. Fine, I ate the whole bag and I don't feel a bit guilty about it! Don't judge, my doctor just told me that my weight gain was great! Besides, I made a Cooking Light supper tonight.

There's probably more, but I need to save that for the next post.

I'll end with a few visuals to aid in my extremely verbose painful catch-up post!

We made it just in time. Gracyn Avery was born a couple days after our visit!

The gingerbread houses that Grammy made with the girls...after some quite a bit of nibbling :)

And you've always wondered who in the world would buy a pink Christmas tree?!

Yesterday - the girls wore long-sleeves under 2 jackets to play outside

Today - 82 degrees

Tomorrow - a cold front is expected

I had forgotten all about the weather being so unpredictable in Texas!

Follow the leader

(and give Mommy a heart attack each time you do!)

Ride 'em, Cowgirls!

a short update

Well, we're here in Frisco. Our household goods were delivered last Friday and we had a get-together today with some family and friends.

And, no, the boxes are not all unpacked and the house is not all put together, but we have understanding family and friends.

The girls are doing well. Libby had a few days of asking to go back home. She started sleeping in a toddler bed (without rails) on Saturday night and didn't fall out all week. She's sleeping in her new big-girl bed (with rails) right now...she wouldn't even let me cover her up :(

Addi has had a harder time. She keeps talking about how much she misses her friends and has drawn them all pictures and written in cards for them. I have to get some stamps so we can get those in the mail. But, we met a family behind us today and they have a little girl only a few days older than Addi. They also moved from NC last year and have 2 year-old twin girls. Hopefully all our girls will get along because they would make wonderful playmates.

Bryan is liking the new office. The girls and I got to see "where Daddy works" on Monday and were impressed by the kitchen...maybe it will inspire him to take his lunch instead of going out to eat every day!

I had an appointment with my new OB on Thursday and I loved her! I've never (with 4 different OBs in 3 different states) had another one ask how I'd like my labor and delivery to go...you know, how they say it will happen in the books :) This one did and she was so nice. She really took her time with me and seemed fine that I had both girls at the appointment. *a revealing look at how pathetic I can be below*

Baby P is great! Moving and grooving...so everyone says. He/She doesn't seem to be as active as I remember Libby being, but the doctors and sonogram technicians all talk about how much he/she moves. I have another appointment/ultrasound/gestational diabetes test in 3 weeks and then I start going every 2 weeks. I can't believe we're already at that point in this pregnancy! Things are going to really fly now, especially with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years coming up.

I felt a little sad when everyone left today and had to remind myself that I could see them again tomorrow, if I wanted. It was a strange, but nice feeling.

Our wireless is not quite working, even with all the hard work from Uncle Clay (thanks again, Clay!), but I'm online, our phones work, and we are gettting all our mail, we think :) I plan on catching up with communications this week. At least during the beginning of this week since the later part is Thanksgiving and a day dedicated to football. I've added a few shots of our last few weeks...I know some of y'all only care about the pictures anyway!

*I don't think I've even told Bryan this, but I have yet to change my watch to the correct time. In fact, we left on the Saturday before the time change, so now my watch is 2 hours ahead. Everytime I decided I'm being ridiculous, I just can't make myself change the time to Texas time. And, yes, I know it is even correct North Carolina time anymore. I'll change it one of these days. Now I just really confuse myself when I'm in a hurry and glance at my watch :)

Baby P

A little over a week ago, I had an ultrasound. If we were finding out the gender of this baby, it would have been the time to do it. However, according to the sonogram lady, Baby P moves so much that she wasn't even sure by the time the ultrasound was over.

I must say I was a little overwhelmed at the thought of this baby moving as much as Libby did/does. I've told myself this whole pregnancy that surely this baby would be more easy-going and calm. Since the ultrasound, I've considered going Cold Turkey and giving up all sugar, caffeine, chemically-altered foods for the rest of this pregnancy in hopes of calming Baby P down.

Then I come to my senses and realize I Need Chocolate. I can't give up chocolate. And if I'm not giving up chocolate, a Dr. Pepper every once in a while won't hurt either ;)...(my, how my food restrictions have relaxed since I was pregnant with Addison).

Even though Baby P was all over the place, we were able to capture some good shots. I'm not sure how well they'll scan, but I'll give it a try. There is one picture of Baby P's face that I just love. I keep it beside my bed and look at it every night. When she took the picture, I was looking at it on the screen and I told Bryan that I could've seen that face and known it was one of our babies. You won't see any of that. The only reason I see that when I look at the picture now is because I can remember how clear it was to me on the screen. The bottom 2 pictures are actually the same picture...the bottom of the baby's feet. The lady knew it was my last appointment and said she wanted to make sure this baby knew where he/she came from. But the feet are upside-down, so that's why I've posted the picture twice.

Do you see that sweet little face?...on the right side toward the bottom?


hint: the heel of the right foot is touching the word FROM

fyi: North Carolina is the Tarheel State...did y'all already know that?? I didn't before I moved here :)

little frustrations

On Saturday, we noticed our computer was running so SLOW and that every 4.5 minutes a message would pop up telling us something to the effect of No Wireless Connectivity and that meant no internet for anywhere between 10 seconds to 45 minutes....frustrating!

Here is where I should mention that we have another computer, a somewhat antiquated, but reliable desktop. However, when we still had hope our house would sell within our time-frame, we packed that baby up and stuck it in storage to help our home appear less cluttered...frustrating!

I'll bring this one up because I love my husband dearly and while, I could've cared less, he was very concerened on Sunday when he wouldn't have internet. He has a routine on Sunday afternoons of setting up our living room with the computer, the remote, and various snacks. Then he spends the day obsessively checking his points against the other people's in his Fantasy Football league and flipping from game to game. For him, not being able to check on the points was, you guessed it...frustrating!

In the past week, we've had 4 showings postponed by an hour. We have gotten the call to postpone the showings at least 45 minutes into the original showing time. 2 of those actually called well into the postponed time to let us know they wouldn't in fact be coming at all...very frustrating!

The most frustrating thing I've been dealing with has been my attitude. I've been letting myself get bogged down by all these little frustrations. How can I expect the Lord to use me for Great Things - Things that will most assuredly prove more challenging than a few glitches with our internet - if I can't even get past these little things?

Even our house not being sold by now is a little thing. We, or I never really considered that our house would still not have a contract on it. Unless we get a contract on it very soon, the girls and I will be staying here while Bryan moves on to Dallas. He'll come back every other weekend and while some of you may be thinking that sounds awful, I'm okay with it. Honestly, I wasn't and that disappoints me greatly. But, I quickly remembered a 6 month period I spent as a single mom. And, I remembered that only a month ago Bryan was still able to be activated and deployed. That would've been a 15 month time period of being a single mom to 2 and then 3. Just under 2 weeks is nothing! It's a vacation that thousands of military spouses would scoff at :)

Some of my favorite scripture is found in Jeremiah, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'"

That's a passage I go back to over and over again. I need to remember it the next time a showing is canceled :)

*Certainly not frustrating news came on Thursday. I had an appointment at my OB's office. For the first time in all my pregnancies, I am measuring right on! I'm excited about this (even though it means I am bigger than I was at this point with either Addi or Libby). This also means I've gained more weight than I had at this point with my other two. In fact, with Addi, I was still throwing up everyday and hadn't even gained a pound. I'm hopeful this is an indication that this baby will gain weight a little more quickly than it's sisters did and not an indication that I will be gaining too much weight with this pregnancy.

And, now I must get something to eat...I'm famished :)