Week 31!

ANOTHER DAX???

We went for our 3D ultrasound on Friday. Everyone came--Grammy, Grandpa Chuck, Uncle CJ, Aunt Cassie, Josh, Grandma Judy, Grandpa Carl, Aunt Emily, Uncle Kyle, Caroline, and, of course, our 4. We all crammed into our the room, after waiting for an hour, and, of course, Little D wouldn't cooperate, as you can see in the picture where he/she is covering his/her face and looking disgusted with us for trying. After about 45 minutes and drinking water and getting up to walk around, we finally got some good images of the face. I think he/she looks just like Dax's face. Of course, that could be because Dax still has that little baby face! :) Everything looked good and the baby was 4 pounds already and measuring about a week ahead of schedule. It will be neat to compare pictures of the baby's face once it is actually here!

Week 30!

These are the moments...
Another busy week...Tuesday morning we woke up and the coffee pot wouldn't turn on. A definite sign that you need to get back in bed! Oh well, at least it gave me something to buy Shawn for his Birthday. Remember the days when I thought I would have a Soap Opera Love Story??? Who would have known that my life would ever seem more like a scene from "Escape to Witch Mountain??"
Dawsyn did a great job in her first parade on the float. You would have thought she was Miss America! In fact, we decided to have a talk with her about the real reason she is a Princess--and it has nothing to do with winning a pageant, but becase her Father is the King of Heaven and Earth! She seemed to get that--let's hope it sticks! We also found out that if she has to miss a parade, Delaney can fill in for her. This was great news to Delaney, but Dawsyn was less than enthusiastic. These girls are growing up so fast. Dawsyn has come home from First Grade almost every day talking about this boy or that boy. We tried to tell her that the only "boy" who really mattered in her life right now was her Daddy. She didn't really seem to buy that! Finally, last night when we were celebrating Shawn's birthday, between the presents and pieces of cake, and the third story of another boy who was chasing her on the playground, he looked over at her and said, "We've lost her, haven't we?" I just smiled and said, "well, we still have Delaney." We both turned to look lovingly at our daughter who we know would much prefer another piece of chocolate cake to any boy chasing her. She smiled up at us with frosting between her teeth, and I heard Shawn exhale in the relief that, at least for now, his baby girl was his.
Unfortunately, his relief didn't last long! This morning, when I got out of the car at preschool with Delaney, a little boy was walking by with his mother. I heard Delaney yell, "Hi Jayce!" and then the little boy turned to his mother and said, "Mom--there's my girlfriend I was telling you about--Delaney!" I just smiled at the mom, left Delaney with a kiss, got back in the car, picked up my cellphone and called Shawn. When he picked up the phone, I cried, "We've lost her too!". He just said, please let this new little one be a boy!!!!
We'll see.... We have a big 3-D ultrasound scheduled for Friday night. All of the Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles are coming, so hopefully it will go well and I can post pictures next week! Lots of prayers.

Week 29!

The Good, The Bad, and The "Find my kids a replacement mom because I am blowing it!"

So, lets start with the "good" this week. On Wednesday, Dawsyn was in the Little Miss pageant for our local festival. I'm sure many remember when I was the "Soy Bean Queen" back in 1996 (the dark ages according to my children). Anyway, Dawsyn was old enough and decided that she wanted to try out for the same festival in the Little Miss division. So, Wednesday, we got her all dressed up and she got on stage (horrible cold and all) and did a great job. Then, last night, she got to ride through the parade and get on stage again and found out that she was crowned "Little Miss 2nd attendant". She is so excited because she gets to ride on the float and be in parades and wear her sash and crown. We were very happy for her (well, ok, I was happy for her, Shawn was like--"what is this going to cost me?"). I included pics from the event.

The "bad"--well, it isn't really bad, it's more "sad". My baby boy turned 8 on Sunday! I just can't believe how fast it has gone. He doesn't have that little boy look at all anymore. In fact, he is losing all of that "chubbiness" and is even getting a little chiseled face! :( He had a great birthday except that I was very sick, but we still tried to make it special for him. Shawn took him to Perkin's Observatory to look through the giant telescope--he was so excited that he could see Jupiter. I took him to the Lego store and he picked out a "Star Wars" set. It was great! I included some pics of my little man too. I think his favorite present was the George Bush figure that says some of Bush's "best" quotes when you press the button. Such a little Republican! :)

Now--the horrible part of our week. It actually turned out fine, but was the scariest 15 minutes of my life! On Tuesday night, we were sending the kids to bed, Drew was finishing homework and Shawn was working on something in the laundry room. I watched the younger three walk upstairs, but then sat down to help Drew. Shawn yelled up to them to get in bed and we would be up in a minute. About two minutes later, Shawn goes upstairs and shortly after, I hear him yell down-"Jill, send Dax up". I yelled back up that Dax was already up there. I heard Shawn begin to walk around upstairs looking for Dax. So, I get up and start looking for him around the downstairs. This went on for about five minutes until all-out panic struck our entire family. The other kids then got out of bed and we are all running around the house and screaming, "DAX!" at the top of our lungs! It was horrible. The kids were crying at this point and saying, "Please Dax, we love you" and "we lost a kid!". We would all yell and then wait and there was nothing but silence. Shawn ran outside to look. I started looking in places like the washer and dryer. We just didn't know what to do, until finally we hear Delaney say, "I found him!" But there was still no noise, so Shawn and I both frantically run into Delaney's bedroom and pull back the little curtain that hangs from Dawsyn's bed and there, all curled up in a ball between Delaney's bed and the wall, and under Dawsyn's slide, was Dax. He just looked at us and said, "Boo!" Then, when he saw our faces, he started to cry too. I couldn't even be mad at him, I just hugged him and all the kids hugged him and we all decided that, even though it was a school night, it would be a good night for a camp-out in Mommy and Daddy's room! Ever since then, the kids have been watching Dax like a hawk. He isn't allowed to go upstairs unless he is holding one of their hands (Drew and Dawsyn created this rule!). So, overall, a very interesting week. It ends today with my 10 year wedding anniversary which is nothing compared to the roller coaster our every-day lives are!

Week 28!

Once you go "Mom" you never go back!
As if it isn't hard enough that my baby boy is turning 8 on Sunday, last night I got one of those, "step on your heart" moments. Growing up, I can remember my Grandma Kathy always saying, "When they are little, they step on your toes, when they are grown, they step on your heart". I always thought I knew what she meant and invisioned terrible teenagers who would talk back and storm off angry. I didn't realize those "step on your heart" moments could happen so soon and without the child intending to at all. I could tell Drew was bothered by something last night and he finally said, "Mom, can I talk to you about something?" I always laugh when he says this because I always have responded with, "Drew, you can always talk to me about anything". He then proceeded to prepare me for the blow by saying that he didn't really mind calling me "Mommy" and that I would always be his "Mommy", but could I please stop signing his lunch notes, "Mommy" and instead just write "Mom". He said that some of the other kids were making comments. My first thought was guilt because, to be honest, I had been thinking for some time now that I probably should just write "Mom", but somehow, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I didn't want to force him to grow up, or didn't want to admit that he already had, whichever, it was probably selfish to keep writing it. I'm a teacher, I know how other kids are--they will tease about anything if given the opportunity. So, I just smiled at him and said sure and that I was sorry I hadn't done it sooner, and of course I should be writing "MOM" because he was getting so big. He gave me a hug and ran off to play, and I quietly packed his lunch, sighed to myself because, yet again, this was another sign of "the beginning of the end", and sadly signed "Mom" to his lunch note. I'm sure somewhere in the distance, I could hear that old wedding song, "Sunrise, Sunset...Is this the little boy I carried?" Gee, I really hate that song!


10 weeks left!
I have only been back to teaching for two weeks and have already managed to catch a cold. At least this one seems to be mainly in my throat. I just feel so tired. We had a great weekend. Drew's football team won 30 to 0. He was so excited. Dawsyn and Snowball entered the pet contest and took 3rd place. Delaney and Dax both entered the limbo contest--that was adorable! Drew got to ride in the parade with his football team and then we had a big cookout at mom and dad's with our friends. It was like a final stamp on Summer. I'm not too sad to see it go because that means we are closer to baby. I am in that stage where I waver back and forth between really wanting the baby here and not wanting it to go faster because I know I will miss it. Most of the time, I am just too busy to think about it.
Saturday was an interesting day--we thought we would finally have an afternoon and evening to relax and were looking forward to watching the Notre Dame game. I was sitting on the couch reading a book to Dax and Shawn was on the floor playing a board game with the older three when we heard a loud "plop" on the living room carpet, then another, and another. It took both of us a minute to realize that it was coming from the ceiling. We looked up and, sure enough, it was "raining" in the living room. Apparently, the kids had left he sink running upstairs and the drain had been emptying slowly and had overflowed unto the floor, down through the ceiling, around the can lighting and drip, drip, drip... unto the living room floor. Needless to say, the kids thought this was the coolest thing. Well, all the kids but Drew, he ran and got the phone to call my dad because he wasn't sure Daddy could handle "this type of thing". LOL! Ah well--just another day in paradise!

Week 27!

We are going full swing again. So far, it feels like every day is a little victory. Delaney started dance class and insisted on taking ballet this year. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen, but Delaney isn't exactly built like a ballerina. She came home after her first class and was so excited to show us "Happy Feet" which is what she learned --this consists of turning her feet outward at the toes while her heels are touching. She then said that she thought that was funny and she guesssed that most of the time she has "sad feet" because she is pigeon-toed. It was the sweetest thing. I hope she will always feels so comfortable with herself and who she is. She definitely did not inherit that from me! She also started preschool full-time yesterday. She was jumping at the door to get in when they opened. This is totally different from Drew and Dawsyn who always clung to my leg while we were waiting to get in in the morning. She gives me a quick hug and then runs off to play. She has informed me that she already has two boyfriends. I guess it is easier for each child to start something new because they see their older siblings do it. But, it isn't any easier on their mom. My guess is that by the time "Little D" starts school he or she will be driving themself! They probably won't even want me to walk them in!
Then, when I picked Dax up from his first full day at Miss Sharan's, he didn't want to leave. He was having fun playing outside. Well, at least I can tell myself they are well-adjusted! Drew and Dawsyn are adjusting and doing well, but we are all just so tired and not used to our new schedules yet. We are definitely looking forward to the long weekend!