Parent teacher conference

We had a parent teacher conference with Natalie's teacher and it went super well!!! I was really nervous about how Natalie was doing in school. I think I was more worried about how I did with her at home in preparing her for school. She is in the top of her class and in the top reading group. The teacher did say that she needs to work on her communication a little. She told us the first day Natalie went up to her and said "I am not so sure about this place". When her teacher asked her what she meant Natalie said never mind and went about her work. Now when ever they change things up in class Natalie will say "Are you sure about this?" The teacher asked her what she means and Natalie just says never mind. We have noticed her saying this at home sometimes so the teacher suggested that we ask follow up questions so Natalie will learn to express her concerns. The teacher thought it was very funny the way Natalie puts things but wants her to feel comfortable in expressing her concerns. It really doesn't surprise me that Natalie gets a little apprehensive when it comes to change...she has always been my child that worries too much.

I can't stop smiling

The other day was such a beautiful day that we had to get out of the house and do something. We found this nice park to go to. It has walking trails, a play area, fishing area and this little pond where there was about a thousand birds. The girls loved feeding the birds.

Both of the girls wanted to catch a bird so they were running around chasing them. (very funny)

I love this picture of me and Natalie. I wasn't feeling well that day so this is me with no make-up and my hair just pulled back. It was such a nice day that I just had to go out too so I just put on some sunglasses and headed out.

Kate and I are loving the time we get to spend together during the day. I have come to realize how unhappy I had been for a while. Just with all the changes and moving over the last couple of years. It is so nice to finally feel settled and content. I get out more then I have in a long time and I get to do things that I just wasn't motivated to do before. I find myself through out the days just smiling. I am so excited for what is to come and I am really excited to meet this new little baby of ours. Only 14 more weeks!!!!

Family time

We got to spend some more time with my in-laws this last weekend. I like that they are close enough that getting together isn't a big deal. We have a bunch of birthdays in October and November so we decided to get together for a bowling party. I forgot my camera, of course, so I didn't get any pictures of that. My sister-in-law Liz and her kids stayed the night with us so in the morning Kate got up and went out to the living room where her cousins were sleeping snuggled in with them and asked them to turn on cartoons. I got to sleep in a little so that was nice. The next morning my other sister-in-law and her kids came up and we took the older ones to the mall and did some shopping. They all went to a movie but I choose not to go and went back home. At home were the younger ones including my kids and now they wanted to go to the mall. So I loaded up 4 kids and took them to Claire's. I love that store they have a clearance rack in the back and the little girls love that stuff. When everyone got back to the house my sister-in-laws and I sat down to go over the kids schedules. A lot of my nieces and nephews are in sports and I want to try and make it to a couple of their games this year to support them. I realized while doing this how busy things are going to get for me when my kids get older. It was really different this year with Natalie in school and all the functions I have to attend or things we have to do for her and her school and it is only November. (and only Kindergarten)

We did find out a little while ago that my brother-in-law Amos and his wife Michelle are expecting and their baby is due about 4 months after ours. I am excited that all of my kids will have a cousin that is close in age to them so when we do family functions they all have someone to play with.

Halloween

The girls are older now so Halloween is a big deal. I have always decorated the house in just fall colors with leaves and pumpkins but the girls have something else in mind. They want to decorate for Halloween with scary stuff. We went through target and Paul and the girls had to be dragged out of the Halloween section. We didn't have the time this year to really decorate but watch out next year. I guess I need to do some crafts for the inside of the house before next year comes. Speaking of crafts and I have found a craft warehouse store just a few miles away so I have a hobby now.

We carved some pumpkins this year and Natalie was so excited until she saw the inside of the pumpkin. There was no way she was going to stick her hand in there. When we were picking out the pumpkins Natalie wanted the biggest one she could find and Kate wanted one of the small ones. Kate actually helped clean hers out and everything. Natalie did get excited when it was time to light the candles. This was the first time I used a stencil and I thought it was pretty cool. Paul found a pattern for the death star but after craving Natalie's he lost his motivation. Which I can't blame him, if I had to do more then one big pumpkin I would lose motivation too. The girls got to pick out their Halloween costumes this year as long as it wasn't Disney princess. I am so over princess!!! Kate and I went to the store and found the hot dog costume for Buster. When we were there the first time they didn't have his size but Paul thought it would be perfect for him so Kate and I went back another day and found his size. Paul took the kids around and I stayed behind to hand out candy. We met some of our new neighbors and and we got to see who has kids the same age as ours. I loved how the weather was still warm and not raining.

Update again

It has been a while since I have updated on this pregnancy so I thought I would scribble a few things down. While I think this pregnancy is taking just about forever Paul's family keeps telling me how fast it is going. Well I guess we will just meet in the middle and say it is taking forever....is that not the middle?!?!? haha The girls are so excited to have a baby in the house and they are both very happy that it is a girl. Natalie is working with her dad to figure out what to name this baby. I gave up the right to name this child but I still get to have a final yes or no if that makes any sense. Natalie has told me that she will pick out the clothes that she wants the baby to wear everyday and Kate just says she gets to tickle her. I am a little worried about how Kate is going to deal with a baby in the house and her losing her spot. She can be so emotional sometimes and whine for hours if I let her. I think it might be an adjustment for all of us but we will get through it. I have just cleared out the rest of the boxes out of the nursery so next week we will be buying the crib and dresser. Woohoo!!!! It will finally start to feel and look like a nursery. I am excited to have a baby around the house again. It has been a while and I am a little surprised about how many things I have forgotten. I am happy to be going through this process again one last time. I had a feeling from the beginning that it was going to be a girl and I am pleased to have three girls. This pregnancy has been trying at times but all of my pregnancies have been trying so this is no surprise. All three of my pregnancies have been so different from one another. This time I am craving salty and sweet foods so I guess chocolate covered pretzels are the way to go. The swelling is out of control. I had swelling the other times but it didn't happen until the end so this is a little different for me. I have done just about everything to try and reduce the swelling. I gave up soda, reduced salty foods and drink tons of water. Still the swelling doesn't go away. I guess I will just have to wait until I have this kid for it to go away. The heat is almost unbearable and I keep the house very cool. Paul and the girls are always cold and I do sometimes feel a little bad. Paul and I were putting the girls to bed one night and Natalie said can we turn on the heat I just what to know what it feels like. haha I have found a good doctor and he seems to be OK with everything I want for my labor plans. Everything has seemed to work out well and I will be so excited to stay home with this baby.