The Facts of Life

(Madelyn is holding a baby doll.)

Pierce: That's a cute baby.

Madelyn: Thanks. Do you want to be the daddy?

Pierce: Sure.

Madelyn: Okay. Well, we have to be married first.

Pierce: Why?

Madelyn: Because that's the way it works.

Pierce (lying on the couch): Okay. Do you want to lay down with me?

Madelyn: Okay, but we have to be married first.

Pierce: Why?

Madelyn: Oh, Pierson, Mommy and Daddy are married, so we have to be married before we can have a baby, too.

Glad we've got that straight.

Just for laughs

Me: Oh, Pierce, you are running out of room on my lap. My belly is getting so big.

Pierce: Yes, so is Daddy's.

What makes this so funny to me is a) If you know what JD looks like, it's just funny and b) JD just started going back to the gym since we've moved, so he's in better shape now than he's been in a couple of years.

Dr. Appointment

Weekly doctor appointments started today. Nothing much to report. Dr. said blood pressure looks good, measurement looks good, weight looks good (I'll take her word on that one). We discussed setting up an induction at 39 weeks, so we'll check the progress on that front next week. They won't set it up before I'm at least 39 weeks, so unless I go into labor on my own, no baby until at least Sept. 15. That's fine. In some ways, it seems so soon, but in some ways, it seems so far away. One minor concern, though, is that the dr. had trouble finding the heartbeat initially--I wasn't worried about that because she was moving around like crazy. However, the dr. thinks that, although the baby is head down, she might be face up. This could make delivery a bit more difficult, so we're going to pray that she gets in the best position for delivery. Okay, that's it from here.

Funny/irksome/helpful things I heard today

These are all things I heard within a 6 hour period today:

"When I was pregnant, I never stuck out really far in the front like that. I was always more out to the side." (I think this was supposed to be a compliment.)

"How much longer do you plan on being with us?" Ummmmm...do you know something I don't?

"Oh, honey, how much longer do you have?"

From the guy working in the produce section at the grocery store: "You let me know if you go into labor. I'd hate for you to deliver here in the store."

Nice guy checking out in front of me: "Here. Let me help you with those. I can appreciate your need for assistance." Said as he bent over to get the soda cases from the lower shelf of the shopping cart.

Bagger as he was finishing up and staring at my belly: "Do you need any help outside today, ma'am?" Me: "No, thank you. Have a nice day." Bagger, looking long and hard at my belly: "Really? Are you sure about that?" Me: "I'm fine. Thanks for your concern."

How old is Ma?

asked Madelyn. "She's xx," I replied.

"Oooohhhh, she's almost 100," said Madelyn.

Just for you, Mom. Thought you'd enjoy:-)

One month to go, the Countdown, and a breakthrough

I am one month away from my due date. Hopefully that means that I am less than one month away from delivering this baby girl. Both of the other kids came exactly one week early. We think we've decided on a name, so that has relieved a little stress. This weekend's project is to get the baby's room ready, so nesting has officially begun. I've been looking up easy to freeze recipes, pulling out and washing Madelyn's baby clothes, and trying to determine what I need to buy for this new baby since she and Madelyn will probably be completely opposite in their size/seasonal needs. I'm officially to the point where I want this baby out of me. I know she needs a couple of more weeks, but I feel big and uncomfortable most of the time now.

I gave Madelyn some milestones at the beginning of the summer to help her count down her return to school and the arrival of her sister. It went something like: go to Disney World, school ends, start going to the pool, go on vacation with the Taliaferro family, move, start back to school, baby comes. So, we are just waiting for school to start, which happens in about 3 weeks, then it's just the baby waiting.

I think we've had a breakthrough in the potty training. On Monday morning before I got out of bed, I prayed that I would control my frustrations with the potty training issue and that I would have wisdom when dealing with accidents (or the peeing in floor on purpose situations). A bit later in the morning, I took Pierce to the bathroom to do #2. I could just tell he needed to do it. He did with little complaining, and I then asked him if he needed to pee. He quickly said no and hopped off the toilet. I was skeptical because he hadn't gone all morning. Well, about 20 seconds later, he peed all over the floor. So, instead of getting frustrated (although, it was very difficult not to), I told him he had to help me clean it up. I got some paper towels and took his little hand in mine, and together, we wiped up his pee. This was very distressing to him. He sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. It was so bad that Madelyn was asking me to stop making him do it. After we finished, we washed our hands, and I explained that putting it in the potty was much cleaner and easier. We have not had an accident since then. He immediately started telling me when he had to go and he hasn't looked back. I'm not sure how Sunday morning at church will go when we are not around, but I am relieved and thankful for the transition.

Together again

Our friends who moved away in the spring came to visit today. So, I invited our other friend, and the three of us got our kids together for the first time in a looooooong time. We joked that, when we first met, there were only two babies and one on the way. Now, there are no babies, 7 kids, and 3 more on the way. By my count, that's 10 kids in 4.5 years. Not bad work, ladies!

My sweet, cute boy

I've been feeling a little frustrated with myself lately at my frustration with Pierce's potty training. I mean, honestly, look at this face:

Could you stay frustrated for long?

Memory card still lost.

I haven't replaced it because I haven't been anywhere except the pool and a play date all week. Why? We're potty training. Pierce has been running around naked or nearly naked for the better part of a week. As I reflect on the last 5 days, I realize that we have made progress. He is announcing that he has to potty and he doesn't mind to do either deed in the toilet. However, at a play group today, I took him to the bathroom. We sat for about 2 minutes and he announced that he was all done and that he didn't need to go. I told him that was fine and that we would come back in 15 minutes. No sooner had he stepped back into the play area (about 15 seconds later), he said "I need to tinkle, Mommy." Sure enough, the front of his shorts were completely soaked. Oh, so frustrating!

There have been more than a few incidents like this, and I can confess that I have had a few moments that I haven't been very proud of. However, I do feel that when we're home, we're pretty safe from accidents now. Obviously, venturing away from the house is still a problem, but I can't stay confined forever. I hate putting him back in pull-ups when we go out because he doesn't mind peeing in them, but I also don't want a stream of pee flowing from a shopping cart or onto a friend's nice, stain-free carpet. I've read many different opinions about this--some say never go back to diapers or pull-ups and deal with the clean ups--some advise to basically not leave the house for as long as it takes to get it down--others say to use pull-ups when necessary.

In a perfect world, we would be completely trained by the middle of next month. Oh, how wonderful it would be to only have one in diapers! I will gladly accept any prayers for miracle breakthroughs and patience as well as any advice you might have.

Lost memory card

The kids decided it would be a good idea to play with my data card reader yesterday. Unfortunately, the reader had my data/memory card in it. The card was removed, but not surprisingly, the kids don't know where the card is. Now, I cannot take pictures. To say I'm frustrated is an understatement.

It's not that exciting, but the kids were having fun.

I finally managed to find some crayons and let the kids have a little art time this morning. Madelyn is really into drawing Mickey/Minnie Mouse and Pierce told me he drew Humpty Dumpty...see and judge for yourself.