Blast From The Past

As a part of my pregnancy craziness, I decided that I desperately needed to compile and organize all our digital pictures and videos to a share site. That way, if anything happens to me (God forbid), no one will have to search through drawers for 15 different jump drives and memory cards in order to put together our photographic history. Granted, digital only dates back to a year or so before Nolan was born, but that's still 6-7 years worth of memories that are now in chronological order and sorted by holiday, age of the kids, etc.

I have to say I am super proud of myself for finally doing this. On a side note, my next crazy moment came when I decided I should try to consign all Bailey's infant clothes. But I digress, as that's a story for another day.

As I completed my picture/video project, I found some fun things I thought I would share here. Love those crazy kids!

This is a precious video of Nolan when he was about 9 months old. He didn't understand why I was holding that strange device in front of my face.

Bailey performing for us. She was either 4 or had just turned 5, so was very near Nolan's current age.

And, finally, a cute video of the kids playing together. I forget how much Bailey used to entertain Nolan!

No Cell Phone For You!

One of my Christmas presents was an iPad mini. It has become the community iPad, as everyone in my family uses it for something. Jason looks up definitions when he's studying, Bailey and Nolan play games, and I play on Facebook and catch up on my blogs/websites.

Jason and I recently discovered that we can text and Face Time between my phone and the iPad but never actually did it after that initial test run. One day last week, the kids were out of school (but I had to work) and I received the following text:

Dear mommy,
Will you please face time me?

Love,
Bailey

I thought it was so sweet that she wanted to talk to me and had figured out how to send me the text. I happily agreed and we had a short conversation and ended the call with me saying I would be headed home soon.

And then Bailey got the text bug and things went downhill from there. I have recreated below the text exchange I had with Bailey before I finally called Jason at home and demanded he remove the iPad from her grubby little fingers!

B: I love you!
K: I love you more!
B: No way!
(brief pause)

B: Text me back!
K: I need to get ready to leave....see you soon.
B: See you too.
(10 minute pause)

B: Where are you?
K: Driving
B: No, I don't mean that, I mean what road are you on?
K: 10th
(pause)

(then she sent me a video)

(pause)
B: Send me a video!
K: Can't...dangerous.
B: Oh, I forgot you were driving. Stop texting!
(pause)

B: There really is no way you can beat me is there?
(I had no idea what she was talking about, so I ignored her.)
(pause)

B: Answer my question. If you don't it would be very rude!
(I ignored her again, as I was on the highway)
(pause)

B: You are being very rude!
(At this point, I was not on the highway and sitting at a red light.)
K: I don't understand what you are asking me.
B: Can you beat me in words?
(I still didn't understand, but just wanted her to quit texting me.)
K: Yes.
B: Oh no you can't!
(pause)

B: Where are you?
(pause)

B: Jhfvhhggttfyi....
(followed by her pushing the return button about 14 times before she sent the text)

And this is when I called Jason to take the iPad away. Geez! I'm never getting this kid a phone!

What Happened to My Feet? AKA 31 Weeks of Pregnancy

Time keeps on ticking by and I find myself with just over 9 weeks until my due date. Of course, a due date is the only day of the year I can be sure I WON'T deliver. Bailey and Nolan were each four days late, so I'm not going to fool myself into thinking it's time to pack my hospital bag at 38 weeks!

That said, my doctor did tell me that I am "ahead" in the upward growth of my uterus. This means I'm carrying higher than I should be based on the number of weeks I've been pregnant. Does this mean anything in terms of my projected delivery date?  Probably not. I personally think the only implication is on my increasing inability to get good, deep breaths. Many days, I just feel like I need to stretch out so that the baby isn't up in my ribs!

Generally speaking, I feel pretty good. I always start the day feeling great, but downgrade to "pretty good" by mid-afternoon. This is largely because I can't tolerate much food and yet I'm not always successful in eating just the right amount to fill my stomach without that one extra bite that's going to result in a feeling like I've just gorged on the largest Thanksgiving dinner you've ever seen. But we're not talking about Thanksgiving dinner; we're talking about a Smart One. I've been trying to eat little bits at a time to mitigate this feeling. Feelings of hunger betray me sometimes, so this is an ongoing struggle.

The baby is extremely active, which is fun sometimes and annoying sometimes. 3 a.m. is when the movement falls into the annoying category. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, I'm carrying quite high so the kicks and jabs tend to be aimed at my ribs most of the time. No matter where he kicks me, sleep is getting a little more elusive. I AM thankful that I do not feel the pressure so many pregnant moms feel when they carry low (knock on wood).

I continue to take Body Pump and Zumba classes and do other cardio exercise 4-5 days a week. I know I'm not working as hard as I used to, but I feel good about my activity level and I'm staying within the guidelines provided by my doctor. I'm not supposed to let my HR get above 140. I negotiated 150 since I find that a brisk walk gets me to 140 pretty easily. I've also continued to do core exercises like crunches on the stability ball or incline bench. While it's perfectly fine (as long as I don't lie flat on my back), I do feel like my belly could just pop while doing them one of these days. :-)

I don't really have any cravings and have continued to try to eat the same healthy meals and snacks I was eating pre-pregnancy. Again, I'm not always successful and partake in a few indulgences here and there. Overall, though, I think I've done a pretty good job not letting myself go crazy just because I'm pregnant. I hope that my exercise and eating habits will contribute to an easier road to lose pregnancy weight than I had with the other kids. I will say I'm not looking forward to stringently monitoring my food intake, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!

The kids are getting really excited. Bailey told me a few days ago that we really need to have a family meeting to take care of this whole name thing. Ha, ha! She repeatedly reminds me that she wants to go to the hospital with us, even if we go in the middle of the night. It's a really fun experience, as she's old enough to understand what's going on and want to play a big role in the process. She even asked if she could be in the room during the delivery. I'm not sure about this, as I think she'd be traumatized! Nolan seems excited, but he's also much more passive about the whole thing. I think he will do just fine as long as someone continues to pay attention to him (in his world, this means shooting hoops with him a minimum of 2 hours a day!).

That's it for now. I'll post more as I get closer to the big day!