24 weeks

I'm 24 weeks pregnant today yippeee! Baby is really active, but is not big enough that his/her kicks are painful yet. I know that is right around the corner though, so I'm enjoying not being miserable yet. I can tell I'm getting bigger, but I don't really realize it until I take a picture, and then when I look at the picture it's like, "Holy Crap I'm freaking huge!" I'm trying to keep it in perspective that this is my fifth baby, and I have always been a big pregnant lady (except with Emma), but it's still hard accepting that you are a whale and there is nothing you can do about it, and it's only going to get worse.
And here's a picture of my ever expanding uterus.

new baby purchases

So you'd think by baby #5 there would be nothing else on the face of the earth we could possibly need for a baby. Sadly, you'd be wrong! We bought a new infant seat when we had Jackson because our old one was expired. Well, the surprise of this baby means we have to figure out how to get 5 car seats in my car. After multiple configuration trials with our current car seats, we discovered it's just not going to work, so we had to buy yet another infant car seat. :( It's a shame, because I really like Jackson's car seat, and it's in great shape, but I really think this is our best shot at getting all 5 kids in car seats safely in my car. We looked into new car possibilities, but since mine is barely over a year old, it was a horrendous financial situation. So today with the help of the trade-in event at Babies r Us, we bought a new infant seat.

Another item I've always wanted, but just never broken down and bought is a rocker/glider. We decided to get one this time around, and then put it in our living room upstairs since we've been looking for a new chair for in there anyway. I found several I liked, but the cost of most of them mad me quite ill. I finally found one I liked that fit our needs and my wants in style and fabric, and was less obscenely priced.

Lastly we felt we needed a small travel bed of some kind to keep the baby in our room in the camper since a traditional pack n play won't fit. We looked into many of our options, and ultimately decided on this one.

Keep in mind we'll be using this when the baby is about 1-2 months old for the most part, so even though it looks pretty small, I think it will be perfect for a new, immobile baby.
All in all, an expensive, yet productive day. :)

misc.

* I think the stomach virus finally left our house (knock on wood). It hung around for about 12 days, and I am really hoping it's gone for a VERY long time.
* I am 23 weeks pregnant as of tomorrow. How on earth did I get that pregnant already?
* I am officially on the hunt for an occasional babysitter. Not going to be easy since I am trusting someone I barely know with our kiddos, but definitely necessary.
* Sean's birthday is quickly approaching and I have no clue what to get him.
* Emma's birthday is also quickly approaching and I think I may die of shock that she's turning 7!
* The Olympics start in 10 days and I'm super excited!!!!!!!!
* There is often a lot I'd love to say about the things going on in my life, but I think it would shock the crap out of some of the people I think read this blog on occasion.

Happy 3rd Birthday Megan

Today is Megan's third birthday, and guess how we're celebrating? By being sick! Yep that's right, Megan is unlucky enough to have gotten a stomach virus just in time for her birthday. :( She's feeling much better this afternoon thankfully, and just needs some rest to hopefully be back to her old self tomorrow. It's so hard to believe that 3 years ago right now our sweet little girl was only an hour old. She has grown into quite the little person with her own way of doing things. She is very independent and headstrong, which will be both a very good and very bad thing as she gets older. I will be surprised if she grows up to be a crowd follower. I fully expect her to go her own way in life, regardless of what anyone else tries to tell her. I fear this will mean lots of head-butting between the two of us in her teenage years, but what mother and daughter don't go through that?
I can't wait to see what the next year will bring for Megan. With our family growing again, and her getting involved in dance recently, I'm sure we are in for a lot of changes with her. I'm so sad my little princess is growing up, but I know it's going to be quite the adventure with her.

20 weeks

I had my 20 week ultrasound today, and baby #5 looks great. I unfortunately have a low-lying placenta, but after talking to a few other women about it, I'm early enough it should move up and not cause us any problems. There is no guarantee it will move, but it generally does, so I'm hoping things work out. I go back in 6 weeks for another ultrasound to see if it has moved up.
Later I will scan the one really good picture we got today, but for now enjoy the picture of my ever growing belly (and butt apparently as my butt grew a ton).


and for comparison this was my 16 week picture:

10 days

10 days since my last post, and sadly you missed nothing. Last Monday the kids went back to school, and then Wednesday night/Thursday morning we got some snow, and ridiculously cold temps, so Thursday and Friday were snow days. Over the weekend we just tried to keep warm, and Sean worked from home a ton, and we started the school routine again today. This week is going to be a busy one though. The kids have stuff going on two nights this week. They get out early one other day, and then I have my ultrasound at the hospital Thursday afternoon, and an appointment with my ob Friday morning. By the time next weekend rolls around I'm going to be ready for the extra day Sean and the kids have off.
I can't believe I'm already 20 weeks pregnant and it's time for the 'big" ultrasound. We are not finding out the sex of the baby, which I know disappoints some of you, but I'm just hoping for a healthy baby swimming around in there. I will let you all know how it goes by the end of the week. :)

New year, new adventures

Another year has passed in what feels like the blink of an eye. I can't definitively say that 2009 was a good or bad year, as it was filled with plenty of both. Things didn't go as I planned or hoped, but when does it ever work out that way? We did a ton of travelling, and created some great family memories. We lost a few loved ones along the way, and gained a few new ones as well. I look back on 2009 with fond memories of the good, and sadness over the bad, but all in all, I am happy and can't complain.
My hopes for 2010 are to worry less about my plans, and try to enjoy the ride a little more. I'm conviced the old saying is true; "We plan, God laughs".