Dr. appointment updates...

Abby's appointment yesterday went well. She weighs in at 39.2 pounds and stands at 3'5" tall. She did very well. I asked her dr. about his ideas on how to handle her fits. I told him the different things I had read and what we have been doing lately. I did feel better that he told me I was doing the right thing (well, obviously that would be HIS opinion...someone else may have told me to do the other) and that it would just take time and consistency. Okay, so she should be through this "phase" by the time she starts college, right?????

Peanut's appointment went well today also. Heartrate in the 150's. All the screenings we've had done so far have come back negative. I get to do the "yummy" glucose test at my next appointment :( My blood pressure was also very good...100/64. That's after taking Max, Abby, and Lucy to eat lunch, by myself, right before my appointment time! If that didn't get my b.p. up then I don't know what would ;) So we have our ultrasound downtown on Tuesday and my next regular checkup is on Aug. 28th.

After the appointment the kids and I went to Wal-Mart to do the grocery shopping...ugh. Not their best show of behavior I have to say (I stopped at our bank's branch in Wal-Mart and the teller behind the counter kept laughing at the kids as all 3 of them were shaking their heads back and forth and fast and as hard as they could...I think I heard some rattling). I was looking for the ingredients to make chicken pot pie for dinner and they didn't have the phyllo dough I needed. I figured we'd get home, unload, let the kids use the restroom then run to Publix "real quick". By the time I got the kids and groceries out of the car and into the house I decided I was NOT going anywhere else with my darling little helpers and I'm just going to make a pie shell from scratch! SO THERE :)

Alright, off to gather my wits about me and start making the stuff for the pot pie and oh yeah, the homemade apple crisp!

Getting Bigger...

Today I decided to bite the bullet and put on some big girl pants...literally. As I was attempting to get dressed this morning I realized something...the inevitable had happened...my belly has gotten too big for my regular "transition" clothes. By transition I mean, all the clothes I bought as I was losing weight after Abby was born (gotta love Weight Watchers) to get me back down to my pre-pregnancy, or should I say pre -"Max's" pregnancy, weight!

So, needless to say, I busted out the maternity pants and I have to say...boy do I feel so much better :) I will be 20 weeks this Sunday so I think I held out long enough. Once the baby is born and I have made my way back DOWN through the "transition" clothes, I plan on burning them (I'll probably just pass them down with the maternity clothes but burning them sounds like more of a celebration)!!! They have served their purpose and I know that as tired as I am of wearing them, John (and I'm sure the rest of my family) is tired of looking at them on me :)

I have informed John that I WILL be going back to Weight Watchers after the baby is born and I WILL lose this weight yet again. I will return to some semblance of my pre-baby self (of course some parts of me will never be the same again...not without surgical intervention anyway...sigh).

So I will enjoy the relaxing feel of the maternity clothes for 20+ weeks and to Weight Watchers I say, I WILL SEE YOU IN JANUARY!!! Until then however, the only points I'll be counting are the ones that Clemson scores this football season :)

Finally...PARTY POST!

Yeah! I got my camera back last night and now I can finally post pics of Abby's 4th birthday party :) I know, you've all been waiting on the edge of your seats for this post! Well, the wait is over...

We went to Palmetto Islands County Park to celebrate. They have a playground area called "The Big Toy" that they recently renovated and the new playground is awesome! It beats the old wooden (read splintery) playground equipment with ROCKS for a play surface! It has a cool spongy type surface area and the "little kid" play area is bigger and more small kid friendly.

Anyway, a few of Abby's friends from her preschool class came as well as her 4 cousins (Jack, Molly, Sophie, and Macy), my sisters and my mom and dad. We also enjoyed having our friend Henry and his dad Ryan join us as well :) The amount of people that came was a great number and Abby had fun playing with all her guests (well, Max and Jack kind of did their own thing but they did show up for food!)

We played for awhile, then ate Chick-fil-a nuggets (gotta love those nugget trays), chips, and juice. They played for a little while more then we sang Happy Birthday to Abby and had Tinkerbell cake then off for more play time. We've had two of Max's parties there in the past and have learned that it is just asking too much of the little ones to stop playing long enough to open presents so we have just started opening them at home :)

Abby (and her guests I believe) had a great time together...here are a few pics...

Abby posing on the rock.

John introducing Lucy to the "misting pole".

I'm so glad they included that during the renovation...a great way to cool off!

My mom (Nana) and my sisters, Mallory (Mimi) and Shea (Shea-Shea)

Shea and Sophie

The Birthday Girl!

The Tinkerbell cake...yep, made it myself.

Not exactly the picture I had in my head but it turned out better than I thought it would :)

Tinkerbell cake...side view

Coming in September 2009, Lucy's 2nd birthday!!!

She hasn't decided yet if she wants a Dora party or a Mickey Mouse party.

One Week and Counting...

One week from today we have our ultrasound where we will hopefully ?!?!?! find out if the peanut is a boy or a girl. We are looking forward to it and Max is STILL holding out for a boy. I hope that if it turns out to be a girl he won't be too disappointed!

I have a friend who is pregnant with her second child and she has a 6 year old daughter. She got to take a sneak peek a couple of weeks ago before her "official" ultrasound and they found out they were having a boy. Her daughter, was not pleased! When my friend told her daughter that they were going for another ultrasound today, her daughter told her that if they weren't going to say it was a girl this time then she really didn't want to go :) Do you think this little girl wanted a sister????

Blog Hop...Favorite Kid Picture

This week's Blog Hop is all about favorite kid pics. Unfortunately, I lost many of my pics when my old computer died (I have them backed up but I haven't had the time to load them up on the new computer). So, the pics I have on this computer aren't necessarily my favorite but I did find some.

So here you go...

Max posing with Jeff Gordon's car at the Charlotte airport.

Notice his dog "Cooper" in the back window :)

Abby looking sweet!

She chose pink and purple headbands to wear with a red, white, and blue dress...

close enough I guess :)

Lucy...Beach Beauty

My Blessings, My Life

(not the best picture but they couldn't sit still :)

Click on any of the links in the blog list below to check out some favorite kid pics on other blogs! Have a great Tuesday :)


Oh yeah, John didn't make it to my parents' house last night to pick up my camera so the birthday party post is being "post"-poned (ha!ha!)

It's Monday...

It's Monday. I know it has been awhile since I've participated in Not Me Monday over at MckMama's (not that I've suddenly become perfect and have nothing to confess...ha! far from it!) but I've had a lot going on and just haven't had the mental energy to sit down and pick from the LONG list of imperfections to confess :)

Although I do STILL have plenty to get off my chest, I won't be doing a Not Me Monday today either. Instead, please head over to MckMama's and take some time to pray for little Stellan. He is in the hospital again with SVT (and is having an extremely hard time breaking out of it even with lots of meds) and the doctor has just informed MckMama that Stellan is in "bad shape".

I will post tomorrow about Abby's birthday party and share pictures. We went to my parents' house after the party on Saturday and I left a bunch of stuff over there when we left...my camera included!

Party Mode!

I'm in "Party Mode" today. We've got lots to do today...including mommy making Abby's Tinkerbell cake! I love having their party's at a park/playground because then I don't have to add "Mad woman house cleaning" to my list (and the fact that it is free is AWESOME!). I mean, I DO clean my house but adding the amount of "extra" cleaning you do when people are coming over is not something I need to have on my "To-Do" list today...if you know what I mean :)

Anyway, I love having birthday parties for my kids. They get to decide on a theme (once they are old enough) and that is what I base the invitations (that I make...lately with help from my VERY creative sister Mallory), cake, and "colors" on for the party. I usually bypass the "themed" plates and napkins and go to the Dollar Tree for those items in the "right colors".

I make the cake myself...I'm by no means a professional, but it becomes a challenge to me to outdo myself! Also, my parents always made our cakes growing up (mom would bake the cake and dad would spend hours meticulously decorating the cakes). I remember those cakes and now I realize how much time and love went into each one. I want my kids to have that as well.

We'll make the rest easy by ordering a nugget tray from Chick-fil-a and getting the big multi pack of chips and some juice boxes and water. I enjoy doing these parties for my kids because I love to watch them having a blast playing with their friends. They still talk about their parties over the course of the year until it is time for their next one. I love that they are making these memories of growing up.

Okay, I'm off. Stuff to do and get before our big day tomorrow. Wish me luck on the cake :) I'll post a picture later of the finished product!

Happy 4th Birthday Sweet Abby!

My baby girl turned 4 yesterday.

How did that happen?

Her goal for herself this year is to stop sucking her thumb!! Wish her luck :)

She is having a Tinkerbell themed birthday party this Saturday at a county park. Pictures to come.

Click here to read Abby's birth story

Blog Hop..Recipe Edition

Cool new thing...it's called a Blog Hop! Each week there is a new theme and you post on your blog, then link your blog on the MckLinky and of course you need to put MckLinky at the bottom of your post. You'll get the whole list of everyone participating so you can go check out some new blogs! That means other people will get to check out your blog too :) Oh yeah, by the way, each week, someone on the MckLinky list will win $100! Try it...I'm finally giving it a shot this week, let's hope I don't mess it up :)

This week's theme is favorite recipes. I have a few but I'm going to share a quick and easy one for Apple Crisp.

5-6 cups peeled, cored, and thinly sliced apples (I use about 6 medium sized Gala apples)
3/4 cup quick cooking rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter or margarine

Arrange apples in a greased 8x 1 1/2 in. round pan.
Combine oats, sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
Break up butter into pieces and mix into oats mixture with hands until crumbly.
Sprinkle mixture over apples.
Bake at 350 degree for 35-40 minutes.
Serve warm.
My husband likes his with a scoop of vanilla ice cream :)
Makes about 6 servings.

Happy Birthday...yesterday!

No, I did not forget about my sister Shea's birthday yesterday. I was otherwise occupied during a large chunk of the day and when I got home I was exhausted! I did call her in the morning to wish her a Happy Birthday :) What I didn't get to do was announce it to the small handful of people who read my blog (Shea included, but she already knew it was her birthday). So here you go Shea-Shea...

Birthday wishes to my sister Shea-Shea,
Hope you had fun on your special day-day!
Your a great little sis,
and you'll get a hug and a kiss,
when you come back down this way-way :)

Love,
Staci, John, Max, Abby, Lucy, & "peanut"

Circa 1976 - That is my dear sweet little sister pinching the daylights out of my arm and grinning like the little devil she was :) What does my mom do in my moment of pain? Discipline my sister and stop the torture? Nope, she takes a picture!

Shea...that is SO SOPHIE!!!!! Reap what you sow little sis :)

He (or She) Likes to Move It, Move It...

Well, it is official...the little peanut is on the move. For the past couple of weeks I had been feeling little flutters here and there and some pushing sensations like he (or she) was stretching. Last night and today however I have been feeling more movement and at first it feels like something I have never felt before then I remember, oh yeah, I've had 3 other babies! I guess it has just been awhile. So now we are moving into my favorite part of pregnancy...kicks, jabs, hiccups, sticking the rear end out as far as it can go (the baby NOT ME!). I think the funniest part is the rolling around and pushing. John gets the heebee jeebees (is that how you spell that?) whenever he puts his hand on my belly and the baby starts rolling :) He'd pass out if he had to feel it from the inside!

I do promise to get some pictures posted soon. I have some on my camera that I need to load onto the computer then I'll have a picture post. Abby's party is coming up next Saturday the 25th so I have been trying to get myself together for that.

By the way, I have a signature now on my blog. At the end of each post you'll see my name written out all nice and neat (obviously NOT my handwriting). I have found a great website that gives directions and tutorials on how to tweek your blog. I have a few more things I want to work on with my blog then I'm going to post about Sneaky Momma and her awesome website!

Big Girl...Big Girl Pants...

Today is a big day for Miss Lucy. She is out of diapers and wearing pull-ups now!!! Lately she has been putting up a fuss when I lay her down to change her diaper so I figured it was time to bite the bullet and get some "big girl pants". She was so excited when I told her she was going to get to wear one today. I think she wet her last diaper as quickly as she could so she could put a pull-up on :)

After I put the pull-up on her all she could keep saying was "pull-ups, pull-ups, pull-ups". She did walk a little funny when she first got it on and keeps pulling her shorts away from her so she can see it. This is our slow progression towards potty training. She will sit on her potty right before she gets in the bath but hasn 't "done" anything in it yet. She also hasn't shown a whole lot if interest in "going" on the potty yet either. It would be nice to have her on the road to potty training before the baby is born but we'll have to see. Neither Max nor Abby were potty trained before the next one came so at least I'll be used to it :) I'm thinking I might try next month once Max starts school to see if she is ready...

I'd also like to say Happy Anniversary to my in-laws. Jack and Charlotte are celebrating 49 years of marriage today! WooHoo! Hope it's a wonderful day!

Sorry, Been Busy...

Wow! Has it really been a week since I posted? John took Max and Abby to Charlotte this past weekend to visit with his parents so I took advantage of the opportunity of only having one child in the house...the ONLY one who still naps...to get some "stuff" done.

My parents gave me a couple of old wooden rocking chairs that I wanted to paint for John for his Father's Day present...cheap I know but he LOVES rocking chairs and has wanted some for the front porch. Anyway, I got the first two coats of paint on them this weekend. We had a birthday party this afternoon and it rained so the third (and hopefully last) coat will go on tomorrow.

I also cleaned out a TON of papers that had been cluttering the desk and filing cabinet in the office. I got a neat stack of things that need to be filed but I have to clean the old stuff out of the files first before I put anything else in there.

I did massive loads of laundry and even stripped the beds, washed the sheets, and remade the beds so everyone could have "clean sheet night" on Sunday night...don't you just love Clean Sheet Night :) I also tweaked and printed and cut out the invitations for Abby's 4th birthday party. The envelopes are addressed and we stopped at the Post Office today to mail them out!

I had plans to sort through maternity clothes and the kids clothes but I ran out of time. I did get the grocery shopping done...with Lucy's help...and cleaned out the "science projects" from the back of the fridge. Oh yeah, my biggest accomplishment for the weekend??? I balanced the checkbook TO THE PENNY!!!!! WOO HOO!!!

It did dawn on me about 6pm Saturday night that I had not had to fuss or raise my voice to be heard in 24 hours. Can I tell you how excited I was about that? Not that I didn't miss Max and Abby because I did, but it felt refreshing to NOT have all the LOUD going on :)

Today...back to normal :) Oh yeah, I hit the 17 week mark yesterday! I have some pics that I will post soon.

Our 4th...

We had a great 4th of July holiday. John was off on Friday so he took Max and Abby to the beach during Lucy's nap so I could clean. Saturday, Lucy and I went to do the grocery shopping... last minute I know but I hadn't decided until then what we were going to eat! When we got home it was time for her to take a nap and I got to work on the cooking. Once I got started I couldn't seem to stop myself! I made potato salad, deviled eggs, broccoli cole slaw, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, and shucked corn for grilling. John had marinated the chicken already so we were good to go.

John's parents arrived at about 1:30 and my parents came later. We cooked out and since it was a nice evening we decided to eat outside...well, some of us did. Abby heard the popping of firecrackers and decided she was coming inside to eat :) She came out after awhile and I gave the kids their poppers and sparklers to enjoy. We also had some confetti "poppers" which were a hit!

Once it got dark and the real fireworks began around the neighborhood John took Max and Abby to the neighbors to watch them. We weren't sure how they would do because they have always been afraid of them in the past. They LOVED them! It was tough to tear them away which is why they didn't go to bed until after 10pm! You'd think this would mean they would sleep in late the next morning...HA! You obviously don't know MY kids very well :) They were up at about 6am...sigh.

I would say a good time was had by all and Max and Abby have learned to appreciate the beauty...if not the noise...of fireworks. Hope you had a great 4th!

Grandma and Grandpa...aka Charlotte and Jack...enjoying a sparkler :)

Lighting up...

Papa (my dad) helping Abby pop the confetti from her popper.

Lucy and Nana (my mom). I think the sparkler had a very hypnotic effect on Lucy :)

She really was enjoying the sparklers even though she looks like she's cringing in fear :)

No, he wasn't trying to land a 747 in our back yard!

Loving the sparklers :)

Appointment scheduled...

I got the call this morning to schedule my 20 week ultrasound. It is on August 4th at 1:30. My next checkup is on July 31st. I just turned 16 weeks yesterday and have started with the Braxton Hicks contractions already. I started at about 4 months with Abby and Lucy as well so here we go :)

Checkup

I was originally supposed to have my checkup at 3:20 this afternoon but I called this morning and had it changed to this morning since Max has a t-ball game at 5:30. I didn't want to be rushing around with all 3 kids by myself.

Anyway, things look good. In my doctor's words I am"cruising right along". I had to take all 3 kids with me and thankfully they behaved VERY well. Max was excited that he got to hear the baby's heartbeat this time :) My blood pressure was great (especially considering the rough morning we had at home) at 100/60. I forgot to ask the baby's heart rate. I had more blood drawn today to test for neural tube defects and of course, a check on my thyroid. I have to wait for the prenatal wellness center to call me back to set up our BIG 20 week ultrasound appointment! Yep, due to my "advanced maternal age" I have to go downtown again instead of going to my doctor's office. UGH.

I'll let you know when the big date is going to be...

Wait, Hold On, You're Going too Fast!

Umm, where did June go? I swear yesterday was the beginning of June and Max was just getting out of school and we were doing the last minute packing and rushing around (I'm sorry, did I say "we"? I meant "I" was :P ) for our trip to Colorado. Kindergarten has come and gone, our trip has come and gone, JUNE has come and gone. This train is going too fast...SLOW IT DOWN!

Sunday I hit the 15 week mark in my pregnancy. Hard to believe that we found out about it 10 weeks ago. My belly is growing and showing (to be expected sooner with #4 I guess). I'm slowly getting to the point now where it looks like I'm pregnant instead of just getting fat! Of course, THAT would be something to go slow! I still have a strong feeling that this baby is a boy and Max is just as sure as I am. John hasn't really said either way if he has a feeling or not. Abby will call the baby a boy but then say she wants it to be a girl. This pregnancy is going well so far. My morning sickness was mild compared to the girls' (which is another reason I think it's a boy, with Max it was the same as this time). I don't know if it is because of my "advanced maternal age" (don't you love that term...NOT!) but my body has been feeling this pregnancy a lot more. I have a lot of pain in the right side of my back at night (when I'm trying to sleep) and it hurts a lot in the morning but by the time I get moving around it seems to get better. I have other various skin issues going on and varicose veins are threatening to rear their ugly heads. My thyroid has been doing much better during this pregnancy however and I pray that it continues that way. I wish I could afford a complete body overhaul (on me) after this baby is born! Regardless of what is going on with me, it is completely and totally worth it and we are blessed.

Speaking of time flying. Abby will be 4 years old this month! I can't believe it! She will be starting her last year of preschool in September. WOW! We are planning a Tinkerbell themed birthday party, speaking of which, I need to get those invitations done! She is still into everything princesses and enjoys playing mommy with her baby dolls and her little sister. She tends to be quite bossy at times but, speaking from experience, it is what big sisters do :) Right Shea and Mallory?????

Lucy is a little over 2 months away from her 2nd birthday...HOLY COW! She is growing so fast and is really developing a strong personality...(code for stubborn and independent :) No really, she is not afraid to tell us what she wants and will protest loudly if made to wait. Teaching patience in this house has been a challenge for the past 6 years :) What is ironic though is that as a baby, Lucy was the most patient of all 3 of them. Maybe she decided it was for the birds and figured she'd follow in her brother and sister's footsteps! She will have a conversation with you and you can understand what she is saying. I mean, she is actually speaking in full sentences to carry on this conversation. She will count from 1-9, she will finish the last phrases in the "1,2 Buckle My Shoe" rhyme, her favorite saying right now is "Shake your booty now" and "Honey, cool it". She is also a goofball, just like her brother and sister! She will say "Mommy, watch this" over and over and when I tell her I'm watching she'll just drop to the floor and roll around like a maniac. She also learned recently that she could make Max and Abby crack up by performing her newest trick, spitting her pacifier out of her mouth as hard as she can. Beats me why it's so funny but they laugh and she keeps doing it...

Max is currently playing t-ball and shows much improvement from last summer. He can really hit the ball when he focuses on it and he has a good arm but needs to work on aim. Also, he throws hard regardless of how far away he is from the person he is throwing it to so he needs to work on learning how to lessen the intensity of his throw at short distances. He will throw it the same from outfield to infield and second base to first base! The boy just doesn't know his own strength. He really enjoys having his daddy out on the field as one of the coaches too. I can't believe Max will be starting first grade next month! I still remember the day he was born as clear as a bell and it doesn't seem like it was 6 years ago.

Well, since there is nothing I can do to slow down time (or the aging process...dang it) I will just have to go along for the ride and savor and enjoy every moment. I guess I should also take more pictures! Have a great day!