Random May Catch-Up Post

Every so often (like now) I get behind in posting and throw together a random catch-up post...

Mother's Day was May 8th. While I slept in a bit Jerry helped Wesley put together a breakfast "recipe" he found in one of his magazines. It turned out really cute and was tasty too!

That same weekend we doggy-sat for some church friends. Jean Luc could win an award for best cuddler! Whenever I sat down he'd jump right up to my lap, or what's left of my lap, to hang out. The boys followed him around for awhile, but soon discovered he liked me best! :) I think he figured out his name sake Jean Luc Picard was my favorite character on Star Trek: TNG! Speaking of that, Netflix recently announced that all the Star Trek series will be available for instant view this summer. Perfect timing for me... I'll be needing to sit around a lot this summer!

Here is Jean Luc helping me check Facebook (Eli took this pic for me):

Last Saturday, May 14th, was the annual (except for last year when the economy was too bad) La Force dinner. Way back in 2007, one of my very first blog posts was about our going to the LF dinner. Actually, I wore the same dress that year because I was pregnant with JD! Jerry grumbles about going, but always takes me. Hey, it's a free date night! This year at the dinner Jerry received his 10 year award. Grandma Linda and Pa were kind enough to come spend the evening with the boys so we could go.

We are in the middle of a baby boom!! It's so exciting! We know so many people who will be adding little ones to their families in the next few months... another reason I'm on the lookout for new baby gifts to be making. Monday we brought dinner to one of Jerry's co-workers who just had a baby last week. Here is Jerry holding the little cutie!

Can't wait to meet our new addition!

Cinco de Mayo 2011

A few years ago we started the tradition to make a piñata for Cinco de Mayo. Yes, we know it isn't really Mexico's Independence Day, but it's something fun to do! This year instead of messing with tissue paper I decided to use paint to decorate the piñata. After a short discussion we decided on making it look the red bird from the Angry Birds game.

I have to say it turned out much better than I thought... and painting is a LOT easier than gluing on tissue paper! We may have started a new tradition. I think next year I might even branch out and try to make a different shaped piñata and not use a balloon. If you have any piñata suggestions or request let me know! Hmmm... since next year is an election year we could have a little fun with that!!

One thing that really helped this year was planning ahead. I didn't wait until May 2nd to start making it. I did a little bit every day for over a week before the big day. It made the whole process easier and the piñata stronger.

There was one catch. Cinco de Mayo fell on a Thursday this year and that is the night I have my twin club meeting so we had to push the festivities back a day and celebrate Seis de Mayo instead. The boys didn't mind the delay too much.

Here are the boys with the Red Bird before the smashing began...

We started with the youngest and moved up. JD was first...

Followed by Hayden, who pulled his blindfold off after a few tries...

Next up, Justus...

Then Eli...

And finally Wesley, who after a few good swings was able to bust it open...

We got all the (Easter) candy on clearance at Wal-mart. Remind me to do that again next year!

Another successful Cinco Seis de Mayo pinata!

Pregnancy Update: Week 22

Ahhhh... the middle of the second trimester and just past the halfway mark (or more if you're me!). I like to call it the calm between two storms. Morning sickness has, thankfully, passed and I don't feel so huge that I am uncomfortable. Yet. Life in the second trimester is good!

I don't know if it's because the other boys are older than previous pregnancies or because Jerry is doing such a great job of making things easy for me, but this pregnancy has been flying by and very enjoyable. Now that I can feel the baby move it's even more fun. Until I could feel the baby moving regularly there were actually days I forgot I was pregnant.

Jerry has been doing more than his fair share of household chores so that I can "take it easy". I'm not on bedrest but we're hoping taking it easy will prevent the need for that in the coming weeks. The big things Jerry has taken over are: laundry (no small task at our house), grocery shopping, and vacuuming. Honestly, when I'm feeling so good it's hard to remember I need to be careful and that this is a high risk pregnancy.

The 17-P shots have been going well. No side effects at all except for the pain of an injection. Extra special thanks to my new friend Lisa who kindly drives over every Wednesday to give me my shot. Are the shots making a difference? I guess only time will tell.

If I have one complaint about this pregnancy it's clothing. I just can't find anything that is comfortable. Even my favorite tops and bottoms from previous pregnancies just aren't as comfortable as I remember them being. Some are too loose and some are too tight. Skirts are actually the most comfortable thing for me at the moment but I didn't have any maternity skirts... until yesterday! I ordered two skirts and a simple dress (to wear to church) yesterday from Old Navy. I am hoping they are as comfortable as they look!

Then yesterday I ran across this tutorial on how to turn a regular skirt and a t-shirt into a maternity skirt. It's as easy as cutting out a space for your tummy and filling it in with the stretchy t-shirt material. I grabbed a skirt that was too big pre-pregnancy and a shirt that had a small stain from my closet. I got both the shirt and skirt at the thrift store for $1 each, so it wasn't a big investment if it didn't work out.

The whole process took me about 15 minutes and I now have a new (super comfy!) maternity skirt that will fit me until the end! (Sorry the pics are a little blurry, I took them with the self-timer.) I made the belly panel a bit bigger because that is the part that has been bothering me on my other bottoms. This panel is just as comfortable as having a shirt on your tummy because that's what it is! Now I have to head over to the thrift store to see what else I can find!

Pizza Night!

A few weekends ago we decided to have homemade pizza for dinner. Since it was a Saturday and Dad was home to help we decided to let each boy make their own. This is always a big hit with the gang!

We are finally getting a few of the boys to branch out to other toppings besides cheese and pepperoni. Eli is willing to try just about anything. Justus likes a little heat so he put jalapeños on his!

As they came out of the oven I snapped a shot of each boy with his pizza creation:

 

A Few Quotes for Mother's Day

One of my favorite books is Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss. When I heard about it I checked our library and, of course, they didn't have it! So I ended up ordering it. It is a fictional journal of a young woman as she marries and has children. It was first published in 1869 so both the writing style and the "family values" are different... both in good ways! I was in the middle of it when J.D. was born and remember getting to one passage in particular that had me in tears right there in the NICU. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes that I think are perfect for Mother's Day!

You can't have mothers without children...

“I want to see little children adorning every home as flowers adorn every meadow and every wayside. I want to see them welcomed to the homes they enter, to see their parents grow less and less selfish and more and more loving because they have come. I want to see God’s precious gifts accepted, not frowned upon and refused.”

This sums up how I feel right now...

“And now I am waiting for my Father’s next gift and the new cares and labors it will bring with it. I am glad it is not left to me to decide my own lot. I am afraid I should never see precisely the right moment for welcoming a new bird into my nest, dearly as I love the rustle of their wings and the sound of their voices when they do come.”

After hearing the main character is expecting yet another baby, her sister-in-law says that she'll “now have one mouth the more to fill and two feet the more to shoe, more disturbed nights, more laborious days, and less leisure for visiting, reading, music, and drawing.” The main character replies (this last one is the one that had me in tears):

“Here is a sweet, fragrant mouth to kiss; here are two more feet to make music with their pattering about my nursery. Here is a soul to train for God, and the body in which it dwells is worth all it will cost, since it is the abode of a kingly tenant. I may see less of friends, but I have gained one dearer than them all, to whom, while I minister in Christ’s name, I make a willing sacrifice of what little leisure for my own recreation my other darlings had left me. Yes, my precious baby, you are welcome to your mother’s heart, welcome to her time, her strength, her health, her tenderest cares, to her lifelong prayers! Oh, how rich I am, how truly, how wondrously blest!”

  Happy Mother's Day!!

Baby #7 Ultrasound

We had our mid-pregnancy ultrasound today. We chose not to find out the gender of baby #7, but we got several great shots of various body parts...

Arm/Hand

Foot

Sweet little profile