She is almost here!

Wednesday, March 28th, is the day that we get to hold our baby girl for the first time! Well, I get to hold her in my arms for the first time, that is ;). My stomach has had plenty of holding her time. March 28th is my due date. I am being induced on that day and we are SO SO excited. We can hardly stand it! It's worse than waiting for Christmas as a child. She is so loved already!

I came across a website that has something posted that says this:

The Nesting Instinct:

Many pregnant women experience the nesting instinct, a powerful urge to prepare their home for the baby by cleaning and decorating. Or perhaps you'll want to tackle projects you haven't had time to do, like organizing your garage or closets.

As your due date draws closer, you may find yourself cleaning cupboards or washing walls — things you never would have imagined doing in your ninth month of pregnancy! This desire to prepare your home can be useful because it will give you more time to recover and nurture your baby after the birth. But be careful not to overdo it.

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Wow, slow down there! Are you kidding me? As soon as I read this I couldn't believe it. It was describing me down to a T. I read it to my husband and he just laughed and said, "That is crazy. That describes you perfectly." 

I didn't know there was a name for what I have been doing. I have been doing this for the past month. I heard that women get a strange burst of energy towards the end of their pregnancy, but I didn't realize there was an actual name for it. I don't ever remember getting the "sudden burst of energy" with my other pregnancies, but that was over 8,5, and 4 years ago, so who knows, maybe I did. If I did, I didn't use that time to do the "nesting" thing. 

I did have a burst of energy a month ago, but now I'm just running on fumes. Slow, exhausting, annoying fumes. I'm wearing myself out. I can't believe that I haven't gone into labor yet with all I've been doing. My little girl must reeeeallly like my nice warm stomach, and that's quite alright. Hopefully she won't have jaundice like all my other babies had, since she is staying in longer than all my others babies did.

I do get overwhelmed often and start crying. I vent to my husband, with tears streaming down my face, saying that she just needs to get here. My husband just holds me, wipes away my tears, and then fills me up with encouraging words. I'm so thankful for him. 

So, I am a Nester right now, and I will be until my baby girl is born. I keep thinking the more that I do now the less I have to do when she's here.

I am so thankful for my husband and my kids for all the help that they have given me. Ben has done countless hours of cleaning with me right by my side. He has had many days with minimal sleep.

The girls cleaned their room the other day without me having to beg them a million times to clean it. I only had to ask once and they did it. The whole time they cleaned they sang stuff like this: "I love cleaning, cleaning is so much fun." It was so cute.

Marshall has been a champ! He LOVES a clean home. His room is always so neat and clean. He is always helping me clean up around the house. He asked me a couple of months ago, "Why don't we keep our house as clean as Aunt Angie's house?" Ummmm.... because.... that's why.... just because!!

He has been my little cleaning buddy, always so willing and more than happy to help me clean and organize. He has been right by my side tonight, helping me get stuff done.

I am so thankful for my husband and my kids and for all that they do for me.

The nesting thing for me has gone a little something like this:

Laundry

Laundry

Laundry

and more laundry

Sweep

Mop

Sweep again and again and again

Mop again and again and again

Wipe down table and counters again and again and again

More laundry

Vacuum x100

Scrub walls
Scrub walls some more
Shop for things for our little baby girl
Get all the baby's things set up and ready for her arrival

Cross off things on my list

Add more things to my list

Cross off

Add more (you get the picture)
Deep clean all the bathrooms

Unpack the boxes that have been sitting in the loft area for the past almost year

Go through all my kids clothes

Organize and clean the kids closets

Organize and clean mine and Ben's closet

Clean mine and Ben's room

Clean the girls room

Then have the girls clean their room after they mess it up again
Vacuum all the rooms

More laundry

You get the picture. The nesting stage is bitter-sweet.

This will probably be my last blog post before my baby girl is born. I can't wait to post pictures and her birth story. Stay tuned! It will be coming soon! :)

Happy 4TH Birthday Courtney! Your letter included.

Courtney turned 4 on February 17th! I cannot believe that she is already 4! Time sure does fly.

Courtney got surprised with a few things on the morning of her birthday. I set everything up after she went to bed the night before her birthday, so everything was ready for her in the morning.
1- Yellow Lily Flowers
2- Presents

3- Doughnuts
4- (most importantly) GUM

5- Her Birthday Dress

6- A big princess balloon

7- a balloon surprise
Courtney had told me she wanted lots of balloons on her birthday.

Courtney LOVED her birthday morning surprises. Her favorite thing was the cheapest thing; the gum of course. She is so silly. Madison, on the other hand, was quite upset that morning. The attention was all on Courtney that morning and Madison didn't like that one bit.

I have been letting my kids open their gift in the morning rather than wait until their birthday party. If they have more than 1 gift, they get to open one in the morning and the rest at their birthday party.
So, here is Courtney opening her first present of the day.

A Belle dolly before she grew up. Courtney decided that Belle was 4 just like her.

Courtney said that when she turned 4 she wouldn't suck her thumb anymore because she would be a big girl then. Well.... the no thumb sucking didn't last long. I think it was like 9:30 am here. :)

I love giving my kids loves!

More loves!

Silly girl!

Courtney and Bennie had to get their morning ritual routine in of playing :)

Courtney wanted to take the camera and do a photo shoot. So, here are some of her photos from her photo shoot of Bennie.

We have a bunch of geeks living in our house ;) and I wouldn't have it any other way.

End of Courtney's photo shoot, lol.

I had it all planned out to make a Belle doll cake. Some unexpected things happened, and I didn't make the cake for her :(. Oh well, maybe next year. Walmart bakery did a great job.

Here is some of my family at Courtney's birthday party. We just ended up doing a simple, little birthday party for her. She had a blast!

I gave my Mom the camera to take pictures of Courtney blowing out her candles. Bennie was recording. My Mom didn't know how to use the camera, so we ended up with this 1 photo.

So, we had her go in the kitchen to blow out her candles again :)

Hmmm...... I wonder who got into the cake??

Guilty as charged! ;)
Courtney was leaning over her cake and got some frosting on her dress. She came up to me to show me. I couldn't help but take a picture. She makes me laugh.

Courtney, Madison, and their cousin Kallie

Opening more presents.
A princess bike helmet and a little bell for her bike that she got for Christmas.

A gumball machine.
After Ben took this picture he showed it to me. We laughed and laughed. Courtney was being a bit annoyed here with her cousin. Her facial expression is hilarious!

She got a tub full of gumballs for her gumball machine.
Ben and I have had to sneak a few to bribe our little primary class with. Shhhhhh..... don't tell Courtney! ;) Really though, she has been a champ about sharing with us.

Makeup!
She LOVES makeup. She takes after her big sister.
After she opened her gifts from us, she asked why we didn't get her makeup. Little did she know, she had makeup waiting for her from her Aunt Cody, Uncle Steve, and cousins Wes, Shy, and Dakota.
She asked for makeup this year for her birthday, so when my sister asked me what she wanted and I told her makeup, my sister thought I was insane.

More makeup!

And even more makeup!
She was thrilled!

Madison and her cousin Kallie playing with makeup. Girls.... they are so silly!
That green thing behind Madison in my caboodle from when I was a little girl. When the kids and I were down at my parent's house the other day, my girls found my old caboodle and had so much fun playing with it. They came upstairs with old-school roller skates on and started playing with the caboodles. They had my sister's old caboodle, too. Grandma and Grandpa's house is always so much fun.
We brought my caboodle home and the girls love it! It fits all their play makeup in their perfectly.

Courtney, Kallie, Shyanne, and Madison playing with Courtney's new gumball machine.

I had Ben snap a photo of my belly. I was just about 8 months pregnant here.

I love love love love this! Courtney is SO silly and beautiful! That's a good combination to be!

After the party was over, and the girls left with their Dad and Step mom, Marshall decided he would put Courtney's bike helmet on to be silly!

He ended up getting it stuck on his head. I had to help him get it off, lol. Silly boy!

Courtney,

You are such a little jewel. I love you more than words can express.
You are still my little snuggle-buddy. You still say that you are my baby. You tell me that you will be my baby even when you are a Mommy. When I asked you the other day if you are my big baby and if your new little sister in my belly is my little baby, you replied by saying, "No, I am your little baby and she is your big baby". Courtney, I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be.
You always know just how to make me laugh and smile. I am so blessed that you chose me to be your Mommy. I am so blessed that you are my daughter for all eternity.
Courtney, don't ever forget what great worth you are. You are a daughter of God. You are a Queen and deserve to be treated like one. One day you will grow up and get married. Never forget to treat him like your King, and never expect to be treated like anything less than his Queen.
You are so smart and intelligent. Put your intelligence to good use throughout your life. I just know you will go far. Never speak ill of people for everyone is fighting a hard battle of their own. Never judge. Speak kind and gentle words. Help others as often as you can. Service is very important. Pray often. Heavenly Father loves you and always wants to hear from you and help you. He wants a close relationship with all of his children. Serve God. Always say what you need to say. Never hold back. Never forget to stand up for what you believe is right. Share your testimony with others often. Let your beauty shine. A good attitude is so important. You are beautiful. Never let anyone make you feel like you are not. Never give up on anything that is right. Smile every day. Laugh every day. Love with all your heart. There will be people in life that will hurt you. Learn from them. Always forgive. I wish I could protect you from ever being hurt, but unfortunately I can't always protect you from being hurt. I will always be here to comfort you and help you get through anything that you face. Especially remember that God is always here to help you through anything as well. He knows what you are going through more than anyone else, so pray for his guidance often. I can only imagine how hard it is for Heavenly Father to see us struggle down here at times. Remember how it felt when you were hurt, and learn from it. You are loved by so many. You are so important to so many. One day you will be a Mommy. I know you will be an amazing Mommy. Never forget to tell your kids and husband how much you love them each and every day. Kiss them every chance you get.
Ben, your siblings, and I will always be here for you. We will always love you. There are and will be many more people here for you, too. You have so much support from so many people that love you so much. Use that support when you need. Never let pride get in the way. You are amazing. You are talented. You are special. You are kind. You are loving. You are beautiful. You are smart. The list goes on an on. You can go as far in life as you desire, and I know you will go far. Thank you for blessing my life more than I could have ever imagined.
I love you so much, Courtney, always have, always will!

Love,

Mommy

Happy St. Patrick's Day, and an update on my pregnancy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!.... Well almost.
This year St. Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday, so we are going to have some fun. I'm going to make a fun St. Patrick's Day dinner. (unless the baby decides she wants to change plans by making us rush to the hospital tomorrow so she can be our St. Patrick's day gift!)

On our menu:

Main Course
15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta

For the recipe, click HERE!
I may add a little extra green color to it.

Dessert
Green Pudding Dessert

For the recipe, click HERE!

Drinks
Leprechaun Floats

Green Sherbet and Sprite!

I have never made any of these recipes, so I hope they all turn out!
Recipes courtesy of pinterest.

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So, I'm 38 weeks and 2 days pregnant!
Ben, the kids, and I are so ready to have this baby in our arms! We can't wait!
I was dilated to a 1, 75% effaced, and a -2 station on Friday, March 2nd. I was 36 weeks and 2 days pregnant then.
I was dilated to a 2, 75% effaced, and a -1 station on Monday, March 12th. I was 37 weeks and 5 days pregnant then. On March 13th I was checked again and was still the same as the previous day.
My next appointment is this upcoming Monday, March 19th, so I'm anxious to see if my body is progressing and preparing for labor even more.
I lost most of my mucus plug 2 days ago and the rest yesterday.
I took the girls for a mile bike ride yesterday while I walked along side of them. Marshall was at school. That evening, Ben, the kids, and I went for another walk. We walked a mile. People have told me, "walk, walk, walk", so walk, walk, walk is what I did. No progress today.
If she were to be born today, March 16th,  this is how far along I was with Marshall when he was born. If she comes on March 20th, I will be as far along as I was when Madison was born. If she comes on March 24th, I will be as far along as I was when Courtney was born. No baby thus far though, so we continue to wait, some days more patiently than others. We just want her to be healthy and ready when she makes her arrival.
I can't wait to hold her precious little body in my warm, loving arms, and kiss her rosy red, soft little cheeks, and smell her sweet, fragrant baby smell.
My baby is 4 years old now, so it will be an adjustment to get back into the diaper stage and baby stage again, but we can't wait!
Our kids ages now are 8, 5, and 4. We have 1 boy and 2 girls; soon to be 3 girls when our little one gets here. We most definitely have our hands full, but we sure do love it and we consider ourselves so blessed.
My body hurts and it's hard to breath at times, sleep at night, and roll over when I'm laying down. Shaving is an adventure and a workout in itself. It is all worth it. I just hope she doesn't make me wait to go in to labor until her due date or after that. I don't want to be induced. I want to see when she wants to make her appearance into this world.
Ben painted my toenails for me the other night because it's hard for me to bend my body and breath at the same time. He's so cute and sweet. I love him to pieces.
The kids are just ecstatic that their little sister could be born any moment now. They absolutely cannot wait to kiss and love on her. :) They are attached to my stomach. They touch it and kiss it constantly. It is so cute! At times it gets too much though and I have to make them take a break from my stomach for a bit. That seems to be torture for them. I love my kids to pieces.
I think I am basically as ready as I'm going to be for her to get here. The hospital bags are packed and ready to go. I've done a bajillion loads of laundry. We have done countless hours of cleaning and organizing. We have all of her clothes washed and put away. We have all of her things bought, and all of her things washed. All that needs to be set up is her swing, but we are going to wait until she comes home to set it up. The girls think her things are their toys for their dollies. :)

Next post:
Courtney's 4th Birthday!!
I can't believe my baby is already 4. It is bitter-sweet. She is such a fun girl, but is growing up way too fast. I am definitely a blessed Mommy!