Play Time

Mr. P has made a new friend. He goes outside everyday to look for his "little friend". He coos over how cute he is and pets him so gently. He lets the caterpillar crawl all over him (which makes me gag in silence).

Mr. P came home from pre-school this week with the coolest project. Busy Guy wanted it soooo bad that I had to make him one too. They gallop all around the house on their horses, Cac (short for Cactus) and yet to be named other horse.

We Passed Court!

Glory to God! We passed court. Our case was heard in court today (well, last night while we slept). I'm so thrilled that we didn't have to wait for a new date and then have another sleepless night. We are officially the parents to a sweet baby girl! I can now post her pictures on my blog and share with you how beautiful she is.

First picture, 2 weeks old at the Christmas celebration at Layla House.

Sweet girl wearing the pj we sent her, with her new toy and her photo album.

Still No News

Today is a National Holiday in Ethiopia so we won't hear any news today. Maybe.....tomorrow?
I picked up a crib that a friend gave us. Thanks! I put it together, put sheets on it with blankets. It looks so cute. The room is looking good. I've been working on the stencil for the girl side of the room. I'll post pics when I'm done. It's pretty surreal to see two cribs in the same room:)
Busy Guy is doing really well sleeping in his "big boy" bed. As long as I don't let him nap too long then he will go to sleep at night. He gets a sticker in the morning for staying in bed all night long. He could teach Mr. P a few things about staying in bed all night!
Some more exciting news for our family! Hubby got accepted to graduate school! He will start this Fall. It will be a two year program for Nurse Practitioner. When he's done he plans to work in one of the clinics...like oncology. It will be regular hours!!!!!! Yipee...what will I do with a hubby who doesn't work graveyard and is home on the weekends?A happy dance...that's what I'll do:)

Yikes!

No news on the re-scheduling of our court date. Maybe we will hear something tomorrow?

Send some prayers up for my poor Mom. I'm now calling her Nana Knievel! She was riding bikes with my nephews yesterday...actually racing one of them when her brakes locked up and she flew head first over the handlebars. She landed on her head (good thing she had her helmet on) and broke both bones in her right arm where they meet the wrist. She also severely sprang her left arm. She has to have surgery on her arm....OUCH! She is home resting but in lots of pain. Poor Nana Knievel. She told the ambulance guys that maybe she should take up a more appropriate sport for her age. I think she failed to tell them she is a Mountaineer and has climbed Mt. Rainer twice!

Hubby and I are painting the stairway/hallway that goes up and downstairs today. I'm really getting sick and tired of painting so it's a good thing that today will be the end of it! I know I'm too tired to do this because my perfectionism is wearing thin...."looks good enough, nobody will see that spot I missed".

No News...Is Not Good News!

Well...after waiting not so patiently all day we have heard from our agency that there were no cases heard in court because there was no power in Addis. UGHHH! I hope we will hear something tomorrow about when our case will be re-scheduled. Keep praying! I'm going to start stenciling baby girl's half of the room. Butterflies, bees, flowers...that should keep my peaceful and not freaking out....NOT!

Big Day...Big Prayers!

Okay...tonight before you go to sleep pray some prayers for our baby girl (Patron Saint Lydia) as she has her court date tonight as we sleep. I hope to have news tomorrow!!!

I had my check-up last Fri. with my Dr. He is thrilled with my sugar levels. He said he usually sees his Gestational Diabetes patients once a week but I'm doing so well that he will see me the normal 2 week intervals until next month. I talked to him about early inducement and he said it is a possibility maybe a week early. I will go for non-stress tests at the hospital once a week for the rest of the pregnancy and will have another ultrasound to see how big this baby boy is. It will be a wait and see as far as the delivery date. One thing for sure. I've had my last overdue pregnancy....yipee:) I'm feeling good and my rapid weight gain has slowed way down. That's good as I'm not looking forward to taking the weight off.

Yesterday my MIL (the best ever) and I took the boys to the park and had a great time enjoying the sunshine and the water park.

So Peaceful

Call me crazy but I had the most peaceful morning sitting in my living room reading the paper today. The one thing that made it so much better was the new paint. Instead of looking at the dirty walls and grimacing about them I could gaze at them and smile. Something about new paint...it's so clean and refreshing. Plus, the kiddos were all quiet and watching cartoons:)
I ordered this print for the wall in the living room. It's a photo I took while in Ethiopia. We took a drive outside the city and this woman was walking along the road carrying sticks into the city to sell for firewood. There were many women doing this job. Some of them walk many, many miles a day. We stopped and our driver Danny gave her some money calling out to her, "mother, mother". He was such a kind and generous soul who gave so freely to those less fortunate. I am having the print put onto a canvas and then framed. I can't wait to see the final project hanging on the wall.

I'm debating which other photo to have put on canvas also. Tell me your opinion. Which picture do you think I should use?

Photo in Addis of the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church

Grass hut picture taken on the drive outside of Addis.

Here's the before pictures of the living room.

The new photo on canvas will hang to the left of this sitting area. And..the other photo I've yet to choose..will hang to the right of it.

And....the after!

Done!

The living room is done....YAHOOOO! The trim is drying and I'll have hubby move the furniture back tomorrow. I'll post the living room picture tomorrow.

Before.....

And....After! Beautiful! Next week we will be doing the stairways that go up and downstairs and the landing area. And then...no more painting until next year when we tackle the family room and entry area downstairs.

Hubby and I were laughing and remembering when we almost got divorced (well maybe not divorced, but....well yes, I think divorced;) while painting our last house. We waited until we were getting ready to sell it and then painted the whole house inside and out! Yikes! It was horrible! I'm sure the neighbors thought we were the most crabby couple on the planet. We worked all day one Saturday finishing the trim on the outside of the house. It was summer and it was warm out and stayed light out late so we painted until dusk. The house was grey and the trim was dark blue. In the morning we drug our sore tired bodies out of bed for church. As we were leaving we were horrified to see that the dew had caused the blue paint to drip off of the gutters all down the house and onto the freshly painted deck! I think we just got in the car, shut the door and didn't say a word the whole drive to church or home. We then spent all day Sunday re-doing it.

Just Keep Painting...

Just keeping painting...sung to the tune of "just keep swimming" from Finding Nemo. Yesterday I finished the hallway and it looks wonderful....well except when I compare it to the dirty living room wall next to it. That will be fixed today when I paint that wall. Of course there is also the dirty wall leading to upstairs...I know...one room at a time! I went last night and got all my supplies so I could start today as soon as Papa takes the little ones to the gym with him. I don't feel bad about not working out with hubby at the gym...my sugar levels have been good...and painting is serious exercise...at least to me it is! I couldn't have done more than the hallway yesterday if I had tried! I laid down to rest and could barely get up and walk afterwards. We went out for a nice dinner...so no cooking and the kitchen was clean when we got home...bonus! I will post some pics of the newly painted walls later today. The colors are Barley and Hush.
Also, we have our court date on Monday!!! Keep us in your prayers. Ethiopia is 10 hours ahead so Sunday night as we sleep (or lay in our beds anxiously) our baby girl's case will go to court.

Project Obsessed

That's me...project obsessed. I'm always this way but with two babies on the way it is even worse. My hubby is on a golden pedestal today though...he painted the ceiling in the hallway and living room!!! I've been waiting for him to do this so I could paint the walls. I just can't do the ceilings with my big belly and low energy. He worked all day yesterday and got it done. So, today I am tackling the hallway walls and then will move on to the living room walls later this week. I've promised myself (and hubby) that I won't do a typical Becky Project and work until it's done. I've been known to be up on a ladder at 2:00 am trying to finish a painting project in one day!
I was supposed to have a Dr.'s appt. this morning. I got up, showered, blow dried my hair, got dressed, went to my Dr.'s office only to be told, "sorry, we messed up and scheduled you for a day that the Dr. isn't in the office". So, I'm re-scheduled for Fri. with a back-to-back appt. with Busy Guy. That should be a fun day. I will also have to bring Mr. P along too. Sheesh! Today I got to go all alone and was dreaming of the time sitting and reading a magazine and talking to the Dr. in peace and quiet. Oh, well....mistakes happen....I hope they will be as forgiving if I mess up an appt.:)

Stay at home mom?

Stay at home mom...this is what I call myself. I don't work outside the home and I don't earn a paycheck. Whenever someone asks what I do or if I work, I always reply with "I'm a stay at home mom". It's a sort of strange phrase. But, what I really want to say is..."YES, I WORK". Anyone who has ever stayed home with kids and run a household knows that it IS work...and hard work. Yes, there are benefits too. It's what is right for me and my family at this point in our lives. We make some sacrifices to make it work but we are also blessed immensely and have the financial means to do it too.
I don't really know what else to call myself. Usually on forms when it asks for my profession I put down "Mom". I have had part-time jobs over the years but right now it's best for our family if I don't. It gets to be too much of a scheduling pain to make it worth the money. All of my time, energy and focus is on my family and taking care of our house, etc.
It makes me sad when women battle over whether it's harder to stay home or to work and raise kids too. I think both are hard. There are benefits to both. Sometimes I would love to put on a nice outfit, grab a coffee at Starbucks and head into the office. I tell my hubby that on loud, hard days at home I dream of being an accountant...sitting in a peaceful office. I'm sure if I was in that office I would be dreaming of my wild and loud family.
So...what do you call yourself? Stay at home mom, homemaker, working mom? I'm thinking the title "CEO of wildatheartfamily" is a good one.

Vacation

We got home from a week's long vacation to Lake Chelan. We had a great time...and I'm pooped! Today I'm catching up on laundry and having a vacation from all the activity:)

Papa, Tuba, and Mr. P rode in a parade with my sister's boyfriend driving the limo. They threw candy out the window (and probably ate more than they threw).

Busy Guy and I watched the parade with Grandma and Grandpa...and ate his weight in candy:)

We met my sister's newest baby...oh he is the cutest thing ever....and yes the boys have been begging for a "cute little chihuahua" too.

The view from our condo patio....really beautiful.

We golfed almost every day...whew...those 18 holes are a killer;)

Mother's Day was great...breakfast made by the boys....pampered by the boys....and a nice dinner out at a local winery.

We played on the sandy beach...and yes my belly really is as big as it looks. I keep getting asked if I'm due soon...like in a week or so. Everyone's eyes bulge out of their head when I say I have 9 weeks left!!! One person asked if I swallowed a watermelon.

We also swam every day. Lots of fun in the pool and hot tub.

We went bowling....are those the cutest shoes ever? The boys loved bowling.

We also went to the park, walked along the lake, ate out for dinner most nights, visited with Grandma, Grandpa, and my sister's family, went wine tasting (well hubby tasted), had a bonfire at G&G's winery, got a pedicure and a massage (no pedicure for hubby...he doesn't know what he is missing), and relaxed a little bit in between all of our activities.

Oh, yeah...and we brought Shiloh along too! She was so good in the car in her fancy pink carrier. Mr. P held it the whole time! She is happy to be home though.

Court Date....Yahoooo!

Today is an early Mother's Day gift for me. We got our court date...May 26! We also got a new update with a new photo of our sweet girl. She is sleeping and so cute. I also found two new photos of her from other family's snapfish albums. Such a treat:) Hmmmm....I did go to Target today...I'm seeing a pattern again. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about...I got both referrals on the day I was gone shopping to Target! I love Target!

Keeping me sane

With all the wait, wait, wait for our baby girl and all the diabetes stuff going on I'm glad that my little boys keep me smiling.

The latest from Mr. P:

I was in the kitchen standing on a chair and reaching into the top shelf of a cabinet when Mr. P yells from downstairs, "That doesn't look like something you should be doing with a baby in your belly!".

We were waiting for something and Mr. P was standing against a wall and banging his behind against it. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was trying to break the wall down. I told him his little B-butt (our nickname for the behind) was too small so he suggested we use mine :O

Tuba got off the bus today with an artificial white rose. I thought since Mother's Day is coming that he was going to hand it to me....but no....he waved me off, went in the house and handed in to Mr. P!

Busy Guy is REALLY asserting his Independence...which is good...and bad. He says, "No, I don't want to" more times a day than I can count. He adds the Ethiopian scowl (squinty eyes and all) to it too. But...he is also answering I love you with his own..."Wuv, you too". So sweet.

What's New?

We got an update from our agency today. Our sweet baby girl now weighs 11.5 lbs. and is 24 in. long. The update says she is doing well and is healthy. I can't wait to post her picture. She is so beautiful. We got our picture of her with her welcome bag items. She is wearing the little pink pj and has her toy and the photo album of our family with her. I think we should get our court date sometime in the next week. Which doesn't mean we will go to court in the next week but that we will have the date...probably sometime in early June.
I had my appt. with the dietitian and diabetes nurse last week. I test my blood 4 times a day by poking my finger (first thing in the morning, then 2 hours after each meal). They gave me a chart showing exactly how many carbs to eat with each meal and snack.
I chart everything I eat and do....it's so much like Weight Watchers that it feels really natural to me. The major bummer of the whole thing is that I can't have any fruit with breakfast or with a snack. Mr. P feels really sorry for me that I can't have any candy or sugar..."Oh, Poor Mama"...he's my new BFF! So far I've only had my blood sugar go too high after dinner one night. I'm a little concerned that my blood sugar is too low in the morning and I'll discuss this at my appt. next week. I went to the gym today too. It's part of the treatment. I have not been working out as I've felt so puny. But, with Mr. Triathlete/RN for a hubby he drug me out and to the gym today. It wasn't too bad. I want to do everything I can to be healthy for the baby....and not have him born HUGE! I keep thinking the "silver lining" in all of this diabetes business is that maybe the Dr. will induce me early:)

Yes, it's GD!

The Dr. called this morning and I do have Gestational Diabetes! I go see the specialist tomorrow. I will learn what to do/eat/not eat and figure out if it can be controlled with just diet/exercise or if I need insulin. As for today...I really don't know what to eat...I guess I won't be having any Dove Bars;) It makes sense to me now why I haven't felt good and why I've gained way more weight this time. With my other pregnancies I gained 25 lbs. each time. I've already passed that this time around and I have 11 weeks left....YIKES! I'm anxious to get the info tomorrow and hopefully start feeling better.