The bean update

This is at 23 weeks. I think my front may have balanced out my rear.

The little bean is very active these days. (Can I still call hir a bean at almost a pound, maybe a potato or a cucumber now? The little cuke?) He/She is especially active after a cherry coke fix. I think I have decided, that is my official craving for this pregnancy. They have all been unique, and it's funny, because the kids seem to really like the things I craved during their pregnancies.

Tanner - tacos

Travis - chocolate

Tatum - potato chips

Teagan - pineapple

Chocolate is my mortal enemy this time. As is orange juice, peanut butter, and all things that cause you to burp. Oh, I still eat them, and have suffered. But, I have now discovered the wonder drug Zantac. It is my new best friend. Right next to it's buddy, Colace.

So, besides the heartburn, constipation, and wetting my pants on a regular basis, things are going well. LOL I had an appt a couple weeks ago and the babe sounded good, even threw in a couple belly button jabs for good measure. Apparently, the heartburn doesn't affect my appetite as much as the nausea did. I put on 7 pounds during the 5 weeks between appts! More than I gained in the first 18 weeks total! Ugh! Hopefully, that slows down a bit. Next appt is in May, it'll be time for the yummy glucola test. Mmm, my mouth waters just thinking about it. Do you think they have a cherry coke flavor?

Catching up

So my computer crashed again, and if it wasn't for my buddy Anne, who is way more computer savvy than I, this sucker would have found it's way to the recycle bin. Of course, it took a week away from my addiction, to prompt some cleaning up around the house. What else was there to do? ( Although, I'll let you in on a little secret, while I was still buried in the mountain of laundry, Bobby was hooking the computer back up and getting online. Uh huh, not just my addiction)

I think I'm on laundry load #6, maybe 7, since yesterday. Trust me, it was a mountain.

I also managed to go through the kids seasonal clothes. However, with this Ohio weather, I can't be sure winter will be completely gone anytime soon, or that summer will ever come. Digging through 12 plastic tubs of kids clothes is no easy task. Especially when you have to leave some of the warm clothes out, just in case.

We painted the boys' bunkbeds, so while the bed was out of the room, I decided it was time for a thorough cleaning. Let me just say, boys are gross. And when you tell them to clean their room, they don't actually CLEAN it. Wondering how long it will last....... Now I know why Travis never seems to have enough socks. They never make it all the way to the laundry basket. And let's not discuss the candy wrappers and remnants of food found in obscure places. I dug through their two closets to give them more room and to see what was in there. Basically, when we moved in 5 years ago, whatever was stored there, was never touched again. Case in point, an old cowboy hat that hasn't seen the light of day since Texas! 8 years ago!

Notice the yucky sweat ring. Hard to notice in a darkened bar. :op
I also discovered Travis's bouncer seat. Yes, Travis's. Although, I do believe I used it for Tatum too. It's downright nasty now. That didn't stop the kids from taking turns using it as a recliner.
Oh, and another adventure at our house.... our fridge croaked. The condenser got louder and louder and the food got warmer and warmer. We ran to Lowe's Friday night in the hopes of aquiring a new fridge before everything started to melt in the freezer. We knew we needed something bigger, since our family has grown exponentially from our 18 cu foot fridge days. Beyond it being big and energy efficient, I really didn't have any expectations. We thought the french door fridges were kind of cool, but after observing the kids opening and closing the freezer drawer a gazillion times while we were in the store, and wondering how long it would take to lose a child in a freezer drawer, I decided, it wasn't for us. The kids were fascinated by the ice and water in the door models while Bobby's only requirement was that it was black. I wasn't too keen on a black fridge, but then I was reminded of the sharpie meets fridge incident . A new shiny black fridge might just prevent that from happening again. There were two basically identical models, except for the price tag and the quality of the shelving. Bobby wouldn't give me a straight answer. My practical mind said pick the cheaper one, who cares about asthetics? But the girl in me, whined , but the other one is prettier. In the end, I let the kids decide. Yep, there is that indecisiveness. Leaving a major purchase decision up to a 5 and 8 yr old.

So anyway, here is the beast in it's new home. Thank goodness there is a lockout on the ice and water dispenser. So far, Teagan hasn't figured out how to unlock it, but I'm sure it won't take long.

And a gratuitous sleeping prince pic. Moving furniture is hard work. Potty training is going great, by the way. We even mastered the public restroom. Both at Lowe's and IKEA. Have you been there? It is way cool! But, bring comfy shoes because it is ginormous.

Ballet

Saturday was our last observation day for Ballet. You may notice, Tatum seems to be the tallest girl in the class. This is the pre ballet class made up of 3-5 yr olds. I think she is the only 5 yr old. She does goof off with the other girls, but she also manages to pay attention. Her recital is in June, so mark your calendars. I believe they will be participating in the high school talent show May 16 for practice.

They do some tumbling at the end of the class. She is pretty good at headstands and somersaults.

Road trip!

So who hasn't heard that Skybus filed for bankruptcy and ceased all flights? Those of you who read Krista's blog have already heard about her adventures with Skybus in North Carolina. But what she didn't mention is that she had also purchased tickets for her, the kids and I to go to Wisconsin to see our grandparents in June. While I wasn't necessarily looking forward to navigating the airport with 4 kids in tow at approximately 32 weeks pregnant, I was looking forward to the visit. Even though I haven't flown post 9-11, I know that it would have been a hassle to drag my chicks through airport security shoeless with carry on baggage only. We did mention to them that we were flying up there, and they were pretty excited about that aspect of it. Tanner is the only one who has been on a plane and he wasn't even old enough to remember.

Hopefully, they will have forgotten that part by June. So, looks like instead we'll be planning a ........ROAD TRIP! Okay, contain your jealousy. I know everyone gets excited about taking 4 small children on a 10 hour car ride.

Thank goodness for portable DVD players.

My big boy

I am so proud of my little man! It has been over a week now, and Teagan is exclusively using the potty. Thursday and Friday he went to daycare, and was in his undies ALL day. With no accidents. Even for nap time! He is still wearing a Pull up for nighttime but hey, a pack of 29 will last me almost a month!!! Much better than a pack of diapers per week. We still haven't tried any public potties. We had to run in the grocery store after I picked them up yesterday. He grabbed his parts and said he had to pee. After making it into the restroom, on the other side of the store, and seeing that they only have big toilets, no potty seats, he changed his mind. He did manage to hold it until we got home though, so yay for Teagan.

Halfway there

We've hit 20 weeks, the halfway point. Although, I usually birth about a week early, so I guess I may have been halfway there a few days ago. Anyway..... The little bean is a little more active now. I am feeling more definite movements, like light little bumps, here and there. Especially when I go way overboard and eat pizza, Cheetos, cookies, peanuts and Pepsi, all within a 12 hour shift. Man, nurses are bad influences. I packed fruit for dinner. It was still in my lunch bag come morning. I'm feeling much better these days. The nausea is fleeting, only noticed here and there, if I eat too many carbs, or don't eat often enough, or cough too hard..... It has been replaced with indigestion. Oh yay! I will be needing to stockpile some more Tums soon as I am almost out.

So, halfway there, and still so much left to do.....