Getting Ready for Summer!

29 weeks!

Well, I thought I'd be a bit better at this updating thing than I have! Last week, we finally decided our baby's name: Captain America. We finally pressured ourselves after realizing we had to register for the hospital and get the social security information ready. It was Batman who reminded me about the registration. I said, "Yeah, but you can only register when you're 3 months away from delivering" and he gave me this look...yeah, it's THAT close! I'm kinda freaking out a bit.

Easter 2012

I had my mom here for my birthday and for 3 weeks. She flew in with my brother, so we got to visit with him for the weekend and Easter. My mom helped out with the kids and the house. It felt nice to get a break. The kids had a blast, too. She took them to Toys R Us and the pool, took Spiderman to a movie, and gave She-Hulk a Build-A-Bear experience:

Mom, She-Hulk, and I went out for tea- just us girls. We ate good food, laughed about how much I looked like Hurley from Lost when I brushed out my rag curls, almost got caught in a closing park, and watched a marathon of Vampire Diaries- overall, just a really nice time.

My health has been cleared! I did a 30 day event monitor and a stress echo test on my heart. I have a really fast heart rate and anemia, but aside from that, baby and I are healthy!

I made all A's this semester. Couldn't be happier!! Spiderman's first homeschool year is coming to a close. We'll spend this next week finishing up and then we'll enjoy our first summer break! We are making a bucket list: you can find it on Pinterest:

http://pinterest.com/misskendall/summer-bucket-list/

I will try to remember to update sometime in the next week or two when I clear out our homeschool stuff and start putting together our portfolio, books, and next year's curriculum. Maybe it will help someone else just beginning...

:)

It's a BOY and other random updates

So...it's been about 3 weeks since we've known, but we've been busy, so this is my official post.

We all went into the room and the kids were both very curious.

Ultrasound tech to Spiderman after rolling over the genitals: How would you feel about a sister?
Spiderman, kinda disappointed, says what we rehearsed a thousand times: Well, I'll be the only boy. Ultrasound tech: How would you feel about a brother? Because that's what you're having!
 Spiderman: YAY! I will share my middle name with him, let's name him (THOR)!

Baby doesn't have a name yet!
Batman likes Tristan Elijah
I like Liam Aaron
We are considering Aaron Elijah

We have a few more months to figure it out!

Spring break was two week ago and it really gave me the pause I needed to get a routine going. I've resisted creating a routine for so long because I dread doing the same things over and over again. But I came to terms with it and remind myself daily that nothing will get done if I don't do the routines. Thanks to a schedule, laundry hasn't piled up, not one dish has been in the sink, and we've been getting our homeschool goals met for the past two weeks.

(kids making pizza)

The only thing that can stop this newfound freedom is really my own energy. I'm in pain. My pelvis limits me and now I have a pain in the middle of my back under my shoulder blades. I imagine my aches and pains will get more intense the bigger I get, but I'm taking it a day at time.

My mother and brother are coming on my birthday! My brother is staying the weekend, but my mother will stay with me for 3 weeks to help out. Can't wait. It's been difficult with the heart issues and pelvic pain and trying to keep up with two kids.

I will try to update more often since I have more valuable time on my hands. I finally feel caught up and on top of things. It's very satisfying!

February, the longest month

We're finally reaching the end of what feels like the longest month of the year. I swear I must have woken up on the 25th about 4 days in a row. It was like Groundhog Day.

It's been hard. Hard to find energy, hard to keep my place clean, hard to study, and hard to do things with the kids- which is really my only priority at the end of the day. There was one day this month- the 6th (because it was so rare, it's lodged into my memory)- where everything actually got done in the house. Every room was magazine perfect, both kids were on their best behavior (in other words, She-Hulk didn't throw her dirty diaper into the crock pot soaking in the sink or push a box from my closet up to the bathroom counter to get the Tums from the medicine cabinet, Spiderman didn't ask to play his video game a million times a second or ask me "is it lunch time?" every other second). Overall, we made alot of progress. And to celebrate, I took my kids to the beach. It was the only warm day that would come around for another 2 weeks. It couldn't be more perfect.

The next day, we started a homeschool Spanish class at the community center.

It was the first time Spiderman had been in a classroom setting and it was an adjustment he still hasn't really made. He has a hard time realizing he's not the only one in the classroom. Even though he knows he has to raise his hand, his hand is always up. Because he has so many burning questions, he isn't able to pay attention to what the teacher is saying. When he's not asking questions, he's talking to his neighbor. It's as if he doesn't know the teacher is talking. He has a hard time deciding what to pay attention to. That said, he seemed to enjoy it.


For Valentine's Day, he made this card, using what he learned in Spanish:

She-Hulk is a bit of a challenge during Spiderman's classes. She wants to join so bad. Here she is seen helping Ernie to see the diorama of an indian tribe burial. Ernie was shocked:

With my dwindling energy, I thought I could perk up by planning out the rest of the year better and getting some ideas for next year. Something I am doing is not working for us. I like the idea of waking up and doing school with them and having the rest of the day for other things. Problem is, I have phone calls (never ending phone calls!) and appointments, chores, homework, and classes to fit into one day. Most of the time, homeschooling makes the bottom of the list.

Another difficulty is entertaining She-Hulk while I work with Spiderman. When we go to sit down, she gets upset the attention is not on her. She'll get into the workbooks and start ripping things down from the shelves. Last week, I made our supplies portable and filled the shelves with She-Hulk's toys. That way, she can tear them down all she wants.

I try to include her whenever I can. Two weeks ago, Spiderman and I did a science experiment of making colorful rain drops.

There was tissue paper involved and She-Hulk began very interested in it. So I let her have some for her experiment. Turns out, colorful raindrop tissue paper is also very suitable as baby doll blankets:

My goals for the rest of this school year:

1. Stick with it.
2. Just do it.
3. Have fun.
4. Think of She-Hulk
5. Get outside and play

And in case anyone is curious about how messy my bathroom really is, here's a belly picture of us at 18 weeks:

19 week check-up in 2 days.
Cardiologist appointment in 3 days.
Ultrasound in 8 days.

!

15 weeks and counting

 I had my 15 week appointment two days ago and it kinda sucked. I didn't see my usual midwife. The one I saw didn't even physically measure me, and I was really looking forward to finding out if I'm growing like someone who is 15 weeks. My uterus is at my belly button, though I swear I was only 13 weeks along (14 weeks today). I just have to be! Well anyway, we'll see in 5 weeks at the ultrasound. Then either I'll come out of denial or I'll finally feel right about this pregnancy. I don't know what it is, but something is just a bit...off.



Adventures in Science: Gooey Goo

My aunt got us a really cool book of kid concoctions. We got our snow globe idea from this book and today, we cracked it open to make something more...messy.

Spiderman loves science. He has alot of questions about how things work on their most basic level. It's hard to answer all of his questions. His easiest questions have me reaching back to ninth grade earth science and, honestly, I think I skipped more than I went!

Science projects are great because he can be hands on and answer his own questions for once. :D

This project took two bottles of glue, food coloring, borax, and water. The dishes are not going to be fun to clean after this experiment, but it's fun to stir it all together. Especially fun for a little momma bear by the name of She-Hulk. Spiderman, on the other hand, whined, "Is it dissolved yet?"

The hard work pays off with this disgusting goop! "We can use this as Halloween decorations since it looks like brains!!" and by the way, mom, "Do ZOMBIES eat brains?! Is this really how a brain feels?"

I don't think the Kid Concoction book has anything on the texture of brains and how they taste, so I'll have to get back to him on that. In the meantime, you can find us playing with goo. You can find She-Hulk far away from it, refusing to come near until all hands have been scrubbed with soap and the goop is out of sight!

Good times!

Week 12 (or 10)

Last week, I had an appointment to hear the heartbeat. I'm still measuring what I believe is almost 2 weeks ahead, so they put me at 11 weeks. My midwife told me we'd be scheduling the ultrasound at my next appointment. Everything is going way too fast. I'm still halfway in denial about being pregnant in the first place, but I'll have to get over that long enough to prepare for a 3rd child.

I actually lost a pound and my midwife got on me about it. I'm "underweight" to begin with, so they really want me to stack on the pounds. I feel pleasantly plump enough, thank you. Still alot of bloating, but I don't expect it to go away. Seems more like the ab muscles just let out in anticipation, so I'm just waiting for baby to fill it. Right now I can feel my uterus about 3 fingers below my belly button.

The baby's heartbeat was up in the 160's, which tells me we're having a girl. Wes and I can't agree on boy's names, so it might work out better. Actually, we did like one: Alaric. I'm pretty sure we'll be the only ones who do though.

This week starts the first week of classes. We're back to homeschooling everyday after a long holiday break. I am taking 5 courses this semester and between my homework and the kid's homework, I am already ready for spring break! I am trying to shove as much as I can in one semester before I have 3 kids to worry about.

We've been really active lately, spending alot of time outdoors.

Spiderman began a new gymnastics course. It lasts an hour and a half and still doesn't wear him out.

I'm going to put She-Hulk in pre-ballet...the moment I find the energy.

Lastly, We finally switched pediatricians last week! We've had the same one since Spiderman was born and they've been nothing but annoying and harmful since day one when they shoved a bottle in my nipple confused newborn. More recently, prescribing us yet another antibiotic for strep when it turns out he's only got a virus. Needless to say, we needed out of there. I interviewed one that had great reviews online and She-Hulk's first appointment is next week. She's a year behind on her shots...though I'm not sure I care.

Lots of things are going on. I wish the world would stop moving so fast, but excited about what's to come. If only I can stay awake for it!

Happy 6th birthday, Spiderman!

I should have known all about him the moment he was born. A very quick labor and delivery brought in the New Year, just hours after I made myself a bowl of ice cream and settled down to watch the Twilight Zone marathon. I swore he'd never come and that was when he decided to fly out into my arms. We named him Spiderman, Celtic for 'Webbed One' as if we knew he would be colicky and refuse to nurse. As if we knew his temperament and his passion. As if we knew how bright a light he would be in our lives, changing us forever. Our fiery Spiderman, we'll eat you up we love you so!

1. Spiderman doesn't eat sauce on his pasta because he says it looks like blood: "Do you think I'm a vampire, mom? Why do you make me eat this?"

2. Spiderman has a big vocabulary for his age and uses it to express his very scientific thoughts, often making observations and stating "My hypothesis is that..."

3. Spiderman's favorite color is red, because it's the color of his favorite super hero, Spiderman.

4. Spiderman answers to Spiderman and calls his sister She-Hulk

5. Spiderman hates working on his handwriting and the alphabet, but he's working a year ahead in math.

6. Spiderman is very uncoordinated when it comes to sports, but he sure can bust a move. Boy can DANCE.

7. If Spiderman went to school, we're pretty sure he'd be the class clown. He's pretty hilarious.

8. Spiderman knows all the names of all Marvel superheroes and villains. He can also tell you how they got their powers.

9. Spiderman asks ALOT of questions, especially about social norms and psychological processes. I often wonder if he's going to be a philosopher.

10. Spiderman's favorite thing to do is play video games.

11. Spiderman can put puzzles together in record-breaking time.

12. Spiderman pronounces alot of words wrong, my favorite being something like "She-Hulk, stop being a COFFEE cat!"

13. Spiderman doesn't always like his sister and can be pretty mean. We're working on it.

14.  Spiderman loves people and talks to every stranger he sees.

15. Spiderman likes to gather toys, hats, capes, belts, and anything else he can find to create his own super hero costumes.

16. Spiderman is currently on a Phineas and Ferb kick. If I hear the theme song one more time, I might scream.

17. Spiderman decided to be a vegetarian, but declared that breakfast meats are vegetables.

18. Spiderman likes to eat butter straight.

19. Spiderman wants to make movies when he gets bigger.

20. When asked what he wanted for his birthday, he said an alien, a hamster, and Mario Cart. We decided to take him to the store and let him pick out his own gift. Something tells me we might screw it up on our own.

Happy birthday, Spiderman!