34 Weeks

Black is so slimming :)

Speech Therapy

Streed started Speech Therapy today on Southeastern's campus. They have a program through the Speech & Language Dept. where students, under the direct supervision of a professor, work clinics and gain experience. It is a great program and a lot cheaper than a liscenced clinician. I was nervous about how Streed would do. We know several girls in the program but not his clinician. She said she was taking him to a room upstairs with a window for me to observe and some toys. She asked if Streed was ready to go. He didn't even look back. He just took off running, heading for the stairs. This was comforting to me. This picture was taken as we were heading out of the house. He had his back pack and was ready for school.

Finished Backsplash

I would say finished kitchen but...I am still missing some cabinet doors, we have no base boards (anywhere in the house), transition strips between the tile and laminate are MIA as well. But, the tile is grouted and looks great.

Peanut Butter Bread

A new favorite among the kiddos is bread with peanut butter. I love it too because it is EASY! Messy but easy.

Togetherness

Streed and Ella are really enjoying each other lately. They are playing well for the most part. Ella has to be everywhere Streed is. Thankfully he doesn't seem to mind.

The Nate Update

Loving the Baby

Tonight as I sat on the couch the kids started pulling up my shirt and playing with my belly. Ella likes to hit it. Streed likes to put his face close and say "Hey Nathan". The other night he was doing it and Nathan kept moving everytime Streed talked. It was cute.

My little sissy

I know I am biased but I think Ella is so cute. Today she was finally able to wear a dress I had bought her ages ago. I pulled all her hair up in pig tails so her face was on display. Here she is before church today.

More pictures

I could only upload a few so here are some more. The cabinets are mostly up (not the pantry though) and the backsplash just has to be grouted. It is becoming my favorite room. Partly because it is the only one we are working on. But, mainly because it is really pretty.

Our Kitchen--A Work in Progress

We have been working for weeks on our kitchen. I am not real sure what is taking so long. Maybe moving, kids, the holidays, conference, the weather, work etc. I hated the kitchen when we first looked at this house. The laminate cabinets were dark brown and the linoleum floor was 1970's various shades of green. With the money the seller gave us for updates, along with a gift card and the handy dandy Lowe's card, we are well on our way to a pretty kitchen. A friend of mine said the other day she wanted to see before and after pictures. I told her the problem was there were no after pictures. I have before's and in-betweens. So, without further ado...

No Excuse

Test results were negative for Gestational Diabetes. Baby is just big. I have an ultrasound on Jan 24th.

Full House

It is 9:22 pm. We were about to start a movie and rest from a tiring day. But, as Chip was starting the dvd player we saw lights out front. We now have 3 guys sitting at our kitchen table with Chip. This afternoon I had girls over from 1 to 6. It hasn't gotten old yet. This is what we wanted and why we have moved 4x in 6 years in Hammond. We are right next door to 4 girls involved with the ministry and are right at 1/2 mile from campus. All of the students love our kids and the feelings are mutual. They really help me as I am cooking dinner, folding clothes etc. It is great for me because I want to be around the students but find it hard to go places where students are with the kids. So, they now find it easy to come to me. Here is a picture of our new neighboor & friend, Clara, watching the rain with Ella.

From Clash to Class

We decided to play it safe and go with a taupe for the kitchen. The walls are finished and Chip is working hard on the cabinets. It looks really good and we are quite pleased. It is such a transition from the green that it looks almost like a non-color. I don't know if that makes sense but to us it does. I will post before and afters once we finish it. Chip is ready to finish so it should be soon.

How Big is Nathan???

SO BIG!!! I saw a new midwife today. She didn't know me at all or my history. So, she was saying that the other midwives wanted to have me do an ultrasound at 37 weeks to guesstimate Nathan's weight. As she was measuring my stomach, she was saying "Hmmm"..."Humm". She then said, "You are measuring a little big for 33 weeks." "You are measuring almost 36 cm." I then said, "I am not 33 weeks, I am 31 1/2 weeks." To this she quickly decided to schedule an ultrasound for my next visit which is Jan 24. We were already planning to induce or schedule a c-section for 38 weeks which is the end of Feb. This doesn't mean we would do anything any earlier. Just because he is measuring big doesn't mean he is any more developed than a 31 week old baby.

FYI: I measured 36 cm at 32 weeks with Ella.

Also, they did blood work to test for gestational diabetes. My 1 hour test a few weeks ago came back slightly high, but not over the limit. But, seeing that at 29 weeks I was measuring 30 cm and today at 31 I am measuring 36, they figure something is going on. I don't know too much about it other than they would put me on a special diet for the rest of the pregnancy. I have gained less with this pregnancy than the other two and I eat very little sweets. So, we shall see. I may get the results tomorrow.

I am straight out front. Most people say I look like I am carrying a basketball. I am carrying low and so big that most of my shirts are too short.

In need of David Bromstad from HGTV

The kitchen has been the biggest headache. My dad and Chip worked for days replacing countertops and cabinets before we moved in. Chip and some guys tiled the floor which looks AWESOME. It is honestly my favorite part of the house. But, now we are trying to paint the darn thing. Last night Chip trimmed out the kitchen in a "pale" gold. It was supposedly several shades lighter than the den. However, it did not turn out that way. So, today we went with our second choice--a "pale" apple. The word PALE is beginning to be a four letter word around here. We are being lied to by Laura Ashley. Chip was determined to paint the entire kitchen, figuring at some point the paint color had to get better. After he made several comments like, 1. Once we get some pictures on the wall, 2. Once we get the cabinet doors on, 3. Once we get new light fixtures...I decided it just was not going to work. Neither of us are happy with it. The problem is, we are having to work around some "loud" pieces of furniture--my table and chairs and my china cabinet. Both are painted and are so cute. They are just not working as well here as they did in the rental with white walls. I have no energy to post pictures at this time. My memory card has 6mts worth of pics on it so in order to get to one picture it would take lots of time. I will however post before and afters so that you too can experience the GREEN that is overtaking me at this moment. I need something soothing. Tonight Ella was going crazy in her high chair. Between her and my lime green walls I was about to lose it. Suggestions are welcome!

Feng Shui?

According to Wikipedia...In ancient times as well as today, Feng Shui, (風水) pronounced in English as [fʊŋ'ʃweɪ] ("fung shway"), was known as "Kan-Yu" which means 'The Law of Heaven and Earth.’ [1] Today's Feng Shui schools teach that it is the ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement of space to achieve harmony with the environment.

I think not. Around my house these days it is more like "Feng In your way"!

As an update--We bought the house on Dec 10. Chip worked long days at the new house while I manned the fort at the rental, while trying to pack. We left for Christmas on the 22nd. Returned to Hammond on the 26th. Moved the last boxes into the house at midnight on the 29th and left for Conference in Atlanta at 7am on the 30th. Needless to say the house was left in disarray and we returned to it like this at 10pm on Jan 3. So, with the help of some friends who have babysat and helped me organize, we are settling in.