FAQ's

Instead of responding with the same answers fifty times, I thought it would be easier to write it all down. So, here goes. :)

1- When are you due?

-Our official due date is January 18, but I am just saying 'end of January,' so that when I go overdue, it might not be as depressing. (yeah right)

2- How are you feeling?

- To be blunt, I'm feeling completely miserable.

3- Is it the same as the past three pregnancies?

- Yes and No. All three pregnancies with the girls have been extremely similar: vomiting 1-6 times a day every single day from about 4-5 weeks until 5-6 months. With this baby, I have not vomited once, which is really crazy. So, in that aspect, it is very different. But, despite not vomiting, I really do not feel any better. I am practically on bed rest, because any large motion of my head makes me so dizzy and nauseous that I need to lay down. The girls have been watching lots of television and movies, and we don't get out much. Being outside and walking around doesn't make me sick, but the getting clothes and shoes for and on everyone, climbing in and out of the car to buckle people in, packing a diaper and water bottles and snacks, packing the swim bag, etc. - that is the part I cannot do. Ryan, like always, has been wonderful though. :). Before he goes to work, he gets me and the girls breakfast, gets me my meds, and makes sure people are (somewhat) content. When he gets home from work, he feeds us all dinner, puts girls to bed, and gets me whatever I need. He's even been trying to come home for lunch some days which is a lot when he works at Corporate South, about 15 minutes one way.

4- Do we want this baby to be a boy?

- Honestly, we really thought that baby number four would be a girl. Having a fourth girl would be easier, fun, and insanely adorable. :) and we know girls. But, one day we would like to have a boy. God only knows how many children we will have, but considering we are both under 30 still, I don't think it's possible to not have any more children. But, with this pregnancy being so different then the others, our doctor (and us) thinks the reason might be a different gender. What would a boy do in our crazy family of ladies? :)

5- How can I help?

- I debated even putting this question, but not putting it would just be false pride. :(. We are drowning in housework and toys, and our home looks so horrible, we could be on some bad reality show. So, in Father Caster's words we really need to "Just let Him love you," and accept any help that people are willing to offer. With that said, if anyone ever wants to take a child, that would be wonderful. Even one child gone can mean the dynamic is different for the better. :). Anytime of the day is great, even nights or weekends, because then Ryan is able to work on the cleaning and dishes and laundry that I am not able to do. Also, if people wanted to make a meal, that would be more then welcome! I would even love to pay for all the food (just tell me the total, as long as it's not a $25 meal or something ;) ), if you just got it prepped and ready to cook. We don't need sides or desserts, just main dishes. :) I have literally not done any cooking in about a month, since I've gotten sick. There has been a lot of easy meals Ryan can make or takeout.

A New Video!

You wanted a new post - so here it is! ;)

You all helped us win our Bob Evans video contest to win a trip to Disney World! What you don't know is that we won by a HUUUUUGE amount - we had three times the votes that second place did! Isn't that crazy??!!

Ryan then decided to subscribe to a site that lists all the online video contests going on - which is where he found out about the Children's Advil Contest. We debated on whether or not to do it for weeks, because Ryan's schedule at work has been crazy busy and stressful lately. We finally decided to go for it after we thought up an awesome idea, and I had a good idea on what I wanted the costumes to look like. Our first day of shooting went HORRIBLY! We spent all day with Lucy & Bridget trying to get ONE good shot, but after about 6 hours, we still had nothing. They were not happy campers at all, and we were about to give up, but had already put so much work into it. We called Ryan's mom and had her come over, and like magic, the girls preformed perfectly for her, just because that's how grandparenting works. :) Your kids don't like you, but they will do anything for Grandma or Grandpa. And Aunts and Uncles too. :) We still needed a few more shots, so the next moring we had Uncle Jacob come over, which was amazing as well. They were 'fighting' him, which is where we got most of our fighting the germs shots from the video.

Then came Ryan's biggest contribution - actually making and editing the video. He worked on it for probably 50 hours or more, literally. We really should keep track of the timing for these things. He did the awesome germs animation, and I think it turned out so awesome!

Overall, our Bob Evans video and this Children's Advil video took about 80-100 hours a piece (maybe more?). But, now is the frustrating part - waiting and waiting and waiting to see who the winner is. We already know exactly where the money is going if we win (taxes, tithing, house). We could get rid of our PMI in the next 6 months if we win this video, so we're really hoping that we do.

The voting runs from March 9 through March 20, and you can vote here: http://bit.ly/flt6bz

The voting on this contest is nice, because it's not a month long, and you don't have to enter all your information, just your email address.

Thanks for all your help!

Help us win a Disney World vacation!

Friends and fellow bloggers, we need your help!

Please vote to help our family win a Disney World vacation! We entered a funny video of our cute daughters in the Bob Evans Super Spud Sing Along contest. We're one of six finalists, and it's pretty simple now - whoever gets the most votes wins!

Our three daughters are the stars of the video. Lucy is only three years old but she learned the lyrics to the jingle and led the singing. Her little sisters Bridget and Anne joined her in performing and pretending to be immersed in a giant tub of mashed potatoes!

You can vote once per day through the whole month of December. Go to http://bit.ly/i3ZDy4 and on the left side of the screen, enter your email address and click the big red button.Unfortunately, the first time you'll have to fill out a registration form. Then click our video (Cute Sisters by Veronica Herr) and the Vote button underneath it. Thanks for your help!

PS - If you are concerned about filling out the registration form, I understand, but I read their privacy policy and it states that "Bob Evans.com does not sell, rent, or trade the information that you provide to us at this Web site." And they won't send you any email as long as you un-check the box labeled " I would like to sign up to receive exclusice monthly offers from bob Evans." Thanks!

Motivation

So...it's been over 9 months since I last posted. It would seem like I dislike blogging, but in reality I probably read more blogs then anyone else. :) I'd like to post more....but I don't. But now I have more motivation to do so because Ryan's youngest sister just left for her first year in college (with a soccer scholarship - Go Vanessa!) and my sister just left after graduating college (and becoming a nurse - Go Regina!) to do a year of volunteering with Mercy Corps down in Savannah, Georgia. She recently started a blog here, and it's making me incredibly jealous of the gorgeous southern landscape! She will be gone for 12 months and will not be able to come back AT ALL, not even for holidays, which will be pretty depressing. :( But, if we get our finances together enough, then I hope to visit her beautiful land during the dreary Illinois winter.

I'd better go though so we can watch our Dave Ramsey (just recently we've been all about Dave and it's pretty exciting!) and get a few more things ready for Lucy's first day of preschool on Tuesday! ACK! Can you believe it? I didn't think I would be as emotional about it as I have been and it didn't even start yet! :) But, maybe that's just postpartum hormones still. :)

Postpartum time after my first natural birth....geez, that's another 10 posts in the making. Someday I'd like to write my birth story about Anne's birth, but I'm still emotionally trying to sort out all that happened. :-/

Hope to see you all soon!

Here we go again!

We're pregnant!! Some people know already and some don't, so here is our 'official' announcement. :) I am 10 weeks along so far, and our EDD is May 12, just a few weeks before Bridget turns two. We're excited about the spacing - although 23 1/2 months apart may seem like close spacing to some families, when our first two were 14 months apart, this is nothing! :) Maybe...

The bad news is that I'm feeling like total garbage. I vomit at least once a day. Yesterday it was 7 times in about 20 hours. :( We had to end up going to the ER because I was becoming pretty dehydrated. Hopefully that will be the last trip for a while. We did get our first ultrasound there and as always, it was awesome! He/she was really moving their whole body for only being about an inch long. :) Some other 'good' news about our trip to the ER, was that I finally got a 'diagnosis' for being so sick. When I am pregnant, I have a condition referred to as hyperemesis-gravidarum. When Ryan or I try to explain to people (even friends or family) about how sick I get when I am pregnant, I just get a "Yeah, that will pass in a few weeks," or "Well, at least it's only in the mornings." It's extremely frustrating, because it is much worse then the stereotypical 'morning sickness.' I am nauseous from the moment I wake up until I fall asleep at night. Not to mention that so far I have vomited at any time ranging from 7am until 2am. It is far from 'only in the mornings.' Every day is a struggle to get through, and most days I am only able to get off the couch a few times, to make a quick and easy lunch for the girls and put them down for naps. I rarely see my friends anymore because I don't have the energy to get myself and two toddlers dressed, out the door, and onto an activity.

Anyways, I hope it doesn't seem like I am complaining (too much!), but I am just venting, because it's frustrating when people don't understand how you are feeling. I am very excited for this baby, and can't wait to meet him/her!

Thanks for listening to my long vent! :)

Random Updates

I'm bad at blogging. I know. I'm so much better at reading other people's blogs and checking their updates. :) Also, until we get our new computer in the fall, it's a challenge on my little acer to upload pictures, which makes for boring words only blog posts. So, I thought it a good time to do a few quick updates.

-My internship is DONE! All my papers and projects are not, but I'm not thinking about those until next week. ;) But, at least I am finally home again with my babies! I have one two-hour course this fall semester and then I graduate in December! It seems so crazy that I will not have school anymore, because I hate being away from the girls, but I love my major and classes and am much more thankful for the education then I was when I began college many moons ago. :) Ryan will be planning a large party for me I hope. ;)

-Bridget turned one on June 3, and is even more adorable and amazing then she was then. She is talking a lot more and is basically a walker. She walks almost everywhere except after an occasional fall will start crawling again.

-Lucy is crazy and sassy. Every day she talks more and more, and I'm amazed at how much she learns and how fast she learns it! I think we're going to start with potty training next week, since I'm home now again.

-So far, this had been my favorite stage of parenting, because now that Bridget is a toddler as well, the girls play a lot more together. They love being rough with each other and wrestling with hugs and kisses. They seem to enjoy having each other a lot more now, despite the daily pushes and hitting. :) Besides giving birth, this is my favorite thing about being a parent - seeing how much my children love each other and enjoy the family God has given to us. I can't wait to add more babies to this joy!

-Ryan has found a new love - grilling! We got a new awesome grill for Bridget's birthday party, and although that day of grilling wasn't so great, since then Ryan has been grilling lunch or dinner for us multiple times a week and is AWESOME! Food fresh from the grill is one of my favorite meals and having a cute hubby who enjoys making up new recipes for it is a dream come true. :)

-We had our three year anniversary this week. Three years. Wow, has it gone fast. I am so blessed and I need to remind myself of that more. I can't say much else besides that. :)

That's it for now. Hope to see all you Newman Alum at our party (look on facebook) and everyone else I want to see at the Sprinkler Park or something soon. :)

I love Danielle Bean!

"Sarah Palin's Pro-Life Hesitation"

This article by Danielle Bean is awesome! I understand where Sarah Palin's 'hesitation' for a moment comes from. We all have that thought of 'Was getting pregnant a good decision for our family?,' or "Will I be able to handle everything physically and emotionally that a new child brings?' I had these thoughts especially when we were pregnant with Bridget and we realized how closely spaced our children would be. But, just because Sarah Palin or I had 1 second thoughts about wishing something didn't happen or that we could rewind time, doesn't ever mean we would actually have an abortion.

But, actually,what I like best about this article is how it made me realize that even though we consider ourselves to be very pro-life, we need to be doing more...MUCH MORE. We need to have a completely different mindset in offering anything and everything we can to pregnant women or new/young/struggling mothers and fathers. I hope to strive to learn and get involved in more through my internship this summer, which is through Healthy Start, a program through The Children's Foundation in Bloomington, who mostly do home visits to pregnant or new mothers with young children.

My favorite line Danielle says is "In the evil of abortion, we should hear God’s call for us to meet women’s needs with such with such crazy, over-the-top magnanimity that the temptation to abort becomes no temptation at all." Awesome!