What a Year!!!

This has been a crazy, hectic, sometimes happy, sometimes sad, almost always stressful year for our family.

Here are some highlights...
We celebrated Kevin's first year as pastor of Mendenhall Church of God in January.
At the end of February, I finally finished my master's degree (it only took a little over 4 years).
I went into early labor with Allie Grace...they stopped it, but a few days later (Feb. 28), I went into labor again. They did everything they could to stop it, but Allie Grace arrived at 10:26 am on March 1.
We adjusted to life as a family of four.
Mattie Leigh was potty-trained by 2 1/2 and we only have the occasional accident.
Kevin started his 5th year of teaching (3rd year at SCA) and had a crazy schedule and way too much on his plate there.
Kevin turned 27 in August. Mattie Leigh turned 3 and I turned 27 in October.
Kevin started having to deal with a bunch of junk from people at school and we had a few tough weeks at church before Thanksgiving.
My computer crashed (consequently, I don't have the pictures from everything to post...I'm too lazy to find them all on Facebook). I got a new computer a few weeks later.
We all had a really bad stomach virus...that we gave to my nieces when they came to visit.
Kevin was told he no longer had a job at the school because they were 'making some changes'...now he's on the job hunt.
Kevin's cousin found out she was pregnant...at 20 weeks, she found out that baby Eli had a heart condition called Transposition of the Greater Arteries and 2 holes in his heart and that she would have to deliver at UMC and that he'd have to have surgery soon after he was born. She was scheduled to be induced on January 6, 2011, but her water broke this morning. Eli was born this afternoon and weighed 6 pounds 8 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches. His color looks great and he is breathing on his own, which is a huge blessing with the condition he has.

I'm probably leaving some things out, but my brain is really tired right now. I'm looking forward to 2011 and hoping that things aren't as hectic for our little family.

so many things

There has been a lot going on in our family lately...from viruses to things that I can't really talk about right now. All I can say is that we're in a transition time and that we're both nervous and excited about the changes.

Some things I can talk about...
Allie Grace is super mobile now. She army crawls everywhere she wants to go. I've caught her in the bathroom, under the Christmas tree, behind the TV, and she's crawled behind me to the kitchen. I'm glad she's finally started moving, but I get so tired chasing after her.

We have all had a terrible stomach virus this week. A kid went to school to take exams sick and Kevin brought it home. He was soooo sick Tuesday night. I thought the girls and I were in the clear because none of us had gotten it before bedtime Wednesday. Poor Allie Grace got super sick with it midmorning on Thursday and Mattie Leigh got sick not long after. I still thought I was in the clear because I still felt fine. However, I got sick before bed...

Mattie Leigh has been such a big girl in so many ways lately. She wanted to send Christmas cards, so I quickly drew a simple design for her to color. It turned out so cute...I like homemade cards best anyway. On top of that, she keeps telling me that she wants to give some of her toys away to kids that don't have any. I plan on helping her go through them this week and doing just that.

As for the rest of the stuff, please be praying that things work out like they are supposed to. It's nothing bad...just change and I'm not a huge fan of unexpected change.

stressed out

The last couple of weeks have been tough ones for our family.  Here's a brief synopsis: we start renovating the sanctuary at church and it isn't being done on the schedule Kevin thought it would be.  Mattie Leigh starts running a fever that is higher than 102 (for the first time ever) out of nowhere and I spend hours with her in the after hours clinic waiting to be seen...turns out she had a bad sinus infection that hit hard and fast.  Allie Grace is teething and fighting with allergies and has not been sleeping well AT ALL.  My computer also died this week...which if kind of funny because I had just told Kevin that I thought I needed a new one as soon as we could get it because several things had stopped working on mine.  Those things on their own aren't even that bad...very manageable. But then out of the blue, Kevin has some pretty big unpleasant events happen with both of his jobs.  I can't go into details, but we'd appreciate prayer for both situations.

 It almost feels like someone is praying for patience for us!  However, I know this is just a growing and learning season for us.  If nothing else comes out of it, I've learned how to operate on very little sleep! Well, I've learned more than that, and I'm sure Kevin has too.  I've learned how to rely more on those around me when crises (big or small) come up.  I've learned how to better control my temper and to keep my mouth shut when what I want to say will not be beneficial, even if it needs to be said.  I'm pretty sure my amazing hubby has learned how to better exercise his authority in both of his jobs and how to speak his mind in a way that isn't destructive to others.

Our whole family is looking forward to some down time next week to celebrate Thanksgiving and to get to spend time together as a family and with our families.  We need the rest!

This Is the Day

Kevin and I noticed the other day that I was humming the song, "This Is the Day (that the Lord has made)" to Allie Grace to help calm her down and get her to sleep. I started doing it a while back without realizing what I was humming...I just knew that it helped calm her down. Since then I've been thinking about the song and how I usually felt when she was really fussy. It turns out that it has a calming effect on me too. I'm still not sure how my humming changed from my version of "Rock-a-by" that I sing to the girls, but I'm so glad that it did. I'm reminded every time I hum it now that each day is God's creation and that, while things may be a little hectic and I may have a million things to do and a baby that wants to be held, He knows what is in each day and is there to help me through them.

A Monkey Kind of Day

I'm really late with this post because I always forget to upload pictures from my camera or phone to the computer.

We had Mattie Leigh's 3rd birthday on October 2. She asked months ago if she could have a Curious George party. This was the first year that she really knew what all was going on and she was super excited. I think she asked me 5 times before 9:30 that morning if it was her party day and who all was coming to see her. The kid is super blessed and got lots of great gifts from lots of great family and friends.

Here are a few pictures to document the day.

who knew?

Who knew I'd be dealing with teenager attitude from a toddler? "I'm mad at you!" "I don't like you anymore." "You're mean!" "You're not my friend." I hear these comments and many like them from Mattie Leigh at least once a day lately. I knew I'd be dealing with the terrible twos during the toddler years, but I had no clue that I'd hear comments like these from a not quite 3 year old.

I'm hoping that she's just getting the attitude out of the way early and that she'll be sweet as a teenager...if the attitude only gets worse, she may not come out of her room until she's 20.

readjusting to the 'real' world and life with a 2 3/4 year old and a 5 month old

This week marks back to school time for Kevin. It's going to be a hard (and interesting) transition. We've all gotten so used to him being home for the summer and the girls really don't want him leaving in the mornings. So far, he's only been gone part of the day for meetings, but next week, he'll be back full-time. I have to come up with fun (not to mention free or really inexpensive) activities to keep the girls entertained until they get readjusted.

Mattie Leigh has become quite a funny kid. I really need to start writing down the things that she says. For instance, she was in her room getting ready for a nap the other day and told Kevin that she wanted to sell her toys in the upcoming church garage sale. I asked her about it later and she basically admitted that she wanted to get rid of all her old ones just so she could get new ones. She's started telling us, "I love you so much!" lately and also frequently says, "I need ________ so much." Somehow, 'so much' is supposed to make it a necessity and not just a want.

Today, she asked to go to Bop's to get ice cream. We decided to eat it in the car and not torture ourselves in the miserable heat. I looked back to check on the girls and saw Mattie Leigh giving Allie Grace a bite of her chocolate custard. I really hoped that Allie Grace hadn't gotten any, but when I got her out of the car, I noticed that she had a chocolate mustache.

I realized that I never mentioned that she has had me planning her birthday party for almost 2 months. Her birthday is in OCTOBER! I don't know if she thinks I'm going to forget or if I have an excessive planner on my hands.

She's also become very interested in school. She really wanted to go this year, but we really didn't want her having to go to K3 for 2 years. Since her birthday is after the September 1 deadline, she really isn't supposed to start until she is almost 4. She was very disappointed. I'm thinking about trying to come up with little school activities that will help her see what school will be like. I'd also like her to get to visit the classroom occasionally so that she can see what is expected out of students.

Allie Grace has hit some sort of amazing growth spurt. In the last 3 weeks, it seems like she went from wearing mostly 0-3 month clothes to wearing some 6-9 month sizes. I even put her in a 12 month outfit the other day...the length on it was great, but the waist was a little big. Part of this astonishing growth may have come from the fact that she is really enjoying her baby food now. I'm starting to add more...she gets rice cereal in every bottle because of the reflux so I only give her oatmeal every few days but she gets at least half a container of a fruit and half a container of a veggie every day. I'm trying to be better about letting her have at least 2 meals...our daily schedule is so varied that it's sometimes a struggle to try to fit it in, but my plan is to start giving her breakfast after she gets up and a meal in the middle of the day. We can throw in a third meal as needed now and then add in a before bed feeding when the time comes. (I'm not too worried about it right now because it isn't exactly necessary for her to be eating as much baby food as she is right now anyway...she's just a little piggy and loves her food.)

Our little weed has also developed her own little personality more and more lately. She knows what she wants and has figured out a number of ways of expressing it. She is still generally happy all the time (her fussy spells come when she is overly tired, very hungry, or is having trouble with reflux) and is interested in everything. Her hands, eyes, and mouth are constantly exploring her surroundings. She reaches for who and what she wants and gets upset if she doesn't get her way. She's also a little cuddle bug and I love getting to snuggle with her.

Hopefully, I'll start posting a little more regularly. I'm trying to get us back into a routine again and maybe that'll help. If nothing else, it should give me plenty of things to post about.

future artist?

I was painting a canvas last night to put in the girls' room. Mattie Leigh asked to paint too. After we were both done, I realized how much my painting hers was. Here are pictures.

She spent a lot of time thinking about where to put each brush stroke and looked at it for a while before she said, "I'm finished!"

I did it!

So, as I typed the title for this post, the song that Dora and Boots sing at the end of every episode popped into my head...and I laughed out loud about it.

This is just a quick post to let everyone know that I now have my diploma...proof that hard work and determination, along with lots of tears and prayer, really does pay off in the end.

The diploma is HUGE! I told Kevin that it is about twice the size as our diplomas from MC...and those are about twice the size as my high school diploma. So, my question is, if I ever decide to get my doctorate, will that diploma be even bigger?

5 years ago...

Today is the 5 year anniversary of my brother, Patrick's, death. It is still surreal. There are still days that I want to pick up the phone and call him to share a funny story. That has been happening a lot lately because Mattie Leigh does so many things like he used to. It still hurts, and grief still sneaks up on me suddenly at times. However, I have joy in knowing that I'll one day see him again.

FINALLY! A BIG GIRL!!! :)

I've written before about our potty-training battle with Mattie Leigh. I knew she knew how to tell when she needed to go and that she was using her pull-ups for the convenience of it. It was easier to just hide or squat and go in a pull-up than it was to get undressed to go to the potty. I had enough of that this weekend! I told her she was going to start wearing her panties (except at night because we still have some nighttime wetting) and going to the potty every time. We were really busy Monday so we decided to wait until Tuesday to start. After I put her first pair on Tuesday, she hid behind the recliner and peed in them. She HATED the feeling of it and wanted them off immediately. (By the way, I learned that Mattie Leigh has a spiteful side and will do things just to prove she can.) She didn't have any accidents the rest of the day. She went all day Wednesday and did great! She had an accident at church Wednesday night but only because she couldn't make it in time after she realized she needed to go. She didn't have any accidents yesterday and is doing great today! So, it appears that I finally have a big girl! She loves telling everyone that she is a big girl and that she wears panties now.

one of those days

Today has been one of those days that I feel absolutely useless for anything other than a soft spot for the girls. I have gotten absolutely nothing done today other than attending to two very needy girls. I had a feeling last night that this might happen, but it still frustrates me. I knew Mattie Leigh would be more needy than usual because she has a couple boo-boos from where she fell last night trying to ride her trike down the back steps. Don't ask me what possessed her to do that other than the fact that she wanted to ride her bike in the yard and thought she had to ride it down the steps to get to do that. I'm so thankful that her only injuries are scrapes on her left hand...it could've been so much worse. Poor Allie Grace is just having some tummy issues I think, but she wants to be held and screams if I lay her down or sit her in her bouncer or swing. So, we've been piled up in the recliner since we got up this morning and it doesn't look like that is going to change any time soon.

in the blink of an eye

Today has been one of those days that makes you realize how precious life is. We started out this morning keeping a really careful eye on the weather because the National Weather Service was predicting really severe weather and possible tornadoes. (By midmorning, a huge tornado did touch down in Yazoo City and did considerable damage and several people lost their lives.) As bad as this may sound, that was somewhat expected...I mean, you always hope that the weather calms down and doesn't get as bad as predicted, but you KNOW that the possibility/probability for severe weather is there when the forecast calls for it.

What wasn't expected was the news that one of Kevin's friend's wife had been killed in a car accident on their property. Kevin got the phone call while we were at my grandmother's for a family reunion. I didn't even know the lady, but the news broke my heart and I can't stop thinking about/praying for the family. She and her husband have a 17 year old son that has special needs that needs round the clock care. They have taken turns caring for him and doing things they need to do (like working and grocery shopping). Please pray for the Roberts' family...they're going to need the strength that only our Comforter can give in the coming weeks.

That news also made me think back to a night almost 5 years ago when I found out that my brother died in a freak 4-wheeler accident. I had been home from my junior year at MC for about a week. Earlier that night, I had gone to a friend's graduation party. I had been home for just a little while and was in a deep sleep when I heard loud knocking at the door. It was about 1:30 and no one knocks on my parents' door at that time of night unless it is an emergency. I waited to see if my mom or dad got up to answer the door, but after another knock, I decided to get up and see what was going on. My uncle and his girlfriend were at the door and he was asking for my mom. I went to my parents' bedroom, but neither of them were there. I was in a fog from being awakened so suddenly and didn't realize that her van wasn't where it was when I got home less that 2 hours before. My uncle didn't tell me at first what had happened...he told me my grandmother was sick and that she needed me to come sit with her until he could find my mom. I went to get dressed and when I came back, he told me the truth. My brother had been killed suddenly after he flipped off his 4-wheeler and it landed on his back. Needless to say, I was in complete shock...the news didn't really sink in until midmorning the next day when people started arriving at the house. I'll never forget that I went from celebrating a happy occasion with friends and in just a few short hours was mourning the loss of my big brother. Even at almost 5 years later, his not being here is strange. When I'm home, I expect him to walk through the door and do something to aggravate me. I still miss him a lot...especially when I see how Mattie Leigh does stuff like he did when we were kids. His death is one of the big reasons that I decided to get a counseling degree.

where to start?

If you've seen my facebook statuses lately, you know that we've had issues with Allie Grace's tummy. Kevin and I knew that she'd probably inherit our stomach issues...I was just hoping that it wouldn't start this early. I had already switched her to a formula specifically for gassy and fussy babies because of issues we were having with that. Then, I noticed that she seemed to be gagging a lot...not necessarily spitting up, but trying to swallow what was trying to come up. I called our doctor a few different times trying to get them to put her on medicine, but they didn't. Finally, I got really frustrated and just asked for an appointment. I knew it was reflux because we had so much trouble with Mattie Leigh when she had it. I was pleased that the doctor remembered that and just immediately put her on Zantac when we had the appointment. That has helped a lot...but we've had screaming spells from around 4 PM to 4 AM the last few days. We haven't had that so far today, so I am hoping she is over it.

If you've seen my statuses lately, you've also seen that we've had some funny Mattie Leigh moments. I have known for a while that she is verbal and has a great vocabulary, but she amazed me when I took her to the doctor for a throat infection. She told me she was "fwustwated" because the doctor looked in her throat. (I was proud...she's learning those feeling words early...like a therapist's child should.) She told Kevin recently that she thought he was a "good pweacher." We had a picnic in the backyard the other day and it was a little windy. She was talking to herself and said, "the wind is blowing my food. What am I gonna do with that wind?" My only issue with her is that she's become very stubborn with potty-training.

To borrow her word, I'm frustrated with RTS. I thought I was finished paying for everything when I finished my hours...only to find out about $200 graduation fee I HAVE to pay, even though I am not walking. I also found out that I have to pay almost $500 in tuition and fees for the winter term...I honestly thought I had paid for it, but was told I hadn't. I hate that we have to pay that much when we're trying to pay off bills and save money...along with having enough month to month.

I am also frustrated with my attitude...I find myself losing my temper easily and I HATE that. I know a lot of it is because I am so tired, but that's no excuse. I am trying to work on that before it gets any worse.

a crazy week!

This week started with me calling to see if the lady who was supposed to be doing our taxes was in...when I found out that she wasn't, I told them I was coming to pick up our tax info so that we could get someone else to do them. I did that and then went to Peppy & Posh in Clinton to get waffle headbands and bows for the girls. I will definitely be going back there...they have lots of cute stuff. The rest of the week was spent with me trying to get in to get my eyes checked so I could get new glasses and contacts...I finally got that done on Thursday and was told by the optometrist that I NEEDED new glasses.

For some reason, Mattie Leigh has decided that she no longer needs to take naps...she has skipped them all week (and has been super cranky in the evenings as a result). I've tried to get her to sleep, but she refuses. She's also been pretty spotty on using the potty. I think it has become a game to go in her pull-up, but I haven't been able to figure out anything new to encourage her to go. I know part of her choosing to go in her pull-up is that she's a little jealous of Allie Grace and has reverted back to some baby things.

I can definitely tell that Allie Grace is growing. She is trying to hold her head up and refuses to lay on her back. I'm not sure how she's already able to do this, but she rolls onto her side to sleep. Our big issue with her this week has been her stomach. She has been extremely fussy and gassy...I changed her to Enfamil's Gentlease formula, but she is still having trouble. I'd given her a lot of Mylicon drops to help with that before we switched formula and she ended up constipated with those...after a few days and a couple suppositories, I think we've taken care of that. I'm hoping we're nearing the end of this issue and that we get our easy and always happy baby back.

whew! this has been easier than i thought...

Our transition to being a family of four has been easier than I thought it was going to be. I'm hoping that all the time we spent trying to prepare Mattie Leigh for Allie Grace's presence has really paid off and that we aren't going to have any problems in the next days/weeks. I'm really proud of our big girl for how she has adjusted to the changes. She really loves her baby sister and tries to help us with her as much as we'll let her. There have only been brief moments of jealousy, and the majority of those have been when we had company and they paid more attention to Allie Grace than to Mattie Leigh (which is totally new for her since she is such an attention hog). We have had a couple small instances where my focus had been mostly on Allie Grace and Mattie Leigh acted like she was going to hit her...she told me she was upset with me and that's why she tried to do it.

My routine hasn't changed all that much either. Allie Grace is a super content baby and adapts well to whatever we need to be doing. She rarely ever cries...usually when I'm changing her or giving her a bath. She also does really well at night and lets us sleep for good stretches of time...she would rather eat more during the day and sleep more at night (which is WONDERFUL because Mattie Leigh seemed to be up a lot at night until after her 2nd birthday).

I'm going to write a post sometime soon and highlight some of the similarities and differences between Mattie Leigh and Allie Grace during their first weeks. For now, I'll just post pictures of each of them during their first days...I thought I had one of Allie Grace in a similar pose to Mattie Leigh but realized that it is one of the ones that the hospital took and I haven't ordered it yet. Mattie Leigh is the one with her eyes open.

pictures

Here are a few of the pictures we have taken of Allie Grace in the last few days. My favorites are of Mattie Leigh holding her. Look on Facebook for other ones that aren't on here. Also, if you want to see the ones we had done at the hospital, go to www.newlifeportraits.net, search for my name and 3/3/2010 and the password to view them is 5968.

She's here!

On Wednesday of last week, I had started having contractions and didn't know it. I spent the night in the hospital so that they could monitor me and give me medicine to stop the contractions. We thought all was well and that I would be fine. However, Sunday afternoon I started having contractions again and they became really regular. I went back to the hospital and was given three more shots of the medicine to stop contractions, but it didn't work. Allie Grace decided that she wanted to be our early bird and was born almost 4 weeks early. She weighed in at 7 pounds 6 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. I would have had a baby elephant if she'd waited until her due date to make her arrival! We're home and trying to adjust to being a family of 4.

what a relief!

Here's the post that I promised to write when I announced that I was FINALLY finished with school. I started graduate school at RTS in August 2006...right after getting my BS in Psychology from MC. Kevin and I had only been married a few weeks when I started the Marriage and Family Therapy program. The first semester was really hard and I thought about quitting before the semester was over. I was incredibly stressed out and felt like I was taking some of that stress out on Kevin (which wasn't fair). We talked about it a lot and I definitely felt like I was supposed to get the degree, so I decided to stick with it.

In February of the next semester, we found out I was pregnant with Mattie Leigh...something we weren't expecting but were thrilled about at the same time. Again, there was a thought of quitting school but we decided that I needed to follow through with what I thought I was supposed to be doing. Mattie Leigh was born October 5, 2007...I took a full class load (minus a seminar class) that semester but only saw clients through mid-September and didn't start seeing them again until January. That decision set me back a good bit in the clinic. Added to that was the decision to not have a full client load after I started back in the clinic so that I could be there to keep Mattie Leigh on a fairly consistent routine. I knew that would mean at least one extra semester if not two before I was able to get my client hours.

I didn't realize that I would have even more trouble than that getting my client hours...I had a lot of inconsistent clients and clients that just wouldn't come. Added to that, there weren't a whole lot of clients that were able to come at the times that I was able to be in the clinic. Because of that, the extra semester or two turned into almost two full extra years of just trying to get client hours.

During those two years, I hated having to leave Mattie Leigh, especially when she was having really hard times with separation anxiety. There were times that she cried until she made herself sick because she wanted me and only me. It was so hard to not cancel everything I was supposed to be doing and just sit and hold her.

When I found out I was pregnant with Allie Grace, I talked to my professors to see what could be done to get me finished with my hours as soon as possible. We thought I'd be able to finish in just a few months. That few months turned into 8 months. I'm so thankful that they allowed me some special privileges in finishing so that I would be able to finish before Allie Grace is born.

Needless to say, I've had lots of highs and lows while trying to get my master's degree. I am so very glad to be done. Now I'll be able to focus on being a mom for a while before I try to get licensed and start working.

yummy pancakes

Last time we went to my parents' house, my mom made fabulous homemade pancakes. Mattie Leigh liked them so much that she cleaned her plate (a rare thing for her), so I asked my mom for the recipe. She didn't have one...she just added self-rising flour, milk, vanilla, eggs, sugar, and oil until "it looked right." I decided that I was going to work with the ingredients until I got a recipe. I tried a couple different times before today and they weren't quite right. I decided this morning that I had to have pancakes and was going to get the recipe right. I did and thought I'd share it with all of you.

2 1/4 cups self-rising flour

1 1/2 cups milk

2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1-2 teaspoons vanilla

1 egg

Preheat an electric skillet to 350 and just before you're ready to pour the batter, let butter melt onto the skillet. At this point, the recipe works just like any other pancake recipe. You can add any fruit or other favorite ingredient into the batter.

cleaning frenzy

I'm not completely sure where the sudden energy has come from, but I've had tons of it since I finished my client hours on Monday. I didn't get to do much around the house Tuesday because I had a doctor's appointment and then ran our tax stuff by so they could start working on it before our appointment next Tuesday. Yesterday, I got all our clothes washed and dried, dishes done, all of Mattie Leigh's toys picked up and the floor swept before I got tired and decided to call it quits for the day. Today, I managed to fold the mountain of clothes in our office/spare bedroom that had been accumulating for months. I also got them put away (finally). Then, I cleaned off the table (it gets piled with stuff when I don't have a lot of time to organize and put away). I rested a while, cooked supper, played with Mattie Leigh, and then cleaned out and organized cabinets in the bathroom and cleaned as much as I could in there. My plans for tomorrow (and the next couple of weeks) include getting the dishes done and organizing cabinets in the kitchen, sorting through the rest of Mattie Leigh's clothes that are too small and getting them put away (and taking the unwanted/unneeded ones to goodwill), and organizing things better in our bedroom. I need to go through Mattie Leigh's toys and get rid of some of them too because she has WAY too many. After that, I may tackle the closet in our office that has been being used as a place to store stuff we don't know what to do with. I'm not sure if it's nesting or if I am just relieved to not have to go to school anymore...either way, I'm getting tons done. It feels REALLY good to finally be making headway on things that have been driving me nuts at home for months.

FINALLY!

I finally finished with my client hours for school yesterday. As soon as a missing grade gets posted and the MFT department finalizes everything with the registrar, I'll hopefully be getting a diploma in the mail. I'll try to post more later on how much this means to me...right now, I'm really tired and am going to bed.

really?!?!

I just spent several hours going over our checking account transactions for the last year. The balance I had was way different than the banks and I was trying to find the discrepancy. After going through each deposit/debit for the year, I learned that I wasn't doing a great job of balancing in the first place...I sometimes forget to deduct items that come out automatically and don't always double-check to make sure I have every receipt from Kevin. I also learned that I apparently have horrible simple math skills and made addition/subtraction errors. All this to say, I'm going to be watching our money like a hawk from now on and will be double-checking my math. Hopefully, we won't ever have this problem again.

so much to do...

I've started feeling overwhelmed with how much I have to get done in the next 6-8 weeks before Allie Grace is born. My house is a wreck! I have a lot of stuff that I need to get organized, straightened, or put away. My problem is that I don't have the extra energy to do it. Lately, it's all I can do to get meals fixed, do dishes, get laundry washed and dried (folded and put away haven't happened in ages), and give Mattie Leigh the attention that she needs. I really want to get the pile of laundry folded and put away, get the girls' bedroom rearranged, rearrange our bedroom so it feels less crowded, and get our living room de-cluttered. I think I'm either going to have to get someone to come in and do what I want done or leave Mattie Leigh with Kevin's grandmother for a few hours a day so I can actually get more done at home.

That's just stuff around the house that I want to 'fix'. I really want to have some special one on one time with both Kevin and Mattie Leigh before our family of three is a family of four.

Oh...this is a link to the diaper bag that I would LOVE to have for the girls. It looks like it has so much space. https://www.runawayrabbit.com/p-23-the-pretty-bag.aspx My only hold-up on getting it for myself already is that it's $45 total (with shipping or if you buy it in store). I know that isn't a whole lot of money, especially for a good diaper bag, but I still find it hard to spend that much on just a bag. I NEED a bag that will fit sippy cups, a change of clothes for Mattie Leigh, and a couple of pullups AND fit everything we'll need for Allie Grace.

what to do?

I've been contemplating this for a while and I still have no idea how things will go. I know Mattie Leigh isn't going to be able to be at the hospital with me at least through delivery and the first couple hours after. I'd prefer her just come for a little while for visits because she'd be way out of her element in a hospital room. However, I also know my child and know that she doesn't do well away from me for long periods of time. Like, we're talking, she's only spent one night away from me since we came home from the hospital. It's not that I haven't tried to have her spend the night with family...she flips out and gets so worked up that it is better for everyone for her to just come back home with me. I've been talking to her for a few weeks about me having to go to the hospital to have Allie Grace and that she'll have to stay with someone else. She seems to get what I'm saying, but understanding it and being okay with doing it are going to be two different things. For all the two time moms out there, what are your suggestions on helping her be okay when we drop her off?

in need of motivation...or a maid :)

I've been doing what I can lately in an attempt to get the house cleaned and better organized. This has been a difficult task with a 2 year old that goes behind me as I pick up after her and scatters her things back all over the floor. So I've also been trying to teach Mattie Leigh how to put her things away...she'd still rather keep them strewn around the house. I have made progress in keeping things cleaner in the kitchen...anyone that knows me well knows that I despise doing dishes. There have been times that there were dishes piled all over the kitchen before I'd get to them. The sink is full of them right now but I haven't been home much the last 2 days and have been trying to get other things done...I'll get to them first thing tomorrow. Lately, I've had a huge problem with folding and putting laundry away...standing and folding everything makes my back ache more than it already does with my ever-expanding belly. Our guest bed is covered in clothes that were folded but not put away and a pile that has yet to be folded. I've got to get to those this next week...I'll just have to remind myself to go slowly and sit to fold as much as possible. After that massive task, I HAVE to make myself put them away. I also have to go through all of Mattie Leigh's baby clothes and shoes and get them ready for Allie Grace. By the way, all this has to be done while occupying Mattie Leigh and making sure all other housework gets done.

What's taken me so long to decide to get the house back under control? you may ask. I've wanted it under control since we moved in but have felt overwhelmed with other things. It's just not an option to let myself stay so far behind anymore. I have to have a sense of organization before Allie Grace is born. Kevin's schedule has also gotten more hectic...he's now a full-time teacher and pastor AND has started grad school...SO he's stretched way too thin to help as much as he'd like.

I'm trying to decide the best way to tackle everything. I'm going to have to limit the amount I do in a day...I've made the mistake of trying to do it all in one day and ended up in a good deal of pain because of it. I'd love tips on how to accomplish everything...or help in getting it done. It still feels odd to me to be in this position because I kept things organized and clean through college. It wasn't until grad school overwhelmed me with the amount of work it took that housework was put to the side. I want to get back to being organized because I'm way less stressed that way.

feeling fatigued

I know they say each pregnancy is different, but this one has been almost completely different. I've hit total exhaustion at 30 weeks...with Mattie Leigh it was 34-35 weeks before it hit. Granted, part of the reason that it is earlier is that I'm running after a 2 year old all day on top of being pregnant. I'm really looking forward to my appointment on Tuesday because I have an ultrasound scheduled. I really want to know Allie Grace's current stats because it feels like she is already as long as Mattie Leigh was right before she was born. I could definitely be wrong but when she stretches out lengthwise, I have to lengthen my torso as much as possible to be able to breathe. When she tries to stretch out across me, she ends up hunched up like a cat when it stretches. If I am right and she is measuring larger than she should, I'm pretty certain that I'll be induced a week or two before her due date.

On another note, I'm struggling to find a Bible study plan that works for me. If you have any suggestions on things that work for you, please share.

what's with the name?

First, I had gotten tired of the old blog but still wanted to keep posting. Crazy me thought it would be more fun to just start completely over than redo the old one. So here we are with a brand new site. I wanted something different for the web address to get here and automatically went to one of my favorite books in the Bible...Ruth. I absolutely love the biography we get of her life...how she chose to leave everything familiar and to step out into a world of unknowns with Naomi, how God used her and blessed her beyond measure, and how her family tree includes the Savior of the world! As a Christian woman, I want to be more like Ruth. I want to be unafraid to step out into the unknown and follow God's call for my life. I want to use this blog to document the journey and to share with friends how my life (and my family's) is changing along the way.