Growing...Adventures

Written March 26th--Sesame seed, lentil, blueberry, kidney bean, grape, kumquat, fig, lime,
medium shrimp, lemon...I get a kick out of this.  No, I'm not creating some strange new dish, rather tracking the size of my growing and developing baby.  Yep that's right.  Baby #4 is on the way!
I am both excited (yay I get to have another baby) and scared (oh no I miscarried the last one, will this baby be alright?)  Oh no, my youngest is already 4 I'm going to have to baby proof the house allover again.  Yay, I get to breast feed again!


Continued August 9th--My goodness, what a myriad of emotions roll over and through and around us pregnant women.  Well I'm happy and relieved to be 26 weeks along as of tomorrow.  Little munchkin is bopping around with great force at times and making me smile, even if her bounce house antics keep me from falling asleep easily.
It is different this pregnancy.  For one the kids are so very aware of what is going on this time.  With my last (full term) pregnancy, my oldest was only 4 years old, so he knew a baby was coming, but didn't really have any questions about it all (other than, how was the baby going to get out of my tummy!).  This time the kids are concerned about what I eat (is it safe, too cold, too hot) and how hard they hug me (will the balloon the baby is in pop?)  My youngest (who is now 4) has all kinds of fun questions like, "Mommy when the baby comes out of your tummy, will you be able to bend normal again?"  Every question and concern they have for both me and the baby makes my mommy heart smile.

Oh and it's a girl.  Our house is definitely estrogen ridden.  My gallant son (9 years old tomorrow) informed us he "wasn't TOO disappointed" that it wasn't a boy.  Knowing my children as I do, and having seen their reactions to other infants I'm sure they will be head over heels in love with her the instant she arrives...at least until she is big enough to be into their stuff and know how to push their buttons.
As for me, I feel like I'm going to be sooo very ready for this munchkin.  We have a crib, I have diapers (yes I'm cloth diapering this time around), I have a change table, as of today I have some clothing for her to wear for the first 3 months of her life.  What I'm not sure about is how she will fit into homeschooling.  Perhaps the better way to phrase that would be how homeschooling will fit around her!  It is all an adventure and I'm looking forward to starting it with her in my arms...but am planning to enjoy the rest of this last (hopefully) pregnancy.

Lasting Impressions

I was just outside pitching baseballs to my son.  What fun to see his face light up when he hit the baseball.  Nothing says spring is coming like sunshine, blue sky, and a boy with a bat!
Memories of my own softball playing days came crowding in as I watched my sons enjoyment.  Most good, but not all of them.  One in particular stood out.
I never actually played t-ball, but I did go to a practice...once.  The coach lined me all up, put the helmet on my head, handed me a bat, and put the ball on the tee.  Then he stepped back and I took that as my sign to swing.  What I didn't see was a younger kid (mind you I was all of 6 at the time) behind me.  CRACK!! Yep, you guessed it.  My enthusiastic swing caught the poor child right in the head.  Even now, many, many years later I feel the remorse well up inside of me...and also the feeling of being blamed and punished for something that I never intended to happen.  The coach read me the riot act (as a parent I logically understand why, but as a child all I heard was "You horrible, awful kid look what you did!!") and sent me home.  I never darkened the t-ball field again.
So all you parents and coaches out there.  Be careful not to react in such a way as to send a child away from a sport to never return.