Sunday, March 29, 2015

The wait....


so...we're still waiting.

this is the longest i've ever been with child and although the due date is not for a couple more days, i'm starting to lose focus.

like when you're coming around the corner on the last leg of the 400 m dash and the finish line is all fuzzy...if you weren't in track and field, you wouldn't understand.

j can't stop laughing - i've tried everything to get this baby motivated to come meet us.

building a snowman with the 9 inches of wet, sticky snow we got on monday?  check.


pushing two kids in a stroller on a 3 mile walk where i actually passed a man who was "jogging?  check.
(he had a look of total shame come over his face when i breezed past him....:(  poor guy)

swinging at the park?  check
receiving an underdog from my dear husband while swinging at the park as a good friend laughed and video taped it?  check

kettle bells?  check

i've come to this conclusion:  the kid wants me to enjoy a few more days with these girls.

(it's either that or he's defying me already....i'm choosing the former)



so, if he won't obey me, i'm choosing to obey him.

fairy gardens...excuse the random picture of sparkle.
don't know how that got in there.....tulip?

snuggles and books




easter treats for the neighbors



egg hunt at church...too much fun!






dying eggs


and bike rides in the parking lot


i got a video, but no picture of miss peach riding without training wheels!
although i'm excited to meet the little mr., i'm glad i didn't miss that monumental moment for her.

ahhhh, the wait.

there is something precious about the last days before something big.
pretty soon the rhythym and routines will change and i'll be needed in new ways and these three petunias will all of the sudden figure out how to do things by themselves that they need help with today.

soon and very soon we'll be holding him.

until then, deep breath and reminders to enjoy the wait. 

Monday, March 23, 2015

Nesting

we're all nesting in this house as i enter week 39 of pregnancy number four

j has the garage looking spotless
i've got clothes and diapers washed and ready to go for the little man
peach has requested her own room (not easy to do with 6 people in a 3 bedroom home) but we are trying to honor her big girl desires, so we did a little rearranging and told her we could make it work as long as the baby is downstairs with us.
when he needs his own space, we'll have to revisit the discussion
she's pleased as pineapple and is in there re-arranging and organizing all the live long day

and one of my final to do items is to get this blog caught up.  so, here's the pics from march that i haven't yet shared....

this one home from school with the flu asked if we could watch the sound of music....

be still my heart!
i texted this picture to J at work and his reply was:  you two were made for each other
true story


this one helped me get the house spring-ified
after a dear friend and i got away one night for some shopping and i added a few new treasures to my easter decor





painting with q-tips and colored water from old, dried up markers
who knew?
thank you, pinterest


playing school...my heart going pitter patter


peach was NOT happy that sparkle's answer to each letter she pointed at was "dat one O!"
teaching is hard work, kid....sometimes the students just don't get it
what can i say?


trip to the MN zoo....fun times

until i got carsick on the way home :(


aaaaannnnndddddd.....drumroll please

an early spring!

just what we needed!  the snow is GONE-ZO and we have been outside every possible minute!

muddy boots, dirty clothes, laundry up to my ears, but everything smells so fresh so i'm just whistling a merry tune while i work


look who can do the fireman's pole all by her 3-year-old self




easter treats....baking....this one is in her happy place


walks to the bus stop to get sister
sure beats bundling up, getting in the car and freezing our patooties off!


bubbles and swings and rainboots, oh my!
today we painted pots and planted some peas to get started inside the house before we can get out in the garden.



we also scored a rocking chair for the wee one and got the house vacuumed, bathrooms cleaned and spent $319 at costco.

plenty of food in the house.
bags are packed.
little buddy, we are ready to meet you.



he could be here any day now.
here's to checking the blog off my list!
the next time you pop in, this one will no longer be the baby of the house


And you'll be seeing pictures of the new man in my life :)

Sunday, March 22, 2015

February got away from me...


it's hard to believe i'm sitting here at the end of a week when we saw 60 degrees and looking at pictures of piles of snow.

but, then again....i look out the window and the scene is pretty much the same today.  nothing like march madness in minnesota to take you from balmy and sunny to 6 inches of snow in no time flat.

anywhoos....february got away from me.

and i don't really know why.

we didn't have a lot planned.

we didn't really go anywhere.

but i guess i was just plain tired and didn't really feel like i had anything to say.

the gray days of february can do that to a girl.

but looking back on it, we had some fun....

like sledding and snow forts on days that weren't -40 degrees ;)  


and valentine's day was all kinds of fun.

we got to see firsthand the stark contrast between our first and second born when working on the valentines.

i had come up with four or five options, printed them off and had everyone choose which they wanted.

peach's vote:  valentine, let's stick together...with a stick of gum

tulip:  sip, sip hooray, it's valentine's day...with a silly straw

sparkle:  valentine, you're a smartie....with, you guessed it, smarties

J also went with the stick of gum theme for his 3rd graders.

so, i purchased the supplies and we got down to business.

firstborn peach wasted no time.

she hammered out her name and classmates' names in perfect penmanship on 18 valentines, made another 6 for the kids at daycare, used some sweet washi tape to get the gum on the back and then begged to do the 26 for J's class as well.

in that same amount of time, here was the conversation with the second born:

me:  this is so fun!  here's a marker.  pick some stickers to put on alex's valentine.
tulip:  okay
me:  alright, i'll put alex's name here and you write your name here.
tulip:  do i have to?
me:  yes, this is for your friends.  do you want to get valentine's from your friends?
tulip:  yea
me:  then you also have to put some effort into making some for them
tulip:  i'm hungry
me:  we can have a snack when we're done
tulip:  okay....writes first two letters of her name...this is HARD work
me:  sweetheart, your name has only 4 letters.  it's not hard work.  pick your favorite color marker and do your best work, okay?
tulip:  do i have to?
me:  you GET to!
tulip:  i'm thirsty...now draped over the chair in a dramatic pose with eyes closed
me:  k....tell you what - i'll get you a drink while you finish that valentine
tulip:  okay...finishes her name.  i'm done.  how many more do i have to do?
me:  well, there are 6 kids at daycare.  you made one.  we have five left.
tulip:  FIVE??!?!?!?!?  no way!!  i'm sooooo tired.

i'll spare you the rest of the dialogue.  it was pretty much the same.  it got to the point where peach had finished hers and was now asking if she could work on her sister's as well.

i stood firm and made the little pickle make all 6, but Lord, have mercy when this child starts school and has to do homework!




one of my favorite memories with my parents was making AWESOME valentine's day boxes.

like the year we did a TV, complete with rabbit ears.
or the year we did an awesome boombox with heart-shaped speakers.
or the year we had leftover fur (from the parade that my brother and i were in where we starred as wilma and fred flintstone) and we made a sweet valentine's day beaver to store all my candy stash from school!

it was always fun.  and a memory i want to continue with my kids.

however, after the drama with tulip, i had no energy left for a box
but the next day, we did come up with this handsome guy...


he had a slit on top for her valentine's from friends and she reported that she had the best box in the class
we don't always hit a home run....in fact, we don't always even try.
we don't want her to think she always has to be the best....or have the best
but, when all the stars line up just perfectly, every once in a while, it sure is fun!
  
another monumental moment...the loss of tooth number two
it wasn't even ready to come out, but she made J yank with all his might so she could get another dollar from the tooth fairy and buy a toy she'd had her eye on.


one BITTER cold day during sparkle's nap, i had the brilliant idea to take these two to see paddington bear 
at the theater.  i had the music on and was enjoying the drive, only to pull up to the theater and discover this:


apparently all children in the wacek home should have been put down for naps that day and maybe i would have gotten one, too!
the good news is that they both snapped up when i opened the doors and we really enjoyed the film.


we beat some of the cabin fever with baking...always a treat for this one and an exercise in patience for me.  


the night we went to see the boys' basketball team play, my heart went pitter patter for just a second when i saw my tribe all lined up, eating popcorn and skittles and enjoying the band.


however, soon the snacks ran out and my ooey gooey lovey moment was over as i was trying to herd these little squirrels amongst the fans.
not easy to do in the 9th month of pregnancy...


we ended up running through the locker banks, squealing every time we found one another...
having races on the track on the other side of the gym....
threats to drop baby to her impending doom...


and, finally, coloring books in the hallway while daddy finished out the first half cheering on the team



to end the month, i'll share with you what our little author came home with one day.

she was proud as punch and so was i:


so sweet it makes my teeth hurt!

glad to have the memories of this looooooong, cold month
and also glad that an early spring has greeted us and given us the chance to throw open the windows, get outside and be done with runny noses for the next 6-8 months!