in other big mama news

the third trimester misery has arrived.

i wondered when it would be rearing its ugly head...and the answer is? right about 31.5 weeks.

tired (but trouble sleeping), heart burn...serious nausea...as in, throwing up in the shower...must empty the dishwasher & do morning chores before i take even a sip of water or i'll be worthless as soon as that h2o hits my stomach kind of nausea.

and the aches. oh the aches. back and hip pain has quickly trumped the foot pain from a few weeks ago. i'm sure it's just hormones preparing my body to deliver this potentially giant (i'm thinking 9lb, 22in+) sweet boy in only 53 or so days...which would be fine if i had nothing else going on for the next 53 days. until then lu will be asking me why i'm in tears as i try to get out of her bed at night after saying prayers.

did i mention shortness of breath? given that the bottom of my ribs to the top of my pelvic bone measures about 6 inches with good posture is it any wonder that i'm a-HUGE and b-can't breathe? (how DO i fit 22in+ of baby in there?!?!?!?)

and finally, the contractions. head exploding, belly tightening, trouble breathing contractions. most likely not doing a darn a thing to prepare the barn door for opening in 53 days. cause that's how this body rolls. it likes to keep those babies in there until their full potential is reached. it's just pain for practice sake.

which really is a blessing, i know.

really, it is...and i tell myself so about 100x a day. i'm not complaining...just documenting ;)

painting with a twist

so as i've mentioned, i think, our good friends the turns' are moving to australia. the bad news is that they are leaving. soon. the good news is that there are a series of good bye events that are proving to be super fun!

the first such event was "Painting with a Twist"...where a professional artist guides you through a pretty serious painting. the painting on our evening was 'twisted sisters'....the goal being to head home with a painting that looks like this:for those of you who aren't familiar with my skill set, lemme just tell you that the lowest grade i've ever received was a c. one in calculus freshman year at iowa, the other in ART freshman year of high school.

but nothing was going to stand in my way. not even that GIANT belly hiding (um...er..or notsomuch) under my apron.
me & my girl sara (of the aforementioned turns family). fresh faced & ready to paint!

my work in progress...and the final product with my girls. kristen, kay, sara, trina & big mama.

sure, mine looks more like a white wine glass (aka...a lil small, tall & narrow for a red wine glass), but whatev. judge if you will, but i can say without a doubt it is the best piece of artwork i've ever produced. not that that is sayin much. 'specially since someone told us exactly what to do. like every single step of the way. but still. i'm proud.

and it was fun to boot!!! i would totally go back & do it again. post baby though. cause perching on that tiny little backless stool for 3 hours was the only not so fun part about it. and i doubt the belly is going to get much smaller from here on out...

thanks for such a fun evening ladies!!!

g...months 19 & 20 in photos

20 months...hair cut courtesy of mama...the first of many, i'm afraid. i need 'kids hair cutting for dummies', if it exists.

19 months...

catching up with g...16, 17 & 18 months in photos

18 months...

17 months...

16 months...

scene: breakfast this am

mama: uh oh gus...did you spill?
g: "no. poon pill."...while lifting up his spoon to show me how his milk & cheerios ended up on the floor...

g's first sentence

my boy* put together his first lil sentence yesterday. *guess i'm going to have to clarify that going forward, huh. my gusgus.

"daddy's nuts, eat pease me? me, eat, pease? daddy's nuts?"

he wanted to eat some peanuts out of clay's big mixed nuts container.

the boy is SO verbal. like crazy verbal.

i have SO much catching up to do on g's milestones that i just can't get started. so i'm going to document as we go from now on. and i'll get caught up one of these days. really. i will.

lil hugh notes...alternatively titled big mama notes at 30 weeks

so...I'm 30 weeks. i've gained about 15 lbs so far, which probably puts me right on track to gain the 30 or so I usually do. especially given that i've got at least 6+ lbs of actually baby weight that sweet hugh will be growing into in the next 10 weeks! pretty unlikely that my third...also a boy...will weigh less than either of his siblings, right? that means i'm looking at more than an 8lb & 10oz-er!

so...lets see. big mama notes first.

-still nauseous on any given day. however MUCH less heartburn to date with this pregnancy. by this time with gus i was throwing up in my mouth every time i bent over. (i know, you really don't want to know these details but i want to document them. sorry. my blog.)

-tons of braxton hicks contractions. i pretty much need to drink water all.day.long. to keep them at bay. and that means i'm in the bathroom about every 20 minutes, or whenever i stand up. whichever happens first. you're jealous, i know. buy stock in angel soft i tell ya.

-i'm huge. my fundal measurements are right on, yet when you look at me i look like i'm 40 weeks, not 30. luci has a classmate whose mama is due the same day i am. she looks about 1/2 the size i do. i blame it on my height. and my 'fabulously large' uterus (per the fertility doctor we saw after our miscarriages). my body makes sure our babies are comfy & safe in there. seriously...what a blessing. i'm not so much complaining...as wishing people would keep their comments to themselves. like the elderly man at church who asked if i was due tomorrow...and then when i told him november he asked if there were five babies in there. really? REALLY?

-i'm sooo much more relaxed regarding the pregnancy this time around. i think maybe it's because we got pregnant easily (our first & only time that happened) and almost unexpectedly that it is easy for me to have faith that lil hugh was just meant to come live with us here on earth. i have the occasional glass of wine. i take meds when i need them (thank you God for zofran). and my doctor is letting me only come in every 3 or so weeks instead of every two. i appreciate this since the appointments pretty much take up an entire preschool morning.

-i'm not walking or working out because i honestly feel like 2 kids, 2 cats & a big house to take care of is keeping me quite active. definitely the most active pregnancy i've had....just trying to fulfill my domestic mama duties.

-my back hurt for awhile, but hasn't been bothering me lately. probably because i've largely stopped carrying gus around. his sweet lil 'holdyou' doesn't get him far these days.

-my blood pressure is great. i've only noticed swollen feet once. i'm still wearing my rings.

-my feet hurt the most. my right foot to be specific. stupid plantar fasciitis. i need to be wearing my running shoes & orthotics during the day & my ski boots at night, but in 100 degree+ heat who wants to wear socks & shoes & ski boots? not this pregnant constantly hot sweaty mama. that said i'm going to try to wear my boots at night in the next few weeks since the nights have been cooler.

-why will i try so hard to wear said boots? cause i'm literally salivating at the thought of running & working out. pregnancy is SOOOOO taxing on the body. all of my strength & energy are zapped, constantly. i held onto extra weight for months after i had gus...and i felt like crap all of the time. once i finally started running & working out i felt AWESOME. and luckily i can still taste how awesome i felt. and i can tell you i'll be walking as quickly as i can post partum. and running as soon as i can. sweet hugh is going to be a fixture at the gym as soon as he's six weeks. cause this mama is a better mama when she's strong & healthy & has energy. and with three kiddos under five, energy is something i'm going to need!

and baby hugh notes?

-he's an active lil guy. lots of kicks & nudges.

-he jumps/kicks when i get ice out of the fridge...just like his big sis & brother did.

-he has a crib (thank you lawrence family), and the mattress is on the way (thank you amazon prime). he has a dresser. he has lots of clothes leftover from his big brother (and thank you lawrence family, kenneth, brian, and cousin asher). he has a nightstand. in spite of having all of these things, his nursery still looks like a storage room. it's on my list.

-his heart rate is usually in the upper 140s. and it goes up when we listen :)

-he's got bony little elbows or knees...something in there is bony and it hurts when he elbows or knees me or does whatever that lil movement is.

-haven't seen him on an ultrasound since the level 2 one months ago where we found out he was indeed a boy. i'm looking forward to seeing his sweet face!!

my latest excuse

boo. broke my usb wireless adapter. no internet downstairs for the last week on my laptop. which means i just stay connected via my phone. but now i'm back!

the house is sort of coming along (tv niche sorta complete), and clay has been home much more than he has the last several months so the family is well. i've still got lots to do, but given we've only been here a little over 2 months i think we've accomplished a great deal. that said i've got more projects than i'd like on my table to finish before baby comes. in 74ish days. WHAT!!?!?!?!?!

the kids are well. clay & i are well. all is well :) oh, and we FINALLY had a break from the heat. maybe that is why we are so well? whatever it is, i'll take it.

so...posts to come. a list for myself:

the tiny dancers.

lil goo details...i could just eat him up most of the time these days.

the blizzard...i mean ridiculous summer heat...that wouldn't end.

lil hugh details.

so that's the first time i've written baby's name on the blog. at least what we think his name is. luci sure thinks his name is hugh. we aren't sure though. it's not final. but maybe tentatively & preliminarily final...as we used to say in the good ole arthur andersen days ;) hugh halvorson pierse. if he doesn't like hugh he can go by hal, right? that's my only hang up...what if he doesn't want to be hugh? augustine & lucia have multiple options if they grow up & want to mix it up. what does poor hugh do? becomes hal, i guess. time will tell, time will tell :)

in the meantime here are some more phone photos!!