This just in:

The doc has been telling me for weeks that I am measuring small. Like 2 weeks small. I very seriously and earnestly have been telling him that I have big babies. So today we had an ultrasound to see just how big that baby is... and with over 6 weeks to go he/she is measuring over 5 pounds. FIVE POUNDS!! I'm guessing that another 1 1/2 months of cooking will produce a very big baby. (Grant was 8lb 12 oz... and I was induced 1 1/2 weeks early! According to previous OBGYN's, I'm kinda' small down there... hence the reason I have to get episiotomys every time.) The sonographer mentioned that maybe the baby would be born at, like, 37 weeks... I told her it wouldn't.

I'm working up a good way to ask the Dr. just how willing he is to induce early.

p.s. Baby is healthy and in perfect position to deliver. I shouldn't complain.

Mess With Texas, But Don't Mess With Jenny

If you’re reading this blog, it’s probably because you know Jenn. But how well do you really know her?

Many refer to her as sweet, nice, and kind. All that is true. Underneath that soft façade, however, is a tough woman and mother. How tough, you ask? Here’s how tough:

She once cut a knife with a stick of butter.
She does not sleep. She waits.
She doesn’t eat honey. She chews bees.
Bears play dead when they are attacked by Jenny.
When she cooks potatoes, they mash themselves out of fear of her.
She has already been to Mars; that's why there are no signs of life.
There used to be a street named Jennifer, but it was changed because nobody crosses Jennifer and lives.
Jenny does not need Twitter...she is already following you.
She doesn't flush the toilet, she scares the crap out of it
Jenny counted to infinity - twice.
Death once had a near-Jenn experience
When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Jennifer.
Jenn can slam a revolving door.
She can win a game of Connect Four in only three moves.
She once made a Happy Meal cry.
Finally, Jenny can kill two stones with one bird.

So it’s on this Valentine’s Day that I take this moment to let people know the REAL Jennifer, and the real reasons we love her so much. (Because if we didn’t, . . . .)

Freaking Out

WARNING: possibility of T.M.I.

So... 32 weeks here... and I'm starting to think about how this baby has to get out. In case you didn't know... it hurts. A lot.

I have only experienced natural childbirth. And while, now that it's been a few years, I can say it was great, I'm starting to think maybe it wasn't.

My doctor isn't overly supportive of natural childbirth and is encouraging an epidural. I wasn't very happy after Grant was born, and those stories about playing cards, sleeping during labor, and being rested and thrilled when baby is born sound pretty wonderful.

BUT: I just watched this video that explains epidurals and how they work and I don't know what is worse. Natural childbirth or epidurals?

One reason I like the natural childbirth option is because recovery has been pretty easy... but on the other hand, maybe I wouldn't have to get an episiotomy (each and every time) if I were more relaxed during the final stages of labor. So maybe recovery would, in the long run, be easier with an epidural.

Joe, smart guy that he is, supports either option (although he ran away in the middle of the epidural video).

Any thoughts, ladies?

My New Thing

Homemade yogurt:

Healthy. Cheap. Delicious. Versatile. EASY.

What can I say? I'm addicted. I've been making yogurt about once a week for just over a month. And I'm never going back.

What to do:
1. Set the crockpot on low.
2. Pour in 8 cups of milk.
3. Whisk 5-6 Tbs. dry milk (optional).
4. Heat for 2 1/2-3 hours.
5. Turn off crockpot and let sit for 3 hours.
6. Whisk in 1/2 cup store-bought plain yogurt with live cultures.
7. Put lid on crockpot and stick just the pot part in the oven (cold) for 8-12 hours.
8. Strain using a cheesecloth (I use a thin dishtowel). This step is also optional, but it makes the yogurt a little thicker.
9. Flavor as desired. (It's better if you do this right before you eat it.)
*Store for 1-2 weeks (you'll eat it before then).


What I've learned:
*Whole milk is the yummiest, but any kind will do.
*I add the powdered milk because it makes it a little thicker (and healthier). The stuff you buy has gelatin in it to thicken it.
*After the first time you can save out 1/2 c. of yogurt to use for your next batch.
*You can substitute it for sour cream in recipes. The kids and I like it on our food (like baked potatoes and Mexican food), but Joe won't try it. It is a little runnier than sour cream, but since it is plain, it really doesn't taste any different.
*Use the whey (strained off part of yogurt) instead of water in recipes. For example, I've been using it when I make bread.

What I love:
*Yogurt parfaits.... a new fav. family breakfast. Add some frozen fruit and granola and wahlah! If it's not sweet enough--add some honey.
*Pina Colada (without alcohol, of course). Add crushed pineapple, sweetened coconut, and some sliced almonds.
*Yogurt and fruit smoothies satisfy my sugar cravings.
*Add some cream of coconut milk. DELISH!!!
*Any frozen fruit, fresh fruit, or jam is good, too. We've also squeezed limes and added some honey.... there are so many things!
*My kids love a small bowl as an after-school snack. And Mom doesn't mind. :)

You should try it!

Day Three

In 3 days the calendar says I will be exactly 7 months pregnant. My face is filling out, my eyes are getting dark circles around them, and bending over is getting hard to do. Not much is fitting me lately--and what does isn't always very flattering, so when I find something that fits, is warm, and fairly decent looking I'm happy. Tomorrow marks our 4th "snow" day, and as you can imagine, we've been stuck in the house for most of the week. When I got out of the shower this morning, Joe looked at me and asked, "Didn't you wear that yesterday?" "Yes, but it fits and it's warm," I replied. When I started breakfast Madison commented, "Mom... I think you forgot that you wore that yesterday." "Yep," I said, "But I changed my socks and underwear. Doesn't that count?" Tomorrow it's supposed to snow.

GoInG cRaZy

I mean... YAY!!

It's a SNOW DAY!!

TWO of them!!

Busy Weekends

Joe is out with the missionaries, Logan and Grant are reading in their beds, and Madison is still sitting at the table (hopefully) finishing her dinner. What to do on a Saturday night? Blog, I guess!

The last few weeks have been busy--at least compared to how they usually are. Last Saturday we spent most of the day moving the kids' rooms. I am hoping that the move will make it easier for the kids to keep their rooms clean. It was exciting to get the crib up. When we first found out we were pregnant this past summer I found this GREAT bargain on baby bedding....so I bought it and thought for sure we were going to be able to use it. Then we got the ultrasound and I found out that I was wrong! Don't get me wrong, I was very happy to have a healthy little baby swimming in my belly, but I felt a little sad, too. I also started freaking out about HOW we were going to take care for FOUR kids!! I asked Joe if we could keep the gender a secret for a little while so that I could just be excited about the baby--I don't know if that made any sense to him, either, but he has gone along with it for me. And it's been so fun to just have our little secret that I think we'll keep it a little longer.... BUT I did find another 75% clearance bedding set that includes a comforter, sheet, and bumper pad for baby, so I am scheming once again. To go along with it I bought some square canvas boards which I have already started painting and will hang up over baby's crib. Any guesses... boy or girl?? Oh, and whichever it is will have to sleep in Madi's room because it just makes sense--2 to a room. (Also, I took the pics of Madi's room before moving the Cars pictures, which you will notice are back the boys' room.)




As you can see, the boys are now in bunk beds. These are the bunk beds my sister and I slept in and that my aunts slept in. They are still pretty sturdy! It took a few nights for Grant to adjust (he fell off one night), but he is loving his big boy bed. We changed his toddler bed back into the crib, and the first few days he would tell me it was still his bed, but now he is starting to understand that baby will sleep there. He also forgets and puts his shoes in the wrong closet once in a while.



When Madison saw the bunk beds she disappeared. We went looking for her and found her crying into her pillow in her new room. She explained that she was so sad that the boys had each other and got to sleep on bunk beds and she had to sleep by herself. She's excited that she will get to share a room with baby, but says that she's worried "it" will cry, and that Madison won't be able to play with "it" for a long time. I think in 10 years she will be happy if she has her own room.

You will also notice that Grant's bedding is pretty much the only non-cars thing in the room. These are all the same things we have had since Logan was 3 and in love with the movie "Cars." He recently informed me that he might be getting too old to have Cars decorations all over his room. So we decided that Grant would have to settle with the old Winnie-the-Pooh comforter until we decided on a new theme for the boys' room--hopefully something that will last a long time!

Well, I WAS going to tell you why today was busy, but since I wrote enough already, I will just say that Joe fixed our dryer and I am now listening to the sound of drying clothes. How thankful I am for my modern-day laundry chore!

Madison-2

If you look closely, you will see Madison's holey mouth. We woke up Tuesday morning to a very sad story about a tooth that apparently fell out in the middle of the night and was probably swallowed. Oops. After a few tears, and many jokes about teeth biting her tummy, and optimistic comments about no pain and no blood, we decided that a note to the Tooth Fairy was in order. She received a special note back and a Sacajawea $1 coin. Happily, it seems that Madison's happy countenance (she's been very grumpy and out of sorts lately) returned after losing tooth #2. Whew!

Get Ready!!

I'm getting ready!! Even though I'm starting to feel the last trimester-exhausted-stage, I am anxious to get things tidied and ready for baby. Among other things, that includes:
*moving the boys to Madison's room (higher ceilings).
*moving Madi to the other room.
*setting up bunk beds (hopefully high enough ceiling).
*moving pictures and furniture
*painting the hideous dresser we bought used 8 years ago--and probably used before that. (CHECK!!)

Tomorrow is M-Day (Moving Rooms Day), so expect more pictures soon, and I'm excited because after 5 coats of paint (which was left over from last year's painting over the hideous colors that were in the house we are renting), Madison's dresser went from this:

BEFORE:


AFTER:


Even Joe (who thought we should just throw the dresser in the trash) was impressed.

NOTE: I had to set up shop in the dining room because the garage was too cold; it's 30 degrees out here. TEXAS!!! Why???

Hike in January

The McGregor family decided to enjoy the Texas January weather by taking a hike. We looked up hiking trails on the Internet and found a promising park 20 minutes away that boasted of over 13 miles of hiking trails. We arrived to find paved walking paths around the woods instead of through the woods. Oh well. We enjoyed our picnic lunch, fed the ducks, and "hiked" a few miles before we decided that the weather was a little cooler than we had planned. It snowed the next day.

Growing Up

As an adult, it seems like it would be frightening to lose one of your teeth. As a child, it is a sign that you are growing up.

Madison was ecstatic to lose her first tooth last week--a whole year earlier than Logan lost his first tooth. Logan was a little jealous when he first found out her tooth was wiggly; he told her to anticipate blood and lots of pain. Madison just shrugged it off and told him the Tooth Fairy would bring her 100 dollars. The Tooth Fairy DID come, but only left 100 pennies. :)

Note: tooth #2 is scheduled to fall out any day now.

28 Weeks, 1 Day

Top Ten Things I Hate About Being Pregnant:

10.Peeing a lot
9. Being nauseous
8. Getting poked by needles/drinking nasty sugar water/constantly going to the dr.
7. Being emotional
6. Being uncomfortable
5. Poor choice of clothing
4. Not sleeping/Being tired
3. Having a messy house
2. Gaining weight (and yucky pictures)
1. (not)Losing weight after baby is born

Top Ten Things I Love About Being Pregnant:

10.Boobs (sorry, but this is my list)
9. Extra chocolate. or watermelon. or sprite. or whatever
8. An excuse to take a nap, or just sit down and rest, or cry
7. 10 degrees warmer than everyone else during the winter
6. Dreaming about what baby will be/look like
5. Better skin
4. Thicker and better hair; I wash it every other day instead of every day
3. A husband who is willing to pick up my slack
2. Feeling life inside of me: AMAZING!
1. Baby at the end!!