A Hop, Skip and a Jump Away: Week 30 Check-In

This week is flying by! I nearly died when I woke up this morning and realized it was already Thursday. Our week has been filled with appointments, homeschooling, meetings, and some really fun outings. In fact, tonight is the first night all week that I get to stay home, and I envision curling up in my bed with my comfy, cozy jammies on and reading "The Maze Runner" . . . heaven! On Tuesday night, I went out with a bunch of my girlfriends to see The Immortal Cup. There is nothing better than being surrounded by a bunch of friends, munching on some popcorn, drinking copious amounts of carbonated, caffeinated beverages, while being frightened by werewolves, demons, and vampires and drooling over "creepy hot guys", who, honestly, are young enough to be one of my own kids. Yep, I have officially become a dirty, old woman . . . tee hee!

In spite of how busy I have been with keeping on top of the household chores, teaching the boys and being a mom, my mind is currently preoccupied with Thing 4. I open his or her drawers at least three times a day to take a peek at the jammies. I daydream about the moment the doctor lifts him or her from my belly and announces: "It's a . . . .!", and I imagine going about my hectic life with him or her strapped to my chest, while I periodically pause to kiss the top of his or her head and stroke all that black hair I imagine Thing 4 to have. This week marks my 30th week, which means in 9 short weeks, I will finally get to meet my little darling, and I can't wait!

This week I also visited my doctor and everything went great! I have been a little worried lately because everyone who sees my belly comments on how small it is. I was at the bank the other day and the teller exclaimed: "Where are you storing that baby!". I understand that I should be regarding these comments as compliments, but they frazzle me. I have always had a ginormous baby belly, but for some reason, this time around, it is much more compact. I also think that losing two babies prior to this one has also made me super sensitive and in all honesty, I will not be able to relax until I have Thing 4 cradled in my arms and I am smothering him or her in kisses. Anyhoo . . . according to my doctor, everything is absolutely perfect, and she even jokingly told my sister, whose appointment was only fifteen minutes after mine (how funny is that!), that she wants to clone the two of us because our bodies just seem equipped for this whole baby-building business. So, with her assurance that everything is going great, I am going to try to relax. Seriously. I can do this. I hope.

Speaking of Thing 4, he or she did the CUTEST thing ever the other day! On Sundays I spend the afternoon teaching our primary group, which is comprised of children from ages four to eleven. We have quite a large group and they can get quite loud and rambunctious at times. While the kids were waiting for their parents to pick them up from the classroom, a bunch of the kids were circled around me, touching my belly, and squealing: 'Come on baby, move!". Poor Thing 4 must have been terrified because he or she was being super quiet. Then, out of the blue, Avery showed up, placed his hand on my belly and said: "Thing 4, it's Avery. You need to move for the kids!". As soon as Avery spoke, Thing 4 jumped and started acting foolish. I was shocked that amongst all those voices and all that chaos, Thing 4 was able to distinguish Avery's voice and was clearly excited to hear him. What a cutie!

Thing 4 continues to go quiet when Mr. Level-Headed talks to him or her at night, and this is starting to worry Mr. Level-Headed. He doesn't want the baby to be fearful of him so this week he has started kissing Thing 4 goodnight and assuring him or her that he really isn't that scary. The good news is that this seems to be working, and last night, as Mr. Level-Headed was whispering to my belly, Thing 4 began moving closer to his voice. Again, how cute is that?

But not so cute, is how strong Thing 4 is becoming. In fact, on Sunday night, Thing 4 kicked me so hard I screamed and doubled over in pain. Then, because once is never enough, he or she did it again. I scared everyone in the house, but thankfully, my future rugby player settled down and since then, I have stopped asking Heavenly Father, in my prayers, to make Thing 4 strong. Instead, I simply ask for Him to ensure Thing 4 is healthy and safe . . . tee hee!

Yep, that pretty much sums up my week and if you are a regular visitor of my blog then you know that now comes the slew of crappy Iphone pictures I have taken to document all of our shenanigans. Enjoy!

The boys modelling their Ancient Chinese peasant hats. They were a little on the small side, but the boys had fun making them.

The imposter is finally gone, and Elliot has returned. Even though Monday was a rough day for him, he still managed to pull it together and get all of his work done.