38 Week Check-In

38 week bump. Please ignore the laundry catastrophe behind me. 

In exactly one week from now I will finally be holding my little Leif or Harriet. It is almost surreal to think that the day I have been longing for over four years now is almost here. Our entire house is abuzz with excitement! Yesterday, the kids picked names out of a hat to determine the order of who gets to hold Thing 4 first, who gets to sit beside Thing 4 in the car for the first time, and who gets Thing 4's name in this year's Christmas exchange . . . tee hee! Luckily, they each won a claim to fame: Avery gets to hold him or her first, Zoe gets to sit beside him or her in the car first, and Elliot gets to buy his or her first, sibling, Christmas gift . . . phew! It could have been ugly. 

As hard as it is to believe, I sometimes think they may actually be more excited than me. Yesterday, Elliot walked by the baby's crib and ran his hand along the fleece blanket inside:

I can't believe there is going to be a baby lying here next week.

This afternoon, Avery hopped into the van after his gym class and exclaimed:

That was my last gym class before the baby comes! 

And just a moment ago, I walked into my room to find Zoe holding the baby's car seat:

I can't believe that in only one week there is going to be a little person sitting in this seat.

Perhaps excitement does not fully encompass exactly how we are all feeling this week. Each of us seems to be fully aware of the tremendous blessing that is about to be bestowed upon us and although we are excited, we are equally humbled and in awe over the fact that we, of all the families in the world, have been chosen to welcome this particular person into our home. We are incredibly lucky!

So, with only one week left before the munchkin arrives to stir up even  more shenanigans here at Shenanigans Inc., I am going catch you up on a few things because I will unlikely be posting any blog updates over the next two weeks. On Sunday, as many of you may have heard, I had a minor fainting spell at church. After being attended to by two dear friends of mine, who are both nurses, I decided to go to the hospital to get checked out. Thankfully, both the baby and I were fine. As I was hooked up to the monitor, though, it occurred to me that I really need to slow things down. I am a thirty-seven year old woman whose body has spent the last thirty-eight weeks creating a body for Thing 4, and that is no small feat. This pregnancy has gone remarkably well and I have had no problems at all, but with only one week left and after the busy, stressful past few weeks we have had, it is time for me to slow down, and I can feel it. I am tired, I am uncomfortable, and I am ready to cross the finish line. 

So, rather than run myself ragged this week, I plan to slow down and savour this precious time with my family; therefore, I have decided to lessen my load and to focus on what is most important. This week, I am completely ignoring the housework because I figure it is pretty much going to be a mess for the next year or two so one more week really won't matter. Instead, the kids and I are working on some school, and we are cooking lots of yummy meals and treats to freeze. When I say we, I truly mean we. Zoe, alone, cooked a chili and a hamburger noodle soup today, and tonight Zoe and the boys are making cookies. I have the best kids! With our last weekend as a family of five quickly approaching, Mr. Level-Headed and I are also planning to take the kids to see the new Thor movie. It is so strange to think that after almost ten years of it just being the five of us, we are finally welcoming a new member into our family. This new addition is going to change the dynamic of our household, but I am I know with all my heart it will be changed for the best.

Speaking of changes, and since you have had to endure this dreadfully boring blog post under the pretense that I have lots of terribly insightful ideas and really it has been no different than my usual sentimental dribble, I will let you in on some big news. Are you ready for this? 

Well . . .

not only are we welcoming a new addition into our family, but we are also welcoming a new student into our homeschooling mix. Two weeks ago, Zoe came to me and asked if I would homeschool her. Initially, I wanted to jump up and down, screaming:

YES! YES! Definitely YES!

while smothering her in kisses and hugs, but I kept my cool. I showed self-restraint (only out of fear that my lack of coolness may cause her to change her mind), and I simply said:

Yes. If that is what you really want, I will.

Being home for the past eight weeks and really not being in any shape to return to school soon, Zoe is afraid of losing a semester. She also wants the freedom to do her work on her own schedule, one that will allow her to take the time she needs to heal and to rest. I am so excited to have her home with us, and to be her teacher again. Oh, and the really exciting thing is that the only area I was very concerned about teaching her was French since she has been in French Immersion for the past four years and really wants to receive her bilingual certificate. Well, last week we received an email from our homeschool group announcing that the College of Extended Learning at UNBSJ is offering a french course for homeschool kids ages 12-18 starting this week. How cool is that? I just love it when life works out for the best!

Well, I've got to run. The smell of freshly baked peanut butter cookies are calling my name and this very pregnant mama is HUNGRY!

Happy Thursday!