Eleven Days Worth of Nonsense

You are going to have to forgive me, but I am about to cram a whole lot of nonsense into today's post because this will be the last one for awhile. We are taking a quick jaunt up to Halifax tomorrow for Baby Girl's appointment at the IWK, then we are rushing home to begin our whirlwind weekend of soccer, soccer and more soccer. Go Hampton U16AA girls!  On Sunday, we are going to church (as long as a certain someone's head remains lice-free . . . keep praying for us), and then we are having our annual Back to School Feast 

Our theme this year is "Seek Learning", and we will be reading this article to inspire and encourage the Wee Websters and Mr. Level-Headed in their upcoming year of studies. I know . . . I am such a geek! I don't even know when I am going to have a chance to make all the food we have planned.

Then, it is showtime: Monday morning the boys and I will be waking up bright and early to kick off our first day of school . . . eeeeek! Where did the summer go? I am taking the first week of school off from the blog because I foresee having to channel all of my energy into motivating, consoling, and prodding my boys of summer back into a routine. Ugh! This is not going to be easy.  . . . again, keep me in your prayers.

Anyhoo . . . 

11 days worth of Shenanigans Inc. is about to commence in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

This week marks my 27th week of being pregnant. I am really enjoying this pregnancy, but I am reaching the point now where all I want to do is to meet my baby. People always ask me what I think I am having, and in all honesty, I don't have a clue. Sure, some books say that mom's have a keen intuition about the gender of their baby, but that has never been the case with me. For Zoe, I thought I was having a boy. For both Elliot and Avery, I thought I was having girls. Clearly, I am not a reliable source, and since I have never had success with my past guesses, I haven't even tried to make a prediction for this little one. Some days, Thing 4 is a Leif and some days, Thing 4 is a Harriet. Even my dreams seem to be confused!

Last week I had a very vivid dream, where I was taking Thing 4 to the doctor because he or she had a diaper rash. When the doctor took off Thing 4's diaper to see the rash, this little penis popped up. I was shocked and exclaimed:

You're a boy?! I thought you were a girl.

Then I picked up my baby and held him close to my face. I whispered:

Really? You are my Leif and not my Harriet.

I could not get over the shock, but I was pleased nonetheless. When I awoke from that dream, I was convinced that Thing 4 is a boy.

Then . . .

A couple of nights ago, I had another dream. I do not remember the premise of this dream, but I do remember Mr. Level-Headed sitting in a big, comfy chair, talking to our baby girl, Harriet, who at this point was a toddler. She had a head full of curly, brown hair and was asking him a million and one questions. When I awoke from this dream, I started thinking that perhaps we are having a girl . . . tee hee!

Ultimately, I guess we will have to wait another 12 weeks before we know for certain, but I am having a lot of fun speculating on who this little person I am carrying actually is.

27 week bump

 But there is one thing I know for certain, and that is that this craving for poutine has got to stop. I am not even going to tell you how many poutines I have had since Friday night, but know this, it is more than two and less than four . . . tee hee! Oh, and for the record, Costco makes a ridiculously good poutine and it is super huge and it is super cheap. Costco, you just keep getting better and better in my eyes . . . 

Look at those cheese curds! Some of them were as big as the french fries . . .  Heaven!

Yesterday, was a big day here at Shenanigans Inc. Not only did I discover Costco poutine, but Elliot finished a honk'n huge novel that he actually started during the school year. It took him 30 minutes a day/ five days a week for about three months, but he got through it and more importantly, he enjoyed it! In fact, he has already picked up the second book in the series and asked if he could read it just for fun.

Ummmmmm. . . YES!

How long have I waited to hear those words being uttered from one of my children's mouths? Far too long if you ask me.

The book is called the Beyonders and the third one just came out.

Funny, Elliot. Very funny!

Oh, and since we are talking about books, Baby Girl ACTUALLY read a book this summer. A big kid's book, nonetheless, and it was fiction . . . gasp! This may come as a shock to you, but as smart as that girl is, she is not a reader. Sure, she has a stack of non-fiction books, fact books, and Baby Mouse graphic novels by her bed at all times, but she is not one to sit and read a novel. Well, that all changed this summer and I am giddy about it. Perhaps we need to start up our very own mother-daughter book club . . . only kidding Baby Girl. I promise to take it slow . . . tee hee!

And that is all, folks. I hope you had your fill of us. See you in September!

Time for a Little R&R

I had no intention of blogging this morning . . . 

I had to get up at 4am to pack a lunch for Baby Girl, who needed to be out the door at 4:30 am to catch the bus taking all the youth from our church to Quebec City. There is a huge LDS Youth Conference being held in Quebec over the next four days and they are going to have a lot of fun! As soon as she and Mr. Level-Headed left the house, I crawled back into bed and fell asleep. I was shocked when I finally came to that it was 10 am . . . woohoo! This pregnancy has not been conducive to sleeping in and every morning, whether it be a weekend or weekday, which really isn't any different for the kids and I during the summer anyway, my internal clock wakes me up at 7 am . . . sheesh! Needless to say I was pretty happy about my sleep-in. As I laid in bed and thought about the day ahead of me, one that should be a whole lot less hectic than yesterday, I decided to take the morning off from my blog. There really is not a whole lot to say and I was really enjoying being lazy in my big comfy bed. Then, I heard a little knock on my door.

Mom . . .

Yes, bud.

Avery and I were wondering what you want for breakfast.

Awww . . . I will take some cereal and orange juice. I will be out in a minute to eat it.

No need. Stay in bed. We will bring it to you.

Not only did they bring my breakfast, but they also brought me my laptop so that I could write my blog! (which is why I caved and decided to write this post)

Okay, so for the record, I am truly raising the best sons ever! Sure they are loud and boisterous and embarrassing and violent and crazy and intense, but they also have the biggest hearts ever and they spoil me like crazy. As nervous as I am about having another baby and going through that whole sleep-deprived, 24 hour a day hands-on experience of introducing a new being into our world, I can't help but think we are going to do great. Raising this baby is not going to be anything like when I had my other three because I am somewhat wiser and, albeit, just a little bit more laid back. Plus, the other three are quite self-sufficient now and will be a huge help. Sure this baby is going to bring a whole new level of chaos into our home, but I am confident we can handle this. Right?!

Okay since I have you here this morning, I might as well embarrass myself to some degree. Isn't that what I do best? So, one of the reasons I think I needed this lovely sleep-in this morning is because my nights are very restless. Being a belly sleeper and having a belly that is continually growing in size just do not mix. I can not get comfortable and it seems once I do, Thing 4 starts partying. Then to make matters worse, I am having the most exhausting and intensely realistic dreams ever. Perhaps not realistic in the sense that they could or would actually happen, but realistic in the sense that they are so life-like. To make matters worse, my dreams are not much fun. In fact, all I seem to ever do in them is work, and work and work. They are exhausting and I wake up even more exhausted than when I first laid down. The other night I spent the entire night saran-wrapping plates of food. Is this not the craziest thing you have ever heard? The next night I dreamt I was a Viking, and I had been captured by a rival Viking crew. I had to clean for them and cook for them. When I finally had had enough of being their slave, I then spent the remainder of my dream devising intricate plans of escape. See, even in my dreams I cannot seem to escape my anxiety or nesting neurotics. 

Well, after months of these intense and tiring work dreams, I told Mr. Level-Headed that I just wanted to start having some fun in my dreams. I told him that I needed a vacation from my dream world, and as crazy as it sounds, that is all it took. That night, Monday night to be exact, I did not have a single dream about working. Nope. Instead I dreamt all night long that I was at one rip, roaring party . . . tee hee! All the Websters were there, our British soccer coaches were there, and all my friends  from our church were there too. It was wild! I drank, I smoked, I danced, and then I passed out. As I was lying face down on the floor of someone's living room, I felt really uncomfortable. Then it occurred to me that my belly was sore. Finally, I clued in that I was pregnant and the panic set in. This was when I finally woke up. I groggily lifted my head off the pillow just as Mr. Level-Headed was coming out of our bathroom, and I mumbled:

I just dreamt that I got drunk, and I was smoking, but I was still pregnant.

Being Mr. Level-Headed and being accustomed to my early morning mumblings, which always seem to surpass my standard, mid-day ridiculousness, he brushed the hair off of my face and without even missing a beat, he said, in all seriousness:

I am sure your dream was in the 70's, and in the 70's, none of that would matter. The baby is fine. Go back to sleep.

And I did . . . tee hee!

See why I love him so much!

Now last night's dream was more much tame, but I was still on dream vacation-mode. I dreamt I was in New York City with two little kids (hmmmm . . . perhaps there is a Thing 5 in our future as well), and we were on the search for the best poutine in New York City . . . tee hee! Do they even have poutine in New York?  Sadly, I woke up before I  had the chance to eat some, but nonetheless, it was a great dream.

I think I really am crazy . . .

The Honeymoon May Be Over, but the Dreams Sure Aren't!

I guess last week was the honeymoon phase of my second trimester. I felt awesome! I was never sick and I had lots of energy. I cleaned the entire house, I baked treats and I felt like my old, optimistic self again. Pumped from hearing Thing 4's heartbeat at the doctor's office, I even allowed myself to entertain the notion that yes, we are indeed having another baby. We decided on our names and we started collecting baby items. But, the honeymoon is over.

This week I feel overwhelmingly tired. I have been pukey, nauseous, and headachy. I think the worst part, though, is that I am feeling uneasy once again about the outcome of this pregnancy. I read somewhere that a woman does not fully recover from the heartache of a miscarriage until she is holding another baby in her arms, and I am really starting to believe it. I keep rereading our baby story to reassure me that yes, our time has come, but then I have these terrible moments, when the doubt and the fear creep  back in, and I think there is no way I am going to end up with my happy ending. How sad is that?

Last night I had another doozy of a dream. While we are on the topic of crazy pregnancy dreams, let me tell you, I think this pregnancy wins the prize. EVERY night I dream that I am working, whether it be weeding a garden, running a marathon, working out, or finding a lost child, which for some reason involved me scaling the walls of a five story apartment building. These dreams last all night long and the work never lets up. I wake up feeling exhausted! But, I never dream of my baby.

Then last night, I dreamt I had the baby. I was in the hospital, but people kept giving me jobs to do. I had to take care of all these people and I kept telling them that I needed to get back to my baby, but they just kept piling on the work. Finally, I finished my work and I remember looking at my watch and thinking:

Ahhhhhhh! I have never even nursed my baby and she was born 8 hours ago!

As I made my way to the nursery, I encountered construction. I had to take an alternate route, which again involved scaling walls and some crazy trapeze artistry. It took forever to locate the nursery, and when I finally arrived I learnt that I had to go through clearance. I needed a special ID card, which I did not have, and I had to undergo all these tests to determine that I was indeed Thing 4's mama. While I was waiting for all credentials to be approved, they showed me a picture of my baby and she was gorgeous (yes, Thing 4 was a girl in this dream). She had a Santa Claus sleeper on, lots of dark hair, big chubby cheeks, and a long, black goatee . . . . eeeeek! And I thought she was beautiful. I remember even commenting that I knew she would have a goatee. Crazy!! But, I never did get to see my baby. Somehow this dream ended and I moved onto yet another one of my working dreams . . . ugh!

And so, once again, I woke up feeling uneasy. I just want to hold Thing 4. I just want to count his or her fingers and toes and make sure he or she does not have a goatee (this is so bizarre). I just want to know for certain that everything is okay. I think in a couple of weeks when I am finally able to feel Thing 4 kick and squirm that I will feel a little more at ease, but until then, I will just keep on praying. I will just keep on hoping, and, unfortunately, I will just keep on dreaming . . . tee hee!

Happy Weekend everyone!

Oh, and since this post was a little too bleak for my liking, here are some random pics of Zoe and Avery that I found on the computer this morning. I love my kids! They always manage to put a smile on my face.