7 Quick Takes Friday (#2)

 

1. Well, I have officially hit the 38th week of pregnancy. Wow, how time has flown! This is the time where everyone begins to be on alert for any signs that the baby is coming. This basically means that every time I make a sound that merely resembles the sound of pain, everyone- children included- will run to me and say, "Is it time? Is it time?" The same goes every morning when I wake up. The kids run into my room to see if i've gone to the hospital to have the baby. It is so precious to watch my babies excited for their sister to be born. With all three of my previous pregnancies, I gave birth between 38 and 41 weeks, so there is really no telling when this baby is going to arrive. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe in two weeks. There is just no way to be sure! One thing is for sure though, I cannot wait to meet my baby girl, whenever the time may be.

2. The Tooth Fairy has made FOUR stops to our house this week. Wow! Maya (7) has lost three of her teeth this week and Kenyan (6) has lost one. The little kids think this is the absolute coolest thing ever and keep trying to pull out their own teeth! I'm not sure what they like more: the idea of the tooth fairy or finding money under their pillow. Hmmmm! One thing is for sure, though: the Tooth Fairy is going to be broke with the amount of kids in this family!

3. Wren and I are obsessed with Downtown Abbey! For a long time people told us we should start watching the show, and, probably after the 20th time of being told, we finally watched an episode. AND WE ARE HOOKED! Right now we are beginning season 2. We're not big television watchers, but this is one show that we definitely take time to watch. Wren and I make a date out of it, too. When we aren't totally exhausted and out of energy from raising 7 kids and being 9 months pregnant, Wren and I will lay on the couch at night and watch an episode or too. It is a great way to spend time together!

4. Kenyan and Amari love soccer so much. They have been playing since they were little boys, so every soccer season I sign them up to play on a team. They have already played for two years now and love it every year. That time of year came again where the boys were asking if they could play soccer. Of course my immediate answer was yes, but then I got to thinking about how soccer is just falling at the worst time for us this year. The league begins in March, this is when the baby is due, when we're expected to move (separate post coming soon), and when Wren has to go on a business trip for two weeks.  After I had already said yes, I thought about possibly telling the boys it wasn't going to work out. But then I imagined their little faces and having to disappoint them; plus, it is just not worth it. We can make it work. It is more important to me that my kids are happy than not letting them participate in extra curricular activities for my sanity. Yesterday I took the boys to meet their team at a pre-season party and they were SO happy and SO excited. It is so worth it!

5. Maya has been interested in helping me in the kitchen lately. Each night when I cook dinner she is right by my side, helping me and learning. It is so much fun and such an amazing way to spend time with my daughter. She has graduated from observing and doing a few small tasks, to completely making side dishes on her own. Looks like I have a future chef on my hands! Of course she isn't cooking or baking anything too complex, but Maya makes some delicious cheddar biscuits. She is learning so much and she told me this morning that helping me cook will make her a great future wife and mommy. Awwww!

6. Yesterday, when Wren was at work, I called him saying I was having a rough day. I spent 30 minutes cooking a delicious lunch for the kids, only to find that none of the kids felt like eating what I had made. Arlet and Elaina would NOT go down for their naps. Amari scraped his knee and thought he needed to be hospitalized... literally. One of the kids broke a vase. Basically, the craziness of yesterday was insane. Thirty minutes after I called Wren, two of my sisters showed up at my door saying they'd take over the fort while I went out for a couple of hours to have some time for myself. Wren had called them and asked them to come over since he was at work and couldn't. Wow, I have the best husband and sisters ever. With four (magical, relaxing, peaceful, quiet) hours to myself, I felt like I had gone on vacation for a week. First I bought a new book from Barnes and Nobles and spent an hour reading it in my car (I needed absolute quiet), then I went out to lunch, got my nails done, and lastly, I went to fulfil my daily hourly craving of frozen yogurt and decided to bring some back for the kids. When I got home, the kids were excited to see me and I was excited to see them. It was amazing what a couple of hours of "me" time can do to a person! By the end of my day, I felt refreshed and ready to get back to regular life.

7. Guess what?! Wren and I picked a name for baby #8 last night! We feel it is absolutely perfect for our baby girl and cannot wait to put a name to the face in the upcoming weeks. It is a name that we both equally love and it has a very special meaning. Just like our previous pregnancies, we're not sharing until her birth. But a couple weeks isn't bad, right? It's better than nine months!