Happy Birthday Allie!!

Ok, so enough with the Big A, Middle A and baby A stuff b/c its just too cold sounding. Allie turned five today and I took the day off to hang with her.  We had a BLAST.  Our day started off with donuts, followed by a trip to Build-A-Bear, Target, lunch at Applebees, and then we got our toes done. It was awesome. Tonight we'll meet our family at a pizza place for a quick bite, and then BED.  Time out with this little miss has worn me out but it was so much fun!!!
Allie is my "spirited" child...she is SO energetic, full of life, full of herself, dramatic, sweet...she is a mixed bag. You never know whats coming next! (Just like her daddy). She is waaay funnier than I am, and sometimes I'm amazed that a kid of mine has such a great sense of humor.  ;)

Showing off the double chocolate donut she chose

picking out the perfect heart for her bunny

giving our new friend "Rainbow" a hug

Looking for the perfect toy at Target

Aaaand pictures from Allie past...

Dear Kidneys and Bladder:

I would like to thank you for your efficient and timely processing of fluids.  It is not at all annoying to have to pee again on my way back from the bathroom from just peeing. And honestly, I dont enjoy sleeping that much, so the 11 times you woke me up last night...I forgive you. I just appreciate your timely removal of waste fluid.  And seriously, I enjoyed stopping three time on an hour trip (to pick up big A from 4H camp).  How else could I have enjoyed wading through the gas station owner's CHICKENS to get to their only bathroom...waaaay out back??  To be fair, they were nice chickens.

I am very much over the peeing.  Ironically, I'm so thirsty I have to have water on me ALL the time. The irony seems quite cruel to be honest.

PICA and sheer jealousy!

So while preggers with Middle A, I had PICA, and unless you've had it, you have no clue how frustrating it is to want to eat things that are, by definition, inedible.  If you've had a baby, you've likely had cravings and as everyone knows...when you crave something, you MUST. HAVE. IT. NOW.  So, when I started wanting dry clay and chalk, I knew I had a problem. Ironically, at the time there was some random special on TV about a man who was creating mineral supplements out of genuine dried clay and I watched the whole thing, drooling and hoping they'd post some order information (the didnt).  My dr and I tried to figure out what sort of deficiency might be causing this odd craving, and came up with nothing. So, I was doomed to suffer three months of unsatisfaction.  I had to get creative.  I started eating TUMS by the bottle. Necco Wafers worked ok too.  And....Space Ice Cream!!  The dry, chalky texture sort of helped curb the NEED for clay. 

Luckily, while pregnant with Baby A, I had no such cravings at all! With this baby, so far so good...except I really really really wanted some Astronaut Ice Cream.  And guess what (this is where the jealousy part comes in...) I FOUND it (see, don't you wish you were me??).  Actually, it wasnt even hard to find, but I thought it would be this huge, colossal task.  Turns out, people sell it all over the place. I had been buying it at our Old Navy for like, $5 a teeny bag, and then I discovered this little gem.  I bought a small case.  :)  Now, I can eat it to my hearts content. I'm so happy.  Dont be jealous...if you're nice, I'll share.

23 weeks pregnant

So, I'm 23 weeks now...and nothing really to report...baby boy Carroll is busy busy busy.  I swear he grew a ton just last night...all of a sudden, I'm only slightly smaller than a whale.  Pretty soon Sea World will be calling.  Its bad, I'm huge.  I don't eat a lot, I'm just ginormous.  I've decided I'm going to have to hit up P90X once this baby is out and work the heck out.  I'm tired of the flubber.

Anyhoo, the baby is doing great and growing growing! He has cycles now, and I can predict pretty well when he'll be awake and moving.  I often forget that I'm pregnant.  I mean, I'm good and uncomfortable, but I keep forgetting its because theres a BABY in there.  Its weird...like we're too busy to remember.  But its good too b/c I dont have time to focus on feeling run down.  Except for yesterday...it took me forever to get out of the house b/c I just felt SO WORN. I couldnt stand for too long without just feeling exhausted!

Braxton Hicks are picking up like crazy.  I'll have none, and then (like right this second) I'll have a bunch in a row.  I'm excited for next week b/c its viability week!  24 is the magic number when it comes to delivery because at that point they'd actually try and save him. 

I've just started buying some baby boy things, and I'm definately tending towards little man type clothes. I have bought a bunch of little button down shirts, little teeny cargos, little polo shirts...love it! I'm not so much into the softy baby stuff.  Obviously when he's brand new I'll have some softies, but I just love the look of a baby boy in teeny man clothes. 

I've decided to put the little girls into a room together and give him Baby A's room.  Its already a nice baby blue and owl themed, which is pretty gender neutral. I just have to take all the pink owls out and replace them with brown ones. I'll put pictures up once I get it straight. The little girls will be getting bunk beds, and Big A will stay right where she is. We are keeping the playroom as is because its nice to have a room dedicated JUST to toys.  That was probably a lot more information than anyone needed, but so be it! :)

Just Dance

HOW did we not catch on to the wonder that is Just Dance until a third one had already come out?? My kids freaking love it and they are SO darn cute.  Even the baby dances with her sisters and has "her song." Heck, even my dad did it!  I love love love this game because they can play Wii on a rainy day and still be moving and not sitting around like a bump on a log.  Yay Wii!