Lifey as a wifey...and mom...and fat pregnant lady.

So not a whole lot of people knew I was pregnant aside from family.  I announced it on my blog around 4 and a half months, and then I announced it on Facebook at 5 months.  (Mostly because, even though I enjoy facebook, it's more of an amusing playtool for me, than an actual way to express my life.  I leave the life stuff to the blog.  I figure the people who really care go to the blog, and the people who are bored, go to facebook.)
It always seems like as soon as everyone else knows I'm pregnant, time starts to get much much slower.  Mostly because I just want to fast forward until I can hold this little guy and figure out a routine. Also it feels like now that people know, I get a lot of questions about how it's going, and really nothing new is happening except that I'm getting fatter and the usual aches and pains and gripes that aren't really interesting news to anyone, especially me. I wish I had something cool to tell people like, "Oh yes the baby grew three inches in my belly today and then danced the polka,"  but honestly, I have no clue.  He moves every day, his hearing must be intact because whenever it's loud or I raise my voice he moves. My biggest weapons against what I call the "pre-baby blues" is exercise, eating fresh food, and lots of sleep.  I read an article that mentioned that 70% of women experience symptoms of postpartum depression before the baby is born.  Which is understandable, but I refuse to let it happen to me.  I had weird symptoms when I was pregnant with all my babies.  With Crystal I got extremely paranoid.  I had nightmares, I worried all day, I couldn't stop cleaning..I got up at 3 in the morning just to clean sometimes, it was psycho.  Scott forbid me from watching the news back then because I would have nightmares every night about all the bad stories in the news. I had some kind of anxiety for sure.  With Seth I got sad, a lot.  I knew it was hormones, but I got sad a lot and so it made the pregnancy harder. I felt hopeless way too often, and it made me irritable and emotional.   With Jake, it was stress.  Turned out working 20 hours a week on my feet, moving houses, chasing two kids around the house, hosting thanksgiving and Christmas at my house were all stressful. It took me months to feel less stress and for my hormones to figure things out.  So this time around I'm doing my best to have a good pregnancy.  I'm trying not to eat too much junk food, (I admit I cheat though). I'm making time to exercise, which improves my mood more than you can possibly imagine, I'm getting fresh air every day and making sure I get enough sleep.  I don't try to clean/disinfect the entire house all day, I let SOME rooms stay messy so I can play with my kids, and I take time for myself every day, even if I have to be strategic on how I find that time.  I'm learning to say no to situations that are or will be too hard, but keeping myself busy at the same time.   I'm also mapping out a plan for when after the baby is born, so that I'm not overwhelmed, or stressed, or taking on more than I can handle.  It may take some sacrificing  and missing out on fun activities and/or vacations, but it will make me a better Mom, wife, and person, so I'm willing to do that.  I'm figuring out that just because I CAN do things, doesn't necessarily mean I SHOULD when it comes to my overall well being.
It doesn't help much that it's tax season, and so I see Scott for only a couple of hours a day until we go to bed. I miss him.  This time of year is frustrating because I miss not having him around, and when he hugs me goodbye in the morning I tell him I miss him and he will say something like, "one more month left." Then at the end of tax season, I get used to not having him around and then we have to adjust to being around each other all over again.  In the meantime I do my prenatal exercises, I make sure and clean at least the most important rooms in the house if nothing else.  Different rooms get rotated depending priority. I help the kids with their homework, (It's amazing how much homework a seven year old can have...that and Seth has speech therapy, and I home-preschool him), I change diapers, give baths, read my scriptures, play on the internet, and pick up a book and read.  Sounds boring, but I've learned that when I'm pregnant, routine helps.  I make a list of 10 things I need to accomplish every day and it motivates me, because something about crossing things off of a list turns me on.  Depending on the kind of day I'm having, the list can get very very basic, but at least I can say I accomplished 10 things every day.  I'm finding the balance between staying active and motivated and biting off more than I can chew.  So there is my life lately.  Not very romantic or exciting, but necessary, and life is about doing what's necessary so that you can enjoy it more when the good times come.

Some fun stuff is that Crystal is taking dance classes!  Her class covers the basics of classical ballet with a hint of the barre. They also touch on modern dance. She absolutely loves it, and she's so cute in her little dance outfit!  She will already have her first recital in May, and I'm just as excited as she is!

Amazingly, there is a girl who is actually shorter than she is!  Haha!  I had to take this picture through the glass window because they only let students in the actual dance room, but you can sit on benches directly outside of the room that have glass windows so you can see what they're doing in there.

I'm glad Crystal is involved in something she can enjoy.  She hates sports, and had no interest in gymnastics, but she did say she would try dance, and I'm happy to say she really likes it so far.  She also wants to take piano and singing, which I'm trying to find a good teacher for in the area that doesn't charge an arm and a leg.

Seth is back playing Sports.  Right now, he's signed up for 'Itty Bitty Ball', which is basically a class that covers some basic skills in baseball, volleyball, football, soccer, and basketball.  It's from the same people he took football from back in October, and he actually winded up with the same coach, who requested him when she saw his name because she loves him.  Which of course makes me happy.  I love it when I'm not the only one who adores my kids.

Most of the pictures are pretty similar to the football video I posted back in October, but here he is on baseball day:

They hung balls from ropes on the ceilings and had the kids practice hitting them in the air

Here he is after he just hit the ball in the T-ball area

So far he really likes it.  I didn't get any pictures of Volleyball because Jacob was being really clingy that day and wouldn't let me take any pictures, but the kids had one of those huge beach balls that they would hit over the net at each other to practice hitting over the net.  He loved it.  The only thing he really hates is soccer.  He can't stand it.  He keeps trying to pick up the ball and run it like a football, and the idea of not being able to grab the ball is ridiculous to him.  He told me that "soccer is the worst sport ever, and it's stupid" after his first day at soccer.  I just laughed and told him that his daddy would probably agree so it's okay.

Jake is growing up so fast, and is so so smart.  He walks around the house like a champ these days, and his three favorite words to say to people are, "No", "Food," and "Car."  He is bossy and demanding, so naturally the word "No" is one of his favorites, and he shakes his finger at you.  He is also an eater.  He loves to eat and is always asking for "Bwoo" which is food.  Also, he really really loves cars.  He points at them whenever we're out of the house, he is obsessed with toy cars, and he makes me put on Disney's Cars movie for him every single day by pointing to the TV and demanding to watch "Caw" .  He also makes the "vroom" sound when he plays with cars.  He loves to play with his older siblings.  He absolutely worships Crystal, he treats her like another mom.  She is so great with him too, she helps me with him all day, and cuddles him, holds him on her lap, and helps him.  He see's Seth as more of an equal.  He loves playing with Seth, but hates it when Seth tells him what to do, or takes things away from him.  He treats Crystal as more of an adult, but not so much Seth.  Sometimes Crystal and Seth get all worked up and start playing hyper, and even though Jakey has no clue about what the game is about, he's content to chase after them and giggle and laugh along with them.  It's great.  His two favorite things in the world are his binkie and his blanket.  Crystal was also (and is still) attached to her blankie, so Jacob having a favorite blanket is nothing new to me, but I've never had a kid who has been attached to the pacifier before.  I'm just going to pretend I won't have to wean him off it at some point for right now because it makes a fabulous "mute button".


All three of the kids miss their dad this time of year.  Crystal told me yesterday that she hates tax season "because daddy is always gone" it made me kind of sad.  Seth doesn't make comments, but on days when Scott is here he is happier and keeps telling his dad how much he loves him.  Jake misses Scott like crazy.  Out of all three of my kids, Jake seems to have bonded with his daddy the earliest.  The other two, though they loved their daddy, as infants they still clung to me because I was the mom, and only mommy could fix every thing.  Not for Jacob.  He is crazy about his dad and when Scott comes through the door he tackles his legs and demands to play.  Interestingly enough, Jake is also much better behaved with Scott than with me, which is why I make Scott hold him during church, because he whines a lot less when Scott is holding him.  Maybe I should feel jealous, but it's actually nice to have Scott take him from me some days, and I like seeing the bond between the two of them.  Plus Jake and I have a good relationship, he's just a big time daddy's boy.

Anyway, that's how we're doing for those wondering.  We keep busy around here...I sit and wait for both of my kids with Jake when they go to their lessons, which can be a lot of work loading the kids in and out of the car now that my belly is nice and big, but it's not so bad, and I get out of the house.  The double stroller has been a life saver in that aspect.  Life is busy and crazy here at home, but I actually really really like my life in spite of the chaos.  My kids make me laugh every day.  I miss Scott, but three months out of the year is a small price to pay because on the off season he only works 4 days a week and spends a lot more time with us.  This pregnancy has been surprisingly manageable.  Maybe because I just had one so I know what to expect, maybe because I expected it to be much harder since I already have three kids, maybe because the warm weather is creeping back and the warm weather makes me happier, I'm not sure, but I'm counting my blessings.