update

well it's 9pm here in seattle and i got nothin :) hung here at the house all day - cleaning, vacuuming, cooking, etc, etc and i still feel the same way i have for the past two weeks - having braxton hicks but nothing to signal real labor has begun yet - just crazy uncomfortable! well here's hoping i don't "stall out" until they have to induce me! my mom gets into town thursday so it's still ideal to wait a couple more days and i should've known better to think my body would actually do anything a dr. thought it would - we can trace that back all the way to supposedly being told i was infertile - hahahaha!! :) will keep you posted!

39 weeks!

Still with child . . but probably not for long! had my appt this morning and thing are moving along :) my OB was able to touch her head and I'm 3cm dialated!! my OB definitelty thinks it will be this week - most likely today or tomorrow, so we'll see :) please say a prayer all goes well! hopefully the next post will have pix of the newest brindisi babe and YES! - we did finally decide on a name (and it's not greta!) but i figured now it's so close i'll just wait until she's here to tell :)

i'm stil rockin the shirt melissa :)

38 weeks!

had my weekly appt this morning and was told "with confidence" i would not be having this baby this week! still waiting on some key positioning to take place :) which is OK because i'm waiting for my mom to get back anyways! besides the usual "i'm ready to have this baby complaints and aches and pains" we're doing well! ella thinks it's very cool when she can feel the baby but it freaks layla out and norah just comes over to my belly and shakes it, pretty fiercely, and yells "baby!" :)

school fair!

we took ella to a school fair over the weekend to get all you need to know info about kindergarten! (i just cannot get over we are going through this process now!) she's been pumped for a while to get to go to school and it was great b/c we got to meet/talk with some K teachers from her school and the principal. we take her to actually register next month and i was pleased to hear that the teacher we spoke with thinks she is already ahead of the curve on her abilities (writing, spelling, etc..) which made me feel pretty good since we opted not to put her in a pre-school this year. ella told danny that she was trying to decide if she wanted to ride the bus or ride in the van with me - little does she seem to know that her mom is just not that cool and my 5 year old will not be rinding a bus! (sorry ella - just the beginning of things she'll hate me for!)

so i guess the countdown is on . . . only 7 months :)

randomness

it does my heart good to walk into the family room and see this, especially since we now deal with a lot of sisterly squabbling during the day :)


eating our ice cream at IKEA! we love IKEA :)

household tip!

danny and i just bought a brand new leather/microfiber sectional - literally it was just delivered last week - and today norah made it her own personal ink pen canvas!! if this doesn't send me into labor nothing will - i'm pretty sure i had a minor panic attack and i knew for sure danny was going to freak out when he got home :)



i am not a domestic diva - meaning i rely on resolve or my little green bissel machine to get out all my stains :) i've never known those tricks for getting out wine of a tablecloth or anything like that, but i found out a "trick" today that i had to share! thanks to my "Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook" (one of the best books ever written - it's truly the holy grail of anything you need to know in your home - i am forever grateful for my aunt diane who gave it to me!) and some Internet surfing i found the secret of getting ink pen stain out of a microfiber couch! i always assumed you were doomed if you got an ink stain - but not so!



Alcohol my friends!!! who knew?!?! (maybe you did, but i didn't) you can use rubbing alcohol, vodka, or (in my case b/c i had none of the fore mentioned) hand sanitizer! dab it on your cloth, work from the outside of the stain inward, and there you have it!!! apparently alcohol gets almost anything out of microfiber - which i am now convinced is the best material when kids are still in the house!!



the only evidence left of the crime (she loves to draw on herself!!) - ink's a lot harder to get off skin than the couch!

my little devil in disguise . . seriously!


crisis averted . . until the next one - probably tomorrow :)

37 weeks!

i had my weekly appt this morning - i have one every monday until my due date - assuming i make it that far . . which i always have :) baby girl's head is down but nothing "fun" to report. i've been having pretty frequent braxton hicks the past few days and quite uncomfortable, but everything is still status quot. she still moves often (not comfortable) and i didn't think it was possible but i put on a few more pounds, just for fun! i'll let you know if anything happens!

one more thing . .

ella: "mommy, who are you in love with?"
me: "daddy."
ella: "anyone else?"
me: "well i'm in love with you and layla and norah also."
ella: "no, you can't be in love with your children. BUT, you can be in love with 1000 different boys!"

honestly, i really have no idea how these ideas come into their little minds! i'm pretty sure PBS Kids and Sprout don't talk about preschool dating! i know i was "boy crazy" in middle school but i don't think i cared to much about them at 3 and 5 years old! oh well . . it definitely makes me laugh during the days!

oh ella!

ella: "mommy, how is the new baby going to get out of your tummy?"
me: (feverishly trying to decide how to handle this moment in my head) "how do you think it's going to happen, ella?"
ella: "i think she is going to swim up your stomach, threw your throat, and out your mouth - with sparkles!" (laughing!)

that sounds a lot better than what's actually going to take place ;)

- - - - - - - - - -

(while i was getting ready to go out over the weekend this is what i hear)

ella: "daddy, while mommy is gone can we do fun stuff?"
me: "hey ella, don't you think i'm a fun playmate like daddy?"
ella: "uhh, no! but . . you are a very good story reader and i love you!"

i really thought i was fun to hang out with during the day, too :)

All in! All family! All National Champs!!!!

WAR EAGLE!!!!! What a game it was!! I would pay money to be at Toomer's Corner tonight :) We saw some live video from everyone rolling it and someone had a shirt that said "The Roll to Remember!" - i want that shirt! we have neighbors who went to Auburn as well and came over to enjoy the excitement with us! it's always more fun to have others around who love it as much as we do!!

ready. ok. (setting up for their cheers)

"it's great to be an auburn tiger .. "

"waaaaarrrrrrr eagle, hey!"


ella enjoying the AU cookies our neighbors made



(note to self - do NOT wear white while pregnant! i am not that huge!!!)


until next year, war damn eagle :)

5 weeks and counting . .

this past tuesday marked 35 weeks! besides the usual pregnancy complaints i'm doing well! not too anxious for her to arrive right now just because i am in full on nesting mode (i didn't think that would still happen) and have a few more projects around the house to accomplish. ella is on pins and needles to meet her new baby! she is so excited to be involved in all aspects of helping with her sister - it's super sweet! i told her the baby wouldn't be here until after christmas so now that christmas is officially over and all the decorations have been taken down she wants to know - everyday! - when her new sister is coming!

remember this pic:
(taken at 20 weeks - i had many remarks on how small i looked)

(only 3 weeks later!)


and look at us now! we've come a long way baby! :)

we always pop eventually!

big girl bed!

tonight is the first night in the big girl bed! here's hoping :)

hanging out with grandma & grandpa

my mom and dad leave this friday morning, and even though i know my mom will be back within a month to help with the new baby, it is never easy to see them go! we've had a wonderful 2 weeks and as always the girls have loved all the extra love and attention! here are just some random pix from around the house . .

leavonworth

it was very cold - highs in the 20's - but a good day to be out in the mountains!

downtown - in no particular order

we rode the carousel, did some shopping, and took the monorail over to the space needle and science center! the girls love the city :)