And the verdict is...drumrole please...

I was laying by Ryan today while he dozed off for his nap (before my ultrasound apt.) noticing his chubby hands, where he still has dimples on his knuckles and was remembering the outfit he wore home from the hospital. I started freaking out. I don't think I want a girl...changing a girl's diaper would be SOOO weird, I wanted another boy to wrestle with, chase and throw around. I know how to do boys, I don't think I could do teenage girls, I'm not a girly girl, I don't do slumber parties and Hannah Montana crap.

Needless to say, the Lord needed me to freak out for a moment so that I could be over the moon that #3 is another little boy. The ultrasound was VERY clear--just like Jason and Ryan's (showoffs). And to top it off, he stretched and put both his hands up behind his head, the same way Jason and Ryan liked to sleep when they were babies--it was perfect! The due date is still July 26 but the tech said she thinks it will be closer to the 21st with how we are measuring...big--but what's new? I can't wait and of course Scott is thrilled and said he secretly had his fingers crossed for a boy anyway! So frat house here we come--if I'm ever begging for a girl's night out, you know why!

Tender Mercies...

I find every time I'm pregnant I am much more sensitive to other's sufferings. I find myself bawling watching news features or tearing up reading articles or stories that wouldn't normally affect me. I find it easier to sympathize with friend's and family's struggles and I'm much more reflective on the blessings in my life. I've tried to be more service oriented, more patient and long suffering (I know--you can't tell from my 5 Stages and Vomit posts, but I really am trying :). So you can imagine how touched I was when I checked the mail box a couple weeks ago and found a package from my Aunt that I haven't chatted with in forever. She said she read my blog, could totally identify with my-life-as-I-know-it and thought I might need a pick me up; warm feety socks, lotion, a little crafty, and best of all--CHOCOLATE! I couldn't believe how something as simple as a note and some thoughtful treats could make my day--lets be honest, my week. Soooo thanks Aunt Julie and hopefully I'm reminded to do little things like this for those I care about more often! Oh yeah, I totally scarfed all the chocolate before Scott was home from work--come on, I'm not that selfless!

White Chocolate & Raspberries!

I was asked to make a cake for a friend's daughter's birthday. They didn't have many requests or ideas for it except that she likes "funfetti" cakes--too funny since she was turning 21--and that they wanted it to have "white" frosting and raspberry filling. Sooo I decided to make a white chocolate cream cheese frosting with the top layer being her "funfetti" request. The bottom layer--surrounded by the pirouette cookie sticks--is a simple butter vanilla bean cake. Both have layers of a raspberry cream cheese filling in between. Outside, on top of the frosting are white chocolate curls and tons of fresh raspberries. The cake was only supposed to serve about 8 people, but they wanted it to be 2 layers. When I showed up with this I simply told them I don't know how to bake "small"! I think they enjoyed themselves! I'll post the recipes a bit later if you want them!

Block Walls & Vomit???

The last 48 hours has had me throwing my hands up in the air yelling "Really life, seriously?" But at least it had me laughing in the end. It all started with a lazy Saturday afternoon of meandering through a few mattress stores--salivating over pillow top king sized bundles of goodness. Every time I'm pregnant we wish we had a king size bed, this time we might actually do something about it! Back to the story--Ryan takes off running down the sidewalk, Jason yells "I'll get him" and begins to chase down his little brother. I walk quickly behind, making sure they are ok. Ryan turns to make sure someone is in pursuit, I yell at him to "come back right now!" He giggles and rounds the corner at top speed--it is a dead end so no where for him to go. I slow down, he sees me and of course, speeds up, tripping just in time to land head first into a cinder block wall. There was no catching himself with his hands, no slowing down, just full speed ramming his little forehead into the concrete. I fully expected gushing blood based on the sick thumping sound he made on contact. Instead, when I got to him 10 seconds later there was a 2 inch lump forming on his forehead, swollen and blue under the surface where are the blood was building up. I think I stood there for a full 30 seconds debating on rushing him home or to the hospital--it looked that bad! Scott had his head on better than I, snagged some ice from the Circle K next door and began applying pressure. Long story short, we got him home, iced him every half hour and waited for the swelling to go down. He woke up looking much better Sunday morning but he is beginning to turn an excellent shade of blue, green and brown all over his forehead.

Now where does the vomiting come in you may be wondering? During one of his icing sessions Ry got particularly worked up. Now you have to know Ryan, he is a fighter--he fights anything and everything for no real reason at all. He is also an easy gagger & massive puker. When he gets worked up he begins to gag and if it continues he then throws up (I sometimes think he does this at will knowing we will let him get whatever he wants because we are afraid he'll gag & puke) This time, to have a reason (thumping head and really cold ice pack) he fought even harder resulting in Scott holding his head still in one hand, ice in the other and me pinning his body down to control the rapid thrashing. He then started gagging, we tried to sooth but eventually let him stand up to calm down for a second. What happened, he vomited chocolate milk and pb&j all over the carpet. I caught some with my nearby jacket, Scott grabbed him at arms length and relocated him to the tile to finish the job. I closed my eyes trying to focus on flowers and sunshine and breathing through my mouth instead of what was happening a few feet away. Did the flowers and sunshine help you wonder? NOPE! 30 seconds later, still on my knees from helping Ryan, but at least on the tile instead of the carpet, I COMPLETELY lose it all over the floor. Scott gave himself whiplash wondering who to help first, the mom or the boy. Instead he bee-lines for the camera, laughing and shaking his head in amazement/disgust. After a few quick shots and humorous jabs about his dynamic duo of puking son and wife, he got Ry guy stripped down, in the tub as I finished my business, got stripped down and hosed off. Scott moped, I scrubbed carpet. We were quite the team. We even finished with 5 min. to spare before our company showed up for treats that night. At least I was laughing when all was said and done, it could have been worse!

icing his head


totally self explanitory!