week 36baby grace~

Finally, finally, I have been getting some things accomplished. The last two Sundays have been massive cooking days (we go to church Saturday night) and that seemed to kick me into gear. It takes me quite awhile to recover from my endeavors, but I can safely say I've reached the point where the house is in a nearly constant state of order (do you know how good that feels?), although there is some more deep cleaning I would still like to accomplish. (Did I mention that my birthday gift was to have two friends that clean on the side come to clean my bathrooms scrub my floors do those things on my list that I really, really didn't want to do clean those things that are just a little too hard for me to do comfortably right now? Have I mentioned what an awesome husband I have?) In the past these are things I've done myself, but this time it's been such a blessing to have help.

Anyway, for my own future reference...

Physical Update:

I know it sounds silly, but throughout all of my pregnancies I have never really just stood there and stared at my belly in the mirror. I did that for the first time the other night. Wow! Pregnancy really is amazing. People have always commented on how my belly just sticks out in front, I don't look pregnant from the back, etc. etc. but I've never paid much attention. It really does look like that. Like I have this attachment on the front of me :o) I also have very bad stretch marks, which I already knew. I've had them since Anna. I guess that's what happens when you stretch out a 17 year old body with an almost 9lb baby and don't bother to use lotion or anything. Oh well.

The baby is low. As in I'm beginning to get that she could fall out anytime feeling. (If only it were that easy.) My feet are swollen almost all the time which has resulted in not just a few laughs from Glen. Have I mentioned that I have never been swollen before? Ever. And Glen really likes my feet. At least he's smart enough to know it will go away. (And he's smart enough to not make moo-ing sounds at me anymore. He learned that with Anna.)

Susie, the midwife, and her assistant came over the other night. I'm measuring a couple of weeks big. Hopefully that means an earlier baby! I so hope I'm not setting myself up again for a month long waiting game. I just keep thinking my girls were early, so this one has got to be early. Next Friday will be the day Moriah came, so I can't help but have the date in my head. I'm not expecting it then, but that's when I feel that I enter that "it could be any time" territory. Sometimes being a planner has its downfalls. **sigh** I mean, I'm the person that reads the ends of books first and reads the movie spoilers before watching movies. I really, really like to know things. Like a lot. (And I kind of think an Easter baby would be really neat! Some of my babies have been born very close to Jewish holidays so I'm thinking Passover?? And I keep meaning to spend some time thinking about and praying about this; I know Moriah coming so early definitely had something to do with her being born on Rosh Hashanah and us entering into a new season of our life. Her name is tied into it as well and I am excited to see how the Lord unfolds all of that as she grows older.) But anyway, Passover is the 9th, and Anna and I have a Mommy and Me fun day planned for the 10th. As you can see, I drive myself (and others) a little nuts when I get to this point ;o)

Really, though, I am in better spirits and feeling much better than I was a few weeks ago. I have a distinct waddle and move very slowly, but overall I am feeling pretty good. My iron is really low and I've been working diligently to raise my hemoglobin levels for a few weeks now, but they seem to be stuck regardless of what I eat and what supplements I take. But I feel okay, so that is definitely a plus :o)

Freezer Tally:

6 meatloaves (yep, with hidden zucchini again...shhh)

4 chicken casseroles

3 sesame chicken

3 chicken enchiladas

2 bags chicken in raspberry walnut vinagarette

2 bags chicken in some other marinade I can't remember :o)

4 bags beef brisket

15lbs browned hamburger with onions

10c. cooked, shredded chicken

some hot dogs and beef smoked sausage for easy, fast meals (i know, i know...yuck. but i have kids, people. kids)

turkey bacon & turkey sausage

16 lbs chicken tenders

we still have a huge amount of beef from the cow we split with my dad

a ridiculous amount of frozen veggies

a stack of pizzas and gluten free pizza crusts

frozen waffles & french toast sticks

I'm playing with the idea of making more brisket and possibly some chicken pot pies. For some reason my cooking felt more difficult and didn't produce as many meals as usual. Maybe I made larger portions than before? This time I froze all the meals in disposable pans that stack and that made a huge difference in the organization of my freezer. I will definitely stick with this method from now on. I didn't make any soups like I did back before fall began. We just don't eat as much of that stuff in the summer. We'll probably rely a lot on grilling since we have quite a bit of the cow and a lot of chicken. Grilling is easy...and yummy!

Pantry Stocking (food and paper supplies):

If you're interested in my obsessive compulsive efforts to have a well stocked pantry prior to having a baby, the list of what I've stored is in the sidebar.

Cleaning Left to Finish:

Just for my own sake, this is my list of what I want to finish up:

*baseboards, windows, sills in dining room

*mr clean magic eraser dining room

*clean top of refrigerator

*windows, sills, baseboards in school room

*wipe down doors/trim in school room

*baseboards in foyer

*front door glass and trim

*clean air intake

*mr clean eraser wall behind school room door

*scrub laundry room floor

*baseboards, windows, sills in living room

*window trim in living room

*move green chair upstairs

*baseboards in area by master bedroom

*mr clean eraser by master bedroom

*dust living room

*baseboards master bedroom

*dust master bedroom

Other:

*deal with flower bed by front porch

*clean off deck

*go through files in desk

*put away coats, etc. in attic

*dust desk

*go through birth supplies and purchase any last minute items

*get baby stuff from sister

*talk glen into taking bookcases to attic figure out what to do with the blue bookcases

*get photos for frame above fireplace?

*picture frames in bedroom?

*make & laminate new "how to" cleaning lists for the kids

*girl day with anna (nails, waxing (me, not anna!) , car cleaned out, etc.)

*clean up gravel around basement and backyard

I guess that's it. Now I'm going to bed.

Goodnight.