One week from today, August 7th, we find out if we are having a boy or a girl! My appointment is the first one of the day because I can't imagine having to wait all day to find out! :) I will be exactly 18 weeks.
I polled the speaking members of our family and 5 think it's a girl and only 1 thinks boy. Henry is the only one who thinks we are having a boy. He keeps insisting that our family NEEDS 5 boys (Rick is included in that.)
Sweet Claire keeps saying that we NEED a girl because she has never seen a baby girl. This is the same thing she said when I was expecting Sims. A few days ago, she said, "I don't know what I'm going to do if I don't get a sister"!!!!
Kate says she really, really wants a baby sister but if not it will be OK because Sims is cute.
All of the "old wive's tales" and all of my symptoms (except for 1) say BOY but I'm still going with GIRL!
7.31.2012
7.25.2012
Ready or Not.....
We started school today!!!! Here's our school crew: Kate - 2nd grade, Claire - 1st grade, and Henry - K4
We're all pretty excited about getting started so I'll enjoy it while it lasts. :)
7.24.2012
What We Do
This post is for a friend who asked about our activities during the day. I'll give it a shot but I will say that it changes frequently. There are people much better organized with their time than I am with our time. This is an area I really struggle with. Everyday I think at least one of these questions: Am I doing enough, am I doing too much, am I lazy, am I spending enough time with the children, am I spending too much time with them, do the children have too much free time or not enough, am i teaching them what they need to know, are they playing outside enough, are we home too much, are we not home enough, should I cook healthier meals, should I clean the house more, am I being patient, am I living and speaking the gospel to my children, etc. Ok, you get the picture. Eventually, it boils over and every few months I have a talk with Rick about it all.
I desire to be a good steward of what the Lord has given us and I desire to work heartily for the Lord and not for man. (Col 3:23) However, I fail and just hope that when I do, the kids see the grace of God to forgive and sustain.
Here's our basic shell. The kids all go to bed at 7:00. (Kate through Sims) Kate (7) is allowed to read in our bed for an hour if she wants to do so which she normally does. Claire will be allowed to do so at some point this year. She still needs the sleep right now. They all wake up between 6:30 and 7:00am. Morning nap time for Sims (13 months) is from 8-9:30. He will probably drop that nap in the next few months. Afternoon nap time for Jack(2.5) and Sims (13 months) is between 12:30 and 1 depending on what we have to do that afternoon. They normally sleep between 2 and 2.5 hours. Kate, Claire and Henry have to rest quietly for 1.5 hours at the same time. This gives me time to get stuff done or nap if I'm tired while pregnant or have a newborn.
We eat lunch between 11 and 11:30 and dinner around 5:30. Yes we are early birds when it comes to eating. Rick and I will be all ready when "retirement" comes around. :)
The girls are in ballet during the year on Tuesday afternoons (late) and Henry will have soccer this year on Tuesdays at 6. The girls will also take piano from my mother at some point during the week. We do not have any other scheduled activities. During the summer, we just play! :) We go places (zoo, etc), go to my parent's house, go swimming (with Rick-can't take everyone by myself yet), go to the gym, play outside, play inside, read. They do watch TV. We only have 1 TV, 1 Ipod, and 1 computer (for the kids and me) so we learn to share those things. I don't want everyone going off by themselves to watch TV or play on the computer so it all stays in the den. We don't watch a lot of TV only because there is really nothing good on to watch. It's basically Playhouse Disney, Nick Jr or something on Netflix.
I like when school is in session because it does give more structure to our day. This is why I lean more towards year-round schooling with frequent breaks. The majority of school works gets done in the morning before rest time because the kids are still young. I know this will spill over into the afternoon once they are older. So during the school year it's, school in morning, rest time, play time (ballet, play with friends etc) dinner, play with Rick, family worship and then bed.
That's basically it. Normal, probably boring, but good.
I desire to be a good steward of what the Lord has given us and I desire to work heartily for the Lord and not for man. (Col 3:23) However, I fail and just hope that when I do, the kids see the grace of God to forgive and sustain.
Here's our basic shell. The kids all go to bed at 7:00. (Kate through Sims) Kate (7) is allowed to read in our bed for an hour if she wants to do so which she normally does. Claire will be allowed to do so at some point this year. She still needs the sleep right now. They all wake up between 6:30 and 7:00am. Morning nap time for Sims (13 months) is from 8-9:30. He will probably drop that nap in the next few months. Afternoon nap time for Jack(2.5) and Sims (13 months) is between 12:30 and 1 depending on what we have to do that afternoon. They normally sleep between 2 and 2.5 hours. Kate, Claire and Henry have to rest quietly for 1.5 hours at the same time. This gives me time to get stuff done or nap if I'm tired while pregnant or have a newborn.
We eat lunch between 11 and 11:30 and dinner around 5:30. Yes we are early birds when it comes to eating. Rick and I will be all ready when "retirement" comes around. :)
The girls are in ballet during the year on Tuesday afternoons (late) and Henry will have soccer this year on Tuesdays at 6. The girls will also take piano from my mother at some point during the week. We do not have any other scheduled activities. During the summer, we just play! :) We go places (zoo, etc), go to my parent's house, go swimming (with Rick-can't take everyone by myself yet), go to the gym, play outside, play inside, read. They do watch TV. We only have 1 TV, 1 Ipod, and 1 computer (for the kids and me) so we learn to share those things. I don't want everyone going off by themselves to watch TV or play on the computer so it all stays in the den. We don't watch a lot of TV only because there is really nothing good on to watch. It's basically Playhouse Disney, Nick Jr or something on Netflix.
I like when school is in session because it does give more structure to our day. This is why I lean more towards year-round schooling with frequent breaks. The majority of school works gets done in the morning before rest time because the kids are still young. I know this will spill over into the afternoon once they are older. So during the school year it's, school in morning, rest time, play time (ballet, play with friends etc) dinner, play with Rick, family worship and then bed.
That's basically it. Normal, probably boring, but good.
7.23.2012
Names that could have been...
Because I'm not the greatest at keeping up baby books, I like to try and record things on the blog that I want my kids to know/remember. When I was younger, I always wanted to know what my parent's almost names me. It was Amanda, by the way, but my dad had a bad association with the name so Peggy it was. I am named for my mother's mother.
Anyway, I thought I'd list out names that were on my list for each of the children so they can look back on it one day.
Kate - We didn't discuss names until we knew she was a girl. I remember telling Rick I liked Ellen and Kate. He immediately said, "Kate." That was it! Easy! Never thought about boy names.
Claire - My first choice was Elizabeth, nicknamed "Lizzie." However, Lizzie McGuire was a popular kids TV show at the time and Rick thought people would think we named her after the show. :) We kept Elizabeth as her middle name. We went back and forth between Audrey and Claire. Rick changed the screen saver on our computer to say "Claire Elizabeth" one day and that settled it! Never thought about boy names.
Henry - We debated on whether or not Henry would be a junior. I left that decision up to Rick. Once he decided he did not want a junior, the only name on my list was Henry. Rick was taking a church history class at the time and a lot of men he read about were named Henry. Thanks to all of that reading, Henry it was. We carried down Rick's middle name and his father's middle name, Scott, and gave that to Henry.
Girl names on my list were Alice and Lillian.
Jack - Because his gender was unknown until birth we only loosely discussed names. He actually wasn't named until about 24 hours after he was born. For girls, we tossed around Alice, Lillian, and Sophie.
Once I knew he was a boy, I wanted his name to be John which means, "God is gracious." We had Jack after a miscarriage and the meaning of his name was important to me. He was almost named John Elias but we went with John Richard (Rick's name). Other boy names we discussed were Paul and Miles.
Simon - Simon was named Paul for about 3 weeks before we changed our minds. Then, we went back and forth and back and forth and back and forth between Simon, Oliver, and Levi. We finally picked Simon Oliver and it was perfect. Again, girl names on my list were Alice and Lillian.
Baby #6 - We will know in 2 weeks whether it's a boy or a girl and then the name will be picked! I can't wait!!
Anyway, I thought I'd list out names that were on my list for each of the children so they can look back on it one day.
Kate - We didn't discuss names until we knew she was a girl. I remember telling Rick I liked Ellen and Kate. He immediately said, "Kate." That was it! Easy! Never thought about boy names.
Claire - My first choice was Elizabeth, nicknamed "Lizzie." However, Lizzie McGuire was a popular kids TV show at the time and Rick thought people would think we named her after the show. :) We kept Elizabeth as her middle name. We went back and forth between Audrey and Claire. Rick changed the screen saver on our computer to say "Claire Elizabeth" one day and that settled it! Never thought about boy names.
Henry - We debated on whether or not Henry would be a junior. I left that decision up to Rick. Once he decided he did not want a junior, the only name on my list was Henry. Rick was taking a church history class at the time and a lot of men he read about were named Henry. Thanks to all of that reading, Henry it was. We carried down Rick's middle name and his father's middle name, Scott, and gave that to Henry.
Girl names on my list were Alice and Lillian.
Jack - Because his gender was unknown until birth we only loosely discussed names. He actually wasn't named until about 24 hours after he was born. For girls, we tossed around Alice, Lillian, and Sophie.
Once I knew he was a boy, I wanted his name to be John which means, "God is gracious." We had Jack after a miscarriage and the meaning of his name was important to me. He was almost named John Elias but we went with John Richard (Rick's name). Other boy names we discussed were Paul and Miles.
Simon - Simon was named Paul for about 3 weeks before we changed our minds. Then, we went back and forth and back and forth and back and forth between Simon, Oliver, and Levi. We finally picked Simon Oliver and it was perfect. Again, girl names on my list were Alice and Lillian.
Baby #6 - We will know in 2 weeks whether it's a boy or a girl and then the name will be picked! I can't wait!!
7.17.2012
Gender Prediction
There is an old wives' tale that the baby's heart rate can predict gender. Statistically, it has been proven to be correct 50% of the time. How do you like those odds??? However, in our case, the 14th week heart rate has correctly predicted every single one of our children's gender. Both girls' rates at 14 weeks were in the 170s and all the boys' were in the 150s.
It has only been correct during the 14th week though. After the 14th week, the rates have all fluctuated. So needless to say, I was looking forward to the 14th week appointment. Guess what, we were out of town during the 14th week. I did have my appointment today at 15 weeks and the rate was 153!
I don't know what to make of that but I guess there is always a 50% chance it's right. :) Thankfully I don't have to wait long to find out. We'll know in 2 weeks and 6 days.
It has only been correct during the 14th week though. After the 14th week, the rates have all fluctuated. So needless to say, I was looking forward to the 14th week appointment. Guess what, we were out of town during the 14th week. I did have my appointment today at 15 weeks and the rate was 153!
I don't know what to make of that but I guess there is always a 50% chance it's right. :) Thankfully I don't have to wait long to find out. We'll know in 2 weeks and 6 days.
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