Update

No baby yet. My due date is tomorrow, but I don't really expect to meet this guy for at least a week. Henry was over a week late, and I don't have a lot of signs of labor yet. Early in this pregnancy, I thought having a due date near Christmas would be a bad thing, but it is actually great. I got everything done for Christmas about a week ago, and now I'm just enjoying the time with my family (well, except for when the boys are fighting--approximately six hours per day--and Craig is welding in my laundry room). I wonder why I leave everything until the last minute most years? Also, with Christmas to look forward to, plus some fun events coming up that I can attend if I haven't recently had the baby, I'm not feeling impatient. Whenever he gets here will be fine.

House Photos

Because I'm not blogging until further notice--late pregnancy plus Christmas equals general brain fog and exhaustion--I figured I would at least post a few pictures. Here are some shots of our house, which friends and relatives far and wide had been requesting during the summer and fall but have probably given up on by this point. In order from top to bottom: living, dining, kitchen, office. I think the rest of the house was too messy for photos, but there also two bedrooms, a semi-finished basement playroom and T.V. room, and two bathrooms. And a huge backyard. I'm pretty happy with our house.

And if you were wondering about the sheep head, that is an Alaskan dall sheep, which Craig killed and we ate. My husband is so very manly.

Pub Baby Shower

So last night I met up with my pub ladies for our usual once-per-month hang out time. Although I can't drink beer right now, it is still a really good time. And last night they surprised me with a pub baby shower. It was awesome. They gave me some totally cool hand-me-down baby shoes, a hat knit by Patti, a baby book made by Allison, and some wooden toys that Amy and her husband made. And there were, of course, some baby shower activities. It was pretty much the perfect baby shower for a woman about to birth and parent her third little boy.

Good Buddy, Bad Buddy

I mentioned a few days ago that Luke is on the “Buddy Team” at school. He is “on duty” on Mondays, and from what I can piece together, he is supposed to introduce himself to new kids and make them feel welcome, but his main responsibility is to try to solve minor problems on the playground. He had never yet felt the call of duty until yesterday.

Last night as we were cleaning up from dinner, he said, “Oh yeah! I had to help solve a problem at recess today!”

“Really? That is exciting!” I responded. “What happened?”

“Well, Olivia cut Andrew, and he got mad,” said Luke, “So then I told Andrew to cut Olivia so that it would be fair.”

I didn’t know what to say. As I stammered, trying to think of a response that was both encouraging and also expressive of the fact that there might be a better solution than the proverbial eye for an eye in this particular situation, Luke went on: “Yeah, so then Andrew was back in his place in line and I said ‘No more cutting!’”

Whew.

Belly Shots

Craig refuses to take any belly shots for me. He thinks they are "dumb." So here are two pictures courtesy of my children, the first taken by Henry and the second by Luke. Not the best pictures, but they will have to do. I was trying to work the black to my advantage in the first picture, but Henry's height wasn't conducive to a flattering angle. Oh well. Both were taken a couple of weeks ago, when I was 6.5 months along.

October Update

I started this blog when Henry was a baby. I have never blogged through a pregnancy. I am finding it very, very hard. My brain is the cliché of a pregnant woman’s brain. Every bit of creative power that I possess—and this is not a whole lot, mind you—seems to be flowing through the umbilical cord and into growing my new little guy. Oh, and what tiny bit is left is being maniacally directed into filling my freezer with pre-made meals. I am obsessed. So far, I have pesto, meat sauce, black bean/quinoa patties, bean and pasta bake, turkey potpie, spinach lasagna, beef bourguignon, and several different soups. Nesting for foodies!

Luke, while testing us at every turn with bad words and bad attitude, is doing really well overall. He has become a little bookworm lately, reading for long stretches on his own for fun. He loves his second grade teacher and was chosen to be on the “buddy team” at school, a group of kids assigned to help problem-solve on the playground should conflict arise. He even wears a little badge on Mondays when he is “on duty.”

Henry, though, is going through a rough patch. Yesterday he threw several tantrums. He had nearly lost his voice by the evening from so much screaming. And yet, still, he is my little softie. At the end of each tantrum, he would scream, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” And lest you think he has lost all his charm, I should note that his love of sparkly, colorful clothing has morphed into a love of products. He has lotions and potions of his very own. Just today he was trying to convince me to give him some of my nail polish. Preferably the hot pink.

This morning Henry and I put on our warm coats and went outside into the darkness to see if we could spot anything of the Orionid meteor shower. We didn’t see any meteors, but it was a pleasant way to start the day, sitting in the crisp darkness together gazing up at the sky.

October is going to be over soon. This baby is going to arrive before long. I have a feeling Henry's rough patch is going to be a long one. I'm going to try to make as many moments with him as I can for star gazing, for polishing his little boy nails in whatever color his heart desires.

Liar, Liar

Henry has figured out how to lie. And he thinks it is great fun. The other day, he came up to me and said, “Mom! I thought I saw a jellybean on the floor, so I ate it. But then I found out it was a tick!”

“A tick? Like the bug?” I asked.

“No, a tick!” said Henry.

Hmm. Henry doesn’t have the same razor-sharp memory for vocabulary that Luke has, and he often has a hard time remembering the precise term he is looking for.

“Do you mean a tic tac candy?” I asked.

“No, a tick. You know, those sharp things,” said Henry.

“A thumb tack?” I asked, growing alarmed.

“Yes, and now it is poking me in the throat,” he said. I started to get concerned, but then considered the fact that, earlier in the day, he had told me that someone cut his little puppy in half. Henry doesn’t have a puppy. Oh, and the person that cut the puppy in half, reported Henry, was his (nonexistent) stepfather.

So I assume he didn’t really eat a thumb tack.

Since he has started preschool, the lying has escalated to a somewhat frantic pace. After the first day, he told me that his teachers performed a rap song during lunch. Naked.

They found a dead bird at recess. Henry got a time out for not paying attention when his line walked outside for recess (harsh!). They ate candy in class. They watched a movie with shooting in it, but only once, for a “special treat.” The first three might or might not be true. I am assuming the last is not, otherwise I would be putting in a phone call to the preschool director.

I really don’t know what to believe. And I know at Henry’s age, the fantasy vs. reality line is a thin one. I know that. But it gets a little tedious talking to him sometimes. And the thing is, he gets really mad at me if I don’t believe him. I can’t even say, “Oh, wow!” without him feeling as though I doubt his word. Which, of course, I do.

I suppose I should go outside and check on Henry now. After all, his is out there shooting porcupines. Really! He’s serious! He’s not lying!!!