Summer lovin' and the forgettin' is easy

Here is a partial list of some of the things I have done in the recent months:

• Got halfway to my Mom's house (about a 30-40 minute drive) without bottles
• Have twice forgot the diaper bag at home
  
• Once forgot extra outfits in the diaper bag
• Have turned on and walked away for the iron and found it (THANK GOD) had auto shut-off hours later
• Ditto with boiling water for the formula...except I was darn close to ruining the pot

Is any of this normal for life with three kids? These are things I have never done in the past, with the exception of the pot. I am still organized, I still pack up the night before big days out, still lay out clothes, still, still, still I am finding myself lost in another world where I simply can't keep up sometimes.

Sweetpea is the missing link in our family, the part of the puzzle we didn't even know we needed. I am busier than ever and that is to say she is a tremendously easy baby. She generally hangs out all day with me with very little fuss. She sleeps through the night just occasionally getting up for her pacifier or sometimes milk.

I guess this being forgetful is to be expected, I am mentally juggling the lives and needs of three young children, something is bound to fall off the edge. I find it unnerving though the way my mind is betraying me so blatantly.

Today is the last day of school and we are looking forward to lots of summer fun. My blogging days seem to be getting farther and farther behind me, yet I cannot give it up entirely. I still read many blogs and I still get something from these honest, genuine, peaks into the lives of other families.

I hope everyone has a wonderful summer and the livin' is easy for all.

Cute is the new black

So maybe that is a stretch, but really who can argue with this much cuteness. The baby is not smiling as some family members are convinced, she was on the verge of crying; that outfit did not make her happy and did not get out of the house. A dear friend indulged my lust for all things matching and visually harmonious and bought these for the girls. I know my days are numbered as Papoosie Girl gets older, but for now I am going to milk this for as long as I can.

Today was Sweetpea's 40 day blessing which is a tradition in the Greek Orthodox Church. There were four babies in total and one of the other girls had the same name as her which made all of us stop and stare a bit. She has been blessed and it makes me rest a little easier even though I never realized it might have been bothering me. Her wee soul is protected by something larger than myself, she is welcomed into a larger family.

I hope and pray her life is as blessed as mine.

Thanks says Sweetpea

Nana has given baby A her official nickname and it is Sweetpea. I just wanted to say thanks for all the kind wishes, Sweetpea is grand and tops the scales at 9 lbs, 1oz at 4 weeks. She is eating and sleeping like a trooper or like a third child who knows her place. She is the sweetest little bug and I am smitten.

I am still recovering, I know how exciting! My incision is about another 2-3 weeks away from being completely healed. I am sick of saying I am still sick so consider it done, I am on the mend and hopefully this will the last we all hear of it.

I wish I had the energy to say how my heart swells to near bursting every time I stroke her tiny head, or how I look up in startled amazement when I see my three girls lumped together on the sofa, but I can't. Because when I do I simply have no words. These gifts I have been given humble and astonish me every day.

And then there were three

A week ago Sunday our sweet little girl arrived early (even earlier than we planned for) when my water broke and found us in a hurry to get to the hospital.

Our newest daughter weighed 6lbs 7.5 ozs and was born at 10:19am. She is healthy and fine and oh so cute. I on the the other hand am still struggling with my incision and hopefully will be healed up soon. In the meantime, Nana is taking good care of all of us.

As for her name...remember that name I loved that started with an "A"? Well that is her name and her middle name is Grace, for no other reason than while I was on the operating table for way too long it just kind of came to me.

I promise more details and more photos soon.

Ahead of the curve

I just had to say that the name chosen by Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner for their new daughter, Seraphina was - and still is a name I like! Every single person I have mentioned it to over the last month or so hated it, a lot. So there, I really am a trend setter I suppose. I never mentioned it here because the likelihood of me actually using it was so slim. I still love it though and I am telling you it is nudging up a bit for me now. I am not ashamed to say that the inspiration was the Barbie movie, The Princess and the Pauper the girls have, there are two great names, Anneliese and Serafina (who incidentally is a cat), in the movie.

I should also mention that Hubby is standing strong on Melina and his second favourite choice is now Zoe. I am holding on Amelia Jane, but I am still so confused as to why the name I choose, Melina, just doesn't do it for me anymore.

I had an ultrasound last week and when the technician rolled over the baby she was looking right at us, it was so freaky and the look was like, "what do you want?" I get the impression she might be scrappy and now I am wondering if any of the names we are considering are right.

With less than three weeks to go and feeling about 12 months pregnant and oh so tired I am not sure we will have a name by delivery. I think we might just have to have a look at her and make up our minds then.

I am a getting extremely nervous now and the fact that I have done it before doesn't seem to bring me much comfort. I still can't figure out how I am going to juggle our new family of five. I promise to post once this little girl makes her arrival (and name) known.

The name game

Who knew I could post so frequently? With the baby fast approaching (and I say that with great trepidation as Papoosie Girl arrived four weeks early) we need to come up with a name. Since all of you are so gifted in spotting the bad ones and overflowing with good ones I am putting this out there for one and all to help. Despite a big show of getting the books out and Papoosie Girl enjoying reading them we have not had an earnest name discussion.

My last name is Greek, not too long and ends with an "S" and both my girls have fairly classic, feminine names ending in an "A" one is a bit more common and one is not. Both however, are pretty and girly and you would not have to guess their gender say on a class list. I am leaning so strongly towards Amelia now I even refer to the baby in my head by that name. Other names we (ok mostly me) have come up are: Melina, Makena, Olivia. There is also the fact that both my girls names have a Greek meaning and I would like to stick with that. Amelia, Melina and Olivia have Greek meanings, Makena is a town on Maui we visited and I just like how it sounds.

I am thinking of Jane for a middle name for a girl no matter what the first name is, it was my great grandmothers name and I just like it. This has not been met with any kind of approval as of yet mind you. Other than that we have no ideas for middle names and I am not sure we want to go the family route since we didn't do that before, except for Papoosie Girl who has my maiden name as a middle name (and it is now an up-and-coming first name) and it was in honour of my Dad. Rosebud's middle name was just a name I liked.

Here is the fun part, we know it is a girl! After a very dramatic Christmas Eve trip to Labour & Delivery for assessment with what we now know was a kidney stone and a trip back Christmas Day for four hours for an ultrasound and follow-up - we found out it is indeed another daughter. I can't say I am surprised, but officially knowing just makes it all the more exciting.

So I am asking for suggestions, anything at all really. I would say it is fairly certain we will go with a name ending in an "A" since I like how they all sound together, but you never know. If the right name comes along it is the right name. I hope we will know it when we hear it.

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. Mine have been a bit strange, but we have salvaged what we could and with the help of our family were able to celebrate and be thankful for a healthy baby girl on her way.

A nice little update

Hello one and all. Or more likely one at this point in my sketchy blogging career. I know it has been several months...here are some random updates.

I am still pregnant, I am about 8 weeks away from delivering by a scheduled cesarean, based on the fact that Rosebud was breech and resulted in a cesarean. My doctor feels strongly I should just go ahead with another one. I had, actually still have, mixed feelings about it all and really don't want to go through the surgery again, but the doctor feels really strongly about. Some of the doctors in the clinic say that if I go into labour before my scheduled date and all is well, I can certainly go ahead and try a natural delivery. The problem is when they all start talking risk factors and the likelihood of complications I get all panicky. When one of the main complications is death it does that to a girl.

Still on the medical front I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and right now I am still in the phase of keeping track of my sugar levels for now. I am not on insulin as of yet, and hopefully won't have to, but as of right now I am having a hard time keeping my levels, well level. The diet I am following is not too bad and the biggest problem I am having is eating as much as they say to eat. Usually at the end of the day I am way behind, I do alright with the meals, but I can never manage to get in the snacks. I go back to the clinic this week so I am sure they will have lots of advice on where this is going.

To be honest I am just tired now. The pregnancy has finally caught up with me these last few weeks and at nearly 32 weeks I am feeling it. Up until now I have pretty much been operating as usual, now I am finding myself out of energy by noon. With Christmas fast approaching it is getting harder and harder to keep up.

Aside from all that I do feel pretty good for a tired, old pregnant lady. I have only gained two pounds and even though I still have some shopping to do I am pretty organized. It helps that we are not entertaining at all at our house this year. We will be fed and entertained from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day at our families, which takes a huge burden off of me. Even stranger this year was the canceling of several of our long-standing events. We have been able to add in some spontaneous fun these past few weekends with some of the free days.

I do love the holidays and I am starting to get really excited and so are the girls. This will be our last Christmas just the four of us and I am trying to soak it all in. Try as I might I cannot imagine the new baby in our mix yet, I realize that sounds a bit bad and I don't mean it that way. It is just that every time I try to imagine us as five, with a little baby in tow I just come up blank. As this baby kicks me as I write this I know that very soon this will all make sense.

This may or may not be pregnancy related, but this morning I burned ground beef. Exciting right? I mean I am not a five-star chef or anything, but I can usually handle browning some ground beef and sauteing veggies to make a big batch of sauce. I went ahead and picked out the really burned parts and made the sauce anyway. Now I wonder if that was a good idea, dinner time will tell.

I wish all of you a wonderful holiday however you celebrate. I have everything I want, other than maybe a few more hours in the day. I have really cut myself some slack this year and it feels great, while at the same time a bit drafty if that makes sense. I plan to fit some baking in this weekend and we are taking the girls to see some Christmas windows downtown.

I will be in touch hopefully once more before the baby arrives and if not I promise to let everyone know when the big moment happens.

Happy Holidays to all.