You Say Boxer, and I Say Boxer

The English language is confusing to be sure, but I have discovered that some words with multiple meanings can come in handy for covering up a conversation that didn't need to be heard by little "royal" ears without stretching the truth. Here is my case in point.

Last night while we were getting the girls in bed, the king and I were talking about what kind of unders our little guy might wear. I told him about a friend's little guy, and how he sports boxers and how cute they were. Then Princess #1 pipes up from her room (across the hall): "Are you guys talking about boxers?"

After a quick glance at one another we answer in the affirmative. And she wants to know why we are talking about the neighbor's dog which happens to be a Boxer (how convenient). And we reply that we want to know how she can hear what we're saying now, but not when we're sitting at the dinner table having a conversation.

And *GIRL* Hats and Hats

Even though Princess #3 is still waiting for her hat (when I ordered yarn for the older two, she declined to make a choice and of course, now she wants one), I thought I would post some pictures of the older two's latest head-gear. It is the pattern Capitan done up in some more of Jill Draper's amazing handspun yarn (baby's toddler hat is in her yarn as well). If you are a knitter, her yarn is so worth ordering, plus you will be supporting an indie-spinner/dyer. How cool is that?

Princess #2 doing school in her new hat, colorway is CMY. She likes it because it doesn't itch!!


Princess #1 has worn her hat non-stop since completion. That feels good! It is in the Butterfly Wings 2 colorway.

The sistah's showing off their inner gangstahs. ;)

Baby *BOY* Hats and Hats and Hats

I have a weakness for hats. Especially on my children. So that is why the knitting for baby has so far consisted of, you guessed it, hats. Here are some photos of the finished projects modeled by Princess #3 and *scary* Isabella (Princess #1's life like doll).

This hat is knit with completely wonderful handspun yarn I got from a seller on etsy.com. I love how squishy and thick it is. So much so, that I couldn't make a baby hat with it, instead I made a toddler hat that should fit him next winter and hopefully the winter after that. That is how much I love this yarn!

This hat was a special request by the king. It looks like the golf cap my Grandpa used to wear, complete with a little brim. It is knit with yummy Malabrigo yarn and is so incredibly soft. It is itty bitty, but should fit him from newborn to summer since the band is nice and stretchy.

I love this pattern. It is great for using up the leftover sock yarn balls that seem to languish in my yarn tub. And I love stripes. It should fit him come fall.

Overheard in the bathroom: Part II

Tonight while I am elbow deep in kneading bread, Princess #3 yells, "I'm all done!" since she has finished with her business.

The king heads in to help her, bless his heart, and I hear this:

"Hi, I'm Daddy and I'll be your wiper tonight."

The man cracks me up.

Happiness Is . . .

. . . a fabulous nap in a fabulous get-up! Here is my "Fancy Princess #3".

Happiness Is . . .

. . . Olive Garden salad and breadsticks delivered unexpectedly to your front door by a dear friend! Yummy! Thank you for the treat friend!!

Already??

We are just about to the third trimester for those of you keeping track, but not quite there yet. Silly me thinking that the tiredness and achiness that comes with those fun-filled last weeks would hold off til the appointed week. Wishful thinking to be sure.

However, as I looked at the calendar this afternoon, I realized that with the changing of my due date (the good direction!) at my last appointment and with the way my babies usually come early, that my tiredness is right on time. I'm just wishing the honeymoon period (2nd trimester) would last just a tad longer . . . obviously this baby is not my first!!

I Need Revenge!!

Princess #2 came tearing through the house after being punished (e.g. made to do a despised chore w/o compensation) for fighting with her sister, screaming, "I NEED REVENGE!!!" I asked her if she even knew what revenge was and what the word meant. And she replied with: "I know what revenge is, I am six! And besides I only wanted the good kind of revenge!"

Well, as long as it was the good kind . . .

Name Game

The princess' have been dying to name their brother, so as a result I've been fielding some wild ideas all week and thought I'd share some them with you. . .
*Abednego
*Shadrack
*Bob (Princess #3's idea!)
*Meshack
*David
*Ezra
*Murdock
*Shrek (Princess #2's idea!)
And that's all I can remember for now. Good thing we do not run a democracy around here, if so I can only imagine what his name could be!!

Fear vs. Faith

WARNING: BLOG POST CONTAINS OVERT RELIGIOUS OVERTONES!!
(Thought I'd better put a disclaimer, seeing as I usually keep things light around here.)

I have been convicted this past week of my arrogance. Let me explain. About a week ago, I had a follow-up OB appointment during which we went over the ultrasound results. When you hear the phrase, "I don't know how to say this, but . . .", you know that nothing good is going to follow. So when I heard that phrase last week, I braced myself mentally. You see, I'd heard it before, approximately 6 1/2 years ago . And I remembered the fear and anxiety that followed. My midwife explained that baby had a cyst in his brain. She was very encouraging, not too worried, she had never seen one amount to anything in her 30+ years of babies. I decided that I wanted a second opinion and made an appointment to see the same specialist who had helped us with Princess #2.

I did my research on the cyst and if it was bad, it was very very bad. Like your baby dies bad. And I started talking to God about this specific thing. I started off with telling Him, what's up with that, you give me this baby only to take it away-that doesn't make any sense. It wasn't until I got to the point (took til Thursday!!) of telling Him that it was okay for this baby to NOT be okay, that He started talking back. And I don't mean like talking talking, I've never experienced that, for me hearing Him is being prompted to read a passage of scripture or stumbling onto a blog or conversation that adds wisdom. Through it all, I came to the realization that it is completely arrogant of me to expect a healthy, live baby. If I believe that God knows and wants what is best for me, (and I like to think that I do) then who am I to question if He chooses to take my child from me or gives me a baby with a handicap, as His ways are perfect.

This all came to sharp focus on Sunday morning. Our pastor had a great message, during which he shared an insight on 1 Corinthians 10:13 ("No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."). He asked "How do you know that you can hold up under a trial? . . . Because it is happening to you." This was just a balm to my heart. It makes me sound less crazy for saying I'm at peace with whatever the outcome of this little life. No matter what comes my way, I can handle it because of this promise of God's faithfulness.

So we had our appointment with the specialist yesterday. Believe it or not, I was more worried that somehow the "boy parts" wouldn't be there than about the cyst (you try believing after you've had three girls!!). The tech confirmed that baby is indeed all-boy and then went to look at his brain. He couldn't find the cyst. It was literally gone. He very carefully took a look at every other part of baby, paying special attention to the parts that could be affected if this was the very very bad version, and everything looked great. In fact, baby is beyond healthy, weighing in at over 1 1/2 pounds!! Amazing.

Was this process pointless? Maybe to some. But for me it made me think, it made me aware of sin in my life to confess, it humbled me, and in the end eternally grateful for the chance to raise this little man to be a follower of the One True God.

Murphy's Law?

So I'm wondering why my car seems to use less gas now that the prices have dropped almost $1.50/gallon this past week?

Is is just me? Or is it Murphy?

She's Got the Magic

One of the standing jokes at our castle has to do with our girls' growth. If the king or queen happen to notice ankles or wrists or behinds poking out of the ends of clothing we tell the offender to stop growing. We tell them we don't allow it and they had better stop it (you know, in a very serious tone). The girls' think that this is great fun and take great pride in showing off the ankles, wrists, and behinds, just to play the game.

Recently Princess #3 has a new take on the game. As I was tucking her into bed one night last week, I couldn't get over how long she was in bed-seriously long. So I told her that she better stop growing or she was going to run out of bed. After she got done giggling she told me that she couldn't stop because of the "magic". So I bit.

Queen: What magic?

Princess #3: God's magic. I have it in me and it makes me grow. I tried asking Him to take the magic out, but He doesn't want to.

Queen: Oh, why doesn't He want to take it out?

Princess #3: Because you only have the magic when you're little to make you get big like Mama.

Queen: What happens to the magic once you're big like Mama?

Princess #3: God takes it out when you're done. And that is all I know right now.

Go Figure

Last night I decided to give into two cravings. The first (and most important) being not cooking dinner. The second being Olive Garden salad and bread sticks. I looked high and low on-line to find a coupon for dinner, but was unsuccessful, so I decided to blow my month's eat-out budget in one fell swoop. I am pleased to report that both cravings were fulfilled-deliciously, with leftovers being devoured at lunch and dinner today!

Then as I flipped through the coupon circular in our local paper what is the first coupon for???

(drum roll please)

. . . Olive Garden.

Knock, Knock

I think that one of the best (only?) perks about being pregnant is feeling the baby move. I remember with Princess #1 feeling her first strong kick on Christmas Eve morning and then at very predictable times thereafter. Princess #2 was a different story, she was like having an internal amusement park 24/7! Princess #3 was also a predictable baby, preferring to move only after meals. This little one loves to really move it, move it at night and early in the mornings. He moves during the day too, but the wee hours seem to be his favorite (yah, I'm scared).

This morning, I had my first "conversation" with him!! He kicked, a real good one, and I pushed back where I felt the move, and then he instantly replied with another good strong kick. Too much fun. This went on for several minutes during which I know I had the biggest, dopiest smile on my face.

And I couldn't help it, I'm in love.

Baby Boom

As some of you know, I am the oldest of four girls. All married, all settled and all having babies! That's right. This weekend we discovered that all four of us will be adding children to our families. My next sister and hubby are waiting to adopt-most likely by the end of next year (pray with me, will ya?), the third one of us is due with her 2nd in March/April, and the youngest one of us is due with her 1st in May/June. Pretty crazy. My parents and grandparents will double the number of (great)grandkids they have next year!!

I was thinking of my next youngest sister today, and her impending adoption and realized that very likely her baby may be growing in it's biological mom's womb, and if not, his/her conception is imminent! That is pretty amazing to think about. I've been praying for his/her mom and for this important, so many lives-changing decision she is going to make. God is good and He knows all the details and is in all the details. It will be exciting to see His hand in all of this.

As for me, I am doing my best to race through the Christmas knitting. My goal was to be done by the end of October. Unrealistic to be sure. Especially when some of the gifts are two-parters. So, I am doing my best to be content with my progress and delay the baby knitting a bit longer. But, I may have to have a fix and tear into the first official "boy" yarn I have purchased . . .

Playing Hooky

As some of you know, I am one of those militant homeschool moms. My girls have school daily. I am a firm believer in sticking to the schedule. We try to keep the same schedule as the local school district, so that the girls are available to play with friends on their days off.

That being said, I do try to be flexible, which is one of the beauties of homeschooling. We are free to go to MOPS once a month, and every Friday from October through March they attend a homeschool co-op, so we do have "breaks" from the weekly grind. Today, however, I decided that I needed a day to play hooky. I had a bunch of errands that I actually wanted to do and those were all in the same general vicinity of the photo studio where #2 had her appointment, so we shopped til we dropped! And it was great. The girls had so much fun looking at all the pretty fall (and now Christmas!) things that were for sale. Princess #1 kept us on task, reading the list and checking the time (some school was being done!), Princess #2 marked the list off, and Princess #3 stayed close to the cart (always a bonus!) and gave her opinions.

Tomorrow we are off to pick apples at a local orchard in the afternoon. The girls can't wait, and honestly, neither can I!

Overwhelmed

Today is overwhelming. Not because of anything specific, it just is. A good house cleaning is way overdue, school to be taught, laundry to be washed, dried, folded and put away, meals to prepare, children to ferry to activities, Bible study to be hosted, and no energy to want to deal with any of the above. So I sit here and compound the problem and the feeling of knowing that I'm wasting precious time blogging about it! How ironic!

However, as I think about it, things have been accomplished today despite me. I actually remembered to call the sprinkler guy to have him winterize the irrigation system, and to call to reschedule Princess #2's picture session and I am switching loads of laundry (maybe not folding or putting away just yet), but it is getting washed and dried. School was taught and hopefully absorbed. Two meals down, one to go.

I should do this more often, I'm feeling much better about the day's outlook. I think I will rally the troops and have them do some vacuuming before rest-time. Thanks for listening!

When You Hear the Beep

So, I just had to relate this conversation I had yesterday with the littlest Princess. She had a night-time accident over the weekend and was explaining to me why exactly it had happened.

Princess #3: If I had just got up when I heard the first beep then I could have gone potty in the bathroom.

Queen: What beep?

Princess #3 (very matter-of-factly): The beep I hear when I have to go potty. God makes a beep sound and when I hear it it means I have to go potty. But the other night I didn't go when I heard the beep and then I heard another beep, and the last beep I got up but I didn't have enough time to make it.

Queen: How come I don't hear a beep?

Princess #3 (shrugs): You better listen better Mama. I'll ask God if I can share my beeps with you if you want.

Queen: Thanks, that would be great.

Now the phrase "when you hear the beep", has taken on a whole new meaning for me!

Who Knew?

I have a new weakness-boy clothes! Today as I just happened to be reaching up in a cupboard for something, a "gym bucks" coupon fell out. I had totally forgot that I had it, since I so rarely shop at Gymboree, much less spend enough to get the coupons. I quickly checked the expiration and was just under the mark (Divine coincidence? I think so!).

So after school and lunch and lunch clean-up I checked out their clearance pages! And bought the cutest raccoon stuff ever! I love raccoons and I love the idea of my little guy sporting some cute rascally clothes. Who knew there were so many fun things to dress a boy in?

A New FAQ

This one is sure to haunt us for a long time I am sure. So here it is.

Q: So now that you are finally having a boy, you guys must done having kids right?

A: [To be read/said with extreme sugary sweet, drippy sarcasm, my favorite kind, the kind that keeps them guessing.] Yep, you're right we are, because the only reason we will soon have four kids is that we just had to have that boy. Oh, and we would have kept on having kids until we got the gender that was "missing" from our family. Because as everyone knows, having a boy when you have daughters is all that matters.