What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Smoochie coochie coo



Two nights ago I finished the whole discipline series and set them up for automatic postings. (Hallelujah) SO for two days I haven't had to THINK about blogging.

Unfortunately for me, I am already sick to death of the subject (could it be the nights and days I spent writing about it?!) and feel sad not to have anything CHEERFUL to blog about. I am also more than *slightly* worried that through this series, I will come across as a mean and wicked step-mother (without the step) housing a brood of Hansel and Gretal-like, downtrodden and desperate souls.

Saying it isn't so likely won't prove a thing to those of you who don't see our family thriving in real life, so I guess I shouldn't try. But, for the record....

~ I can't hold a grudge if it were to save my life.

~ I think the longest I have ever been angry at someone was at Matt, in the beginning our marriage. For 20 minutes straight.

~Sometimes I bust up laughing at my children when I ought to be reprimanding them and Matt has even asked me to leave the room once (okay-MAYBE twice) because I "wasn't HELPING" the situation. (But sometimes they are just so stinkin' CUTE. And sometimes their giggles are just so darn contagious!)

~ Laughs far outweigh cries in this house and kisses far outnumber stern looks.

So, just keep these things in mind as you continue to read this series on discipline. (If anyone IS, that is...).

Now. Onto bigger (!) and better things.

SMOOCH.

It has been a while since my last update and MY, have things popped. Specifically, my belly.


Since tomorrow I will be out of my twentieth week and into my twenty-first, I figure I owe a few half-baked photos before it is too late!

Here is some of the latest and greatest on the Smooch-front:

  • I look huge from the pictures but I only FEEL huge when I got to church with a first-time pregnant gal who is as far along as I am and she has this impossibly tiny little bump and I think to myself- "Wowza. I am a whale!"
  • My mom says I am carrying HIGH which, in her mind, means I am having a girl. My MIND keeps telling me it is going to be a boy.
  • Names are a struggle this time around. I love so many names that Matt hates. We both love so many names that people will shorten to things that we both hate. We *MIGHT* have nailed down a girl name. Boy names, on the other hand, are proving more difficult.
  • Ears are perfectly formed by now, which has always been a huge thing for me. When I sing in the shower or hum while I work (incessantly), Smooch could be thinking it is his/her own little serenade and that thought makes me happy. I sing more often, just for him/her.
  • I have been obsessed lately with fears of losing Smooch. I even googled "20 week baby" which took me to a page for therapeutic, stillborn photography and I actually STAYED. I spent 20 minutes or so crying over those beautiful, heart-wrenching babies until I was sobbing so hard that I knew it just wasn't healthy. I do this to myself and I don't know why.
  • Thankfully, Smooch has been moving around for about 2 1/2 weeks and only gets more persistent by the day. I am always so grateful for those tugs and jostles, and they seem to begin just when fears start to creep in.
  • I still fit into the jeans I wore two years ago in a non-pregnant state. This says less about how thin I am now (NOT) and much, MUCH more about how overweight I was back then. I am amazed that at 20 weeks, with a big 'ole baby belly hanging out in front of me, that I fit into jeans I wore non-pregnant. I was H.U.G.E! May it never be so again.
I am thankful to have them, though, because it has been CHILL-Y this last week or so and maternity pants are always made for 5'2 people, making "TALL" pants look like shorts on me...and not very warm.

I finally started (this week) unbuttoning them when I sit because they got to be so uncomfortable. Soon (please?!?) it will be warm enough that I won't need them anymore. It is my goal not to wear maternity pants a single time this pregnancy.

  • I haven't unpacked any maternity clothes yet. For the time being, when not wearing "the jeans", I am stretching out all my lovely knit wrap dresses.
  • I am so addicted to sweets it is SCARY. I haven't eaten so much sugar in my life. (BAD! BAD!) THis is why it is not Smooch that is growing, but my double chin. Must. Get. A. Handle. On. It. (for reasons stated two bullets up)
  • I have decided I really want an ultrasound. Even if we have to pay extra.
  • I really need to start walking again. By evening, I am SO beat. I need more stamina. NEED.
  • I had all sorts of plans to start making things in anticipation of Smooch's arrival way back in January when I started the Crafting the Blues away challenge. I never did make the BABY anything. I still haven't. :-(
Here are some Hopeful's though, for SOMETIME within the next 19 weeks:

A hat like this. (Not quite so long and sans-pom-pom) Or like this: perfection. Also trying to come up with a crochet alternative.

A diaperbag. Maybe this one. Possibly this one. This one is super cute. Any other ideas?

A stroller bag.

A knit wrap like this.
(I have tried making a this wrap SO many times and failed. Failed. FAILED again. I know this is probably impossibly easy...can't get much easier...which is why I can't bring myself to buy it. I just have to keep trying~ I WON'T give up. Even if I AM a dork.)

An itty bitty dress like this
.

And oh, just about a hundred others...
  • I deleted 123 photos in order to get these four. I am SUCH a good photographer, let me tell you.

13 comments:

Marlene Bibby said...

If you get an ultrasound, will you find out if Smooch is a boy or girl? And I carried Joe so differently than the other two, and HE is far from girly. :-)

Did Andrew have a special friend in the Bible? Can't remember. If so, that may be a good name. Check it out.

Peggy said...

I find it quite amusing that your mom thinks its a girl because you are carrying high!! You see I carried Sean quite high and everyone insisted the baby was a girl due to that fact. Let me tell you HE is definitely ALL boy!! Oddly enough we named all three of our boys with names that could not be shortened (intentionally) and all three mean John in 3 different forms of Gaelic. Ian=Scottish Gaelic, Evan=Welsh, and Sean=Irish. All three mean "gift from God" which all three of our boys truly are!!

alyssa spring said...

You are looking lovely!!! I'm loving your Training series and it has been extremely encouraging to me. thanks a bunch for taking the time to write it!

Bonnie said...

Love. Your. Photos. And your dress. And this post.
I followed a tutorial the other day to change a regular skirt pattern into a maternity skirt. Ahem. I didn't think I could really look like an over grown bush, but apparently it is possible. (I used green floral fabric). I "think" its just the pattern I used, and I'm going to try it again with a slimmer fitting pattern. Oy. (oi?)
I wore it today, felt silly, and then saw your stunningly gorgeous pictures, so now I feel bigger. Thanks. (just kidding!)
I am SOOOOO glad you are craving sweets! I have been so bad I thought something might be wrong. Namely chocolate and smarties.
You are not an ogre, anyone can see the love and adoration (even through blogdom) in your family, so fear not.

Any way, I think I must make that dress, and the stroller bag is destined to be a purse for me methinks.
Wow, I'm chatty. Tomorrow is the big day! No real thoughts one way or the other, but maybe slightly towards boy, since I had swollen feet with Biscuit, and my shoes (snort, not that I wear them much) are feeling really tight. I'll have to cave and buy flip-flops. I'm not much of a flip-flop fan. (say that 3 times fast).
I think I better be quiet now, I'm boring myself, Oh, but GRAND goal of no maternity jeans- I did it before and it can be done!

Miranda Hupp said...

You are just so cute! Oh what I wouldnt do to have a baby bump again. I was just talking to a lady yesterday that was 6 months along and she was complaining about the baby moving and kicking so much. I loved that feeling!!

Jennifer said...

Hello,
You look lovely in the photos. It is so exciting and wonderful to anticipate a new life. I made that itty bitty dress for a friend when she had her baby girl. It was sooooooo cute and she loved it. It goes together really quick too so that is nice :).

Thank you for taking the time to do the posts of child training. It is a wonderful change up to all that comes at us from the worlds view. You put things so well and it comes across in a loving, respectful, godly way.

Unknown said...

Your photos are LOVELY, Rebecca! :) You look GREAT! :) And the baby belly is perfect!

So, if you don't mind me asking, you lost some weight in the past?! How did you do it? (if you don't mind me asking) I'm plugging away at mine (as you know) and I'm at the point of needing fresh inspiration! :) Success stories always revive me! :) Say I understand fatigue and sugar in pregnancy (and outside of pregnancy for that matter..snicker)...boy, DO I ever!! :-)

Blessings to you and Smooch!

Paula said...

Rebecca, I cannot find your email to email you privately, but this is SOOOO important that I will share it here. PLEASE I know you are craving sugar, but you need to stop eating it. I had the same problem when I was preggers with JJ. And I have no doubt it was the over abundance of sugar I ate during my pregnancy that led to all his health issues. And you KNOW what I have been through with him. :( If I had known then what I know now (through research and talking with other mothers), I would have thrown away every bit of candy or sugar in my house. Eat a stick of butter if you must, but please please please for baby (and for you - this has been so very very hard on me), stop eating the sugar while you are preggers. Feel free to email me or call if you want.

Rebecca said...

Amy~I lost 40 pounds two years ago, right before getting pregnant with Adele. So-you have already far surpassed my most valiant weightloss story! You are doing fabulously~so don't lose heart.

What I did? I made myself drink two 32 ounce containers of water before I drank ANYTHING else (homemade tea, anyone?!), I stopped drinking soda altogether and immediately after supper, I would go for a walk/jog. Every night.

It was SIMPLE, when you think about it which frustrates me. Looking back, I think it is amazing that those few simple things made such an impact in my life. The problem is, I am EXHAUSTED by post-suppertime so walking seems out of the question and all I seem to crave is sweets (tea?!?!?). So-I really need to get back on the bandwagon. REALLY. In that way, you are the inspiration!

Paula~way to freak out an already overly-prone-to-freak-out pregnant lady! Sheesh.

I know sugar is bad for me. TRUST me. I wonder what you mean about sugar causing the problems your JJ has had though. Never heard of that. I HAVE heard of caffeinated drinks affecting the baby but never sugar. So, anyway, just curious. I am trying, REALLY hard, to cut back (a lot) but I can honestly say I will probably never stop eating sugar altogether~just approaching it more healthful.

We are talking about real sugar, right? And not that awful nasty aspartame and sugar substitutes, right? Because I know all ABOUT those nasty little things....

Oh-and for your address book-my email is

sgrbear724@ yahoo dot com

Rebecca said...

Oh-whoops! Sorry Mrs. Bibby! No, we will not be finding out what we are having. Matt says that ruins one of the only true surprises in life. I tend to agree (but I hate myself for it because I would rather spend time making special things for him/her.)

That is a good idea about the boy name. Something to look into!

Rebecca said...

PS. AMY.

One thing, in reading back my comment, that I forgot to mention is that once I forced myself to drink so much water, I actually began to prefer it.

And after I began walking, I would walk faster and faster-always pushing myself-until eventually I was JOGGING the entire time. SO I do think pushing your limits is good and not just settling for a nice, leisurely walk. ;-)

And Paula~ just so's you know:reading back my comment I noticed that it didn't sound as funny as I meant it too...in fact, the first part didn't come across as funny at all. I was joking then. Didn't want you to think I was mad or anything....

Leah said...

You look beautiful, Rebecca! Thanks so much for sharing how you and Smooch are doing. I've been wondering about you both. :)

And thanks so much for all the links to the patterns (although some of them didn't work ;)). I especially like the Itty Bitty Dress. I'll be making several of them and if this baby is a boy I'll just tuck them away until we're blessed with another girl.

So have you been doing any sewing or other crafting since your Easter rush? I'd love to see what you've been up to! :)

Rebecca said...

Thanks for telling me about the links. I can't get them to work because they are professional sites that don't allow right clicking. Blech. I tried anyway (and failed.) Oh well.

After Easter I tackled cleaning up the hurricane that was my craft room and now I am officially ready for that "next project". I have promised Corynn a few projects (she has been VERY patient) but Matt is going to be gone ALL next week so I will likely have quite a few of my own projects in the works in all my evening spare time. I just don't know yet what they will be!