guess who's back!

Ouch!
"service not available"
Apparently blogspot is unimpressed with my shoddy attendance record too..
I haven't forgotten you...at least not Intentionally.
But I am sure your not interested in excuses.
Just hurry up and get to the good stuff right?
Yeah, I thought so too.
Well seeing as my last post *cough* was in August I guess I should have quite a bit to share so, grab a coffee and settle in.
This might take awhile.
August wasn't quite the warm month we had hoped or expected it to be but it was memorable.
Nightly we were got to experience God's awesome display of power with beautiful thunderstorm.
Watching the lightning streak across the sky and waiting to hear that boom has always been exciting to me.
If I wasn't such a chicken I am sure I would be a storm chaser but for now I will just enjoy watching the show from the comfort of home. Those nightly storms brought with it a ton of rain. So, the few warm days where the temperature was above 30 we either had to bathe ourselves in bug repellent or hide in the house as we were plagued with hoards of blood sucking mosquitoes which made going outside unbearable for a good week.
August also saw the arrival of a funky pregnancy rash all over my growing baby bump.
It wasn't itchy, but it sure wasn't attractive!
So, off to the medi center I went where I was assured my pretty little rash was either viral (something I caught from my children) or an allergic reaction so I was sent off for blood work.
Needless to say I never did hear any results so I wasn't too concerned until I saw my obgyn who sent me for a bile acid test to check for cholestasis. Did I mention that there is only 1 place in town where you can get such test taken.
So off to the university hospital I go to get this test taken.
Considering the nurse at the office told me there was no prep work I assumed that I could just go there, get the blood test taken and go home. Apparently I was the lucky one because I am the only one from my clinic who got sent home for not fasting for 8 hours.
Not cool to do to a very pregnant woman!
The stress you feel when you can't take a test you know is important for your baby is horrific to comprehend.
And yes, that was me sobbing my eyes out in the parking lot and now you know why!
And the worse thing to tell me is what you are testing me for.
Google on a good day is a great thing.
Google when you wonder what the heck is going on with your baby is not.
The fear is overwhelming but thankfully God was with me every step of the way.
The rash disappeared and the test results came back normal.
I also had to do the dreaded gestational diabetes test in August too.
For those of you who don't know what this test is let me share!
They give you what looks like orange pop with 100% more sugar in it then normal pop.
You have 5 minutes to drink the entire thing and then they make you sit in the waiting room for an hour, take your blood and then send you home.
I Flunked the first time.
How do you flunk a blood test!!
So, on Mr.D's first day of kindergarten I was trapped in a lab doing the 2 hour test.
Lucky for me I passed that one and dogged another common pregnancy complication.

The coolness of September was a relief because at least we knew the bugs would get killed off with the early morning frost.
September ushered us all into a new phase of our lives.
One that I had hoped I had entered gracefully but I will admit, there were more than my share of tears.
Some in secret.
Some down right ugly that could not be contained and I am sure brought a little embarrassment to my family.
Two of my three children are now in school.
Do you have any idea how weird that is to say?
Niffy Nunu began her "high school career" and entered Grade 10 **sob**and with that came a flurry of expensive back to school necessities and expenses that sucked the breath out of these ol lungs.
For example...why does my daughter need a $140.00 calculator for math?
Especially when she needed a new calculator last year for math?
Does this one fold laundry? teleport her to her classroom so she will never be late for class ever again?
Umm... no. Just sucked $140 out of my bank account and that didn't even cover school fee's.
Granted, there were more expensive calculators to be purchased but luckily they weren't on the "required materials list"
As soon as there is a school picture, I will post a school picture but blondie locks forgot to bring home her picture form so, she didn't get pictures and we aren't sure when re-takes are so I might have to take matters into my own hands.
My precious 5 year old Mr.D entered kindergarten. **sob**
I wasn't the only one who took this hard.
Giggles was an emotional mess the first two weeks of school.
Clinging to my leg every morning she would sob her eyes out for her brother and I would have to scoop her up in my arms and carry her to the van. Her blanket and her lion that have long been forgotten have re-surfaced and she refuses to go anywhere without them now. Broke my heart to see her so distraught so, we got busy and got plugged in and are now going to bible study Tuesday mornings and play group Thursday mornings to help with the transition and to keep her from missing her big brother.
Seeing that child growing in her faith and getting such a heart for God has had such an impact on me.
One that is impossible to describe.
To have faith like a child is so precious to see.
She asks for God to come and play with her, tells me that Jesus lives in her heart and you can hear her singing
"Jesus loves on me me me me me"
"Jesus loves on me me me me me"
(and not sung to "Jesus loves me either" at least five times a day.
An all consuming fire of faith in a 3 year old!

School has proven to be interesting for both Big Daddy and I along with Noah.
It's hard hearing your son tell you that he "didn't play with anyone" during recess but I know that he has friends.
When I drop him off in the morning there are always children crowding around him wanting him to come and play so it's hard to know for sure.
Now we just have to figure out how to help him with what appears to be the "kindergarten bully".
A kid in his class who feels it's his responsibility to tell our little guy who he can and can not play with.
Befriends our son, has one "get together" then decides that he has voting rights in what our little guy does.
Really?
Already? **unhappy sigh**
Where do this kids come from?
We are also experiencing the "back to school catch every bug around phase too".
So far he has missed 1 full week of school because he has been down with cough/strep throat/ear infection and pink eye.
All at the same time.
All during the same week.
**sigh**
Giggles managed to snag the ear infection and the pink eye while I got the ear infection.
Honestly!
Here's his first school picture.


So far October has been busy.
Sick children and a baby ready to arrive any day have kept me quite busy.
As of today I am 36 weeks pregnant and just ready to be done.
Since thanksgiving I have been experiencing Braxton hicks contractions mixed in with a few real ones.
So yes, this has been going on for a week now.
Every.single.day.
Just enough to make me wonder if baby is on his way sooner that his expected arrival date.
I want to see this baby and snuggle him in my arms.
I want to kiss those sweet little baby toes and smell that sweet baby scent in his hair.
And no, we don't know for sure it this one is a boy or not but hopefully we will know soon!!
According to one of the kindergarten mommies "you have this look on your face" and "you have dropped" so we shall see how much longer this one will bake.
Seeing as this is our last baby I am trying to enjoy what is left of it while storing the good memories somewhere deep in my mind but I will be honest with you.
Maternity pants are for the birds.
You can't keep them up even with a bella band and I just want to get back to the skinnier version of me!
Honestly, I am pretty much ready.
The clothing I want to pack in my hospital bag is in the washer, the car seat is by the front door and the diaper bag is packed and tucked away by the front door.
Towels are on the seats in both the truck and the van so should my water break while I am sitting the seats won't get trashed.
Nesting has become almost my new hobby for me but at least the house is getting clean.
I doubt the baby will care if my linen closet is clean remains to be seen but for today it is bugging me.
So we all know I am going to be tearing that apart and re-organizing it before the day is done.
As I finish this Giggles is coloring at the table and the baby has the hiccups.

Life is good and always an adventure!