Garden stuff..

Ok, so I lack the actual garden part, but the growing plants thing I'm getting down. :)

Here's my little herb plants! The basil is growing quite strong. The parsley took its time, but is finally catching up. Good thing this was potted in a plant, cause it looks like the weeds growing in my aloe plant pot..haha..




Here's my tomato and sqaush plant.



The tomato plant has almost taken over my big pot all by itself...so as soon as I can get the money for some more dirt to put in this:



I'll transplant the squash over there, so it can grow without being crowded out by the lovely Roma tomato plant. The bricks are from our neighbors yard..the contractor told us to take however many bricks we needed and that we could have the whole blocks..not just the broken ones! Yippy...! Its hard to tell, but this takes up almost the length of our fireplace chimney. I just need to line it and put some soil in. Hopefully once I do that, the squash plant will go in and I'd love to plant a yellow bell pepper plant too.

Here are the buds on my tomato plant..

Make a guess!

Having problems with the link coming up, so just copy and paste and link. Sorry!

http://www.expectnet.com/games/FletcherBaby3

You pick gender, weight, length, birthday, and birth time! Help me have fun guess these last few weeks! :)

Growth..

On so many accounts. :) My belly is growing...I feel like its as big as it can get! Its always so amazing how our bodies can accomodate a growing baby the way it does. 35 weeks today! 15 lbs. weight gain..not too shabby! :) I'm so close and yet wonder how long the next few weeks will feel.

My tomato plant already has flower buds on it! I thought I'd have to wait a while for produce but my plant may prove me wrong. :) I also have bigger and more leaves on my squash plant. My basil is about big enough to have to replant in a bigger pot and my parsley finally decided to sprout! Our neighbor's house has just been bricked on the front and there are lots of half/whole bricks just laying around,Luke is going to ask the builder today if we can go pick up the remnants they probably won't use so I can make another planter of a sort(thanks for the idea Missi!)...I'd love to plant more herbs and perhaps some yellow peppers.

My mother was here at our house Thursday, Friday and Sat...we really enjoyed her company. Made the most of it..went to the park, farmer's market..midwife appointment and she treated us to some fast food that we haven't had in a while. Had Erin and Wesley over for dinner on Friday evening and we enjoyed watching the Braves together. She took some good pictures of the kids too...Realized the other day I think I had enough groceries to make it the rest of the week...we ended up buying some bread and milk, but for the most part I don't think I'll have to grocery shop this week! Yay!!

We did make a run to the pet store yesterday to pick up toe nail clippers for the dog. Our last pair got accidentily thrown away and I tried to get new ones but they were too cheaply made that it actually made Lola's nails WORSE off...so we broke down and bought another pair of good ones. The kids always like looking at the random pets they have there anyways. Walked next door to Babies R Us...such a tempting store. Got a floating bath thermometer for the birth pool and a pack of kids metal forks. I am sooo throwing away some of the plastic ones I have that DON'T work.

Luke's working today with Joel..its been about 2 weeks since Joel's had work that could involve Luke and I got very used to have Luke around. While I am so glad he's got work for Luke and that he can earn some extra money this week, not having him here to help out and just keep me company feels so weird. This is the routine I've had for years, but its amazing what just having your spouse around for about 2 months will do for routine. Please continue to pray for job opportunities and supernatural provision. God's been soo good to us and we are soo thankful to have made it this far without some sort of crashing and burning. :) However, it seems the longer you go, the easier it is to doubt and start to fear our situation.

Speaking of doubt...we watched the movie Doubt the other day. Hmm...still not too sure about this one. Spoiler warning, it leaves you to come up with your own conclusions basically. I hate movies like this...while the story was done very well and the actors were great, I need movies with more closure. This didn't quite have it..and well..it frustrated me. :)

Pics..

I rarely post pics and its just merely cause it takes so much longer to upload them and the such. But you'll get to see some today! :)

First off...my nursing pads I made. Now, bare in mind, they are NOT perfectly circular, they are rough edged and are far far from perfect..but they ARE functional. :) And the colors are pretty..haha...I'm no seamstress thats for sure.



My planting project. Got a pot, a tomato plant and a squash plant. I also planted some wild flowers I had in a small pot with the leftover potting soil I had. But no pictures of that since its just dirt right now.



Next is Lola-loo..she really is a good dog despite her need to chew on random stuff. Today she spent most of the day outside with us..and loved it. :)


My belly...bare. I rarely ever post it bare because well stretch marks abound..but I knew if I didn't take ANY bare belly pictures I'd be mad at myself. Ignore the double chin. Noah's kissing my large 34 week belly.



This is Luke showing his belly to make me feel better about mine. :)



Noah..sporting his new Crocs. Can you tell he likes them? And just a cute one of him.




Olivia..she always likes to make silly faces when I take her picture. I hope its just a phase cause I'd love to actually have some decent shots every now and then at least. haha..And her posing on her bike.




Enjoy! :)

I'm a horse..

I feel like one anyways..haha..I'm reaching the point where it feels like my body won't be able to stretch or move much longer...sadly I know I have weeks to go. May Grace rest upon me. :) Not to mention, I'm now taking alfalfa to help with my iron levels and seriously every time I take one, I think of barns and horses...cause of the smell of it. At least it doesn't make my breath smell or something gross like that. haha... This baby doesn't kick hard at all, but it really loves to push..so I frequently get these really hard shoves with random body parts. As Luke and I were laying in bed last night watching Jay, the baby shoved its entire foot out and you could almost grab it..it was crazy. Reminds me of that picture thats on the internet of the belly with the foot poked out..

Went grocery shopping today. I'm starting to dread it every week..but I was sooo stinkin happy with myself today. I was able to get 7 meals plus some fruits and veggies, basics like milk and bread, some kid lunches, breakfast foods, juice, and toilet paper all for $83.00!! I had a Kashi free meal coupon, and a 2.00's off toilet paper. Given it was for Cottonelle(sp?) when we normally would use Charmin, but its cheaper and it wipes a fanny..so who are we to complain? Now....to see if I can keep next's weeks just as cheap. :)

Watched "The Day The Earth Stood Still" tonight..it was interesting...but semi predictable.

Luke's been putting in resume's and searching for stuff still..please pray for favor and for something to come up. Also, we are battling Blue Cross Blue Shield for some money they owe us, please pray that they would get their acts together and give us the money we really could use right now.

Been on a super duper nesting binge recently. Went through all my kids clothes and got rid of everything that doesn't fit, changed and washed all the sheets on ALL the beds, vacuumed all floors(this happens like every 2 days. I can't stand to see dirty floors right now)..I cleaned up everyone's rooms, which is a task specially when it comes to Olivia's. She's a hoarder and I never know what I'll find it there...or under her bed. I've also planted parsley and basil and managed to save my Aloe plant that looked like it was dying. So far so good on the green thumb. I've also managed to keep laundry and dishes going so that there has been no back up on any of it. Its really nice to not have piles and piles of clothes waiting to be done, or counters in the kitchen so dirty you can't even cook in it. I must say nesting suits my house well. :) Hope Luke doesn't get too used to it...once Baby is here, I think the drive will slow down.

Family and Eastery goodness.

Was here this weekend. Yesterday we went and headed to the airport..Luke's parents were due back from Belize at 6:40...got there a few minutes late, saw their plane had arrived and waited at the right baggage claim. Only to find out there was some difficulties with them getting their plane lined up with a exit thingy(ya know, those metal tubes that you walk through?)...and they waited on the plane for an hour! Then they had TONS of trouble with immigration...not because they were in trouble, but apparently it was super backed up and they kept rechecking and doing weird things with people's luggage. Arg..so we were there for like 2 hours. While it could have been worse, entertaining 2 children for that long wasn't fun, not to mention being preggo it was kind of annoying..but in the end, we got them and their luggage and headed home for a late dinner of Taco salad...something I can't seem to be tired of lately. :)

After Luke's parents retired for bed, Luke and I put together the small cheap baskets I got the kids. Target had some crazy deals for easter stuff, and I couldn't resist getting something for them and having them have a sense of normalcy today. Chocolate bunnies, new socks, and random other things later, we hid a bunch of eggs and let the kids hunt them before Luke's parents headed home. They'd been gone a while and Mr. Dave has to turn around and go right back out of town tomorrow..so they were ready to be home today. We had a nice lazy day..I got a nice long nap..Luke's been soo good at dealing with the kids during naptime and keeping them quiet so I can nap..this anemia thing is getting old...I'll be glad when my iron levels are up a bit. Then we all had pancakes for dinner and we also watched Bolt which was really cute.

Had a midwife appointment yesterday..and outside of lower then liked iron levels, everything looks great. Its hard to believe I'll be 33 week tomorrow. I was telling Luke that odds are we'll have a baby next month..It just sounds so weird to say! haha..

Decided to sell off the last of my "nice" diapers and stick with what I really love and its the lovely mass produced BumGenius diapers. They are one size and I can use them for Noah and Little Bit at the same time, so thats nice. Got a order in for more Bumgenius's to replaced the "nice" cloth diapers sold and even had enough money from the sale to buy Little Bit 2 newborn ones!! I also had enough left over to get Noah a pair of new Crocs off of Ebay. He REALLY loves Crocs and he's been wearing Liv's pink ones the last few days. Its pitiful and I was thankful I had the extra left over for something practical for him. He'll be so stinkin excited when he gets them..I'll be sure to post pics. :)

Sold!

Ok, so its nothing pricey, but we sold a stove that had been sitting in our garage for almost a year now..and the guy who happened to be a Christian(even tried hooking us up with a home church he knows) paid us 20 more dollars then we were asking for it. I sold some old baby bedding we aren't using anymore and don't plan on using. Its not much, but hey its just nice to have a little cash you weren't planning on having.

Termite guys are coming tomorrow to treat our house. For them to treat just the section that is infected it would have cost 500, for them to treat the entire house and have it guranteed for life(with a yearly small fee) it would cost us 575..haha..so not much more, and we decided the extra 75 would be worth it in the end to make sure no further damage to our house was done. While I'm not happy that we had to spend that money right now when it would have been nice to hold on to for part of our mortgage next month, I AM thankful we at least HAD the money to begin with and treat the house. I'm also thankful Luke is handy and probably fix the damage to the wall himself without too much hooplah...hopefully.

32 weeks preggo as of yesterday. I can't believe I only have 5-8 weeks left. Still trying to collect some stuff for the birth I need, and finish paying off the midwife but I'd say we aren't far from being ready. Most of what I need to still get are small things, its just they add up so I'm having to buy one or two things here and there.

Been in a super cleaning nesting mode recently. It really helps to have Luke here to entertain the kids while I'm cleaning, but the hormones don't help either. :) Monday I got soo much done that today has been very relaxing. Went to Target and bought some cheap stuff for the kids easter baskets(can't beat an actual basket for 79 cents, or those silly plastic eggs for 69 cents..) We'll have fun putting some jelly beans in them and having the kids go for their first egg hunt. I'll be sure to take pictures. Luke's parents will be here for Easter..not sure how long they'll stay but they are spending the night of the 11th with us, so I would assume they'll be here at least for a little bit on Easter morning.

Oh Lord....how much more can we take?

While eating breakfast today Luke noticed that a piece of our trim in the dining room had 3 little black holes in it, and what looked like someone went and smashed something into the trim...come to find out..its freakin termites!!! Ugh...there doesn't seem to be any more damage anywhere else, so PLEASE pray that the damage is limited to that area and that the rest of the house is uneffected. We DO NOT have the money right now for all this, but we can't ignore it either...

All the hard work..

Paid off! I got a call today from our case worker and my medicaid was APPROVED!! :) I kinda knew it would, but its always nice to hear. So now the kids, me, and the little spud I'm carrying are all covered..! Praise God...seriously.

It was worth the errands I had to run to accomplish it. haha..

When it rains it pours..

This week has felt overwhelming. I can usually handle a good bit before having a meltdown, but this week just seemed like more then I could take. Which doesn't mean that tons of stuff has gone bad, but the way I've handled them have been bad. Pregnancy hormones definitely don't help..thats for sure!

Luke's parents came and spent the night with us last night. They flew out to Belize today, and left their car here. We'll pick them up next Sat..our lawn mower broke this past week(right as grass is starting to take over our yard) and we asked them to bring their push mower if they could so we could use it while they are here..and they decided to give it to us! Such a blessing...our lawn will be super thankful, and so will our children. No ones likes playing in super high grass and not knowing where the dog poo'd. haha..:) They had to be out early this morning though, so I missed seeing them off, but oh well. I'll see them in a little while again...Made Talapia(my mom's recipe) mashed potatoes and a nice salad for their dinner..

Yesterday we decided to pick up a few things at Target and we splurged on a pair of capris for me. I've been literally working ONE pair of maternity jeans all winter and now that its warming up a little bit, I've been needing something to alternate with the jeans. I've been wearing them today and I'm thankful that they will last me the rest of my pregnancy.

One of my crowns decided to pop off last night. Its the one I got first before Luke and I were even married..and I knew the last few months that it felt a little loose, cause when I chewed on that side it felt like it gave a little and created that weird suction feeling..so I choose to keep chewing on the other side of my mouth for a while. I guess it decided to finally give...its so weird and slightly gross to see a crown off, not to mention the tooth that it was protecting underneath. Ick..I know its not an emergency to get it recovered, but I'm not going to put it off too much longer either..I'm waiting on Medicaid to clear me so I can have it all paid for to have them put it back on.

Speaking of Medicaid...today I got a letter from them(was all excited thinking this was my acceptance letter) letting me know they needed more info/paperwork from me..due this week. One of which is Noah's birth certificate which I don't even have a copy of! I know...shame shame, but he was born in Moultrie and we never made it over there to request one. Fortunately the Vital Records office said they'd have it there, so we'll be off to pick that up tomorrow and make a trip BACK to the dumb DFCS office to take them their paperwork and hopefully finally get the approval I need for the coverage.

My heart has been bothering me recently. I know its normal to have an elevated heartrate while pregnant, but mine sometimes is around 120 and thats just while sitting..not even doing anything. Its really annoying..like your constantly in a marathon or something..specially at night when I'm trying to sleep and all you can feel is your pulse racing. arg. We just keep praying and believing that it will return to the number its supposed to. I've been doing a lot of laying down today and have kept it around 100 all day...which is I guess my norm.

Finished a pair of shorties day before last...so cute. I had some yarn that was fairly gender neutral(although leaning more boyish) and decided to try and knit it up. I'm sooo pattern challanged so most of what I knit is free hand, so sometimes its trial and error...but these came out my best pair! So happy...I'll post pics as soon as I take some. I also finished up a boy's baby hat..so now I have a boy and a girl hat knitted and a pair of shorties. Not sure what my next project will be..my hands feel useless while watching t.v. now..haha..