38 weeks

I had my doctor’s appointment on Friday and not much new to report.  I was still 2 cm and 50% effaced so no progress in that area which I was a little bummed about.  We had our ultrasound and it was a little hard for her to get measurements but from what she was able to get the baby averaged around 7lbs. 7ozs.  so right now we are just playing the waiting game.  My next appointment is on Thursday of next week so I’m hoping we’ll be able to schedule something then if we haven’t had the baby yet which I don’t have high hopes for.  I guess we’ll see.  The baby was super squished in there but we did manage to get a little bit of a 4d image of the face that I posted below and she said she thought she saw some hair :).  

Last day of Kindergarten

Friday was Gavin’s last day of kindergarten.  I just can’t believe how fast this year went and how quickly he is growing up.  We just loved his teacher and he had a really great class of kids.  Gavin was excited for all the fun activities leading up to the last day but I could tell that he didn’t really want school to end.  He was being a little emotional last night and breaking down in tears over the littlest things.  At first I just thought he was tired but then at the end of the night when we were going to bed he said mom I don’t want school to be over so I think he was just a little sad to know that he was done.  We’ve signed him up for a few weeks of camp this summer so I’m hoping maybe some of the kids from his class or school will be in camp with him and I’m sure this summer will fly by and before we know it we’ll have a first grader on our hands.

37 weeks

I hit 37 weeks on Wednesday and as you can tell the belly has grown quite a bit.  I had my doctor’s appointment today and everything looks good.  I was 2 cm and 50% effaced so making some progress in the right direction.  We have an ultrasound scheduled for next Friday so it will be interesting to see how the baby is measuring.  I’m definitely carrying this baby more like Gavin and Wyatt vs. Lincoln so I’m curious to see if that means it will be a bigger baby or not.  The baby has been super active and other than a few bad days here and there I've been feeling pretty good lately.  The weather has been pretty nice so I've been able to go for several short walks a day and I think that is making a huge difference.  Not that I’m anticipating this baby coming anytime soon but I’d like to get through next week which is Gavin’s last week of school and then this baby can come at any time J.

Mother's Day 2015

I had a wonderful Mother’s day weekend and am so thankful to be mommy to these 3 crazy and sweet boys that are all so full of life and hard to believe in a few short weeks it will soon be 4 little ones!  Saturday was a beautiful day and I was able to get away for a little pampering with a manicure and pedicure which was amazing.  I can’t even tell you the last time I had one of those and then I was able to run a few errands and pick up some supplies for the baby.  Then after Lincoln’s nap the boys really wanted to go fishing so we headed over to a pond in Urbandale and they had a fun time casting their poles and we did finally end up catching one fish before needing to head home.  Lincoln loved getting to watch all the ducks, geese and squirrels while the older boys fished.  

On Sunday we had lunch over at Jen’s house and got to spend some time with family and celebrate with my mom and grandma.  I just love the gifts the boys made me from school.  Gavin’s questionnaire cracked me up and Wyatt is so silly.  I have a book that Ryan has the boys color in and answer 5 things that they love about mom each year and Wyatt’s was 1. Her hugs, 2. Her kisses, 3. I want her to buy me a darth vader costume.  Can you tell he’s a little obsessed right now with darth vader lol. 

Gavin's Kindergarten Music Concert

Last week Gavin had his kindergarten music concert.  The split the kindergarten classes up into two groups and Gavin's was the last group with 2 other classes.  The kids did such a great job and it was so fun to watch.  They sang 8 different songs and then did a movement number to a classical song.  Lincoln was so cute during the concert because he was so excited to see Gavin up on stage.  Below are some pictures and short clips of a few of the songs.

Weekend Festivities

Friday night Gavin has his first t-ball game.  I didn’t get any pictures of him ahead of time (will for sure next time) and wasn’t able to go since I was sick but sounds like he did a great job and I’m excited to see him play at his next game.

Saturday we got to go see the Lion King at the Civic Center.  Both boys did pretty good during the show considering it was 2.5 hours and we all enjoyed it.  We even got to do a tour backstage after the show which was amazing getting to see all the props and costumes etc.

Sunday we had a fun bbq over at the Brandstad’s with all the Reynolds and Brandstad kids.  The weather was amazing and all the kids had fun running around and playing with each other.  

Overwhelmed

I have been feeling really overwhelmed and stressed lately.  Work has been insane.  We are going through tons of changes and I’m trying to keep up with that as well as get everything completed before I go out on maternity leave but there’s never enough time in the day.  Our house is a disaster and even on the off chance that we do get a few hours on a weekend without kids to clean/organize we never really get caught up or it just gets destroyed an hour later once they get home and I’m always so tired by the end of the day that it’s hard to get motivated to do housework or all of the tasks that need to get done.  Gavin’s going through a funk right now where he really likes to push buttons, throw fits and talk back and Lincoln is in a difficult stage right now where he wants to do everything himself but really can’t so it seems like I lose my patience way too quickly and all I do is yell and punish which is not very fun for anyone involved.  

On top of that we have major behavioral issues with Lincoln at school again.  More to come on this but we were a little blindsided the other day with some information that was not being shared so we didn’t fully understand how bad the situation is and lots of tears ensued on my part and I just can’t get that heavy feeling out of my heart knowing that he is such a sweet little boy at home but they aren’t seeing that side at school.  We have a meeting with his teachers, the director and a social worker next week to talk through some strategies but it’s a major stressor not really knowing what the future holds for him and what we do next if this doesn’t work and we have to pull him out of his current school.  

I’m sure there are other mom’s out there that feel this way occasionally but I definitely feel like I’m failing in all aspects of my life right now.  I don’t have enough time for work, feel like I’m failing in the mom department and I’m nervous about welcoming a new baby, the upcoming summer and potentially being home with all four kids and just not really knowing what the future holds.  Anyways there is a blog I follow by a mom that has 4 boys and although her boys are older than mine I really register with a lot that she writes and it helps me to know that I’m not alone in these feelings or aren’t the only one dealing with these issues.  She’s great at expressing how she feels and there are two posts that she’s written lately that I’ve really related two that I thought I would share below in case they also can help anyone else.

http://www.my4mistersandtheirsister.com/2015/04/goodnight-my-loves.html

http://www.my4mistersandtheirsister.com/2015/04/that-kid.html