Kielbasa and ....

i just love it when i make something for dinner out of whatever i can find in our fridge and pantry, throw it all together AND it tastes good. tonight i made a casserole with kielbasa and brown rice that turned out quit well i must say. i added kidney beans, garlic, onion, 2 kinds of cheese and peas. but the best part was that i used up some boxed butternut squash soup that none of us liked as soup from a couple of nights ago. so all in all it was pretty healthy as well. i just had the need to give myself a pat on the back. :)

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe

Preparing to be a Big Brother!

the other day malachi asked me to help him put diapers on his two stuffed animals. he actually didn't do too bad. i am sure he will be my big helper when his sister arrives.

Here's your sign...

People say the dumbest things to a woman in the last few weeks of pregnancy. Today my two "favorites" were...

...Are you sure you aren't having twins? - I've actually heard this one a few times

and

...(speaking to Malachi) Looks like you are going to have a little sister or brother soon, though it doesn't look like they'll be too little.

What I would love is to be able to come up with a witty comeback, but everything I can think of is just not very kind. How about I just have a shirt that gives suggestions for kind things to say to a pregnant woman. People obviously have not remembered the old saying, "If you don't have anything kind to say, don't say anything at all."

I realize that I have posted about this a couple times already but it truly is a very big pet peeve of mine. (just in case you couldn't tell) Seriously though, is it just me or does this bother anyone else who has been pregnant and heard similar stuff?

Excitement and Dread

we have officially hit the month of march and hopefully will be meeting our sweet little girl, face to face, this month. we are 23 days away from the due date but who's counting. i'm feeling as though i can't possibly get much bigger...and so many people are willing to point that out to me as well :).
i am getting very excited to finally see our zoe and begin life as a family of four but boy am i beginning to dread going through labor. i can only pray that this time it is not as long and it sure would be fabulous if i can do most of the laboring at home. with malachi i was induced (cause he was going to be so huge i was told...and yes he was only 7lbs 10oz...never again will i believe the size estimations i hear) i would really love it if we don't have to go through that again.
last week at my regular weekly appointment my midwife heard some decelerations in zoe's heartbeat and wanted to follow up with monitoring at the hospital. when i arrived at the hospital at 3pm they checked me into labor and delivery triage and i didn't actually leave until 5:30! heartbeat sounded fine, everything was fine...just sent me into a bit of an emotional roller coaster even though i am well aware that decelerations are very normal. we are just grateful everything looks great and continue to pray that she arrives healthy and strong.

the ABC's

yesterday i went out to the garage and grabbed a few books from my old 'teaching stash' since malachi is outgrowing the smaller board books and is interested in longer stories now. this book, alphabet mystery, is one i pulled out and read to him 2 times yesterday and this afternoon i caught him reading the first part on his own...going through the ABC's! as you may be able to tell from my response I was slightly surprised at how many he was able to say. i was actually in the kitchen making lunch when i heard him go through it the first time (saying more of the letters at the beginning) so i quickly pulled out the camera to catch it again.

now that i am no longer babysitting multiple days during the week, malachi and i are developing a new routine. we've been going for walks each morning. for the first part malachi rides his tricycle around the block one or two times while rafiki enjoys the slow pace so she can sniff anything and everything she wants to. then we put the tricycle away and get out the stroller for the longer faster paced part of our walk.
it has been a lot of fun spending this time with malachi. he has yet to use the pedals on his tricycle but i am sure that will come in no time. he always wants to wear his hat and bring a few of his cars or trains in the back of his trike. and to think, in a couple months his little sister will get to join in on the fun!
speaking of...i am now 33 weeks along and, according to many people i see on the street, looking like i am ready to pop anytime (why is it that people feel so free to comment on the large size of a pregnant belly?!) i saw my midwife today and everything is looking good. we actually put the infant car seat in the car this weekend (maybe due to some wishful thinking on my part that maybe our little girl will come early...not too early though of course). besides feeling very large i have been having major sciatica nerve pain. hopefully that will not continue after i can borrow a maternity belt (...thanks allison :))