Confused much?!

Happy Saturday!

That means 36 weeks for me now; just FOUR weeks away from my October 27 due date.  I think I confused my MIL though because her facebook status said this, "Happy Friday! A new baby for us soon! Will keep you posted! So happy!"  Hmmm....!  Maybe she thinks I said September instead of October!!!  I'm pretty excited for baby 2, too, but I am counting on these last weeks to tie things up!  

Mary's comment was my favorite though: "I don't know, the way us Beal girls carry those babies, Tiny Two might not make an appearance until Election Day!" 

She is SO right; I have already ordered my absentee ballot to be mailed to my house, just in case I'm in the hospital when it's time to vote!  And my to-do list does not have everything checked off...yet:

• organize all baby and toddler clothes
• tag all of my consignment clothes to sell next weekend
• vacuum baby 2 and Scarjo's room
• wash, dry, and fold all of the cloth diapers
• buy newborn 'sposies for baby 2 because she probably won't fit into the cloth diapers right away
• pack hospital bag and diaper bag
• bring down all of the baby swings and bouncers from the attic
• set up Scarlett's bed in her own room.  (I think this will be harder for me than for Scarlett!)
• buy lots of gifts for Scarlett from baby 2!  (I'm most excited to check this one off the list!)
• rearrange our bedroom to fit the co-sleeper next to our bed
• put the car seat into the jeep
• move Scarlett's car seat to the other side to make my life easier with two little ones
• freeze witch hazel monster-sized pads for post-delivery (awesome.)
• bring big girl toys up to the nursery for Scarlett to play with while I nurse/change baby 2
• order the cutest, most snuggly hat for baby 2 to wear in the hospital
• find the best big sister shirt for Scarlett

I have more to do than I realized!  Best be getting on that, especially if baby 2 follows my MIL's plan, and decides to come early...!

Rockin' Out at Life!

You know those days where you just are awesome at everything?  Like 'your laundry is going, your dishes are put away, and your little one has a warm breakfast in her belly' kind of awesome!  That's my day today and I'm loving it!  It isn't always like this, though...

Scarlett will be three in January, so that might be why she's decided not to nap recently, but it seems to have been affecting me more than her.  I have a routine in my head and mentally check out around noon when she's (supposed to be) asleep and I get my break.  When she stays awake, it throws my schedule off and I get frustrated with myself and can't seem to catch up with my day.  The little things bother me and I just shut down mentally and float through the rest of the day trying to get to bedtime while being productive.  Then I know I can relax; guilt-free.

Well, today I made two mental schedules -- one including nap time and one without a nap.   SHOCKER.  She's not napping...but I'm not freaking out!!!  Yay for getting ahead of the game after a week of hoping for naps and being disappointed!  Schedule #2 is working out for me!

Here's what I did...I decided that I must have a break during the day where I can guilt-free relax for a minute.  My break would have been during her 45-60 minute naps; and it was heaven, but that's over now, so my plan for a nap-less day included a break during her old nap time.  And so now I don't feel like I'm just going, going, going; it's pretty much awesome!

I still jumped on my computer and Scarlett entertained herself!  I also feel like a good mom because independent play is super-important.  She needs to be able to entertain herself -- especially with baby 2 coming in a few weeks!

I do know that there will be off days with this new schedule, but that's why there's always Sesame Street!  ;)

It's so funny how some days you can handle everything, and do it well, and then there are days when the same obstacles seem like the end of the world.   Today is a rockin' out at life kind of day!

I'm taking a note from Kelle Hampton's blog and enjoying the small things!  Here are the happy things going on around here:

Instagram!  I. am. addicted.

Come follow me!  megkb76

Everything Fall!  Especially yummy home fragrances...this is what my house smells like these days!

I love BBW!

The funny things she does that make me laugh!

Fruitcake!

Doing new things to make bath time more fun!  (shown in the form of Instagram photos)

Who doesn't love glow sticks?!

Blue and red ice cubes make for a very purple-y bath!

The changing leaves and when Scarlett squeals, "look out my window at the beautiful trees!"

Fall in Maine!  Thank you, google!

PUMPKINS!  Mary got me hooked last year...

Birthday parties everyday and silly expressions.  (This picture was not taken the same day as the video...we are big on birthday parties!)

Funny and right-on ecards! 

yup.

We're excited!

Halloween is right around the corner and Scarjo is getting in the spirit of things:

Okay, this is a little creepy!

Happy Birthday to Mummy&Da!

There are LOTS of little ones in our family, so every few weeks or so, there's a birthday party to attend!  These girls are pros when it comes to singing, "Happy Birthday" now, so when Scarlett discovered this plush birthday cake, she had a party for someone every day.  Surprisingly, this charade never gets old!

35 weeks down, 5 weeks to go...

Belly shot!

34 Weeks 2 days

Baby's size:  4 3/4 lbs and 18" long -- a cantaloupe!  She feels more like a watermelon these days, though!

Sleep:  My hips are killing me.  I wake up lots during the night to fix my hip pillow and am consequently exhausted always.

Maternity clothes:  I'm switching to my Fall wardrobe, but have still been rockin' the tank tops.  I'm roasting all. the. time.

Food cravings:  chocolate milk!  

Food aversions:  Still veggies.  Ugh!  I hope it changes as soon as baby 2 is here!  And beef.  Blech!  But I think that has more to do with the visit to the farm a few weeks ago; cows are so sweet!

Symptoms I have:  HEARTBURN.  I breathe air and I get heartburn.  It's the worst!  My hips are killing me too, but the doctor said that her head is LOW, so that's why they're so painful.

Doctor's appointment:  I went last Friday.  Everything looked great, but they had to check my blood for iron levels...hopefully I passed!  

Movement:  Baby 2 is a wild thing!  Her movements are slowing down a bit, but the doctor said that's normal due to her size nowadays.  

Belly button:  This is just a weird thing to talk about.  My belly button looks wonky.  There!  Said it.

Gender:  I hope she's still a girl!

What I'm looking forward to:  Watching Scarlett as a big sister!  I really hope that it's smooth sailing and there's not a jealousy issue...especially not from me when Scarlett spends Tyler's 2 weeks off with him.

What I miss:  Being able to move around and exercise without getting so easily winded.

Man, it is fun to complain about being pregnant!  Though it doesn't seem like it after this post, pregnancy really isn't that horrible for me.  And I can eat ice cream (almost.) guilt-free!!!  

What a morning...

My posts are usually about all the fun that Scarlett and I have together and how much I love her and how magic amazing I think she is and blah, blah, blah...today's post is not one of those!  Just a fair warning.

It's almost noon and I'm already done with today!  Actually, at about 9:30, I was done.  It's dark and dreary, which isn't helping anything, and Scarjo is feeling yucky.  Poor thing.  I really do sympathize with her; she has a cold and stuffy nose.  Not fun.  I gave her some tylenol to make her more comfortable and went about my morning...

Once the dishes were done, breakfast was made, and laundry was folded, I went to go do my make up.  We had Rhyme Time at the library to attend...and it's Lulu's last one!  (She'll be going to her new school during the mornings next week and then all day after that.)  While I was in the bathroom, Scarjo started freaking out because her shoe was untied (and because she's a sick two-year-old who ate 3 bites of her eggs.  Awesome.)  So I made her ask nicely, picked her up, and put her on the counter, so I could reach her sneaker.  Hello, big ol' pregnant belly here, there was no way I was bending that far over!!!  In the transition from the floor to the counter, she dropped her new puppy.  End of the world.  Honestly, I just don't have the patience to deal with pointless temper tantrums.  (or temper tantrums in general!)  I put her on the floor and went back to do my make up.  She laid there for the entire time it took for me to finish...and I love me some make up...so this was a good 15 minutes.  Girlfriend was dedicated!  She didn't even have an audience; I should be terrified of her teenage years!  

She pulled it together when I went into the living room.  The music channel was playing and that distracted her from the huge injustice of dropping her puppy and not having me immediately retrieve it for her.  (I mean, that must have been the issue, right?!)

That was just the beginning of the naughties.  After Rhyme Time, we stayed and played at the library, but Scarlett refused to share her trains with Lulu, so I hauled her up and we left.  I was so that parent with the screaming kid over the shoulder and an embarrassed look on my face!  Ugh!  

I cannot stand naughty Scarjo!  Usually she's so well-behaved and almost always in public she's awesome, so I'm blaming her sickness/lack of breakfast for this morning's transgressions...not that it really matters.  Naughty is naughty!  

Time for her NAP!  Phew...now I just need to survive the afternoon...!  

She makes me laugh!

While we were getting dressed the other morning, I pulled my shirt over my huge belly.  Scarlett gasped and said, "Oh no!  Baby 2 can't see!"  HA!  What a fruitcake!

So What! Wednesday

This week, I'm saying So What if...

• I want to buy everything for Scarlett.  I know that it's normal for parents to want to do this, but I'm not sure who gets more excited over new toys:  Scarlett or me!
• This morning, my biggest dilemma was whether to go grocery shopping or to the bounce house for Scarlett first.  Sometimes the stresses of being a SAHM can be really trying.  ;)
• My hair doesn't need to be washed until I use dry shampoo for at least one day.  Here is my favorite kind:  cheap & awesome! (It's under $5 at Walmart!)
• My jeep has a bumper sticker of Flo on the back window.  I put it on to support Tyler, a Progressive employee, but he keeps giving me a guilt trip every time I go to take her off.  
• These were my groceries today.  I'm so ashamed.  NEVER go grocery shopping hungry and 8 months pregnant.  It won't end well.

I have to say that I was (clearly!) in a baking mood, but that chocolate milk?  ALL MINE!  

• See above photo:  I am a sucker.  Scarjo loves those juice bottles; this Tinkerbell one is the third one that we've purchased between Tyler, Mary, and me.  She refuses to drink the juice, she just loves the characters.  I swear, NO MORE!  
• I'm just realizing that I'm going to have to actually deliver another baby.  And I'm a little bit nervous!  The first time, I was blissfully unaware, but this time around, I know what's up...and it's not pretty.

FUN Links!

Enjoying the Small Things had the best reveal last week!  It's a ...!

Before baby 2 is born, I need to go shopping!

Disney princesses are so cheesy, but Scarlett is in love with them.  This would rock her world!

Clearly, ebay is rocking my world:  If I had a boy...

My mom is running for school board!!!

The key to Tyler's heart: chocolate and peanut butter!  These will be a hit in our house, I'm sure!

This is such a good idea; I hope I remember to do this with  my babies!

Scarlett is obsessed with my ipad, which is great when I'm trying to organize baby 2's room, but I feel like it's equivalent to television, so then I feel guilty!  This will help ease some of that guilt and Scarlett will be learning; it's a win/win!  (It also helps to follow Shannon Dew on pinterest...I totally found this page from her!)

I need this book.

Celebrity teeth.  Whoa, Tom Cruise!

Pictures of a teenage Princess Diana.

Yup!  Thank you, pinterest!

Mailman Love.

I have recently written about my renewed obsession with Ebay; this is very confusing for Scarlett.  She believes that her "mailmail" is bringing ALL KINDS of presents for her because she's such a good girl.

In the car this morning, Tyler told Scarlett that her new jacket looked so cozy and pretty.  (Hanna Andersson for a steal -- I really am the queen of ebay!!!)

Scarlett replied, "My mailmail bring me this.  I good girl."  But then she pauses for a minute and you can tell she's thinking about something, then she continues, "My mailmail no bring me pops.  Mailmail bring me pop tomorrow!"

I'm glad that she's confident in the Mailman's love for her and about the fact that she's been such a good girl, but there's no way I'm ordering lollipops in the mail!

Bullet points because sleep has been hard to come by and I can only drink one cup of coffee...

• Nick and Vanessa Lachey had their baby boy.  Camden John is the name they went with, really??  That's the best they can do?!?!  The way that Vanessa talked about naming her baby, you'd think they would have thought a little bit outside the box!  I have to say, I think Jessica Simpson wins the best baby name award in this battle of the exes!!!
• Speaking of Jessica...did you see her on Katie??  The show was a bore and she really just talked about Weight Watchers, but at least she looked fantastic doing it!  Yay for Weight Watchers!
• I am addicted to Ebay.  For reals, addicted!  I communicate about my purchases with Tyler through our bank account because I thought he checked it diligently.  Turns out, he doesn't, so he was a little confused when all sorts of packages started arriving in the mail!  I can't help it -- HANNA ANDERSSON for almost no dollars!  Score.  Another ebay plus??  They have everything!!!  I lay in bed when I can't sleep (so annoying.) and go shopping.  They have Disney Princess things galore!!!!  Scarlett's making out like a bandit!  It makes it even more fun when she talks about the  "mail mail" bringing her presents because she's such a good girl!
• Scarlett has decided that "Sex" is no longer the kitty's name.  It's now, "Mister."  I'm okay with this...maybe it'll cut back on the weird looks we get from our neighbors as Scarjo calls, "Seeeex!" down the driveway!
• Tyler DVR'ed The 'X' Factor and The Voice instead of Big Brother last night.  We're fighting.
• Yay for Kelly and Michael!!!  I am soooo happy that they didn't go with Nick Lachey.  (Holy NL bashing today, huh?!)  Nick was such an awkward host (IMO) the last time I saw him on during the Olympics.  He started talking about the gymnasts' behinds and how the camera always focuses on them and he cannot help but look.  Um, they're kids!  Like 15 and 16 while Nick is at least double that.  It just made me cringe!
• Lulu's 2nd birthday party was a success -- Mary rocks!!!  She had fun with all of her new gifts and Mary ordered the yummiest cake ever.  YES!  

A dozen doughnuts on your birthday...best ritual ever!

Already a pro at unwrapping her gifts!

Bday gifts from her favorite auntie!!!

Birthday Girl poses!

Yay for new backpacks!

• Alyssa was in the local homecoming parade!  She is seriously awesome and full of fun!

First parade and she's already a pro!

Seriously the cutest little cheerleader ever!

She loved to cheer for Alyssa Lou, but was TERRIFIED of the fire trucks and their sirens!

• It's no wonder some kids have the attitude/behavior that they do after seeing this display at the playground.  After a little barefoot, unsupervised 4-year-old (ish, I'm guessing.) ran up and down the slide a few times while Scarlett was waiting to go down, I told him that, no, he couldn't go up again until he waited his turn.  He looked at me, turned around, and just ran up the slide again.  I looked around the playground again to see who was watching this little boy and no one showed up.  Then another little boy climbed to the top of the slide with Scarlett and was waiting nicely for his turn.  Finally, the naughty little boy's mother showed up, snatched him, and tore off with him dangling over her shoulder, kicking and screaming.  I thought to myself, "Good for her!"  If Scarlett had acted that way, we would have left the playground PRONTO!  Not that any parenting is better or worse, and it's always tricky to decide how to handle situations, especially in public, but IMO, she was doing the right thing.  All peace was restored on the playground...for about five more minutes.  THEN, the little boy's aunt came roaring onto the playground, hollaring to the boy saying, "Who said you can't go up the slide?  You can go up the slide!!!  I'll even go up with you!!!  COME ON!!!!"  OMG.  She was obnoxious.    It was a tunnel slide, so as soon as she tried to go up, she got stuck and she couldn't save herself because of her socks, so obviously, she just took off her shoes and socks and left them on the slide while she continued up, because that's what any sane person would do.  She was shouting and screaming with her nephew all over the playground; it was all so crazy and chaotic.  Then, as they made their way to the other side of the playground, Scarlett continued her route of running up the stairs and down the slide...but when she got to the bottom, she ran into the dirty, inside-out socks that were still there.  We left after that.  It's such a shame that that little boy has such a bad role model.  
• Phew!  Venting feels good!!!
• I realized that I should just be taking pictures of myself in a full-length mirror to document THE BELLY.  Duh!  But then I realized I'd have to clean my mirror first...I'll get to that.  Soon!  Baby 2 will be here in 6 weeks and 1 day!!!  Yikes!  
• It's Friday, so Scarjo has Rhyme Time with Meems and Lulu while I head to my doctor appt.  Yay for her, sads for me...those scales there really bum me out!!!  I don't think the birthday cake will be helping things!  ;)
• And here is a little sneak peek of Scarlett's halloween costume!!!  (I am SUPER prepared because baby 2 is due on the 27th, so I have to have Scarlett ready to trick-or-treat!)

Just need the underclothes and she's ready!

Lulu's TWO!

We're spending the day celebrating Miss Louisa Violet Francis!  

Happiest birthday ever to my favorite two-year-old niece, Lulu! 

Baby 2's Name

I pulled a MODG and tested out my name for baby 2 with a stranger at Cam's soccer game.  I told just one parent to see her reaction and to see if people outside of my family will think it's a crazy name or a crazy-fun name, like I do!

Well, it went about as well as MODG's online experiment ...the one parent I told absolutely despised the name.  Even the first name, which is actually a normal and real name!  I thought just the middle name would be the kicker, but it was whole thing.  It didn't bother me -- instead I started judging the names of her kids in my head and I got all nasty!

Because baby 2 is a part of my family, I'm (mostly) sure she'll rock her name and really love it!  (Unless she's built like a brick house -- then she'll hate me and her ultra-feminine, happy name.)

So my little experiment just re-affirmed my decision to keep my name a secret until baby 2 is born and it's official.  Then people can voice their opinions.

On an unrelated note...Alyssa Lou is a cheerleader!  She even has her own groupies (Lulu & Scarjo!) to watch her practice.

Such a rockstar:

Another stolen picture from Mary!

32 Weeks...already!

This really would be more interesting if I had bump pictures.  The truth is, I don't even have unflattering pics; this pregnancy is completely undocumented!!!  I really thought I'd be better about taking pictures of my baby belly because I really wish I had more pictures from when I was pregnant with Scarlett, but I have done an even worse job this time around!  Oh well...I have 8 weeks left to fix that!  I just feel so huge that I don't want to remember this feeling.  It's almost like taking before pictures when you start a diet.  You know you'll want to see your progress, but it's jarring to actually see what you look like!  Right?!  Anyway...here are my pregnancy symptoms at 32 weeks:

Baby's size:  3.75 lbs. and 16.7" long.  About the size of a jicama(??)...is that a type of potato??   Whoa!  Baby 2 is getting huge!

Sleep:  When I first lay down, I feel like I can't breathe.  Very scary!  But other than that and my 3x/night trips to the bathroom, I'm sleeping pretty well!

Maternity clothes:  Lots of tank tops with my stretchy skirt and one pair of capris.  When I found out I was pregnant, I donated ALL of my clothes from pregnancy 1 because the thought of wearing them again made me sick/I worked while I was pregnant, so the clothes were a bit too fancy for this time around!  Baby 2 is due in October, so silly me, I bought all new FALL clothes...my summer wardrobe leaves much to be desired!

Food cravings:  FRIED CHICKEN AND FRUITY DESSERTS!  Weird.  I have been dying for fried chicken and anything fruity sounds delicious.  I just bought local strawberry jam and have eaten the entire jar in one week.  Yum!

Food aversions:  Vegetables.  SO. BAD.  I try to gag them down, but I really just can't.  To make up for my lack of veggies, I've been extra diligent with my prenatal vitamins and eating lots of fresh fruit.

Symptoms I have:  Sore back.  And I'm tired always.

Doctor's appointment:  Last Thursday...I gained 5lbs:(  I had gone 8 weeks with no weight gain and then, BAM!  Other than that, everything was great!  Her heartbeat was 140bpm.  I forgot to ask if she was measuring big, small, or right on track...I am so curious about that!

Movement:  Baby 2 is a party animal!  And she feels long -- she tickles my right hip bone and my left lung at the same time!

Belly button:  It's stretched almost flat...seeing the inside of your belly button is so strange!

Gender:  GIRL!

What I'm looking forward to:  That baby smell!!!  And I'm hoping to see a happy toddler taking care of her baby sister...

What I miss:  Laying on my stomach!!!  Doing the loop and feeling active -- my back is too painful to really do exercise-y walks.  I also am just trying to soak up my last 2 months with just Scarjo.

And because I can't post on my blog without a picture of the cutest ladies biggest ragamuffins around:

Taken by Auntie Mary!