Apparently not so.  It seems to be related to hormones…and with the wacky hormones I’ve had this entire pregnancy causing acne, hair loss, and more, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise.  But it is.  And it hurts.  If you’ve seen me trailing around the grocery store or Wal-Mart behind my husband, you’ve likely seen just how much pain I’m in when I try to get up and walk around for more than a few minutes.  It’s hard to get out of bed in the morning.  The round ligament pains that I first started having before I even knew I was pregnant have gotten increasingly worse and I have to be very careful to move in a way that doesn’t exacerbate them.  Luckily I am still (mostly) comfortable while sitting.

I am reminded once again of why 3 pregnancies/children is my limit.  Physically, emotionally, and financially.  Pregnancy (even with the boys) has never been an easy thing.  I pretty much stay sick and/or queasy for the entire 9 months.  It improves somewhat as time goes on, but never really goes away.  Then there’s the sheer exhaustion and wear and tear on my body.  I do better than a lot of people I know, but I definitely don’t breeze through it like others.  Emotionally I don’t feel like I’m capable of giving more than 3 kids everything they need from me.  I adore my kids, but let’s face it…they need a LOT.  I only have so much to give!  And financially, well…do I need to elaborate?  Considering our current situation I just cannot ever see us choosing to add another child to our family.  And if we ever do then I think I would prefer to adopt.  It’s something we strongly considered when I was struggling to get pregnant with our 2nd and something I considered again before I found out I was pregnant this time.  I’m not ruling it out, just in case we win the lottery or something!  But truly, I feel done.  And have said so pretty much from the moment we found out I was pregnant.  Except for a few moments of wavering because I couldn’t imagine not doing this ever again, I’ve been pretty sure that this is it.  Not because we’re having a girl this time (though I know that’s what people think) but because I’m just DONE.  I’m blessed by the 3 healthy children I have.  I don’t want to tempt fate or get too greedy.  This is it, and I’m content with that decision.

My first “tropical” experience came almost exactly 5 years ago when we were living in Hope Mills, just south of Fayetteville.  Isobel hit on a day that I was home alone with my oldest, who was still a baby at the time.  It was terrifying to hear the junk from our neighbor’s backyward pelt the side of the house all day long!  We had moved everything we had inside, parked our vehicle in the garage, and done everything we could to be sure we didn’t leave anything out for the wind to hurl at someone else’s house.  Our trashy neighbors weren’t as considerate.  Their back yard, filled with toys and trash, backed up to our side yard and literally everything out there ended up laying in our yard by the time it was over.  It was a terrifying experience and I have no wish to repeat it…so far, I’ve been lucky.  Even when we lived much closer to the coast in Florence, SC we escaped any of the bad ones.  We may have had some rain, some gusty wind, but never anything that was really scary like that.

So we’re prepared for Hanna’s worst which now appears to be not so bad.  And I’m praying Ike doesn’t turn this direction though I feel horribly guilty about it…if it doesn’t come here, it will go elsewhere.  It feels pretty selfish to hope it affects someone else.  For everyone out there in the area, stay safe tomorrow & Saturday!

So you can imagine that one of my first thoughts yesterday when we learned we were having a girl was “when can I buy something pink?”  I didn’t wait long…I got a couple of newborn sleepers today.  I found so much more that I wanted (pretty much every one of the Dwell Studios layette pieces!) but tried to hold myself back.  Little nameless girl now has 2 adorable sleepers to wear when she first comes home.  Let’s just hope she’s no so big that newborn won’t fit her!  Even my 8.5 pounder could wear newborn for a little while, though.

I can’t wait to raid the Carter’s outlet in a few weeks!

And I truly feel like she will complete our family.  I’ve felt like someone was missing and I just didn’t know who.  Now I know, and I feel very content to say that this is my last pregnancy and my last baby.  Unless our circumstances change drastically, I just don’t see me wanting another baby.  This pregnancy has been more difficult for me and I feel that three is my limit as far as meeting each of their emotional and physical needs.  So though I was pretty sure I didn’t want to do all of this again, there was still that tiny bit of doubt.  Now I feel very secure in that decision!

So if you’re dying to see a picture, here ya go.  I can already tell she’s gorgeous!

We did go to church yesterday, and Amy and her husband met us there. We all agreed that it was good, even if the start of the service was slightly intimidating at first! The sermon was something that I especially needed to hear, so I really felt God’s presence there. The kids had fun, we got a $25 gas card, and I felt closer to God than I have in a long time. Even my husband, who has never been a church-goer, enjoyed it and said he’d like to go back. I’m really, really happy about this. I’m sick of being mad at God for the bad stuff in our life and I’m ready to trust that He will help us get everything back together (as long as we’re putting the effort in, too!) if we give him the chance. So I’m really hoping that this church will help us rediscover that faith and give us the confidence we need to move forward.

Tonight is the start of the football season for my personal team, the Tennessee Volunteers. Go Vols!

I really feel for Bristol Palin. I know she must be scared and overwhelmed and being in the media spotlight (which I think is wrong by the way…we need to focus on the candidates and their fitness for office) can’t be easy. Let’s face it, we all messed up to some degree as teenagers. I just thank God that my lapses in judgment weren’t in the national news. Gah. I can’t imagine how difficult this must be for her. I just hope that she has a good support system in place. I am also reminded of why I am against abstinence only sex ed. As much as I would prefer that for my children, I know that I can’t lock them in their rooms until I think they’re responsible, mature adults. *sigh* It’s really too bad that’s not an option. (That is a joke! Well, sorta. LOL)

Speaking of that, I must not ignore or change the subject on my 5 year old the next time he asks me how the baby got in my belly. It’s never too early, right? Now to figure out how to approach that issue in an age appropriate and sensitive way. I’m a little queasy just thinking about it! (Smart people, if you have resources, please fill me in!)

Tomorrow is the premier of the new 90210. Today, SoapNet has run a marathon of the original and I’ve been very into it! Yes, I’m 32 years old and reliving high school. If my house was clean, I’d totally have a viewing party tomorrow night, just like we did in high school and college! Instead, I will try to watch it with my husband mocking me and my 2 year old climbing on me. Oh, how things have changed…

Tomorrow is also the BIG day. We will (I hope!) be confirming that our baby is healthy and strong and also finding out whether this is a baby sister or a baby brother for the boys, assuming this baby gives up the goods. My first did not…we had to wait another 4 weeks and have a repeat ultrasound because his position was so terrible that she couldn’t visualize the heart well, much less tell the sex. Our babysitter for tomorrow backed out on us, so we’ll be taking the toddler along. I’m hoping he allows his daddy to enjoy the experience! Luckily I will be unable to wrestle with him. If you could send your prayers and good thoughts to us around 10:30, I’d be most grateful! I’ll be back as soon as I can with the full update.

Well, I still had trouble sleeping and still woke up early and couldn’t go back to sleep.  So much for that!  But I did get several hours completely uninterrupted which is always helpful.

And now, instead of doing the cleaning I’d planned on, I’m meeting a friend for lunch in Carthage.  Oh well…this is more fun, anyway!

So while the goals I set for myself are not being met I’m still enjoying the blissful peace of the house.  They’ll be home this afternoon and I’m glad…I miss my boys, all 3 of them!

his is my 2nd post today…and if you only read one post, I’d rather you read the other one! So if you’re not interested in the political babble, please scroll down and read that one instead.

I am blown away by McCain’s VP choice. He has either just won or just lost the election. Wow. Bold move is an understatement. And I have to say that I am thrilled by the fact that for once this country will have someone other than two white men in those top offices. One way or another, history is being made. Either we will have an African American president or a female vice president. It’s exciting and I’m so thrilled to see it! Is it strange that I’m considering scheduling my c-section on January 20th so I can tell this child that the day he or she was born was a historic day for our country?

But I have to be honest…I see this as a move designed to garner the votes of the Hillary supporters who are still undecided. And I’m not sure it will work. Because Sarah Palin’s conservative values are polar opposites of Clinton’s liberal values. And I am sure that a lot of people will see it as pandering and be turned off by it. So if that was his aim, I think it hurts more than it helps.

I also think that when you take his age and past health issues into consideration her extreme lack of experience is scary. And considering that’s been one of the main criticisms of Obama, the irony is staggering. Her political experience is limited to terms on the city council and as mayor to a city smaller than Sanford, and she is (I think) only halfway through her first term as governor to the least populated state in the country. Wow. Her approval rating there is high, but I still think she lacks the experience to step in as president should McCain become unable to perform the duties of the office. And let’s face it…his age has been a big concern for a lot of people. Just as Obama’s lack of experience is a big concern. Now you have both problems on one ticket! Was that a good move?

And I’m going to be judgmental and sexist here, but I do not believe that a woman with a 4 month old baby who has special needs should be considering a job such as VP of the US. Frankly, a man shouldn’t either. And not knowing the extent to which he is affected both medically and cognitively by his Down’s Syndrome (and they may not know for several years) I worry about her ability to be both an effective parent AND an effective VP of the most powerful nation in the world. And please don’t assume that I am saying that women shouldn’t work, or women with babies shouldn’t work, or that women with babies with special needs shouldn’t work…I am saying that the VP position (and remember, she will be first in line to be the president!) appears to me to be a very important and demanding job. As a mother myself, I cannot imagine pursuing something like that with an infant, much less one with special needs. Nor could I be supportive of my husband doing so. (Maybe I’m not being as sexist as I think I am?) With older children, I’d feel differently. I do think she has the potential to be a tremendous advocate for not only working mothers, but also for children with special needs. We need more of that in this world, particularly in positions of power. I very much see the working mom of a small child thing being a huge sticking point for the uber-conservative and evangelicals in this country, too. Why alienate your biggest voting base?

I do like a lot of things about her. Her son is about to deploy to Iraq. If she supports the war (and I assume she does based on this) then she’s not leaving it for others to fight. She is pro-life and has carried a child to term knowing there would be problems. I have a lot of respect for people who back up their words with actions, and both of these situations show me that even if disagree with her stances she’s not going to expect people to do something that she would not do herself. (I don’t think I’ve articulated that well…I hope that makes sense!) I think it boils down to her not being a “do as I say, not as I do” type. Big thumbs up for that! She opposes gay marriage but does support same sex partnership benefits. She has exposed corruption in her own party, something which we need more of on both sides of the aisle. From what little I can find, she seems to be fiscally conservative, which is generally the issue I find myself to be most conservative on. Though I don’t see much fiscal conservatism on either side much these days!

I guess what it boils down to is this…should McCain die or become unable to perform the duties of the presidency, is she a viable choice to assume those duties? And since McCain is 72 years old and a cancer survivor, the sad reality is that this is something people really have to consider. I’m just not sure it’s a smart choice.