Preggo mommy pics and other updates

Ok, ok, so here I am at 20 weeks pregnant - nice round belly and all. I'd like to say to all you have made comments like, "are you trying for a fourth?" and "you'll almost have your own basketball team now", etc etc....First, ARE YOU CRAZY?? No, we're not trying for a 4th just to have girl, with my luck we'd have a 4th boy and 3 boys is plenty, thank you very much. And just because they're boys doesn't mean we have to have a sports team....after all if the 3rd was a girl couldn't it have been a CO-ED basketball team??

In other news, Ben's adenoid surgery is scheduled for May 6th. I'm hoping he doesn't get sick between now and then and we have to postpone it. I'm anxious to get this over with. Ben seems to be going through the height of separation anxiety now which is most inconvenient for me since I seem to be going through the height of LEAVE ME ALONE! Not exactly the best stages for us both to be in :) I seem to remember having an equally difficult period with Cal wanting to be independent while I was pregnant with Ben. I'm sure we'll reach that stage later on this summer, but right now it's just the clinginess and whinyness (sp?) that I can't stand! Give your pregnant mommy a break Ben! It's a good thing he's so cute :)

Cal has had his own little transition going on lately. He's realized that he can get up at naptime and has been frequently leaving his room when he should be napping. Mostly he does just get up to go to the bathroom, but then he comes to find me to see if it's time to get up...sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. Again, a little inconvenient for me since I can't predict when he'll get up nowadays and never know how much I'll be able to get done. He's still napping for the most part though so I guess I can't complain.

Cal just had his art show at preschool on Thursday. Eric, Ben, and I went to see all the wonderful stuff he had made. Cal was a little disappointed since we'd been talking about the art show all week and finally when it came he asked, "So when do we get to WATCH it??" He thought it was a show like on TV! haha...Anyways, now it's April vacation so he's got a week off of preschool. We call this "family week" since Cal seems to understand that better and he thinks it's cool to be able to spend time at home that way. These are the days we should cherish right?...when they actually want to hang out with us!!

Picnic

It was 80+ degrees here on Wednesday!!! I was feeling bad after picking Cal up from preschool since all the other moms were taking their kids to the beach, so I promised Cal a picnic in the backyard. It SEEMED like a good idea at the time. It was fine for Cal but not so good for Ben. What 17-month-old just sits on a blanket and eats??? What was I thinking?!!? Ben had an "extra special" lunch with lots of dirt, grass, bugs, and other assorted things mixed in. Oh well, I think they did enjoy it even though mommy was running around trying to keep lunch semi-clean. At least I was smart enough to eat my own lunch inside while I was making theirs!!

Happy Passover!

After finding the afikomen, the boys got to open a few little gifts! They got puzzles and books. Cal got a "non-reading" Monopoly game we haven't quite figured out yet!! Ben is currently OBSESSED with the Doodlebops so he got a new CD and DVD so mommy doesn't have to watch and listen to the same one over and over and over and...

I decided the DAY OF Passover that I'd try my hand at making a brisket even though I've never made one before. I went to a couple stores where they very nicely told me "we're all out of brisket". Err....ok, so I end up at The Meat House" where they have everything meat, surely they have a brisket. Nope, all out. I begged the guy to help me out and figure out SOMETHING I could make. He ended up convincing me that short ribs are very good and I could use the same brisket recipe AND put it in the crock pot to boot. SOLD! Again, a little nervous since I've never made short ribs before but how can you go wrong in the crock pot, right?? Well, the man at The Meat House saved the day. The dinner came out wonderful and we had a nice Passover meal! Still eating matzah until Sunday at sundown!!!!

It's a boy, boy, boy!!!

Here HE is...no more referring to him as a girl. Despite all the girlie vibes, high, high hopes on my part and being totally convinced it was indeed a girl, it just wasn't meant to be! Eric apparently is only capable of producing Y chromosomes....errr....hehe...

There is NO mistaking this baby is a boy in case any of you are wondering. I MADE the ultrasound tech show me THREE times that it definitely was a boy. Then continued to ask, "So are you SURE I might not be surprised in the delivery room?!" Nope, there really was no denying it. So after a few seconds of shock and a teensy bit of disappointment since this really IS our last baby, we're VERY happy to be having yet another boy. But let me tell you, if and when we get a dog, it's going to be a female!!!

Cal has been only talking about a brother for the last couple weeks. So when we got home and told him he got his wish it's a brother we thought he'd be thrilled. Instead he whined, "But mommy, NOOOO, I want a sister!!" Well, you and me both, Cal, but it ain't happening. Keep on asking daddy if we can adopt a sister now maybe he'll cave :)

Getting back to baby boy #3 though. He's kicking up a storm. I swear he doesn't sleep. I guess I should have known it was a boy with all the activity. All my babes have had their own little circus act in utero! He's weighing in at a good 10 ounces and growing as he should be.

So now on to the tortuous naming process, ESPECIALLY for a boy. There just aren't that many boys names out there especially when you've already used two of them!! And NO we aren't specifically seeking out 3-letter names folks. No, we don't have a definitive name yet; no, we're not telling what we're thinking of naming him; and DEFINITELY NO, we aren't telling when we decide on a name! I'm very superstitious about this, even the OB doesn't know the baby's name in the delivery room until he's actually BORN! and I'm not even kidding. Now you know so don't even ask.

I've been thinking I better be a super cool mom forever and always so my boys LOVE me forever and want to include me in everything! I'll do my best to make them total momma's boys and milk the "come on, I don't have a daughter" for as long as they'll let me :) I'm taking all suggestions to make this happen! haha...

Ben's health update

So at long last, we've found out the cause of Ben's snoring and prolonged colds and large productions of mucus when he does get a cold! We went to an ENT affiliated with Children's Hospital in Boston today. Luckily, we got a Saturday appt and it was in Lexington, MA not too far from my mom. After a little nasal anesthetic, a snot sucking machine, and two attempts with the scope down Ben's nose (he had too much mucus to see the first time since he's sick again!), it was determined that he has unusually large adenoids for his age. The doctor unnecessarily went through all the pros and cons of surgery....not needed because it didn't take more than a split second for me to know that those babies are COMING OUT! The poor child had been raked through the coals with all these very long colds and he definitely has restless sleep due to his snoring. The ENT said his adenoids are big enough that they block part of his nasal passage. We couldn't schedule the surgery today since it was Saturday but they are going to call next week and he should be able to have the outpatient procedure done at Lexington within the next 2 to 3 weeks. The sooner, the better in my mind!

Gettin' along

This was a cute moment in an otherwise long and hectic week. Of course, by the time I got the camera they'd moved. But I was downstairs doing something while Cal and Ben were playing in the playroom, I heard Ben crying, but need to finish whatever I was doing (I can't remember now). By the time I got up there, Cal had soothed his little brother by getting a book and "reading" to him. It worked! Ben was sitting right beside him listening to Cal make up a story to the pictures.

Poor daddy was sick all week, stomach pain again. No definite diagnosis yet but he's going to see a GI doctor and hopefully get some answers soon. He's been sick since Monday and finally just better today (Sunday!). So the boys and I fended for ourselves all week and let daddy get some rest and get better.

Otherwise, things are going well. Mommy's a little extra tired from the stressful week, but almost 18 weeks preggo and still doing well! Definitely got a little belly going :) 12 more days until we know the baby's gender!!