Pouring Concrete

I helped Jason lay a big concrete pad this morning. I use the word "helped" lightly because he did 95% of the work, but still, it was physically really hard for me. By the time we were done, I was wiped out! And my ankles were really swollen too! But I figured if I overdid it, the most-likely scenario would be that I would go into labor...and frankly, that would be okay. But all is well and the concrete is done....for today.

Relief from the Heat

We took the kids swimming this evening to get out of this awful heat!

Nesting

So I've figured out how I nest. I don't really clean or organize, although my house really needs it. Don't get me wrong, I'm still doing housework, but not in an over-zealous way. I'd rather bake and cook. For those of you who know me well, know that this is NOT my normal behavior! But for the past week, that's all I've wanted to do! If I were more on the ball, I could fix up some dinners and then freeze them for after the baby comes....but so far, I'm not that organized. I just fix something yummy with whatever's on-hand.

Rock Hard Abs

I think it's funny that the only time in my life that I have rock hard abs, they're the shape of a large watermellon.

Sprinklers!

It's been really hot these past few days! Perfect for going swimming, but I haven't had the energy to get the girls over to the pool. So instead, they ran through the sprinklers this evening. It was just a little before 7:00 p.m. and still about 100 degrees outside, so of course, they loved it!!




Every night before I go to bed, I check on the girls. I had a moment of panic when I saw that Sam's bed was empty!! Until I noticed that she was sleeping on Alison's bed. I guess they were having a little sleep-over.

Stripping Membranes

I had a prenatal appointment this morning. The doctor stripped my membranes....OUCH! So NOT fun, but I'm all for it because maybe it'll put me into labor.

So here's the stats from my appointment:
--Today I'm 38 weeks + 1 day.
--I'm measuring at 40 weeks.
--I'm dialated to 4 cm.
--I'm "soft and ripe" says the doctor.
--The baby is posterior, which is why I'm having all the lower back pain with each contraction. My other kids were the same way too.
--I've lost 1 pound since my last appointment, but the baby has probably gained 1 to 1 1/2 pounds, which would mean I've actually lost more than a pound.

If I don't go into labor this week, they're scheduling an induction for next week. The doctor said she'll try to schedule it for Tuesday, but it might be Wednesday. Either way, I shouldn't be going full term, so hopefully the baby won't be too big.

Sam's Stats

My friend just posted on her blog about her kid's check-ups today. Loved the info! So I got to thinking that I should do the same thing next time they have check-ups. But for now, all I have is a little info on Samantha. She's 5 1/2 years old and is 4 foot, 3 1/2 inches tall, and weighs approximately 58 or 59 pounds. She's SO tall!!!

We Need a Basket

Sam found 6 eggs today! I think we need to get her a little egg-gathering basket! Wouldn't that be so cute?

I had another night of contractions last night. They didn't amount to anything, since I'm obviously blogging and not delivering a baby. The contractions are getting worse though, so I know my body is getting itself ready for the big day. My night consisted of contractions, walking around the house to get rid of the contractions, and dreaming that I was in labor. Oh yeah, and getting up with Alison who was having a rough night too. So, I'm tired. But I'm 38 weeks today, so I suppose that is to be expected.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate & Butterscotch Chip Cookies

These are my favorite! I've been waiting for a nice, cool Fall day to bake them, but with the sudden turn in the weather (95 degrees yesterday!), I got to thinking, I better just make them since I'll probably be too tired and busy after the baby comes.

Samantha LOVES doing stuff like this!

Adding the pumpkin...which she told me "smells gross!"

Mixing the dry ingredients.

One of the best parts of childhood...okay, and for the rest of your life too...licking the beaters!

Taah-Daah!! They're so yummy!! Now off to deliver some plates!


For the recipe, go to http://stoutcookin.blogspot.com/2010/09/pumpkin-oatmeal-chocolate-butterscotch.html or for more family recipes go to http://stoutcookin.blogspot.com/

I had some serious contractions all night long last night! They were totally irregular and never amounted to anything, so I knew not to worry, but still, they hurt and now I'm really tired.

A Fun Saturday

The girls had a great time today at Lowe's! They got aprons and little build-it-yourself firetruck kits. They also got stickers, lots of safety stuff, and suckers.


They got to sit in a firetruck too and totally check it out!


And Sam loved playing with the playset binoculars!

Samantha made Jello this afternoon. We were going to try and cut it into fun shapes, but I didn't use the right kind for that, so instead we just scooped it out and ate it like normal. But Sam was so excited to make it by herself...kind of. Obviously, I helped with the boiling water part. But she was so amazed when she pulled it out of the fridge a few hours after putting it in and found that it wasn't liquid anymore! "Wow Mom!!!"

Our rabbits have been living in this cage since we got them about 5 months ago.

And today we picked this one up for them. Got it for $40 off craigslist! It'll obviously need a little fixing up--we'll get around to that eventually. But in the meantime, it's better and bigger than what they were in before.


And about the pregnancy....
I've been pretty achy today. Contractions are getting worse and more frequent. Not real yet, but worse. I tried to nap this afternoon, but contracted the whole time and had lower back pain with each contraction. Eventually, I gave up.
Oh yeah, and several people have commented that the baby definately looks lower. I can eat more and breath better, so yeah, I think he's dropped a bit.

No Bake Chocolate Oat Bars

The baby (and momma) sure got some chocolate tonight! I made these yummy No Bake Chocolate Oat Bars. The recipe is from my friend's website. So delicious!!

Here's the recipe:
No Bake Chocolate Oat Bars

Get Better!

Is it really bad of me that part of the reason I want Samantha to get better is so that I don't have to keep taking care of her? That sounds so bad, but I'm just so exhausted! It's hard to do this, night and day, when you're this pregnant! I'm taking her to the doctor in about an hour and I think they'll find that she has an ear infection.

The Bassinet

We've borrowed bassinets with both of our last kids, but couldn't find one this time, so I bought one this morning. Jason got it put together right away and now it's sitting in our room. Come on little guy....we're ready for you!


Alison loves helping.


And here she is playing with the little dangly toys. Sam did the same thing when Alison was in a bassinet. So cute!

Restaurant Booth

We went out to dinner tonight as a family and I realized that I have reached a milestone in my pregnancy. I didn't fit into the booth! Okay well, I did, but it was a very tight squeeze and I was quite uncomfortable.

Grasshopper

I found a grasshopper this evening....just sitting there, dying to get it's picture taken. Jason is holding it in these pics.


Then when I was done, we fed it to one of the chickens. But at least it had it's portrait taken on it's last day alive. What a legacy!

Nora's First Egg

Nora laid an egg today! I opened the lid on the nesting boxes to check for eggs and she was sitting there, so I shut the door...ya know, gotta give the girl some privacy. But then, I thought "She's so cute just sitting there....I'll take a quick picture." I peeked my camera through one of the little egg-shaped windows and took a picture. (Okay, so I'm not really all that good about giving her privacy, but she's a chicken...who cares?) About 2 seconds later, I heard a thunk in the coop. I opened the door and there she was, standing over an egg! Yay for Nora!

Oh, the Back Pain!

I awoke around 3:30 a.m. with agonizing lower back pain! No matter what I did, it wouldn't go away, so naturally, I starting thinking I might be going into labor. That is what happened during my last labor--horrible lower back pain! But last time contractions started, got worse, and got closer together. This time it was just pain, lots of pain, and only semi-bad contractions, at irregular intervals. Jason rubbed my back and I eventually took some extra strength Tylenol. I figured, if it wasn't labor, then the Tylenol would eventually help and if it was labor, then it certainly wouldn't hurt! But eventually (about 2 hours later), the pain subsided and I fell back asleep. I think I'll try to relax a bit today.

The funny thing about all this is that I just kept thinking, "I can't believe my house is such a mess tonight! Why didn't I clean up before going to bed?"

37 Weeks

I'm 37 weeks today. I have lots of aches and pains, but am otherwise still doing quite a bit. After dropping Sam off at school, I went to Walmart and Lowe's this morning. Then picked her up. After lunch took Sam out for ice cream. She was the Citizen of the Day sometime last week and got a coupon for a free ice cream cone at McDonalds. Then we went to the feed store to buy more rabbit food. This evening I went swimming at the club. It feels so good to be in the pool and get rid of some gravity. Here are some pics of me from yesterday afternoon when I was helping Sam decorate a cake.

Sammy's Carousel Cake

Samantha made a cake with Grandma Stout yesterday, but didn't have time to finish it. So today after church we decorated it! Then after dinner, one of Sammy's favorite people, Mandy Merrill, came over and we all enjoyed her yummy (and cute) cake! Good job Samantha!!

Spending the Day with Grandma & Grandpa Stout

The girls and I spent the day at my parent's house. Jason was in class for most of the day and then joined us in the late afternoon. I spent most of the day doing nothing, while my parents did all the childcare...it was sooo nice! Here are some fun pictures from our day: Picking tomatos. Picking carrots. "Look! It's just my size!" Some zucchini and a tiny tomato. Sam didn't like holding this one because it was kind of wet and slimy from the dirt. My beautiful mom with some of the carrots from her garden. Grandma, Grandpa, Samantha & Alison had lots of fun playing croquet in the front yard. When I was a little kid, I played croquet at my Grandma GG's house everytime we visited. After a while, Alison came and sat by Mommy....who was just watching. Playing some outside games with Grandpa. I have no idea what this game is called, but Sam calls it Scooper Ball. Playing some more outside games with Grandma. Grandma & Sam are making a cake together. The cake is ready to go into the oven! It was a yellow cake, colored pink by the use of food coloring and red and white sprinkles. So fun! Cutting out Box Tops for her school. The number of the day today was 2, so Grandma set up a little 2 scavenger hunt. Sam got to look all over the house and find all the 2's. In addition to the little post-its, she also found 2's on other things. Dainty little legs....messy face. That's my Alison. My parent's ward does this really fun event every year called the Pig in the Park. We joined them and enjoyed lots of yummy food! Obviously, some of which was pork. I lived in this ward for about a year while I was single, so it was fun to see old friends. Play fighting with the balsa wood swords. She was having so much fun....until she got hit too hard and then she was all tears. This is what you get when you mix dirt and sweat and tears and cupcake frosting.