Our week in No pictures

Pregnancy update:  Every time I sit down, stand up, roll over, answer the phone, or walk around I get kicked in the ribs AND I feel like I am about to pee my pants. In fact I pretty much pee my pants any chance I get these days. Unfortunate? Yes. But preferable over the incessant heartburn, intermittent nausea, and HIDEOUS varicose veins!

I must be 8 months pregnant. Here is a really terrible photo:

Apparently I did my best to make it look just like an adult ultrasound. The problem is its dark in my dining room and so this was the best I could do ok! Plus my Sister got all the photography genes in the family - I just got the insane love of expensive pants and the desire to overshare. Totally unfair.

On a positive note, I am getting WAY excited for this little person to make their arrival. I have dreamed that the baby is a girl and that she does have some dark hair! So fingers crossed....maybe Ill get my Audrey! My sister in Law Mitzi had her little baby girl Piper last week and it got me feeling like I might actually survive this experience. I need that. Ive been a little bit nervous/scared/crazy/depressed/in denial this pregnancy so anything that gets me jazzed up is good.

Gabe and I do not discuss baby names. As you know from the infamous "Rockwell" incident of 2010, his naming rights have been revoked indefinitely. Plus I believe strongly in waiting to see WHO comes out before we give it a name. But I am panicking. If this baby is a boy, there is literally NOTHING on the list. As usual I am open to stealing yours - so please share them!

Also, move over Michelle Duggar - our stray Mama cat we adopted is trying to give you a run for your money! We went to Utah last week and when we got home I saw that she had definitely had her kittens while we were away. Wait, you might be thinking: didnt she JUST have kittens 4 months ago? And youd be correct. Shes a busy little thing, and when I went to take her in to  fix her - she was already preggers again. Anyway, I finally found the kittens hidden in the raspberry bushes in the front yard. I had Gabe hold back the branches and I started putting them in a basket to move them into the garage. 1....3...5...6...7....8 FLIPPING KITTENS LATER - I had me a whole bushel of cats. I could not believe my eyes. I have no idea how this tiny mama cat birthed out 8 kittens without dying in the process, but she managed. Awesome. I now have 8 kittens to find homes for - RIGHT when Im due with my own baby. Should be fun times.

As I mentioned above we took a little family vacation to Utah last week. Gabe and I loaded up the kids, and tried to mentally prepare for 6 straight hours of listening to Dora's Halloween adventure. We got a killer rate in Park City and enjoyed some fresh air for 2 nights. And by fresh air, I mean the sweet sweet air conditioned stores of the Outlet malls. We ate at our favorite place RedRock (parmesan polenta with wild mushrooms -  you complete me.) and just had fun staying in a hotel and taking the kids swimming. After Park City we spent one night in SLC, because that is where there are not one, but TWO Nordstrom racks. AND an Ikea. Memories were made, our bank accounts were emptied, and best of all, we survived sleeping in the same room as our kids for 3 whole nights.

And can I just pose a hypothetical question to you all? What would you do... if your 3 year old peed the hotel hide a bed? Not just a tiny bit - but REALLY peed it - all the way through all the sheets, into the mattress, and through to the springs? Just a hypothetical....I am in no way implying that this happened to us. Or that we did nothing about it and checked out without a word to the front desk....

Tell me they have steam cleaners!

Since coming home, Spencer has contracted a flu bug (big shock there) and I am on Antibiotics for a nasty cough cold sickness that I have literally had for over a month. I was starting to get scared that I was going to cough the baby out, so I buckled and took the z pack. I despise antibiotics but sometimes they are just necessary. Back to school season always spreads diseases around - I am dreading the winter just for that alone!

My big project for September is going to be to develop some type of home school curriculum or organized projects for the kids that we can do through the winter. We are building out a play room so I will have some space for a little desk and some art supplies and things, so im totally excited! Brigitte loves to learn and she is so dang smart, that I think it will be lots of fun. If you have any resources you love for this type of thing let me know! Id love some websites with good activities, art projects, recipes, and print outs!