"We're In A Holding Pattern" -says the pilot.

We are still playing the "waiting" game here at the Robert's house. Trying to occupy our empty time and endless thoughts of the future. The anticipation for the sleepless nights, becoming a Dairy Queen (and all THAT entails), is it a boy or girl, what name we'll use, how can I get people here to help me as soon as possible and how it's going to work fitting a family of 6 in a Buick. Today marks 10 days to go. Tomorrow...single digits. But really what does that mean? It's not like the Delivery Fairy is going to show up on my due date and say "poof", here's your baby. The date means, NADA!!

I can't help but recall many songs that are more then appropriate for my situation like from one from Blues Clues..."wait, wait, wait"...or the infamous song my mom would sing to us..."be patient, don't worry, don't be in such a hurry". In other words, I need to find some serious distractions from this protruding belly that now rests on my legs when I sit down. So to start implementing this distraction plan, I officially say that this Saturday I am getting a pedi. A present to myself. Any Ladies in the big D area want to join me?


I bet if anyone is dying for a mom with a bit more energy it would be my kids. They have had their fair share of cereal for dinner, snacks for lunch...need I say more?? Although I must confess that for breakfast I gave them all a glass of milk and a chocolate No-Bake cookie. Hey it's got oatmeal in it! And Sydney has had a Nutri-grain bar for her "sandwich" more then once. But at least they aren't starving!!

Now off to Sonic for some delicious ice chips!

2 Weeks And Counting

I am sure it seems that all I can write about is pregnancy. Unfortunately I just can't help it. It's all consuming. It's what wakes me up in the night, pains me constantly, makes me slower in all my movements, keeps me from reaching far places with the baby-bump protruding out and forces me to make TUMS my 2nd most consumed food item.
Today marks my 2 weeks, 14 days to go. At some point over the last week I doubted even getting here. But I am glad I did. Making the baby officially full term is extremely comforting. Although I am beginning to doubt the possibilities of having an "early" baby. It just doesn't run in our family and it has only happened for me with the help of creams, gels and drugs.
But if I could have one wish it would be to avoid delivering on my birthday. The idea of growing up sharing your special day with your mom (especially as a snotty teenager) doesn't sound very tempting.
Wish me luck.

I *heart* Ice Chips

My latest, and greatest friend...ice chips. They do so much for me on a daily basis. The cool me down, they keep me from snacking, they count as water intake, they are always there for me, morning and night. Let's hear it for my new BFF!!

And now for the update from the latest baby appointment. I'm dialated to a 3 and 75% effac. Let the countdown begin!! Because I'm SURE it can't be much longer. RIGHT??

Party Time

And everyone knows if you are having a fashion party you need to get all FANCY first!
So mom opens up shop and starts by painting nails, applying makeup and putting clips and bows in everyone's hair.

The family got all dressed up and ready for Emma's friends to arrive. Even Daddy dusted off his tux!

Plus Ben wanted to put on his Sunday Best.

While Mom had each girl take turns in her beauty shop, Dad kept the party going.

First we decorate the birthday cupcakes.

The we must POSE for a picture to catch everyone at the height of their fanciness.

Next, pin the crown on the princess.
Emma surprised us by placing the crown on perfectly.

Seriously folks, she has a mask on!

Musical chairs. I think they could have played this game FOREVER!

Drop the spoon in the jar.

"Hot Potato" with the wand.

And while lunch gets prepped mom reads our party inspiration...

Fancy Nancy.

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY, EMMA JEAN!

Emma Is 4

With much anticipation. Hours and hours of talking about "my party". And months of mom dreading putting on a party at 36 weeks prego...Emma turned 4 years old. And this year's theme was perfect for Emma and her friends. A FASHION PARTY!

It was all inclusive. They could dress up, pretend to be princesses and act fancy.

It all started with the traditional early morning wake up with singing, presents and a yummy breakfast.

Emma gets a play dough cooking kit from Syd and Ben.

Sydney admires Emma's book "Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy".

It just can't wait! We have to read the book NOW!

That afternoon while to her grandparents on the phone she opened up a new Fancy Nancy dress-up dress from Grm & Grp Gurvine and some great cheetah pj's and clothes from Grm & Grp Ogburn.

Then we decorated the house and set up everything for her party.

Emma LOVED making all the special additions to the party from the center piece to filling the gift bag purses.

The beauty shop!

Furry boa's and light-up wands for everyone!

Once Again, Sydney-ism

While on a Sunday drive around farms in Texas, we slowed down and rolled down the windows for the kids to see these HUGE Texas Longhorn Cows standing by a blue pond with rolling green hills and large trees. An amazing sight! Picture Perfect!

Sydney: "Mom, my eyes are wet. It is so beautiful."

That night Ben ate like a boy and chugged down 2 1/2 bowls of Spaghetti and Meatballs. After noticing...

Sydney: "That's a hungry little fella!"

This Is A Test Of The Emergency Roberts Baby System

On Saturday from 5am-1230pm I endured some extremely consistent and annoying contractions. I knew they weren't majorly painful, so I sent Larry off to work for a few hours before something turned worse. Now mind you, it's still totally early. About 20 days early to be exact. And if you know anything about life, most things rarely come early...mainly childbirth and blessings. They usually come "just in time".

Once I got Ben down for a nap the contractions disappeared. Bummer, I was just getting used to the pleasant idea of not being prego anymore. Although around 930pm that night the contractions started up again. By now, I'm physically exhausted. We had walked around the SMU tailgate earlier that evening and the previous contractions had zapped me. So I trotted off to bed. But the pains became so painful I couldn't sleep. By 1100pm I was breathing hard and was wondering if all this "work" was actually getting me some where. Larry mentioned we might as well "sound the alarm" now before everyone went to bed.

After all was arranged, friends were sleeping at our house, grandma had been called to possibly change her flight and the Midwife was turning on the light for us.

Now for the news:

Bad= the contractions slowed and weakened over the next hour and we were home by 115am. And church starts at 9am.

Good= I'm more dialated and more effaced. And everyone passed the test run on the "Emergency Roberts Baby System".

A+

Music To My Pregnancy Ears

Today marked another appointment with the Midwife. But to my surprise she sang sweet music to my ears with words like...2 centimeters dialated, thinning cervix, the head is "engaged"... Although I don't like having babies come too early, my back, hips, heartburned throat, and sore muscles are having a party at the idea...thankfully, soon this WILL be over!!

(I guess I should start packing a bag and finding that darn baby book)

Sydney-ism

Sydney: "Dad, did you know that if you took all the love from everyone else in the world and put it in my heart, that would be how much I LOVE YOU!"

(Ahhh, such sweet sentiments! Maybe she'll work for Hallmark one day.)

Another Lesson Learned

Yesterday we came to find that living in an apartment really DOESN'T prepare you for owning a home. I think we'll call this Lesson Learned #18.

Sunday evening I was cleaning up from dinner, the kids were in bed and Larry was sporting a presidency meeting in the other room. After my task was done I was hot. And much disappointed that the air conditioner hadn't started cooling me off enough. I trucked upstairs to see if the 2nd floor was steeling all the air. Much to my surprise, nothing was coming out the vents upstairs either. So I stood next to the unit in the house. It was on...but it sounded at about 1/2 the power that it usually does. Because usually this thing can crank!!

As sweat beaded up on my forehead from frustration, hormones and being totally freaked out, I ran through my plan of attack.

#1 Turn off both floor controls. Let the air conditioner rest. Turn on 1st floor.
result: it felt the same. nothing.

#2 Do the same to the 2nd floor.

result: nothing.

#3 Open the door to the unit & check things out with a flash light. Recall changing filter a few months ago.

result: normal.

#4 Flip power switch on a/c unit inside. Wait 2 minutes. Turn on.
result: same.

#5 Whine to Larry that I'm hot and the a/c is in the crapper!

result: now we are both frustrated and he's totally distracted throughout the rest of his meeting.

#6 Ask friends as they leave the meeting if anyone knows anything about a/c.

result: they all know NOTHING, but can recall lots of terrible stories about their own experiences. HELLO, not helping!!

#7 Turn on just the fan setting and listen to outside unit.

result: sounds good outside (yes!), but inside...barely a trickle of air is coming through.

#8 Call my Dad in a panic!

result: he smiles to himself as he recalls his own stories, and tells us to check out the filter.

But I've just changed them. When? Oh May-ish. Apparently that's not good enough. Larry charges upstairs and brings down a dirty, warped filter. EW! He reports that he felt some ice on a coil when he was changing the filter. WHAT! Now my Dad laughs. Yep, just as he thought, the same thing had happened to him and my brother. Relief now spreads through my body...see we aren't the only ones!!

With our own past experience of having the apartment maintenance come and change out our filters twice a year wasn't enough knowledge to carry me into home ownership. Bigger homes, more usage during summer time, and more humidity means MORE filter changes.

Conclusion: Our mega dirty filter wasn't letting air flow through the a/c. Thus letting the cold water in the pipes freeze over.

Fix: Turn off a/c except for the fans. Let the fan run all night. Change filter (duh!).

Result: A powerful, cold air blast charging through the house by 830am the next morning!

I would like to thank Dad for dishing out his usual helpful advice on home repair. He's an endless sources of information. He should write a book. (well a book with topics other then genealogy and engineering) And I would like to stick my tongue out at my sister who waited until this morning to tell me that she changes her filters once a month during the summer!!

This is information that would have been WAY MORE helpful...mmm...YESTERDAY!

Let's mark this a lesson learned!

My Cutie-Patootie

This past weekend I dragged Sydney with my to a class at the Birthing Center. I felt bad not being able to leave her with Emma and Ben at a play-date, but she had some sniffles that I didn't want to spread. So together we packed a bag full of goodies and enjoyed a 30 minute ride with peace and quiet. Syd even commented on how nice it was to be alone, just the 2 of us. And also that it was nice that she didn't have to yell to talk to me because I could hear her. (oh the joys of being the oldest) Afterwards I let her get the wiggles out at a park next door. She'll be quite a catch in a few years...Heaven help us!

A Hint Of Fall

By NO means has Fall actually spread across Texas, but recently there have been a few beautiful days with cool weather that have sparked a small hope of it returning soon. To take full advantage our close friends joined us at the park for some PLAY time. It was a great time, very relaxing and wonderful to catch up on girl talk. I'd say it was perfect but I can't erase the memories of "potty" problems, changing diapers when there really wasn't a #2, and the best, trying to make a kid pee by the trash can...I love being a mom.

Emma is always willing to "pose".

I think Cameron was more then fed up with Ben wiping her woodchips on the ground.

Here's Mr. Daredevil climbing to the top of the pole for the millionth time. I think he's literally only holding on with one hand. (maybe I should be catching him instead of taking a picture)

Ben's version of getting down includes graceful falling.

Little Ms. "Nastia Lukin" graciously stops in a picture perfect pose for another photo.

And the newest member of the playgroup...Jordyn.

Cameron is now an official Big Sister.

I'm Not Good With Change

It's been 6 years since I purchased my first baby book. Naturally I went to my local church book store to find an album like the one my mother had used for me..."From Birth to Baptism". At first I was a little surprised to find a gender neutral album that was being published at the time. But over the years and for my past 3 kids I have fallen in love with the cute bugs and great layout. And now that it is time to purchase another book (maybe even my last) I have hit a road block. I have searched far and wide and come up short. This book is no longer being published. Ugh! So this desperate plea goes out to all of my friends and family...if you see this book at YOUR local bookstore. Grab it. Rip it out of someone else's hand if you have to. Knock some grey-haired old lady with your purse if necessary (but at least apologize afterwards). And get it for me. I am just dead set on having the "same" album for all of my kids and HATE to have to change now. signed: Overboard With Desperation

The Chuckle Of The Week

I know it's a bit early, but I am related to a long line of "Jane's". (translation: overly prepared, organized, think ahead, must be in charge, everybody out "Grandma Wants To Be Alone", type A personality)

And with that I am proud to say that I have been searching Internet sites to find the perfect grouping of Halloween costumes for the kids. And YES, it's September 5th!

With all of my research I am also proud to announce my top favorite costumes that made me snort, chuckle, smile and shake my head at some of these ideas.

#1

Elvis: Is that a mask? What toddler would wear such a huge thing over his face? The mask reminds me of some dirty, overage, smoking cabbage-patch kid.

#2

Frodo: Does it come with hairy feet extensions? A shiny gold ring?

#3

UPS Delivery Man: Maybe I'm just proud of this company because I worked for them for many years. Watch out Fed-Ex, where's your halloween costume?

#4

Rocky: Do kids today even know who this is? What kills me most is the fake ab's! Or maybe it's the mullet that this kid is sporting! So not necessary!

#5

Car Freshener: Ahhh man. There aren't any words for this fabulous costume!

Hip, Hip Horray

This post is all about SYDNEY and my chance to gush over her accomplishments in Kindergarten (and we aren't just talking puny 1/2 day Kindergarten...we're talking 750-315). To top off her excitement before the first day of school, her wonderful teacher called the night before and reminded Syd to get a good night sleep and that she couldn't wait to see her the next day!! I'm so impressed with this teacher. She has always gone WAY over my expectations and she has the kids eating out of the palm of her hand. She even mailed a special invitation card to each child inviting them to "Meet The Teacher Night". Kids LOVE phone calls and mail!!
So for the next 3 days of school I tried my hardest NOT to bombarded Syd with too many questions. I found if I just let things rest she would eventually remember more and more to tell me. My favorite part is that she always remembers to tell me about which kids get into trouble and their punishment. She cracks me up!
On Friday I got this wonderful email from Sydney's teacher:
Ms. Roberts,

I just wanted to tell you what a pleasure it is to have Sydney in my class. She is very well behaved, responsible and follows directions very well. She worked very hard today and completed all of her work. She was line leader (which is VERY big in Kindergarten) when our class left from music and she did a fabulous job setting an example to her classmates.

Mrs.

We are so proud of our little "Big Girl".

Although I do miss having her around during the day. She has become so talkative lately with cute, funny sayings. Like yesterday at Target we were sharing a snack with the whole family. Eating that great deal for a bag off popcorn and a soda...and she said.
Syd: "I could never be a food master. Because I would just eat all of the food."
I think she was a little too enthralled by the girl behind the counter that gets to make the popcorn. HA!

Well, congratulations to Sydney on a successful first week of school. And my you learn so much in school, that you will never have to be the girl behind the food counter!