Resurfacing...

Wow, #6 isn’t here yet but clearly is affecting my blogging capabilities!  Lately, when I am not busy shuttling the kids here and there, at work, or trying to squeeze in a conversation or two with another grown-up, I have had little interest in my hobbies, including blogging (my version of scrapbooking) or taking pictures... too darn tired! I did finally pull out the camera this week (mostly at Kings Dominion with Caleb and Brynn on Sunday so they are the stars of this post... I'll do a Nyah, Evan and Price update later this week). We even enjoyed a weekend of camping with two families whose friendship we treasure and I didn't even touch my camera!  So much for my 365 blog… I did make it a bit longer this year compared to last and I already have plans to reorganize it for 2011, though I may start on my birthday in November instead of January 1.

So what have we been up to? Well we are 1/2 way to meeting our new little one… I’m 20 weeks along and since I have never made it to a due date, it is probably less than 20 weeks before he or she arrives. WE just had our 20 week ultrasound last week and everything looked good so that s probably our last glimpse until February. The 2^nd trimester has been much better than the first… over the shock, excited to see ultrasounds and feeling a growing baby in there, a little bit more energy though this pregnancy has been far more tiring than the other ones, and daily questions from Brynn which drive me crazy but at the same time are very sweet. We are not finding out the sex of the baby this time and I have enjoyed that except when it comes to picking out names… we are very undecided and it is driving me crazy that I am spending all this time coming up with a girl name and a boy name knowing I will eventually only use one!  We actually have three in mind for a boy and I think we would be happy with any of them.  As far as a girl name, well we can’t agree on anything. I left that final ultrasound last week thinking the baby is a girl; Doug thinks the baby is a boy.  This picture is my favorite from the ultrasounds… taken at 16 weeks:

I am still running though VERY slowly.  Gaining weight in the other pregnancies didn’t really bother me but I think this time it does a little, even though I know it is a necessity for the baby. But when I run I feel better and don’t stress about the scale so I plan to keep trying to run as long as I can. We (Doug and I) have a 5k next Monday and an 8K the 2^nd week in November.

Caleb turned 11 last month! We had a small family celebration and he enjoyed a day at the amusement park with a few friends! He got a new DS and some Bakugan games so he was a happy camper!

The kids have been doing GREAT in school. Their interim reports were fantastic. Price, Evan and Brynn like school but hate the bus ride. It is about an hour in the afternoon and from what it sounds like, it could be shorter if there wasn’t the need for daily fussing at noisy students. Brynn recently lost her first tooth...the day before school pictures! She was so excited! Tiniest tooth I have ever seen; seemed about half the size of the hole it left!

I have been most impressed at how Caleb has transitioned to middle school. He is doing very well and for the first time ever, drum roll please, has met his reading goal!! I am so proud of him! When I was his age I could not get enough of Nancy Drew books and he has been bitten by the Hardy Boys series. Perhaps not the most challenging to read but he is reading, LOTS! He is also playing flag football again… it is a fun way for him to be involved and the relaxed atmosphere is a blessing. He is also running cross country for the middle school though he has had shin splint issues all season… just like I did when I started running and from what I hear, just like his uncle when he ran in high school. He just went to the doctor today and his shoe inserts should be ready next week; hopefully they will help.

Brynn is taking hip-hop class this year. She decided against gymnastics because she says it hurt too much. She also is in Girl Scouts again and she loves it. She still wants to take horseback riding lessons and the other weekend she went to a party where they had horses (the previous Wordless Wednesday post) and she LOVED getting up on the horse so much I clearly need to start making arrangements for her to ride more often.Though just tonight she expressed an interest in karate. Hmm.

More later this week!