Four But Not For Long...

Soon there will be FIVE!!

Due TODAY...

Well today, September 24th, was my official due date. Today has come and has almost gone and still no sign of Rosalia! Lots and lots of contractions but they are not getting any stronger! Ugh so frustrating.

As of Tuesday I was 2 1/2 cm dilated, 50% effaced, and at a minus 1 station. All of which means it could be WEEKS away if the Doctors let me go that long.

The good ol' Doctors aren't too worried about me going over MY dates because their dates say October 16th. With all 4 of the other children, my dates were always right and the Doctors dates were NOT. The only thing with this pregnancy is that they will not induce until a week AFTER their date making me just about 1 month over due, which does NOT make me happy to think about!

They did say that they would strip membranes on October 4th to hopefully get the ball rolling. That is still 1 week and 3 days away! Normally I would say 1 week and 3 days is no big deal but at this point in the pregnancy COME ON TIME go by quicker!

My next appointment is on Monday September 27th, which ironically enough is Grandpa Simpson's birthday. Grandma Simpson keeps saying how special it would be to have Rosalia on his birthday. I agree. Sadly the only chance of that happening is if I go into the Dr that morning and am already 4 cm dilated and can convince them to strip membranes that morning, or I go into full blown labor (which doesn't seem like my body is interested in doing)!

Ava-Preschool Update...

So its has been 3 weeks since Ava started preschool. Things are going great. She LOVES school, her teacher, and her new friends. I LOVE her teacher. She is awesome. The one thing she does that I absolutely love is weekly emails. These emails explain in great detail what the children learned and what they will be learning in the next class. They highlight good behavior and special awards. This week Ava did so well at school that she was highlighted in the teachers email. Below is what the teacher typed...

"Ava won the friendship award today. She was such a good friend to everyone. She tried to make everyone happy. She shared the toys that other children wanted even when she was playing with them or went and got them the same toy. I was very proud of her example to the other children!"

I am so proud of my little Ava for being so kind to others. For doing so well in her class. For embracing school the way I hoped she would. Most importantly for being Ava!

Coyotes Pack Preview...

Today, Marc took the older 3 kids out to Glendale for the Phoenix Coyotes Pack Preview Day. It was a chance for fans to see the new changes to the stadium, players, and upcoming season. People could meet some of the players, get autographs, and purchase items at a discounted rate. They also had a scrimmage game going on and fans were allowed to go all the way down to the ice to watch! The kids really enjoyed themselves. Sadly, Marc only took 1 picture that included one of our children. The rest of the 122 pictures are all of the ice and players! Thats a sport fan for ya! At least he got 1 picture of Howler (the team mascot) and Liliana! Ava was in the picture but she stood behind Liliana so you don't even know she is there!

Growing Garrison...

In these pictures I took today and on Saturday, Garrison is looking more and more like a big boy and less and less like my little baby boy! =(

Papa's Helper...

Long story short, we live in AZ where majority of homes are built in HOA communities (HOA's are associations which residents pay dues to in exchange for neighborhood rules which are suppose to keep home values up and properties always looking their best). There are positives and negatives to living in these type of communities!

In this particular neighborhood, they are REALLY strict. Literally if the grass grows higher than an inch above the sidewalk you get a notice saying "mow/trim" your grass. Its annoying especially when we already cut the grass WEEKLY!

Basically for the last 2 months we have received enough notices to frustrate even the mellowest of souls! Today while my father in law was visiting the children after school, I opened yet another notice from the HOA! Yeahup asking us to cut the grass which Marc just cut last week!!!

So my father in law decided to take Dillon outside with him and cut our grass!

This is them just starting... notice the height of the grass!! CRAZY HOA's!! Gotta love AZ!!

More Creations...

Here and there I find time to get some crafting done. Lately most of my energy has been put towards the kids scrapbooks. Every so many days I still find myself at the sewing machine or rumaging through my bins of ribbon and flowers. These are the latest creations...

New hair bows


New diaper bag complete with matching changing pad

New crib bedding to match the glider and coordinate with the girl's bedroom