A New Hobby

I think I have found a new hobby....craigslist. I have sold two items already. I sold my Joovy sit and stand stroller. I will have to get a double stroller once this baby arrives. (By the way, I am welcoming suggestions as to what is the best double stroller to buy. I have not decided if I want a side-by-side or tandem. Please, let me know what ones you liked or did not like!) I also sold a dresser that would not fit in Anagrace's (or the boys') room. The whole process was so quick and easy. I am planning to look in our attic for more items to sell!

I also bought a brand-new twin mattress on craigslist...still in the plastic! I love a bargain!

By the way, here is a picture of Anagrace's new bed that Justin's dad built, complete with the craigslist mattress (although you can't see it). We are so happy with how it turned out. Justin was less than thrilled that I wanted to paint it 4 different colors, but I think it makes it cuter that way! The steps are actually drawers, so they can double as storage. However, Anderson has already learned how to climb them. I guess I'll have to put a baby gate up to keep him out of her room! I will post more pictures of her room and the boys' room after the finishing touches are complete.

A Warning I Wish I Had Received Before Today

The paint center at your local hardware store is not a good place for an indecisive person. There are far too many paint swatches to choose from. Pink Parfait or Southern Sunset Pink...Hmmm....Lovely Lavender or Plum Delight....Hmmm. Four-year-old little girls are absolutely no help. They show you pictures of the magnificent Disney Princess rooms in the paint sample flyers and want to know if their room can look like that. Eleven month old little boys want to eat the paint swatches. After making a decision, you will most likely feel the desire to return to the store to make Violet Tinge and tinge brighter and more violet-y. If you are smart, you will not return with your children.

The Process Begins...

We started the process to switch the kids' rooms today. We took everything off of the walls in both rooms and patched the holes. Justin started priming the striped wall in Anagrace's room. The stripes are pretty bold colors, so I think it will take several coats of primer. Her room has always been bright red and blue with pastel green and yellow because we did not find out if we were having a boy or girl when I was pregnant with her. My mom and I made curtains with gingham prints in all of the colors. She has also had an outdoor/bug themed room since she was a baby. She had pretty butterflies, ladybugs, and dragonflies on her wall. Cute little nic nacks filled shelves. Most things I had picked out before she was born. Now it is all packed up in a box, and I am a little sad. She is going to have a big girl room now. Anagrace is excited that her new room will be pink! And I am excited to decorate a really girly room with her, but at the same time I feel a twinge of sadness as we pack away her "nursery" things. My baby girl is not a baby anymore.

On top of those emotions, I am a little stressed at the mess and chaos that switching the rooms entails. It is not easy trying to have children live in rooms that we are re-doing! We plan to send them to visit with the grandparents for a few days or a weekend, so that we can paint the walls and try to get as much done without them here. Right now all of Anagrace's furniture is pushed to one side of her room. Stuff is in boxes and crammed in closets. Eventually it will all have to be swapped from one room to the other. We are not sure how long this whole process will take. We still have to paint and assemble the loft bed that Justin's father built for Anagrace and buy a new mattress for it. I need to go through toys to decide what we can donate. And I will definately have to figure out a plan to store and organize all of the toys, clothes, and stuff in both rooms. The boys' new room has a smaller closet and we will not have much room in there with 2 cribs, the changing table, rocker and one small dresser. Anagrace's new room has a larger closet, but the room is tiny. Her new loft bed is going to take up the majority of the wall/floor space in her room. I'll definately have to get creative with storage in both rooms!

I'll be glad when this process is over and I can look at and enjoy the fruits of our labor! I'll post the pictures of the finished rooms...but it may be a while!!

I'm Not Ready To Think About Retirement

I read somewhere about a mom who said that with preteens in the house she was happy to be in "reproductive retirement". I am not there yet. Maybe once I am the mother of TWO boys, 14 months apart....and one 4-year-old drama queen I will be on my way. But, I'm not there yet. I really don't want to ponder the thought that this could be my last pregnancy. I haven't let my mind go there. Actually I haven't had the time. This pregnancy is flying by! My husband, however, is ready to plan for our reproductive retirement. He has brought up the "v-word", as in vasectomey, several times. We haven't had a real conversation about it. It usually lasts 5 minutes tops and goes something like:

Justin: So-and-so at work today was asking how the pregnancy is going....and if we would have any more kids. He told me he had a vasectomy and it all went well.

Chelsea: Really?

Justin: You know we're going to have to discuss this.

Chelsea: I'm just not ready to say we are definately done. What if in two or three years, we decide we DO want another baby. It's just so....permanant.

Justin: silence

Okay, so more like 30 seconds of conversation. But never a resolution. I don't think that I can give in on this one. I just don't feel in my heart that it is the right time to make such a permanant change. At the same time, it is scary because we were taking contraceptive precautions when we got pregnant this time. Justin has lost all confidence in pharmeceutical birth control. So, at this point I am just praying. I am mostly praying that God will change Justin's perspective :)! I believe what it says in Psalm 127:3:

Children are a gift from the Lord;
they are a reward from him.

It goes on to say:

Children born to a young man
are like sharp arrows in a warrior's hands.
How happy is the man whose quiver is full of them!
He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.
Ps. 127:4-5

We are still young. We are technically still in our twenties, clinging by our fingernails, but we still are! And I am not sure if the Lord plans to bless us with more. He definately gave us this child growing inside me when we had not planned on it. He may have a plan for another child in our future, but we could hinder that by going ahead with the vasectomy. I don't know....maybe I'm being super-spiritual?!
It could be that right now I feel such a calling to be a mommy, and to see in the far distance an end to that makes me sad. It's not that I have my identity wrapped up in mommyhood and that I don't know what to do if I am not at home raising my children; I have a career waiting in the wings. It is a career that I do enjoy. I've had the flexibility to work a few days a week over the years while still being at home with children, and it has been a nice "get-away". I enjoy having a purpose outside of my home as well. I think that it just all boils down to the fact that I am not ready to make the decision that our family is complete. So, I ask that you all pray for clarity for Justin and I and a sense of peace with whatever we choose.

Simple Pleasures

Sometimes the smallest things bring a lot of joy to my heart.



I went grocery shopping. Now, that in itself does not bring me joy. But, they just opened a new Wal-Mart store close to our house. It is nice, new, and clean and it is has not been crowded or had long lines the few times that I have shopped there. That brings me joy. I finished my grocery shopping at ALDI. Let me just say... if you are looking for ways to save on groceries ALDI is the place to shop. That is, if you are not a brand-a-holic. They do not regularly stock name-brand foods, but occasionally have some "on special". This week they had my favorite cereal (Kellogg's All-Bran Strawberry Medley) at ALDI. I bought 3 boxes. That brought me joy. I have my meals planned for the week and the groceries to make it happen. Now, all I have to do is cook it. That is the hard part. Cooking does not bring me joy. But, if I don't make dinner no one complains. Anderson is content with just about anything we feed him, Anagrace with ALDI brand spaghetti and meatballs, Justin with a peanut butter sandwich, and me with my cereal. So, to know that I do not have the pressure to cook everynight and not feel guilty....that brings me joy.

Two Heartbeats!

I had an OB appointment today. My midwife measured my belly and was surprised by the amount of growth. I had been thinking for weeks that my belly is bigger than it should be, but I just thought

"Well, this is my third child....

I got pregnant 5 months after giving birth,so my uterus was still larger than usual....

I still have baby weight from Anderson...etc."



Then came time to listen to the heartbeat, and there were TWO! TWO heartbeats?! Am I having twins?!!!!!








April Fool's....The 2 heartbeats were mine and the baby's! Did I get you?


I did have an appointment today, and the midwife said everything is fine. My belly is measuring where it should be. Now, my behind is another story! She didn't say that...that's my personal opinion. And if it's yours too, please keep that to yourself....JUSTIN.