free burrito on Halloween

I cannot possibly articulate how grieved I am that I will not be able to join in on the festivities, but I just found out here that my absolutely favorite Mexican restaurant on the planet, Chipotle, is giving free burritos to anyone who wears a costume with tin foil on Friday. BOO HOO. So please, if you live near a Chipotle, go have a burrito for me- barbacoa beef please. Stinkin’ rural living. LOL. I am only (partially) kidding.

doing your husband good

Girltalk has a great list of ways to do your husband good up at their site this week. I have to be honest: I don’t believe I have ever been so convicted by my own short-comings as a wife than after reading these lists. After reading how so many women are serving their husbands, I realize that I have no excuse, no matter how tired or busy I am. I am going to choose, however, to use that conviction to turn things around as opposed to condemning myself, which serves absolutely no purpose in helping me grow more mature in this area.

My favorite idea:

“Write love notes (G-rated, of course) in large sidewalk chalk letters in your driveway”

He he. I am just trying to imagine what kind of scene a note that was R-rated might attract to my driveway.

28 weeks

Today is 28 weeks. It’s hard to believe it! I took a few of my usual pics. The first is sufficient (shows the belly), but I posted a second one in which I actually look happy.

There’s nothing really new to report. A couple things off the top of my head:

• I feel nauseous again…constantly. Certain things are bringing back the morning sickness feeling that I haven’t felt since around 20 weeks. The worst culprit: Listerine (believe it or not).
• My biggest cravings: pizza (of course) and soda. *Sigh* I am trying to keep things in moderation.
• I am having more contractions than I remember with any of the boys. It’s definitely “talk to the doctor” worthy and has me a little concerned. I am trying to remind myself, however, that it is probably stress-related to the move and all the activity. I tend to wake up around 7-something and I don’t sit down again until 2 or 3p.m. I rest til 4 or 4:30p.m. and then I am standing again til 9 p.m. I know this isn’t good, but it seems necessary lately to accomplish all that needs accomplished.
• We have our routine ultrasound on Wednesday. I cannot wait to see the little man and see how he has grown. Please pray for a healthy boy!

gotta love smores!

We headed to a game of Capture The Flag tonight. The boys had lots of fun, although I couldn’t bring myself to stay for very long. 3 boys+hot fire= supervision I am not capable of!

Some pics:

Noah cheezing it up

Simon is really concentrating on that marshmallow

Sammy is our little pyromaniac=)

Daddy and Mommy, or David and Mandy, depending upon who you are talking to…

Noah (already flirting)

Mommy and Simon

halloween candy warning!

Just so you know:

Pirate’s Gold Foil Wrapped Chocolates

I have always trusted Snopes. I figured better safe than sorry. Maybe someone from Canada reads my blog?

family man

Why does everything make me cry these days? Like this. Enjoy.

so I lied

I said I was done with election posts. I don’t really guess this is an election post but, in a sense, it is. I saw this video at Between Two Worlds this morning. I liked what Justin Taylor had to say about the need to see it:

“The following video is very painful to watch–but I believe it is necessary as a reminder that we are not discussing abstract policies and arguments but rather innocent lives being systematically killed”

Here is the video.

random-osity

Randomosity- I made it up myself. I like it.

• Packing is going oh-so-well. We are so ahead of schedule. A friend from church took the boys this afternoon so I could pack some more. I fell asleep part way through. I confessed it to her. She said “Good. You probably needed it.” Phew…
• We had Subway for dinner tonight. Subway, hands-down, makes one of the best personal pizzas in the world. That was a cheat for me. Now my tummy aches.
• A couple at Subway asked me when I was due. I told them. They replied “Aww. Is this your first?” “Fourth boy,” I said. They had 3 boys with them. They looked at me as though I had crushed their every dream of having a girl the next time around.
• Speaking of baby, he has to be 7 pounds by now. Or at least he acts like it. Tonight, he kicked, and the couch shook. I am not kidding. I will be interested to know an estimate on his weight at my ultrasound next week.
• I *heart* Starbuck’s new Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. It is definitely an “in moderation” treat (as it is very rich), but it is heavenly!
• I get my braces off Friday. Only having had worn them a year, the results aren’t perfect, but they probably never would have been. Truth is, as an adult, the bones are so “set” that they are difficult to move. I am so thankful, however, to have been able to wear them and, considering where we started, my teeth look like brand new teeth. Now I need me some ZOOM! whitening=)
• Speaking of braces, I lost my first (in a year!) bracket today. Now I am all paranoid that the tooth is going to move back to its starting point in the almost two days I have left until I get my retainers. I called my orthodontist in Colorado Springs today and they said it really wouldn’t be worth the trip to replace the bracket for 3 days. *SIGH*
• I got the boy’s Halloween costumes yesterday. Simon can wear Noah’s and Sammy’s from last year (a chicken and a zebra). Noah is Batman. Sammy is the UPS man. They are super excited. YAY for new dress-up stuff!
• Has anyone seen Poltergeist III? I watched it as a child and it seriously messed with my head. Carol Anne wears the same pair of red footed pajamas in the whole movie. I put Sammy into an identical pair in the middle of the night last night after he peed in his others and, I kid you not, I had nightmares about Carol Anne for the rest of the stinking night! I threw away the pajamas tonight. I’m not kidding.
• Lastly, we got our house rented! Hooray! That will sincerely help with the majority of the mortgage until the house sells. Please continue to be in prayer for a quick sale.

Obama, Abortion, and Infanticide

This will most likely be my sole post on election issues. If I am being honest, I don’t really feel much toward either candidate. I don’t like to talk about the election and the only reason my oldest son even has any idea who either man is is because of the countless TV ads.

But I cannot be quiet about this. I suppose I am what they call a “single-issue voter”- and I am okay with that. Abortion strikes straight to my heart and evokes a nausea and disgust that I cannot even begin to adequately explain.

My friend, Heather, posted these videos today. I feel compelled to share them. With all things, I recognize that everything is biased. But, especially on the second video, you hear the exact words of Barack Obama. It’s hard to argue that something was taken out of context when you are hearing the exact words of the candidate.

Here. And here.

There’s nothing more sickening than watching these videos (especially the first one), feeling your unborn baby move within you, all the while knowing that, despite the fact he will have a chance to live, millions will not.

diapers!

I got Kaedmon’s first installment of diapers last night. What a deal! I found them ranging from 7.99 to 10.99 and got 3 of them. I also got free shipping. I did order them in small, which I know he won’t wear for long, but I want him to have diapers that fit him right from birth. I was tempted to put him in disposables for a couple months just for convenience sake, but since mine and David’s primary motivation for using cloth is the state of our environment, I decided to go right into them. Etsy even had some great cloth wipes that I am looking at! Okay- allow me to share:

here
here
and here.

Aren’t they cute? I thought I would just go with the same brands I used for Sammy (when we were clothing him), and I still probably will, but these were too great a deal to pass up!