A Poem

I was perusing through the world of blog-land and found this poem about being a mom - some days I don't know how I am going to be in love with 2 children and a husband! Isaac has been testing my patience lately and I am questioning my ability to handle 2! Hopefully he will get it out of his system now (ha ha) and things will be smooth sailing when this little girl comes into the world. If I am this emotional/moody now, how am I going to be when I have interrupted sleep? Anyway, enjoy the poem - it's sweet!

Before I was a Mom I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom - I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom -I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Baby Bumps

Here is a pic taken at Amanda's baby shower - almost a month ago! From left to right, Katie, Amanda, and me! At this picture, our due dates were 6 weeks apart from each other, 12/17, 1/30, 3/13, respectively. However, that's not how they are going to come out... at least I don't think so! Julie emailed me today and it sounds like Amanda's little sweet pea is breech. Hopefully the baby will turn on its own and Amanda won't have to endure the pain of a c-section.
I am 26 weeks along today, baby Girl is doing well *note that we are no longer calling her Abbie, as I changed my mind about it after I heard people saying it... and then my brother told me that it sounds like a name for a dog... no offense to anyone named Abbie out there who may be reading this* her heart-rate was 150bpm, and she is still extremely active. I don't know how I am going to make it another 3 months!!!!
Rob has been in Alpena for the past couple of weeks. Sounds like he is finally coming home on Saturday night. I can't wait for him to be here, especially since we are waiting for him to come home so that we can have Fettuccine Alfredo for dinner *wink*... I really can't wait to snuggle up to his furry little face and give him the biggest hug ever. It's been rough without him around - he left his car here and every time we pull into the driveway, Isaac asks with lots of excitement, "Is my dad home?!" When I tell him "no", he gets very upset. He might just miss him more than I do! I have been staying busy here at Granny's. We have moved most of the stuff here that we will be using, so I have been organizing all of it... myself. When I am not organizing stuff and cleaning up after Isaac, I have been working on Christmas gifts - I should have started this months ago!!!
Hope everyone is doing well and when I get my charger for the camera, I will post more pictures of the ever-growing belly. Seriously, it feels enormous! I am measuring about 38.5 inches, but I am only 2 pounds short of what I weighed when I gave birth to Isaac. Luckily, Aaron gave Rob The Abs Diet book for his birthday - I know what I will be doing in April!

Ava Grace

Ava Grace arrived the morning of Nov. 30. She weighs 6 lb. 9 oz. and was 20 3/4" long. We arrived at the hospital around noon and stayed for a couple of hours. She didn't make a peep the whole time that we were there! She is absolutely precious...
Aaron and Katie were doing well, besides being exhausted! I can't wait to see her again, hopefully sometime this week. I will try to get a picture of her dark curly hair when I do!
Congratulations Aaron and Katie - she is beautiful.
Congratulations Kylie on becoming a big sister - you are going to be an amazing big sister!

Aaron & Katie's Baby is on her way!

We just got a call from Sherry & Aaron that Katie's water broke this evening! They are currently at the hospital and as far as we know, everything is going well! She isn't due until the 17th of December, so we are hoping that the delivery will be smooth and that she will be really healthy! We can't wait to go to the hospital tomorrow to see her, I will post pics as soon as I can!

Baby News...

This was taken at 23 weeks (beginning of month 6) and I am measuring at 38"

Lots of exciting baby news to share:

Aaron & Katie's baby girl could possible be here any day now; Katie is dilated to 3cm & 80% effaced. We are sooooo excited to meet her and give her lots of love!

Matt & Amanda had their baby shower on the 11th. They should have everything they need for the arrival of their "Sweet Pea". They decided to keep it a 'surprise' but I think that it's a girl! I am waiting for Julie to send me pictures of the three of us and our expanding bellies; will post them when I get them!

Patrick & Liz announced last weekend that they are expecting in July! Hooray - Liz has been wanting to get pg for a while, but they have only been trying for a couple of months. It must have been that prego dust I sprinkled on her :o)

Steve & Ann found out on Halloween that they will be adding a little boy (Ewen Meyer) to their family. Ann delivered Liam 5 weeks early, so it's a possibility that Ewen will be here in February!

Beau & Beka will be having a baby girl, Megan, sometime in February. There's going to be a bit of competition between Megan & Abbie for Ewen's attention!

Rob & Stephanie are in disbelief that we only have 113 days to go. Okay, so that looks like a lot of days, but after the Holidays, we will be down to January, February, and then only a couple of weeks into March! The time is going to fly by, and I really don't think that I am ready yet. My body is preparing, however, as I have been having pretty intense Braxton Hicks contractions. According to everything that I read, it's normal to feel them more the second time around. I just don't remember feeling them at all with Isaac until May 17th. We went to Metro because I was having contractions 2 min apart for a few hours. I was dilated to 2 cm, but not in active labor. I went again the next night for the same thing and was dilated to 3 cm, and still not in active labor. Many days passed, including my due date and he finally showed up on June 12; six days late.

Abbie is quite the mover - we have caught her on video, but I will have to upload and edit so that you don't have to sit through 2 minutes, waiting for the movement :o) She also has the hiccups quite often, which is a pretty good indication that she will arrive with a full head of hair! My prediction is that she is going to have the Mosqueda/Spencer genes and look nothing like us. Rob's Grandpa is 100% Mexican, and my Grandpa is a German/Native American mix! Only time will tell!!!

We bought our Pack N Play after lots of drama at Babies R Us. Persistence pays off, let me tell ya! We also purchased a used Baby Bjorn for about 10% of the price that they are sold as new. Of course, we have lots of stuff left over from Isaac - luckily I went neutral with everything but clothes! I am anxious to get everything set up and ready to go; the nesting instinct has kicked in and I can't do anything until we move - arrgh!

I will keep you all posted on the progress of all of these prego mommies :o)

Happy Birthday/Anniversary!

I love you more today than I did yesterday, but not as much as I will love you tomorrow

I am a day late in posting this, but we were busy this weekend...

Happy 28th Birthday Rob! 3 years ago, I asked you to go out with me for a birthday beer and you obliged. I was ecstatic! We celebrated at the Rogue with a couple of drinks and chips & salsa; we talked about a lot of things! At the end of our 'date', you dropped me off at home and I was in heaven for the rest of the night. I never would have thought that anything would come of our simple date, but after I finally forced my phone number into your hand, you did the right thing :o)

Now three years later, we are happily married and expecting a baby!!! It has been an amazing journey (not the easiest, but that's how we learn) and I am so looking forward to spending many, many, many more birthdays with you!

Thank you for being such a wonderful husband, dad, and friend.

Chicago Birthday Weekend

What an amazing weekend! Rob and I decided to go to Chicago for the weekend - I bought him Neurosis (one of his favorite bands) tickets for his Birthday and we used it as an excuse to escape the realities of life for a few days. On Friday, we took Isaac to Jackson to stay with his Grandma Sherry and Grandpa John for the weekend.

We spent the night there and enjoyed a hearty breakfast before departing for the Windy City. We checked into our hotel, The Ohio House - seriously good deal on a hotel that was close to everywhere we wanted to be!

We then took off for Rush street to check out Urban Outfitters and the Burton store - yay!!! Customers were lounging on the 3rd floor, playing Guitar Hero III. I should have played, but was too shy/timid. Jon will be disappointed...

We stopped by the Water Tower and took a picMy only request of the whole trip was to get popcorn - delicious! I made Rob take the bag away from me so that I could enjoy it for the rest of the weekend! The half hour wait in line was worth it!Navy Pier was the next stop - we walked to entire time, by the way! We were getting a bit hungry, so we picked up a bite to eat there and I replenished my energy with a little Starbucks!After eating, we walked through the stained glass display. There were some amazing pieces to view, most of them from the late 1800s and early 1900s!

We cheated and took the trolley back to State St. and walked back to the hotel where we freshened up a bit so that we could go to the Hancock Building for dessert.

We arrived at the Hancock Building around 10:30pm, waited in line for about half an hour for the elevator up to the 96th floor and waited for another 15 minutes or so to get a table.

Unfortunately there weren't any tables open, so we were placed at the bar along the glass wall. While we enjoyed our Tiramisu, this is the view that we had! Whoever said that 'patience is a virtue' couldn't be any more right! I think that we had the best seat in the house. It was amazing to look at Chicago from the sky vs. the ground! It was experience that we will never forget!

Sunday morning: with the time change, we thought we had slept until 11am, Michigan time, but it was only 9. So, we got dressed and enjoyed a greasy breakfast at Rock N Roll McDonald's!The view from the insideRob, enjoying his breakfast in the comfy chairsThe view from our seatsWe confided with our Fodor's Chicago Book and after taking the bus to Soldier Field, we enjoyed a two mile walk from Soldier Field, through Grand Park, and ended at Millennium Park. We had beautiful weather and wonderful views of the lake!
Here we are in Grant Park Millennium ParkThe Cloud Gate sculpture, aka the Bean. According to the city of Chicago, permission is needed to publish any images of the structure. If I wind up in jail, this will be why!Sneaking a picture of our reflectionUnder the sculptureOver the river After our fun walk, we went to Pizzeria Uno for lunch. Rob was finally able to enjoy his deep dish pizza that he was craving. After lunch, we visited the places that we hadn't been to yet, like the Lego Store and the Hershey's Store. That was the best hot chocolate I have ever drank! We shopped for a little while longer, then went to Rainforest Cafe for a quick dinner.
After dinner, we were able to rest for a bit before going to the Neurosis concert. The concert was held in an old auditorium (without seating - ugh!) and I made sure that Rob was standing right up front! We were able to get a picture with the keyboard player, Noah.
By Monday morning, we were exhausted! We had made plans to visit the Field Museum, but I was way too tired of walking, and that place is huge! We are going to wait a couple of years and take Isaac there (Abbie can tag along, too). I think that we will enjoy it more seeing it through his eyes. We showed Isaac pictures of the Lego Store and he wants me to take him to Nana's house so that I can go to Chicago and buy him something from there. Hopefully he will still enjoy playing with Legos in a couple of years and we can factor a Lego purchase into our budget.

On our way home, we stopped in Michigan City and visited a couple of Outlet Stores. Rob picked out a couple of outfits for Abbie that are not pink! We finally met Sherry in Kalamazoo and made it home in the rain/snow mix. Isaac is excited to be back home. I think that he has played with every single one of his toys today, which explains how I got this done!

Halloween pics

For the first time in 3 years, I have finally accepted the invitation to go to the bar with the girls on Halloween. I can't tell you how much fun we had - I can't wait to go again next year so that I can have a cocktail or two!

Sir Reginald - Beka's gnome that accompanies them to the party every year!

From left to right: Liz, Ann, Cathy, Kathryn

Katie, Sharon, me!

The bellies! Little Abbie and Ewan are due 10 days apart!
Sir Reginald cutting a rug
The post-bar/pre-Denny's stop at the church steps (approx. 3am)
We carved pumpkins with lots of drama on Sunday and this is how they turned out: We stopped by Mike & Julie's and Kylie was there!

Baby Girl

What Are Little Girls Made Of?

Girls are made of sugar 'n spice,

Everything sweet, & everything nice,

Girls are ruffles, bonnets, and bows,

Dimpled smiles and dancing toes,

They're tears and giggles, dolls and curls,

That's how it is with little girls.

Here are the ultrasound photos from Thursday. I am not sure why they even let us see her in 3D, because she is kinda scary looking!

What a face! Her eye sockets look huge! She gave us a thumbs up and we could see her yawning - I agree little one, it was early!
Our stubborn one, decided to open her little legs for about 3 seconds at the very end of the ultrasound. I was quite worried that we weren't going to find out! Nancy told us that the 3 little white lines indicates labia vs. penis!

Half Way There & It's A.....

Wow! We are at 20 weeks today, even though the baby is measuring at 19 weeks, 3 days. Approximate weight is 11oz! This baby is extremely stubborn, which doesn't surprise us very much (at least we are both to blame)! Nancy, the ultrasound tech was just about ready to give up on determining the sex when she saw 3 little white lines which indicate that it's a
GIRL!!
We are soooooooooo excited to be adding a little girl to our family. Rob can't wait to have Daddy's Little Girl!
Our appointment was on Cascade Rd. and I didn't stop crying (tears of joy) until we got home! I am just waiting for Isaac to finish his lunch so that we can go run some errands. We might just have to stop by a store or two to buy something pink! Isaac has been singing the "It's a girl, we're having a girl" song since we left the Dr's office! He is so happy to be having a baby sister. He would have been really disappointed if it wasn't a girl! My brother Jon doesn't know what he is going to do when he takes both of them to Chuck E Cheese's, because he doesn't think that he can take a girl into the boys bathroom. I told him that he was going to have to get a girlfriend. A lot can happen in 3 years, trust me!
Now we have to settle on a name. I should probably delete the poll, because I think we are leaning towards Abigail Elaine!!
It can change at any time, so we won't be getting anything embroidered at this point!

Happy Birthday Jon & Joe

Jon & Joe turned 20 on October 19th. It's hard to believe that they aren't teenagers anymore! This was the first year that the boys haven't celebrated their birthdays together. It didn't hit me until we sang "Happy Birthday" and only had to say "dear Jon" instead of listening to everyone say "Jon and Joe", or "Joe & Jon"! I tried to call Joe on his birthday, but his fiance was in town, so that automatically makes me chopped liver! At least I was able to say "Happy Birthday to his voicemail :o)
It seems like just yesterday I could hold them in my arms and dress them up like girls... it's amazing how fast they grew up. We have had our ups and downs like all siblings do, but at the end of the day, no matter how mad they make me, I am very proud to call them my little monsters!!

We spent the evening at Chuck E Cheese's (which we probably wouldn't have been able to do if Joe was here!)

Lots of boys having lots of fun
The boys playing games like they were in the casino...

Pumpkin Carving

Here are some pics from years past - we love Halloween around here! As soon as we carve our 3 pumpkins this year, I will be sure to post them! Isaac thinks that he is going to be a Clone Trooper, but I have a feeling that he is going to be a Power Ranger because he has the costume and accessories already!!!

Last year we went as Bonnie & Clyde after they were murdered (notice bullet holes). There would have been a picture of me, but we got so drunk so quick that we completely forgot. The guy behind Rob was a chick magnet - so funny.
Pretty scary! It's just one more reason why we decided to home school! Actually, he was just saying "cheese" - I promise!

Halloween 2005 we went as Cinderella (although everyone thought I was Snow White - what the...?!) and Black Metal!
Isaac's first experience with Pumpkin Guts - his face tells it all!
Trick-or-Treating at the Fire Dept. where we stayed nice and warm
Isaac's first Halloween - mom and I made his costume together - so much fun!
Ahh, our pumpkin that was carved only using Pampered Chef tools. Rob and I made a wonderful team that year - he made all of the major cuts and I did the detail work. It's a pumpkin that we have to live up to!