Nothing Yet...

For those of you faithfully checking the blog for the joyful news of the arrival of Baby Brother Jones, it seems I have expected FAR too much cooperation from the newest male member of our family. I should have known, based on his father's track record, that I was in for a little stubborn resistance.

The "go" day which I so eagerly planned on has come and gone...and there is no end in sight. At this rate, I'll probably be pregnant for the rest of my life. (Boy, that sounded overly dramatic, didn't it?) Okay, I guess I'll only be pregnant for as long as this kid decides he wants to stay warm and cozy in the womb and torment his slightly-demented mother. 

So, I promise we'll keep you all updated. Thanks for the well-wishes. I really do have the greatest of friends.

A Plethora of Princesses

Today Lindy and I had a mother-daughter day out. We don't get to do it very often, but when we do we go in style. Thanks to Mandi (and Dave) we got tickets to "Disney On Ice: Princess Wishes". It ended up as a group event with four other friends and their moms. I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd never before felt the need (or desire) to attend such an event. So I think I was slightly unprepared for the level of excitement a few princesses could incite in a group of 4 and 5 year old girls! Here they are before we got inside the arena.

We saw Jasmine, Belle, Snow White, Ariel, Aurora, Mulan, and Cinderella along with all their princes, Mickey and Minnie, and even Goofy. There were a couple times I thought Lindy would bounce her way into the lap of the lady in front of us...she was SO EXCITED!

Needless to say, we had a wonderful time. As a mom, it was so much fun to see the smiles of delight on the face of my daughter. She told me later on that they were the best ice-skating princesses she had seen in her whole life!

Are We There Yet?

It's been a long, hard road up to this point...but here we are in the final stretch (and I mean "stretch" literally) of this pregnancy. I talked myself into allowing a self-loathed picture to be taken in order to document the "joys" of being great with child. I'm trying to convince myself that I will appreciate it later on in life. Probably MUCH later.

So here we are at 37 weeks. Hopefully this sweet boy will cooperate with my well-laid plans and won't make me wait much longer. (For the record, I do realize I'm completely demented expecting cooperation from a fetus...especially this feisty character.) But we are ready, not only to be done with being pregnant, but also to have "baby brother" in our home.

Our next great task? A name. And no...I'm not going to have a contest to see who can "Name the Jones Baby"...I'm far too picky for that and tend to steer clear of other people's suggestions. Sorry folks. Wish us luck!

MEOW!

If you ever stop by my house and find me in a state of un-showered disaster, this might help you understand why there are days I just can't find the motivation to shut myself in my bathroom and leave the kids unsupervised. 

The other day, I thought I was safe to take a quick shower and perhaps even put on some makeup. During that lightening-quick break, apparently Ellie decided that "she wanted to be a kitty", so Lindy obligingly drew whiskers on her face with a black MARKER! It's only taken 3 days for the last traces of it to finally wash off. 

Well, at least I can say that I wasn't hygienically challenged that afternoon, right?

Pessimism vs. Gratitude

Do you ever think about how dependent we've all become on our own particular versions of normalcy? I've realized this week that I've been dreadfully dependent on a few simple facts of life. I face each hour/day/week with the following expectations:

1. My children will be their normal, healthy, active selves.

2. I will be able to remain connected to the outside world via my computer.

3. The act of walking up/down stairs will not leave me incapacitated.

There are others, I'm know, but this week the above-mentioned aspects of my life were seriously put to the test. With the onset of the flu (yes, AGAIN), the death of our little computer (and I do mean death), and the increasing stubbornness of our unborn son, we (okay, I) have suffered setback after setback in an otherwise mundane life. 

Perhaps this is why we have been counseled to view our world through the rose-colored glasses of gratitude. If I spent more time being grateful that I had two beautiful little girls I might not be so tempted to curse fate when they are moaning and whining on the couch for hours on end. If I spent more time actually talking to the people in my life I might not feel so isolated when unable to check my email or my blogs. If I spent more time grateful for the blessing of being able to welcome another baby into our home I might spend less time ticked off about feeling like a beached whale.

I do seem to take a LONG time to learn the lessons I should in my life, so I'm not sure that this recent observation will initiate a lasting change to my enduring pessimistic perspective...but at least for today I'm going to try to be a little more grateful for the things I do have and a little less time fretting about those I don't. 

(It does help that my computer is almost healed...thank you Apple Store.)