Adventures in Vehicle-dom

Our van was 12 years old. We had said that we were going to drive it until it fell apart, and it was getting to the point to where we were putting in the shop every few months. When we found out we were expecting baby #7, we had officially outgrown it. We decided that we would not fix it again—instead, we began looking at vans that would seat at least 9 people.

The end came unexpectedly. While driving down the freeway, during afternoon rush hour, in 102 degree weather, while I was by myself with the five younger children, it quit. No warning lights, no weird sounds beforehand…it just died. I pulled over to the shoulder and unloaded the children, instantly grateful that we had water bottles, a cell phone, and that I was wearing a tank top and shorts instead of the long jeans that I had put on that morning.  Even so, there was a big fence stretching the length of the freeway that separated us from a hospital with an air-conditioned lobby. We had to climb over it. The older two kids went first, I handed the younger ones over to them, and I climbed over last. I’ll bet we were a sight!

So out with the old and in with the new. We now have a newer model, low mileage 15-passenger van. Not only do we have room for all of us to fit comfortably, we also have room to bring a few of our friends along with us! It was almost 8pm by the time we got home with our new van, and the children jumped up and down excitedly in the driveway as we pulled up. We piled them all in and cruised through Sonic like the cool family we are, jamming to Blue Oyster Cult and Weird Al. We cruised around town and down the back dirt roads, singing Billy Joel’s “River of Dreams” with gusto. We pulled into McDonald’s and got ice cream at 10pm. And then we cruised on home.

~ good times ~

We couldn’t resist hopping on the stick-figure family bandwagon.

Oh, and these, too:

I never imagined I’d be driving such a big ol’ van.

Hello, 2nd Trimester!

14 weeks. Less nausea. More energy.

And a recap of the first trimester:

The Way of the Warrior Woman

(Exercising at 11 weeks pregnant.)

I was struggling with weights and pushups so much that I was just about ready to abandon them. I did not do any strength training at all for almost 2 weeks.
Finally, it occurred to me that in my martial arts training, I always hear the phrase “do something.” Whatever we do, even if we don’t land our techniques perfectly, we must do something; standing still is never an option.
So did something. I decided to do pushups and stop when they became a struggle instead of wearing myself out trying to get to a certain number. I also took 5 lbs off each dumbbell. That felt much better, and I felt great afterward! That's what it's about, right? Instead of whining at how "wimpy" I've become with pregnancy, I'm reminding myself that I've never been able to work this hard while pregnant before.

(And yes, I realize my lunge form is slipping here. I continue to work on that.)

First Midwife Visit

Listening to the baby’s heartbeat at 12 weeks, 5 days. As I predicted, the first thing the midwife asked when measuring my uterus was “Are you sure about your dates?”   I am measuring at 18 weeks.  I’m not worried or alarmed, as the same thing has happened with my past pregnancies. At the same time, it is kind of a bummer to be just a little bit pregnant but look as if I am a lot pregnant. lol

After our visit, we went on an adventure. DaddyBear had spotted a foot bridge crossing the river to a little island on his travels, and we had to go check it out. We saw lots of squirrels and even some deer on a shady path by the river.

Mama turns 39

This is the last year of my 30s, and I plan to make it count.

A good friend  came over to celebrate with me, and my sweetheart put some kabobs on the grill for us. Followed by strawberry ice cream birthday cake.
Life is good!

Gigi’s First Lake Trip

I can’t believe I’m posting a picture of myself in a swimsuit for the world to see. But for the first time in forever, I’ve found a swimsuit that I actually like! Modest AND cute.

Baby #7--Eight Weeks

For those people who are saying “What? Another baby?!”, here ya go…responses to all your questions and comments.  You can just go ahead and assume that the irritated/sarcastic responses are going be the ones that will pop out of my mouth this time around.

Mother’s Day

Celebrating the wonderful woman who raised her son to be an affectionate, loving husband and father. I could not have wished for a better mother-in-law.

My gifts from my children. They bought me this necklace and earrings set with their own money.

Caveman’s First Holy Communion

And My Baby Is All Grown Up