nesting.

once upon a time i had a novel idea... the idea that i should wait until after christmas to do anything baby. i thought we'd enjoy the holidays and that by waiting to do baby things (ie. car seat, painting, nursery set, kids room, furniture moving, wardrobe shopping, etc.) until january that we'd have more money and that it would make my last 4 weeks of pregnancy go faster.

as it turns out... i was WRONG, on every account.

lucky for me i have a willing and able mother, a patient husband, and some nice in-laws because we were able to get pretty much everything accomplished in the past 2 weeks. in all honesty, its mostly all because of my mom, she is literally the greatest mom ever. if you saw the list of to-do's you would probably be more impressed with how much we have done. just use your imagination and remind me next time that i need to do things way more in advance. here we are 5 days from delivery and most things are ready to go, the rooms still need some TLC but they are working out just perfectly.

the nursery:

my mom is a wizard when it comes to baby bedding. all i did was pick out the fabricas and look what she whipped up.... the MOST AMAZING NURSERY SET EVER. we are still waiting on a glider chair and his name to finish up the decor. jealous?

the kids room....

their room too is a work in progress and needs some more decor to coordinate the colors. looking at these pictures makes me sick, i needed to straighten greta's duvet but if you can get past that, i really adore the way it turned out. it was hard to make a boy/girl room look cute but i really love how the grey/pink/navy combo works.

oh, and wonder of wonders miracle miracle.... they both sleep in their beds perfectly.

our room:

with my other kids we were able to use a family heirloom cradle but since it is still occupied from the last baby we had to buy something else. when i saw this set up in my room, i nearly cried, it made him so real! and LOOK, my diaper bag is ret' to go. oh, and you should go out and by a pack of Pampers Newborn Swaddlers to smell them and laugh at the sheer size of them.

nesting is real and i am glad my nest is set.

what do you think sisters? you know this post was for you!

i'm trying to be a mom.

you know, the last 2 weeks of pregnancy are really terrible. so terrible in fact, you are willing to do anything to get it over with.... like pushing 7ish lbs out your 'who who' or voluntarily letting someone cut through your stomach and rip those said 7ish lbs out. i prefer the latter, seeing as it's my only choice and boy am i ever ready to get my stomach sliced open. as it turns out, my little 7ish lb bundle will be here in no more than 6 days. that's less than a week for those of you who were wondering.

knowing that my life as i know it is about to end in that short of time is really hard for me. please, i am so excited to meet our little man but i have never been so scared. giving my past experiences, i have reason to be scared but i am not scared for those reasons. i am scared of 3 kids. you are in the big leagues when you have 3 kids, you are not just playing house anymore. how will i ever manage? everyone tells me 3 is the worst transition. i am hoping that by me anticipating the worst that it won't be so bad when its just sorta of the worst. plus, i know from experience that it's hard when the baby is not the baby anymore, for everyone involved. poor greta, i feel bad. luckily, she her throne remains hers. jude i am not as worried about. jude is so excited he can't stand it, and i know he will be the best big brother, he already is.

with the clock quickly ticking i am trying my best to still be their mom. my energy level is at an all time low of -11% and i swear my lower back/left hip cannot last a minute longer. plus, baby boy is in position to deliver and as of my last doctor's appointment i am at a 3 and 60% effaced, making life just a little bit more uncomfortable. being a fun and interactive mom is not really one of my best qualities at this point. jude tells me i am boring almost everyday and greta just cries for 'mimeepoppy'. as much as i want to go out and do things, which i do, i just can't. every night as i go to sleep (which come on, who can sleep at this point?!?), i make mental plans for the next day, fun things we will do while we are still a party of 4, and then by 10am the next morning i am just ready for a nap. i suck, but i keep promising my kids that it will get better in 3 weeks time.... let's hope so. i hate to be a liar.

LUCKILY, last week i was the bomb.dot.com mom and made plans to go the 'kangaroo zoo' in bountiful and i really did it. brooke and i lounged on some really uncomfortable ikea couches while the kids had the time of their life.... until minie and jude noticed the mini-golf and were offended we did not do both. what do they think, we are made our money? one or the other kids. anyway, it was a good time and i think if things ever return to normal we will be doing kangaroo zoo again. oh, and i do have plans to do at least 2 more family-fun activities in the next 6 days. i hope i don't have a baby in that time frame and even more i hope i have the energy.

pregnancy makes for terrible mothers.

the friend dilemma.

one thing we are short on in these parts is friends. it's actually a really big problem and one of the reasons i pray we can move soon, somewhere that kids roam like the buffalo of old. don't get me wrong....i love our little house, our location, our ward, the people etc. but there are nearly no kids my kids age (or same sex) in our area. i seem to have babies at all the wrong times for our neighborhood and somehow my kids are left to play with themselves, and this baby in my belly is no exception. i never thought i would have this problem especially since i live in suburban mormon utah, but i do. jude is 5 now and has yet to have a "play date", a fact that he reminds me of frequently. jude has friends at school but his school is not in our neighborhood, therefore no play dates have come from that outlet. i caught him drawing maps on how to get to our house for a few of his besties at school the other day, and i almost cried. i long for the day that i can send my kids across, down, or up the street to play with a friend. maybe if it didn't live on a busy street that could happen.

THAT BEING SAID.... we are immensely lucky to have a few cousins that my kids adore. in order to get adequate playtime in with peers that means we spend a lot of time with cousins(ie.minie and poppy) and whenever the lamoreaux's are in town i do everything in my power to make sure jude gets his boy time in. mostly because he and gilbert are two peas in a pod. as much as jude loves his mimsie (which is a lot), there is something about gil that makes jude's world go round. so over christmas break while the lamoreaux's were here, we had a lot of gil time, and i think it may have been jude's favorite christmas present. i am glad that AT LEAST my kids have cousins to play with. i am forever indebted to brooke for supplying minie and poppy, the OG's. i will take cousins over friends any day but one day i would at least like to have the option.

won't you be our friend?

[POST EDIT]

i think i may have offended some of my friends that live nearby. that was not my intention... i was merely stating the fact that there is a serious lack of kids in these parts and i wish it were different. please don't be offended, and if you are... know that these are rantings of a very pregnant, due any moment, woman.

new years eve.... 3 years later

hi... long time no see.

new years eve, new years day, cop cars, play dates with cousins, sickness, winter blues, late pregnancy hormones, and LOTS of baby preparations have happened since i last posted. if you are lucky you may see some of it it days to come. however, new years eve was of note (and the first) so i will start there.

----

this year robyn and co. were here after christmas through new years. it's been a while since they have been here at new years so we thought we'd through a party like i was 1999.... or something like that. turns our parties with 7 kids aren't as hip as we planned. but honestly, there is NO ONE i would have have rather spent it with. nannie made an amazing meal to ring in the new year.... king crab legs, prime rib, parmesan chicken (por me :) ), potatoes, rolls, jello, and an assortment of vegetables... easily enough food to last through january. most of the other williams siblings had other engagements that night and it was nice to not have the sheer insanity that is when we are all together. however, they were missed.

after a thrilling performance of 'the bandanna bandit', a play abe wrote. the kids were ready to ring in the new years.... to bad it was like 3 hours away. they were good and made it all the way to the new year, even if the 5 and under crowd were 3 sheets to the wind.

hi, i am 9 months pregnant and i have cute sisters and this one likes my pregnant belly.

as i said, we know how to party. martenellis? please.

this is greta. she has really pretty hair and loves herself some booze.

click here for more proof.

this is pretty much the only time we saw trevan all night. he laid on the floor nursing a little strep throat, a gift that kept on giving for days to come.

banging pans in the wee hours of the morning was the best part about new years to me when i was little and it seems the kids felt the same way.

and now for some new years smooching... rated NC-17.

bob & robyn

bob, do you always kiss with your eyes open?

nannie & grandpa mike

senor & yours truly.

and apparently when we kiss we suck lips.

happy new years.

au revoir 2010

one year, gone in the blink of an eye...

{january}

{february}

{march}

{april}

{may}

{june}

{july}

{august}

{september}

{october}

{november}

{december}

dear 2010,

thanks for the memories.

love,

me

p.s. the future still TERRIFIES me.