Strawberry Pickin' 2008

The kids and I have a tradition. In June we go strawberry pickin' with "Auntie G," Julia and her daughter, Emma, and Amy, Micah, and Mia. Coordinating four sets of schedules and the weather meant we didn't make it to the berry patch until the first week of July this year.

The kids always have a great time and eat their weight in berries. This year Ellie could actually pick the berries also. And boy did she pick. And eat. And eat. And eat. I don't even want to think about the moldy, half rotten, buggy berries she ate. That stuff is all part of growing up. Right?!
You may notice the red shirt. It's just a smart idea when berry picking for momma and all children to wear red. Requires less stain stick that way.

Happy (Blog) Anniversary to Me

July 8, 2007 I started this little blog of mine. 260+/- posts later I've learned a lot about blogging. It's been stressful, fun and crazy. I realize when you hit the 100 posts mark it's customary to list 100 things about yourself. Life was a little insane when I reached that milestone so I never got around to observing that little blogging tradition.

In honor of this momentous anniversary I give you 100 Things About Stephanie. In no particular order.

1. I was born in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.
2. I lived in Arkansas for 22 years.
3. I have lived in Rhode Island for 11 years. That's a third of my life!
4. I changed schools (and towns) 9 times from Kindergarten to Grade 12.
5. I am a PK (preacher's kid).
6. I once backed my car into the church van.
7. I was backing out of the carport of our house.
8. The van was parked on the edge of driveway.
9. We lived in the church parsonage at the time.
10 Right next door to the church.
11 I never went on a date in high school.
12 I "went out" with 3 other guys in college before my (now) husband.
13 Two of those didn't ask me out for a second date.
14 One of those was the brother of one of my best friends. It was a weird night.
15 I graduated from Ouachita Baptist University.
16 I met my husband there.
17 I also met all but two of the bloggers from my "Real Life Friends" list there.
18 Six of them (or their now husbands) played a role in my wedding.
19 I had 4 bridesmaids and 4 groomsmen. Her and her were bridesmaids. Her, her, and her husband(s) were groomsmen. They sang.
20 I dated my husband for 9 months before he married me.
21 We were engaged for 4 of those months.
22 But I knew him for 3 years before we started dating.
23 My husband is the only person I've ever kissed. = )
24 We spent our wedding night at Holiday Inn Express near the Little Rock Airport. High class! 25 We flew out the next morning for Ft. Lauderdale.
26 We also went over to Grand Bahama Island.
27 I was exhausted when we returned from our honeymoon.
28 We were also jobless.
29 For 3 months after college graduation and wedding.
30 We lived with my parents for 2 of those months.
31 I've lived in 4 different places in Rhode Island.
32 Two were apartments and 2 were/are houses.
33 I've lived at my current address for nearly 5.5 years.
34 That's the longest I've lived in one place my entire life.
35 No wonder I keep wanting to rearrange my bedroom furniture.
36 I've been pregnant 5 times.
37 I've birthed 3 babies by c-section all on Tuesdays.
38 I had a miscarriage last fall.
39 I'm currently pregnant with my 3rd son.
40 I have a dimple.
41 So do my 3 kids. = )
42 I've traveled to Malaysia and Singapore.
43 I have been in every state on the eastern seacoast except Georgia. Unless I can count the Atlanta airport. But does it really count if you never leave the airport?
44 I have never visited 16 of the continental States.
45 One of my life goals is to visit all of the lower 48 States.
46 I'm going to have to quit birthing babies in order for that to happen!
47 I've birthed 3 babies within 3 year & 3 months. Come October that will change to 4 babies in 5 years 5 months.
48 I've visited Canada (Niagara Falls) but not Mexico.
49 Though I could see Mexico while in El Paso, TX.
50 I gave my heart to Jesus at the age of 9.
51 Since then, with the exception of 1.5 years, I've been a member of a Southern Baptist Church.
52 A few years ago I attended a women's conference and ate lunch with Kay Arthur.
53 Across the table at Friendly's kind of lunch!
54 I really want to attend a Precept training course to better learn to study the Bible inductively.
55 I'd also like to attend a Hearts at Home Conference.
56 I have rheumatoid arthritis.
57 I have permanent damage in some of my joints because of it.
58 It is caused by my immune system - NOT the kind of arthritis your grandma has.
59 It subsides while I'm pregnant.
60 If I could stay in the 2nd trimester for all of my life I'd always feel wonderful.
61 When not pregnant I take a wonder drug that makes it almost go away.
62 So far there is no cure for RA.
63 I have a freckle on the tip of my nose.
64 My husband thinks it's cute.
65 I am the oldest child of an oldest child of an oldest child (my grandpa). I'm not sure about any further back than that.
66 I enjoy an ice cold Dr. Pepper any chance I get.
67 I always want Chili's chips and salsa!!!!!
68 When we visit down South we always request fried catfish and hushpuppies for dinner one night.
69 We also stop at Sonic.
70 Sadly there is no Sonic in all of New England.
71 We used to require Mexican food on our trips to AR/TX but last year On the Border opened 7 minutes from my home.
72 We were there opening night with dear friends who also crave Mexican food.
73 I'm not a big fan of RI crab cakes. It's a sad imitation of hushpuppies!
74 I do like clam chowder though. The white sauce! It's kind of like Potato Soup with a bonus.
75 Reese's Peanut Butter cups are my favorite candy.
76 I only cook biscuits from scratch. No canned biscuits in this house!!
77 I make terrible white gravy.
78 But I make awesome brown gravy, if I do say so myself.
79 I love to watch cooking shows. They inspire me.
80 We do not own a tv.
81 My children do just fine without one.
82 I don't feel the need to know the news.
83 We watch movies on my laptop.
84 Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies of all time.
85 I drive a Ford mini-van.
86 I can fit 5 car seats/booster seats in the van.
87 That means I'll still have room for one more child after October.
88 The van is grey just like my previous car was. Purely coincidence.
89 I drove that car for 9 years. There was NO life left in her. Which was fine because I couldn't fit 3 car seats in her backseat.
90 My birthday is in November. Feel free to send chocolate.
91 I'll be about 1 month post-partum on my 34th birthday.
92 I think I'm going to need the chocolate!
93 I share a delivery date (#3) with one of my friends (her #3). She called my hospital room from hers. Fun!!
94 I want to move back South (AR or TX) and own a house in the country (3-5 acres).
95 I DON'T want to own animals.
96 I'll compromise on a dog or two. And a cat to eat mice.
97 I am NOT a dog or cat lover.
98 We owned 5 dogs (Butterscotch, Samson, Patches, Dusty, Barney) from the time I was in the 4th grade until after I graduated high school.
99 I remember how we promised to take care of the dogs but my momma always ended up doing it.
100 Now I'm the momma.

Another ultrasound

With this baby I've already had FOUR ultrasounds! By 23 weeks 4 days (on June 30). It's crazy! The first was about 8 weeks to set the due date. The second was the next month to confirm the date and the third was at 17 weeks (a little early) just to check development and placenta location.

You may recall I had a slight placenta previa (?) so I went back on June 30 for the 4th ultrasound just to check that. The practice I'm using has a physician's assistant for the ultrasound tech. So she does the ultrasound as well as a prenatal visit.

Right off the bat she mentioned that I had lost a pound since my previous visit. Hmm.. I think that was because last month my visit was on a cool day so I wore a long sleeve shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. June's visit saw the mercury over 85 which means I wore shorts, a thin top and flip flops. I think my weight loss was due to clothing differences. = )

That did not satisfy her. She is still concerned that I haven't gained enough weight. "Eat an ice cream sundae every night," she said. I lost about 2 pounds after my 8 week visit so by their records I've only gained 5 pounds (or 3 pounds over the original weight). She even went so far as to ask me "are you eating 3 balanced meals every day with plenty of snacks?" Huh?! Seriously! Look at the non-baby parts of me. I'm clearly not missing any meals!

If this were my first baby I'd be freaked out that I was not being a good mother! But it's my fourth. So I know I'm doing everything right. The fact is I'm trying not to eat a lot of high calorie low nutrition food because that goes on me and not the baby. Every pound I put on me is a pound I have to take off later, which is SO not fun! Not to mention, if I get used to eating a sundae every night now, I'm going to want to continue that later.

I've also considered that this baby is due at the end of October. And what comes after that? Thanksgiving. Christmas. Winter comfort food with no place to walk it off. So as long as she continues to tell me that the ultrasounds show he's the size and weight he ought to be, I think I'll stick with my current eating plan. I think eating an apple is a much better choice than a sundae.

Thank you for listening to my rant. I'll try not to do that again but I make no promises. I have another ultrasound scheduled for the end of this month. Because of the weight issue. It's a good thing he's so cute in these pictures. = )

Can you see his face? He's looking right at you.

This is a profile view of his head. See the little arm bone? He kept moving his arm in front of his face. I wonder if he ever gets his thumb in his mouth. She also showed me his spine and pelvis - now doubt he's a boy! Even I could tell that!!