{ 16 weeks }

This post should actually be titled " First Trimester" or "15 weeks" since I'm going to journal about my first trimester and the picture is me at 15 weeks, but whatever.  I'm 16 weeks now and I feel like celebrating!  I promised myself that since this is my LAST pregnancy, I was going to journal more about it and record lots of little details.  Ahhhh...have I done that?  NO!  I am going to  make up for it now.  I had Casey take a picture of me last week (I'm a week bigger now) and I thought I would put together a little list of things that got me through my first trimester.  Why I think I might want to remember this is beyond me, but you never know.

Some of my favorite foods: Taco Bell - Burrito Supreme and (crunchy) Taco Supreme.  Sonic - Cherry Limeade.  Chic-fil-A - Lemonade.  McDonald's - (plain) Double Cheeseburger, Fries and a Hot fudge Sundae.  Subway - Ham and Cheese on white.  Homemade Macaroni and Cheese,  Mashed Potatoes, Fruit with dip, microwave Pretzels with Cheese Whiz and Mexican Coconut popsicles.  Is any of that even healthy?  The only thing that was, is the fruit and then I ruined it with the dip.  Or the ham and cheese and then I ruined it with the white bread.  Oh well.  That was me trying to keep food down.  I would go on a lunch run at least every other day, if not, every day.  Eating lunch at home made me sick!

Things I did:  At the beginning I took lots and lots of naps.  Get the kids on the bus - take a nap.  Get Drew down for an afternoon nap - take another nap.  I was in bed by 8:30 every night.  NOTHING got done, unless Casey did it,  or I would do it and then be even more sick.  I don't know how we  survived.  I'm just glad my husband and kids love me so much.  Once I started to feel a little bit better, I got hooked on T.V.  I'm not normally a T.V. watching person, besides 2 shows that I'm 100% dedicated to.  But all of the sudden I LOVED watching T.V.  I would get the kids to bed and unwind with  T.V. every night.  During the day fresh air always made me feel better, so Drew and I would sit outside in the backyard for hours and hang out.  A couple times a week we would pack a lunch and meet Casey at a park right by his work and watch Drew feed the ducks. 

Can I even begin to explain how glad I am those times are over!?!  When I read back over it, it all sounds so pathetic!  That was my life though.  The lunch dates with Casey were fun, but that's about it!

Here I am at 15 weeks!

          

This week I started to feel the baby kick (16 weeks).  Just a little and it's pretty random, but it's definitely different than gas bubbles.  That has been fun.  Now if I can just get my energy and zest for life back things will be fabulous!  I have a huge list of things I want to tackle before the baby comes and I can feel my time slipping away.  Grrrrr....that's one of the worst feelings - being unproductive.  I will TRY to be patient though. 

I get to find out what I'm having in 3 weeks!  I'm going to try to get the voter up on my side bar tonight, so if you see it, put your vote in.  Are we having a boy or a girl?????

{ Makeover }

I am in need of a desperate makeover... physically, emotionally, every way actually.  My blog needed a makeover too.  I could barely stand to look at it anymore!  Working on my blog sounded much more fun than working on myself.  It kinda' made me feel like scrapbooking!  I can go neglected for a little while longer.  Now maybe I will feel a little refreshed and motivated to get back into the blogging world again.  I made this header over a week ago and just let it sit on my desktop...waiting for me to get around to it.  Just like I've had almost 200 pictures sitting on my camera...waiting for me to get around to them.  The thought of uploading and sorting and editing and posting was too much for me.  So I let them sit and I got behind with my posts.  Today I tackled my blog, some of my pictures and I even payed bills.  Wow!  I'm feeling pretty good.  I am feeling much better as far as being sick goes.  No more throwing up (yay!)  Just really tired and not very motivated.  We have been having fun though!  Here are just a couple of pictures.

 

A trip to the Zoo

This was one of my first Saturdays that I felt pretty good ( actually wanting to get ready and not waste my day on the couch ).  We had a lot of fun.  It was nice to get out.

 

Easter in Arkansas

We were missing the Swensons, so the next weekend we packed up and took a last minute trip to Arkansas for Easter.  It is always the best spending time with them!  The kids had fun doing lots of Easter activities together.   I think Casey and Jonathan needed a break from their crazy, pregnant wives because we hardly saw them all weekend! 

 

All dressed up

I didn't get pictures of the kids dressed up on Easter Sunday, but here are some I took this past Sunday.  Aren't they just too cute for words? :)

 

That's our little update.  Hopefully you'll see more posts from me sooner than later!

{ Homemade Strawberry Jam }...

 Kaylee and I had some fun after school today.  I was inspired by Flip Flops and Applesauce.  This isn't the first time that has happened.  I love that blog!  I decided it was time to get off my bum and have some fun in the kitchen with my kids (it's been a little while).  The boys were invited too, but they thought it was much more fun to eat all the extra strawberries instead, so it was just the girls. 

This recipe was so easy, which made it a lot of fun.  Kaylee did most of it all by herself.  It is such a rewarding experience for me, as a mother, to work side by side her in the kitchen.  I love watching her confidence grow.  It's amazing the things we can talk about when our hands are busy like that.  I let her lead me from topic after topic and just soak it all up.  My favorite is hearing her tell me all about when she grows up and can cook all by herself because we used to do it together.  So dang cute!!!

Here's the truth...

I'm sure you all have noticed that my blog has been lacking the attention it usually gets from me.  I like to do posts and share pictures and keep everyone up to date on our family...usually.  For the last month, I've been a little on the lazy side...with good reason.  Here's a picture that might explain things a little better.

 

Do you see that little thing  we are holding?  It has two pink lines in it.

 

We are having a baby!!! 

 

Yes, you read that right.  Baby #4 is on it's way to the Moes home.  I am 10 weeks and my due date is October 13th.  Wow, it feels so good to get that out there!  So much more refreshing than I even thought it would be.  I found out so early this time (before I even missed my period), so I feel like I've been keeping this a secret FOREVER!  Now it's out.   Here's why Casey has a plate of cake and is holding a fork.   I have never been able to surprise Casey before with pregnancy news.  He was always the one who made me take the test.  In the past, it would go a little something like this:  He would hand me test (after reading the instructions every time, funny because they don't change).  I would pee on the strip, hand it to him and he would walk away and tell me the outcome.  It was like the one thing he could be in charge of.  I would always go grab it from him to see it with my own eyes.  He's know for playing tricks.  THIS time however, I decided  to surprise HIM.  I took the test after he went to work one morning.  I was actually pretty shocked by the positive, but so happy and then got busy making him a cake.  I made his favorite chocolate cake and wrote the message "You are going to be a daddy...again", on a red heart (it was the beginning of Feb).  Then stuck it in the cake and baked it.  I put a toothpick on top of where I put the heart so I didn't loose it.  We always have a snack together before we go to bed, so I saved the cake for that.  I thought for sure my face was going to give it away.  I was watching him like a hawk the whole time.  He takes such big bites, he ended up almost swallowing it!  Luckily he didn't.  He unwrapped it and was totally and completely surprised.  It was so fun to actually surprise him!  The funny thing is I had mentioned to him a couple of days earlier that I thought I might be pregnant (women just know!)  He hadn't really mentioned anything about it until this same night during dinner.  He told me he didn't think I was pregnant.  He kept talking about it forever, almost like he was trying to convince himself (or me) that I wasn't.  Try keeping a straight face and a secret during that!     

As for the MIA, there are only a couple of things in my life that make me pretty much fall off the face of the earth and both of them have to do with babies.  The first one is the first trimester of pregnancy.  I get REALLY sick (like a lot of you do)  and I can't keep up with anything.  I don't cook, clean, answer my phone, my desire for all hobbies is completely gone.  I would love to just stay in bed with the covers over my head all day and try to not throw up.   It's a pretty miserable experience for my entire family.  Luckily I have such a wonderful husband who totally knows what to expect by now and is more than willing to cut me some slack and step in to fill my shoes.  He is the best!  REALLY!  My kids have been great too.  They are so understanding...and excited!  They talk about baby Moes everyday.  My tummy is growing and I am showing already.  They love to touch it and tell me how big my tummy looks. :)  Anyway, the other time you won't hear from me very often is after this sweet baby is born.  I love to just soak it all in and take my time getting back into the groove of a busy life.  So consider yourself warned for the future.

That's the latest update in the Moes home.  We are just living day by day right now and so looking forward to week 16 around here.  That's been my magic week with all of my other pregnancies.  I start to feel like my normal self with a normal appetite and my zest for life comes back.  Can't wait!!!

I'm Back!

We made it back from our Spring Break to Utah a couple of days ago.  We left the warm Texas weather and headed off to the snow.  The kids and Casey, especially had so much fun with the change in weather and activities.  I had fun being behind the camera, capturing it all.  We haven't had snow pictures in a couple of years, so I thought I would share them.  Be ready for picture overload, but we had so much fun, it was hard to choose!

 

Check out these smiles!

Snow ball fight!

           

Those smiles are the best!  It doesn't get much more joyous than that.  I was glad that I could be the one to record such joy on everyone's faces.  Definitely memorable for us.  We did plenty of other things than play in the snow while we were there.  We had lots of fun visiting with family and friends and celebrating birthdays. The kids couldn't get enough play time with their cousins.   It was a constant party and we are so glad we had the chance to go!  We love and miss you all!