A Little More News.

I'll start with my doctor appointment last Friday. Remember a couple weeks ago when I said I had graduated to only needing to come in every other week? I take it back.

The good news is her head is up pretty high. And that's about all of the good news. I've been having more and more contractions that hurt much worse than before. It's a little funny. Ross and I will be watching a show and every so often I'll take a breath, hold it in and leap off the couch because it's too painful to sit. All the while muttering all kinds of things to myself.

Doc thinks I probably won't last much more than a few weeks, so I'll be going in every week now to get checked. We'll probably do another round of steroids soon, which is great for the babe. She's pretty much guaranteed a spot in the NICU, but the steroids will help a bunch. I really don't know what to expect this time around. It's the first time I've been on shots to keep her in there, so it's hard to say when she'll actually come. That's the hard part. Last week I pulled out all of the newborn clothes, and the toys and bottles just so I know where everything is.

Which brings me to the next bit of news.

The Loveland's are moving! A couple of weeks ago we signed a lease at a new complex about 20 minutes away. It's right between the office Ross works out of the main Epic campus. Which will be wonderful since he works out of Verona sometimes. It's closer to where we grocery shop, work, and school, but it's also more out in the country, so it's a little quieter.

Our complex decided to raise our rent but they also really wanted us to renew our lease. There have been a few things I really don't like about the complex, so we decided to check around for other options. For a while it didn't seem like we could find much for January. (Seriously, the WORST time to move.) But then this place popped up, and we're so grateful. It's an end unit on the third floor. (I am going to have amazing glutes hauling 3 kids and groceries up and down those stairs.) It's about the same size that we're in now, but with a pantry, underground parking, brand new cabinets, light fixtures, and appliances, and a HUGE bathroom. And the best part: It has a washer and dryer!! Momma's getting a washer and dryer for Christmas!!! I couldn't be more excited. With cloth diapers, three kids, and remembering all of the newborn blowouts, we NEED one.

Unfortunately, that means we're moving. In January. Our lease begins January 1st, but the manger will probably give us keys before then so we can get started. With not knowing when the babe will arrive and the notorious Wisconsin winter, it's a bit of a hassle, but it feels like it'll be a good thing for our family. And did I say I'll have a washer and dryer?!

Claire's Three!

Well she will be. On Wednesday. We decided to have her party the Saturday before her birthday. Claire really wanted a princess party. I honestly have no idea how kid's birthday parties are supposed to work, and I was overwhelmed scanning Pinterest for ideas. Since when did birthday parties become such a big spectacle? With potty training and my school schedule, I had to keep it pretty simple. We completely forgot about the BYU/Wisconsin football game, and I'm so grateful some of Claire's friends could still make it to her party. Claire had a blast and loved having everyone there.

I set up a dress up table with some necklaces, bracelets, hair clips, and ring pops. I wanted to find some knight things for the boys, but couldn't find any.

We had a craft table where everyone could decorate a crown. The girls seemed to love that and were very creative.

The food was themed, and I meant to make place cards, but when it came down to it, I really didn't care. The pigs in a blanket were supposed to be "swords in sheaths", chips were "dragon food" and the fruit was made to look like magic wands.

Because I had class on Saturday, I decided to set everything up Friday night. I was excited about making Claire's cake, even though it was probably a little too ambitious for me. I wanted to make her a castle, but I ended up using 5 boxes of cake mix and spending 3 1/2 hours on the stupid thing. It started out fun, but when the cakes started sticking to the pans, and I had to throw away two of the cakes, I started to get really frustrated. I think I scared Ross. After a second trip to the grocery store to get more cake mix, I calmed down. And I was happy with how the cake turned out, even though it wasn't quite what I was envisioning. I now know what it means to do anything to make your child happy and their day special.

Saturday morning Claire came out front. First she saw the streamers, and then she saw the cake. She had the cutest shocked expression and said, "MOM! You made this for ME? For my BIRTHDAY?!" Then she talked about how beautiful it was and asked if we could take a picture. She's so funny. Then she ran in to wake up Ross. "DADDY! You have to wake up! You have to come and see! You have to open your EYES!!" We saw the future of birthdays and Christmases and all of the excitement. It made all of the frustrations of last night totally worth it. She LOVED her cake and was SO excited about it. She made us sing Happy Birthday to her five times before I had to leave for class.

Thanks to everyone for coming and making her birthday so special! She had so much fun and is still talking about it!

Potty Training.

Last week was quite possibly the longest week of my life. And we're doing it all over again this week.

We've been potty training. And I'm pretty sure my children are only alive because of Diet Coke, and my sweet mother in law who will listen to me whine a million times a day without judging me or making me feel like a complete idiot.

When it comes to parenting, I have no idea what I'm doing. I am totally out of my element here, especially in the potty training arena. We cloth diaper. And it's fantastic. And we have two kids in diapers. And we really don't want THREE kiddos in diapers. One night Claire had started to poop and Ross and I decided to stick her on the potty against her will. And she did it. We made the biggest deal out of it and that's what got this train rolling. And I wasn't ready for it. I really don't think there's a "good time" to potty train. There's ALWAYS something going on. Every single week is ridiculously busy, so I just had to go with it.

I thought I had a good plan and went with it for the first two days. Boy oh boy was I wrong. It was frustrating. Everyone was yelling and crying and it was the most frustrating, miserable two days. That second night I really didn't like myself, really didn't like being a mom, and really didn't think I was cut out for this. I started to think Heavenly Father had made a MONDO mistake by making me a mother and putting me in charge of these girls. I had a pretty lengthy chat with Him about all of the reasons why He got it wrong and how I'm REALLY not cut out for this whole Mothering business. I literally felt like I was going INSANE and should be admitted. But I didn't want to give up, because then the two miserable days we had spent destroying our relationship would be for nothing. After I soaked my pillow and stained it with mascara, I had a new idea.

On Day 3 I decided to completely change tactics. The new plan seemed to be working MUCH better. Everyone was happier, I didn't have to spend the entire day in the bathroom (Which was probably contributing to my loss of sanity.), and most of all Claire was happier and she still liked me despite all of the trauma of the previous days.

It's been hard, mostly because with my doctor appointments, I have to put a diaper back on Claire which kind of undoes the work we've been doing. We aren't there yet and we'll be continuing potty training this week, but it's going! Even my little old lady clients keep telling me this WILL end and she WILL get it. I still don't believe it.

Sometimes when Claire is sitting on the toilet, she'll quote random parts of Tangled to herself. Her favorite parts are when she meets Flynn Rider, and when she realizes she's the lost princess. So I'll be in the kitchen cleaning up and I'll hear, "Who are you, and how did you find me?" Or "Did I mumble, Mother? Or should I even call you that?" She cracks me up.

When she's on the potty, I set the timer for five minutes and walk away. Five minutes seems to be a good amount of time for her to try, and it's just worked better if she's in there alone. When she starts going she'll yell for me and say, "I'M DOING IT!!" One time while she was on, she started yelling for me. I came running, thinking it was time for the potty hat and to blow the celebratory horns, but when I walked in, she had unrolled the ENTIRE roll of toilet paper and draped it around herself like a boa. She was so happy and told me about how beautiful she looked and said, "I need more, Mom!" Later, the entire unrolled roll was crammed in the toilet and attempted to be flushed down.

Hopefully not too much longer and it will click with Claire. Until then, we'll just keep watching Christmas shows and chugging Diet Coke. I'm so grateful for the little tender mercies and funny moments of the day that I can laugh at.

Halloween.

The festivities started with a Harry Potter party at the library. They had different stations set up where the kids could make an owl, make wands, play quidditch, and have their picture taken in a castle. The girls didn't last too long, and they just wanted to play in the castle, but it was cute. Later in the week I took the girls trick or treating downtown. I loved seeing all of the kids in costume. The girls dressed up at superheros were my favorite, and the girls were a big hit at the retirement home. It was cute. We didn't get to stay long because I had an appointment that day, but it was more than enough time for the girls to get out and have fun.

Now for actual Halloween! We had a blast! It was pouring rain and I was just hoping and praying it would stop before trick or treating happened. Claire's finally old enough to know what's going on and she was especially excited about trick or treating. The girls were INSANE all day with excitement, so in the afternoon I took them to good old Micky D's to play and get their wiggles out while I gulped down some much needed Diet Coke. It was perfect.

After, we changed into costumes and headed to a friend's house for a birthday party. Ross met us there and we had fun celebrating with friends. After the party, we went trick or treating with the birthday girl. The first few houses all had dogs and the girls started to think that every house had a dog. They were into the household pets more than the candy. And honestly, what's cuter than 3 little girls all dressed up saying trick or treat the best they can? People were so nice and were scooping handfuls of candy into their buckets because they were so darn cute.

The poor thing was so exhausted she couldn't stay awake!