"Please bless Mommy...

...that she won't make me do all the laundry tomorrow."

The other night right before bedtime I got frustrated with Taylor because he had run through all my neatly folded piles of laundry. So I made the empty proclamation that he'd be doing all the laundry the next day. And so when Kent told him it was his turn to say the prayer, that's what he prayed for.

And since I told him that Melanie couldn't bite anything because she didn't have teeth, last night he prayed that she could "grow some teeth."

I love his prayers.

Thanksgiving

Yeah, I haven't posted for a while. For almost a month, in fact. And Kent's stirring rendition of labor didn't count, considering he made it sound like I walked in, had a baby, and walked out without even breaking a sweat. Okay, I admit, it was the easiest. But it was still childbirth, nonetheless. And I could still wiggle my toes after getting my epidural- I personally thought the anesthesiologist was being slightly stingy with the meds.

Life has been pretty good- it's a lot more hectic with 3, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I was slightly horrified at the prospect of life without my mother-in-law here to clean and cook (did I mention I have a rockin' mother-in-law who is amazing?). I even tried to convince her to rent a house down the street. She didn't seem all that eager- probably because she knew we'd practically live at their house if they did. But it hasn't turned out as bad as I thought. We at least have clean underwear and something to eat during dinner. And the boys have been better than I thought they'd be. Taylor enjoys helping as much as a boy could be expected to help, and Erik has only tried to bite her once. Other than that he just grunts and tries to give Melanie her pacifier every now and then.

Kent's whole family came up to visit us for Thanksgiving. It was fun to have everyone here, and while everyone was together, we thought we'd get some family pictures done. A photographer in our ward took our pictures, and she did an awesome job. Thanks a ton, Blaire!The typical Saunders family photo:

Eviction confirmed!

At 0236 this morning Melanie finally decided to join her brothers in the Saunders family. We went to the hospital last night after Stephanie noticed her contractions were increasing and she was ready to get the pregnancy over with. We checked in and soon thereafter they ruputured her membranes. I then fell asleep thinking that it would be atleast a good 4hours or more until she start pushing.....but an hour later Melanie was surprisingly out. Surprising because Melanie weighed a petite (if your parents were sumo wrestlers) 8lbs 11oz, 20inches long. So much for all of those ultrasounds that were concerning for her being underweight, but I guess nightly bowls of ice cream for the past 3months played a role.




Of course if you know Stephanie the most important part was receiving her epidural as soon as she was checked in, and it worked like a gem. Once again, another painless laboring event. I don't know what the lady in the room next door was thinking going all natural as her moans pierced through the walls as if she was given birth to bigfoot himself. 9months of pregnancy is hard enough why make it any more painful.

So having a baby in the middle of the night is not the way to go. We were up all night and exhausted this morning. Taylor and Erik were both daytime/early evening babies and it was nice. Luckily Melanie is nice and quiet and likes her pacifier. Yes that's right, her pacifier, and she is breast feeding great. Take that all you nipple confusion freaks, a firm rubber pacifier versus a soft nipple....hmmm....where's the confusion, but enough talk about nipples.

Bottom line, Stephanie and Melanie are doing great. Thanks to everybody for you support. I'm sure Stephanie will make a post within the next week and give her viewpoint of the whole experience (and say how she was laboring for hours and hours). Taylor and Erik are happy to go see their sister this afternoon (well Taylor anyway).

Past Due Notice

Alas, I am still pregnant. I was going to be induced today, but not only did we change our minds, my doctor let me know that a lot of women had went into labor last night, so they might not have been able to squeeze me in anyway.

So this is the baby's first past due notice:

Dear Tenent,

This is just a reminder from your landlord that you are overdue. Please be aware that there will be a $30 per day fine for each day you are past due, beginning today. Management is aware that you will have no monetary funds upon arrival. Taking this into consideration, we have agreed to accept an easy and painless delivery as payment. We are in the process of approving hugs and kisses as well, and we will keep you informed of the status. Poopy diapers and spit-up, however, will not be acceptable forms of payment. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Please keep in mind that you have until November 10th to arrive. If you have not arrived and your account is not paid in full by the 10th, we will be forced to evict you. This is your first and final notice.

Sincerely,
Management
(Mom and Dad)

The Pumpkin Patch

Well, it took us a while, but we finally managed to make it to the pumpkin patch 3 days before Halloween. Even though it stunk like rotting pumpkin, we were able to get some cute pics of the boys in their costumes. Luckily at this age Erik doesn't care what he is for Halloween, so he gets Taylor's hand-me-downs. And yes, for those of you wondering, I am still pregnant.

WHAT?

I can't already be almost 38 weeks. I swear, just 2 weeks ago I felt like I had forever to wait. Now all of a sudden I'm threatening her to stay in or she won't have anywhere to sleep and no clothes to wear. Not that I think she'll come early. After all, I'm one of those cursed women whose babies cling for dear life to the umbilical cord and decide that it's much easier to stay inside than come out. Taylor was 2 weeks overdue and Erik was 4 days late (and I only have modern medicine to thank for Erik not being any later than that...). People started telling me over a month ago that it looks like I'll go any day now. Thanks, everyone, for those comments that remind me how pregnant I really look, as if my lower back pain and 30 trips to the bathroom didn't do the job.

So for your viewing pleasure (or comic relief, whichever you prefer), here is a pic that Kent took of me today, six-pack abs and all. I considered posting the picture that I took at the same week when I was pregnant with Taylor. And then I remembered that my belly was un-covered. And the thought almost made me cough up vomit, so I thought I'd spare everyone else. You're welcome.

Keep in mind that the camera adds about 40 pounds or so...

Busy Beaver

I've been frantically trying to get things finished before the baby comes. Last week I cleaned out and organized the entire garage (okay, so maybe I have one wall left to do...) and finally finished the crib bedding. The only problem is that Erik is still using the crib. So after I finished the bedding, I realized that I can't even use it for a while. But at least it's done.

Here's the quilt. I bought so many different fabrics to try out that I ended up just using whatever I had leftover to do it.

I've been toying with the idea of painting the crib white or dark brown. What do you think?