Happy Mother's Day!

Even though the last 4 Mother's Days were happy ones for me (starting in 2008 when I was pregnant with Nadia), I still felt a mixture of emotions about the holiday. This is the first time that I can honestly say I don't feel *any* sadness as I reflect on the holiday. I'm not sure if it's because enough time has passed to heal the wounds, or if it's because I'm expecting my third child, but it is nice to not have any negative feelings regarding the day.

Every time I think of the holiday I do say a prayer for those women for whom this is a really hard day. I believe I'll always feel a sensitivity towards single women who long to be married and have kids as well as married women who are struggling with infertility. Paul has never made a big deal about the holiday. That should be translated - I usually don't get any gifts or cards from him or the kids for Mother's Day. This year I asked for two things - a name for our son and cards made by the kids. I suggested he have the kids make the cards while he was watching them when I was at school one night this past week (Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday). He remembered that request yesterday morning, and there wasn't time. I should have asked for something he could buy (like flowers) because he didn't have time to come up with a name. He's been pulling all nighters in his office (leaving for PSU at 10pm) quite a bit over the past week due to his upcoming presentation in Philadelphia. A name would mean more to me than flowers, but the name wasn't possible. Next year I'll ask for something he can buy me at a store. He hasn't bought me any flowers since August 2004, so that would be a very rare treat. However, even though I only got one card (from my in-laws), it's a VERY happy Mother's Day in my opinion. It's a very happy one because I have two precious kids to hold in my arms, another kicking inside me, and one in a frozen state at the hospital. Amazing.

One smaller reason it's a happy weekend for me is yesterday the scale showed a number 2 pounds lighter than it did last Monday. That also put a smile on my face! This means at 19 1/2 weeks I've gained only 8 pounds, and I haven't gained any since we left Hershey 2 weeks ago.

Yesterday we went to Knoebels. The weather was gorgeous (high of 82 degrees with very little humidity and a nice breeze). I did swell up a bit when standing in the sun (due to being pregnant), but if I stayed in the shade (and there are many trees there), it felt heavenly outside. The only downside to the day was that it was VERY crowded. All of us remarked we had never seen the park so crowded before. We typically don't go on a Saturday, and we'll stick with that plan. We went today because it was free for those who are members of the PBS station (we got 6 free handstamps). The kids had a blast, and being at an amusement park with my kids is one of my MOST favorite things. This made it a perfect way to celebrate Mother's Day.

Ian's favorite ride was the whip (as you can see from the pictures I posted yesterday). Normally he doesn't smile on rides, even though he is enjoying them immensely (you can't tell by his facial expressions during the ride but rather his objections to getting off it at the end). He definitely was smiling and laughing on the whip though!!! Nadia's favorite ride was the kiddie rollercoaster. She's a little bit better at the bumper cars this year, but she still has a LONG way to go with her driving skills. She mostly makes her car spin in circles.

We spent about 5 1/2 hours at the park. That was definitely all I could handle. I definitely have to take it easy to keep this little guy inside me as long as possible. I think it will be a sheer miracle if I make it to 35 weeks. After we left we had dinner with Grandma and PopPop at a pizza place just a few minutes from the park. Last year Paul had to go get some milk from the McDonald's near this pizza place because the restaurant doesn't sell milk (and that's all she would drink). This year she was fine with a glass of fruit punch. Ian got to have a sippy cup for the first time in 6 weeks. I was shocked that he rejected it at first! I couldn't figure out how to serve him milk by a shot glass at Knoebels. Thankfully after going without anything to drink for several hours he finally agreed to drink from the sippy cup. I also fed him a coconut milk yogurt and a bunch of cookies at the park. We fed him two meals at home before we left for the park.

Today we went to church and then met Paul's family at a restaurant for a buffet meal. Nadia and Ian met Paul's Aunt Diane and Uncle Jim for the first time. They live in Florida. After lunch we spent some time at Paul's parents' house before heading home. We brought one packed suitcase to their house for our trip to Grand Cayman because the Prius doesn't have much storage in the trunk. We'll be meeting them at the Newark airport on Saturday morning! Yipee!!!

On our way to Knoebels we stopped at a consignment shop that I hadn't been to before. It's risky to have a very particular thing in mind when shopping at a yard sale or consignment shop, but I found BOTH things I was looking for (a pair of size 6 1/2 sandals for Ian and a pair of size 9 water shoes for Nadia). The two pairs of shoes cost me $5.90 total, which is much better than if I went to Target or Walmart or Payless. I had bought size 7 sandals for Ian, but they've been falling off his feet. I have a pair of size 6 water shoes for Ian (used to be Nadia's), but I didn't have any for Nadia for our upcoming beach trip. I think those are the only purchases I needed to make for our trip (since I did buy some maternity shorts and bathing suits for myself already). The kids are already looking forward to our next trip to Knoebels (I'm taking them on Wednesday for a couple of hours as we can get free handstamps through Early Intervention). I'm going to use my kit lens that day. I think that lens will work out better for Knoebels than the fixed lens did yesterday, albeit in general I prefer that 50mm lens. I've been delinquent lately with taking pictures, but I made up for that this weekend! I took too many to share in these two posts. I have more to share in the next few days!