A Proposal Anniversary

10 Years ago on 4/17, the hubs proposed to me at Oatlands Plantation.

He tried to throw me off his tracks by having me pay for both of us to get in that day.
We didn't get a house tour that day. Just a garden tour.
He was nervous.
He kept tapping his pocket which made me start to think something might be up that day.
We kept trying to find somewhere to sit but he kept changing his mind.
Finally, he proposed to me at the sundial. There wasn't anyone else around and that's how he wanted it.
Isn't it funny now...in this day when people have video and professional photography done of their proposal.
We did take a couple of pics after he proposed which are printed out and put in an album in a box in our basement. I guess I could try to find it and dig it out...it would be special. Now just to find the time.

So, in a little bit of a celebration of it being ten years, we took our children to Oatlands this past Saturday. We had not been back in the past 10 years. Granted we now live closer to it...only about 15 minutes away...but life had happened and we had never returned.

It was a pretty day and our children enjoyed the grounds of it even before we got to the gardens.
We started a guided house tour but our children quickly bored of that and we took them on our own tour of it. No pics were allowed inside the house.

Here's an attempt at getting a pic in front the house...Rosie thought that might be a good time to pick her nose...

 Another attempt-

10 years ago, E and I sat here right after he proposed to try to figure out how to get my ring on because it had been sized wrong. I remember trying to fit it on so badly that I cut my ring finger and finally wore it on my pinky-

 A pic in front of the sundial where he proposed-

It was nostalgic and so sweet to visit here again with our children. To talk about what we were thinking about 10 years ago when he proposed and our lives flashed before our eyes.
We agreed that we probably weren't thinking that in a decade we would have three children with a fourth on the way but we knew we wanted a family and we knew we wanted to be together on this journey. That we were better together than apart.
I love you, E.

34 Weeks

Sunday, 4/27, 34 Weeks

6 weeks (or more) to go!

If this is like my first, I've got 4 weeks, 5 days left.

If this is like my second, then I've only got 2 weeks left. 

And if this is like my third, the wild card, then I've got 6 weeks and 5 days left. 

Or this fourth could stay in even longer.

Let's pray that with the RLS (that's currently preventing sleep thus why I'm

Blogging at midnight) and other super uncomfortable pregnancy woes I've experienced this past week which I will not name, that I will have this baby by my due date. Or at the very least, these discomforts take a break. 

Take Your Daughters/Sons to Work Day

Yesterday Miss A went to work E for Take Your Daughters/Sons to Work Day.
She had such a fun time. E did too.
That morning, FJ and Rosie cried at the door that they wanted to go to...

E took lots of pics of their day-

 She wanted a pic sitting at Daddy's desk-

 The kids got to create their own cars-

She was on a team with mostly older kids and it seems like they won lots of the races so she was pumped-

Losing My Balance

Yesterday evening...

I tripped

While we were at a restaurant.

We were there with our kids 

For a fundraiser for the March of Dimes.

We were sitting at a booth

That had a step

That I had forgotten about.

While carrying a soda in each hand, 

I tripped over the step

And fell into our table. 

My belly took the brunt of the fall 

With my hand slamming the drinks on the table. 

It hurt.

I was embarrassed as a waiter and who knows who else looked on. 

Right after, I had several Braxton Hicks contractions but baby boy was moving so I wasn't too worried. 

I figured I would ask one of the nurses (that I knew who were at the fundraiser) what I should look out for in case of any issues.

But as pregnancy brain goes, I forgot. 

So we went home, hurriedly got Miss A a shower and all of them in bed bc by the time we got home it was 8:00.

I then got into pj's and had time to call the midwife on call. 

To my surprise, she said I needed to go to the hospital to check the baby's heart rate and to check for placental Abruption.
And if I didn't want to do that then I should diligently watch the baby's movements at home for the next 4 hours.

I had just seen a Call the Midwife episode of a placental Abruption so I was a little nervous when she said that. Darn TV.

At 9:00 last night, I was driving to the hospital. 

Midwife, Heather, was on call and had hung around after a delivery to wait on me. 

I was hooked up to a heart rate and some other monitor for about an hour. She ordered an ultrasound but that took an hour to get to me bc of two other emergencies.

Baby boy's heart rate was great and the ultrasound showed no problems. 

After another wait to be discharged, I was on my way home around midnight.

To say I was sleepy driving home and today is an understatement. 

So thankful I got a light nap in today so I can make it through the evening.

I took a few pics of my late night outting:

And my bracelet still on this morning bc I was too exhausted to take it off last night 

At the end of the night, I was super tired but so grateful that everything was okay.

Pesach, Resurrection Sunday and Such

We started our Passover celebration early by hosting a playdate here a week before with books on a craft about Pesach (Passover).
They colored plague finger puppets and we read two books:

The night that Passover began, we had a Seder at my father in law's house. I must say it was a HUGE blessing to me to not host this year. We literally only had to show up. I just did not have the energy this year to prepare a Seder plate and prepare or even order food. I have a big thanks to Cliff and Torri for that!

 Aunt K-

A little dancing fun-

 Great-Grandpa-

 Flat Stanley came along for a class project:

 They found the afikomen and won a $1 for their prize! FJ's face is hilarious.

On Saturday, our neighborhood had an Easter egg hunt. The kids were split up by ages so I had to go with Rosie while FJ and Miss A went hunting with friends on the other side of the park.

Our Easter was a blessed day as well.
We began the morning with a special breakfast of blueberry muffins and Easter baskets.

Miss A was singing at church with her class so we had to be there an hour early so they could all practice.
Their singing was fantastic and there were two boys who were quite the hams and were cracking us up.
Miss A could be heard saying into the microphone: "I love you Mama! I love you Papa!" and "Take video! Take pictures!"
You can see her on the second row with the pink top/green bottom dress with a bright sash. And she's the one with her hands around her mouth and pointing.

 We had Easter lunch here with Gramma. Turkey, gravy, rolls, potato salad, watermelon, cake. Delish.

 We sat the kiddos down with food first-

 Then I put Rosie down for a nap and hid some eggs for the "big kids" in our yard-

 Lastly, we dyed eggs-

 

 Our Resurrection Sunday was great but as always, I am thinking of my family back home on holidays. Missing them. If you are my family back home, know that I think of you on each holiday and miss you. I think of all the holidays as a child that I was surrounded by lots and lots of cousins, aunts, uncles, great-aunts, great uncles, grandmothers, grandfathers and one great grandmother. It was such a blessed childhood and I am so thankful it's part of my story.