Just hopping on to say that I am still here, I come every day and check up on all of you. But I dare not post because I have vowed to not become one of THOSE people, you know the ones I mean. The ones who obsess over the end of their pregnancies and who whine and complain endlessly about how miserable they feel and how it will never end, blah blah, blah. So I choose to write nothing just in case my fingers get the best of me and it all comes spilling out!

By far, the best part of my week has been this:


This is my gorgeous new nephew, Benjamin Clancy Hoekstra. He was born on Tuesday, March 16 at 4:27 AM. He was 6 lbs. 15 oz. and is just darling. My sister is well and healing and loving being a new mommy. We are on the webcam as often as possible as he is in California and we won't get to see him in person till August. New life is so amazing and precious!!!

So I promise not to get into the habit of re-posting things I find, but this one made me laugh so hard today....and it's not even that funny! I'm just that hormonally unbalanced!!!





-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

-There is a great need for a sarcasm font.

-I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?

-MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

-Bad decisions make good stories

-I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

-Nothing stinks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

-How the HECK are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

-Was learning cursive really necessary?

-LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

-I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

-Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

-Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

-How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

-I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent one jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

-Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies?"

-While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least KIND of tired.

-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible...

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

-"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Darnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

-I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

-As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still do not know what time it is.

-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their glasses when they are safely on their head and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey, but I'd bet anything everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time.

-I wonder if cops ever get irritated at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay!

I was just re-reading my post from earlier this week. Oddly enough, I could have posted the EXACT same post for yesterday! Only yesterday I realized that it was time to do something drastic in my newly 6 year old daughter's life so that she would come to realize that her attitude and behavior HAD to change. So, as I pushed her out the door for school, crying and screaming, and as I watched the bus pull away from the driveway and my own hot tears started to spill, I knew what I had to do. I called Matt to get support in my decision which he readily gave. And then I waited. I waited for her to get home so I could inform her about her very near future.


See, as she was planning her 6th birthday weekend, she very much wanted a friend party. The thought of cleaning and cooking and enduring 6-7 six year old girls seemed completely overwhelming to me. So I suggested an alternative. I offered her the chance to have 1 friend come and spend the night and then the following day, we would all go to Chuck E Cheese. I despise that place, but it seems to make my children SO happy! She jumped at the chance and the friend was chosen, invited and had accepted. As I sat crying Friday morning, I knew that she must lose said sleepover and subsequent Chuck E Cheese adventure. I also knew that she would NOT handle the loss well, but there didn't seem to be a choice. She really needed something radical to show her that her actions and choices about behavior have consequences. I called the friend's mom and she was most understanding. Then I waited. I heard the bus pull up, thankfully Matt was already home and ready to back me up. She came in and was all excited about when we were leaving to pick up her friend. I took a deep breath, sat her down, and told her. The cries and yells began in earnest and kept up for quite some time. I had expected this so I wasn't too undone. She fell asleep early, exhausted from the crying and when she woke up this morning, she was fine. I reminded her this morning that we wouldn't be going to Chuck E Cheese and she hung her head and told me she knew and she knew why. So maybe, just maybe, we're turning a corner.

Plus the sun is shining and it's 45 degrees out....who can be sad or down on a day like that?!?!?!?

OK, I'm sitting here crying so I will blow my nose and start with the positive....

- the end of this pregnancy is near. Not near enough, but near. I am fairy miserable, finding it near impossible to complete even the simplest of tasks, not sleeping, and struggling between my constant craving of sugar and my blood sugar levels! I said to Matt last night, "I hate being pregnant, at the end!" He lowered his book and said, "Honey, then why have you done it six times???" Touche`.

Oh wait, this was supposed to be the positive stuff....

I have an ultrasound on Tuesday to take a peek and see how big our little man is. I haven't had one since our 18 week one so I am anxious to see him again! He's very active and the kids think it is hilarious to watch my belly shift and roll as he tries to take over yet another square inch of my abdomen :) My beautiful friends have decided to throw me a "Sixth baby party", I refused to let them call it a shower as it seems a bit silly to throw a shower for a SIXTH baby! But the thought was so sweet and I am looking forward to celebrating Liam with them on Sunday. And eat cake, of course!

Spring is near. I can feel it. This is the third morning in a row that I have awoken to sunshine. It's coming just in time!

So why am I crying? Well that would be my youngest daughter, Sydney. Tomorrow is her birthday, the big 6. There were times, honestly, that I wasn't sure she'd make it to 6. And lately, that feeling has been even stronger. We've slammed into quite a season with her of backtalk and disobedience and drama and it has been so tough. I'm not sure if it's because I am pregnant or what, but for some reason, she pushes a button in me and it undoes me. I tend to be somewhat patient with our children, but where Sydney is concerned, I lose it. I have zero tolerance for backtalk. well for all of it really, but I just snap. She makes me want to lash our irrationally. I know this is just a season, but boy, am I ready for the season to change!!! So as I pushed her out the back door screaming this morning, I sat down and just cried. I know there is a lesson here....just trying to find it :)

Ah, well I feel better now.....blogging can be so therapeutic and I really couldn't fit all this onto my Facebook status :) I'll leave you with a picture of what I found outside my bedroom door the other morning. Thomas is excited about Liam!