In an attempt to predict the gender of the wee one I've got cooking, folks often ask me how this pregnancy has been similar or different to my previous two presumably to use some old wive's tale to create an assertion. And, yes, there have been a few symptoms that have been new this time around.
1) I've had a couple things growing at an alarmingly rapid rate this time. (The girls remained their normal, reasonable size with my girls.)
2) I've had quite a hard time keeping regular (in the Jamie Lee Curtis kind of way.)
3) I've been freakishly hormonal. (If you're reading this, and you're my husband, you are not allowed to comment or to suggest that this is not a new symptom.)
4) I've had far fewer migraines than I did with pregnancies #1 and #2. (I'd like to ask every reader to immediately knock on the nearest wooden object.)
In general, though, I'm carrying the same (all belly and pretty low), have gained a similar amount of weight (though it seems to be a bit less with each pregnancy), and have had a pretty easy time overall.
One symptom. One obnoxious, irritating, nagging symptom, however, has remained consistent with all three pregnancies: INSOMNIA! Sure, it comes and goes, but my goodness, when it's bad, it's really bad.  Tonight I've decided to put the middle of the night yet wide-awake time to good use by keeping up with my resolution of more frequent blogging until this babe reveals his or herself.
Since I didn't write my regular quarterly Favorite Things/Non-Things list in June, I thought I might just share a few tidbits of some of what's been making life grand.
As for the things, I'm totally overdosing on Cheerwine and Sweet Tea (though, I can no longer stand it as sweet as it's made here; have to 'cut' mine with half unsweet) since being back in the South. I've also been enjoying this Butter Pecan Coffee Creamer in an occassional afternoon cup of coffee (if you're noticing a pattern of these things all containing caffeine and then wondering if this could be contributing to my insomnia, your observation is not lost on me.)
Since I'm pretty much living in sundresses (I do not own one piece of legitimate maternity attire), I've been loving this little number that I picked up at Nordstrom just before we moved. It's comfortable enough to wear all day and does the trick of keeping the aforementioned growing girls in their place.
We've bought several new things for the house, but my favorite so far has been this darling, pink velvet chair that we picked up at HomeGoods for Carter's room.

So girly and fun!

It coordinated perfectly with the things she already had

and added a nice feminine touch to the not so feminine wall color.

Our nuclear family unit has blossomed immensely during this season producing so many Non-Thing Things that we are truly blessed beyond measure. Murphy's lil personality is really beginning to come through. She can make me want to pull my hair out in frustration at her unbelievably stubborn nature. With moves such as refusing to say the word please for over three hours knowing full well that saying the simple word would refill her sippy and sitting stoically on the stairs and crying for (what seems like) hours rather than walking the few steps to be held as she desires, the kid is proving to have some serious resolve. 

If tantrum positions were an Olympic sport, 

she surely would win the Gold.

She can just as easily melt my heart to complete mush with her silly, loving side. She's begun to refer to herself as Mur-Mur and, when asked for her age, her answer varies from four to six. Anything that she wants she calls 'the purple one' whether or not it is purple or even has a color, and she wakes up every morning singing either the Scooby Doo theme song or Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee. She's also begun saying the word 'No' a LOT. It's funny, though, because she says it in the most sweet little voice, that it's pretty hard to take her seriously, let alone get upset with her.

Kissing herself goodnight, as she does each night.

Carter (and, therefore, I) has had some summer struggles with whining and arguing, but she, too, fills up so many little holes that I never even knew were in my heart. First and foremost, her love for Murphy and for the little dragon (her prediction) yet to be born, is amazing. She loves to lay her head on my tummy and sings sweet lullabies to the babe. She is thoughtful, considerate, and helpful with Murphy, and rarely retaliates despite Murphy's often unkind behaviors towards her. 

She was so happy that Murphy was 'giving her love'

after having been less than sweet during our Costco trip.

She's becoming a bit of a Daddy's girl and watching their relationship flourish is such a treat. They both enjoy a good tickle (the slow, gentle kind not the pee your pants kind) and bond through singing movie songs like Somewhere Out There and You've Gotta Friend in Me together. 

Pookie requested a house made from moving boxes:

and that request yielded Daddy Daughter project of epic proportions.

What I love about this picture is that it demonstrates how Carter 'gets' her Daddy's sense of humor. She used her Lambie as a tail and then asked me to take a picture and send it to Daddy stating that she knew he would love her 'Lambie Tail.'

Kids aside, Lindsay and I are loving being back in the city where it all began for us. We've enjoyed a date night or two and are having fun both rediscovering some of our favorite places, discovering some new, and introducing our girls to a city that we both hold dear. We are having a ball making our new house a home and are looking forward to adding the finishing touch (in the human form) to our little family in just ten short weeks.

The clock now reads 3:51 AM, and I'm finally feeling signs of sleep. Ahhh, how I've missed heavy eyelids! I'll now be gently lulled to sleep by the jolting movements of the babe who's frequently reminding me that s/he would much rather catch a few zzzzz's during the daylight hours. 

Roadtrip Recap

I wouldn't put the four day road trip that took our little family across seven states as being quite on par with the Griswold level of comedic adventures. However, since we're nearly four weeks removed from the journey, I can now laugh more than shudder at the memories.
As I said in my last post, moving day got interrupted when a migraine knocked me down for most of the afternoon. Since I was still pretty groggy from the medication when it was time to depart, Lindsay drove for the first few hours.

We were so anxious to get going, that it wasn't until we came to this sign 

that we realized we were really leaving. Little tear. 

Murphy Girl had not napped all day, so I was sure she would fall asleep as soon as we got going. This, did not happen. She was fairly happy, but clearly tired, for the first few hours. Finally little one dozed off just as we crossed the Kansas state line. 

Prior to our trip I'd had this vision of us stopping at every 'Welcome to...' sign and getting a pic to commemorate our trip, but as we slowly pulled off the highway to get this first shot, Murphy jolted awake.  No picture is worth waking a sleeping dog child, so this would be the only such photo we got. (Not just because of the sleeping, but also because a couple of the 'Welcome to...' signs were in odd spots, like overpasses of busy highways.) 

The hubby rounded out his share of the driving (for the entire trip, I mean) three hours into day number one when I took over for the final two hours that lead us to the luxurious accommodations of the Days Inn in Hayes, Kansas. It's been quite some time since I've stayed at a motel with outside doors, but the digs weren't half bad. Since a TripAdvisor reviewer had spoken of urine smells and bedbugs, I felt pretty darn lucky that our room for the night was clean and relatively comfy. 

After a decent night's sleep and a stop at a local convenient store for Wizard of Oz souvenirs, we were on the road by late morning Friday. The drive across Kansas was, how to say it... long? boring? flat? boring? Two things did jump out at me as I saw them over and over and over as we made our way across the state:

1. The large amount of adult stores/arcades/shops/movie viewing locations.
2. The large amount of signs for/about Jesus. A favorite: the face of Jesus drawn as stalks of wheat into a wheat field on a billboard.

I was especially intrigued by the sign about Jesus IN the parking lot of an adult shop. It read along of the lines of 'Pornography destroys; Jesus restores.'

As I mentioned, after the first few hours on day one, I drove the entire trip. Lindsay did offer to drive a few times, but he and I both know that even if we're just making a quick trip to Target, it's usually best for us if I'm behind the wheel. Once we came to this realization about a year or so ago, time spent in the car has been far more pleasant. The only snafu with being the sole driver on such a long trip, is that it is sometimes helpful to have someone to talk to along the way. For most of the trip, we were both busy talking to the kids, figuring out what they needed, and keeping them entertained. During the few (FEW) times that both girls were occupied for any longer than a few minutes, I'd find myself getting antsy and uncomfortable and want to chit-chat with my love. The problem with this, is that once the girls would settle, my hubby would, too. This man can fall asleep anytime, anywhere at a moment's notice.

This picture was taken less than ten seconds after he'd asked me a question.

(No exaggeration.)

We rolled into St. Louis at around 8:30 on Friday night. Lindsay took Carter to the pool, so that I could get Murphy settled in for the night (day number two of no nap.) While I had ideas of her laying down and quickly drifting off to dreamland, she had other ideas.

Blowing kisses and squealing with joy.

Over and over and over and over.

Like Murphy, it took all of us a bit longer to fall asleep that night. On Saturday morning, Lindsay took Murphy to enjoy the free continental breakfast while Carter and I got a little more shut-eye. Carter requested I take a picture of her with Addie before we headed downstairs.

The little figurine is Glinda the Good Witch.

Her head would be broken off within the hour.

Saturday's drive included parts of Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee. My favorite billboard of the day was one that read:

Help At Risk and Orphaned Youth: Donate a Car or Boat

Really?!? because what every orphaned child wants is a '02 Camry? Really?!? a kid living in a gang infested neighborhood will completely have his life turned around by the acquisition of a speed boat?

Lindsay was reading a book when I saw billboard, so I didn't point it out to get his take on it, but I'm certain he would have been as entertained/confused as I was. 

For the first, and only time on our trip, we stopped for a real meal at a Cracker Barrel. (I should add, I saw a child eating a McDonald's Happy Meal at the table with his family who were all eating Cracker Barrel. Really?! The chicken fingers and burgers and fries served at Cracker Barrel were just no match for the contents of that little box?) Lindsay, Carter, and I enjoyed our tasty, hot meal, but Murphy was completely out of her mind during lunch. Throwing things, attacking us, screaming, refusing a bite of food... a real joy she was. We made sure to let Carter choose a special toy from the Cracker Barrel gift shop so that she would feel rewarded for acting like a normal child rather than an untamed animal. We hadn't been on the road for five minutes before I looked in the rearview mirror and saw this...

Her only real nap of the entire trip.

This gave us some insight into her insanity during lunch, and we all took advantage of the two hour nap she took that day. Carter logged in some QT on the IPad, Lindsay made his way through a Stephen King novel, and I sang along to Monster Ballads and Bon Jovi. 

Late in the afternoon we made a stop at a travel lodge in Kentucky. G-ross. That's all.

With about an hour and a half to go before Knoxville, our stop for the night, Murphy began to have two very specific requests: 1) that I sing the ABC's to her (she'd make this little request by shrieking 'ABC! ABC!') and 2) that I keep my hand on her toes. (she'd make this delightful little request by saying 'tickle! tootsies!' over and over and over.) The singing, I could handle, and she didn't mind if occasionally Daddy or Big Sis took over for a round or two of the alphabet song. The toe request was Mommy-specific and allowed for no substitutions. So, with one hand on the wheel, I kept my other hand stretched to the backseat for gentle toe-rubbing on and off (mostly on) for over an hour. It was kind of funny when Lindsay would try to take over the job. Murphy would immediately began wailing, 'All done! All done!' 

We rolled into the LaQuinta in Knoxville at around 10:00 PM. We'd learned via a phone call about thirty minutes prior to our arrival that the hotel had no cribs available. We feared the worst as Murphy had never slept in a bed and certainly not in a bed in the same room as three other people. I'd say our fears did, indeed, come to fruition.

Murphy and Daddy each on their own IPads at around 11:30 PM.

Sleep would not come, to anyone, until after 1:00 AM.

The night involved several switch offs between what grown up was sleeping in bed with what child. Murphy was ready to start the day by 8:30 AM, (Eastern time, mind you. Remember, we started this trip on Mountain time.) so she and I headed out for a little breakfast in the lobby. 

I was disgusted by a conversation I overheard in which a mother was telling her two teenage children that 'If your Daddy'd been in that theater, none of them people'd be dead. He'd a stopped that crazy man.' (The horrible shooting rampage in Aurora, Colorado, occurred on the night we left the state.) While I understood her desire to want her children to see their father as a superhero, I was sickened that she could insinuate that that theater wasn't full of heroes.  

Though we covered the fewest number of miles on Sunday, it felt like the longest day. Carter said, 'How much longer?!' more than a few times, and I was closely watching the odometer slowly turn. I think we were all just antsy to get where we were going, and despite the gorgeous Tennessee and Asheville views, we were dying to see that Charlotte skyline! It was around 3:00 PM when we finally reached our destination. 

When we walked onto our front porch for the first time, 

we looked down to see this

An adorable Welcome Home banner from 

Lindsay's cousins who live just a couple miles away.

We immediately felt so loved!

We took a second to pose for a quick family pic

before walking in our front door for the first time

Our realtor had seen the house, and we'd seen pictures online, but this was the first time we'd actually seen it in person. The girls went crazy running around in the huge, empty house. Carter was excited beyond belief when she discovered that the room that would be their playroom was already painted her favorite color, orange. We took a tour of the house, chose bedrooms, and marveled and how much space we were going to have. When we walked into the master bedroom, I realized for the first time, the toll the four day road trip had taken on my 6 months pregnant body.

I collapsed to the floor with my girls.

Our relaxation and excitement was cut short when we took a look and the time and realized Lindsay had a flight to catch! That's right: just three hours after we completed a cross-country road trip, he boarded a flight to head to Oklahoma for work. The girls and I (and Addie!) hopped back in the car for the nearly two hour drive to Nanny and Pa's where we'd stay until the call came letting us know that the movers had arrived.

I consider this trip to be a pivotal event in the life of our little family... 

4 days. 1500 miles. 2.6 kids. 1 doggie. 2 sometimes grumpy grown-ups.

And we survived!

(For my part, I consider my greatest accomplishment of the four days the fact that, besides a McDonald's ice cream cone on day four, my children did not consume any fast food* on the entire trip. *I did not say no candy or cookies or other treats. I said no fast food.* Proud, nonetheless.) 

(My least proud moment may or may not involve the personal use of an itty bitty pop up potty on the side of of an interstate exit in some non-descript town in Kansas.) 

Movin' On

This is August? Really?!?!? That can't possibly be right! We are over half of the way through 2012; I'm two-thirds of the way through pregnancy number three; Murphy Girl is two months away from turning two; and it's been over a month since my last entry? 2012 has been a whirlwind to say the least. So, despite the fact that I have attempted several incomplete blog drafts over the past six weeks, I'm just going to scratch them all and create a summary of life with the Lewellens in these Salad Days.
Back in the spring, we began toying with the idea of moving our family to Charlotte, North Carolina: the city where my husband and I met and began the little romance that would blossom into a family and a life. Once the idea-toying became a full fledged this-is-really-gonna-happen planning, life got a little nutty. Between swim lessons and gymnastics classes and wrapping up the school year and growing a baby and just keeping up with life, I went into overdrive finding a school for the girls and an OB for me (the idea of having a third c-section with an unfamiliar doctor still scares me!) And then, came the itty bitty project of finding a home in which we could become settled in time for the girls to start school in the fall and so all of us to get somewhat comfy before the baby arrives.
After months of online searching and a weekend visit to Charlotte for a jam-packed weekend of house searching with our realtor did not yield a house that we loved, we began to consider renting for a year or so. At first the idea of renting (which we'd just done for five years in Denver), was not at all appealing to either Lindsay or me. After some evaluating, though, we decided it was actually a great idea and would relieve us from the pressure of making such a big purchase on a limited time period. In mid-June, we found the perfect rental house, and what I'd thought had been a crazy month of planning turned out to be easy compared to the month that would proceed the big move. We began pricing and arranging movers, making plans for the doggies,  and working through the logistics of the actual move. Spreadsheets were created, phone calls for connects and disconnects were made, and boxes were packed. And packed. And packed. Our move date was set for July 19, and this little idea began to feel very, very real.
On the weekend prior to our move, our dear friends, Nick and Wendy, hosted the most wonderful going away party for us. The party was a perfect break from all the packing and planning, and we were grateful that they created a place where we could say goodbye to those who'd helped to make our life complete during our years in Denver.

Nick and Wendy have such a talent for hosting;

the spread was a treat for the eyes and the taste buds!

No detail was overlooked... 

including Southern Sweet Tea.

The menu of the homemade salsas and sauces

that accompanied Lindsay's taco bar.

And, in my honor, a candy buffet 

with all of my favorite sweets.

(custom artwork by Nick)

Their backyard provided 

the perfect setting for a perfect evening.

I regret that we didn't get any pictures of all the people who made the farewell gathering so special, but needless to say, it was an evening that we'll cherish and fondly reminisce upon when thinking of our final Denver days. 

The four days following the party were full of final play dates, enjoying a few of our favorite Denver spots a final time, and generally staying out of the already packed house.  

On Monday, Murphy went to a playdate with her BFF, Edie, 

and Carter and I had a special big girls' morning at the pool.

Later that afternoon, we had a final playdate with Nick and Wendy's boys. 

This brought the first of many tears shed with each 'goodbye' over the next few days. 

Tuesday involved a playdate for Carter with Marin (Edie's big sis), a final Denver OB appointment (24 weeks) for me (yes, I cried there, too... I LOVED my doctor!) and one last trip to the pool which had been a staple of our Denver summer activities.

Wednesday began with a breakfast date with Ms. Amy and Nora who was Carter's first ever girlfriend. Lindsay and I knew from the moment we spotted sweet doe-eyed Nora Belle in the nursery at church that she and our Pookie were destined to be buds. I didn't get a picture of the event (and we missed Char Char!) but fun was had and tears, again, filled my eyes as the date ended. That afternoon, Tessa, who was our sitter for year following Murphy's birth, drove up from Colorado Springs for a final visit. 

I'll always remember Tessa's love for the girls

 and her determination (and eventual success) at getting my Murphy to take a bottle. 

Bright and early on the Thursday morning, the moving truck pulled up and the four movers came busting in like gangbusters. Fortunately I'd arranged for our sitter to keep the girls occupied elsewhere for the day, so Lindsay and I were able to finish up last minute packing as the fellas got us loaded up. The day was not stress free, but it did go fairly smoothly. (For the sake of honesty, I must interject that at around 1:30 PM, I got hit with a migraine that forced me to retreat to the darkness of an empty closet until the medicine could kick in. This, I would consider, a slight moving day glitch.) Just as the last items were being loaded into the truck, Aunt Kiki popped by for the send off. 

Just after 4:00 PM, we loaded up the car,

waved goodbye to 2670 South Pennsylvania Street,

and began the 1500 mile journey that would lead us home. 

It looks like my attempt at creating a 'summary of life' only leads us to our newest beginning. Please do try to contain your excitement as my next blog entry will provide what is sure to be an entertaining highlight reel of the Lewellen Family cross country road trip adventure! 

PS...AND, I'm only putting this in print in my own attempt at some accountability, but I'm setting a goal to write at least one blog every week ten days until the bambino arrives. Let's just say, I've been a touch hormonal lately, and I think the writing will help maintain my sanity (and that of my husband who has felt the wrath of actually using the word 'crazy' to describe his pregnant wife.)