#1 Officially Breaks My Heart

He now consistently calls me "Mom" instead of "Mommy" or "Momma." I guess it is better than "hey you" ... or "woman." Add this to the small list of things I don't like that he's learned at school.

Take Me to Vegas

And you'll be a loser. #3 is a girl!

My friend asked me a few weeks ago what I would do if I found out the baby was a girl. My response was, "go buy a dress - for sure!" Yesterday after my sonogram I walked around in a fog. Then I started to worry about how many boys would break my daughter's heart ... when is the exact age that she will start hating me [although I never hated my mom, so I don't know why we do that to ourselves] ... all of these ridiculous things that I do not need to think about now. Mr Right approached it a bit better than me. After his initial "oh boy ..." and "I'm picking up a shotgun on the way home." He poured himself a glass of wine and said, "here's to being drunk for the next 18 years!"

So I haven't bought a dress yet, but I am going to tea with my girlfriends today!

Place Your Bets

The common reaction to my growing gut is, "Congratulations! You're going for the girl!" It has been funny how often some variation of that comes out of someones mouth. I smile and tell them I'm sure it's a boy, then we talk about how fun boys are ...

Two things have been sticking with me this week. The first is that I recently heard a story of a friend of a friend who is pregnant with her second child (her first is a girl) and she recently found out she was having a boy. She went home and cried because she didn't know what to do with a boy. When I thought about it I got really sad for her. Yes, having a boy or boys is different than having girls (so I'm told). But as I'm sure she will come to learn on her own, boys are SUPER fun! There aren't tea parties or many quiet, still moments. But there are explorations and stomping in anything wet with or without rain boots -- full speed ahead trying of just about anything new -- little hands forcefully tugging you out of the house as soon as the sun is up. Sure, I'd like a tea party every now and then ... so I go to tea with my girlfriends. And when our kids are older, there will be Auntie M days when I kidnap the daughters that are sick of their own mothers (and vise-versa) and we'll do super-duper girlie stuff. But I wouldn't trade what I have for a second. It made me sad that this friend of a friend felt like her life would be somewhat less to have a boy. Which leads me to my second thought ...

Many late nights with my roommate in college we did what girls do -- plan out our lives. Funny how not much has actually happened as we said it would ... but she does live down the street and we do BBQ often! Anyway, she would tell me that she wanted five boys ... "A Suburban full of hockey players" is how she saw her future. I had no idea what I wanted, but she was so convinced and convincing, it was hard to understand why one would choose to have anything different if the choice was ours to make. Not a chance in hell there will be five ... but now that I've got 2 on the front line, I get it. There's also some magic about watching brothers, be brothers. There have been some pure and awesome moments between the boys lately that we haven't seen before ... and they rock my world in the very best way.

So, if #3 cooperates, we will find out today if we're destined for 5AM ice time ... or if there will be another high-pitched squeaky voice among us. Place your bets now. My bet is with the Suburban.

Leaping Forward

Life has been overwhelming - in good ways - but also in ways that have left me without energy, revisiting the contents of my partially digested daily food intake and wondering if it is worth the 30 minutes of dry heaving to brush my teeth (sorry, Dad). I've been a mixed bag of emotions while bonding with the reality that #3 is on the way. Yes, you read that correctly ... SUPER excited, but also very aware of how exhausting it is to grow a baby while running after 2 boys ... which means very aware of how exhausting it is to run after 3 boys. No, we don't know for sure that it is another boy, at least not yet, but that is where I am placing my bet. We wouldn't have done this without being 100% ready, willing and thrilled to add more testosterone to this house. Fasten your seat belts! Mine is fastened. I've also ordered a chest strap to go over the shoulders and meet the lap belt in the middle so I'm safely harnessed for a most wild, and awesome ride.

#1 found an ultrasound picture in my desk drawer ...

"Mommy, what is that picture that looks a little like a baby and a lot weird?"

"Well, it is a baby. It is just a baby that hasn't finished growing yet."

"Whose baby is it?"

"It's your baby, and #2's baby, and Daddy's baby and my baby."

"YOU have a baby in your belly?"

"Yep."

(with an ear to ear smile that totally surprised me) "That's awesome!"

He then rushed over to #2 to tell him the news. 2's response was more of what I expected ..."oh." I'm sure he'll have much more to say when he figures out his world has been rocked. He is very used to all Mommy access, all the time.

Since vacation-fest ended and while not barfing, we've been enjoying the tail end of winter and the beginning of spring. There have been lots of bike rides and time spent in the park. And lots of time in our very own backyard. I LOVE having some green space right outside. I realize this sounds silly since most people have a yard, but life is not so in the city. So whenever I get frustrated with things that are still a bit unsettled post move, I look outside at the boys - up to their armpits in mud or an equally messy adventure - and remind myself it was worth it. I'm pretty sure the boys think it was worth it too.

#1 has been more of a dream then a devil. He's mostly helpful and seems to have found the good side of being a big brother. He will still use most opportunities to have the upper hand over his brother, but he's decided #2 is a good playmate and they have fun together. This past weekend we had yummy warm weather and let the boys run through the hose. #1 convinced #2 that they should play the "spray game." As soon as #2 agreed he found himself soaked from head to toe. After the screaming there was some refereeing and a change of control of the hose handler. #2 did his best to return the favor but it wasn't quite as wet or violent. Poor #3 is going to get pummeled by both of them.

#2 will turn three years old in a few weeks and has already moved into the terrible threes perfectly! His favorites ... "No!" "I don't want/like that!" "I will not!" and if you missed it the first time ... "NO!!" followed by a big, giant, temper tantrum. The tantrums are so good right now that I have to turn my back to stop myself from giggling. I know it isn't funny to him, but oh, the drama. Sometimes I just can't help myself. It also doesn't help when #1 says, "I think we've got a case of the Wa-Was." or "I don't want to hear any of that crying anymore." [Oh, Ry ... you have no idea. You are an academy award winning Actor yourself.] #2 is growing into three years in lots of positive ways too. He's talking up a storm, sometimes so many words that he stutters for awhile then feels the need to scream out the rest of his sentence. He's also showing lots of independence in doing things "BY MYSELF, MOMMY!" I will be thrilled when independence includes the potty. #2 cannot be bribed and is more stubborn than me, if that is possible.

Life without my other job over the last few months has been very welcome. Disney, Snowmageddon and Costa Rica were super fun and wouldn't have happened as easily or at all with work on my plate too. I also wouldn't have been able to puke in private, which is important when you are puking. But, I am missing it a little, too. Doing a bang up job at home doesn't give quite the rush that big accomplishments at work do ... but then there is real life to remind me that this is all good right now. In the rush to get dinner, toys, the day cleaned up before baths I feel two arms around my leg and this little voice working very hard ... "I. LOVE. YOU. SO. MUCH." I've got all the time in the world for that.