Pink or Blue?...

It's official. Finally. After 28 weeks of waiting, ummming and ahhhing about whether or not we will find out the sex of baby number four, we have an answer. However, it was an answer that didn't come easily.

Just before our first scan at 13 weeks, my sister-in-law suggested, that if we wanted to know the sex of the baby, it was likely we could find out. Even at this early stage. After all, her sister had asked at this stage and the end result, was a match to her sister's twins. Hmmm. Well it would be nice to be organised. After a girl and then two boys, we probably needed to know. Especially if we are having a second princess.

So at the scan and ensuring there was only one fetus...., Mark asked the question. Weeellll, the sonographer went with, "Do you want to have a guess?"

"It's a boy!" Mark and I said, pretty much straight away.

"Well, I would have to disagree," said the sonographer.

"It's a girl?"

"Yep. I'm about 80% sure. But don't hold me to that," she said, announcing the standard disclaimer.

"How can you tell," I asked. After all, at 13 weeks, the sonogram really only depicts jellybean like blobs, right? (Sorry baby!)

"Do you see how straight the pubic bone is? That generally means girl."

Wow! A girl! Mark and I were really excited. But cautious at the same time. Our daughter is desperate for a sister. So desperate she broke down and cried when she knew the sex for Liam and Ethan. One phrase in particular comes to mind... "But Muuuuuummmmm, boys are so much trouble!" So much heartache for a three, then six year-old to carry with her. So we decided to wait for our next scan at 21 weeks, before telling anyone.

Mark was bursting at the seams. He really wanted to tell someone we were having another little girl. He especially wanted to tell Tahlia. But he was good and held off.

Eight weeks later, and having visions of "little girl" bouncing around in our heads, we walked into the sonographer's office.

"Do you want to know the sex of your baby?" she asked.

"Well, we think we know. You said last time that you were 80% sure it was a little girl." That's a pretty high number, right?

"Oh. Okay. Well you are in the 20% region where I get it wrong."

Sorry. Did I hear that right.

"You are having a boy."

Well I was dumbstruck. After all that time, with my head in a certain mindset about having a girl, I think I was a little shocked. We were going for blue after all.

The next week we were back at our obstetrician rooms, and Mark casually remarked about the shock we had at the scan.

"What? Did the baby change sex on you?" laughed the doctor, jokingly of course."

Mark and I looked at each other.

"Well actually, yes it did." That stopped him laughing.

"Okay," he said more somberly. "They usually get it right the first time."

WHAT! Don't do this to me. I was so shocked at the second scan I didn't ask to see proof of the baby being a boy, and the sonographer didn't offer. So we were back at the beginning. Is the baby a boy or girl?

"I'll do another scan in six weeks," said our doctor. Great. Just what I need. Another long wait to find out if we are having a blue or pink baby. Why did we want to know again?

So, finally, yesterday was the day. I think I was getting to the stage where I was preparing for a surprise. We don't mind either way, of course. One girl and three boys would be lovely. As would two and two.

And drumroll please.............. After 28 weeks of waiting, ummming and ahhhing about whether or not we would find out the sex of baby number four, the answer is....

A little BOY! And we can't wait for him to join us in our little family.

Sporty week..

What a busy way to start back at school for Term Two... Tahlia and Liam both ran in their cross-country races last week and hockey is back in full swing. And of course me, having a severe case of "baby brain"... (you know what I mean - very disturbed sleep and all the brain cells I have left, being sucked right out!!!) ...forgot to take the camera! I know! Me. Who normally has the camera attached to the hip in case something remotely interesting, may (or may not) happen, but you take it anyway... So I have a photo of Miss T running her race...

But unfortunately not Liam. They ran on different days. This will happen a lot now that Tahlia has moved up into the middle school. Two lots of sports days, swimming carnivals and the such... Can you tell from the above pic that she was very reluctant to even go to school on this day? Or that she soooo badly wanted to get out of the cross-country because it meant running 1500kms! (heee - she meant 1.5kms!) She told me afterwards that she was going to even paint her face with suspicious red dots to even prevent going to school! I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have worked out for the enterprising student wanting to dodge some exercise!!!

Of course, me, being the tough, no-nonsense, type mother(!) wasn't letting her get away with staying at home, just because she had a sporting activity happening at school. And besides, I told her she was better off just running and getting it over with! :)

And just look at that face. If she could blow me a kiss in the middle of a 1500km run, things couldn't be THAT bad!

Create...

It feels like it has been ages since I've been motivated to scrap! And in some respects it has been... But the mojo has crept back (slowly) and I'm very glad for that. Here's are a few, "little something's" that I have scrapped in the last few days...

I love these photos of Ethan purely enjoying nothing better than being able to create, and who among us cannot relate to that? Sometimes it is the simplest of things, like squeezing paint onto a blank piece of computer paper, that can get the juices flowing! And I actually like the touches of pink on this boyish page...

Journaling on this page tells of Tahlia's nerves about performing in her 2nd ballet recital but how very much she was looking forward to it at the same time... Just like a natural, she channelled that nervous energy into something really special on stage. I know I am bias, but Tahlia really did perform beautifully in front of a full house!

The Waitin' Game... is something that I have wanted to document for a long time. It's about the amount of time Ethan and I spent waiting at the school to pick the kids up, at 3 o'clock. Due to the appalling parking issues at our local school, we have to leave home at 2 o'clock just to get a safe (and legal) car park!!!! (We only live 5-7 minutes away, as the crow flies - not an easy walk unfortunately!) But what I wanted to record was the type of games and activities we do in the car while we wait.

Finally I have a decent photo of Liam without him looking cheesy in front of the camera! He was very willing to pose for me on this day...which I am quite grateful for! Some days none of the kids are willing to be my guinea pigs and I really don't understand why they would be like that!!! LOL!

This is a layout I'm not sure if I have shared before. I rarely scrap photos with me in them... but I am trying to do more. The story isn't complete I guess, if you don't feature in the pages yourself...

Thanks for looking...

Easter goodness...

Just thought I'd share some images of our Easter weekend. We had a lovely time spent, in and out of the rain, with family. Of course the kids were looking forward to a visit from the Easter Bunny too! But mostly they were glad to have time with the people they love and remember why we celebrate this occasion...

We started the long weekend by going to a favourite spot of ours... Bribie Island. We live only 20mins away, but sometimes it feels like a million miles away, because why do people visit places in their own backyard?!

I took the kids down to the water's edge just to have a look. That's right, I said..."Just to have a LOOOOOOOK!" Things never turn out as you plan do they! Because as I was ambling along, just trying to get there, they raced ahead and took initiative....

At least they had a blast! And regardless to the lack of dry clothing, I should know better to bring with me, they were all happy to just splash and enjoy the sunshine!

We celebrated Easter with family again on Saturday. The kids and their cousins participated in our annual egg hunt... (a.k.a. mad rush with the older kids being held back, just to let the younger ones, finds a couple of eggs to go in their baskets/bags!) They then bring all their goodies back to one spot where they divvy out the treats equally!

On Sunday we had a quiet day at home. The rain came down and we just spent time with each other, playing Wii games and watching old movies! On Monday there was more rain, some isolated flooding in our area, our backyard proving once again that water likes to pool there!

Tuesday was sleepover night! Tahlia went to her cousin's house and Jesse came to ours. The boys have firmly placed themselves in front of the Wii.

And you know, that's okay with me!!

Happy Easter everyone...

Hope your Easter is filled with fun and laughter!

CraZy BunNy!

Is it that time of year again? My kids are starting to get (maybe a little bit), excited about Easter!

What do you think?

Woo Hoo! Intrepid campers return...

That's right folks! We survived another bout of camping (with the neighbours) and without too many dramas... Well, if you call some minor, localised flooding, a totally unrelated drama...

...because the weather was going to be fine! (Right, Liz?!). We had enough supplies with us to last, maybe a week.... Considering we were away for the weekend only! And this road was the only way in... hence, the only way out! But we would be alright! After all, what good are 4WD's if you are not going to use them!!! LOL!

Okay, admittedly we may have freaked out a little at this point. Fast flowing creeks and young children don't always mix well together!

But we were in a beautiful area, within an hour of where we live, and we were looking forward to our weekend before us.

The kids had a fantastic time, slipping and sliding in the mud (...you should have seen the washing I had to go through!) and obtaining the basic freedom that allows them to feel safe in an open area. Let's face it, with approximately 12 weeks to go before baby #4 comes along, I wasn't exactly up for the challenge of chasing them down every five minutes to make sure they were all still okay!

We really did have a lovely time, testing out our new camper trailer, despite the rain! Great friends, great camping spot and a great weekend.