I made my bed today,

and other major accomplishments from the last two weeks are as follows:
----unpacked the hospital suitcase, finally.
----found an old pair of real, not maternity! jeans to wear
----said good riddance to smelly, holey boots, snowpants, and gloves--either packed or thrown away!
----emptied the dishwasher (instead of my mother having to do it)
----went to Starbucks!

next up--going to church and going to a soccer game. baby steps people, baby steps ;)


We have two weeks under our belts now. It seems like the days and nights are no longer separate but the one endless cycle of infant care. Oh how I forgot that a newborn slows your pace a bit. Juliet has been a content baby thus far, and I am so thankful. The kids have grown more in love with her and slightly less with each other each day. Fighting over who will hold her, smell her, and bring to me my nursing pads! We are adjusting pretty well. The sleep deprivation is starting to become a way of life. It's good to get to that point where my body is used to the middle of the night feedings. I am still working on not secretly growling at Dan as he saws logs right there next to the baby and I at 2:36am. Really, how dare he just sleep like that?

So blogging might be fewer and farther between, but I thought I'd offer a little update on how we are getting along as a family of 6. A few photos as well. Until next time...

Chase and Grandpa H. Turkey Hunting

Soccer season is in full swing

Joy assisting "sissy" with her first bath

what a week it was.

We Welcome With Love..

Juliet Lynne Dieleman

Born April 15   9:13am

8lbs.  12oz.

20"

Prais God From Whom All Blessings Flow!

I am a Lady in Waiting.

Oh bloggers, I am still here. The bun in my oven is cozy and warm and doesn't want to come out today. (or probably tomorrow for that matter) She teases me though. Each and every night I feel her simultaneously bump her head on my bladder, while lodging her foot in my rib, or she tries to make a side exit by punching me with what I can only assume is a fist.

What follows all that activity is a bunch of intermittent, fairly uncomfortable contractions that never really develop into full labor. I drift to sleep with girl names bouncing around in my head and practiced aloud and the next thing I know--it's a new day.
So all in all, spring break has been a nice, relaxed, quiet one. I am glad I had this week to spend with the kids just enjoying a slower pace.

I have to keep reminding myself (and Dan) that I'm not even due yet. (Close enough!!) I think he is even more impatient at this point than me. In fact he just said to me in the most obvious way,

"I feel like we are just sitting around waiting for her to come"

How profound.

the kindness of a (sort of) stranger.

My self pity party was in full swing yesterday afternoon.

The scene:
Driving in Meijer parking lot looking for a close spot to park and thinking to myself,

"What did you do for Spring Break '08, Chelle?" You took your 9 month pregnant self and your 3 kids to Meijer on a Monday afternoon to return smelly, sticky pop cans.
As a bonus, you get to fight off begging for toys and Mt. Dew."

How quickly I forgot that I had just spent a nice morning with my friends at the park on a beautiful spring day, the ride from the park to Meijer changed my attitude. I was not looking forward to this excursion, no way, no how.

Pop cans returned and impulse buys in cart, we headed to the check out. My mood lightened as I scored a sweet 26.00 dollars off my grocery bill, I tried to pretend that my kids were not actually screwing around with the spin around bagging thing. I even managed to work up a smile and hello for the person in line behind me. Boy, she looked familiar.

As I was getting ready to push away from the check out, that vaguely familiar face behind me in the check out line ever so nicely said,

"Here, take this, and bring your kids out for ice cream or something this spring break."

She handed me some cash. I was just so overwhelmed with that act of kindness I started to tear up right there in the check out lane. As I talked more with this kind lady, she suddenly realized she knew me and my parents and so on.

What an undeserved gift. What a lesson in kindness. What a Spring Break so far! God used that small act to give me some perspective on my attitude, my kids, on HIM.

Now, how to pay it forward...

only in Michigan!

just when I think I have heard it all, this was the top headline at our local news website at noon.

the weird thing is, it almost happened at our house one early one spring!

your guess is as good as mine

Per Nicole's suggestion,   what is your prediction for 

"What Date Do You Think Chelle Will Pop?"

and the always debatable:

"Will she get an epidural?"

winning prize to be determined. 

humor me people.

what not to do.

when you are 9 months pregnant.

• try to move your sofa
• goto Target for some last minute supplies. you will end up buying fish sticks and maxi-pads as if you will NEVER get to the store AGAIN. impulse buying at it finest.
• run to the bathroom. you might not make it there in time. just walk.
• decide to organize 7 years worth of photos into albums. not only is it a project best left for retirement, you will find yourself devastated by how you have aged in only 7 years.
• start anew on coming up with a baby name. If you haven't found one from the book titled 40,001 Great Baby Names by now, you ain't gonna!
• tell your husband you think you might be starting labor, when you really are not. the Boy who cried Wolf, much?
• Drone on and on in the blogosphere about above don'ts. No one needs a list of what not to do. This info is only useful for MVH or MiniMeMom right now. No one else cares.

Any other don'ts to add to the list?
tick, tick, tick.

my first car.

Recently my brother-in-law finished up what seemed to be a pretty grueling Driver's Education program. Numerous sessions, hours of practice that require parental supervision.

Come on, my driver's training was 2 weeks at Sears Driving school. Mr. C, anyone?

Anyway, I realized with my last birthday that I have been driving half of my life, and it's been 16 years since dear old Dad bought me my first car for a sweet $700.

here's a hint



Is it me or do the "first cars" of today's teens seem so much better then what we drove ? Where are the gigantic winter beaters with rear wheel drive and bald tires?

Can I get a shout out for the
Escorts?
Station Wagons?
Buicks?
Tempos?
Chevettes?
LeBarons?
Nova?
Cavaliers?

If we name her, she will come.

I believe that since we have yet to agree or even decide on a name, our daughter does not want to be born.
here is my last attempt to be inspired by a fresh name

I realize I am the worst about this and no one wants to help me anymore, nor do I deserve it. But...if you are up for a challenge,
Here are the rules:

the name should probably start with "J"
no gender neutral names
no names popular from the years of 1985-1995 (these are Dan's favorites)
the name should be her own, not Michelle Jr.
Classic but not blah, not too trendy, not overly used, but not made up.

good luck with that.

stick a fork in me,

I'm done.