Thoughts on Pregnancy & Homeschooling

It is officially starting to feel like winter here in Cleveland. Well, at least today it did. It was freezing and we actually had some hail and snow falling, with freezing winds. I am already looking forward to spring and summer. I can't believe I am heading into my 16th week of pregnancy. I sometimes feel guilty because I often forget I am pregnant still. I just have too many things going on...I just don't have time to focus on this pregnancy. I'm sure Baby T will make sure I focus on her/him when she/he gets here though! Babies are good at that! I am not into maternity clothes yet, although things have been feeling tighter lately. I'm sure I will start to pop out soon. I have been very busy homeschooling the boys and trying to make sure they get enough work done to finish early in the spring. We want to be done with the school year by the time Baby T arrives, so we can all relax for a bit. I have started thinking about next school year and how I am going to homeschool 4 kids next year and take care of a new baby and preschooler too. I am going to have to get more organized and scheduled! And, the older boys are going to need to pitch in more than they do now. I've actually considered putting the older ones in school next year, but the more Ken and I talk about it, the more we think about how much we'd miss homeschooling and all the awesome things that the kids are able to do with it. There are pros and cons to everything though. School is still in the discussion, although I think at this point we are sticking with the homeschooling option. I need to pray for strength though! We've met so many big families who homeschool. In many ways, it seems harder to do it with lots of kids, so it's weird that many homeschoolers have lots of kids. It must work out well in the long run I guess. I think one of my favorite things about homeschooling is that my kids are so closely bonded. The boys are truly the best of friends and look out for each other. I don't think it would be that way, to this degree, if they had gone to school, spending many hours away from each other. Just one of the good things I notice about homeschooling.

Next week I have another dr appt and midwife appt, and in a couple weeks I will have the big ultrasound! We've talked about it with the kids and I think we have decided not to find out the baby's gender. The kids, surprisingly, want to be surprised. We've never found out before, but Ken and I really were open to finding out if the kids wanted to. We were open to either option. Since the kids want to keep it a secret...I guess we are not finding out. Happily, Ken and I (I think!) have decided on names for the baby. I had decided on a girls name almost immediately after I found out I was pregnant, and luckily Ken liked the name too. So now, we have both the girl and boy first and middle names set, although I don't think we have full approval from the kids, but hey...it's not their decision, it's ours.

Put on a winter coat and gloves...it's cold outside!!