Life is short...so let's dance already!

Life is too short to take yourself too serious.  You need to have some fun, get crazy once in a while, enjoy being silly and acting 20 years younger than you should.  My siblings bring this side out of me.  There's something about my sisters that transforms me into a crazier person than the already crazy person you all know.  Does that make sense? My brother is just starting to participate in our crazy activities. I think the first time David saw me with my sisters he thought... "What....the....."  We really are a sight to be seen.  Our favorite thing to do when we get together is dance.  And I don't mean regular, booty-shakin', same old boring dance moves.  I mean crazy, spasmodic, looks like we're having a seizure dancing.  It's actually a really good workout, and it's really fun.  This is what is usually looks like

Sometimes it's so crazy even I get scared

Well, actually it's very important to get a good stretch before our rigorous activity.

No, I'm not picking my nose.  Really, I'm not.  So once the stretching commences, the real "dancing" begins

My sister Liv likes to show her little 14 year old butt.  She's really 24, but looks like she's 14.

We also like to make different faces that tend to change with every move we do.
Any chance we get, we love to have a good rockin' dance party.  And everyone that visits usually has to participate

My brother Geir likes to hide in the background when we have dance parties.

 We also really love to pose.

We really really like to pose

Did I mention we like to pose?

My brother Geir has the posing down.  So does my older sis Berg...she likes to pretend she's a tiger (She's a few pics above)


Sometimes the posing goes terribly wrong

But that is all part of it.

Occasionally we'll get out some props

Nothing is really off limits with us.


This aspect of sibling-hood is something I thought about when we found out we were expecting our third child.  I hope my kids always have a "child-like" quality in them. I hope they always enjoy spending time together. I always want to encourage individuality in my children... always want them to explore every part of themselves and really enjoy life. I don't want them to be embarrassed or hide who they are.  I want to show them that life is fun...it's about enjoying every minute of it and not taking yourself too seriously.  It's good to let your hair down, bust out some awkward spazzy moves, and just lose yourself in the moment.  After all, life's too short not to!
So go have some fun...act a little crazy, it's good for you!  Oh, and don't forget to take pictures!

Third pregnancy, bring out the sweats.

I remember when I first was pregnant with Grace, my oldest.  I was going to be the cutest, most fashionable darn pregnant lady....ever.  I wore fun things, cute and flattering.  (as much as you can) I loved showing off my bump.
You see all of the celebrities who make it their job to "win" in the best dressed preggo category.  And they are all so darn cute.  It really makes you want to try, right?
Wrong.  I'm on my third pregnancy people, bring out the sweats.
My body is way different than it was when I was pregnant with my first.  Things shift and droop, and fluctuate and stretch.  I'm tired after chasing after my 4 and 5 year old..the last thing I want to do is spend any time on myself.  I'm tired of putting on my old maternity clothes and realizing that they don't fit right...that throughout the other two pregnancies, my body has changed enough to need new clothes.  Argh.  This, in itself makes me want to put nothing else on but sweats.  Who wants to buy maternity clothes?  Yuck.
This is an example of how I know it's very different going from your first pregnancy to your third (for me anyway) :
I was on the phone the other day with my sister, who just had her first baby in October.  We were talking about maternity clothes and she asked if I needed any.  I said, maybe (and maybe because she is almost 6 feet tall, legs for daze, and never gained any weight other than her belly).  She rattled off a few items that she thought would fit, and then got really excited and said, "oh, and I have this really great leopard print dress."  I about fell over.  Now don't get me wrong....my sister wore the cutest clothes...never ashamed of showing off her figure.  And it totally worked....she was, probably the cutest pregnant woman I've ever seen...right up with all the celebrities.  But in all seriousness...who the hell wants to wear a tight leopard print dress with their third baby?  I think I'd rather wear a moo moo (or however you spell it).  I don't know why, but this time around I could really care less.  Is that bad?  I've even turned into that mom who brings their kid to school in their pjs. (Namely, sweats) I even wore my slippers one day by accident. It should have been embarrassing, but sadly it wasn't.  The thought of putting real clothes on right now makes me want to vomit.
Seriously, you should see me right now.  Actually, no I'm glad you can't see me right now.  You might vomit yourself.
I often wonder, "What happened to me?"  I used to love wearing heels and cute clothes.  Now I've traded them in for ugly black slippers that make me shuffle like an old person when I walk, and oversized baggy sweats that make me look 3 sizes bigger than I am.
I think part of it is because with Grace, it was my first.  I didn't gain THAT much weight.  With Gabe...ha, totally different story.  I grew OUT of my maternity clothes, gained way more weight,  grew a couple of chins and, in the true words of a good friend, "Got as big as a truck!"  Now, if he wasn't one of David and my really good friends I would have punched him in the nuts, but all I could do was agree with him because it was true!  I was as big as a big ass Mack truck.  So, when you get that big, who wants to wear anything besides oversized unflattering sweats?  Not me.
So, if you see me out and about...do not expect me to be donning a leopard print dress, heels...or even jeans for that matter!
It's my third pregnancy people...bring out the sweats.

Crap.

So life here in Minneapolis has been great.  We've been adjusting just fine, and to my surprise, actually liking living here.  Traffic doesn't bother me anymore, (who would've thought?) I can get pretty much anywhere I want in about 20 minutes, (with my handy dandy GPS of course) and we're finding there are so many cool and kid friendly things to do.  Things have been falling into place, and "comfortable" is finally a word to describe our transition.  And then the bombshell people.  Surprise, I somehow seemed to have gotten knocked up again.  Crap.  Now, I know what your thinking....crap?  Am I really referring to a baby? Why yes, yes I am.  Aren't babies the most wonderful blessings in the world?  Yes.  Don't they enrich your lives and make it so much better?  Of course.  Aren't there many families out there that can't have children and would die to be in our situation?  Sadly, yes.  But.......CRAP.  Crap crap crap.  Don't get me wrong, we are excited....and shocked and terrified and unprepared.  You see, I say crap because we weren't planning it or even thinking it would be possible until David was done with school.  I know, I know....these are the best kind of surprises.....but seriously, CRAP.  I'm choosing to exercise my right at the first Amendment, and I choose to say, simply, crap.  You see, David is in Grad school full time.  We pretty much live off of student loans.  Our house is just a smidge bigger than a doll house......and we traded in our van last year because we wanted to "downsize."  Ha.  Perfect.  Our car's too small, our house is too small, and I really wasn't ready to be pregnant.  Big sigh.  Extremely big sigh.  Gigantic scary wonderful exciting sigh.  Crap.
So I've had 14 weeks to get used to this all.  It's been 14 weeks of out of this world hormones, debilitating lethargy, and a stomach that never experienced actually throwing up with the other two pregnancies.  David just told me the other day that (in an extremely whiny and pathetic voice) "I want my wife back!"  It is true, I haven't been myself.  I don't remember being this bitchy with my other pregnancies, being this sensitive to everything people say and do.  I can't survive a day without a nap, and I've turned into a hermit....not wanting to go anywhere, do anything, or God forbid, put on actual real clothes.  My friends, all of them at one point or another have either texted or called...either making sure I'm still alive, or asking if I'm upset at them. That's how much of a hermit I've been.  Crap.
However, this 14 weeks has also been really good for me.  You see, after all the shock and awe, the resentment of the timing, the realization that we are so not prepared, I realized the big wonderful crazy picture.  We're having a baby!  Wheeeeeeeeeeee!  Screw the small house, the small car, the bad timing and financial situation.  Screw the morning sickness, the ever growing a$$, the 24 hour bitch mode, and my body morphing into something unrecognizable. (I get huge ladies and gentlemen)
So yes, I'm still saying "crap," because I can, and it's fun.  But I'm also feeling really really blessed.  We are, after all, having another child, given to us by God because in His mind, this is the perfect timing. Go figure.  We've realized that the things we felt we needed, or the reasons we felt so ill-prepared are simply things that don't really matter in the whole scheme of things.  We have lots of love in our tiny little family. Grace and Gabe are at great ages to be "helpers" with this baby.  Even though David is in school, in a couple years we'll be living very comfortably, and it will all seem to be worth it.
After all, all you really need is love.  Love can conquer anything.  Love makes all things possible.  And we have an overflowing abundance of it.
So we are having another baby!  Yay!  Another beautiful little creature that will bring us so much more love.....not to mention lack of sleep, screaming fits, bouts of craziness, and a world turned upside-down.
Crap.