I don't like this one bit!

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."
~Proverbs 19:21

These last few months have not at all gone as I'd planned. In about a week, we're welcoming Baby Boy ("Stu", as M has referred to him since day one!) to our fold, and I'd planned to have an action-packed month of memory-making with just us Dees Girls. Trips to the library for story time...a trip to our local strawberry farm to go picking...a trip to our local tractor store to go hold the Spring chicks...a stroll through the Arboretum...lunch at our Tea Room...play dates galore...photos in the bluebonnets...playing at all our local parks...lunch at the American Girl store at Galleria...just general fun, fun, FUN!

Not to mention all of the home projects I'd wanted to get finished before Stu arrives. Well, all the projects I had for J to finish, that is... Since he's a public school administrator, TAKS testing has taken up every moment of his time, so I've had to scrap that list for now.

(Maybe while he's home for a few weeks on his "maternity" leave...? There could still be hope!)

The rainy weather, my killer allergies and limited ability to medicate myself against them, plus one or the other of my daughters with a green snotty nose at some point or another pretty much scrapped our list o' fun things to do. Not to mention protecting ourselves against the Swine/H1N1 Flu hype. Normally we wouldn't take so much notice of this type of thing, but with a little one on the way in about a week, we feel like we have to be as defensive as we can against it.

And then my OB dropped a bomb on me this week: apparently I have high blood pressure right now.

His orders? Stay off my feet as much as possible until Stu arrives.

Excuse me?

No comprendo. (Or whatever that is in Spanish. I wouldn't know...I was a French minor.)

R. Dees doesn't really DO "staying off her feet".

So if there was any hope of getting out and doing fun stuff with my girls before Stu gets here, it's all gone now.

We're staying hunkered down around these parts for the next several days. And I'm forced to get creative finding ways to stay off my feet while simultaneously keeping a 3 1/2 year-old and a 1 1/2 year-old entertained! I think I like this after all...if there's anything I love, it's a good mothering challenge!

The upside? Most of our events/activities this week have been cancelled due to the Flu business, so it's not like we're missing out on much!

Let the good times at home begin...

Me and M reading a bedtime story and snuggling on the couch:
I'm so emotional these days. Any sweet moments I have with my girls, like this one below snuggling with my firstborn, turn into mental Hallmark commercials for me. I'm not a big public cryer, but trust me, I was sobbing on the inside at this instant:

The girls spent some time with Mama Landa this week, which has been a big help to me. I've been able to rest and also get a few little things done around the house.

*****

Here the girls are in our car before my doctor appointment this week. We were waiting for ML to arrive to pick them up, and M was enjoying a lollipop she scored from my purse. Rosie was content to play with the wrapper:

My guess is she's not going to stay content with wrappers for very long!

We don't have a laptop that I can access the internet on, which I really, REALLY long for at this point, so my posts may be scarce this week. I'll pop in when I can and share what we're up to!