All aflutter

Well, an uncommon phenomenon is occurring at this moment. I just put Addy down for a nap and Mary Ella is in her room for "rest time". Although she has given up her nap for the most part, I feel it is important for her, well, and me to spend some solitary, quiet time in her room. This is a new routine, but one I have always said we would implement when Mary Ella gave up her naps. I must admit, I have been slow to set this plan into motion, but with this third one on the way, I feel it is a "must" for my sanity. My grandmother, who had three girls of her own, told me "rest time" is going to be necessary when I delivered the news about this pregnancy.

We have been here, there and everywhere, not really having a moment to catch up on this little "online journal". When the kids go to bed at night, my tired self can't peel my hiney off the couch. I think a permanent indention is beginning to develop....pretty sad. Certainly I will begin to get some more pepper in my stepper soon....I hope so at least. On the fun side, I have felt some flutters. Even though all the books say you don't feel movement until closer to 17-18 weeks, in each of my pregnancies I've had regular activity by 15 weeks. I think we just have active little ones.

We did go to Alexandria, Louisiana for an interview last weekend. The practice was great, the people were wonderful, and the town was charming. I do miss being in a community where strangers even greet you with a sincere "hello". Too many people avoid eye-contact these days. My hope is that our family will be planted somewhere where there is a sense of community and connectedness. I personally like going to a grocery store where every face seems familiar, even if I don't know all the names, it is comforting and refreshing. We have two more interviews coming up. We'll keep you updated as we go along.

Our little playgroup had a brunch for two of our friends, Heather and D'Nae. They are moving passed this residency chapter. These women are so special as are all of those in our playgroup. This group is so unordinary because when we get together, it never turns into a gripe session and the women don't feel the need to gossip or do the popular, "husband bashing". We get together, lift each other up, laugh with each other, and sometimes cry with each other. It truly is a special group of friends. Heather and D'Nae's sweet presence will be missed.

I do have some pictures to download. Hopefully I will get to that soon!!!!!????

Meet Baby Burlison #3

Here is our new addition measuring in at about 6-7 inches with a foot at about 1.5 cm! Even though this is my third pregnancy, I am still in awe of these little miracles. I was lying there and this little image was projected up onto a big flat-screen t.v. (I'm delivering at Clear Lake Regional this time) watching this little creature move and groove. So far no "extra appendages" are present. We are thinking this is another girl (they were 80% sure), but we will know for sure in 4 weeks. Fortunately, Scott loves his girls and was excited to hear we might be having another. It just doesn't get any better than this....

Object Recognition

OK, so Mary Ella will be entering kindergarten when we finish residency. We are not sure where we will be yet; however, IF Shreveport is where we will be there is a test she will have to take for school entry. Long story, but in Louisiana there are some public schools you have to test into. Anyways, evidently they changed the test this year resulting in some upset parents...another long story, but trust me, lots of drama. Part of one of the tests is to identify various household things like spatula, tweezers, etc... So I got off the phone with my friend who was telling me about all this and I pulled out the spatula and this is how the conversation went:

Me: Mary Ella, What is this?
Mary Ella: Ummmm, a licker?
Me: A what????
Mary Ella: A licker
Me (almost laughing): No honey, this is called a spatula
Mary Ella: A sTatula?
Me: Yes, what do we use this for?
Mary Ella: Ummm, brownies and pancakes
Me: That's right, what is this called again?
Mary Ella: A liiiiicker (smirk), a STATULA...but I DO lick it.
Me: Yes honey, you do lick it.

If only I could crawl into her mind sometimes.....I'm tempted to start pulling out various household objects just for entertainment's sake. I'd be rich if I had a penny for everytime she's made me laugh.

FYI we are going to Louisiana for an interview next week. We are also looking at some possible job openings in the East Texas area and Austin area. We trust we will be led to the perfect place and FINALLY settle this expanding family!

Spring time warp

Did Easter really come and go???? I swear this time of year always passes before we can really soak in the everyday moments we should. The warp speed usually begins in mid-March and ends in July. This is the time of year we prepare to send off our friends who are moving past the residency chapter, the kids are wrapping up a school year, and every cabinet/closet/stuffing place must be cleaned out and organized. So where is Easter in all this? It is hard to stop and remember why Christians celebrate Easter, but this year Mary Ella was able to partially understand the Easter story. I get lots of questions about the feelings of people during that event mostly because of the illustrations in her Bible. Understanding the actual death and resurrection, I imagine, will come in the next year.

Mary Ella did have an Easter egg hunt at school. She came home and dumped all the candy out on the counter then began her meticulous sorting and eating frenzy. I'll admit, I let her eat a lot b/c the sooner it is eaten, the sooner it is out of my house. That way I don't get, "I want candy" everyday. One long, sugar-frenzied, extra teeth brush'n day is worth it to me. Again, that is the energy conservation I've talked about before.

Above are pictures from the Resitern Easter Egg Hunt. It was fun; however, Scott got stuck in a surgery and missed it. Therefore, I only was able to snap a few shots due to my hands being full. How am I going to do three???? Jeanine, this is where you come in girl.....

We got home from the Egg Hunt and Scott rolled in about 9pm. I let Mary Ella stay up and they spent about 30 minutes together. It was so precious. Scott sitting on the couch, Mary Ella lying in his lap and he was scratching her back. Needless to say....she melted into a comfortable "almost slumber" then BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP! Scott's pager went off and he had to return to the hospital. I got Mary Ella to bed and Scott rolled in, again, at 2:30 am only to be called back out at 6:00 am. Ahhh, the life of a physician. Fortunately, it is not like this all the time.

On Saturday, I got the girls up and out the door to go to my mother's farm near Brenham, TX. The Bluebonnets, rolling hills and ponds were breathtaking, but it was so cold and rainy that we were stuck inside! We went for the day to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. Let me tell ya, I don't mean to abandon all humility, but I really do have a wonderful family. My grandparents are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary next month. They still hold hands, my grandfather can still make my grandmother laugh, and they have instilled in all of us the value of family. Their committment to each other and all of us is unwavering and unconditional. They are truly a blessing in our lives. That goes for all of my aunts, uncles and cousins too! We rally, we pull for each other, and most importantly, we still make time for each other at least once a year despite being so spread out.

I did notice while we were there, both of my girls weren't their "perky" selves. I got them home and the fever hit, so we missed church on Sunday. Again, we were stuck inside because of the cold rain. Monday we headed to the doctor and got the diagnosis of Scarlett Fever. A couple of rounds of antibiotics and 24 hours later, they were fine, but golly, I hope we didn't spread the cooties to anyone else!

Expanding

I get the feeling this pregnancy is going to be very different than my other two because I now have a very perceptive, almost 4 year-old experiencing it with me. It occured to me that I was pooching very early this pregnancy looking more like 16 weeks pregnant instead of 11. After two pregnancies and c-sections, my abs are shot. I thought to myself, "I might show a little earlier this time around." Then enters Mary Ella, who lifted up my shirt last night while I was cooking dinner and said "Dad, Dad, .......SCOOOOOOTT! Look at mom's belly. It sure is getting biiiiiiiig! We're going to have a baby really soon." She repeated the "belly's big" part about 10 times indicating her fascination with the whole process. Scott's reply was, "yep, the baby is growing. What do you think we are going to have?" Mary Ella threw her hands up in the air as adult-like as she could and stated, "We'll just have to see....." Hopefully, the expanding belly is all she notices! Making comments about expanding legs, arms and the backside might not be so amusing!