OK time for another update...

Baby Rankin #4 is plugging right along and is allowed to come any day now (small hospital without a NICU, so they want to be safe --nearest NICU is an hour away). The monkey wrench in all of this is that Grandma (the person that the older girls will be staying with) isn't coming till next week - hopefully by about Thursday the 14th. If this little boy decides to come any earlier than that, we are in a bit of a situation as to who is going to watch our girlies. I've had a co-worker tells me that she will be my 'night time nanny' (Steve still works overnight Sunday through Thursday nights) ...but I don't want to call her in the middle of the night LOL. We shall see.

Tuesday I had a bit of a 'scare' thinking that "this was it." I don't usually 'feel' contractions till after my water breaks. (Blessed, or cursed I'm still not sure) But Tuesday night while I was making cobbling something together for dinner, I was feeling sharp painful menstrual like pains that were lasting longer than three seconds, a lot longer! They were fairly constant. After dinner was 'done' and everyone was eating something I went and laid down, had some water to drink and the contractions went away (phew). Was told today that if that happens again that they'd like to talk to me... hahaha ok...

I have been really bad about taking pictures of my belly lately... Maybe I ought to get on that :)

 This one's from 35 weeks... (2 1/2 weeks ago)

...compare to almost 35 weeks with Holly... wow

I am hoping this little guy is a bit smaller than she was... 8 1/2 pounds really hurt and tore me something awful! (Of course that may have something to do with the way she SHOT out of me, like a cannon)

I also talked to the Dr today about Essure when all this is said and done, four kids (and one's a boy to boot :) ) is about our limit and my body has not liked this pregnancy, that and I'm 35 later this year which is when Steve and I decided that we would officially be done birthing children. Family history also dictates that I should be done. It's a daunting decision, but I think it's a good one.

OK, I have other children too... Faith had another eye Dr appointment recently cause she failed an eye test at school, even with her glasses. Her prescription did change slightly, and she's getting new frames. The novelty of glasses has worn off, but she's glad to be getting some different frames. Standard State testing is this year in school for her. She excels in school but has a bit of trepidation about taking them. I keep raying for her nerves and memory, and I know she's going to do well.

Megan and Faith are both in an after school program one day a week called Odyssey of the Mind: it is an "international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and World level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and from about 25 other countries participate in the program" They are having fun!

Holly comes with me to the daycare when I am there (once or twice a week at this point). I am hoping that after the baby is born that I can keep her going about one day a week, just to keep her in 'practice.' She continues to make me laugh on a (mostly) daily basis, and yet we keep telling her that she has a temperament to match her hair color (it's red!). We are *still* working on training her to use the potty consistently... she is naked from the waist down most days that we are at home, she get's it, she just doesn't seem to care if there are panties or a pull-up on... I have all but given up - she won't want to wear diapers forever (I hope).