This summer is going by really fast. I’m mostly ok with that (because at the end I get a baby!) but I’m starting to feel the pressure of doing-all-the-fun-things-quick-before-we-run-out-of-time.

Sunday:

Man, I hate when the beach is crowded

WHAT CHA EATIN MOM??

Spying on my children who are playing nicely

Monday:

Patriotic New England Children

Counting frogs

Shut down the lake at 8 pm

Tuesday:

Really excited about Seaport Camp

You baby judges you

Evening swim

Wednesday:

More playing nicely. Have they been body snatched?!

Private Seaport

The lake is the only thing keeping us all from dying of heatstroke

Thursday:

Trying to sit in my lap

Naps

Reading time

Friday:

Less hot, still at the lake

Caroline telling us about her favorite boat, which is a party boat because she likes parties

One month until her recital!

Saturday:

Went for a walk to look for Pokemon

Linc likes to give hugs

Game night!

All my photos this week are going to be of Pokemon, because the kids are always carrying my phone around and it’s hard to take iPhone photos when I don’t have control of my iPhone. But I’m not really mad, Evan is super good at catching them. Priorities.

Here’s the thing about having a fourth baby – you don’t really have time for a fourth baby until the baby actually shows up and you HAVE to give them your attention. That’s why I am currently  31 31+ 32 weeks pregnant and haven’t written a single pregnancy update so far. I have no weekly bump shots, no cute comparisons to fruit sizes, no lists of symptoms or weird body changes. All changes have already been made, at least one whole baby ago. My body can do all sorts of horrifying things and my reaction is “meh, I’ve seen worse”.

It has gotten very hot recently, and I am reminded why summer pregnancies are the worst. I am feeling extra large and swollen and sweaty all the time, even when I am doing my best to drink water and keep my feet up and not move more than necessary between the hours of 11 am and 4 pm. Several of those hours also happen to be Linc’s current nap hours, so there is a lot of afternoon screen time happening in our house. I keep trying to feel guilty about it – because I’m supposed to feel guilty about letting the kids watch iPad instead of having an #unpluggedchildhood, right? – but can’t work up the energy. Maybe after a quick nap.

I had such good intentions when it came to really enjoying and basking in this last pregnancy. I was going to think about things like “This is the last time I’ll feel relief at 24 weeks” and “This is the last time we’ll get to pick a baby name”. Instead, I keep forgetting how pregnant I am and please let’s NOT talk about the complete lack of name decisions being made. I think a big part of it is that when I was pregnant with Lincoln they were concerned with my amniotic fluid levels, so I had a LOT of appointments. There were bi-weekly non-stress tests and weekly ultrasounds, all of which Evan and Caroline attended with me, plus regular check-ups and blood work. In contrast, this baby had one extra ultrasound early on and we’ve reached the point where I have the standard weight-belly size-any questions? appointments every 2 weeks, but no NSTs, no extra testing, no dragging my kids to the hospital all the time. This baby is unwatched and unmonitored and completely average.

That doesn’t mean he isn’t trying to to make himself known. My current daily heartburn levels are somewhere between “being stabbed with hot knives” and “oh my God I must have esophageal cancer this cannot be normal”. I still have daily morning sickness and sometimes evening sickness. I have to pee constantly. Like right now. Even though I just went 10 minutes ago. And all night. It’s exhausting. He also kicks and rolls more than any previous baby, sometimes moving so much I gasp and clutch my belly and feel like he’s about to just pop right out, Alien-style. I would much rather he make his exit the normal way, so hopefully he figures that DOWN is a better direction for the poking in the next few weeks.

I have plans to force my family to help me take maternity photos again, like I did last time. Since this is my last pregnancy, I’m going to be as completely cliche as possible – long dress, flower crown, standing in a river looking pensive about the miracle that is motherhood – and not feel the least bit self conscious about it. Plus any excuse to stand in a river sounds really good right now, since it’s 93 degrees outside and we don’t have air conditioning. For now I’m going to finally hit publish on this, put a cold washcloth on my head and take a nap.

This week feels like it happened months ago. I was SUCH a mess just seven days ago, I can’t even believe I didn’t end up in the hospital. Fingers crossed that’s as sick as I get this pregnancy, I can’t handle any more than that.

You’ll notice a lot of messy house and couch pictures this week as a result of my convalescence. At least let’s pretend that’s why.

Sunday:

View from my sick bed

My children being kind and loving

My children being annoying because I don’t have the energy to stop them

Monday:

Big kid swings

Little kid naps

Big kids nap too

Tuesday:

He’s a Target Pro

With their Vacation Bible School goodies

He insists on walking up the stairs like this all the time now

Wednesday:

New pregnancy craving: fresh bread

Seems like a perfectly good place to park

Evening lake life’

Thursday:

HASHTAG REAL LIFE HASHTAG MY CHILDREN ARE THE WORST

Sea Swirl is my favorite

They’re all obsessed with this statue in Mystic

Friday:

A week of VBS plus lake equals SO TIRED

Bread thief

Storm’s a’comin’

Saturday:

I’m currently obsessed with film

Caroline is obsessed with changing diapers (we have a rash situation, I’m still using cloth mostly)

You should smell this lavender farm. It’s AMAZING.

Tomorrow Caroline starts Seaport Camp, which means she’s going to be an exhausted mess basically every night. But that just means she (and I) can go to bed extra early. I am toooootally fine with that. I’m getting to the point where I want to sleep as much as possible because I know in another 8 weeks I won’t be sleeping again for 2 years. I’m not really looking forward to that part of having a baby.

The most half-assed attempt I’ve made in over 5 straight years of this nonsense!

Sunday:

She’s questioning my life choices because these aren’t from Dunkin

Pretend those are ORGANIC Doritos

E built us a table so we could play cribbage in our beach chairs

Monday:

Filthy children

Clean children!

Tuesday:

I started a toy purge and organization. It was a huge mistake.

Monkey see, monkey do

Very serious about his monkey duties

Wednesday:

We have the best floaties

OMG check out the dollar spot!!!

Thursday:

All these children are with me (and one other mom)

The potter at Old Sturbridge Village gave everyone clay

Linc LOVES selfies

Friday:

4 hours at the lake and I barely saw my kids

Sure, whatever, just be quite while Caroline is in piano lessons

Picking up America stuff for our America photoshoot

Saturday:

Berry picking

We still have the best floaties

I bought 30 minutes of peace for $3.50 worth of ice cream

I am recovering from an attack of something that made me absolutely useless on Sunday. I suspect it was a kidney infection but did not have the time or energy to go to the ER for it, so I’m forcing it out of my body with sheer willpower and cranberry juice. Now I am suffering from a condition called “why the hell don’t we have air conditioning???” It’s terrible and reoccurring and should definitely be illegal for 8 months-pregnant women. I’d like to speak to the person in charge around here.

Summer is for bare feet, sunshine so bright it hurts your eyes, running through sprinklers, visiting local farms, playing in the dirt, mooing at cows, brushing up our checkers game, and doing all the other stuff that makes the long, hot days the best part of the year.

We are SO excited that our school year is over and now we have the freedom to enjoy a schedule-free few months. But did you know more than 22 million children may miss out on milk’s nutrition this summer when they lose access to free or reduced-price meal programs at school? Although some programs like the USDA’s Summer Food Service Program help to deliver meals when school is not in session, the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program (which we use and love and appreciate so much during the school year) do not reach children during the summer months. That’s why food banks play an even more critical role in helping children access nutritious foods when class isn’t in session.

Fresh milk is one of the most requested, but least donated items at food banks, meaning children in need may be missing out on the essential nutrients, including high-quality protein, that it supplies. I never thought about that until I became part of this campaign – of course families want and need milk, and of course it can be hard to come by when food banks emphasize non-perishable donations. Now there’s something we can do about that shortage.

You can help feed a childhood in your community this summer with a small donation at milklife.com/give. A donation as little as $5 can deliver a highly desired and nutrient-rich gallon of fresh milk to children who need it most. Because all children deserve the chance to play, learn and grow, especially during the summer months when being a kid is supposed to be joyful and carefree. When you visit The Great American Milk Drive site and enter your zip code, you can direct your donation to the Feeding America food bank that helps right in your local area.

We all love milk, but probably no one more than Linc. He couldn’t care less that it’s nutritious and a great source of protein – he just thinks it’s delicious. It also gives all the kids the energy they need to keep the fun going all afternoon. Sprinklers are basically the summer equivalent of baths in our house,  which is fine by me.

For each share of Great American Milk Drive “Feed A Childhood” content with hashtag #milkdrive via Facebook and Twitter between 6/1/16 – 6/30/16, The Great American Milk Drive will contribute $1 to the Feeding America® network for the purchase of fluid milk, up to a maximum total donation of $5,000.

And as a thank you for taking the time to read about The Great American Milk Drive, they’re offering a giveaway to readers of this blog and the others participating in the campaign.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.