Cinco de...Stromberg

So the news is out, thanks largely to a couple of overzealous souls. We are having a baby! Yes, you read that right. Baby number five will grace our presence just after the first of the year. I kept it a secret for a while. The grandparents knew and couple of friends (one of which is a nurse -- more about that later).
Let's just say, this came as a big surprise to us. This will be c-section number five for me, so I'm kind of scared about how my body will react. And dear daddy will be about 85 by the time this one graduates high school. Truth is, he'll be, well, he'll be older than me. Let's just put it that way.
Farmer Boy and the Princess are already thinking of names. They learned Spanish in school this year. So they have suggested "Cinco." Cute, but probably not. And, as Princess is quick to point out, this is actually baby number 6. The middle child is somewhere bouncing around in heaven's playground.
This baby was totally unplanned. However, we have no doubt he or she will be a definite blessing in our family. And, as one friend pointed out. "LaRue" couldn't have been the baby. She was obviously referring to the flailing, screaming, dramatic fits she has at the drop of a hat. Entertaining? Yes. Getting old? Definitely.
I mentioned today that it's partially my late uncle's fault we're in this predicament. If I hadn't been grieving his sudden death, and my wonderful husband hadn't been so quick to comfort me, well, you married couples know...
Without knowing I was pregnant, I had surgery. Good thing I didn't know I was pregnant, because I probably would have put off the surgery even longer. But bad thing that I took darvoset and other pain killers. (Hence, the call to my nurse friend when I found out I was pregnant). We just pray for God's mercy and grace on this little one.
Farmer Boy and the Princess have been more than eager to tell people we are having twins. Sadly, people believe them. I quickly correct them, and, as of this week, I have proof that is NOT the case.
I took them with to the doctor when I had an ultrasound, just so they could hear the nurse say, There is only one baby." I asked her to repeat it for emphasis, and louder in case they didn't hear her.
So they've moved on from the discussion about twins and cinco to now: "Mom, are you going to go to the vet now like Lily (our dog) so that you can't have any more kids."
Actually, I've got some wonderful BRAVE male friends who will be taking daddy for a drive, something they should've done for about 2 years now....

? of the day

Something is so wrong with this question I just asked Cookie Monster: "How much perfume did you put on?"
Seriously, when the smell lingers from the basement, through the main floor and up to the top floor, enough already little guy!! Plus, do you know how embarrassed you will be when we remind you of your obsession with perfume when you bring a date home.
At least this time it was a cheap bottle and not one of my expensive perfumes.

Is it a sin?

I've spent some of this morning trying to recuperate from a trip to the Children's Museum with all 4 kids -- by myself. Cookie Monster stood at one display (I guess the non-working sinks made him think of running water) and looked up at me calmly and said "I'm peeing."
"Stop!" I shouted, trying to be calm. But the fountain just kept running, down his leg and onto the carpet. What was I thinking, asking a three-year-old who is potty training to control his bladder?
So all 5 of us trekked to the bathrooms to discover the dreaded yellow sign saying it was closed for cleaning. I mentioned to the young teen working in the area that there was a cleanup in aisle 9. She said they would take care of it. "They" meant the man currently in the ladies room, who would not budge so I could remove Cookie Monster's clothes.
Sorry -- brief sidenote -- I'm laughing to myself because we were in Cookie Monster's playground at the time -- a Sesame Street display!
So I waited outside the door for a few moments. The young teen told me I could go downstairs to the other restrooms. Sorry, I said, we'll just wait so as not to stomp his pee-covered shoes down the elevator.
So I just at on the bench outside the bathroom and used Farmer Boy and the Princess as a shield for Cookie Monster's bare bottom to change him. Needless to say, the pull-up replaced the "big boy" pants at that moment.
Oh, and while the quick change took place, LaRue stood at a window overlooking the main floor -- licking it clean!
Guess hand-sanitizer doesn't work for that one.
So I was just kind of vegging this morning, working on some Vacation Bible School things in the living room and trying to recuperate.
I wondered, as I looked over the booklet filled with Bible verses and references to God: is it a sin that I can hear my dear husband in the dining room laughing and playing with the kids and.....
TEACHING THEM HOW TO PLAY POKER??? Oh, and they are using REAL poker chips.
Guess I have a new prayer for the VBS prayer list?