Tick, tock, tick , tock

Ok Baby, just come on out, we're waiting.................................not yet? You sure? Ok, while we're killing time on your DUE DATE, let's brush up on your soon-to-be siblings.

Baxter, age 4, big brother, known nicknames-Bax, B, Baxie(not fond of that one, save it for a squabble)
Baxter 1st entered the scene just over 4 years ago and he's an accomplished speaker for his age. You would do well to pay attention and pick up the English language from your brother. He's also quite good with identifying scent and has been known to sniff out cookie breath (caught me onetime when I was putting him to bed) along with the occasional potty smell. He and your Momma were visiting the local science center this past week and while using the bathroom, had the following exchange:
"Wow, that smells like poop Momma!"
Momma replied, "Well, this is a public restroom and people pee and poop here" (obvious company in the neighboring stall, keeping quiet while they do the business)
"Nah, it's really bad Momma, it smells like dog poop." (quick shuffle to get out before this gets any worse)

Paige, age 2 1/2, "big" sister (she's quite small), known nicknames-Paigey, Paigerino
Don't mistake her slightness for being a pushover, she's feisty and has a little entitlement complex that we're working to overturn before it's too late. For example, she routinely thinks I'm a servant (hmm.......maybe she's on to something there). One morning not so long ago, she needed a diaper change in a bad way. I was making breakfast and busy but with Jennie already quite pregnant, I offered to take care of it. Paige responded, "No, momma change me. You make my breakfast."
Paige is also quite adept at smelling, as you could learn from earlier posts. So it's in your best interest to potty train as soon as possible, because you won't have any where to hide from these two nose detectives.

Come on baby, I don't think I can keep it clean much longer!

We are rapidly approaching family of five status. We've reached the point where uttering the sentence, "By this time next week, we'll have an infant home with us", is almost sure to come true. I think we're ready, I've been nesting my tail off this past week readying the house for another mouth to feed (although in our nursing-friendly family, another bum to wipe is more the case). And in true Poirier-Lowell form, we've already made it necessary to clean the bassinet. You see, we're not clean people. I mean, we shower regularly, generally have laundered clothes, etc....but our home is often in an untidy state. For some reason, the "disease" as I call it escaped my genetic makeup, unlike my brother and sister. It's not uncommon for Jeremy to grab a vacuum while visiting someone's house and give it a go over the carpets, just for fun. This is especially true if it's one of those fun Dyson models that lets you view the swirling, twirling dust bunnies through the clear dirt collector. I swear, one of these years I'm going to sprinkle sand over the wood floors and invite him over for Christmas or his birthday. Danielle is just as bad, if not worse. She lived with us for 18 months while getting her degree and it was the cleanest living we ever experienced. When she moved out, it took me a week to not only find the vacuum but to also figure out what it was and how it worked. Just the other night, she got the kids ready for bed, which included a bath. After she left and the kids were in bed, I walked into the bathroom to finding a sparkling counter and sink. It's like a super power, she can bath the kids, entertain them AND scrub the bathroom at the same time. The Jennie/Derek comparison story-Once we found actual mushrooms growing in the crevice of carpet and bathtub in an apartment we were renting.
The bassinet story-It was returned to us last night by one of Jennie's co-workers, as we'll need it very soon. This co-worker took it apart and cleaned it prior to returning, very thoughtful but probably a bad idea for our house. Within an hour, the kids having just left the dinner table (one of them with a chocolate milk sippy cup) proceeded to climb into it and soil the crib sheet with a nice little splash of said chocolate milk. Luckily, I'm still in nesting mode and immediately brought it to the laundry room for a dose of Shout. If I could only find a way to bottle this nesting hormone for occasional emergency use....