WOW

OK, I know I'm way slow with this post. And I know there's probably a lot that I should say at this point. But in the haze of sleepless nights, my brain isn't working well enough to think of a single one of them. So, all I can say about the past 2 weeks is "Wow." He's here, he's perfect, and I'm exhausted. I'll catch up with everyone later, I promise.

Counting Down

I've got just under 4 weeks until my due date. That means it could be anywhere from 2-6 weeks more. I'm hoping for the 2. So, I figured it was time for another belly pic. This may be the last one I post--since I'm not loving how huge I look and feel. And since I'm struggling to just survive these last few days. So, here it is folks:

Another Belly Pic

So, here's the latest belly pic, courtesy of my good friend AmyO. I was out to dinner with some girlfriends--and had the best time! I'm now only 7 and 1/2 weeks from my due date. Yes, I still have some time to get even bigger--if you can believe it. I've started growing out of my maternity clothes. Which means I'll probably be down to 1 or 2 outfits by the time this little guy gets here.

I had some very helpful friends point out that, with all the drama of last fall, by the time this baby gets here, I'll have been pregnant for a year. Yep. A full year of pregnancy. Unfortunately, I had already realized that. I'm so ready to be done. But at least this pic is prettier than the last one. Thanks Amy!

NOT TRUE!

I've heard it said that "Silence is Golden". Yeah, right. At my house, silence means this is happening:

Now I need to go clean a windowsill and Munchkin while I try not to cry. So much for my complete success of a day.

Success

We are back from Stake Conference. I nearly didn't go--the thought of wrangling 2 kids by myself for 2 hours at church did not sound enticing. But we got dressed, packed snacks, and went. And we survived! We stayed the full 2 hours. The kids were remarkably good. Which means I didn't want to shake them until the last 20 minutes. I couldn't believe it! I didn't really hear much of the meeting, and I don't feel like I got much spiritual nourishment for myself. But I went where I was supposed to go--and I have to believe that I'll be blessed for that. And I'm teaching the kids that we go to church even when it's hard. That has to count for a few gold stars in heaven, right?

Now if I can just get my energy back up and get a few dishes done, I'll consider the day a complete and total success.

Epiphany

I realized something about myself after I took Zippy to school this morning:

I am a mini-van-owning, carpool-driving, soccer mom. I live in the suburbs; and I have 2.5 kids and a dog.

Seriously, people. I AM the statistic. Freaky.

Now I just have to decide if I'm going to emrace my normalcy or if I need an emergency trip to my hairdresser to dye my hair pink.

I'm so not this grown up.

School Days

Zippy has started Kindergarten. He started last Thursday. I truly expected to cry, and I was a little, tiny bit sad on my way home from taking him. But no tears. None. He didn't cry either. I think we're both REALLY ready for him to be in school. He's so curious and energetic--which translates into constant questions and talking. He's ready for new information, new friends, and someone new to ask questions of. And I'm ready for a break.


Here's Munchkin and Zippy just before we left for school. Munchkin was a big help keeping her brother excited and not nervous.

Zippy in all his Kindergarten-age glory.

I was a little afraid that Munchkin would throw a fit about not being able to stay at school with Zippy. But she was actually just fine. I think she likes being Mommy's Big Helper. I'm so proud of my little guy for being so ready for school. Not a single tear or whine or problem! Go Zippy!

Finished!!!!

I finally finished one of my big projects! I decided to do all my Christmas projects now--so I won't have to worry about any of them once the baby arrives. And I just finished one of the biggest ones--new Christmas stockings for our family. This will be the first Christmas that Santa fills stockings at our house instead of going directly to Grandma's. I just can't imagine getting all of us and a newborn baby to Mom's that early. So, Santa will visit us here--and then after a lazy breakfast we'll make our way to Grandma's house.

So tell me what you think of the stockings. The pictures came out blurry, but that's what I get for trying to take pictures before 7 in the morning.

Just a quick update:

I failed my 1 hour glucose test last week, so I had to go in and do the really yucky 3 hour glucose tolerance test this week. UGH! But I passed. My blood sugar was normal, and I DON'T have gestational diabetes. YAY!!! I'm getting huge and uncomfortable and hot and cranky--i.e. I'm pregnant. LOL

Now if I can just get rid of the field mouse that got in the house, and clean this dang place, I'll be set. Wish me luck

Preggo Pic

OK, because I love you so much. And because I've been so bad about keeping in touch and actually seeing anyone I care about lately, here's a pic of what you've been missing. Can you believe that I've still got 3 months left to grow?!? Ugh. I've been told some women glow when they're pregnant. I just grow.

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Catching Up

Life has been so full and crazy it's been tough to get on here and update anything. But now we have a day or two between family visits, so it's time to touch base.

My house is cleaner today than it has been in months. The dishes are done (except the ones the kids are eating lunch on right now). All the beds are made--the bathrooms are clean and disinfected--the kids rooms are picked up--the entire upstairs has been vacuumed. It feels wonderful!!! But the sad part is there's still tons of dirt and grime and clutter waiting for my attention. I think the Housekeeping Fairy missed our house while I was sick. It's taking FOREVER to dig us out of it.

On more happy news: We're having a BOY!!! We're very excited. Everything seems to be going quite well at this point. All the complications are gone (keep your fingers crossed that nothing else happens). I've got just over 3 months left, which seems both extremely short and ridiculously long.

Zippy starts Kindergarten in a month. My feelings on this change by the moment. Mostly, when he's next to me asking his incessant questions, I'm more than happy to send him to someone else for a couple hours. But when he's quiet or in the other room playing, I worry I'll miss him a little. Ah well, either way, he's going.

And last, but not least, I have discovered a new way to get Munchkin to do whatever I want her to do. If I ask her, the answer is invariably "NO!" But if I ask her teddy-bear to help her do it, then it's a game! YAY! Any bets as to how likely this is to last beyond the end of today?

My favorite gift

A couple of weeks ago, my sister, Melissa, took a trip to Prince Edward Island. She came back with perhaps the best birthday present I've ever received. She visited a little ice cream shop called Cows, and found me a t-shirt! I'm still terribly sad I can't wear it--but my preggo belly is WAY too big. So, I just pull it out to look at every few days and giggle. I can't help it. Are you ready for this? Are you sure? I'm still dying over it! I couldn't find a picture of it on the Cows website, so I took my own. . . hope it turns out OK.

He's got that moody expression and he sparkles!!! One of the best parts, I think, is that it says, just to the side of the picture "this is a parody." HA! Cause we wouldn't want anyone to think this is an actual picture of the actual Edward. . . .LOL. I'm SO in love with this shirt! Thanks Melissa!

Baby Update

I had another appointment with my midwife today. The baby's heartbeat sounds good, and the bleeding seems to be tapering off. Everyone keep your fingers crossed about that! I'm still sick most nights, but it does seem to be getting a little better. I'm still hopeful that will be all but gone by the end of the month. Our next appointment isn't for another 4 weeks, but that's when we have another ultrasound and we (hopefully) get to learn the baby's gender! YAY

Save Second Base

Last weekend, my family participated in the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It's an event we attend annually--in memory of my grandmothers, Margaret Thompson and Merle Thorne, who both died from breast cancer. And in celebration of my Mom, Sandra, who fought of the nastiness and who is now 8 years past the end of her treatment! YAY MOM!!!!! Of course, I didn't walk this year. I'm pretty sure everyone I know would have tried to hurt me if I had tried to walk. I'll try another year when I'm not dealing with a complicated pregnancy.

One of the favorite things about this annual race/walk is all the t-shirts that people wear. It's the one day of the year that any and all boob jokes are totally OK. They range from the fairly tame and kinda sweet "Bosom Buddies" (a team of men that walked this year), all the way to the fairly risque and tacky. Another favorite this year was a bunch of men that had on pink bras that said "Show Your. . . Support!" LOL I just love to see so many people coming together to raise money and show support for such a good cause. There are way too many people being affected by this disease. . . and we should fight back with every resource we have.

One of my personal favorite slogans this year was "Save Second Base" Oh man I love that one! It took Mom and Dad just a second to get that one--which only made it funnier to the rest of us.

And in tribute to Mom--for whom this day is an annual celebration of life--here's her favorite t-shirt slogan:

"Of course they're fake. . . The real ones tried to kill me!"

Stop the World I Want to Get Off

So, here's the latest drama for those of you I haven't talked to in a while. In February, I got pregnant (SURPRISE!!!!). Then, a couple weeks later, I started to bleed. I don't want to gross anyone out, but it was heavy enough that we assumed I had miscarried. I continued to both bleed and be nauseated for a week--so we figured it was about time to figure out what was going on. After some testing, we went in for an ultrasound and discovered I was still pregnant and bleeding (SURPRISE AGAIN!!!!). As of now, I'm 9 weeks along, very nauseated, but at least the bleeding seems to have healed itself. I'm rarely online, and not in contact with very many people any other way either. I'm sorry to those who feel neglected. I'm in survival mode (and not doing a very good job of that either). I'm hopeful that by the end of May I'll be past this and will be able to be human again. I really don't want to spend my birthday sick. I'd love to hear from any of you that want to contact me, but I won't be reaching out for a while yet. And if you have any more surprises--yeah, just don't tell me right now. I'm done with surprises for a while.

Bad Day

I had a very bad day yesterday. I keep telling myself that they'll start to be less often, but it hasn't happened yet. I was looking over the past couple months on the calendar for something totally innocent when I realized that, had I still been pregnant, I would have had my ultrasound last week or the week before. I would be getting big (read huge, cause it's what I do); I would know the gender of my baby; and I would be more than half-way to holding my child. So, I spent a good portion of yesterday feeling sad and empty. I gave myself a headache trying not to cry, and still broke down and sobbed multiple times (once in public for which I'm going to be forever embarrassed). I did however manage to make it through teaching piano without crying and scaring my students. And I had a roast in the crock pot before I crumbled, so the day wasn't a total waste.

Today I feel fragile, tired, and a little puffy around the eyes. And irritated that now I have 2 days worth of work to try to fit into one.

Normally, when I feel this way, I would never post about it. I don't like to talk or be public when this happens. However, many of you that I love have been asking how I'm doing, so now you know. I really am fine; but if I answer your inquiries by saying I'm "here" or "upright", it's probably because that's a success considering I'm in the middle of this type of bad day.

This is a sign Rae just gave me. It SO describes my life right now. It's time for Spring Cleaning to begin.