Re-Entering Society

I'm Baaaaack!

I've taken a sometimes voluntary and sometimes involuntary blogging break since April.  Today marks four weeks since the birth of little Lilly and I finally feel like being a productive member of society again.

I've created a new blog over at Word Press and I'll no longer be writing here.  This site will remain open to be read but won't allow any new comments.  I hope you'll continue to follow me on my blogging journey.

As enticement I must tell you that I've posted a particularly funny video as part of the debut of my new blog.  Even if you don't think the video is that funny I'm sure all of the laugh/snorting I do in the video will make you laugh.

Annnnndddd...GO!

Pepper'd

Hello From Down Under

Hello! Hello! Down here! Can you see me? I’m down under this veritable mound of excrement. I’m thinking of that line from Jurassic Park that cracked me up as a kid (still does).

“That’s one big pile of ­_ _ _ _!”

 

What I’m trying to say is that sometimes I feel like I’m under a big pile of dinosaur poop.

 

This is random but another movie line that cracked me up was “Go with God Crispy”. Remember that one? Tell me in the comments if you know it. My comment section has been complaining lately that it feels like Hannah (from the bible) and a little barren.

 

I don’t even know the last time I posted anything but I’m sure lots of momentous things have happened. At the very least a mountain of unimportant things have happened. Either way it’s been A LOT.

 

I’m 13 days away from being a Thirty-Three Year Old. Joey is 36 days from being a One Year Old. His daddy is 39 days from being a Thirty-Nine Year Old. We’re all getting old. And then of course we’re now 62 days away from Lilly’s Due Date. If nothing momentous has happened lately there are at least 4 examples of momentous things coming up.

Pregnany Journal - Lillianna Grace

Updated with correct link!

Just a quick FYI and link to my Pregnancy Journal.  It's similar to my Belly to Baby page with Joey.  I'll try to keep it updated weekly.  You can find it at the top of my blog or with this link:

Pregnancy Journal - Lillianna Grace

Junk Drawer 3/27/2013

Belly Pic & Lilly Update

I need to tell you and future me that I'm really not as "big" as I look in the Week 26 picture.  I'm not really talking about my belly either but about my whole middle area.  In Week 25 I'm wearing a black, more form fitting shirt and in Week 26 the front of the shirt is more form fitting but the back is kind of gathered and makes it look like I gained a lot or something.  I didn't.  Don't forget future Faith.

In Baby Lilly news she's growing and poking her feet out at me and flopping around in there, kind of like Jimmy flipped and flopped around.  I have a feeling Jimmy and Lilly are going to give Joey fits.  You should see some of the looks Joey gives Jimmy now even at almost 10 months.  He thinks Jimmy is hilarious but sometimes he's like "what on earth are you doing??"  And in further predictions I think Jimmy will be uber protective of Lilly and an amazing big brother but will butt heads with her big time.  I have a feeling all three will be stubborn and strong willed but while Joey is quieter about his obstinacy I think Jimmy and Lilly will be all out there and in your face with their stubbornness.  I got all of that out of fetal movements…so take it however you will.

That wasn't really much about Lilly was it?  I realized last night that I'm only 11 weeks from the point I gave birth the last two times.  And 7 paychecks away from my due date.  I've already spent all 7 so that will probably fly.

Yeast Infections Crack Me Up

This is more of a stupid musing than a real question.  I'm a shower pee-er, especially when I'm pregnant.  But really just in general.  I usually pee before getting in the shower but if I get in and then have to pee I'm NOT getting out just to pee.  I had this random thought while showering this morning.  If you pee on your feet when you have a yeast infection is it possible to give yourself Athletes Foot?

Someone will probably tell me how while they are both fungal infections they are two different types or that your pee doesn't actually contain the yeast infection so it's impossible but I don't really want an answer…I just cracked myself up this morning imagining getting "pregnancy induced athletes foot" because I got a pregnancy induced yeast infection and peed on my feet in the shower because I pee so much because I'm pregnant.

List of Things/Events Coming up…in Chronological Order

Easter

Trip to KS (at long last)

6 Week Campaign At Work (aka "the busy season")

Diaper Party

My Birthday

Mother's Day

Joey's 1st Birthday

Daddy's Birthday

Our 6 Year Anniversary

Out of Town Visitors

Due Date

List of Things/Events Without Dates (Yet)

Selling My Truck

Buying a Larger Vehicle (to fit all the chilldrens)

Midwife Appointments

Pediatrician Appointments

Organizing and Reorganizing the Nursery (to accommodate clothes for three young'uns)

There is probably a lot more but that's all I can remember right now.

ACV

When I get on a bandwagon I'm all on, even if I'm not on it in practice, I'm 100% on it in spirit.  Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is my newest bandwagon.  It's pretty awesome.  I think it could cure the world of pretty much whatever ails them plus clean their windows to a sparkling shine.  In my heart I faithfully take my ACV three times a day and am becoming healthier than I've ever been.  In real life I forget to take in 95% of the time.

I'm exaggerating a little about curing the world of whatever and forgetting 95% of the time.  But without exaggeration it's pretty amazing stuff.  If you don't know much about it I encourage you to use Google and research it – it's pretty impressive.  This is the results we've seen as a family just in the few short months we've been using it:

Eczema treatment – clears up flare ups within 24-48 hours

Brighter Skin

Less Bloating

More Energy

Lower Blood Pressure

More Stamina

And that's not even using it as a tonic consistently.

I don't know what Joey's problem is.  I hate taking him to the Dr every other week and paying the co-pay just to find out he's teething.  Ohh, THAT'S why he's getting more teeth in his mouth!  But now his appetite is gone, he hasn't eaten much since the weekend, he's fussy, he's mucus-y, he's got a cough and adding it all up I think it's possible he has another dadgum ear infection.  So I'm going to try an ACV ear infection remedy tonight and try to figure out a way to get some down his throat the next couple of days and see if it makes a difference.  Either way – it can't hurt him.

Allergies + I’m Pregnant = Mouth Breather

Allergies + I'm Pregnant = Mouth Breather

 

I can't decide which one I'm really suffering from though.  I mean my normal allergy symptoms are headaches, watery/scratchy eyes, runny nose and even sinus pressure.  I'm not really experiencing any of that right now.  So it has to be a pregnancy symptom right?

 

This is gross – booger variety gross – but…sometimes I blow my nose and one long stringy mucus-y, sometimes crunchy booger will come out of each nostril and I'll be able to breathe through my nose again for approximately 5 minutes.  More often though I blow and blow and blow and I can feel there is something in the way and nothing comes out so I have to PICK it out.  Like way way in the back, close to my brain.  I cut my nails the other day and I was desperately picking at them and basically just petting the boogies back there because I couldn't grab onto them.  So gross and frustrating!

 

I don't seem to notice it AS much during the day as I do at night.  It definitely still bothers me but night time is the worst.  I think it's because it's already harder to breathe while laying down but on top of it I can't get a good breath through my nose so I breathe through my mouth and annoy the crap outta myself, plus my mouth gets so dry.  But then I drool puddles on my pillow.  How can I be drooling THAT much and still have a dry mouth?  Beats me!  Pregnancy twilight zone.

 

Grannie's Are Amazing

 

Where would we be without Grannie's?  Realistically speaking, without one we probably wouldn't be.  But that's a little deeper than what I was thinking of for this particular post.  My kids grannie is pretty special.  She carries around bananas and lets little boys rummage in her purse for whatever goodies they can find. She also gives them a bath without fail when they stay with her.  I try to send them at least once a week just for that reason alone.

 

This last weekend she was a real lifesaver though.  She watched both boys for us most of the day Saturday while we ran an important errand that was going to take up most of the day.  The she offered to keep the boys overnight so I could get a full nights sleep!  I've complained a little here and other places about how bad it's been with Joey's teething and how little sleep I'm getting.  This has been going on for weeks and now I'm not convinced that it's just teething.  I think he's developing bad sleeping habits that started with teething. 

 

I made a deal with her though that she could take Joey and I'd keep Jimmy.  This would kill lots of birds with one stone.  I'd get more sleep, Grannie & Grandpa would get some one on one time with Joey, Mamma and Daddy would get some semi-one on one time with Jimmy…plus I'd get more sleep.

 

I almost forgot what it felt like to sleep all night.  I didn't even sleep all night because Jimmy woke up coughing and with a little fever but that was a minor disturbance compared to the circus Joey puts on at night.  I woke up on my own and then went back to sleep and didn't even get out of bed until almost 10!  It was amazing.

 

Then I got lots of cleaning and laundry done before she brought him home.  When she dropped him off she picked up another grandkid and took her shopping for an Easter dress!

 

Then last night it was back to the real world.  Up every 1-2 hours.  Little booger.

 

Scooter

I'm not sure Joey will crawl.  I said the same thing about Jimmy and he did end up crawling but he didn't crawl long before he learned to walk.  Joey scoots though.  He sits on his little hiney and scoots wherever he wants and he's perfectly happy with his way of getting around.  He's starting to cruise the furniture a little and trying to pull up.  It's still possible that he will crawl but he seems pretty okay with not crawling.

 

Now before you get concerned about his mental health let me reassure you that I did a little investigating and some minor research and found that there is no solid proof for the theory that says kids that don't learn to crawl will have learning disabilities.  I hope he does learn to crawl because it's really good for hand-eye coordination and developing depth perception but I'm pretty sure running into walls a few times is also good for developing depth perception.  Some people just have to learn the hard way.

 

The point is he's moving and he's finally showing interest in going places on his own!  This is how it started with Jimmy so maybe he'll be walking by his 1^st birthday too!

Girl = Pink?

We all know that Pink = Girl.  But does Girl = Pink?

I grew up saying that I hated pink because I was so tired of it.  I was the first child and first grandchild on one side of the family.  I also happened to be a girl so not only was I spoiled rotten *ahem, like Jimmy* but I was also wrapped in a cotton candy-esque cloud of pink.  At least that's how I felt about pink when I started noticing ALL THE PINK.

Then it just became a thing, to hate pink.  I didn't really hate it but I said I did and held other girls in contempt for wearing or loving pink.  Soooo unoriginal!  I slowly but surely matured and hating pink became a thing that immature children do. Then came the day I bought a pink purse and then a denim skirt with a scarf that had pink in it and I realized you can do pink without being baptized in it.  This is the way pink was meant to be experienced.

I always figured I'd have a daughter and I was never going to ever (never, never, never) use pink on or around her.  Then I figured some pink wouldn't be too bad.  Then I had two boys and that was going to be the end of that.  My life would be blue, orange and green for the rest of my days.  Which I was completely happy with because I like blue, orange and green and that would save me from explaining my childhood aversion to pink to everyone that wanted to bathe her in pink.

And then BONUS BABY!  Baby Lilly.  The baby that would change the color scheme of our lives.  The question remains though, just because she's a girl does that mean she has to wear, live, sleep in and breathe pink?  Will all of her accessories and toys and tights be pink or some variation of pink?  Will I wrap Joey in a pink blanket one night because that's the only clean one available?   Yeah probably for that last one.  But no, we've come a long way baby and pink is not the only girly color out there.  They've even made girly versions of blue, orange and green. 

 

These are just a sampling of the girly things they have to offer now.

What's bound to happen though is that I will protest so much about pink that no one will dare offer up anything with a hint of pink and then I'll be forced to go on a pink rampage to make up for the pink anemia in Lilly's life and closet.  So now I face the realization that I do want pink in my daughter's life, I do!  I'll probably dress her in the most obnoxious frilly clothes and the hugest bows I can find – all the while declaring my repugnance of pink frilly things.  I guess what I'm trying to express here is that when all of her laundry – clean or dirty – is piled up I want it to be a nice mixture of colors, not a sea of pink. 

And please don't get me started on pink camo.  Seriously.  What the heck are you blending in with when you wear pink camo??  Not the woods that's for darn sure!

And Her Name Shall Be...

You should all know by now that Bonus Baby is a…..GIRL!  How many of you were surprised?  Some of you said "girl" with every pregnancy and you were finally right.  Some of you said girl for the first two and then finally said boy and were wrong…again! 

 

The Chinese Calendar predicted girls for my first two and a boy for the last one going to show it only has a 50% chance of being right.  In my case it was wrong 100% of the time.

 

The needle on a string test was right…three times!  We did the test over my palm and it swung in a very definite circle, stopped, then swung in a pendulum pattern, stopped and then a pendulum again!  Going backwards that's the order of my children.  Girl, Boy, Boy!  It worked the same way on my mom. 

 

So what you all don't know yet is the name we've picked for our daughter.  This name has been on the backburner of my mind for years now.  When it was time to actually pull out the girl names I tried to be creative and find something new but none of them jived with us as much as the name I've loved forever.  Within 3 hours of knowing it was a girl we settled on…

 

~Lillianna Grace~

 

She'll be "Lilly" for short and we've begun trying to introduce Jimmy to the idea that Mamma's big belly has a name.  He's successfully said 'Little Seester' but still doesn't really get that it doesn't mean his other 'Seester'. 

 

It still hasn't really sunk in that another girl will be joining this rambunctious bunch.  It's sure to be a completely different experience but I just can't imagine it all yet.  Maybe once I start stocking up on girl things it will sink in a little more.

 

 

Pictures

In collage form:

 

Joey - 9 months!

 

Naptime - Jimmy and Joey

 

Belly Belly

 

 

 

 

Just Rambling

I have this big, time consuming, tedious spreadsheet project I'm supposed to be working on.  I'm about halfway through the first part and that's taken me about 12 hours spread across a couple of weekends and on top of my normal daily work.  I still have the second half of the first part and then the second part. And it's supposed to be done before Friday if possible. 

 

But I'm writing a blog instead.

 

I unconsciously put myself on a blog strike these last few weeks.  Partly because it's annoying to not be able to work on my blog at work, partly because I didn't have a lot of inspiration but mostly because I needed to keep my mouth shut.  I know how you all are – analyzing everything I say or don't say, the tone I said it in and any other variables you can add to the equation, in a valiant attempt to determine the gender of Bonus Baby before I'm ready to reveal.  I'm ready to reveal!  In fact I've already revealed to the people closest to me, geographically speaking and a few not so close geographically speaking.  I've mailed out the cute gender reveal cards to those far and away and am waiting not so patiently to hear that they've all been received.  When that happens I can publicly announce the gender and name of our last child.  See!  I couldn't even add an adjective to describe our last child for fear you'd all read into that too!

 

I'm mostly posting this out of impatience and a desire to not work on that gigantic spreadsheet – not cause I have any real thing to say.  So if you're reading this and you've already received your card in the mail (which would be a miracle since it's been less than 24 hours since I put it in the mailbox) and you HAVEN'T called to congratulate or commiserate or just out of pure courtesy….well, how dare you!  I'm waiting anxiously by my text inbox for your comments.  I'm about to draft an announcement post with the dashingly beautiful name of our next and final child. 

 

*I only said "dashing" and "beautiful" to throw you off.

 

I'll stop rambling for now.  Look for my next post in approximately 20 minutes full of new pictures.

Pacifier Envy

I think I must have pacifier envy.  Wouldn't it be nice if us adults had one thing we could use to make us instantly feel better if we're upset, grumpy, sad or otherwise put out by anything going on around us?  Something that would help use drift off to sleepy town while wrapped in a soft blanket?  Or give to someone to shut them up when they're being loud, obnoxious or just plain annoying?  I'd suggest a margarita but that would probably just make the loud, obnoxious, annoying people more loud, obnoxious and annoying.

 

It was time to cut Jimmy off and now a month later we're doing really good.  He's never tried to take Joey's, he doesn't ask for them anymore, he's learning how to cope without it and falling asleep is going much better.

 

Joey will be 9 months on Friday and for the past month he's also been weaning himself off the pacifier.  Strange kid.  For the past two weeks I haven't even bothered sending one to the sitters and I definitely don't keep up with where any are.  They are some floating around the house but it's official – no one in our house uses pacifiers.

 

Every now and then when Joey gets really crabby for no apparent reason we'll search for one and offer it to him but he's not interested in the slightest.  And the strap attached to it, that Jimmy was also addicted to (I think it was his one and only lovey), has never interested him except as an extra accessory to chew on.

 

There are so many things to keep track of with when you have little ones so one less thing to worry about is nice.  Pacifiers will make a return in approximately 4 months but how long they'll stick around remains to be seen!

Junk Drawer – Of The Ages

Okay, not really of the ages but I just needed to spice it up to make myself feel better.

My List

This list is more for me than for you. I need to write this down otherwise I'll forget what's coming out that I want to watch.  We watched A Good Day to Die Hard Saturday and approximately 75% of the movie was previews and mostly good previews.  So here's my list of must see movies.  Notice I didn't say WHEN I must see them but as long I as watch them before I expire I'll consider it a success.  You might call this my 2013 Movie Bucket List.

Man of Steel

Iron Man 3

Star Trek Into Darkness

The Heat

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

After Earth

FAST AND FURIOUS 6 (thought this deserved caps)

The Internship

I thoughtfully provided the links to IMDB for you so you can read about them or watch previews…whatever. 

Note these are only the ones I've actually seen the previews and that I actually remember that I want to watch.  I'm sure there are others.

Another Note, after Fast and Furious 6, which I WILL watch in the theater, even if it's the $ theater, I will probably be a maniac on the road.  Just warning you.

Are you kidding me?

My mamma's intuition tells me my kids are sick.  Again.  For the third time.  Since January.  The end of January.  Except for the runny noses, painful sounding hacking and inability to stay asleep at night I bet you wouldn't be able intuit that they were sick.  It's something only a mamma could know.  Well, daddy too since he told me last night Joey was getting sick again.  Joe Blow on the street probably could have told me too but Mamma's Intuition is a real thing, dagnab it!  And I won't listen to any blathering on about it not being. A real thing.

It's Been 21 Weeks

And 2 days.  Over half way done but while it's flying it's also dragging.  But really it's fly dragging.  I've got to start planning another first birthday!  It's going to be here before we know it and I'm not going to be ready.  And approximately 2-4 weeks (ish) later I'll go into labor and have another one (whose sex has yet to be determined, dang you work/Dr schedule!) who'll have a first birthday approximately 2-4 weeks after Joey's 2^nd birthday.

Which leads me to another question, has anyone seen my brain, my mind or my nerves?  My brain and mind has fled the scene and I think Jimmy and Joey (a little) has stomped my nerves into non-existence.  Maybe all three will regenerate in approximately 4 -18 years.  By then I'll have dementia.  It's all good.  Life is more exciting when you're not sure if you peed in the toilet or the fish tank.  I'm talking about me, not Jimmy, and we don't even have a fish tank.

Happy Day After Jump Day Folks!

Jimmy

I just love him so much I want to squish him.  And sometimes I want to squish him because he's so onery.  How can a little person be so cute, sweet, loving, thoughtful, funny, perceptive, observant, cute and cute but also be stubborn, onery, stubborn, and really just plain stubborn?

First the sweet, helpful, observant Jimmy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-SpNgusFMU&feature=youtu.be

I think some teenagers I know could take lessons from this two year old.  I was cooking dinner and trying to finish up the laundry at the same time and without me saying a word to him he came and started unloading the washer for me.  Blew my mind. 

Onery, stubborn Jimmy though – boy is he a doozy.  No videos or pictures of that side but yesterday was about the worst day we've ever had with him in his 2.5 years.  He was in trouble from the moment he got up until he went to bed – with some sweet moments sprinkled in to be sure.  I'm pretty sure it's all normal behavior for a two year old but it was a rough day for the ol' parents and for Jimmy.  He stubbornly refused to be obedient even with much discipline and whined all day.  Usually whining means "I need a nap" but he'd wake up from his nap whining and throwing a fit.

To top the day off while watching Dora in his room he apparently decided to check out his diaper.  Took his shorts off, then his poopy diaper and somehow or another got it smeared on his hands, foot, floor and the pillow.  After the day we'd had with him that put me over the edge.  I didn't even punish him since I was pretty sure he was just curious and maybe even trying to help out by changing his own diaper but the whole time I was cleaning the floor all I could think was "I DON'T OWN A DOG FOR A REASON!!!!!!!!"

I guess the day he'd had really wore him out though, as much as it did us, because right after I was done cleaning his floor I combed his hair out and he asked to go to bed.  He was out almost before I got out of the door.  I hope for his sake and ours that we don't have too many more days like that.  I told his daddy that his stubbornness could serve him well one day if he learns how to harness it but right now it's a pain to deal with.

Junk Drawer 2/15/2013

Matters of the Heart

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and for some people it's a really important holiday, it's even the measuring stick by which they judge the success of their relationships.  Some people are disgusted with it and feel it's a holiday created by Hallmark and wouldn't dare lower themselves to indulge in the chocolate-y decadence.

For me it was always more important to me when I had no one.  A day to be sad and miserable and for throwing pity parties, crying that I wasn't special enough to have someone to spend the holiday with.  Now that I'm in a wonderful relationship it's not nearly as important to me.  I do enjoy that we have an extra day each year to use as an excuse to get a babysitter and have some alone time but even if that doesn't happen every year it's more than enough that I have that special someone with me every day.

We didn't celebrate this year in the traditional Hallmark way.  No flowers, some candy, no romantic candlelit dinner but the focus of the day was still on the heart and the heart of the family.

How fitting is it that my dad had heart surgery on Valentine's Day?  Sure it was a little rough on the nerves as we waited but we were so thankful that he was finally having the surgery and getting that infection cleared up so he can get on the road to healing and a complete recovery.  And he started on Valentine's Day.

He pulled through like a champ and we were treated to dinner by my brother and sister in law at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants and stood as the example for all the mushy couples imbibing on a Thursday night with their partner of choice for the evening.  A table for 9 complete with THREE highchairs.  This is what you're in for lovers.  Of course our babies were on their best behavior even though they were Two, Sick and Teething.  So I don't think we really scared anybody off of their intended course for the evening.

Speaking of Two, Sick and Teething

Toddlers are disgusting.  But they don't know they are.  In fact God probably created them to be as gross and nasty as possible in order to help develop their immune systems.  So in a way they're functioning perfectly when they dip their hands in the toilet bowl cause you said they needed to wash their hands.  !!!!  They aren't misfiring or have a screw loose…we should probably be encouraging this type of behavior more often so that they'll never be sick as adults.  I think I'll start serving Jimmy's meals on the floor…the one I rarely mop. 

Sometimes though they take advantage of your failures as a mom (parent) to be even more disgusting than they normally would have been on their own.  I left the thermometer I used to check Joey's temp (you know, where the sun don't shine) on the end table.  I should have known that it would be the most interesting thing on the table this morning when I sat Jimmy on the couch to watch Dora while we finished running around like chickens with no heads.

Daddy came to put his jacket on him and, yep, he was holding it.  In his mouth.  Like a lot.  Daddy almost puked and my heart sank.  First of all it's disgusting to even think about.  Second, my faint hope that Jimmy wouldn't get sick with the stomach bug Joey has was shot dead.  It's almost a guarantee now.  Unless, possibly he's already done so many disgusting things in his two years, that I probably don't even know about, that his immune system is already so strong that sucking on his brother's rectal thermometer means nothing to him.  But as my brother likes to point out Jimmy is a Virgo and as a Virgo Jimmy is the cleanest little disgusting toddler I know. So he's probably gonna get sick.  Maybe I'll get to sleep next year.

Baby Daniel is teething and so is Joey.  It's one reason I thought Joey's stomach bug wasn't a stomach bug for 24 hours or so.  Teething brings on some wonky symptoms/side effects.  But while teething isn't fun for anyone to endure you're unbelievably proud of those pieces of enamel that finally poke through.

So to recap:

Jimmy is Two and unwittingly disgusting – just the way God made him.

Joey is Sick and Teething and the best little sick baby ever.

Daniel is Teething and a doll.

Pudding

I know this is at the end and the picture is at the top but I just had to share.  Jimmy fed himself a cup of pudding and only dropped a tiny bit on his clothes.  Of course his face and hair was a different story.  He was so proud of himself and we just had to capture the moment.

Long, Long Night

An exerpt from an email to friends:

"Joey developed a fever last night before bed out of the blue.  I'm a bad mom and don't actually check their temps unless they're so hot they scare me.  Even then I'll hurry and put them in the bathtub and give them meds to help bring it down and completely forget to check.  So I have no idea how hot he was last night but while he was hot he wasn't burning.  So I gave him the last of the Ibuprofen while Daddy held him and he immediately threw up.  So that probably didn't do any good.  I went ahead and put him to bed anyway hoping it was just because he was teething.

1am: he woke up so I gave him a bottle and went back to bed.

2am: he woke up and didn't want the rest of the bottle that he hadn't finished.  I felt his forehead and he was pretty hot.  I took him to our bed where he stopped crying magically and Daddy watched him while I ran to Walgreens in the middle of the night to get some more Ibuprofen.

2:45am: Finally get home and he's laying in our bed happily so I give him some medicine.

2:46am: Jimmy wakes up – like really wakes up and laying next to his bed wasn't working to get him to go back to sleep.

3:00am: Took Joey back to his bed since he seemed to feel a little better and put Jimmy in bed with me.

3:15am: Joey starts fussing.  He doesn't want the bottle.  He doesn't want a pacifier.  He's not really that hot anymore.  So I set him up and he pukes.

3:20am: I take only the puke affected clothes off and take him into the living room and lay on the couch with him hoping he'll go to sleep.

4:00am: He's finally asleep after tons of jiggling and patting.  I lay him in his bed.

4:05am: It actually feels good to curl up with Jimmy and try to sleep.

4:07am: Joey's hungry.

4:12am: He dropped the bottle and I have to go give it back to him and now he doesn't want it.  I stand there and pat him and try to get him to take the pacifier.  He finally drifts off.  I turn off my alarm.

4:45am: Jimmy starts kicking and being annoying.

5:00am: Joey wakes up and is pissed.  Nothing works.  So I turn the tv in their room on, let him get distracted with that.   Then set him in his bed with a few toys and hope he doesn't notice when I go back to bed.  It works for 15 minutes.  Repeat 3 times.

5:45am: Joey is finally out for a little while and Jimmy is alternating snuggling up to me and kicking me and Daddy.

7:00am: I managed to get a little sleep between kicks.

I'm so tired!"

Long Time No See

 

Tomorrow is officially the halfway mark in this pregnancy with Bonus Baby.  20 weeks pregnant…again.  For the third time.  Wow!  I don't know about you but it's hard to believe sometimes.

The internet at work situation just plain sucks.  Sorry for being so crude but it's the truth.  It has nothing to do with the quality of it – more so that we're being monitored and not allowed to use it pretty much at all.  It really puts a crimp in my style.  Crimping was only cool in the '80's.

So that's why you haven't seen me much lately.  I have a little to catch you up on with this pregnancy but nothing really earth shattering.

18 Week Appointment

The 18 week appointment was less than stellar to say the least.  For starters it was way too short, I didn't get an ultrasound and my blood pressure was up.  On the plus side I only gained something like 3.5 – 4 lbs.

My BP was 146/90 at 18 weeks.  It didn't get that high until the third trimester with Joey.  So that was a little concerning to me too.  We saw the midwife for a total of maybe 5-10 minutes and she basically said my BP was high and she wanted to schedule me to see an OB after my anatomy scan. She said more than likely he'd put me on blood pressure meds and that would help with the need for bed rest and an induction.  Nothing like driving 2.5 hours each way to see your health care provider for 5 minutes.

So we scheduled the anatomy scan and OB appointment for the 15^th (this Friday) and now I'm having to reschedule it because of other scheduling conflicts.  But now we're looking at the 20^th so that's only 5 more days.

Reasons It Could Be A Girl

-           My uterus seems significantly smaller this time than with either Jimmy or Joey.

o   I wore non-maternity jeans yesterday that I zipped and buttoned and was comfortable in – besides the unfortunate muffin top effect.  I couldn't wear those pants past 15 weeks with either Jimmy or Joey.

§  I wish I had taken a picture but if you had seen me in those jeans and that oversized t-shirt you would have thought I had a nice spare tire working but would have never guessed I was pregnant and especially not 5 months pregnant!

    

-          A small uterus may not mean anything other than the baby is small right now but it's DIFFERENT from the other two times.

-          I've had MINOR acne.  Didn't have any with the other two.

-          At least 4 people are certain it's a girl this time.  Most of them said Boy last time.  Different!

-          My belly is wider this time.  LOL  Only because I still have baby fat left over from Jimmy AND Joey but no one needs to know that.

-          Mercedes says it's a girl and that's probably all the proof I need considering how much she doesn't want it to be a girl.

Is that it?

Yeah, I think that's it for now.  Except that I checked my BP at home on Saturday and it was 114/71.  Makes me wonder if I get so anxious about my BP reading at the Dr that it makes my BP go up.  I'm keeping a log though so I'll show it to the OB and we'll see what he says.  I'm actually looking forward to the possibility of BP meds and maybe being able to go into labor on my own.  I'd rather avoid an induction at the hospital if at all possible.

It Was So Sweet I Didn't Even Notice

Have you ever noticed how some things sound so sweet and precious and when they happen to you, around or with you sometimes you don't even recognize that it's sweet and precious until afterwards…or maybe never?

I've been crashing for the night around 8:30 or 9.  I just can't go anymore.  My brain shuts down and my body feels heavy and I have to get in bed or I'll fall asleep wherever I am.  I haven't even been putting the babies to bed much the last week or two.  I've literally slept in my clothes the last two nights and both nights Jimmy has come and gotten in bed with me, mostly to play, while I struggle to keep my eyes open enough to make sure he doesn't fall off the bed, jump on me or get into something he's not supposed to.  By the time Daddy comes to get him to put him in bed I'm barely aware of what my name is and where I am much less where Jimmy is and what he's doing.

Last night he ran to his room, got his new "counting" book and came and got in bed with me so we could read it.  He laid down next to me and got all comfortable and we read it together.  Then he snuggled down in the covers and read it to himself.  Then he moved around, bumped my belly, then had to pull the covers down, pull my shirt up and kiss my belly and then said "okay" and covered me back up again.  Then snuggled back down again with his book.

Does that not sound like the most precious thing you've ever heard?  It is but while it was happening all that was going through my head was "…dos…cinco…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….caballos….Tres…zzzzzzzzzzzz".  It wasn't until this morning when I was thinking about it did I realize how sweet it actually was.

*email post*