a few more photos

Just a few more photos. I liked the one at the bottom enough that I really wish Aaron had been in it. I could have used it to get Christmas cards printed up and then I'd be able to get them sent out. Unfortunately, Aaron was in "a mood" and refused to have his picture taken that day... oh well. We'll try again another time.

The recuperation process seems to be going well. We are back at home and today Tim went back to work - thus making it my first day all alone with all four kids. My patience levels are still in super short supply, but I am trying to reign myself in. Tim has tomorrow (New Years Day) off, then Aaron will be back in school on Wed. I need to schedule Caleb's two week check-up and my two week post c-section check up for this week as well, but I'm not really in any big rush. I really am not looking forward to going out in this freezing cold weather - hauling a new baby and trying to keep two other kids within arms reach (my reaching length is considerably shorter since I lack the ability to bend if it requires any help from the stomach muscles) Oh well, a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do. And right now, THIS mom has "gotta" feed the kids lunch and then take a nap! (I'll just have to take my chances with the disasters that will most certainly result during said nap time.)

Baby Caleb

Hey all, I'm finally back. I am happy report that Caleb Jonathan has safely arrived. Things did not go at all as planned...
He was born just after 1:00 (I don't recall the specific time, as I'm sure you can understand after hearing about his arrival, and I don't want to get up right now to look for the paper that has the exact time) on Monday, December 17th. He weighed 8 lbs 4 oz, and I can't remember how long they said he was... Anyway - here is the story of his eventful arrival.

On the morning of the 17th, I had a full day planned. I had asked Tim to stay home from work so that I could get to all of my various appointments without having to worry about fining a sitter for the other kids. Trina had her speech class at 9:00. I was scheduled for a non-stress test at 9:30, my IV Iron therapy at 10:15, then my weekly midwife check up at 11:45. Tim had scheduled appointments to go to the dentist and to get his car's oil change done in the afternoon.

It all started out fine. Tim took Bry and Trina to speech and I went to the hospital for my NST.
For this point on, the schedule got a tad bit off track. During the NST, they kept seeing drops in the baby's heart rate. "Nothing really serious," but enough to make them concerned that the baby was under stress. (Is this the story of this pregnancy or what? It seems like every time I turned around there was something else that "wasn't serious," but was something to be a little concerned about and keep an eye on.) The NST people called the midwife and she told me that the baby was showing enough signs of stress they she felt they should induce me and get the baby here. I said okay, called Tim to tell him that plans had changed and we were going to be having a baby... I went downstairs to cancel my IV therapy and then drove to the hospital where I would be delivering.

I checked in, got settled, and they started me on Pitocin (spelling??). So far so good. They continued to see decelerations in the baby's heart rate during each contraction but still nothing to be too concerned about... About an hour into the pit drip, Tim and the kids arrived (he hadn't been able to get a hold of my mom to come watch the kids yet...) I called my parents next door neighbor and was able to catch him at home. He confirmed that he had seen my mom working outside and I sent him over to give her the message to come to the hospital. Then my midwife (Sue was the delivering midwife that day) came in and broke my water.

About 20 minutes later, my mom arrived. (talk about perfect timing...) Right after my mom got here, the nurse (her name was Jill and she was wonderful!) came in and said that they were starting to be more concerned about the baby. Every time I had a contractionn the heart rate would drop significantly enough that they couldn't get a clear reading of it via the external monitors. They wanted to put in an internal monitor - on the baby's head, so they could get a more accurate reading of what was happening. I of course agreed, and that's when everything went berserk. Jill went to insert the internal monitor and found that the umbilical cord coming out first. (called prolapsed cord) Every time I would have a contraction, the cord would descend first, the the baby's head would put pressure on it and cut off all the oxygen supply to the baby. She called the midwife in, who confirmed the situation.

The next thing I knew I had a slew of nurses surrounding my bed and about 15 seconds later I was being rushed down the hall to the OR for an emergency C-section. The next few minutes while they waited for the Dr to arrive, I was prepped for surgery, given a shot to stop the contractions, all the while Jill was doing everything in her power to hold the baby's head and umbilical cord apart from each other to keep the oxygen supply getting to the baby. (It was VERY painful from MY perspective) The two doctors arrived, I was put under, and I woke up in SERIOUS pain about an hour and a half later.
For the first 24 hours I wasn't able to nurse Caleb. Apparently when there is a lack of oxygen, the body sends everything to the brain, and the other organs sort of shut down. If the baby gets food in the stomach before the organ starts functioning, the food will just rot in the stomach and cause infection or other problems. To be honest, I was actually kind of glad, because it meant one less thing for me to have to deal with that first night. Caleb was on an IV getting sugar water, so he was as content as could be,and he just slept the night away in the nursery. I tried to sleep, but it wasn't until about 3 in the morning when the pain medication finally seemed to catch up to the pain.
I stayed in the hospital until Friday, then came straight to my mom's house where we will stay until this weekend. We figured it would be much easier for my mom to help out if we stayed here. Tim went back to work this morning and I am SO glad I'm not at home, in my split level house with a kazillion stairs, trying to take care of 4 children. After going up to Montana to help my sister after her C-section, and seeing how difficult her recovery was, I was dreading the healing process. I think my doctors must have been better than hers, because I feel like I'm healing well, and I'm getting around much better than I thought I would be.

Caleb is just so sweet. The kids all love him to death and are anxious to help and to hold him. We've taken some better pictures than these hospital shots, but the thing (USB cord???) to download them from the camera is at home, so you'll just have to take my word for it...

Well, that's the story. I feel so blessed that everything went as it did. They tell me that if my water had broken at home, it is likely we would have lost the baby. The morning after the delivery, the Dr. came in and said something to the affect of , "aren't you glad you're not living in the pioneer days? You and the baby would have been markers along the trail." Now isn't that a lovely thought? I am so very very grateful that Caleb is healthy and that everything went as well as it did. As they were prepping me for surgery, I kept thinking of the blessing I received a few months back; that I would have the strength to endure the trials and afflictions, and that I should/would get the proper medical care, and that I would be able to welcome a healthy baby into our family. I'd say that as much as that blessing didn't tell me what I wanted to hear... it was right on the mark.

Best Husband in the World Contest

Hey guys - My friend Candace has been hosting a contest for the Best Husband in the World. The finalists have been posted and the voting ends tomorrow - so, pop on over to http://candacesalima.blogspot.com and vote for your choice(s) for the winner.

While I can honestly say that TIM is absolutely, hands down, the best husband in the world for ME - (I can't imagine anyone else putting up with me and my idiosyncrasies) the finalists selected for this contest really sound like great men. Their wives are very lucky women. I think it is so sad that we live in a world when "man bashing" is totally acceptable, considered 'humor,' and it is like it's become a sport among many women. While we all know that men and women were created to be different; and sometimes it is funny to acknowledge the quirky differences - I think it is so important to honor men and celebrate the strength and goodness they bring to life.

Anyway - First be thankful for the good men in your own lives, then go read about these guys and cast your vote for "Best Husband in the World."

I believe in "points for trying"

(still no baby, in case you were wondering...)

I have a friend who is pretty obsessive/perfectionist - you can pick the term. She is the type of person for whom everything has to be done the RIGHT way. She is on medication for depression and anxiety, and even with that, many days she feels overwhelmed by her life. I had a little experience last night that made me think that I should give her more credit for the things she does get done... I thought I would share the experience with you -

Bryan loves to get into my closet, find my bathrobe, and then drag it around with him and snuggle with it. He'll curl up at night with it over his head. (I always try to remove it because I worry that he'll get it wrapped all around his neck and choke himself with it.) I decided that for Christmas I would make him a blanket - one side a soft, warm, flannel type material, and the other the cool, silky feeling (like my bathrobe) material. Now, I should tell you that I am totally a NON SEWER! I took the 8th grade required HomeEc class, doing the required sewing unit. On the day we learned to thread the machine, I just wrapped the thread around every little part I could think to wrap it around. The teacher came running at the smell of smoking parts. I got through the class, but my lines were never straight, and I never felt confident in my sewing abilities. That has remained my feeling to this day.

SO - I sat down last night to sew this blanket. I figured, "how hard can it be? It's just two squares of fabric and I'm going to stitch them together." What a nightmare! I still don't know why, but for the first hour, the top thread kept breaking. I threaded that machine at least 25 times. I am NOT exaggerating! I was getting SO frustrated. I ended up taking part of the machine apart to figure out if there was something jammed in the tension knob thing, since that was where the problem seemed to be coming from. (I would have been much more comfortable taking wood shop and auto shop in Jr. high - it's much more to my liking to take things apart to try to fix them and to build things - I LOVE power tools!)

Now, back to the story. I ended up needing to wind a new bobbin and so I changed thread at the same time. For some reason this seemed to fix the problem and I was able to finish up the blanket. Does it look fabulous? NO! Are the stitching lines straight? HA HA! Is it square? NOPE! (makes it a little trickier to fold, but I figure it won't be folded very often anyway...)
Do I think that Bryan is going to LOVE it and snuggle with it and that it will become a treasured memento of his mommy's love? NO - I think he'll keep getting my bathrobe out of the closet.

Even as I was sewing and these thoughts were running through my mind, I thought "but at least I get points for trying." That started another train of thinking. Points from whom? Do I really think there is someone somewhere - marking points on some score chart? Do I really think there is some point quota that we have to reach? No. Then what do I think?

What it finally came down to was that I think we are expected to TRY. I believe that we were sent to earth to experience life. To try new things. To do things that maybe we aren't really that great at. I believe that we don't have to be great at all the things we do. We just have to give it a shot. We just have to try. I won't even say "do our best" because I'm sure that if I wanted to take the time, I could have spends hours and hours and day and day working on this little blanket for Bryan. But the fact is - it doesn't really matter. Having straight stitch lines wouldn't mean that I love Bryan more. It would just mean that I took that much time away from doing other things that are probably more important.

As I thought about my friend while I sewed last night - I realized that if I viewed things the way she does - that nothing is good enough unless it's "perfect" - I would never do anything. I would be paralyzed by my perfectionism! I would constantly be afraid to do anything because I would know I just wouldn't be able to do it "right." I acknowledge that sometimes I go to far the other way - that I settle for "good enough" instead of pushing/encouraging myself to be better. I know there is definitely room for improvement in all areas of my life, but I am confident that the Lord doesn't expect me to be perfect right now. While I am sure he would like to see a little more focus/effort on "improving," I am confident that he is pleased with the fact that I keep trying. That I keep doing . That I keep experiencing and enjoying life.

The "flylady" motto for 2007 has been "progress, not perfection in 2007." I truly do believe that while there isn't some great scorecard somewhere with a full time scorekeeper, we do get "points for trying." Some days we fall far shorter than others - but we get points for getting up and trying again.

So - I'm going to get up and go clean the bathroom. It certainly won't be "perfect," but it'll be better than it is now. And then I think I'll spend some time playing with my children. (the kitchen floor has been sticky for 2 days now, I think it can wait a few more hours.)

change is good

Still no baby.

Yesterday morning I was having mild, but fairly consistent, contractions. They were consistent enough that I wasn't sure if I should send Tim out the door to work or not. (since he has to drive an hour each way...) He waited at home for an extra hour, then the contractions stopped, so I sent him off to work. BUMMER MAN~

I think the disappointment got to me, because for the rest of the day I felt totally unmotivated, super lazy, and unable to do anything! So after doing absolutely nothing all day - I decided (at 7:30 at night) that I needed a haircut. (go figure...) I found a beauty school nearby that had an 8:30 appt available, so in I went. It was nice to get out of the house, be away from the kids, and I think I lost 3 or 4 lbs of hair. My head feels SO much lighter! She took off about 4 or 5 inches to start, then put in long layers. The shortest layers are just above my shoulders (taking off an additional 5 or 6 inches) and the longest layers fall about 4 or 5 inches below my shoulder.

Believe me - there was quite the pile of hair on the floor when she was finished, but as I said, it feels so much lighter. My challenge now will be to figure out how to work with it. (I did insist that all layers were long enough to pull back into my mainstay hairdo - that of the ponytail!)

I got home and was happy to find that Tim had all the kids in bed asleep. I was in my bathroom examining my new cut, when my super bushy, uni-brows jumped out at me and were totally bugging me. SO - I decided, on a whim, to pluck them! (this was a first for me, and I didn't do that great of a job, but oh well) I wasn't going for a huge, drastic difference, and unfortunately they aren't exactly even, but I got to the point where I decided that I had no idea how to fix the unevenness, and I knew I'd better stop plucking before I had no eyebrows left. It's not bad enough that I feel the need to find a babysitter, make an appointment, and rush in to a professional to get them evened out, but maybe in the near future I'll consider it.

I think it is safe to say that I was discouraged by the lack of change in this baby situation, so I took matters into my own hands and made what changes I DID have control over. Today I'm feeling like an almost new woman - still not super productive in the housekeeping arena, but I'm not lying on the couch feeling sorry for myself either, so that's good news.

Later -

no baby yet, work party, and Faith in America

Nope - no baby yet...

Last night was Tim's work party. It was a dinner held at the Little America Hotel, and even though getting dressed up and going out (and getting stuck for a whole extra hour in traffic due to an accident - I was not involved in one, just got stuck for miles and miles because of one), it was a nice evening. I didn't have to cook or clean up, and the kids got to play at grandma and grandpa M's for 3 1/2 hours. The kids thought it it was great. (I hope the grandparents thought so too) I wish I could say that Tim won a prize, but no luck this year. (These companies that Tim works for give out great prizes. The smallest prizes last night were $100 gift cards to various restaurants, and the largest were a $500 American Express gift card and two tickets to fly anywhere Jet Blue flies. One couple at our table - a guy Tim carpools with - won a set of the airline tickets. There were $200 gas cards, $150 gift cards to Target and Walmart, $200 cards for IKEA... the list goes on. I kept thinking when they'd announce the next prize - "oh yea, I could spend that one...." Oh well - maybe next year.

Now, my reaction to Mitt Romney's Faith in America Speech yesterday. (I actually got to watch it on TV, since I was sitting the IV therapy chair at the hospital getting another iron treatment.) Now to be honest, I should start by saying that I am LDS (mormon), and I plan to vote for Romney. I think he has proven his ability to lead in times of difficulty and scandal (the SLC Olympics), I believe he has shown the ability to lead in fiscally wise decisions (balancing the MA budget without raising taxes), and I believe he is a man who lives and stands for moral and family values - which I believe this country desperately needs.

I think he did a fantastic job on his speech. I think it was very well written and delivered and was inspiring and patriotic. I was very proud of him. I listened to quite a bit of "post speech commentary" as well, and I was not at all surprised to hear the variety of reactions. Romney is in a situation where no matter what he said, there would be people who said he either "went to far" or "didn't go far enough." There is absolutely nothing he could say that would satisfy everyone. I thought he did a marvelous job in stating clearly that he is a Christian, that he does believe in Jesus Christ - but we all know that people will continue to believe whatever they want to believe. I thought he did a great job reminding the American people that it is not so important which particular faith you adhere to - as long as there is the moral foundation to build upon. I loved how he said that freedom cannot exsist without a moral (religious, if you will) foundation. I loved when he said that there were many who said he should distance himself from his faith at this time, but that was something that he would not do, not should he. I loved when he said, If I lose the election because of my religious affiliation, so be it." He stated firmly that America does not need leaders who will simply change their "beliefs" to satisfy the whim of the people.

In one radio comment I heard after the speech, Enid Green stated something along the lines that this speech was given not to convince people that Romney is one thing or another, or to convince them to vote for Romney, but it was instead to tell people that Mitt Romney deserves their fair consideration. I hope people in America will find the ability to look at the candidates for who and what they are. Who and what they stand for. How they live their lives.

I firmly believe that America is a "choice land," a "land above all others"; but I fear that we are walking a path that will take away that blessing. In the Book of Mormon we are told that the people of this land will prosper and be blessed only as we follow God. As Romney stated in his speech, there are many who seem intent on establishing the new religion in America - that of secularism. I stand for FAITH IN AMERICA. I believe that the government of this great land was inspired by God, and that the men and women who were instrumental in the founding of this great country were placed on this earth at that time and place for that specific purpose. I believe that it is time for people of faith in America to stand up and be counted. (Do I think it will happen? no, I think things will get worse before they get better... but I can hope, can't I?)

Anyway - I am not a super-charged political machine - in fact i admit that I'm pretty clueless when it comes to most things going on in the world (mostly clueless by choice) but I just wanted to weigh in on Romney's speech yesterday - and this is what came out once I started typing.

Ya'll have a great day and I hope I have baby picture to post the next time I get on here to blog!

where does the time go?

I can't believe it is a new week already. Where did last week go??? I wish I could say that I've been gone having a baby, but unfortunately, that would be a wishful thinking LIE!

I had my midwife appointment today. We're hanging in there. She did check my status and I'm dilated to between a 1 & 1 1/2, which means that I wasn't imagining what I thought might be mild-ish contractions over the weekend - at least my body is gearing up to get this baby here. (With my others I've always been at a big fat ZERO the appointment before they were born.
I may need to readjust my mental due date as well. My initial due date was Dec 14, based on LMC - but I happily changed my mindset to accept the ultrasound due date which moved it up a few days to the 10th. My midwife today informed me that they never changed it on their charting, since it was within a certain number of days... BUMMER. I know it may not seem like much to those of you who have never been pregnant before - but that extra four days (or five, depend on how you count) looks/feels like an eternity from where I'm sitting!

Anyway - Let me move on to a new subject - Christmas preparations: I WAS done with my Christmas shopping about a week or so ago, until my mother (who hates to shop even more than I do) decided to put me in charge of doing her shopping for her. (I do most of my shopping online, and my mom is a bit computer phobic, so she figured I could do her shopping while I did my own. I didn't bother to tell her I was already done, I figured it's the least I can do - she is my mom after all, and she's been so good to drive over here multiple times a week to watch the kids while I go in for non stress tests and IV iron treatments.)
We got our tree up and decorated the week of Thanksgiving. I tried to get the kids to sit in front of it to get a picture to post here, but I could never get all 3 kids to look at the camera (and look semi-non-goofy) at the same time. I got our family Christmas letter written last week. Of course, the first paragraph reads something like this: "We are pleased to announce the arrival of the newest member of our family - so and so somebody. He/she arrived on December ??? and weighed in at ???lbs and was ??? inches long." I figure it will be easy to fill in the blanks on the baby info after the baby gets here, and I won't have the stress of writing the WHOLE letter. Hopefully we'll be able to get a good picture of the family and/or the kids soon after the baby comes, then I can get the photo Christmas cards made, copy the letters, and if all goes well, get everything into the mail before Valentines Day:)

WEEKEND report: Saturday morning Tim got to go pick up Jasmine from another overnight stay at the vets. I took her in on Friday to have her stitches removed, and as they were taking out the ones on her worst laceration, I questioned whether they were ready to come out. The vet technician assured me it was fine, and took out the sutures. I had been home about 15 minutes when Aaron pointed out to me that the entire wound was wide open. I took Jasmine back to the vet, where the tech was appropriated aghast and ran to get the vet. He looked at it and said, we'll need to sedate her and stitch it again. Another $100 later... (they only charged us for the anesthetic, not the overnight stay, vet time, etc...
Saturday was a great day for BYU football - taking down San Diego and ending a perfect conference season.
I had intended to go over to the BYU bookstore and pick up a copy of Anne Bradshaw's book "Please, No Zits" and visit with her for a few minutes at her book signing. However... it was snowing all day, and ever since I got into an accident 3 years ago I really DREAD driving on icy roads. (I was driving down the steep hill to get out of our neighborhood when I couldn't stop at the bottom and slid right out into traffic on State Street - I had the kids in the car with me. Luckily no one was hurt, but mentally - it is still very much with me! Aaron still freaks out when we go down the hill if there's any snow at all on the ground.) If I don't absolutely HAVE to go out, I don't! (Sorry Anne)

I woke up this morning feeling awake - which as you know is pretty rare, so I took advantage of it and got up early (for me) and showered, washed 2 loads of laundry, got Aaron off to school, and still had time to sit quietly for few minutes before I had to wake up Katrina for Speech Therapy. From there we ran a few errands before the 11:30 Dr. appt. After that I took most of the day pretty easy, just your basic keep kids out of the toilet, referee any major arguments, homework, and meal prep stuff, but boy am I ready for bed now!

Until next time -

Good Morning!

Good morning all -

I went in for my 1st IV iron treatment yesterday, and although I hated the needle (I am incredibly needle phobic) and it did hurt a bit, I think it is a good thing. After the treatment I thought I felt a little better, but after doing the making dinner, homework, and bedtime scenes; I was pretty worn out - so I chalked up the "feeling better" to having 1 1/2 hours of quiet time, with no children.

However, when I woke up this morning I felt pretty rested, instead of dead on my feet. (Which is pretty amazing since I still had to get up 3 times during the night to use the bathroom) I could also climb the stairs without getting totally out of breath. THAT was a good sign.

SO - As of this morning, and I'm a whole 2 hours into it - I'm feeling a little less run down, and I've already folded the two loads of laundry from yesterday. I go back in for another treatment tomorrow and I'm hoping the good feeling is for real, and not just a fluke... I just made my list of things I'd like to get done today, and my game plan is to try to be productive, while not completely overdoing it - Ya know what I mean? Anyway - I'd better sign off here and get working on my list.

good news and bad news on the baby front

I'll start with the great news - BYU won the BYU/UTAH show down! I had the kick off time wrong and when I tuned in at 2:00, I was shocked to find that I had missed the entire first half of the game. (Normally I would have been in the house listening to the pregame show - and thus would have discover my error MUCH earlier, but the weather was beautiful and I was out trying to help haul sand up the hill into our backyard sandbox. I say TRYING to help, because I couldn't really do much lifting or carrying. I did fill buckets for Tim to haul, and I carried a small bucket back and forth. I figured that I saved Tim maybe one trip (two if you are generous) with my efforts.) Anyway, since the score was 3/3 when I tuned in, I figure I didn't miss TOO much. It was a close game, once again coming down to a last minute score for BYU to take the victory. It was GREAT!

NOW - to the baby news. (The bad news and good news are all kind mixed together in my writing here, but the way I interpret it all is that the BAD news is that there is anything at all to be concerned about, and the GOOD news is that they aren't SO concerned about it that I am in the hospital tonight having some emergency procedure done or something) ANYWAY, back to the story of my day - I had my weekly check up today. I am measuring 36 centimeters, so I'm only 2 weeks behind -which falls into the 'normal' range,so that's all good; but my iron count has gone DOWN. It tested 9.3 today. (It was 10.? 3 weeks ago and should be up in the 13 + range) The midwife was also concerned that I mentioned that on both Friday and Saturday I felt a marked decrease in fetal movement. I hadn't been too alarmed because the "kick count" paper I had said that as long as you got your 10 "kicks" in an hours time, it was OK. Normally when I would do a count, I'd get my 10 kicks in like 10 minutes. Both Friday and Saturday I noticed decreased movement, so I drank some juice and went to lie down and count kicks. I got to 10, but it took between 30 - 45 minutes. That seemed enough of a marked difference for me to mention it when I went in today. Apparently the midwife thought so too, because she ordered a non-stress test. SO - after I got the kids picked up from school and lined up a sitter, I went in for my NST. They said the baby looks OK, but they were "somewhat concerned" by the fact that every time the baby moved, it's heart rate would drop out of the 'normal' range for a second. (They think it could be related to the low iron, since the iron in the blood carries the oxygen.) So - they sent me home with instructions to do regular/diligent kick counts and advised me go in for another test if at anytime I feel concerned.

I got home to find a message on my machine from the midwife. She had been thinking about my low iron all day and after getting the report from the NST felt strongly that I need to do the IV iron treatments twice a week until the baby comes. SO -- tomorrow I get to go back and have my initial IV treatment. wahoo - I can't wait. (being sarcastic here, in case you can't tell) The ONLY positive I see is that maybe I won't be quite so tired all the time... Here's hoping!

Now I need to get to bed and try to get some rest. I was out running from here to there all day today, so I have a lot to try to catch up on tomorrow. Tonight as I was worrying a little about all this baby stuff - I recalled a blessing I had a while back (when I had that horrible rash all over my body and the day I seriously felt like I was having a heart attack) in which I was told that I would deliver a healthy baby. I thought - "great, I'll just rely on that promise and bag all this other stuff for right now." Then I remembered the rest of the blessing. I don't recall word for word, but it was something like "you will have the strength to endure the trials and hardships that lie ahead," and "you will get the proper medial care needed." OK OK! I will try to be patient. Hopefully only TWO MORE WEEKS!!! (less would be OK with me too)

$450 later...

Well, we had an adventure here last night. (an expensive one) I sent the kids up the street to return something to a neighbor. I didn't know that they let Jasmine (our dog) out when they left, and she followed them. (I should add here that this isn't really all that unusual. They always let her out with them and she is great at following them - she has been responsible for helping us locate wandering children on numerous occasions.)

The next thing I hear, Aaron comes in the house screaming and crying. "I think Jasmine has a broken leg!!!" I went to investigate and found that Jasmine was limping and bleeding from several spots. Aaron explained to me that they were on their way home after making the delivery. when another neighbor's Pit bull broke loose from where he was tied up, and attacked Jasmine. (They felt terrible, but I don't blame them. Dogs will be dogs, and if Jasmine hadn't been up there - without a leash and adult supervision, it never would have happened.) Anyway, I called the vet and found that they were open for 7 more minutes. Luckily the office is just right down the street and we hurried right over. There were two lacerations that were deep enough and bad enough that she needed to be sedated and stitched up. (There was an third puncture wound that he would have just had us just keep clean until it healed, but since she was already being sedated, he stitched it too.) She got to have a sleep over at the animal hospital last night, and we picked her up this morning as soon as they opened.
Aaron was SO upset and insisted that he couldn't go to school until he had seen that Jasmine was really OK. Since the vet opened at 8:00, I agreed that we could pick her up as soon as they opened and Aaron could be 10 minutes late for school.

So - now Jasmine is home, we are $450 poorer, and I get to spend the next 10 days making sure Bryan doesn't climb on her, that she doesn't lick open her wounds, and that she gets her 2x/day antibiotics and pain medication. Then we get to take her back in to have the stitches removed. FUN FUN FUN

Just point me to my pillow...

I am SO tired! (no, it's not really even that late - but I am completely exhausted!) I totally want to be in bed sleeping right now, but I just took my iron pill, so I'm not supposed to lie down for 30 minutes. Why exactly is that - I would like to know; but just in case it's because the iron is so powerful it will eat a hole right through my esophagus, I'll stay up for 26 more minutes.

Playing the flute with the choir in church today went OK. Not so fabulous that I am concerned that people will be beating down my door to have me play again real soon, but not so horrible that I think everyone is wondering what in world I was doing with a flute in my hands to begin with.

I got a nice surprise last night, which carried over into a blessing for today. My visiting teacher is going to her brother's for Thanksgiving, but she wanted to have her own little dinner (since she doesn't particularly care for he sister in law's cooking), so she and her husband had their big ole feast on Saturday. She made extra on purpose and brought it to me so that I wouldn't have to make dinner today. Can I just tell you how delightful it was throughout the day to be able to think, 'I don't have to make dinner tonight!" Hooray! And clean up was as easy as re-zipping a plethora of Ziploc baggies. It wasn't "needed," but it sure was kind, sweet, thoughtful, nice, and very much appreciated!

Let's see, how many more minutes to go...about 18. I could fold the laundry that is waiting in the dryer (since yesterday), but since I really don't want to, I think I'll plead the 4th. (commandment that is) (of course, some might say I shouldn't be blogging on the Sabbath either, and in general, I don't... but... )

Well, I'm not thinking of much else to say - apparently my remaining brain cells have gone to bed - with or without the rest of me.

until next time -

PS - only 6 more minutes to go! just enough time to shut down the computer, brush my teeth, go to the bathroom AGAIN (only about every 20 - 30 minutes these days)and head off to bed!

Anemia update

Hi-ya'll

I went into the midwives yesterday for my standing appt. They are concerned that my iron count is still so low and we are this close to delivery. She changed me to prescription iron, which is supposed to be more readily absorbed by the body. They will do another finger poke at the next visit, and if not showing marked improvement, they will put me on IV iron treatments. (That was what she was leaning towards this time, but I opted to give the NON-NEEDLE and the "no-babysitter needed while I go to the hospital twice a week" route. I actually worry more about iron poisoning than I do about being a bit low.

I picked up my prescription and started reading the "side effects and "how to use this prescription" information. I loved the one that listed a huge amount of food that are not to be eaten 1 hour before or 2 hours after taking the medication. Um... I'm still supposed to be eating every 2 hours. I thought to myself - ok, I'll take my night dose right before I go to bed. NOPE. "Do not lie down for 30 minutes after taking medication. HELLO!!!!! What a pain! I also read that calcium and zinc block the absorption of Iron. Whoops - I just started taken some after the last blogging babes dinner when Donna told me that magnesium supplements would help me sleep better, and that mag. and calcium together were better than just one or the other. I'll be stopping those particular vitamins until after the iron crisis has passed:)

Only 3 1/2 more weeks. I CAN DO THIS!

On a slight bragging note, I worked really hard on Wednesday. I cleaned my kitchen really quite thoroughly. I even cleaned out and reorganized the pantry. (i was tired of having 4 things fall out on me every time I tried to get out the one thing I needed:) I really do love having a clean house, it is just SO MUCH WORK! And it just doesn't last! In fact, after I spend most of the day cleaning the kitchen, Katrina spilled a FULL pitcher of Kool-aid on the newly mopped floor. (I don't usually buy kool-aid anymore, but I found it while organizing and decided to make it as a special 'treat.' Suffice it to say, re-mopping the floor was the resulting treat.) Then Aaron dumped his full dinner plate of mashed potatoes with Chicken gravy on the floor. (He was trying to shovel his food in a bit too fast I guess.) Luckily Jasmine (the dog) helped with cleanup on that one. Regardless - I was very proud of the work I got done.

ICK

I had an interesting conversation at the pet store Monday. I had noticed for the past couple days that our fish were acting very lethargic, and I noticed little white specks on them - like someone had dusted them with powder or something.
I tested the water and found it dangerously high in nitrates, so I did the 25% water change, and checked the filter - only to discover that it was totally gross anddefinitely needing to be changed. I didn't have a replacement filter, so off I went the pet store. While there I asked the clerk if there was anything else I should be doing to try to help these fish. The conversation went something like this:

ME: My fish are acting very lethargic and they have little white spots all over them.

CLERK: ICK

ME: Ya - it is pretty gross. Do you know what would cause that?

CLERK: ICK

ME: (Thinking, "ya, we already established that it's icky") So... is there something I need to be doing?

CLERK: You need to get rid of the Ick.

ME: OH, Ick is the name of the disease?? How do I take care of it?

CLERK: (pointing to some general location of the store) - ICK Guard

I followed the direction of her point until I finally located some fish medicine looking products and located the elusive Ick Guard. It sure would've helped if the clerk had spoken in full sentences. I'm not really complaining though - they really know their stuff at that store - which is why I only buy my fish and fish supplies there. They may not have the greatest people or communication skills, but they really know their fish!

Weekend Report

That almost makes it sound like I have exciting news to report - no such luck...just regular run of the mill stuff.

First and foremost - I'd like to send out a big blogging welcome to my little sister. She has been bitten by the blogging bug. She will be a "journal type blogger" like me. It's just such a convenient way to keep a record of the daily happenings and a great way to keep track of what close friends and family are up to. If you happen to know my sister and want to check in on her site to see what she's up to these days, you can check her out at: http://musicmom-of-5.blogspot.com/

And now - the weekend:

Friday night Tim and I got a sitter and went to the evening get together of the babbling blogger babes. We were small in numbers this time, and the only other husband able to attend was Donna's husband, so I'm not so sure how Tim felt about hanging with the babes - but as ever, he was a wonderful sport. I agree with the consensus of everyone there that Golden Coral is certainly the better venue. Chuck-a-rama was just packed and SO NOISY! It really makes it difficult to visit and get to know people when you can't hear what anyone is saying...

Saturday - Believe it or not, I'm having a hard time even thinking of what I did Saturday. Tim had a scouting Pow-wow that he went to all morning. I know I got some laundry folded and put away. Oh yea - we drove up the canyon to look at the log house that Tim bid on. After seeing it - I'm not quite as anxious to pack up and move there. Lots more neighbors that I imagined there would be... It's not that I'm exactly anti-social, I just like my privacy and space. The yard was also somewhat disappointing, with most of the property on a very steep mountainside. Tim and I talked about all the "improvements" we would want to do to the house to make it more pleasant to live in. The home is bank owned now, and since the owner passed away owing more than the home is currently worth, we are now just waiting for the bank to assign an agent to oversee the sale, then we'll see if they accept our low ball offer.

Sunday - the annual primary program! The kids did a great job and things went as smoothly as can be expected or hoped for. I really do enjoy working with the children. Some days the energy level required makes me pretty tired, and it is a bit hard on my voice - but I love it anyway! Next Sunday I'll start teaching them the songs for their part of the Christmas program.
Another Sunday note - the ward choir is singing next Sunday and they asked me to play the accompanying flute part. Now, back in my high school days, I was pretty good on my flute. The trouble is that I haven't practiced at all for years and years and years. My mouth muscles are in no shape to play. I can play the fingerings without any trouble at all, but it sure doesn't sound very clear and beautiful. (more along the lines of breathy, screechy, and not clear.) I'm hoping that if I continue to practice this week - a little everyday, that it will go okay on Sunday. What I worry about is that since it already isn't great, when I get in front of everyone, I'll be extra nervous so it is only going to be worse. I'm a little concerned, but I guess I'll just have to do my best, and if it is really bad, they will learn to not ask me to play my flute in public.

Monday - Today is the day I get to start digging out from under the "weekend of little or no cleaning" mess. Ya gotta love Mondays, eh?

Here's hoping it's a great week!

hola'

Yesterday was a rather roller-coastery type day. (as far as productivity went, not emotionally)

I had a rough time getting going in the morning. (I blame this one on my husband) Tim saw a house for sale that I think I would love to live in. It is smaller than our house now, so maybe I'm crazy, but it is a log home, up the canyon, in a gated community, on almost 2 acre (1.8) of land. (some flat, some on the the mountain side) I have always wanted a mountain cabin retreat - and this is close enough we could just live in it year round. (no, the picture is NOT of the house in question, just one I found online) Tim sent in a low-ball offer, then he went of to work. After he left, I started my usual "jumping in head first" mentality and started trying to figure out how everything would work. The home is 15 minutes out of town, so my first decision was what to do in regard to Aaron's schooling. I went back and forth between homeschooling and switching to the Charter School that is in that town. The Charter school is great. I'm certain I would be absolutely satisfied with the school should we get in. I'm just a bit leery of the 30 minutes (more in snowy winter conditions) commuting time it would take me to pick him up everyday. (I figure Tim could drop him off on the way to work.)

When Tim got home and I told him that I had such a hard time getting started because I was plotting the ins and outs of this move - he just laughed at me. "You DO know that the chances of us getting this house are SLIM to NONE..." Yea, I know that, but I still have this need to be semi-mentally prepared, just in case. And after thinking about it all morning yesterday, I really think I'd like it. I know I'd love the mountain surroundings, the land for my kids to run and play, and the "out of the city" lifestyle. I'd have to be more organized, cause it would be HORRIBLE to have to make a 30 minute + "milk run" to the store.

ANYWAY... I finally got it in gear about 11:00 and I went wild. Got both upstairs bathrooms cleaned, Trina's room cleaned, and my daily load of laundry washed. THEN I got sidetracked when a friend called. This is the friend who just calls to chat...about a whole lot of nothing, until the battery on my phone dies - thus ending the phone call. That put a cramp in my speed cleaning, and she was still talking strong when the boy I babysit on Mondays and Thursdays was dropped off. This little guy, "G," is fine - as long as I hold him the entire time. NOT really conducive to getting work done...

By the time G left, 1 1/2 hours later, I wasn't really fired up to clean anymore. I worked on the kitchen anyway, and got it mostly done. Then I did carpool pick up, and because it is such beautiful weather right now, I took the kids to the park and let them play for an hour. (I'll miss this gorgeous weather... a storm is due to blow in on Sunday, so I'm trying to take full advantage while I can.

Next came dinner, homework, bedtime etc... After we got everyone into bed, I turned on the BYU game and while listening to it, I made a bunch of freezer meals. I'm trying to get ready for the upcoming weeks. I figure I should have meals in the freezer for the couple weeks before and after the baby. Extra lean ground beef was on sale this week so I bought a big chunk of it and last night was my "ground beef meals" assembly night. I assembled and froze BBQ meatballs, meatloaf, tator tot casserole, sloppy joes, and cooked ground beef to use in tacos or taco salad.

I was a nice way to use my football game time - and I was THRILLED with the game. It got close at the end, but amazingly enough, I didn't really get tense. I felt pretty confident that BYU would hold TCU - and they did. I sure hope Gooch (spelling??) isn't hurt too badly.

Today I'm planning to finish the ground beef by making chili and stuffed peppers, plus one of the pork chop recipes - and if I really have the get up and go to sdo it, I'll also do the pasta dishes (spinach lasagna and cheese stuffed manicotti) Then I'll take a break until next week, when I'll start tackling the chicken recipes.

Wow - I've been rambling for quite a while here... I need to get my duff off the computer and get to work!

Later -

Halloween picture....

Aren't they cute? (and I'm not prejudice at all... okay, maybe just a little) I only wish Bryan had felt better so we could have had Pooh bear too. Oh well. We are all still on a basic sugar high around here. I'm starting to think that might just have something to do with the headache I seem to have adopted of late.

I have so much around the house that needs to be done, and I just don't feel like doing any of it. I just hate that! Hopefully I'll find some motivation to get moving at some point during the day, but if not, I'm pretty confident the work will still be waiting for me tomorrow. (and the next day... and the next.... That's the thing I've discovered about housework - it is incredibly patient. it just waits and waits and waits for you - multiplying as it waits, of course)

Until later -

Hooray! a productive day!!!

Yesterday afternoon I finally decided Bryan wasn't getting much better and I wasn't prepared to head into the weekend without finding out if there was something the doctor could do for him. We got an appt. and found that he had a red throat - didn't bother testing for strep since both ears were red and inflamed, and the antibiotic prescribed for the ears would also clear up the throat if it did happen to be bacterial.

To make a long story shorter - after his evening and morning doses of antibiotics, I haven't had to hold Bryan all day and it has been GREAT!

Right now the kitchen is clean (clean enough at any rate), master bedroom floor is clean and vacuumed, both kids room's have been cleaned and vacuumed (no, I can't say "clean", because Aaron has friends over and they are all playing something in his room, and I haven't had the courage to go see the damage...), the hall has been picked (shoveled) up and vacuumed, stairs vacuumed, front room picked up and vacuumed, downstairs hall and laundry room picked up and swept, dryer cleaned out (meaning the scrubbing out of the melted on crayon that I discovered when I took the last load out of said dryer), and the load of laundry that is now spotted with red crayon has been pre-treated, soaked, and is in the washer now - hopefully getting rid of all the little crayon 'chicken pox.'
Let's see - anything else? packed up all the Halloween costumes and decor and Tim hauled them back downstairs for me... Oh, and I spent some time finishing up stuff I needed to do for the upcoming primary program. That reminds me - I need to run over the final copy to the primary president's house... I also need to decide what's for dinner and get that started... and I need to make a run to the grocery store to pick up mild since we are getting low and tomorrow is Sunday... Oh and I really need to clean/vacuum out the van - I fear there may be some science experiments alive and well in there...

That's about it. I'm feeling pretty good about it all - even knowing that 1) it should never have gotten as bad as it was, but the fact is that I've done basically nothing all week except hold a sick little bubba, so I got pretty behind on everything... 2) if left unchecked, all the hard work will be undone within a matter of hours, and I'll be looking at doing it all again (well, hopefully minus the 'crayon in the dryer' fiasco) on Monday... and 3) in a non-pregnant, non-anemic state I could have gotten all this and more done in a whole lot less time - but hey. I am CELEBRATING!!! GO ME!!!!

I have to throw in - GO COUGARS!!! They kicked some Colorado butt today! Final score was 35 - 16 (I was listening to the game while working.) Every once in a while I worry that the football team isn't really as good as they appear to be - more that the other teams in the conference are just pretty bad; but I don't worry for long. I think they are a really good team! I also look at how young some of our fantastic players are and I'm feeling pretty confident that BYU has some really great years ahead of them...

My opinion on school vouchers

Just for the record, I am voting FOR prop 1.

I believe that the majority of public school teachers are working wonders with what they have to work with, but I absolutely believe that competition is necessary in order to give the public schools an incentive to continually strive to improve their services.

Case in point: my local neighborhood school. 2 years ago 8 families (from my ward alone) pulled their kids from the local school and put them into private (1 family) or charter schools. That is a lot for one 5 block area. If my counting is correct, it pulled 20 or 21 students from the school, and I'm not counting another family with 4 school age children who were on the waiting list for a charter school but didn't get in.) I can only assume that similar things were happening in other neighborhoods nearby. This mass exodus made the local school stop and ask WHY? They contacted families to find out why they were leaving the school. The reasons they found were that charter schools (and private schools) have a more challenging curriculum; provide leveled learning in math, reading, and spelling; offer art, music, science, PE, and Spanish all included as part of the regular curriculum; have better overall discipline (including uniforms) and an overall environment more conducive to learning.

As a result, the neighborhood school started offering a form of leveled learning for math and offering art and additional music classes as after school activities. They are working with the district to try to redistribute the low income and ESL students more evenly between the local schools. (because our neighborhood school was new and had a lower student population than some other schools, it got the lions share of the students when another school (low income area) closed its doors 3 years ago . Our local school saw a drastic rise in gang behavior (yes, this is an elementary school), drug activity, non-English speaking students (one boy in my ward was 1 of 7 "English as the primary language" students out of 31 in his 1st grade class.), and overall behavioral problems.

The simple fact of the matter is - that because parents were looking for (and choosing) other alternatives for their children, the school stepped up and made some positive changes to the services they were providing the students.

Opponents to Prop 1 would have us believe that the public schools are going to lose huge amounts of money if these vouchers are allowed. I don't believe it. I don't believe that a massive swarm of families will pull their students from the public schools just because there is now a voucher. (believe me, I looked into private school for Aaron, and even with the $3000 maximum voucher amount - which we wouldn't qualify for - Private school would be a major strain on our finances. We might be able to swing it for one child, but not all of our children. Luckily, our charter school has been everything I want, and it doesn't cost me thousands of dollars every month. It does costs me MY TIME in fulfilling my required volunteer hours, plus any monetary amounts that I choose to donate during fundraising activities)

Parents are pulling their children from the public schools because they feel that it is important to give their children the best educational opportunity they can. I believe that instead of spending so much money trying to fight the vouchers, teachers unions should be focusing on what improvements could be made so that parents don't feel the need to look for other alternatives. No one who feels that their student is getting a good quality, free education, is going to pull their child out and put them into an environment that is much harder on the parent. I'm telling you the truth, it takes a whole lot more effort on my part to have my son in a charter school than it would be to have him in the public school. However, there is no question in my mind that it is absolutely the better place for him to be.

So - although I don't have the credentials of some, and I don't write as eloquently as others, I believe that competition is good for everybody. It pushes us to continually look for ways to improve. I believe in parents having options. I believe that if the schools (or more appropriately the unions) are feeling threatened by vouchers, they should question WHY they feel threatened and aim to fix the problems, instead of trying to eliminate the competition.

And THAT, as they say, - is MY OPINION.

I'm still here.

Here it is, almost Saturday again with no posting all week. I actually even had things I wanted to post, but unfortunately, I never found the time (at the same time I had the energy) to do the actual posting. I have just really been struggling just to survive the basics.

I went to my midwife appt. yesterday and they were glad to see that I gained 3 lbs in two weeks. I'm still measuring 4 weeks small, but since the ultrasound said everything was okay, she said she'll not worry about it. I told her about how I'm always feeling out of breath and like I just can't get enough oxygen. Her guess was that I'm still anemic - the iron helps create hemoglobin which carries the oxygen. They did a finger poke and sure enough, still anemic. I'm thinking it must be something to do with an absorption problem, since I'm taking plenty of supplements... Maybe I'll try to do a bit of "research" on the matter today.

Halloween went well. I took a photo of the kids in their costumes and with their pumpkins, but I don't know how to upload them (or it download them???) - in other words, I don't know how to get them from the camera to the computer. SO... one of these days I'll have Tim do it, and I'll post it. Bryan wasn't included in the Halloween festivities because he is still pretty sick. (Not sick enough that I have taken him to the Dr, but sick enough that I just spend the majority of every day holding him. Not very conducive to cleaning or other homemaking duties... In fact, I'm doing the 1 1/2 hand typing thing right now while holding him...

I have decided that I hate politics. I was reading various candidates websites in order to attempt to be an informed voter - instead I just got really depressed about the state of the world we live in. All the fighting, mudslinging, backbiting, dishonesty, selfishness, etc... Who do you believe? SO much of it is he said she said stuff, or they list the way a candidate votes, and it looks terrible, but then you check with the person who looks so bad, and they give their reasons for voting the way they did and it makes sense... you know what I mean?? I think this is one reason I don't have TV (we have a TV that the kids watch movies on, but because we live so close to the mountain, we don't get any regular TV reception, and I won't pay for cable), don't watch the news, don't read the paper, and basically I stay pretty clueless. I do listen to KSL news radio when the alarm goes off in the morning and will often catch the top news stories at the top of the hour, and that is plenty for me. It is enough that I kind of know an overview of what's happening in the world, without it depressing me.:)

I just started posting my opinion on school vouchers here as another paragraph, but it was getting a little too long and a bit too opinionated for this laid back/update on my non-eventful week post, do I just copied it into another post that I'll throw up here in a few minutes.

Well, if I can pry Bryan off my lap, I need to try to get the house sort of picked up before we head into the weekend.

Chicken, wedding, heartburn....I need a break!

wow - the past couple days have been a tad bit crazy for me.

Thursday I went to Macey's (local grocery store) where they were having a fantastic sale on boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You had to buy the 40 lb. box, but then it was only $1.19/lb. (thanks for the tip, Jen) I decided to get 2 boxes this year, and try bottling one box. I called my mom to see if I could come to her house and do the canning - since I don't own a pressure cooker - and if I had to go out and buy all the supplies to DO the canning, it would certainly lose the cost effectiveness, if you know what I mean. I told her about the sale, and she said, "sure, come on over, and get a box of chicken for me." So I went to the store and bought 120 lbs of chicken. There were a whole bunch of 'issues' that made so we couldn't start until after Aaron got out of school, so it was 4:15 before we got started. It took us about 4 hours to get it all bottled and wrapped in freezer paper. (my mom bottled most of hers, I did half and half, bottles/frozen) Neither of us had done chicken in bottles before, but it sounds so convenient. anytime you need cooked chicken for a recipe, you just open a bottle. It wasn't hard to do, just time consuming. I was pretty tired by the time I got home. Now I have about 25 packages (between 1 - 2 lbs each) wrapped and in the freezer, plus 16 pints and 7 quarts of bottled chicken. (I confess that the bottles are still in my car, I just haven't had it in me to haul them downstairs to the storage room yet...:( )

Friday I had been invited up to Salt Lake for the temple sealing of one of my former young women. Tim's parents agreed to watch the kids while I was at the temple. They live pretty close to my brother and sister in law - the ones who just had the baby. Since I would be driving right by their house, I stayed up a little late on Wednesday and got up early Thursday morning to throw together a couple freezer meals to drop off. Baby Landon is just adorable (as you can see), and it helps me look forward to when I get to hold the fruits of my current labors. (No, I am not currently IN labor...) The wedding was nice. I was terrible and opted to skip the luncheon and reception, since I didn't really want to spend the entire day in salt lake, and to be honest, just the 2 hours I was gone were enough to wear grandma and grandpa out. On the way home, I stopped at my moms to pick up the bottled chicken (it had to process 90 minutes, then cool completely before moving the bottles, and I was already really worn out and needing to get home, so we arranged for me to pick them up on my home from Salt Lake).
By the time I got home at 5:15, I was too exhausted to do anything. I turned on a movie for Bryan & Trina, a computer game for Aaron, and told Aaron to be in charge while I rested. I instantly fell asleep for 30 minutes. While I was sleeping, the kids helped themselves to cold cereal, spilling it all over the kitchen and bedroom - wasting what I would estimate to be about $8.00 of cereal. Oh well - I'll just consider it a much needed $8 nap.

I didn't sleep very well last night, I kept waking up itching. It was horrible! This morning I got up late, but was soon all revved up and ready to get the house whipped back into shape. After being up about 30 minutes, I knew I either had pretty bad heartburn, or I was having a heart attack. I kept pushing through it - but the longer it lasted, the more I started worry that I was having a heart attack. I started to worry that the baby wasn't moving enough, so I drank some juice and tried lying down to do a "kick count." That lasted about 4 minutes before the chest pain was so bad I couldn't lie down any more. I happened to see a neighbor outside, who is a nursing professor at BYU. I went out and talked to her about what was going on, but I didn't like her counsel - which was , of course to go to the ER. I waited until Tim got home (he was over at BYU for the scout pow wow. He gave me a blessing, then I called my midwife on call to get her opinion. She said it sounded like classic heartburn and told me what to do. I'm feeling much better now, after a couple doses of Maalox. (or is it Maloxx??) Not perfect, mind you, but much better. Another complication of the day has been that I still itch ALL OVER! I've got little rash looking things all over different parts of my body and they are itching and driving me crazy! I soaked in the tub for almost 2 hours, and I felt fine. Figured I had washed off whatever the problem was, but now that I've been out of the tub for an hour, it's starting all over again!!! ARRGGGHHHHHHH!

That's about it from this corner of the cosmos. My consolation at this time is that in the priesthood blessing I was told that I would be blessed with the strength to endure this and the "other afflictions" that would come, and I would be able to deliver a healthy child. I have a great deal of faith in the priesthood, and I'll spend the next 6 weeks banking on the promise of that blessing.

Well - It's time for dinner, so I'd better sign off here and get cooking!

good news on the baby front...

As you can see by the title of the post, I received good news from the ultrasound today. The baby is measuring at approx. 3 1/2 - 4 lbs, which is a week smaller than average size for my "due date", but nothing to be concerned about at all. Amniotic fluid measured at 12 - 13. (not sure 13 what??? exactly, fluid oz? inches?) "Normal" fluid measurements fall between 10 - 20. So yes, on the lower end of the spectrum, which would account for some of the "smallness," but nothing to be concerned about. Baby looked fine as far as they could tell. The Dr. said that if I continue 6 - 7 more weeks to full term, gaining the typical 1/2 lb. per week, the baby will be in the 7 - 8 lb range at birth. I have to say, I've felt quite calm about this whole thing (except for that first day when my imagination got the better of me), and I really was expecting to hear that I was low on fluid and the baby was a bit smaller than normal but that everything was fine, or something like that - so what did surprise me was the feeling of relief when I heard the news. I wasn't expecting bad news (or at least I don't think I was), yet as I was driving home, I found that several times I felt a huge breathe of relief.

I'm still trying to eat every 2 hours as directed. (that is much harder than it may sound. It's EASY to shovel junk food in your face every couple minutes, but trying to eat a sensible, healthy, "good-for-you-and-the-baby" food item every 2 hours has proven to be quite a challenge for me.) According to my bathroom scale, I've gained like 4 lbs in the last week. I know this is terrible, but I keep thinking," this is just weight I'm going to have to try to LOSE once this baby comes. And we all know that it is MUCH easier to FIND the weight then it is to LOSE it." Oh well - I guess I'll be checking in with Tristi's weight loss challenges as soon as January rolls around.

Other good news - okay, not really "news", but more like happenings that made my day a bit nicer... I worked really hard to get the house cleaned up before my mom came over to watch the kids, and it felt really nice to see the house clean for like 2 whole hours. (My mom is one of those great women who is a super workaholic and she just isn't content doing nothing. I always feel bad when she comes over to babysit and spends the whole time cleaning up my house. She did find the overflowing sock basket and she matched and folded socks - which I am VERY thankful for. Just this morning as I went to look for matching socks for Aaron, Tim said, "have you come to worship with me at the sock basket?") Then on the way home from the Dr. I stopped at the grocery store and on a whim I bought a fresh pineapple that was on sale. I got it home and YUM YUM YUMMY! It was one of the best ones I've ever picked. So so so yummy!

In the category of not so good news, I am having a 'fun' time around our house coping with sick kids. Katrina is dealing with a sore throat that I'm starting to wonder if it's strep, and Bryan has the bugger nose and fussy temperament. Neither one of them is sleeping well, and we all know what that means for the mom involved:(

All in all - life is good.

Birthday report

Well, yesterday was #36 for me. Aaron's school was having their "Shakespeare Faire" yesterday, and we planned to attend. It was well done and lots of fun. They had lots and lots of different Shakespeare or Renaissance related activities, including a short performance from the 6th grade orchestra, Shakespeare play by the 8th graders, stockades, making masks, making jester or princess hats, learning renaissance dancing, and 'Renaissance theatre' performance (story telling and fencing and the like) while we ate dinner, face painting, and much more.

It was a fun 'educational' activity, and the best part for me is that I didn't have to cook or clean up dinner.

Tim and the kids gave me a couple new maternity shirts and a jumper style maternity dress. The kids made a diorama for me to remind me of our trip this summer to the Redwoods and the beach. (you can see the dead looking piece of tree in the photo - that is to remind me of the redwoods.; and the sand, sand castle, shells, and cup of dirty water are obviously representative of the beach)

Tonight we are going out to dinner - haven't yet decided if we'll make it a "family" celebration, or if we'll call Grandma and Grandpa to babysit... we'll see. Tim's thinking along the lines of babysitter and dinner and a movie for us. Can I just tell you, I honestly can't remember the last movie I saw in the theatre. I'm guessing it was before Aaron was born... so like 8 years maybe... I just don't care much for the loudness of the theatre, and I'll admit it, I have a hard time leaving my kids for that long for something I consider "frivolous." If we decide to do a movie, I'll need to track down some earplugs.

In regard to my last post, I found it harder than I though to "not worry about it." That first day I decided it would be a good idea to do a bit of research and find out what it "might" be and if there was anything else I should be doing. BAD IDEA! I think I was reading about intrauterine growth restriction (an office name for small babies) resulting in brain hemorrhaging and Cerebral Palsy before I figured out that ignorance was the better route to go. There is nothing I can doing about it if there is something wrong, and worrying about it isn't going to do anything except put more stress on me (consequently putting more stress on the baby.) So, I'm much more grounded now and doing better at the "try not to worry" bit. (thanks for the stories about other people who were measuring small and everything was just fine - that helped ease my mind)

Not great news

Well, I went to my midwife appointment this morning and the first indications were good. The midwife was pleased to find that I gained 4 lbs since my last visit. Then she looked a little more closely at my chart and pointed out that overall, I've only gained like 6 or 7 lbs throughout the pregnancy, while I should gain about 20 lbs overall. (I always lose about 10 lbs during the 1st trimester when I am sick and nauseous, so I started out slightly overweight at 150ish, then dropped to 140ish, now I'm up to 157 - but they only count the 150 - 157 gain.)
I wouldn't be worried about the weight, except that on my last visit, at 28 weeks, I was measuring 26 cm (the cm measurement should equal the weeks). I tried a lot harder this past month to eat more, and while I did increase my weight gain, today I only measured 28cm. (should have been closer to 32) It is enough of a discrepancy that they are concerned and they ordered an ultrasound to see if there is anything identifiably wrong with the baby. Needless to say, that was not exactly the news I wanted to hear today.
My list of instructions are to:
* eat at least 4 servings of protein and 4 servings of dairy everyday
* eat something (not junk food) every 2 hours (i feel bloated and heart-burn'ish just thinking about it)
* increase my iron intake. I'm to take my regular prenatal vitamin + 2 iron supplements
* "take it easy" and "not over do it" (how exactly do you define that, I wonder???)
* increase my fluid intake and spend more time lying on my side resting

If anyone out there has any related tips - let me know. For now I am just going to try not to worry about it, take it a little slower, eat more, and assume that the baby is just really low in my pelvis and that's why I'm measuring small.


On a happy note, my best friend from college wrote me a birthday poem! I tell you what, I came home for the Dr. and went online to check email, blogs, etc... and found the poem. It brought back so many fun memories and totally made my day brighter! (My birthday is actually tomorrow, but I sure needed it today. Thanks Charlotte) I am going to be brave and try to figure out how to do the linking thing, so that if you wish, you can read the fabulous "Ode to Jeri," written by the one and only Charlotte the great! (It probably won't mean much to anyone else, since it is pretty much a walk down memory lane, but I think it's great!)

Long time... no blog

Good morning. It has been a long time (and yet it feels like no time at all) since I last posted anything. I'm not exactly sure why that is. I know that a week ago Monday (the day after General Conference) I was all fired up and couldn't wait to post all of my glorious feelings on the joy of being a woman and the glories of motherhood, etc... However, every time I sat down to blog, my darling Katrina would see me at the computer and tell me that it was really HER turn to play, and wouldn't I please turn on her game. From there, I don't have much recollection of the week. it all seems a fuzzy kind of blur.

Since Aaron was out of school for fall break last Thursday and Friday, we took advantage of the time and spent a couple hours at the park with my friend Harmony and her boys. That was a lot of fun. I haven't see Harmony for years and years, and it was fun to let our kids meet each other, and fun to chat and catch up on the happening of the past 10 years.

In other news, My brother Mark is the proud daddy of a brand new little boy. His wife Corinne delivered Landon early Sunday morning after a long and grueling 20 hours of labor. (and NO, it wasn't her first - he just really didn't want to leave his comfy cozy womb. He was already almost 2 weeks late, so they told him he had to come anyway)

Pregnancy update - 8 more weeks to go. I have an appointment with my midwife tomorrow morning, and I'm really hoping that everything is measuring and progressing as it should. I'm a little worried that I'll get in trouble again for not gaining enough weight - which seems ridiculous since I feel like a fat cow, but I understand they are only being concerned about the baby getting enough. The trouble is that nothing sounds good or tastes good at all. I'll sit down to eat and everything is just blah! I'm doing my best to eat anyway, and I'm certainly not losing weight, so hopefully it's good enough. I'll let ya know how it goes.

As I'm sitting here, I know why I haven't posted anything... I really have nothing to post. I spent several hours outside yesterday doing a bit of fall planting. I really enjoy working outside - planting flowers and the like. I love planting spring flowering bulbs and then enjoying the delicious anticipation of watching for them to poke their little green shoots up in spring. Spring is my favorite season, and fall planting is like... I'm not sure how to say it. It's like looking forward to spring, or getting a sneak peak into spring, or something along those lines. At any rate, I had fun. I planted some more tulips, some paperwhites (narcissus), and some iris. I also put down some wildflower seeds up on my dry, hot hillside. (see photo) You can be pleased Anne, they are the drought tolerant mix. My whole hillside is done in xeric plants. Well, okay, not really the whole hillside, but all of the hillside that IS done, is done in xeric /waterwise plants:)

I suppose that's enough rambling for today. I have 3 loads of laundry waiting to be folded and I'm still not dressed and ready for the day. I'd better get crackin'

The Blogger Babes

Yesterday was the first meeting of the BEAUTIFUL BABBLING BOISTEROUS BLOGGING BABES. The gathering was spearheaded by Candace @ Dream Just a Little More and was really quite fun. I have to be honest and say that for the longest time I remained uncommitted to attending the gathering. Why? I'd have to say it basically boils down to that low self esteem issue - again!

As I read the blog sites of some of these women, I was just amazed at their wittiness, intelligence, accomplishments, etc... and I thought - what in the world would I ever have to talk to these women about. I am so NOT "in their league." I finally convinced myself that they sure seemed nice enough on their blogs - and the comments they left on mine - so what not give it a shot. So I decided to go.

Just for kicks - here are a few specs on a few of these amazing women:

Anne at Not Entirely British published author, recently finished jumping through all the necessary hoops to become an American citizen. (Can I just say, after meeting her, Anne is one CLASSY lady. I'm not sure if it's all British people, or just the few I've gotten to know personally, but the Brit's just have a sense of class that we American's seem to be lacking. Is that my imagination? Maybe. At any rate - THIS particular Brit (former) has CLASS!

Donna at Donna's Journey an amazing figure in the world of homeschooling. Here is a snippet taken from her blog, "I have an art studio in my home and am presently focusing on stained glass, engraving, and sand carving, as my main mediums of artistic-creative expression. I have spoken at several Charlotte Mason, Utah Home Educators Association (UHEA), One Sure Foundation Conferences, since 1994 I have been a presenter at the TJEd Forum three out of five years. I am the Founder, Owner, and Senior-Mentor of Moor House Academy. WOW! Tim and I have discussed homeschooling many times, and I'm thinking that now I have an "IN," should we decided to take the plunge. (It won't be this year though, I can guarantee that)

Jen at Lords of the Manor - Didn't get to know Jen very well since she was at the other end of the table, (I'm sure this will be remedied at the next get together, since she will be the spotlighted blogger) - but her blog reveals a very creative an dedicated mom. She is one of the contributors/creators (pick your term) of the "mommy what's for dinner" site which is currently ranked #1 on the "family Top 100 cooking sites."

Tristi at Tristi Pinkston LDS Author Another published author. Mother of 4, home schools her children and has her own line of bath and beauty products - Scentiments.

Candace at Dream Just a Little More Yet another published author, expert on BYU football - teams past and present, been on Phil Donahue show to defend LDS church, gospel scholar (I'm itching to hear one of her firesides), certified practitioner of Quantum Touch, and devoted wife and aunt.

Can you catch a glimpse here of why I might feel SLIGHTLY out of my league? Can't you just hear me now, "Hi, I'm Jeri, and I got two loads of laundry done yesterday." (of course, they are still in piles on the kitchen table - the only clear spot in the house at the time I was ready to fold them... but I did get them washed and folded...)

ANYWAY - I swallowed my vain and foolish pride, and went to the luncheon. What a delightful time. These women are HUMAN! I found them to be just a bunch of nice women who have amazing gifts and talents that they are using. I found them kind and engaging and it was a very enjoyable lunch. It was actually rather inspiring.

The other "babes" in attendance were:

Ali at Girl in a Whirl
Anne at Twas Brillig
Lori at Scott Smith Photography
Shellie at Random Thoughts From the Archives of a Frazzled Mind
Suzanne at Chocolate Daydreams

These ladies were also down at the other end of the table, so I didn't really get to know much about them, but after taking quick peeks at their blogs, I'm guessing I'd better budget in a bit more "blog reading time" into my schedule.

That's about it for me. I got up today with one goal in mind - to get this season's 'final mowing of the lawn' done before the storm came in. I also ended up mowing the neighbor's lawn, since I wanted to run all the gas out of the mower before we put it away for the winter. I did accomplished my goal, but unfortunately I had little energy left over to work on the growing disaster INSIDE the house. Oh well - I can always clean the kitchen and fold laundry while I listen to general conference... RIGHT???

Until later -