Two Birds and an Angry Preggy

Well, our family has GOT it... so steer clear of our house. This is the flu. The nasty, nasty GI bug that's apparently sweeping through Kingman right now. It has no pre-puke symptoms except lack of appetite and energy. Although, if any of you have little kids, the lack of energy comes quite obviously but after the first puke, they (of course) think they're better and start running around like yahoo-ligans. Eva got sick just as we were ready to go out to eat even though a babysitter didn't pan out for tonight. Then, Chloe got sick as Eva was getting out of the tub. At least they can be quiet for each other with ease. They're both sleeping as I type, and have been for a while. Poor Chloe could hardly hold herself up d/t fatigue while she was getting sick. Eva just coughed up a little bit and is looking hardly touched again. Two birds with one stone and we might just clear the house by the time my mom gets out here. Whew.
On to why we were ready to risk taking tired kids out to eat with us.... My OB appt today was more than frustrating. I get there 5 min before my appt. Someone else got there right before, seeing the same Dr, with an appt 15 min after me. Who got called back first? SHE DID. I was called back 5 min after her appointment would have been. INTERESTING. Then, the nurse decided to walk me all the way back to the room, passing scale and restroom, so I could ''set my things down" before turning around and retracing steps to use the restroom- (my little teeny purse was really weighing me down... pickin' up what I'm puttin down? ) I'm not even going to go into how clean/not clean I've felt in these bathrooms. After I do my thing there, the nurse makes me move my huuuuge purse so we can go across the hallway (apparently the room hadn't' been vacated when she wanted to place me there before) . "You look tired," she said as she slides the scale up and up and... up. Then, I actually got a reading on my blood pressure this time (last time she ignored me and just left the room-with my chart). "Down to my waist". That's it. Great... these things are hardly big enough to cover any real pregnant person I dare say. At least they could point my tush away from the opening door so I can watch them come in from a different angle than thinking, "Hey, hope you don't mind seeing a little bum today". Then, Dr said I could be delivering closer to the 16th of October. I'm only dialated to "maybe a 1" as versus "not really dialated" last week from the other Dr.. ( I love this practices specifics- REALLY. C'MON!) If these Dr's looked at my records *they refuse to request them and the other practice refuses to give them without specific request from my practice* they would realize that's something my body almost refuses to do. My words alone are hardly taken with any seriousness. The Dr's have made it clear that "each pregnancy is different". Uh-huh. To a point. Then, apparently two appointments in a week and you've progressed two weeks! Next week is supposed to be a 38 week appointment which I had today, so next week is 39... But- yet I'm on track for the 16th of October, as well as the range they gave me from the 10-16th. AND, the lady refused to schedule me on my actual 39th week b/c of "Dr's orders" although he is not even going to be there and apparently it was "really tough getting me on the schedule." I'll make it easy on them. Cancel the darned appointment, give me my records, and I'll see some OB in the L and D room. Oh..... the emotional roller coaster. I was looking forward to an evening to just be with my hubby, (see last post) before I'm home bound for a while with a newborn on my um... hip.
And on top of two birds sick with the flu, and me angry and hormonal, poor B. Poor Poor B. I have not stopped getting little pings to big pings of contractions for almost 3 hours now and haven't been able to feel uncrampy all day. Back rub, hun?

A job well done!

Ok... I know I've been around kids without a break too long when....
I was blowing my nose this afternoon and after one big productive blow I said to myself, "Ooo, goood job!"
Mortified, I thought to myself "I've got to get out before this baby comes or I'm sooo done!"
Today was the last day of teaching joy school for the next month, and I was also watching a 2 yr. old. So, I have gotten used to praising and praising quickly- apparently. At least I know I can blow my nose really well!!

Ok, I'll Admit this ONE thing...

Ok. So this morning at 4am I finally admitted to myself that sleep was definitely going to be an overrated thing for me today. I got up, and just started my day. Unloaded some dishes, and loaded another load of dishes while contemplating how people are supposed to get these bursts of energy. To me, I love to clean because it de-stresses me. I wiped down counters, started a new load of laundry, and took back some laundry I'd done, to our bedroom. Seeing the dresser in its location (one side of the closet) reminded me I wanted it to be moved to the other side of the closet so we could put the bassinet in there for a little while. "Well, I can do that," I thought. I started organizing drawers as I removed them, cleaning up tossed shoes and billions of wire hangers B brings home from work. Then, I moved the dresser. "Well, this might be considered nesting but it's more like something that just needed to get done," I said to myself. Mind you its 430 in the morning right now, and Brian is hitting the snooze TRYING to sleep through all of this and calling for me to come to bed. "I just can't sleep." I reassured him. So, off I go, scooting the dresser, turning it around (this is all done in this immense hallway called our walk in closet) and scooting it into place. It felt great! That undone 'thing' had bothered me every time I had put clothes away. Now, the bassinet could be on one side, and all of our stuff on the other. Happiness. Right? Not quite. Brian had given up by this time and just getting out the shower, ready to head into work early today. (I wonder why? lol) I gathered together clothes for him so he could just get dressed SO smoothly, peeked in and said cheerfully, "Happy first day of fall and GOOD MORNING!" I can't recall his reaction, but I know he wasn't as excited about life right then as I was. It's 5am now, and what do I do? The only thing that makes sense to me as I know it right now. Finish the closet job by putting the bassinet in there. First, I have to vacuum the floor because of course ' who would want to clean something ONLY half way? This floor hadn't been vacuumed because it was covered by the dresser. Just think of the nasty things that could be in this carpet. ' So, I spray it down with some oil called Thieves from Young Living, and then ran to the closet and got WHAT out? THE VACUUM. Passing the girls room, I thought- "Ok. So, maybe I'm a little energetic and nesty this morning. What ELSE is there do though?" Until I turned on the vacuum and anal retentively cleaned that closet, I thought it was normal. Then, I passed the girls quiet room and dragged out the bassinet from the baby room - dragged it all the way through the house into the closet. Set it into place with big wide excited eyes and stood back to admire the sheer beauty of a job well done. Coming upon my acceptance of being a crazy prego this morning, I mentioned this mornings thoughts to B who said, "HECK YA, YOU'RE NESTING!! Just tell me now. Is this baby coming today or WHAT?" I chuckled a little bit. On top of all this, the poor guy was being gassed out by whatever I ate (not to gross anyone out but if you've been pregnant you know how this goes). I hesitate to think of what tonight might bring. A cleaned out garage or something? How crazy! LOL. I'll have to post a pic of this for keepsakes!

Me? Stressed?

What is sooo wrong with this picture? A completely stressed out massage therapist. Right..?? I think I am such a good massage therapist actually BECAUSE I can't do stress well. I thrive on relaxation and cleansing, and the whole bit! I just can't ever to remember to take care of myself while I'm helping those around me. The last little while, sooo much has happened in our family - near and far, within my nuclear family, and myself. And at the same time so much is NOT happening like I would like it to, and yet at the SAME time I have so much YET to 'come to pass'. Stress has just accumulated without resolve, I suppose. So, realizing sadly in the last few days that it will literally destroy me if I just 'keep on truckin' I'm trying to let go....
Yesterday, I got my hair highlights touched up because I wasn't completely satisfied, and it went splendidly. Then, Brian took me out to dinner- and I got my favorite meal (French Toast)-- high maintenance there, right? It went wonderfully.. And, I didn't even touch the kitchen sink. Just made sure the dishes got to the sink and rinsed.
And today - hubby actually got the initiative to clean up the garage.. it is far from finished, but he worked so hard on it today. Things got done today - and I didn't have to stress. It was almost happening more easily than when I'm 'in charge'. Wierd. But WONDERFUL!! We even made it out to see the horses we used to live next door to. They are moving, and we went to say our goodbye's to the horsies. Eva will miss them a lot because she repeatedly wants to dream of "Meg"- the owner of all the horses. I got the baby bassinet put together, the guest bed put together, Gabe's clothes hung up and put away in his new closet/diaper changing table... and the rest of the house stayed put together. The kids hardly touched their toys today because they wanted to help with cleaning and organizing so much. SWEEET! I'm still trying to push things into the day - like this blog- but I think I'm getting more relaxed. I think. Of course how many of you have told me to relax in the last while - and I really did? I thought I was, but apparently- there is much work to be done on this little wondergirl.

A little Funny....

The other night, Eva and Chloe were sent to put their jammies on. Well, Chloe came out with no problem- in her princess jammies or something. Eva, on the other hand, comes out with a pillowcase over her head (which must have been accidentally put in the PJ drawer) saying "Hey - This not good. This not good." As she's wobbling around trying to stick her arms through non-existant holes, it brought a large smile to the rest of us. We had to tell her to take it off and explain that it was a pillowcase, not jammies. Oh, the funny things they do! *sigh*.

Still hangin in there!

Well, according to the magic 'wheel' every woman knows, I have 17 days left. According to history, I have 14 days left, and according to the doctors out here I have 3-4 weeks left. So - for those in wonder, I'm still prego, and getting more anxious every day. As one of Brians web things he has bookmarked off of his desktop says, "I cant eat, I cant sleep, but I can do a great impression of a beached whale!"

I also got my hair done this last weekend, so I'm ready to be picture worthy- somewhat - after the baby is born it shouldn't be so ugly. Shouldn't. And, I'm getting my toes done soon, because I'll be darned if I go into labor without having my hair and toes done. Call me vain, but when all the rest of me looks beaten into pulp, swollen, and saggy -these things can help me look a little more presentable. And when I'm getting up every 3 hours, I'll be able to look down at my toes and think, "Beautiful little toes!"

Chloe is starting to tell me "I can't bend over today, either." This is in response to me saying this throughout the day- asking them to get things off of the floor for me. I just say - "oh no. we're both broken!" She just smiles and moves on. We've also had the question come up "How do the babies come out of your belly?" I've told her "The Doctor takes it out,' 'Heavenly Father made a special space for babies to come out', and 'We'll talk about it when you're older." Nothing sticks apparently, so I'll take the easy way out on this.

There's Somethin' in the Water out West...

Have you ever seen the play Unspoken Song? It's freakin' amazing. I saw it - must be like 12 years ago at least, and I still remember the fun it was. Anyways, we just got our water bill with a semi-annual report of what IS in the water out here.
All I knew up to this point was that there were floaties in the water. If you get lots of ice and a straw it won't bother you. It didn't taste that off to me, but I'm no water QC person. I also knew that I watered my plants and the soil was turning orange (since we've been in the city), and my ice dispenser tray has the same familiar orangey film with a white thick film. I'd seen this white film in cups that you leave out all day and it makes a mineral-like ring around the inside of your cup. All that means is that you have to keep drinking. Oh-- and I knew that almost no one out here drinks water right from the tap. Ok... knowing that, we'll move on.
The report really shocked me, and now I teeter between buying the purified water and using what the city has prepared... Let me tell you that we're maxed out on like 3 different things, and chlorine actually wasn't one of them. Max levels of minerals, and something else that explained the red tint to the water remains. Then, the radioactivity levels were max but 'were being retested'. That makes you feel great, doesn't it? MAN! SOMETHIN' in the water out here, that's for DARN SURE!
I lost the stats, but I'll have to find them and post them in here, because it was just depressing. Although, I haven't paid much attention to any body elses' water other Rossford, Ohio.
Anyone else have wierd water?

"You're dirty enough now, Eva." Chloe said. Eva was very proud of herself for gettting dirty. She's happy when Chloe's proud of her.

"Touch me! Touch me!" *squeals of giggles*

So, today - thanks to the finger painting experience the girls had a little over a week ago at a friends house- I whipped out some finger paints and let the girls have at 'em. Chloe was hesitant a week ago to get her fingers dirty and asked for a paintbrush. "oh no!" I had said to my friend. This 'problem' had to stop. My little Chloe was the one with the dirty garden hands, the gooey gluey hands and loving to get her hands into things. Being out here in a brown, not friendly environment, and having rental houses has put quite a halt to those fun things. However, I am learning it just needs to be done, with caution. So, with caution I embarked, and with enthusiasm they accepted it! I wish I could just get a garden going now or some real flowers outside!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Toes

Dance class starts this Friday for the girls. We are sooo excited. There is a family who has a few daughters who love ballet and dance so much that they are willing to teach out of their house, and at waaay affordable rates. We will see how the girls do. They have a class together at 9 in the morning, I think. I'm hoping that they'll be so super ready to jump out of the car and just dance until thier little hearts. This is a video of the girls getting 'ready' for dance class. Chloe picked out her skirt. Daddy bought them the dance outfits when we told them about the dance class.
Chloe has always had a thing for dance, and we're super excited for her wiggly body to learn some appropriate moves. As some may know, she's got quite the hip swingin' booty shakin' dance moves that are just -- not as appropriate as ballet twirls and pirouettes. She's been watching the Barbie Nutcracker movie and dancing along with the various characters. I'm really hoping she'll like it as much as she thinks she will.
Eva has danced, and has the skinniest little wirey frame I've ever seen- so seeing her in a leotard is a little scary. Her ribs are the only thing the poor suit can cling to! She'll dance with Chloe and usually has a 'head bob' going on during songs. She's definitely a more laid back individual with not as crazy moves-- yet. She has always been the pink, sparkly, diva. "Diva Rose" we call her. For good reason.
What little ladies!

So it begins...

Let the madness begin!! Or should I say, joy? We started Joy School yesterday, complete with name tags, rules, and portfolio pictures. Joy School is a preschoolers program where moms team up to teach their kids values, and the joy of learning. Its two days a week, for 2.5 hours each We'll do The Joy of our bodies this month, and another month is the Joy of Goal Setting. I still do my own preschool with the girls the other days of the week teaching letters, math and science. This is a program that will last until the spring, when I'll buy another season, and do it some more (hopefully). So far the class consists of my two girls and one boy.
The positive in this structured program is that it has definately made me structure the other times of the day, and get back on the band wagon with reading to the girls before bedtime, making a craft every day-- things like I used to do when I had energy. I have been running out of that lately, but somehow preterm labor issues makes you learn to get back to basics so you don't lose sanity on bedrest. I'm not on bedrest though. I don't think they really do that out here. I just got some medicine to make me feel almost worse than anxiety associated with preterm babies.

Chloe's bragging moment....

WOOHOO! Im so excited, and yet so incredibly terrified that this is the peak of the roller coaster in which I'm about to drop from at 90 mph.
Chloe started really sounding things out and reading today. Thank you, Word World. B had today off, and I decided to make an effort for our family lunch today. I'm so glad I did. We're all sitting at the table and had Word World turned on, watching it together. This word came on, and Chloe just started sounding it out - c, c, art, c art, cart! I about choked on my food! Then, as if it was not to be just a fluke today- she started sounding out st-age, stage, st- airs, stairs! I just couldn't believe it! I do not know how it happened, but I'm not questioning a reading 4 yr old! We celebrated by running out to the nearest 'book' store out here, and getting her some beginners books. She's already had some, but she's worn the pages down on those! With her great memory and her ambition to read, we might be looking at serious reading here!!
The other day, she wrote her alphabet in the right order, with just a couple backwards! She had no help at all - she has started writing out MAM (mom) and the rest of the families names all phonetically. It's awesome and brings tears to my eyes every time! I am so excited to watch her hit these milestones, but I'm hitting real anxiety thinking she can just 'do' all this without me. Brian has always been supportive of me being at home with the kids, even when it wasn't an affordable option for us. That's been a huuge blessing out here - being able to be home with the girls. I'm trying to keep my anal retentiveness from eeking into little C's way of doing things. Really trying to remember she a 4 yr old, and to be NOT a perfectionist for HER work.
This picture was taken right after she started reading all these words. She picked out a princess book and a Wonder Pets! book. We even left the light on so she could look at the pages, as it was getting dark outside. Then, she decided she was tired and was ready to practically put herself to bed. Just amazing!!! *sigh* What a day!