A contraction?

Yesterday my mom's visit came to an end. It was wonderful to have her here and we had a really nice time--I must admit that the biggest help was the "peace of mind" knowing that if I went into labor, someone responsible was RIGHT HERE on the premises who could watch the kids without me fretting about dropping them off or when/where Miss O would nap or any of that. And, let's be honest, it's just nice to have your mom close by. So, good visit. AND, of course, Cousin Katie was a delight to have here, and though we have a pair of her shoes to remember her by (how'd those NOT make it into the car is a bit of a mystery), Miss A and E are very sad that she is not here (and thus, *I* am very sad she is not here either) to continue playing. They have now shared with me that they are "bored, bored, bored." Sigh. Oh well.

Also, something very nice...Mom and Super J helped spearhead "Saturday Clean-up" in which the girls all dusted (ahem) and then my mom totally vacuumed the whole house. Yay! There are two things that help me relax...okay, three things: cleaning, vacuuming and cooking. So, with two out of the three done, yesterday I finally felt like doing the third. After looking at this recipe for days and wishing I had all the ingredients, I just decided, "WHATEVER!" and I made "Chicken Corn Chowder Topped with Avocado and Tomatoes" except I didn't have the avocado nor the celery and only the last few remnants of our garden tomatoes for garnish for Super J and myself (my kids would not have eaten them anyway). Can I just say, it was still wonderful. AND, we got a surprise visit from Kristan, Jennifer and her sweet Somebody, who brought over some home grown corn and zucchini brownies. El Yummo! So fun!

So, I tell you all this, Gentle Reader just to set the stage. This morning I wake up and I'm having pains. Is this labor? Or did I have too much corn in my soup at dinner last night? I mean, it seriously could just be a gastrointestinal thing because of all the fibrous veggies that I've had this weekend. I know, so gross, but let's be realistic. So true. You'd think I'd know...but I don't. When you are waiting to go into labor, it's just one of those things. When you are IN labor, you remember. And it does hurt. And I probably would not be sitting here, typing so calmly. But there is a weird pain and it makes me wonder still.

I never quite know WHEN I actually start...I had labor pains with all my girls, but with Miss A, my water broke and we just went to the hospital and I was given pitocin to help speed things along. With Miss E, I had one HUGE contraction prior to some smaller ones and we went to the hospital and ended up being sent home because the contractions just went away, and then she got induced 3 weeks later when I didn't go into labor though I was at a 4cm for those three weeks and my OBGYN had stripped my membranes (look it up if you need to know). Then, with Miss O, I was induced because we thought she was going to be over 10lbs (she wasn't). But this morning, I'm having some pains...but they are in my lower abdomen and go away when I sit down, which after looking it up, is technically preterm labor according to my books/Internet. So, it's not "true" labor, just the prep. This makes sense to me.

And now that I've sat here for a while, my ankle is more painful than anything I'm feeling in my gut. See? Getting all wiggy for nothing. I probably should just go and lay down and finish reading Breaking Dawn (which I'm going to have to post about, but let me just say that I'm enjoying it alot!). But it's still good to get prepared. I guess I need to pack a bag for the girls (just in case they have to spend the night somewhere) and for myself and New Baby. I probably need to find something besides tv for the girls to do (ha! like that's gonna happen).

In the meantime, Miss O has now filled an empty wipe box with water and got both her hands stuck in it. She has brought it to me, kind of whimpering, and then says, "Momma, I want snack!" No wonder I feel tired. lol.