Why, oh WHY, don't I stop myself from my 4 or 5 a.m. postings? While I will confess to everything I spewed this morning as truth, surely there is a better, less crazy woman way to express it. sigh.
I'm still tired, but life really does look different 12 hours later, when the sun is still up and (admittedly) the crazies and frustrated thoughts are quelled. What is it about the wee hours of the morning that take all your panic and anxiety and multiply it by about 300 percent and yet you expect yourself to behave rationally? I just don't know. CLEARLY I don't know, hence my random early morning posts. Luckily, they are few and far between.
That being said, I think a very real issue that was going on with me is the realization that with all my contracting and irregular laboring, this baby is coming. Holy cow! All these months of being, "Yeah, this is baby #4 and we are so laid back and unstressed because we are used to this whole parenting thing," must have finally gotten to me and reality thumped me on the head. Because even though, yes, we have experience, each baby is unique and who knows what this little one will be like when she finally makes her appearance.
PLUS!!!! Let me just add, I was not ready if I did go into sudden, full-on active labor. I mean, seriously. There are certain things that I've learned that I really do want in the hospital with me as well as want to already have stocked in the house, and I DID NOT HAVE THEM. Notice the past tense to that sentence, because I have since gotten my act together and made a trip to the great land of Wally-World (aka: Wal-mart). So, happily, now I not only my music stuff together for Primary, but I've actually shopped and have the appropriate feminine hygiene products, nursing paraphernalia, diapers and wipes and a myriad of other things, as well as a few groceries. I feel much better about life in general now.
And that, Gentle Reader, is not something I will regret posting. :)
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Utterly Exhausted and Typing in the Dark
So, I've been tossing and turning since around 3am and finally somewhere around 4, decided to get up and start working on my confounded Primary stuff. I shouldn't say that, because as of a few hours ago, I was fine with it. So, they want to keep me as an assistant. Fine. Whatever. I made my feelings known and, well, there you go. But they still haven't called anyone to "take over" yet, and for the past 2 days, I've been having contractions (see my last post!), and so...I'm just frustrated.
So I decided, "Alrighty then. I'll go all control freak on them and just plan the next three months." They can change it if they want. I REALLY don't care, but I'm fed up being stressed about it. FED UP. So, while sitting and typing in the dark, I went to a very nice site and found a couple of templates created by people who are immensely more organized (and, let's be honest, more control freaky...for which I could hug and kiss each of them right now for that annoying habit) than myself and made some changes to THEIR music outlines (which have been done for the whole year. A YEAR, PEOPLE! In ADVANCE!!! Yegads), and printed them off to give to the appropriate people on Sunday. I even made a matching game to use with the kids to continue learning the song of the month. Now, all they have to do is find someone who is willing to pump their arms up and down with the kids every week.
If I go into full-on, active labor, it's covered. There is music planned. Children's voices will sing. Life will go on and I can shut the crazies and frustrated voices in my head UP.
Super J would call this such a Pregnancy Moment. He's so right. I am THIIIIIISSSS close to completely irrational. But at least the music has been outlined.
And maybe I can get back to sleep, so I can go to book club in the actual morning to talk about a book that I haven't finished, but did finally read the end of last night. Sigh.
Oh, and on a COMPLETELY different note...for those waiting on the ILL results: Unsurprisingly, the bigger library system got the books in about 20 hours before the other (and even got a third book I had just requested). I was notified by email YESTERDAY that my books were in at the larger library system, and was called this afternoon by the smaller one. I will see if anyone at book club still wants to read the books and then I'll cancel my holds and return them. It was interesting to me, though, the results.
So I decided, "Alrighty then. I'll go all control freak on them and just plan the next three months." They can change it if they want. I REALLY don't care, but I'm fed up being stressed about it. FED UP. So, while sitting and typing in the dark, I went to a very nice site and found a couple of templates created by people who are immensely more organized (and, let's be honest, more control freaky...for which I could hug and kiss each of them right now for that annoying habit) than myself and made some changes to THEIR music outlines (which have been done for the whole year. A YEAR, PEOPLE! In ADVANCE!!! Yegads), and printed them off to give to the appropriate people on Sunday. I even made a matching game to use with the kids to continue learning the song of the month. Now, all they have to do is find someone who is willing to pump their arms up and down with the kids every week.
If I go into full-on, active labor, it's covered. There is music planned. Children's voices will sing. Life will go on and I can shut the crazies and frustrated voices in my head UP.
Super J would call this such a Pregnancy Moment. He's so right. I am THIIIIIISSSS close to completely irrational. But at least the music has been outlined.
And maybe I can get back to sleep, so I can go to book club in the actual morning to talk about a book that I haven't finished, but did finally read the end of last night. Sigh.
Oh, and on a COMPLETELY different note...for those waiting on the ILL results: Unsurprisingly, the bigger library system got the books in about 20 hours before the other (and even got a third book I had just requested). I was notified by email YESTERDAY that my books were in at the larger library system, and was called this afternoon by the smaller one. I will see if anyone at book club still wants to read the books and then I'll cancel my holds and return them. It was interesting to me, though, the results.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Waiting for a Girl Like You...
...and I guess I'm going to keep waiting. New Baby is doing well, heart rate in the 140's (you want it between 120-160) and measuring still a little big, but nothing to be worried about. I'll go in 2 weeks for another sono to measure to see how "big" or not is "nothing to be worried about."
So, yeah. The doctor's visit went just fine. Thanks to my crazed grocery trip yesterday and subsequent contractions for the rest of the evening, I am now at a 2 (dilated) and 20% effaced. I asked her about last week and she said that I was barely effaced and that she could tell a real difference with today's visit. Yay, me.
I must confess, though, that this really is my least favorite part of being pregnant. My body is doing that beginning contractions to prep me for the hard stuff and it's, admittedly, not my favorite thing to go through because it does kinda hurt and I'm a wimp. I'm not afraid to say it, either. Still, with only a few weeks to go, I'm at that stage where I wish I was still either in my second trimester or already done. It's an important stage to get to, because soon the desire to be back in the second trimester gets dwarfed and eclipsed by the GET IT OUT OF ME stage, when you are pretty much willing to do WHATEVER it takes to make that possible, and then you really do feel better. And, since you cannot go back and can only go forward, that's a good thing. Plus, I'll get my body back and have this amazing creature to show for it.
In the meantime, I've gotten the okay to take some Zantac for the heartburn, and we're going to try just taking it at night so I stop waking up because my esophagus "burns, burns, burns! The ring of fire...the ring of fire!" (who doesn't love Johnny Cash????).
I wonder how New Baby is doing with all of that acid that's afflicting me. I wonder if she is even aware or if she's like, "Man! I just wish she'd stop eating those tomatoes!" and stuff like that. I wonder if yesterday, she was like, "What in the name of all that is good and sweet is she doing out there!" because I wondered about what she was doing "in there" a couple of times myself. I wonder if she has a sense that she's going to be making her appearance in just a couple of weeks and life as she knows it is going to change...forever. I'll find out soon, I guess.
So, yeah. The doctor's visit went just fine. Thanks to my crazed grocery trip yesterday and subsequent contractions for the rest of the evening, I am now at a 2 (dilated) and 20% effaced. I asked her about last week and she said that I was barely effaced and that she could tell a real difference with today's visit. Yay, me.
I must confess, though, that this really is my least favorite part of being pregnant. My body is doing that beginning contractions to prep me for the hard stuff and it's, admittedly, not my favorite thing to go through because it does kinda hurt and I'm a wimp. I'm not afraid to say it, either. Still, with only a few weeks to go, I'm at that stage where I wish I was still either in my second trimester or already done. It's an important stage to get to, because soon the desire to be back in the second trimester gets dwarfed and eclipsed by the GET IT OUT OF ME stage, when you are pretty much willing to do WHATEVER it takes to make that possible, and then you really do feel better. And, since you cannot go back and can only go forward, that's a good thing. Plus, I'll get my body back and have this amazing creature to show for it.
In the meantime, I've gotten the okay to take some Zantac for the heartburn, and we're going to try just taking it at night so I stop waking up because my esophagus "burns, burns, burns! The ring of fire...the ring of fire!" (who doesn't love Johnny Cash????).
I wonder how New Baby is doing with all of that acid that's afflicting me. I wonder if she is even aware or if she's like, "Man! I just wish she'd stop eating those tomatoes!" and stuff like that. I wonder if yesterday, she was like, "What in the name of all that is good and sweet is she doing out there!" because I wondered about what she was doing "in there" a couple of times myself. I wonder if she has a sense that she's going to be making her appearance in just a couple of weeks and life as she knows it is going to change...forever. I'll find out soon, I guess.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
I Can See Clearly Now the Rain is Gone...
Gosh, I love that song. Huuuuummmmmming along in my head.
Anyway. I'm totally whipped right now; as in, wooowheee, I'm tuckered out! I took the girls to their Aunt D (who's an optometrist) to get their eyes checked. They did AMAZING! They were well behaved and didn't touch things, they weren't obnoxious to Aunt D or me, they took turns and they were actually QUIET! It was a bit surreal how great they were. I was very proud indeed.
After lunch with Aunt D (we treated...I figured it was only fair as she didn't charge for the exams. She's a good aunt!) because they were so good, I decided to stop and let them pick the replacement things to replenish our "snack box" (a box in the pantry closet that holds "snacks" [read: sugared treats] that the older girls can select from when Miss O and I are napping in the afternoon. Miss O often gets a choice from the "snack box" when her older sisters have gone to bed for the night, and she's still up because she goes to sleep at least an hour after they do...though I do monitor her choices a bit more stringently because no one needs all that sugar before bed, least of all a 2 year old!). So, we stopped at Aldi's for some snacks and some milk. And some sour cream. And some cottage cheese.
And clearly, all sorts of other things. About an hour and a half later, we finally arrive at home. I counted and I realized that I touched all the things I bought at least 4 times. Once to put it in the cart, once to take it out of the cart and put it on the checkout conveyor belt, once to bag it and once to empty it out. Some things I know I touched several times because my "helpers" often like to pick things up or, in Miss O's case, dump them out of the cart (or threaten to). It was a long ordeal. And very very hot. I think today has been the hottest day of summer so far, and I seriously was dripping sweat from my eyebrows. Pretty!
Needless to say, poor New Baby has been in a stir all afternoon, my back is killing me, my upper stomach feels like it's being ripped in half and, well, overall my pregnant body has been...unhappy...with what I put it through. I'm very tired.
So, I decided that we'd have a simple dinner. In fact, we'd have breakfast for dinner, because how simple would that be? In theory, yes. Very simple. In actual reality...I guess I just have that gift for making the simple into the complex.
Here was the breakdown of the menu:
Order Up!!! (seriously, looking back at this, it's something you might order at IHOP)
Eggs...but we have two who prefer scrambled and one who prefers egg whites (I'm so serious) and me, who prefers fried eggs. Oh, and one who won't touch them but will, we find out, push them around her plate and douse them with ketchup and then proceed to paint the table with the mixture. ...Hmmm...who could that be???
English Muffins...pretty standard
Sausage Patties...the least of my worries, as they are "fully cooked" fat laden (but delicious) things that you just have to nuke. But in my case, I nuked them too early and had to reheat them.
Hash Browns...here's where I should have skipped, but I bought them today just for a breakfast dinner. I haven't ever really made hash browns from the frozen potato stage and while not complex, it does take a little bit of monitoring else you start to BURN THE BOTTOMS of the potatoes. Yegads! Not the flavor I was going for.
All with a side of Strawberry Banana Smoothie...which I also bought today just for a breakfast dinner (and as a way to sneak fruit into Miss E and O's stomachs...for some reason, bananas and strawberries are SO much more palatable when hidden in yogurt, ice, and orange juice)
Anyway, throughout this whole dinner process, I kept thinking: this is such a simple menu! Why does it seem so complicated? Yep. Probably because I made 5 different things verses, say, Tuna Helper which is all in one happy pan. sigh. Live and learn.
And now, I'll add: live and learn and go lay down. Whew.
Anyway. I'm totally whipped right now; as in, wooowheee, I'm tuckered out! I took the girls to their Aunt D (who's an optometrist) to get their eyes checked. They did AMAZING! They were well behaved and didn't touch things, they weren't obnoxious to Aunt D or me, they took turns and they were actually QUIET! It was a bit surreal how great they were. I was very proud indeed.
After lunch with Aunt D (we treated...I figured it was only fair as she didn't charge for the exams. She's a good aunt!) because they were so good, I decided to stop and let them pick the replacement things to replenish our "snack box" (a box in the pantry closet that holds "snacks" [read: sugared treats] that the older girls can select from when Miss O and I are napping in the afternoon. Miss O often gets a choice from the "snack box" when her older sisters have gone to bed for the night, and she's still up because she goes to sleep at least an hour after they do...though I do monitor her choices a bit more stringently because no one needs all that sugar before bed, least of all a 2 year old!). So, we stopped at Aldi's for some snacks and some milk. And some sour cream. And some cottage cheese.
And clearly, all sorts of other things. About an hour and a half later, we finally arrive at home. I counted and I realized that I touched all the things I bought at least 4 times. Once to put it in the cart, once to take it out of the cart and put it on the checkout conveyor belt, once to bag it and once to empty it out. Some things I know I touched several times because my "helpers" often like to pick things up or, in Miss O's case, dump them out of the cart (or threaten to). It was a long ordeal. And very very hot. I think today has been the hottest day of summer so far, and I seriously was dripping sweat from my eyebrows. Pretty!
Needless to say, poor New Baby has been in a stir all afternoon, my back is killing me, my upper stomach feels like it's being ripped in half and, well, overall my pregnant body has been...unhappy...with what I put it through. I'm very tired.
So, I decided that we'd have a simple dinner. In fact, we'd have breakfast for dinner, because how simple would that be? In theory, yes. Very simple. In actual reality...I guess I just have that gift for making the simple into the complex.
Here was the breakdown of the menu:
Order Up!!! (seriously, looking back at this, it's something you might order at IHOP)
Eggs...but we have two who prefer scrambled and one who prefers egg whites (I'm so serious) and me, who prefers fried eggs. Oh, and one who won't touch them but will, we find out, push them around her plate and douse them with ketchup and then proceed to paint the table with the mixture. ...Hmmm...who could that be???
English Muffins...pretty standard
Sausage Patties...the least of my worries, as they are "fully cooked" fat laden (but delicious) things that you just have to nuke. But in my case, I nuked them too early and had to reheat them.
Hash Browns...here's where I should have skipped, but I bought them today just for a breakfast dinner. I haven't ever really made hash browns from the frozen potato stage and while not complex, it does take a little bit of monitoring else you start to BURN THE BOTTOMS of the potatoes. Yegads! Not the flavor I was going for.
All with a side of Strawberry Banana Smoothie...which I also bought today just for a breakfast dinner (and as a way to sneak fruit into Miss E and O's stomachs...for some reason, bananas and strawberries are SO much more palatable when hidden in yogurt, ice, and orange juice)
Anyway, throughout this whole dinner process, I kept thinking: this is such a simple menu! Why does it seem so complicated? Yep. Probably because I made 5 different things verses, say, Tuna Helper which is all in one happy pan. sigh. Live and learn.
And now, I'll add: live and learn and go lay down. Whew.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Books and Audio Books, not created equally
I belong to two book clubs, one that meets face to face and one that "meets" online. And, true confessions (or, arguably in Katie's case, apparent knowledge), I am behind in my readings for both of them.
That being said, I'm putting some of the blame squarely on the Interlibrary Loan Shoulders of my local library. In fact, I've ILL'd from two different libraries to see which has the quicker turnaround time. I'll let you know which comes in first. It's kinda exciting to see the race! Selfish of me to ask for the same two books from two different library organizations? Yes. Admittedly. But oh well, there you have yet another ugly little characteristic of me: I'm very very impatient sometimes, especially when *I've* procrastinated and must now get it done!
When I worked full time as a librarian (I'm trained as an instruction librarian and worked on College/University campuses before I switched careers and became a Full-time Mom), we had a little phrase used amongst us to help us not get sucked into the great VOID OF PANIC created by procrastinating students. You may have already heard it from someone else. It's still a good mantra (though sadly I must now apply it to my own life): A Lack of Planning on YOUR Part Does Not Constitute An Emergency on MINE.
Ahhhhh, good times.
But I digress. So, book clubs. I love them because you really do get exposed to all sorts of fascinating literature along the way. I have discovered that over time my personal taste in books has firmly gelled in the genres of "light and fluffy" or "happy and funny," and "things with a good ending" with a bonus of "a quick read." In particular, I also really like to read the stuff you can find in the juvenile literature section, because there is honestly some really good quality works found there, without all the "sex" and language (though you still have to be careful with some of the more "contemporary" juvie stuff). Overall, it's refreshing.
But what happens if you get one of your favorite author's books on tape (or cd, as the case is now becoming). Sometimes, as in the works of Harry Potter as narrated by Jim Dale, it is DELICIOUS to listen to. Other times, as in Brandon Mull's series, "Fablehaven" as read by E.B. Stevens, one has to wonder what these people (aka: the people who employed him!) were thinking.
I mean no disrespect if you happen to like him as a narrator, because he does have a few nice voices, but he DRIVES ME NUTS to listen to overall because he doesn't have a great reach and he has the ANNOYING habit of ends his sentences on an up tone instead of a concluding note, where the period would be (as an experiment, please read the last sentence aloud. Did you say, "...would be" with the "be" ending an octave higher? Or "...would be" with the "be" ending lower? If you ended higher, by all means, please purchase E.B. Stevens works because you'll probably enjoy them to no end. And I don't mean to sound so snotty. I'm serious. You'll probably adore them. Ahem. Moving on).
But my biggest bugaboo? Ohhhhhhhh, E.B. Stevens. Why must you make sad events sound as if a chipper news anchor has just announced the death of 400 with a smile on his/her face. It is positively ludicrous to listen to...and of course, he's in the employ of Shadow Mountain books (read: Deseret Books), so he also narrates the Leven Thumps audio series (which I will now not be buying) as well as the wonderful Fablehavens.
It's sad, really, because there is a strange and wonderful enjoyment of having someone read to you...maybe it hearkens back to when we are children and our parents read "Bedtime for Francis" to us over and over again and we love it each and every time. I don't know. But I do know that a perfect stranger reading something to me can be so soothing...or so grating on the nerves as to take any joy and wonder right smack out of the story and make me want to grab the nearest sharp item and impale myself on it. Okay, maybe that's a wee bit of an exaggeration, but it really does suck the life right out of a good story and makes the whole work YUCKY.
Ohhhhh! Here's another good example. For my online book club, we read, "The Book Thief," which is really a beautiful and fascinating book. Definitely worthwhile (albeit a little heavy reading). Unless you get the audio version, which one of the girls did, and the narrator was "grotesque" to listen to. In fact, she actually gave the book a poor review while the rest of us raved about it. And the big difference? Audio with a poor narrator verses her own narrator's voice in her head.
What about you, Gentle Reader? Have you had this experience? Do you have any recommendations for GOOD books with solid narrators? Because I have just given you someone to avoid and trust me, you'll thank me for it later, after you've simply just read the books.
That being said, I'm putting some of the blame squarely on the Interlibrary Loan Shoulders of my local library. In fact, I've ILL'd from two different libraries to see which has the quicker turnaround time. I'll let you know which comes in first. It's kinda exciting to see the race! Selfish of me to ask for the same two books from two different library organizations? Yes. Admittedly. But oh well, there you have yet another ugly little characteristic of me: I'm very very impatient sometimes, especially when *I've* procrastinated and must now get it done!
When I worked full time as a librarian (I'm trained as an instruction librarian and worked on College/University campuses before I switched careers and became a Full-time Mom), we had a little phrase used amongst us to help us not get sucked into the great VOID OF PANIC created by procrastinating students. You may have already heard it from someone else. It's still a good mantra (though sadly I must now apply it to my own life): A Lack of Planning on YOUR Part Does Not Constitute An Emergency on MINE.
Ahhhhh, good times.
But I digress. So, book clubs. I love them because you really do get exposed to all sorts of fascinating literature along the way. I have discovered that over time my personal taste in books has firmly gelled in the genres of "light and fluffy" or "happy and funny," and "things with a good ending" with a bonus of "a quick read." In particular, I also really like to read the stuff you can find in the juvenile literature section, because there is honestly some really good quality works found there, without all the "sex" and language (though you still have to be careful with some of the more "contemporary" juvie stuff). Overall, it's refreshing.
But what happens if you get one of your favorite author's books on tape (or cd, as the case is now becoming). Sometimes, as in the works of Harry Potter as narrated by Jim Dale, it is DELICIOUS to listen to. Other times, as in Brandon Mull's series, "Fablehaven" as read by E.B. Stevens, one has to wonder what these people (aka: the people who employed him!) were thinking.
I mean no disrespect if you happen to like him as a narrator, because he does have a few nice voices, but he DRIVES ME NUTS to listen to overall because he doesn't have a great reach and he has the ANNOYING habit of ends his sentences on an up tone instead of a concluding note, where the period would be (as an experiment, please read the last sentence aloud. Did you say, "...would be" with the "be" ending an octave higher? Or "...would be" with the "be" ending lower? If you ended higher, by all means, please purchase E.B. Stevens works because you'll probably enjoy them to no end. And I don't mean to sound so snotty. I'm serious. You'll probably adore them. Ahem. Moving on).
But my biggest bugaboo? Ohhhhhhhh, E.B. Stevens. Why must you make sad events sound as if a chipper news anchor has just announced the death of 400 with a smile on his/her face. It is positively ludicrous to listen to...and of course, he's in the employ of Shadow Mountain books (read: Deseret Books), so he also narrates the Leven Thumps audio series (which I will now not be buying) as well as the wonderful Fablehavens.
It's sad, really, because there is a strange and wonderful enjoyment of having someone read to you...maybe it hearkens back to when we are children and our parents read "Bedtime for Francis" to us over and over again and we love it each and every time. I don't know. But I do know that a perfect stranger reading something to me can be so soothing...or so grating on the nerves as to take any joy and wonder right smack out of the story and make me want to grab the nearest sharp item and impale myself on it. Okay, maybe that's a wee bit of an exaggeration, but it really does suck the life right out of a good story and makes the whole work YUCKY.
Ohhhhh! Here's another good example. For my online book club, we read, "The Book Thief," which is really a beautiful and fascinating book. Definitely worthwhile (albeit a little heavy reading). Unless you get the audio version, which one of the girls did, and the narrator was "grotesque" to listen to. In fact, she actually gave the book a poor review while the rest of us raved about it. And the big difference? Audio with a poor narrator verses her own narrator's voice in her head.
What about you, Gentle Reader? Have you had this experience? Do you have any recommendations for GOOD books with solid narrators? Because I have just given you someone to avoid and trust me, you'll thank me for it later, after you've simply just read the books.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Randomness, often associated with Water (and Tigers and Cherries, Oh My!)
So many little thoughts that I wanted to record...where to start, where to start...
**Miss O no longer calls her sisters "Ado" for Miss A and "Odo" for Miss E. Instead, she calls Miss A "Adol" and Miss E, "Bith."
**The other evening, right after showers but just before bed, I was getting Miss O dressed and noticed her leg seemed wet...especially considering that she'd just gotten dried off (fyi: we shower the girls in the "guest room" bathroom and then they literally run into their bedroom to get their pjs on). I asked her if she'd gone potty and she gave me the sign language sign for potty. I got her diaper on (just in case that sign was because she was NEEDING to go potty) and asked her WHERE she'd gone. Super J went with her...into OUR room...and followed her over where she had, indeed, peed. Right on Super J's shoes and a Dora the Explorer book. But she was so proud that she could associate "potty" with what she'd just done that she came running back to me, rather exultant. It was quite funny, though probably because they weren't MY shoes.
**My mother-in-law sent a small package (the idea that she has to send stuff in the mail in order for it to be received in our household is a post for another time) for Super J's birthday in which she gifted him a pink oxford shirt and a book called, "Moments for Fathers: Positive Reflections to Strengthen His Spirit." Okay. But more impressive is that she sent ME a "baby shower" card, saying that she was sorry, but she wasn't invited to any baby shower (?????) but wanted me to have a little something. Um...I'm not HAVING a baby shower, but I digress. She sent me...wait for it...a polyester aqua-colored peignoir from "Woman Within." Gentle Reader, that's lingerie. It is WILDLY inappropriate. Super J said that we should go ahead and dress up in them and take a picture and send it to his mom. I'm dying about a thousand deaths. For some reason, my m-i-l seems to think that gifting me stuff like this is quite acceptable (and has sent me a number of these types of "ensembles" over the years). For those who might wonder about such etiquette, the answer is NO! It is NOT acceptable. For crying out loud.
**Besides, we can't take pictures (*Shudder*...and no pun intended) because Super J left our camera in a little restaurant on his drive home from Nauvoo. They are supposed to be Fed-Ex-ing it, but we'll just have to wait and see if they really are going to. Sigh. I probably would have just driven back and gotten the camera instead of relying on the honesty of these people, but I hope to be proved wrong.
**Happily, on a different note: For F.H.E. last night, we took the girls swimming at our little neighborhood pool for the activity. The girls got to show off what they learned in Swim Class in the past two weeks, and it was both enlightening and terrifying at the same time. Their skill set has vastly improved, as has their confidence and I loved that. However, only Miss A can really "swim", but Miss E is determined that her ability to dunk her head in the water and cast herself off before losing her ability to hold her breath and emerge from the water gasping is officially a sign of her competence in the "swimming" category. She kept telling me over and over, "But I know how to swim!!!" (remember, this is the girl who thought that because she could kick her legs while floating in a pool ring that she was now qualified to teach a swim class). Yes, she knows how to swim...just enough to cause trouble.
**Which leads to these little gems: had TERRIBLE dreams all last night. One involved Miss E jumping into a Cherry Bog before anyone was able to either catch her or determine how deep the bog was. Now, I know cherries grow on trees and my subconscious was getting them confused with those cranberry drink commercials, tossed in with a strange mix of Star Wars, where Luke is in the trash compactor and you are worried he's going to be drowned by that weird creature, amongst the floating debris where you can't see the bottom, the water is so murky. I was so freaked out by this that I woke myself up (have you ever done that, mid-nightmare?). Ugh. Hard to shake off.
Then, that was followed up by yet ANOTHER bad dream closer to waking-up time, where we went to visit some new neighbors in our subdivision who had a cemetery right outside their house (I know, it's a WHAT????? kind of moment right there, because if you've ever been in our subdivision there is NO cemetery even near it, but so dreams go) and there were some unusual squash plants and an orange tree and Super J went to pick some oranges and this new neighbor husband guy went with him and then, out of no where, the family's pet tiger (?????) became HUGE and ANGRY and started mauling the two men and some random dog and...and...and I started running after them all with a rake. Ummmmmm...TERRIBLE!!!!!! As I type it, I realize just how dumb the whole things sounds, but at the time in that weird dream state, it was very scary. I woke up, feeling very...thick and stiff and bleary-eyed. And I must confess that even now, after breakfast, I'm still feeling a bit like that.
**Which leads to THIS gem: I'm taking the girls to a swim play date at noon...that I kinda set up...with some of Miss A's friends from preschool. Why oh why did I not simply set up a play date at McDonald's? I mean, then at least lunch would be taken care of and I could sit in some A/C. Nope. Instead, we'll pay $5.00 each for this "aquatic center" and hope there is enough shade as the temperature gets to be 90 degrees outside and that Miss E doesn't jump into a Cherry Bog and no tigers maul anyone around because I highly doubt there are any rakes nearby, only to end up going through the drivethru at McDonald's when it's all over, thus spending twice the money!.
Oh well. Maybe if I'm lucky, Miss O won't pee on my shoes, though I wouldn't be sad if she did on that polyester aqua-colored peignoir. Unless you want it, Gentle Reader. In that case, give me a call.
**Miss O no longer calls her sisters "Ado" for Miss A and "Odo" for Miss E. Instead, she calls Miss A "Adol" and Miss E, "Bith."
**The other evening, right after showers but just before bed, I was getting Miss O dressed and noticed her leg seemed wet...especially considering that she'd just gotten dried off (fyi: we shower the girls in the "guest room" bathroom and then they literally run into their bedroom to get their pjs on). I asked her if she'd gone potty and she gave me the sign language sign for potty. I got her diaper on (just in case that sign was because she was NEEDING to go potty) and asked her WHERE she'd gone. Super J went with her...into OUR room...and followed her over where she had, indeed, peed. Right on Super J's shoes and a Dora the Explorer book. But she was so proud that she could associate "potty" with what she'd just done that she came running back to me, rather exultant. It was quite funny, though probably because they weren't MY shoes.
**My mother-in-law sent a small package (the idea that she has to send stuff in the mail in order for it to be received in our household is a post for another time) for Super J's birthday in which she gifted him a pink oxford shirt and a book called, "Moments for Fathers: Positive Reflections to Strengthen His Spirit." Okay. But more impressive is that she sent ME a "baby shower" card, saying that she was sorry, but she wasn't invited to any baby shower (?????) but wanted me to have a little something. Um...I'm not HAVING a baby shower, but I digress. She sent me...wait for it...a polyester aqua-colored peignoir from "Woman Within." Gentle Reader, that's lingerie. It is WILDLY inappropriate. Super J said that we should go ahead and dress up in them and take a picture and send it to his mom. I'm dying about a thousand deaths. For some reason, my m-i-l seems to think that gifting me stuff like this is quite acceptable (and has sent me a number of these types of "ensembles" over the years). For those who might wonder about such etiquette, the answer is NO! It is NOT acceptable. For crying out loud.
**Besides, we can't take pictures (*Shudder*...and no pun intended) because Super J left our camera in a little restaurant on his drive home from Nauvoo. They are supposed to be Fed-Ex-ing it, but we'll just have to wait and see if they really are going to. Sigh. I probably would have just driven back and gotten the camera instead of relying on the honesty of these people, but I hope to be proved wrong.
**Happily, on a different note: For F.H.E. last night, we took the girls swimming at our little neighborhood pool for the activity. The girls got to show off what they learned in Swim Class in the past two weeks, and it was both enlightening and terrifying at the same time. Their skill set has vastly improved, as has their confidence and I loved that. However, only Miss A can really "swim", but Miss E is determined that her ability to dunk her head in the water and cast herself off before losing her ability to hold her breath and emerge from the water gasping is officially a sign of her competence in the "swimming" category. She kept telling me over and over, "But I know how to swim!!!" (remember, this is the girl who thought that because she could kick her legs while floating in a pool ring that she was now qualified to teach a swim class). Yes, she knows how to swim...just enough to cause trouble.
**Which leads to these little gems: had TERRIBLE dreams all last night. One involved Miss E jumping into a Cherry Bog before anyone was able to either catch her or determine how deep the bog was. Now, I know cherries grow on trees and my subconscious was getting them confused with those cranberry drink commercials, tossed in with a strange mix of Star Wars, where Luke is in the trash compactor and you are worried he's going to be drowned by that weird creature, amongst the floating debris where you can't see the bottom, the water is so murky. I was so freaked out by this that I woke myself up (have you ever done that, mid-nightmare?). Ugh. Hard to shake off.
Then, that was followed up by yet ANOTHER bad dream closer to waking-up time, where we went to visit some new neighbors in our subdivision who had a cemetery right outside their house (I know, it's a WHAT????? kind of moment right there, because if you've ever been in our subdivision there is NO cemetery even near it, but so dreams go) and there were some unusual squash plants and an orange tree and Super J went to pick some oranges and this new neighbor husband guy went with him and then, out of no where, the family's pet tiger (?????) became HUGE and ANGRY and started mauling the two men and some random dog and...and...and I started running after them all with a rake. Ummmmmm...TERRIBLE!!!!!! As I type it, I realize just how dumb the whole things sounds, but at the time in that weird dream state, it was very scary. I woke up, feeling very...thick and stiff and bleary-eyed. And I must confess that even now, after breakfast, I'm still feeling a bit like that.
**Which leads to THIS gem: I'm taking the girls to a swim play date at noon...that I kinda set up...with some of Miss A's friends from preschool. Why oh why did I not simply set up a play date at McDonald's? I mean, then at least lunch would be taken care of and I could sit in some A/C. Nope. Instead, we'll pay $5.00 each for this "aquatic center" and hope there is enough shade as the temperature gets to be 90 degrees outside and that Miss E doesn't jump into a Cherry Bog and no tigers maul anyone around because I highly doubt there are any rakes nearby, only to end up going through the drivethru at McDonald's when it's all over, thus spending twice the money!.
Oh well. Maybe if I'm lucky, Miss O won't pee on my shoes, though I wouldn't be sad if she did on that polyester aqua-colored peignoir. Unless you want it, Gentle Reader. In that case, give me a call.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Ancient Chinese Secrets
Long story short...I needed to have some take-out for dinner, so I called Super J and he agreed to swing by our favorite Chinese Restaurant. Their food may not be the ABSOLUTE finest Chinese and they are a little pricey, but for a small town Chinese Restaurant, I think they are extremely tasty. In fact, I LURVES it and they have the most phenomenal customer service there, so we like to frequent it. They also give the kids (even if you don't have them present) lollipops and plenty of fortune cookies.
And speaking of which, here are our fortunes:
Super J: You will have no problems in your home
Mine: You will travel to many places
Miss A: Your love life will be happy and harmonious
Miss E: (she got two in one cookie!) The heart is wiser than the intellect AND A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains
Miss O: Your love life will be happy and harmonious
So, Super J won't have any problems at home because I'll be gone alot and Miss A and O will have sweet boyfriends as they get older (we hope...as they get older) and Miss E is going to be sweet but clueless??????
I'll just focus on how great I think the food it.
And speaking of which, here are our fortunes:
Super J: You will have no problems in your home
Mine: You will travel to many places
Miss A: Your love life will be happy and harmonious
Miss E: (she got two in one cookie!) The heart is wiser than the intellect AND A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains
Miss O: Your love life will be happy and harmonious
So, Super J won't have any problems at home because I'll be gone alot and Miss A and O will have sweet boyfriends as they get older (we hope...as they get older) and Miss E is going to be sweet but clueless??????
I'll just focus on how great I think the food it.
TMI, but this explains so much!
Gentle Reader...I've never had such horrific heartburn in any of my pregnancies prior to this one. This last pregnancy will be remembered if, for nothing else, the BURNING in my esophagus and throat that I've "enjoyed" my last trimester. Yesterday was seriously the worst.
In any case, as I was reading up about being 36 weeks (please don't ask why I'm reading up on this, especially when I've been here 3 times before. It's a strange, obsessive thing, I know. I just can't help it), I found the following picture.
OH MY! Look where my stomach is!!! You know, between my stomach being squished and the hormones that have relaxed oh so many things in my body, including the "lower esophageal sphincter" (LES)--which means that it doesn't close as tightly--no wonder I'm having terrible heartburn. Of course, it doesn't explain why I'm having this problem NOW, but it's still good to get a visual. Probably a little too much to digest in the morning (ha! I'm so funny when discussing heartburn!), but ohhhhhh the wonders of the human body.
In any case, as I was reading up about being 36 weeks (please don't ask why I'm reading up on this, especially when I've been here 3 times before. It's a strange, obsessive thing, I know. I just can't help it), I found the following picture.
OH MY! Look where my stomach is!!! You know, between my stomach being squished and the hormones that have relaxed oh so many things in my body, including the "lower esophageal sphincter" (LES)--which means that it doesn't close as tightly--no wonder I'm having terrible heartburn. Of course, it doesn't explain why I'm having this problem NOW, but it's still good to get a visual. Probably a little too much to digest in the morning (ha! I'm so funny when discussing heartburn!), but ohhhhhh the wonders of the human body.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Discoveries and Fresh Produce
Well, official or no, I am now on "Maternity Leave" from the Primary (aka: the children's portion of Sunday School and Lessons) at church. I am, technically, still in this calling of music leader, but Good Krista said to me, "Let me just take over next week" (including picking the songs and maybe even cleaning and organizing the music closet!!!! See???? She's quite wonderful). Could have kissed her. Not because I won't miss the kids or hear them singing the music. I will. Alot, actually, because a) as we all know, I've grown attached and b) I'm a control freak. That being said, when I get home I am pretty much USELESS after lunch. Remember the swimming lessons? That is NOTHING compared to what I feel like after a morning in Primary and Nursery (18 months to 3 yr olds). But I only have 3 Sundays left before New Baby arrives, so it's kinda nice not to have that weighing on my mind, and the Primary President said today that they noticed I have having trouble with my breathes/singing ratio and they hoped I wouldn't pass out. lol.
ANYWHOOOOO, after a nap, I decided to tackle roasting some vegetables that Grandpa harvested when Super J dropped him off yesterday. I have a really great recipe for roasting said veggies from beloved Ina Garten (I probably shouldn't talk about her like I know her and/or stalk her, but I LOVE watching Barefoot Contessa on Food Network. One day, you'll come for dinner and I'll be so organized, you'll wonder if you stepped foot in MY house or Hers. In the meantime...), where you then turn around and add chicken broth and blend up the roasted veggies with chicken broth and turn the whole thing into a fabulous soup, or "po-tage" as Super J likes to call it. It really is quite lovely and, more importantly, quite easy. The biggest amount of work is just cutting things up.
So, prior to setting forth to take care of this, I had to take care of business and I went into the bathroom off of our bedroom (aka: Mommy & Daddy's bathroom) and what do I find???? Pretty much the entire roll of toilet paper unspooled, lying in a heap on the ground.
Miss O has struck again.
These are things she has learned in the past 2 weeks. Seriously, it's only been 2 weeks.
1. That she can turn on/off light switches (and fans' switches, if they happen to co-exist next to said light switches).
2. That she can, with a bit of effort and in moments of panic, turn the knob on bathrooms to join me whilst I'm in the middle of a bathroom break.
3. That she wants to "wipe, too, Momma!" which consists of her grabbing the toilet paper and starting to unroll vast quantities so that she can wipe...wait for it...her nose. Twice. Before wadding up the entire thing and trying to toss it in the commode.
Now, I KNOWS I wasn't in that bathroom when the toilet paper was getting unraveled because I know to stop it before it ends up, well, completely off it's cardboard holder and heaped on the floor. I have a feeling, Gentle Reader, that this was done when...(ominous music plays)...no one was around. This prompts Learning Moment #4:
4. That she can, when no one is around, unroll vasts amounts of toilet paper, thus stripping the toilet paper off its cardboard holder and leaving it heaped on the floor.
You know, I am all about my children learning and exploring and expanding their minds...I just wish it didn't involve all these HIGHLY annoying things! Argh!
Oh well. I shall just comfort myself in lots and lots of potage.
ANYWHOOOOO, after a nap, I decided to tackle roasting some vegetables that Grandpa harvested when Super J dropped him off yesterday. I have a really great recipe for roasting said veggies from beloved Ina Garten (I probably shouldn't talk about her like I know her and/or stalk her, but I LOVE watching Barefoot Contessa on Food Network. One day, you'll come for dinner and I'll be so organized, you'll wonder if you stepped foot in MY house or Hers. In the meantime...), where you then turn around and add chicken broth and blend up the roasted veggies with chicken broth and turn the whole thing into a fabulous soup, or "po-tage" as Super J likes to call it. It really is quite lovely and, more importantly, quite easy. The biggest amount of work is just cutting things up.
So, prior to setting forth to take care of this, I had to take care of business and I went into the bathroom off of our bedroom (aka: Mommy & Daddy's bathroom) and what do I find???? Pretty much the entire roll of toilet paper unspooled, lying in a heap on the ground.
Miss O has struck again.
These are things she has learned in the past 2 weeks. Seriously, it's only been 2 weeks.
1. That she can turn on/off light switches (and fans' switches, if they happen to co-exist next to said light switches).
2. That she can, with a bit of effort and in moments of panic, turn the knob on bathrooms to join me whilst I'm in the middle of a bathroom break.
3. That she wants to "wipe, too, Momma!" which consists of her grabbing the toilet paper and starting to unroll vast quantities so that she can wipe...wait for it...her nose. Twice. Before wadding up the entire thing and trying to toss it in the commode.
Now, I KNOWS I wasn't in that bathroom when the toilet paper was getting unraveled because I know to stop it before it ends up, well, completely off it's cardboard holder and heaped on the floor. I have a feeling, Gentle Reader, that this was done when...(ominous music plays)...no one was around. This prompts Learning Moment #4:
4. That she can, when no one is around, unroll vasts amounts of toilet paper, thus stripping the toilet paper off its cardboard holder and leaving it heaped on the floor.
You know, I am all about my children learning and exploring and expanding their minds...I just wish it didn't involve all these HIGHLY annoying things! Argh!
Oh well. I shall just comfort myself in lots and lots of potage.
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