Oh Dear! again

Dear I'm-going-to-throw-my-gum-wherever-I-may-please,
If you insist on throwing your gum in the parking lot, you will have to take care of the consequences.  You now how 2 pairs of shoes to clean up for me.  Please call me and we'll arrange a time for you to do this.
Thanks,
Sick of sticky shoes

Dear Self-
Never, ever, EVER try to make bias tape out of a super stretchy knit fabric again.  It will not end well, and will likely result in lots of tears.  (Thankfully, no one but E and I will see that home made miracle blanket up close anyway.)
Love,
I hate taking out seams

Dear Consignment sale,
Please sell lots of my baby clothes so I can pay for the new ones I'm buying.
Thanks so much,
loving-the-girl-stuff

Dear Isaac,
I love that you're getting more words (seriously, people!  He's totally rocked his speech therapy!  over 20 words now, and he said ZERO 4 months ago.) but would love it even more if you could kick "no, thank you" to the top to learn next.  The incessant grunting of "uh-uh", while cute, is a little rude.
Fondly,
your also-add-"yes"-if-you-can mommy

Dear O and A,
You guys are so awesome and fun!  I love hearing about your days at school and everything you're learning.  Please don't ever stop telling me all about it.
Always,
Mommy

Dear O,
I know you hate handwriting.  I know your teacher makes you do it "too long" every day.  Unfortunately, you're a lefty, and your handwriting may need a little extra work through out the years.  It happens. 
Sincerely,
can't-remember-the-last-time-I-had-to-hand-write-something

Dear E,
So glad to have you home!  Please don't leave me again.  Please.  And, just so you know, I cannot help it if I am jealous that you get to go to Hawaii for work.  I also may not be completely "happy" for you.  Especially since baby girl will only be a month old when you go.
Fondly,
I-wannnnnnnnnnaaaa-go-too!

Dear baby girl,
If you could just somehow relay the message to daddy that the name *I* have chosen is an awesome name, that'd be great.  Also, maybe tell him you don't want to be named Jennifer, Jessica, Cathy, or Amy.  While all good names, you are not 30.
Love and belly rubs,
I-want-to-name-you-soon

You win some, you lose some

Win: Not having to wait long to see the OB because it's glucose tolerance testing day.
Lose: Failing said test and having to wait 3.5 hrs for the 3 hr glucose test.
(ETA: I just got the call that I passed the 3 hr test, so I guess that's a win, too!)

Win: A loves Kindergarten!
Lose: He's been exhausted every day this week.  So much so, we've moved his bedtime up to 6:15.

Win: Isaac's new nap schedule.  He's been sleeping 2+ hrs.

Lose: We've been having to lay down with him to get him to sleep/stay in his bed.  Only for naps, but still not great for October when the new baby arrives.

Lose: E traveling for work again soon.

Win: Lots of time in the evening to sew/craft/work on consignment stuff.

Win: My littlest's love of blueberries.  I love to hear him say it, and I love watching him eat them.

Lose: Blueberry diapers.  Enough said.

Lose: Having a family member say "How many weeks do you have left?" then, after I reply, responding with "wow!  You're just going to get bigger?  I mean, you're already big!"

Win: Having someone ask how many weeks I am, then responding with "wow!  you're so tiny!"

Win: Having an awesome OB who schedules your appointments on Mondays since that's her "day on call" and she knows me and my labor history (went into labor with A and I the same day as my appointments)

Lose: Finding out that Awesome Dr will likely be on vacation when I deliver baby girl.  Possibly not, I suppose, but probably so. (She'll be gone the week I'm 37-38 weeks. O and A were 38 wks, I was 37.)

Win: Having a child who is super creative and smart.

Lose: Having a child who is super creative and smart, thus coming up with a way to stuff 10 pennies into our van's cassette deck.

Win: posting pictures from the first day of school.

Lose: No lose.  This one's win-win.

He said MOMMA Elmo?!?

Isaac has been feeling less than stellar lately.  Last Wednesday night, he started with a croupy sounding cough, and nothing more.  Then, the cough got worse, so I took him into the dr. on Saturday.  He needed steroids, again, for two days. Saturday night, the poor kid started running a fever, and got really sick. Sunday morning, I was ready to take him back in.  Monday, he was sounding croupy still, so we had to give him another day's worth of steroid (which, if you've never had the torture joy of having a child on steroids, you are really missing out on some wildness/crankiness/worst-sleeping-ever-ness.)

Every day since Monday, I keep thinking, "okay, if he gets worse, I'll take him in."  Because, let's face it, I don't really want to drag 3 kids to the doctor's office ever, but especially when 2 of them are healthy. He hasn't gotten any worse, really, just kind of the same.

So, in all of his sick-glory, the kid has been extra snugly and loving (minus the steroid days when he was just mean to me).  Today, he was sitting on my lap while I was, cough, checking facebook on my phone and watching the news.  He keeps saying, what I thought was, "momma" over and over.  Seeing as how he hasn't said this, yet, I was over joyed!  I threw down my phone, looked into his sweet face, and then was immediately disappointed.  He was pointing to the t.v. at Elmo.  Saying "memo, memo", then signing "please". 

thanks, kid.  Apparently it's more important to say a furry, red, annoying puppet's name before mine.  Burn.

A little bit of randomness

• I burnt two fingers on my left hand with the iron yesterday.  I set it directly on my hand.  Pregnancy brain, anyone?
• E thinks I've been "nesting", but really, I'm just trying to prepare as much as I can before I get 1.too uncomfortable and 2. before school starts and I have even less time.
• Baby girl's nursery is almost finished!  My mom is making the crib skirt, and I have plans for a baby blanket/quilt with the scraps.  I think it looks fabulous! I promise to share pictures, soon!  Here's a teaser.

• We've spent very little time at the pool this year with out E.  I just don't feel up to handling watching the bigger 2 kids in the deep end, and keeping track of a wild-totally-has-no-fear toddler in the immense heat.  I promise to do better next summer. (As long as baby girl is not walking...)
• My little brother went and grew up and got engaged!  My brother, D, and my future SIL, R are planning a May wedding as of now.  Aren't they cute?

• We looked, very briefly, into flying all of us out to the wedding (since Mapquest put it at 14 hrs for a drive, with out stops.) Then, we quickly realized that flying 5 people, renting a car, then paying for a hotel, plus 2 dresses and a tux just weren't going to happen.  Maybe there's something fun to do between here and Pennsylvania to make the trip more intersting.
•   My heartburn/acid reflux has gone from controlled to uncontrollable.  I started Prevacid when I was 19 weeks and it worked great!  Until 2 weeks ago.  I've been miserable.  I cut out caffeine, pop, and eating big meals.  I talked to the pharmacist today, and she pretty much said that there isn't much else I can do. *sigh*  Before I complain too much, I would like to say that I am SO grateful that I never had this with my first 3 kids.  1 pregnancy is enough.
• No, we don't have a name for the baby, yet. (Although, if it was up to me, we would. ;))
• A friend's husband died last night after a freak fall that lead to cardiac arrest.  I have never even met him before, but I am so sad and heartbroken for my friend.  Her daughter is O's age, and her son is A's age.  E is at a conference tonight, and I just want to hug him- for a really long time. 

Patchy Ethmoid Inflammatory Disease

In this post, I was telling y'all that E was super sick the day of the wedding in which he was the best man.  I told you that it was a post I wouldn't forget, remember? I'm going to share a little bit of what happened.


Saturday morning, around 4 am, E woke up, saying he was very sick to his stomach.  I immediately thought it might be food poisoning, since we ate at a Hibachi grill place the night before.  Who knows if things get cross contaminated, etc.  But, then, around 6 am, he started complaining of a headache. 

We had hit up some garage sales the previous day that my parents wanted to go back to.  E said he thought the fresh air might help him, so we  loaded up the van and headed out.  By the end of the hour, it was evident that E was too sick to stay any longer. 

At this point, I start to get a little nervous.  I mean, he's the BEST MAN.  Not just someone who is going to the wedding, or even an usher.  He kind of has an important job.  So we started pumping him full of any kind of anti-nauseous meds we could find.  Pepto-check.  Pepcid- check.  Tums-check. Then we found an anti-nausea med-check.  Nothing was helping.  He was still bed ridden.

Around 12, I start to get really nervous.  We had to leave about 1 or so to be at the wedding on time.  E was still in bed, and the kids and I had to get showered and dressed.  About 12:05, the power in my parent's house goes out. Nice.  The kids and I hop into the shower anyway.  When I get out, I start contemplating blow drying my hair with the leaf blower. (I know.  I was desperate.)

I get O's flower girl dress on, and most of A's tux, and go to find E to tell him we have to get ready to leave.  Thankfully, the power came back on, and I could blow dry hair in the appropriate manner.  E is too sick to drive, so I drive us to the wedding.  The entire time, E is sighing heavily, leaning back, and looking quite pale (well, paler than normal.)

We got to the wedding on time, and E made it through the ceremony (It was an outdoor wedding, but thankfully E was in the shade- unlike the other groomsmen.)  I then have to find something to do with all 3 kiddos for 2 hours.

Hmmm....  I lived in this area for years.  In fact, I nannied for 2 years around the same parts.   I know what to do with kids.  However, what I don't know what to do with is kids in wedding attire.  Can't go to the park.  Can't go eat. Can't go to the hands on museum. Etc, etc, etc.  I take them to the mall, just to walk around.  We, of course, forgot the stroller, so I end up carrying Isaac the entire time.

When we got the to reception, it was cocktail hour.  Still 1 hour before the wedding party arrives.  The kids, at this point, were W.I.L.D. They were tired from no naps, lots of wedding excitement, and extremely sugared up on the candy bar they had set up in the lobby.  You can imagine the torture that ensued for me.

The wedding party arrived, but E had to stay at the head table for a while.  I was having so many contractions at this point that I couldn't eat.  I was miserable.  However, after E ate, he was a new man.  He felt 100% better in a matter of 10 minutes.

We came to the conclusion that E had a migraine.  Not his first, actually.  He's had several over the course of the last year.  When he mentioned this to his dr. last week, they suggested he have an MRI done on his brain to rule out the scary stuff. 

They called him on Friday with the diagnosis.  Patchy Ethmoid Inflammatory Disease.  Basically, a sinus infection.  Since he has no symptoms, he could have had this particular infection for a while, even up to a year.  One of the main symptoms is headaches.  They called in an antibiotic to clear it up since the infection is so close to his brain. 

*an aside: When he called to tell me, I seriously thought he was kidding me.  He's that kind of person.  He would totally make something like that up to pull my chain. (The funny part is that E's mom thought he made it up, too.)

The hope is that the antibiotics will clear the infection and hopefully rid him of the migraines.  If not, he may need sinus surgery down the road.  I'm so glad for him.  At least he doesn't have to suffer, with out a general/untreatable answer like "hormones" for the rest of his life.

Oh, you *must* coupon!

Dental Hygienist (which, from now on, I will address as H): When is your baby due?

Me: In October

H: How nice!  Is this your first?

Me: No.  It's my fourth.

H: Fourth?!?  Really?  Were they ALL planned?

Me: Um....  I mean, we, um, always wanted four kids.

H: Really?  Four?  That seems like a lot.

Me: Yeah.  My husband and I only have one sibling between the two of us. We wanted a big family.

H: So your done after this one, right?

Me: yes, as far as we know.  We wanted four kids.

H: I could never have that many.  I just don't know how you do it.  Like the Duggars.  They have too many, in my opinion.

Me: well, it would be hard.

H: So, do you stay at home?

Me: Yes.

H: Oh, you must coupon, then!

Me: A little, I guess.  I'm not crazy with it it, but I try.  I have friends who are much better at it than me.  I just don't have time or the energy with 3 kids to run from store to store.
 
H: Oh, I don't do coupons.  I don't have time, either.  But, I do shop at night.

Me: After the kids go to bed is normally when I run/walk.

H: I get up at 4:30 to do that.  Wait.  You still run?  I'd be scared to death something would happen.

Me: I just stopped running around 20 weeks.  I still sneak in a few minutes here during my walks.

H: Here comes the Dr.  (to the dr) Dr. C!  Guess what!  This is her FOURTH baby!  Her FOURTH!

End horrific, uncomfortable scene.

(I can hardly restrain myself from posting the snide remarks I was making in my head.  I'm sure you can imagine them, too.)

Lots of thoughts, nothing to say

Over the course of the summer, it seems like I am always coming up with good ideas for blog posts.  However, it seems that between the thought, and the actually sitting down, with time, to blog, it disappears.  I'm left with nothing.  Noth. Ang.

But, I always have pictures. At least I'm good for something.

Did I share these with you, yet?  I know I shared the wedding dancing video, but I don't think I shared the pictures I took immediately before the wedding.  There's a whole long story as to why I'm not in any of them.  Mainly, it has to do with a man with a migraine, (my husband) who happened to be the best man in the wedding as well, who could barely function.

That's a blog post topic that I can remember.  Trust me on that one. ;) 



A and O before the wedding.  They may have been fighting.

 Go, go, gadget eyes!

 E, giving his best even-though-I-feel-like-throwing-up-I'll-smile, smile.

 What did Zeke do during the wedding? Ate goldfish.  Lots and lots of them.