Sep 30, 2011

What a Day!


I went to get that awful 3-hour glucose test yesterday. You know, the one that they give you that sickly sweet drink that you try not to vomit and then they stick you with a needle every hour.

So my adventure started with drinking the drink. Shortly afterwards, I began to feel really sick and really really tired. I was so tired, I was afraid I was going to fall asleep right there in the waiting room, so I got up to walk around the hospital. I listened to nurses complaining that they didn't have enough places to sit and take a break away from other people. I wandered some more and tried desperately to pry my heavy lids open. I wandered past dozens of bathrooms and in one I noticed a long padded table. I touched it and though to myself that if after my next needle, I didn't feel more alert, I was going to lock myself in that bathroom and lie on that table and take a nap. (LOL, I didn't).



After my next shot, the exhaustion began to wear off and I noticed all the children getting their needles. I have to tell you, I would not want to work in a place that made scared children cry all day long like a blood collection clinic does. I noticed that there was a funny trend. Babies tended to cry when they got their needle, but most toddlers didn't. It seemed like the worst cases of needle terror were older kids. Kids from ages about 7 - 12 were terrified. I watched them come in with tear-stained faces grasping mom's arms so tightly their little knuckles were white. I watched as one tried to run away and had to be dragged screaming back into the room. I listened as screams of terror and "I DON'T WANT A NEEDLE!!" rang through closed doors. I watched as an adorable 4 or 5 year old girl with Down's Syndrome, stomped out of the room, with tears streaming down her face, her little arms crossed in indignation that they were purport such an atrocity on her!

After my last needle of the day, I went down to the coffee shop and picked up a coffee and then walked through the hospital towards the exit when my blood sugar dropped so dramatically that it scared me. Suddenly, I was weak, shaking, my legs were wobbly, my brain was fuzzy, I was confused and I got a TERRIBLE headache! I passed by another coffee shop and pulled open my wallet and saw one lonely dollar in there. I couldn't think straight at all and money was beyond my comprehension at that point. Like a little kid who doesn't understand money, I explained my situation to the coffee shop guy and asked him what baked, sugary thing I could get for a dollar he pointed out my options and then suggested that maybe a bottle of juice would be better and suggested I go over to the fridge and get a bottle of juice. I did and even in my brain-addled state, it seemed to me that there was no way this big bottle was less than a dollar and when I went to the counter to ask him and pay, he waved me off saying, "No, I got this one." He was my knight in shining apron and hair net. I guzzled the juice and was soon feeling my sugar come back up.



The whole day of blood sugar testing and blood sugar dropping took it's toll on me though and I spent the whole rest of the day feeling sick and miserable with an awful headache. I was told I may need to do this test again at 28 weeks, I sincerely hope not!

On a side note, I am hoping that the fact that I lost so much weight before getting pregnant and the fact that I weigh less even now than I did at the beginning of any of my other pregnancies will mean that I don't get Gestational Diabetes this time.

Sep 27, 2011

Good Day

I got out of the house yesterday for a little while. It was so fun to chat with other homeschooling moms, moms with kids who have similar issues to Princess Belle, to find out about things that will be going on this year and to get out for a while. I had a lovely time and even met one mom who lives really close to me!! I was sick all day and almost never went but when I got home, I was really excited to share my experiences with Prince Charming.


Don't forget, I am up for an award and I would love it if you would go by and vote for me! I am so surprised and honored that someone would nominate me! And you can vote once a day!

Sep 26, 2011

Sick

After my scare the other day, I have to say the horrible morning sickness I woke up with this morning isn't that hard to deal with. It sucks, but at least I have enough hormones in me to make me sick, you know?

I have been taking it super-easy so that I can not have any repeats of that incident. I am making my first trip out of the house later today to a homeschool meeting. I will try not to overdo it though.

Sep 25, 2011

Pinterest

Are you on Pinterest? I am. I usually go there once a day and browse at all the wonderful ideas I want to try one day. I love looking at new ideas for recipes, for storage solutions and maybe ideas to use when I move to a bigger house. It can be a time sucker, but I only go there once a day and I really like it. And I have to admit, I get a kick out of seeing when someone has pinned something that I pinned.

On another note, I am still trying really hard to take it easy. It is just not in my nature to get Prince Charming to do so much for me, but he and Princess Belle have been wonderful. I think my little episode scared them too.

Saturday PhotoHunt: Yellow



As soon as I started looking for "Yellow" pics, I knew I wouldn't have too much troubles as I LOVE to dress my girls in yellow. I just think they look so cute in it. And I love pics of the girls in fields of yellow flowers. Here are some pics I have taken this summer!



Sep 24, 2011

Scary Stuff

Well, I had a bit of a scare yesterday. I had some spotting. Having lost a baby in the past, I was terrified and kind of assuming the worst. But after I was checked out, it had stopped and both the baby and I are fine. It was only a little bit and I haven't had any since. So, I am going to take it easy for the next little while and think positive thoughts.

Sep 22, 2011

Had an Appointment

I got to see my little monkey today. The baby was jumping around and happy. It made my heart glad to see that little heart beating so steadily. I saw my baby, he/she is fine in there, growing and happy and doing okay. I will admit, I cried with relief right there in the doctor's office.

Sep 21, 2011

Appointment

If I am lucky, I get to see the baby tomorrow. I am so excited. It will mean so much to see this little monkey. I am nervous, and I hope everything is okay in there. I just keep telling myself that I wouldn't be so sick and tired if my hormones weren't doing their thing.

I am super, super, super tired today. I don't know why. The housework feels like it is getting a little behind on me too. It bugs me so I am going to have to gather up the energy some time soon and go through the whole place and scrub it. I have to say being a pregnant mother of three at 39 is very different from being a first time mom at 29. Why I even remember napping back then!


Don't forget, I am up for an award and I would love it if you would go by and vote for me! I am so surprised and honored that someone would nominate me! And you can vote once a day!

Sep 20, 2011

Funny

Well, morning sickness is kicking my butt quite a bit lately and I am finding it difficult to remain my normal cheery self. I do try though and my kids are so funny most of the time that it helps.



Princess Magpie has taken to calling Princess Snifflefritz "Baby". I don't know where she got this, unless she looked at her and decided that to her mind, her sister who is all of 17 months younger than she is must be a baby. Princess Magpie does make me laugh about it though.

Yesterday, I was changing Princess Snifflefritz's diaper and she started wiggling, so I wrangled her back and said, "Get back here you little monkey!" Princess Magpie was completely offended by this and in her best three year old authority said, "She is NOT a monkey! She is a BABY!"

I was trying (again) to tell her that there is a baby growing in my belly. She looked at me, laughed and said, "That's not a baby!" She pointed to her sister, "That's a baby!". And when asked to kiss the baby in my belly, she walked around my belly, and walked determinedly to her little sister and kissed her on the forehead.

Sep 19, 2011

Milestone

Yesterday at 4:30 in the morning, I passed a milestone in my pregnancy. It passed quietly, and although I was awake at the time, I just quietly smiled alone in the early morning hours. You see on June 4, 2007 at 4:30 am I lost a baby at this exact gestational age. And for each of my subsequent babies, I have held my breath until this time passes. In my mind, I feel safer once I have made it passed this milestone. So today, I smile a little wider, feel a little more confident in this pregnancy, and am just a little more joyful in the presence of my little monkey growing inside me.





Don't forget, I am up for an award and I would love it if you would go by and vote for me! I am so surprised and honored that someone would nominate me! And don't forget, you can vote once a day!

Sep 17, 2011

The Coupon Fairy

I have become the coupon fairy. I have started to collect coupons. It isn't possible to do Extreme Couponing here due to restrictions, but I do get some coupons in the mail and I use them if the product is something I need. When I head out to get groceries, I take all the coupons I plan on using and all the ones that are about to go out of date. If a coupon is about to go out of date and I can't use it, I will tuck it in the shelf with the product for some other person to find and use. I am the coupon fairy scattering little bits of savings to unsuspecting souls who wander the grocery store aisles.

Oh and remember over here I was talking about how each of my kids has a mascot animal. An animal that is theirs and we buy toys and clothes and sometimes decor and whatever else we think of in that theme. We had been thinking about bunnies for this baby because our little one will be born in April, but we decided on monkeys after all. I LOVE monkeys. I see monkeys and I think of this little one. I saw the cutest little monkey mobile for over the crib. So, Mommy's Little Monkey is what this one will be.


Don't forget, I am up for an award and I would love it if you would go by and vote for me! I am so surprised and honored that someone would nominate me! And don't forget, you can vote once a day!

Sep 16, 2011

Saturday PhotoHunt: Wooden


Technorati PhotoHunters and Photohunter Facebook

As soon as I started looking for "Wooden" pics, I came across the pics I took of Princess Belle on our first day of homeschool this year. I really like how they turned out. She is growing up so fast and is really turning into such a great person who is fun to be around.






Don't forget, I am up for an award and I would love it if you would go by and vote for me! I am so surprised and honored that someone would nominate me!

Sep 15, 2011

What an honor!

Wow! I just found out that I am up for a pretty great award. I would love it if you would go by and vote for me! I am so honored that someone would nominate me!

Sep 14, 2011

Fun Snacks

Princess Belle and I had fun making snacks the last couple of days. First we made jello popsicles. They were a big hit and she has been snacking on them ever since. Then we made a ginormous bowl of jello. Tonight I made up a recipe for cereal bars which turned out really well and Prince Charming and I were discussing different variations we could try. This batch had Rice Krispies, Corn flakes, oatmeal, coconut, and flax seeds. They taste absolutely fabulous and they were quick too. I can't wait to try different kinds of bars to make for the girls. I am willing to bet that I can sneak all sorts of healthy stuff in there without them even noticing!

NOTE: I also posted about my doctor's appointment today over here.

Sep 13, 2011

Homeschooling update


Homeschooling has gone well. She is really enthusiastic in her learning and she amazes me with how much she knows. I think she learns just as much through our providing a learning environment as she does through the structured learning, but I think we have a good balance. We are LOVING our curriculum. We are finding learning to just be such a fun experience. We are taking so much more time because it is fun to think about it and do it. Even Prince Charming got involved today as we caught his interest. So far this year, it feels like we are doing the right things.

Sep 12, 2011

Not Back to School day

I am still struggling with a terrible headache, but we had our first day of homeschooling for the year anyway. It went really well. We had a lot of fun. We have some things we do every year (such as make our signs and rules and do a photoshoot) and we try to keep the first day nice and light and fun. Our curriculum came today too, so I was really excited to see it and wasted no time preparing for tomorrows lesson.














I have to say, the back to school photoshoot is usually my favorite shoot of the year with Princess Belle.

Sep 11, 2011

short but sweet

Sorry this will be short, but I have a terrible headache. I went to a bridal shower today and was reminded just how much I care about the bride. It was really nice.

We are starting our homeschool so I will be sharing some pics with you later.

Sep 10, 2011

Window Fun

The other day, there was an extra chair in the living room and the two toddlers had grand fun taking this opportunity to stand on it and peek out the window. I had to snap some pics, of course. LOL



Sep 9, 2011

Sleep

My girls are coming around a little in their sleep schedule. Slowly but surely, I seem to be fixing it so that I get more sleep at night and they are not awake all night and sleeping all day. I figure by the time I have it all fixed up, the baby will be born and I won't be sleeping at night anyway. LOL. That's okay, they are giving me good practice for the newborn and the bonus is that when the baby comes I will only be sleep-deprived, not sleep-deprived and sick all the time. LOL

I have a couple of pregnancy books from the library and I was reading some things about this stage of pregnancy to Princess Belle. It was fun to see her so interested in what the baby is doing. I even learned that babies actually cry in-utero when they are startled. I never knew that.

Sep 8, 2011

Random animal thoughts.

It is a funny tradition in our house that each of our kids has a mascot animal. It is an animal that comes up in gifts for them.

Princess Belle is the moose. Every time I see a little moose ornament or stuffed toy, or picture, I think of her.

Princess Magpie is the frog. Her first gift was a frog and baby pics in the hospital had a frog in them. Every time I see a frog toy, clothing or blanket or any such thing, I am so tempted to buy it because it makes me think of her.

Princess Snifflefritz is a penguin. Her first gift was a little penguin given to her when she was born by one of the nurses in the hospital. Every penguin reminds me of her. In fact her favorite penguin is bigger than she is and she lays her head on it to sleep every night.

So in light of this, we have been thinking of this new little bundle and what his/her animal should be. First, I saw a baby toy that was a horse with a knight on it and it had all sorts of chewy bit and shiny bits and crinkly bits and I thought maybe horse. Then I thought of monkeys because I have been known to call my little ones, mommy's little monkey. But then we thought of when this baby will be born . . . APRIL 8th! Right around Easter and the answer came to us. BUNNIES!! I can actually see cute little brown bunnies and white bunnies decorating the nursery in my mind's eye. I think it is a cute idea.

So there you go, a peak into the silly things that occupy my mind when I think about this baby. (well that and the fact that it would be easier to get all the names we want used if we had twin boys. LOL)

Sep 7, 2011

New things


I have decided to let my shared diet blog and my recipe blog go by the wayside. I won't close them and all the recipes will still be there, but I won't be adding to them. Instead, I am starting one on what I am thinking about now, being healthy for this pregnancy and after this baby is born, losing the baby weight and getting healthy for my kids. I know I have a long way to go and I think sharing it when it is on my mind is a good thing. I know there are other moms out there who want to have a healthy pregnancy and who want to get their body back after having a baby and since that is on my mind, I am sharing it over there.

Sep 6, 2011

Planning for homeschool

Well we are planning for our first day of homeschool. Our curriculum isn't in yet, but I do have plans for us until we get it in. Princess Belle is excited and I think it should be fun. I have been planning on things to do for our first day of school. She always has fun on that day and I want this year to be no different.

I did think of one thing while I was planning. I have never had one year of homeschool where we didn't move and have a baby. Since this will be our last baby, and our next move will probably be our last, I think it will fun moving forward with simply the girls and homeschool to concentrate on.

Sep 5, 2011

Anyone have any ideas

I would love to support some mom-preneurs and buy some stuff for this baby from moms who are selling things on-line. Does anyone have any ideas or know of anyone who is doing this. I am taking all suggestions.

Sep 4, 2011

Habit

My girls make me laugh and sometimes drive me slightly crazy. They love to empty out a shelf of the linen closet and climb in it and play. I wouldn't mind, but that means that I end up having to clean up piles of blankets like this one on a regular basis.



But at least I sometimes get cute pics.

Sep 3, 2011

Water Fun

I am feeling tired and sick tonight (oh the joys of being pregnant *smile*) and so I thought I would share some pics from the splash park. Now the only ones I have are of Princess Magpie because Prince Charming is in all the rest playing with the girls in the water and being a great dad, but he doesn't like how he looks so I promised I wouldn't make them public. (In his words, he said that he looked like his due date was closer than mine was LOL)



Sep 2, 2011

Appointment

I went to see my Specialist today. I really like him and his receptionist. He has an ultrasound machine in his office! So that means I will get to see my baby lots of times which will reassure me. I couldn't see him/her today as the baby is just too small to see. But he did schedule a c-section for April 8, 2012. I will be 38 weeks then but I have never made it any further than that is any of my pregnancies.

Sep 1, 2011

LOVE this

I love it when people make their weddings personal, when they really make it their own and this one made me smile!

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