Any progress is good progess

Today with my dad watching my son, I was able to take a nap (much longer than intended). Funny thing is I was still tired when I woke up! Pregnancy is funny.

Tonight I managed to start the piles of laundry that are overflowing our bedroom. After doing two baskets of towels, hanging our shirts, sorting my son's laundry & consolidating contents of suitcases yet to be put away, the room finally appears to be showing some space & much less cluttered. What remains you ask? Let's see... 1 basket of my son's shirts to be hung, 2 baskets of my son's clothes to be folded, 2.5 baskets of sheets & blankets & 5 suitcases/dufflebags to be unpacked. I will have to make more progress tomorrow. Still it feels nice to be getting our bedroom back into some decent shape.

Yummy news for women!

This is news that every woman trying for a baby would love to hear!

The unknown

A few days ago, my hubby found the fidge door wide open & at room tempature complminets of our toddler son who nows come downerstairs after waking up to get something to eat & drink. So we've have to keep the pantry doors & fridge 'locked'. He still comes down in the mornings, finds it locked, comes to the bottom of the stairs & yells up "Daddy, Mommy... door's stuck! Help!" Next we have to put locks on our bathroom cabinets & kitchen drawers. Our son is getting too tall for his own good!

Yesterday I noticed some footprints along the back of our house. It's odd because it appears that someone walked right behind (like two feet from the exterior) along our neighbors' backyards a feet feet down the side of ours & then behind ours. It's just so odd. The neighborhood kids cut through the yards by walking along the sides of the houses between the streets. Why would anyone need to walk along & right next to the exterior windows of all our homes?

UPDATE: Turns out it's probably just a meter man! Silly me!

Marriage humor

When my brother got his MBA, our family treated him to a dinner cruise. Seated nearby was a couple celebrating their seventh wedding anniversary. The husband called over, "Master's degree -- quite an accomplishment."

"So is seven years of marriage," my brother replied.

"Yeah," the man whispered, "but you're done."

Home Challenges

Since not everyone is handy, I thought a few people who would enjoy some Readers Digest jokes about home improvements. I bet someone out there could relate to the 'family gardening' joke. You know who you are! LOL

Not-So-Amazing Discovery

My husband decided life would be easier if he wired a new light switch in the master bedroom to save us from fumbling in the dark for the lamp. He cut through the drywall and found a stash of bottles and small boxes inside the wall. "Honey!" he called excitedly. "Come see what I found!" I ran in and quickly realized that his next task would be to fix the hole that now led into the back of our medicine cabinet. -- Nola Pirart

Family Gardening

After taking a course in organic gardening, I couldn't wait to start planting. My husband took our three children on a weekend canoe trip so I could have two uninterrupted days. The first day I spent preparing the soil, shaping it into four large raised beds. As I stood resting on my hoe, admiring my work, I noticed a neighbor eyeing me curiously. "I'm doing my planting," I explained. "Oh," he said with relief. "I thought you'd just buried your family." -- Betty Carter

Myths founded on truth

There have been several news stories about how a canadian filmmaker claimed to have located the grave of Jesus, his wife (Mary Magdalene) and son at a site unearthed in Jerusalem in 1980. It makes me remember that most beliefs, stories & legends are based on something that happened in history before it was elaborated. It'll be interesting to see how people respond to this story that challenges this religious belief. My guess is that many will be upset & ridicule the possiblity of it being true. For others, it will confirm that religion created its own truth. There will definately be two sides of the coin with this news.

If you fail... try again!

Remember the guy who fell from an airplane when his parachute didn't open & survived? He was all over the news & internet because it was amazing that he survived. Apparently he was on the Jay Leno show. He is an instructor and plans to get back to jumping as soon as his broken bones heal up. He was walking with a cane had a broken leg and arm but he's young he should be good as new after about 3 months. Now I call that guts because I would be scared to death to go up in a plane again. That's someone who definately gets 'back on the horse after falling off'!

Pruny criminals

Today I read this article on bizzare criminals. Here it is! Imagine finding a naked man hiding in your backyard. LOL

--------- Suspect Hides From The Cops In Hot Tub ----------

TACOMA, Wash., A man who led police on wild high speed chase through Tacoma, Wash., then hid in a hot tub for 90 minutes was a "pruned mess" when police finally found him. The incident began around 11:30 Wednesday night when suburban Lakewood police began pursuing a truck that had been stolen the night before, the Tacoma (Wash.) News reported Friday. Police pursued the suspect at speeds ranging from 50 mph to 85 mph through Tacoma and its suburbs. One cruiser crashed during the chase and the suspect finally crashed the truck into a tree and fled on foot, authorities said. The officer was not injured. As a helicopter and police tracking dogs searched for the suspect, a man noticed activity in his hot tub and dialed 911, the News said. Police found the naked fugitive hiding inside the tub sick and wrinkled after an hour and a half in the 104-degree water. Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said it was some time before they could fingerprint the suspect at the Pierce County Jail. "They had to wait for his fingers to unprune," Troyer said. "He was just a pruned mess."

New program

My hubby finished getting my new laptop ready which I am now using. It's great having one computer with everything on it instead of divided into two or three computers. I'm definately enjoying it but it still feels very surreal to me. It's a nice pretty white one which I will be able to use for years to come. Of course, it uses Windows Vista which is a whole new program so both my hubby & I are learning how to use it. I'll manage because I'm pretty good at teaching myself programs. Still.. it's hard to be patient until I get to the point where I'm completely comfortable. Good news is now i can blog anywhere I go!

Basic Black

A few weeks ago, my mother found me a nice, long, black maternity dress to wear to my sister's wedding coming up. I am glad my sister wanted me to stand up as a bridesmaid (even with our differences) because I do value my relationship with her & want her to be happy. I just wish everyone involved could be happy as it's meant to be a day of rejoicing.

Anyhow, I hope she & her fiance are going to be happy with the realization that marriage takes two people working & compromising together. It's hard work which is truly worth it. Although it may not always seem like it when you're fighting, that's when you have to love your spouse the most & be willing to work through any differences as a couple. You will also share laughter, memories & joy so be thankful for the disagreements too. It's all a great package that takes two to create & cherish!

I see the floor!!!

Yesterday evening my hubby, son & I managed to clean up all the toys that littered practically inch of the first floor of our house. Several weeks ago, the toys managed to overthrow any order in our house. Since I wasn't able to pick them up, our son refused & my hubby was too exhausted & overwhelmed to do so... management was kicked out the door thus remaining our first floor which resembled my sister-in-law's bedroom floor before laundry day. So basically the toys conquered us.

Good news is we found order once again when the three of us pitched in together & put everything in it's rightful place. We still have a ways to go... meaning dishes still fill the sink, many baskets of laundry wait to be folded & christmas decorations still linger around the house & on our dining table (along with my scrapbooking supplies). Yes we have a ways to go but our spirits our renewed with the single fact that we can see ALL of our first floor carpet again! Any progress is still progess.

Fathers-to-be

The general public seems to agree that every mother should breastfeed their newborns if possible, but never in public (whether you're covered or not) because then it would make it seem normal (even if it is). Since males do not know how painful it can be, I think every father-to-be should do this experiment so they can understand what the mothers will going through by an even bigger extent. Don't you think ladies?

Inconsideration

I don't like when people are inconsiderate of others feelings, especially when others have helped them. People are judging some of my parents wrongly... based on one fact. They don't realize how much they have helped everyone else, especially the person being inconsiderate. How have my parents helped the people who are judging them?

• One person my parents welcomed them into the family, gave them a free place for months to live after moving across country & helped find another place for them to move into.
• My parents also helped another person get them on the feet when they were in debt, worked tirelessly to get them into our country so they could start a life here with their spouse, let them stay with them for free for months until they moved across country into their own place starting a good life & having a child & finally helped them with the challenges after having their first child.
• Another person my parents still welcomed into the family after someone they loved was abandoned by this person for months until they realized their mistake.
• Finally my parents did the most for the last person; my loved ones gave up a huge chunk of their savings (with the understanding it was a loan) to help this someone start a new life without their previous spouse, support them financially (free rent, utilities, etc) & emotionally when they were alone, pregnant & without financial means, let them live practically rent & utility-free for the past year (continuing even after my father was laid off), pay for a special event with one expectation only to be cut out without regard to their feelings.

I care about everyone involved in this drama which makes this harder. My parents deserve better after everything they've done for everyone else but no one is taking any of that into account. They appear to feel that it's of no concern & that my parents do not deserve the respect & consideration anyone else does. I understand the main reason for the major decision (that caused all this conflict) but I feel that no one should accept financial or any other kind of help without making their feelings clear & agreeing to things they have no intention of honoring.

This issue is about respect & consideration that many people I care about & value relationships with are completely disregarding toward my parents which have helped them throughout the years. It upsets & dissappoints me to see this personality trait in these people my parents have willingly & freely given to. It's a shame this special event will disregard my parents & make it publicly obvious where they stand despite everything & has divided our family. After all this progress, it feels like our family is going back to square one.

It makes me want to ask, what has been real for them these past several years?

New stuff

So today we're picking up my new laptop today & setting it up tonight. It's all very surreal. I chose to get a laptop instead of a desktop so when we travel I can bring it with me.

Inbetween sizes

It's so weird to not fit into regular jeans OR maternity jeans. I'm sure that will change before I know it considering I'm almost three months along.

One nutty son & unexpected events

Yesterday morning we went to breakfast with our friends J&B; because of our different & busy schedules it's hard to get together. So it was really nice hanging out again & catching up. Our son was flirting with J most of the time. They both looked great.

Afterwards we ran errands, one of which included getting computer parts. My hubby's old computer (which was going to be my new computer) died. The hard drive was completely lost. Luckily we don't think there was anything on there since we transferred all the photos onto an external hard drive which we had gotten in case that happened! We were prepared so all our pictures are backed up.

While we were looking at the hard drives, we found a laptop for me which my hubby (who knows what he's talking about when it comes to computers) that was a good deal & had the requirements we were looking for. We had planned on temporarily fixing my hubby's old computer (since both our old computers were having major issues) until we could find a laptop to replace it with for good. With the laptop on sale & fitting our requirements, we realized we should just get the new computer instead of fixing the old one temporarily.

Then we did grocery shopping & came home. In the evening, our son started behaving like a nut so ended up being put to bed early. He didn't go down easy though. He kept playing around even once he was in bed.

So I went to bed the same time my son did because I was so tired. (We had to sleep in the guest room because our son had peed on our bed the night before & it was still drying after being cleaned.) It's a good thing I did go to be early because he crawled into our bed at 4:30 am. After he tossed & turned next to me for an hour, my hubby carried him to bed where I sat up with him. Half hour later he was still awake so we came downstairs so he could watch cartoons on the sofa while I layed down on the sofa. Later on I sent our son upstairs to wake up Daddy. He went up, told him "time to wake up Daddy!" and went into our bedroom to watch more cartoons before showering with Daddy.

Setbacks

Yesterday I took care of our son myself for the first time in weeks as we didn't have anyone available. As a result of being up so much, I was cramping badly all day & night. By evening I couldn't stand up without doubling over in pain. I feel like I was set back three weeks. There's definately a connection.

My father is here helping us through most of the week but I still have one day where I'll need to watch our son alone... unless I can make other arrangements. Frankly though, we're running out of options. My father ill hopefully be offered a position soon & will not be available after that. I'll just have to deal with it & rest in the evenings. We have one or two possibilites for ocassional help but I still have to heck those out.

In other news, we were thinking of taking our son to the Doodlebops live concert next month for his birthday instead of a party but the only seats available are far right balcony which isn't good, especially for kids. I'm not up for planning a party with all these pregnancy issues. I just don't know what to plan for a special day for him.

God knows whenever I'll be able to clean this house again; I can't believe what a mess it is. My hubby is trying his best but is overwhelmed with multiple projects right now. There's not enough time in the day for him to work on his projects, spend time with our son, take care & help my son & I in the evenings & weekends, pick up toys, grocery shopping & take care of the house. Frankly we're both overwhelmed. I can't do much yet with our son & current situations, I have to do some things. I'm struggling to find a way to do & deal with that. These days, our house resembles a toy factory that broke dumping enough toys to cover every surface, floor or otherwise. Honestly it's amazing there's any space to walk at all since our son immediately empties his toy baskets onto the floor in one big heap. The stress is definately getting to us.

On my own

For over a month, my father & my hubby's parent's have been helping us out by taking care of our son while I've been on bed rest & many restrictions. As we knew it would, they both have to get back to their own lives & I'm on my own with our toddler son. Yes, I'm still on the same restrictions for precaution but I'm doing the best I can with the circumstances. It is nice spending time with my son again. I have missed that. Although he's testing us left & right these days, he's good boy with a very mischevious nature. Sadly, our house is in such disarray as I'm still supposed to rest. That means a sink constantly full of dirty dishes & many hampers of clothes to wash, fold & hang. Toys are in always laying around the house in disarray compliments of my son's decorating style. A layer of dust covers almost all the surfaces & floorboards. Yep... our house is in a sad state & it agitates me that I am not allowed to do what I normally do to keep a clean house. Although I keep reminding myself, tis is what I need to do to carry our last child to term. Of course, there's a few other issues we're dealing with as a result of my restrictions but hopefully those will be past soon.

Bad dreams

Last night our son woke up coughing & climbed into bed with us. I woke up when he was moving around while laying on top of the covers sideways across us! LOL We gave him some cough medicine which he gave us a hard time at first but the drank it nice. Then my hubby carried him back to bed.

Later that evening I had the most terrifying nightmare. I dreamt two men broke into our home & were torturing us to death; no matter what we did, they would die & kept coming back to life! When I woke up, I was absolutely scared to death & thought I heard voices downstairs. I was so scared for my son & ourselves. I can honestly say I haven't been that terrified since my nightmares in junior high. I didn't even want to move or get out of bed. I woke up my hubby because I was petrified to move, breathe or talk. I didn't want to go back to sleep but I was so tired my eyes kept closing. Then it would start happening again. Needless to say, the remainder of the evening I felt like I didn't sleep a wink!

When our son woke up with his own nightmare early in the morning screaming, he climbed into our bed & started watching cartoons while Daddy caught a few more Z's. Since there was no room for me in bed, I slept a little longer in the guest bed.

Now I just wish that horrible nightmare would leave me...

Old friends

Today I received a letter from one of my old college roommates! It was so good to hear fromher. She had a baby girl recently so she has her hands full. Otherwise she is doing well & busy with life. I think it's important to keep in touh with old friends as hard as it is with our busy society & lives these days.

More than expected

My doctor's visit went well this well. The gestational bleed appears to be slowly absorbing & they are mmonitoring me every two weeks. As a precaution, they're also keeping me on the same restrictions. We'll see how that goes after this week. After our parents helpig us out with our son for over the past month, it's wearing them out; not to mention, they also have lives to lead.

During the ultrasound this week, the baby was rolling sideways over & over again, waving his/her arms & legs, playing with his/her fingers. S/he definately loves to be active. I just can't wait to feel the baby move instead of just seeing it.

The baby is doing great & measuring a few days ahead of schedule. Meanwhile I discovered the reason I already appear to be showing; even though I'm only 11 weeks, my uterus is actually measuring more like 14 weeks beause of hormones from my previous pregnancy. It's no wonder I had to buy a couple pairs of maternity pants! LOL

More baby bites

This morning I was taking a shower when I started what my doctor calls 'baby bites' which is from the uterus expanding. Then my son came in the bathroom & poked his head through the curtain.

"Are you taking shower Mommy?"

"Yes honey, now please close the curtain."

"Oh.... ok." He then closed the curtain only to open it a few minutes later to drop in some of his containers he uses during his bathtime. "Here you go, Mommy."

"Oh thank you sweetie."

It was at this point that he left the bathroom leaving the door wide open. Luckily my mother in law closed it a minute later so I continued my shower. My son tries to be so helpful, doesn't he?

Keeping Company

The past few days my mother-in-law & I have been keeping each other company. It's been great being around my son & having company during the day. I've really missed being around our son during the day.

I'm still on doctor's orders to take it easy so I have been. In the meantime, I've finished another blanket & shawl as well as started another blanket. So TV & crocheting is keeping me busy.

My father-in-law's old laptop was lent to me to sue to access the internet & blog. Unfortunately today it finally died with no possible revival. I'm grateful for the relief it brought me & the generosity of my father-in-law.

My hubby is having the time of his life on his ski trip with his father & sister. They're evidently making some great videos which we cannot wait to see!

The second time around

Well, I knew it was only a matter of time. I actually got sick now. It didn't feel good but hey, at least it's over with!

Baby's progress

Yesterday my doctor's appointment went well. I am currently 10 weeks & 2 days while the baby was measuring approximately 10 weeks & 5 days give or take a few days. The baby even danced again. The gestational bleed has stabilized but the office is keeping me on bedrest/light activity. That means resting on a sofa, chair or bed with the exception of taking showers, going to the bathroom & popping something in the microwave. They don't want me walking 15 minutes around Walmart or doing dishes/laundry/childcare. This also means I can go somewhere as long I walk to a seat, sit down & do not walk for long periods of time.

Unfortunately this also means I have to wait to go shopping for some badly needed pants since all my other pants no long fit. Yes, I'm already getting a slight belly; enough to wear I need maternity pants versus regular jeans. Of course, there's also the issue of finding a black maternity dress to wear to my sister's upcoming wedding as a bridesmaid.

Overall though, I'm thankful the baby is doing well & although it's unlikely that any danger should arise at this point during the pregnancy, my doctor's office wants to stay on the side of caution. I'd rather play it safe for as long as neccessary instead of risking something happening with the baby & forever regretting & wondering.

The past few days my morning sickness has become more consistent. Once I had to shut the bedroom door while my Dad was making dinner downstairs. Although I've only gotten sick once (in the beginning), the rest has been more bothersome in the sense that you feel like crap at times without any relief. I'm still struggling to eat enough as I don't have much of an appettite.

The roller coaster of emotion have definately hit. I'm crying at almost every tv show for whatever reason & then my eyes are puffy for an hour afterwards. There are times when I feel so melonchony & jst want to cry my eyes out for no reason whatsoever. There's other times when I feel so uptight also for no reason. This roller coaster of emotions isn't as bad as it was with my pregnancy with our first child which I'm thankful for. Still, I forgot how frustrating it was.

Not such a good day

Although I haven't had a consistent problem with morning sickness, today wasn't such a great day. As I was talking to my hubby on speaker phone, there I was having dry heaves in the bathroom. When my hubby mentioned maybe he should put me on speaker phone, I told him to "go ahead so everyone can know what this part of pregnancy was like". LOL

Creative uses

Our son was finding other uses for his pull-ups!

Just enjoying the breeze

As some may know, the midwest is experiencing some bitter cold right now. At this very moment, it's -6 F outside but with the wind chill it feels like -27 F. I can't even imagine how homeless people or stray animals stay warm on nights like these. The thought always breaks my heart. I think I will start crocheting blankets for homeless shelters to hand out to help those who do refuse shelter. I only wish I could help the animals.

How did that happen???

Wednesday morning our son woke up at 2 am covered in throw-up. My hubby had to stay up with him the rest of the night & day as he proceeded to throw up ten times until 10 am. I slept in the guest room inhopes of avoiding getting sick because it's the last thing I need with this pregnancy & it's minor complications. Our son was sick throughout the day & back to his normal self by that evening. My hubby was dead tired with lack of sleep. At the end of the evening before our son went to bed, I cleaned & desanitzed the entire house (lightswitches, phones, doorknobs, faucets, toilets, etc) in hopes of avoiding getting sick ourselves. Although my hubby & I fully expected to start throwing up ourselves with the same 24 -hour highly contagious flu bug the next day (or even that evening). By some miracle (and constant washing & desannitizing our hands every ten minutes), we actually seemed to avoid it. It's two days later & we're still healthy! Yay!