Doggone!

On Thursday, Leah asked if she could take some pictures of the dogs. I hate saying no all the time, so I let her take the camera and cautioned her to be careful.

When she returned the camera, she appeared a tad apologetic and admitted that she took more than one because she was trying to get a good picture. I browsed through the pictures. Yep, I'd say 15 is more than one.

Here is a little of what Leah saw through her lens:

Behind the post

Behind the fence

Behind the post

Still behind the post

Finally! The whole dog. The camera focused on the wire (rats!).

Not every picture was so bad. She got several shots of each dog (there were 15 total, after all). This was the best shot. The funny thing is...it was the FIRST picture she took!

On Wednesday, Nathan went to sleep early with a fever. He seemed fine the next day and went to school. By the end of the school day, he was fevering again. He got up to 104 that night. So he stayed home from school on Friday. This is what he looked like much of the day.

While I was trying to get the dining room put back together and the curtains ironed, I noticed that I hadn't noticed Joseph for a while. I found him on his bed, asleep under his jumbled up purple blanket, with his little bare legs poking out. Ahh! I hope he isn't sick, too! I covered the rest of him up and left him alone. I wasn't planning on getting a nap that afternoon anyway.

He awoke about an hour later and so far (fingers are crossed) he hasn't turned out to be sick. It was just my cute little Joseph having a nap. :)

ISO

In Search Of:

I googled myself today, using my maiden name. I got almost 6 pages of results and not a single one of them was actually me! It's like my past life has been erased. Anyone from pre-1999 will have a hard time finding me if they haven't kept contact with me or a family member. Just when you think you might have made an impact in the world!

On the other hand, I googled my current name and got 2 pages of results. They were all me! I think I'm really one of a kind! (No cracks, please.) There are even birth notices in the Las Vegas newspaper for the boys. That seems eons ago.

Before any of you leave a comment telling me about Facebook or any of it's cousins, I just say that I already know about these websites and have not joined on purpose. My blog is about as far out into the world of silent stalkers I'm ready to go right now. Well, and I also have a part in my mission web page, but those are silent stalkers I'm a little more comfortable with.

And if any of you are wondering how I have time to sit and mindlessly search for myself online, it's because I recently took a shower and am resting to regain some energy to take the kids to Wal-Mart. That's an adventure for a healthy person and a form of torture for a nauseated one!

Feeling Better ?

True. I have been feeling better. WHY, then, haven't I been blogging? Unfortunately, I haven't felt completely better.

The difference now is that I don't sleep from breakfast until lunch. I stay awake, reading and meandering from one room to the other. I don't move too much. I, therefore, don't clean. But the house is a little better than before because I'm awake to tell the kids to stay out of trouble (or put their trouble away when they're done with it).

The benefit from this is that Joseph is developing his large motor skills at a much faster rate in a messy house than he would in an orderly house. Just getting through the library is a test of agility. And yesterday when he fell off the chair, he got stuck and did his first head stand!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm (This is Joseph's version of the accident.)

So, I've been wanting to get back to the blog, but I'm still having a hard time sitting at the computer very long. I'll try to do better, because there are so many things to share!

P.S. Does anyone have a rice cooker they don't use? Mine died.

Hopeful

The past two days have been surprising; I've had good mornings!

Yesterday, I got through some of the piles in my room that have been growing and weighing on my mind. Today I cleaned up the library and girls' room. I even pulled out the vacuum. I know, it's a shocker.

Now, my hands are shaking and I'm having a hard time typing. But I'm alive and being productive.

One of the reasons I worked so hard this morning is that we've had a library book missing for a few weeks. I hate to lose things that aren't mine. I've looked everywhere for that dumb book, including behind 4 different dressers, in and under beds and in cupboards. I even went through our books one by one. I checked my checked-out books online this morning. Suddenly, the book isn't on my list anymore! It's even listed as checked in! ARGH!

This is not the first time I've been on the hook for a book I'd already returned. This time though it wasn't in the system. I'm wondering if someone else "checked it out" and recently returned it. I can't image it floating around the library for this long. Whatever the reason, I'm glad it's turned up.

It would have been nice to not have to search the nasty boys' room for it when I felt so nasty myself.

In case you're wondering, I'm 13 weeks now. I will start my second trimester on Saturday.

FAT

No, I'm not complaining about my ever-widening waistline. Although, I can understand how you would make that mistake. I've calculated that I won't be able to seriously diet and shed noticeable pounds until after the baby is weaned. I'll be 37. Ugh.

The Fat I am referring to is the stuff that makes food taste good. I learned something interesting when I was pregnant with Leah; I can't eat low fat foods when I'm pregnant. That year I was in the middle of an eDiets crusade and doing quite well. Suddenly, the Lean Cuisine lunches that I had been enjoying for lunch nearly every day became stuck in my throat and I had to stop eating them.

So lately, I've been eating a lot of fatty foods. Just what I need. I wasn't able to shed any of the pregnancy pounds from Joseph, so I'm already in trouble. It's gotten so bad that I had to have Chad buy my a bottle of regular mayo because the light stuff tastes so nasty. It's burritos, ramen noodles and lots of gooey, fat-filled mayo for me! Bring on the Big Macs and fried chicken( just don't cook it around me). Put the heart-healthy stuff away for now. I'll let you know when I'm ready.

Just Checking In

I'm still here. Just thought I'd say a quick hello. We live in an awesome ward. We have people bringing in dinners occasionally...some of them spontaneously. I've read 6 books since Saturday. Until further notice, please address all correspondence, c/o The Couch.

Pregnancy Curse

I haven't blogged much because I haven't felt like doing anything but sleeping on the couch. I did make it to the doctor last week, and he gave me a prescription for Zofran. It seems to work OK if I take a whole tablet (I could take a 1/2 but it doesn't seem to do anything for me). If I take 2 tablets during the day and a unisom/B6 combo at night, I feel less likely to run to the bathroom. Also, staying still and not talking too much, seems to help a great deal. Chad has been pulling double duty as father and mother. I am so grateful to him.

Another reason I haven't blogged much is because I don't want to irritate everyone with a bunch of "poor me's" and "I have it so bad's." Truthfully, I don't think it should matter what I write, since it's my blog and I don't have to answer to anyone about what I put in it (as long as it isn't illegal or immoral). However, I am not so naive as to think that I have that kind of autonomy.

All this got me thinking of the pregnancy curse. EVERYONE has an opinion about you and your pregnancy (of lack of). When I first got married, it seemed that whether I was pregnant yet or not was at the top of the chatter. It only took us 4 months to get pregnant with Daniel. It felt like we were slacking for even taking that long!

When I got pregnant with Joseph, I heard very loud stretches of silence before the question, "Another one?" And that wasn't from Chad who was working so hard to pay for it all.

With this pregnancy, I've tried not to make a big deal out of it. We'd planned for this one. It's the last one. The kids have been talking about the "new baby" since before Joseph could sit alone. I don't call my family and drone on and on about how bad I feel or how the economy is making it hard to afford anything.

Even so, it's amazing how a short, quiet announcement of a pregnancy starts people talking. Apparently, I'm not supposed to say anything negative about being pregnant because there are others who would really love to be pregnant and can't, so their feelings trump mine. OR, there are people who can't understand people who complain about morning sickness, because they've "been there, done that" and know it's not such a big deal. We apparently are all designed exactly the same and have the same experiences...so we know who the hypochondriacs are! And then there are those who know all about morning sickness because they get sick from the moment of conception until the day of delivery. You can't possibly be as sick as they were! (Yet, I've seen these people during different stages of their pregnancy...a little heartburn or upset stomach isn't quite the same as stomach in your throat, too sick to talk.)

I think I get moderately sick during pregnancy. I have 20-ish really yucky weeks, and then everything is GREAT. Those last few weeks are torture for everyone, I assume. I don't have to be admitted to the hospital, I don't miss weeks of church and I'm usually able to keep my head out of the toilet most of the time. I do wonder how in the world there are so many people on this planet when it feels so bad to be pregnant. Yay to those who don't get really sick...they are helping keep the earth populated!

And it doesn't just stop at morning sickness. Some people don't like kids. Some people don't like certain people to have kids. Some people don't like to see others having more kids than themselves. Honestly, sometimes I am "some people." But these are personal choices! To be made by the persons responsible. We have made no one responsible for our choices, but us. When we move into your house, start eating your food, making you watch our kids and use your money to support them, then you get to say something. When our kids are socially and emotionally dysfunctional and start affecting your family in some negative way, then you get to say something.

But right now, you don't get to say anything. And if it's such a bit deal for you, we won't make you come for a visit.

Now, this is just a general declaration. I'm addressing the world, but you know if you are the "you" I am talking to. I just had some feelings that were building up. Chalk it up to hormones.

Tooth Rot

Now I know why pregnancy is so hard on oral health. I've discovered that sucking on hard candy helps immensely with the watery feeling I have in my mouth. I've disposed of several pieces of candy this afternoon. I'm not sure what the result will be when all that sugar gets into my stomach.

A boring update

At least it seems boring to me. That's partly why I haven't posted anything for a while. I can't get excited enough by my life to consider it good reading for anyone else. But here I go anyway. I apologize in advance.


The kids finished swimming lessons on the 21st. Daniel passed Level Two and will be starting Level Three next Monday. Nathan did not pass his 2nd attempt at Level One. He just wouldn't float. I think he has trust issues. Leah did not pass her 1st attempt at Level One. I didn't expect her to. I was surprised she made it through the whole class since we almost dropped out after the 3rd day. Nathan and Leah can wait until next summer to try again. Rebekah faithfully accompanied me to the bleachers to watch every day.





On the last day of lessons, they all got to jump (or be dropped) off the diving board and go down the water slide. Leah only felt it necessary to go down the slide once. I'm glad I got a picture! (Though now I see that this Daniel, not Leah.)





I have been crocheting a blessing afghan for the baby. I got halfway through it and then started over because the matching (no dye lot) yarn I got for the second skein didn't match in color (white) or texture. So I have a lot of practice on that.

I did finally get back to my quilting frame. I quilted for about an hour and a half the other night. I stood back and couldn't see much progress. Very discouraging.

I finally made it back into my sewing room and finished the next quilt block for the year. This is June's. Here it is. Kind of weird colors. Definitely unique.

I have mostly made it through my morning sickness. (As evidenced by my recent return to quilting and sewing.) I have even started making menus and cooking again! It's a miracle! I still get really tired at inconvenient times. What is convenient? Bedtime would be good. That's usually when I can't sleep.

I got a new calling at church, too. I was a grouchy beast all through my morning sickness and just as I start feeling better and nicer, they release me! Now I teach the 4th Sunday lessons in Relief Society. These are the Teachings For Our Times lessons which come from the most recent General Conference talks. This means that there are no suggested discussion questions.

My first Sunday in RS was the Sunday I got to teach for the first time. To make it even more exciting, I was finishing up a project that I'd already started with my Primary class...Sharing Time. So we presented our lesson in Primary, then I walked across the hall to the RS room for my next big performance. I was glad when that day was over. I sat in RS yesterday and it felt weird. I was only out for about 13-14 months. It must be really weird to return after years in Primary or Young Womens!

I'm probably missing something else really exciting that I've been up to, but I'm sure we'll all survive without knowing about it.

'Tis the Season

Birthday season, that is. I've baked and decorate 2 cakes within the past 5 days. We barely finished the first cake before we presented the second. Normally, this would be fine with me. Not so good with the morning sickness still lingering.

Daniel turned 7 on Saturday. He had a basketball-themed day, including the cake, a ball and a hoop. This cake was a little fun to make. It was a little interesting when it tried to roll away during the decorating, but we salvaged it. (At least, Daniel never had a clue.)

Everyone enjoyed the cake, especially Rebekah!

And today was Chad's 34th birthday. His cake wasn't as whimsical, but it didn't take any less time to decorate. (After this week, I think that professional cake decorators must have very strong hands! Mine were killing me.) Just so you are a little impressed, this cake originally said "I love you" but I changed it to "We."

The kids were more than willing to help Chad remove all the candles from his cake. Yes, there were 34!

Rebekah also really enjoyed this cake. And we enjoyed watching her.

Chad got some church shirts and a new belt. (It may look like a whip or an extension cord, but those things don't work as well in his belt loops.)

We have a family tradition to go out to dinner at the honoree's restaurant of choice. I was really wishing the yuckies were gone so I could have enjoyed my dinner and the cake a little better.

When I'm feeling better, we're getting a sitter and going out to eat, just Chad and me!

We've got some cooler weather today. We got up to 49 degrees today. We've had a lot of rain though, so at least we don't have to worry about watering for the rest of the week. The rain is supposed to continue, though and I'm a little worried about the kids' swimming lessons that start on Monday - outdoor pool.

We still have our 2 kittens. They are getting a little bigger and like to explore the house. Jingle doesn't like either one of them. We're careful not to leave him alone with them. I'm hoping he'll adjust and accept them better when they aren't so kittenish.

I will survive!

I have been feeling better. Still not all the way there, but I have been getting more done and sleeping less. Three more weeks of this?

We temporarily gained 5 kittens this week. They are in the bathtub. I have to clean the kittens and the bathtub on a daily basis. (That goes so nicely with how I feel.) When they stop using their litterbox as a playground, things should be much nicer. I'm guessing they are 5-6 weeks old. I'll have to post pictures later. Anyone want to adopt a kitten or two?

Leah has entered a new phase in her language skills. She likes to abbreviate words. She wants a banan for a snack, a drink of wad when she's thirsty, and wants to be covered up with her blank at bedtime. If it's this hard to understand her when she's 3, what ever will we do when she's 13?

Tonight is Daniel's big TaVaci Spring concert. He's got 3 grandparents driving up to see him. Then, I have to run over to a different building and sing a song with some ladies in a community music thing. I haven't been looking forward to this night for a couple of weeks now. I'll be glad to wake up tomorrow morning and have it all behind me. It will be fun and stressful at the same time.

In honor of Daniel's TaVaci day, here are some pictures and a movie from the end of April when he sang at the zoo for Arbor Day. The movie is kind of long, but I didn't feel like editing. The group he's in is pre-K to 1st grade. Notice how he's about the shortest? (He's the boy at the far end.) Please excuse the unsteady camera. I was trying to control Leah and Rebekah.

Dare I even hope????

I think things are starting to get better. I don't feel as hopeless as I used to. The yuckies are getting a little less yucky, too. Unfortunately, they are still bad in the evening which still leaves the burden of dinner and bedtime on Chad. I feel guilty that he's doing all the work, but yucky enough not to help. And I usually don't feel like being grateful is enough. Does anyone want to take a Friday afternoon off sometime next month and come up here to go fishing with Chad for a couple of days? I think he should get away and do something he never gets to do anymore.

Speaking of getting away (and more reason for me to feel guilty), I'm going to Time Out For Women the second weekend in June. It's only 45 minutes away from here, so I don't have to be gone overnight. There are a few of us from the ward/neighborhood that are going. It will be fun to get to know these ladies a little better. Being in Primary has kind of sucked me into a social black hole.

Next week is going to be a little crazy for us. Daniel's singing group is having their Spring concert on Thursday and some of Daniel's grandparents are driving up for it. (Anyone else that wants to come is certainly invited! It's FREE.) The same night, I'm singing with 2 other ladies in a community music/talent night. Daniel's thing is at 6, ours is at 7 ish. The day before, Daniel has like a 5 hour practice and sometime in there, I'm having a practice, too. I'm counting on this morning sickness really getting better because usually by 7PM, I want to crawl under a rock. Instead I will be singing the soprano part and doing goofy actions (how do I get into these things so far out of my comfort zone?). Oh yeah, and I get to stand on a stool the whole time - part of the act because I'm so much shorter than the other 2 women.

Rebekah is still not talking, but is making some progress. She's started nodding. You can tell it's tricky because she has to pause before she gets started. It's pretty cute, though. She does it with a little grin on her face. Maybe she knows she's so cute.

Now you see me, now you don't.

Yes, I am here. It's hard to believe, even for me! I just thought I'd check in and let you know that nothing has changed. I have about 4 weeks left of this misery.


I am truthfully doing nothing around the house. Sometimes I change a diaper, sometimes I make lunch for the kids. I wash the clothes on Saturday and sometimes I fold them. Apparently, I don't sweep the floor. It is quite gross. From the amount of junk under the table and in the surrounding areas, you'd think I don't even own a broom.


The last time I swept (and mopped, even), Daniel celebrated by systematically flicking tiny pieces of tortilla chips onto the floor durring dinner. I wanted to kill him. I yelled instead (not much better). When Leah clears her spot at the table after lunch, she picks up her paper plate and holds it down by her side on the way to the garbage can. By the time she throws it out, the plate is clean enough to use again! I won't even bother describing what Rebekah can do with food.

We do have some good news to share. We were able to use our Tax Refund to get rid of all our credit card balances. Our only debt now is the house (which we just refinanced). So now we can actually create a respectable savings account and pay for this baby (I feel like I've already paid enough though).


I finally have some pictures to share. It's so cool that I can upload the pictures from the main computer downstairs while I working on the laptop upstairs. The downside is that I can't see what the picture is until it loads.




These first pictures are my lastest project in the house. Everybody gets their own frame and the sentence on top is from the scriptures; "Thou deliveredst unto me...talents" We still need to put something in the girls' frames.


The next pictures are from the combined family project to clean out Grandma's stagnant pond. We were hoping to find out the pump worked. We were disappointed. But there was some awesome teamwork for an hour or two. (P.S. VERY STINKY WATER!)

Later, was an Easter Egg hunt for all the cousins.

Hmmmm.....I don't seem to actually have any pictures of the cousins. But here are the kids!

The next morning was our Easter Sunday and the kids hunted for eggs again, in their Easter clothes. We had eggs in the fridge for a long time. Nathan started out liking egg salad sandwiches, but has since changed his mind.

Sing with me..."As time goes by."

Don't feel bad. I don't really feel like singing, either. And I don't really feel like time is going by.

I've only been sick about 4 weeks. I still have six more to go. That is a really depressing thought. Truly, this is the worst part of having a baby. The c-section and recovery are better than this! When I was pregnant with Rebekah, I starting bleeding a lot at 13 weeks. I really thought I was miscarrying. While I was sad to think that was happening, I was more disappointed to think that I had been sick for so long for nothing! Obviously, I didn't miscarry and all the suffering did result in a beautiful baby who now says "uh-uh" to 95% of the things she's told to do. The suffering is cyclical, obviously.

Today has been such a fabulous day...to put it mildly. I got up for family prayer this morning, put some breakfast in my stomach and went back to bed. So I finally stumbled into the shower at 10 AM, made lunch at 11, then went back to bed for naptime. Now, after all this sleeping, I wasn't really tired, but I just can't seem to favor an upright position. The doorbell forced me out of bed at 1:30. If I can stay up until bedtime, I should be able to fall asleep ok tonight.

I am constantly eating, just to fight the watery taste that's always in my mouth. So at least I don't have hunger pangs on top of everything! I've already gone through a prescription of Phenergan (w/codine) and two refills in 3 weeks. That's what's probably saved me from throwing up so far. I normally start the day feeling "passable" and go down hill from there. By the time I lie down at night, I'm hoping to loose consciousness quickly and wake as little as possible before 3 or 4 AM.

I've got a lot of reading done. I got 4 books from the library last Wed. I'm halfway through the last one. I've read about 1,000 pages this week.

And yet life has gone on around me. Chad was called to be Exec. Sec. a few weeks ago. He gets to wear a tie a lot more now. I'm still in Primary. I get to yell at Daniel all week and then a bonus 2 hours on Sunday. He doesn't listen to me as well as the other 4 or 5 kids in the class. I wonder why?

Daniel has reading homework every day. So right after school I sit next to him on the couch, trying not to smell him (or anything else around me for that matter) and listen to the same story 2-4 times. Speaking of smells, I've changed a lot fewer diapers lately. THANK YOU, CHAD!

The other night Leah came into our room (I think we need to duct tape her into bed) with some "important" thing to tell us, and I noticed that she had some short hair on one side of her head. But it's not what you think. Nathan was the one that cut it. WHATTTT???? We woke him out of a sound sleep and ruined his night. It's hard to remember that they aren't "accountable" yet. I sure hold him accountable. And he won't be holding any scissors for a long time.

Rebekah is 20 months old next week and still not talking. Nathan didn't talk until he was 3, so I'm not worried about her development (yet). She understands us just fine. We just don't understand her. The shrieking and moaning sounds she's using are nigh to drive me insane.

I have no patience with my kids lately. I feel so yucky that I just yell at them or ignore them completely. I am truly amazed that this planet isn't one big barren rock. The fact that this is my fifth time putting myself through this has convinced me that I am indeed out of my mind. I used to be such an intelligent girl. *sigh*

Oh Boy (or Girl)

Well, most of you now know that the hidden message was that we are expecting another baby. I tried to leave it as long as I could to give everyone the chance to figure it out. Some of you needed more help than others.

So now I am back to incredibly long days as I feel yucky and exhausted. Today has not been the best. If you don't hear from me much, it's because I don't feel like blogging. I figure I only have 8 weeks to go of this!

We went to Utah on Friday (returned home Sat. evening) for a family Easter BBQ. Surprisingly, I didn't feel too bad until about the time for the BBQ on Sat. I gained 2 lbs. trying to keep enough food in my stomach to keep the queasies away. I have some pictures of our mini-trip that I'll post later...someday...maybe.

This baby is due in November. The strict 40 weeks, typical calculated due date is 22 November. We won't make it that long. (Thank goodness!)

Chad is getting released from Scouts. He was sustained as the Exec. Sec. today. I'm already planning on how to get myself and the kids ready for church each week while Chad is in meetings for 2 1/2 hours. I've decided to get them all dressed the night before. I credit myself with cunning and foresight for coming up with such an ingenious plan. (You can already see how well my mind functions under such less than perfect emotions and conditions.)