Okay, I am officially a slacker...

Can't say I haven't blogged because nothing has been going on...that would be a lie...

I'm just tired and grumpy and huge and uncomfortable, and it is so much more theraputic to whine about it to hubby rather than blog about it!

So, I guess the big update is that at my 34 week appointment, my OB really thought that he felt a baby butt at the top of my uterus...but I asked him to take a look anyway, and sure enough...BABY IS BREECH!!!! Just my rotten luck! But, I had a feeling this kid was too. Also, no shot of genitals (in fact, the OB couldn't even get a femur measurement, but did irritate my scar from Eva!)

So, the plan is this...

No external version because OB doesn't suggest "mashing on the uterus" with a c-section scar.

Will try the webster chiropractic technique (of course, when I called today to make an appointment, turns out the chiropractor doesn't work on Fridays!)

Can't go up next week for that because we close on the house on Thursday

Won't go up at the beginning of the next week because I want to spend Halloween with Eva.

So, hopefully it will be November 1st for the first chiropractic technique, then again on the 2nd. Apparently, not on the 3rd, as the chiropractor doesn't work then!

Then, on the 3rd, I will have another appointment with OB, and we'll see what position Charlie is in.

Then, I guess I'll just spend the weekend up there, maybe meet with my doula. The next week, I may try up to three more treatments with the Webster technique. Then, at my 37 week appointment, I figure we will have one more ultrasound to confirm positioning.

If Charlie is still breech at that point, it will be scheduled c-section the next week (assuming I make it that far!)

I'm kind of wondering if I am just destined to have breech babies. My OB asked if my doc had mentioned me having a uterine abnormality...apparently, my OB standardly checks the uterus for certain abnormalities when he delivers a breech baby. I told him that I doubted anyone thought of it with as many things that went wrong with Eva's delivery!

So, I am not sure at all what is going to happen. The good news is, the chiropractic care will only have $15 per treatment copay, plus we will have to pay 10% (not as nice as the no copay no coinsurance on maternity services!). Also, we found out about length of stay. 48 hours with a vaginal delivery, or 96 hours for a c-section. So, at least if I have surgery, I'll have a lot of help for the first 4 days.

So, that's where I am...slightly disappointed, but at least there seems to be an end in sight (particularly if Charlie doesn't flip over!)

For the next week and a half, I'm going to try all the old wives tales...frozen peas on baby's head, handstands in the pool, pelvic tilts, etc.

Wish me luck!!!

It is 5:30 am...

...and I have been awake for a half hour...

This is NOT a good thing...however, I guess since I have a doc appointment in Denver, it is a "good thing" that I am up and getting ready to go. The exciting part is that hubby was able to get the day off work, so he gets to come with me to meet the "other doc", and then we are going to tour the hospital, at some point stop by my parents house to pick up a few things, and pick my SIL up at the airport (she's flying in for a week long visit between semesters, or whatever they are at her college...)

Now, if you think I am unhappy at the prospect of being up at 5:30...Just wait until we have to wake Eva up!!!! She's about as much of a morning person as me!!!

Here's hoping Charlie inherits that trait as well!

Last doc appt...

Okay, I am a slacker...

My last doc appointment was on the 7th, down here...I got to traumatize a med student...it was fun! Actually, I had my appointment and Eva's 2 year well child check (with one immunization) at the same time. The nurse took us back, and weighed us, etc. Then we waited (my MIL was nice enough to come down to help out with the appointment, so that I wouldn't have to deal with Eva and shots and prenatal crap all alone!) and heard my doc outside the door say "she's a high risk OB delivering in Denver and splitting prenatal care, and also a 2 year well child check"

In walks the poor med student...

Now, I like med students...it's just that perhaps I am not the patient to try to learn on! First, he looked at my chart and said something about needing a glucose tolerance test...so I told him that I had already spectacularly failed my 3 hour test, and to please not give me any glucola! Then, fortunately, he did not have as much trouble with the doppler as I expected (though much less proficient than my doc.) Heartbeat was good. He did my measurements. Now, my doc has some fabulous way of making me measure correctly (being twice a normal woman's weight in an unpregnant state does not make for good measurements while preggo!), so when I saw him at about 24 weeks, he said I measured right on (and wrote that on my chart.) So, this time, the med student determines that I am measuring at 32 (at week 28), so when I go back to my OB I'll probably have to explain that the difference in a month had more to do with different people measuring than me growing that much! Not to mention since my weight stayed the same, I have a feeling it was mostly measurement problems!

All else went fine (although appointments with med students take a long time, as they have to figure things out...) then my doc had to come in and chat with us to make sure everything was okay (and to ask me about my sugar numbers) and finally, the nurse came in with Eva's immunization. Well, I thought that between me, my MIL and the nurse, we had Eva held down well enough, but she squirmed really badly, and the needle fell out of her arm, so she had to be poked twice...though the sticker and the sucker did help make up for that!

The good news is that she is done with immunizations until between ages 4 and 6...the bad news is, she probably should get a flu shot this year, with Charlie on the way, and she will have to go in twice (and have half a dose at each visit) since it will be her first flu shot!

Anyhow, thought I should post about this appointment before I go meet Dr. Foust (I am NOT kidding...that is my OBs partner's name!!! If I were that man, I would have changed it, but I guess there are probably lots of people who don't get it...) on Wednesday!

One house down...

One to go!!!

So, here is the deal...we closed on our old house, and managed to get a little money back out of it (YEAH!) which is great since it was on the market for 9-10 months. So, we are down to one house. We extended our bridge loan until December 1st, and then we will have to get a permanent mortgage on this house.

BUT...in February, theoretically, we will be moving back to the farm and hubby will be farming with his family. (By theoretically, I mean, I have no idea how much we will get paid or the benefits we will get...I do know what house we will be living in out there, as one of hubby's cousins and her hubby currently live there and are in the process of getting a new house...)

SO...come January, we will probably put this house on the market. The fun part of that is that we still have plenty of finishing work to do on this house!!! So, here is our schedule for the next couple of months...

November-have a baby and close on a permanent mortgage
December-get used to having new baby, have a baptism and celebrate Christmas

January-lose mind, list house, deal with infant and toddler, hope to find a buyer quickly...oh, and get an official start date for the farm!

February-give two weeks notice, start moving, and start new life as farmer's wife...

ARGHHH!!!! Just a little stress on the horizon! Hopefully, I won't have to add "recover from major surgery" to the list...

I am tired...

I am tired of poking my finger four times a day...I am tired of not being able to get a good night of sleep...I am tired of having to go to the bathroom every hour...I am tired of being kicked from the inside...I am tired of having to hoist myself out of chairs...and I am tired of my entire body aching!!!

Is it a bad thing when you start thinking "well, I'll be 36 weeks the week of Halloween...that's not too early to have this kid!!!" When you are due November 26 and start thinking that October sounds like a good month to have this baby...is that a problem????

"Yippe ki yo ki yeah! Today is your special day!!"

"Yippie ki yeah ki you...today we celebrate you-ou-ou!"

(For those of you who don't spend 3/4 of your life listening to Veggie Tales...that is the birthday song from "The Ballad of Little Joe!)

Today my sweet little baby girl is 2 years old!!! I have no idea where the time went! At the same time she has grown so very much...it almost makes me sad that she is growing so fast!

So, Happy Birthday Eva Majella!!! I love you!!!

"If you have any poo...fling it now!"

Okay, so if you haven't seen Madagascar, or been in my living room recently, maybe this title makes no sense.

PLEASE tell me that this is a sign that Eva will soon be ready to potty train!

She just wandered in here (to the kitchen, where our computer is located) wearing her t-shirt she slept in, but no pants or diaper...So, I went to investigate the diaper HOPING it was just wet and that is why she took it off...no such luck...poopy pants!

Now, this is the first time she has taken her diaper off when it has been poopy. However, yesterday, I noticed that she was sticking her hands down her pants and I told her it was time for a diaper change. Another poopy diaper then, and poop on the hands, of course...

It's been a couple of weeks since the last poo flinging incident (I mean, really flinging) where she was still in her diaper (which was poopy) but had smeared poop all over the carpet, furniture (one time) and herself...

I just don't ever want to deal with THAT again...nothing like being hugely pregnant and bathing a poopy toddler, keeping the dog from licking the poo smeared into the carpet, and using our teeny tiny spot lifter (that we got when our little pug dog was a puppy...) to basically steam clean half the living room...

Oh, and her diaper today was great, as last night we put up a 50 lb feedsack full of sweet corn, so she ate a little over a cob of corn while we were husking it on the porch. Great to see chunky corn in her diaper this morning...

191...

Well, I could have posted this almost a week ago...but I would say that 191 is spectacularly flunking ones glucose tolerance screening test...

Yep, 191...the only problem is I can't figure out if that is about the same test result I got with Eva, or if I didn't flunk as badly last time (after living off white bread and lunch meat sandwiches and peanut M&Ms for 10 days beforehand...)

So, I put off my 3 hour test until next Monday. It just wasn't going to work out with our schedule this week. Sunday we had breakfast with our new priest after Mass...so I guess I technically could have driven up after that and taken the test yesterday. Of course, today is a Holy Day of Obligation, so I didn't want to either 1)try to make it home in time for Mass, 2)find a Mass somewhere along the way or 3)have to worry about making it to diabetic counseling AND a Mass. Of course, I could go up Wed and have the test on Thursday (my b-day) or on Thursday and have the test on Friday...but either having my test on my birthday or spending the evening of my birthday with my parents instead of hubby and toddler monster doesn't sound like too much fun. So, as it stands, I will be going up on Sunday afternoon. I will have my first prenatal appointment with my doula that evening at my parent's house (of course, I still have to fess up that we are hiring a doula...and that she will be coming to their house...) with my test at 8 am on Monday morning. And if I do need diabetic counseling (which I am pretty sure I will!) they will try to get me in that afternoon at the hospital where I will be delivering...

You know you live in a hick town when...

...the entire town apparently shuts down for your town's "day" at the county fair...

So, my MIL had to drop off my FIL in our town, and was going to come over and spend a portion of the day with us. Hubby has to work this morning, but hopefully will have the afternoon off. What was great about my MIL showing up is that I needed to do my glucose tolerance screening test. So, after she got here at nine with no coffee (because the coffee shop was closed!) and some paint color samples (which she had to take from the store because they were closing up shop for the fair) I left to go to the clinic to get my test done...

The clinic is closed for fair...so I popped into the hospital (which, thankfully, is attached to the clinic) and they were able to do my test. I should have results tomorrow (YEAH!!! sort of, anyway...) On the way home, I noticed the daycare and the swimming pool both appear to be closed, along with at least half the businesses on main street.

My MIL was supposed to pick up 1600 lbs of hamburger for the farm, but it turns out that the packing plant is ALSO closed today for fair. Fortunately, one of the guys at the packing plant was in town still, so MIL had to go get the meat and head home before the last packing plant guy left for the fair...

So, hopefully, if hubby DOES actually have the afternoon off, we will give her a call and meet her in HER town for lunch, then hubby will be able to borrow his dad's pickup truck for the day and finish cleaning out the garage at our old house that we will hopefully not own come September 15th!

WHEW!!! All this because of the county fair...

Doctors appointments and class reunions...

Okay, have I mentioned lately that pregnancy sucks???

I have been up since 4 am (VERY early for a non-morning person!) when Eva decided she needed a drink. She went back to sleep...hubby went back to sleep...I desperately wanted to get back to sleep...

I guess that Eva will get to watch some Saturday morning cartoons while I nap on the couch (I'm sure to be sleepy by the time she wakes up!) since hubby has to work the long shift today.

After hubby gets off work, we get to head up to his hometown so I can get to a baby shower for his cousin and her new baby girl followed by hubby's class reunion dinner. (Sadly, we have to miss golf at 9 am because of work, and we'll also miss the family picnic at 11am.)

So, I am at 23 and 6 today...yesterday I called to make a doctor's appointment for next week here in town. Sadly, my doc was headed on vacation today, and would be gone for almost two weeks (Rumor around town is that they are going to the Caribbean...) but they had an appointment available at 12:30! So, I took the appointment so that I could get the order for my glucose tolerance test (since the OBs office freaked out when I said I hadn't done it until about 27 weeks with Eva) and get it taken care of next week.

Hubby was supposed to go back to work at 12:30, but his boss told him it was no problem for him to wait until I was done with my appointment. So, since Eva usually naps around 12:30ish, she stayed home with her dad while I went to the doctor.

All is fine with Charlie...good heartbeat, and apparently I am measuring "right on" (which must have taken some serious fat manipulation...as women my size tend to measure big...) Still trying to work out/figure out when I will see who for the remainder of this pregnancy. If all goes well with my glucose test, I'll be up in Denver in a month, and back down here in six weeks.

I've gained about 17 lbs so far...so not great, but not terrible either (since I gained over 60 with Eva, I'm really hoping to gain far less with Charlie) but since I am not supposed to gain more than 25 lbs, that means I have 8 lbs of wiggle room in the next 13 to 18 weeks...so not much room there for gaining. I really need to get back on track for exercise. Two things have really seriously contributed to my not exercising. One, I broke my little toe about 2 months ago....it is better now, of course, but it did keep me from exercising for about a month. Two, my very sweet parents gave us money to put in central air for my birthday...and that pretty much ended any ambition to leave the house and head to the rec center to walk on the track with the big fans blowing...

In discussing my OB, my doc here asked about the location. When I told him it was in Cherry Creek (read, ritzy part of Denver, if you aren't a Coloradan!) he teased me about driving my Mercedes there, then asked if we had taken Eva to the Cherry Creek Mall. They have a terrific play area there that is all breakfast foods. So kids get to jump around on bacon and waffles and cereal and sliced bananas, etc. Of course, during my longest appointment, my MIL and mother took Eva over there to play, which she loved. She pounded on the other kids, etc. Well, then my doc told me that a couple of years ago, his daughter was the first confirmed case of influenza in our area. Apparently, they had been at another Denver area mall with a play area with dinosaurs. He came around the corner to see her LICKING the dinosaur...then she came down with the flu. Lesson learned...watch your children closely during flu season, and keep them from licking the mall play equipment! (I can just see Eva doing it, too!)

So, all is well with "Charlie baby" (as Eva likes to say!) and all is well with me for now...of course, come Monday when I have to take my glucose tolerance test, I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

7 years ago today...

My fiancee was house-sitting for his boss...got a flat tire...found out that his spare was flat...had to call in to work at McDonald's and let them know that he wasn't going to make it in...I missed my 7:00 am economics class, and we decided to make the day better by getting married!

We went to work (once the tire situation was taken care of) moving as much of my stuff out of my parent's house as we could (just in case they took the news very badly...) Went to the DMV to get a marriage license (after we got the paperwork in, my dear hick of a husband asked if we just went in back to get married...) went to the courthouse to find out when we could get married. We tried to call some friends to find witnesses, changed into nicer clothes, bought a disposable camera, and had dinner at McDonald's (what can I say? They had one of the Monopoly games going at the time! Plus, it was in our budget!)

We arrived at the courthouse right after the workday was over, and headed up to the judge. The two clerks served as our witnesses (and one of them even was willing to be our photographer!) and we were legally joined as man and wife. (Now, about six months later we had our marriage blessed by the church)

My parents took it better than expected...my in laws were fine with it...and I spent that night at my parent's home with my dad, as hubby still had to house sit for one more night!

I love you, sweetie!!!

Doctor's Appointment...

Okay, first of all, I would just like to say that I am hot and I don't feel good, and I am feeling rather miserable!!!

That being said, I thought I should at least do an update on my last doctors appointment (which was a week ago, today!)

Eva and I stayed the night at my in-laws last monday so that my MIL wouldn't have to drive through construction to pick me up AND drive through construction to get up to Denver (go figure, out of four roads out of our town, two of them are currently under construction...the one between here and the in laws, and the one that is the route to Denver with bathrooms rather than fields in an emergency...) Of course, we still managed to get a later start than anticipated, so I had to call the doula I was interviewing to let her know that we would be about 30 minutes late.

Got to the Barnes & Noble with Starbucks that I was meeting her at, but sadly, since we were rushed for time, I got to look at no books and drink no starbucks...What a bummer!

So, I talked to the doula and she seems really good, so I went ahead and hired her, I guess! I mean, we'll sign the contract at my first prenatal visit, which is up in the air until I have a firmer idea of when I will next be up in Denver for a doctor's appointment! She is a hypnobabies instructor, and is working on getting certified as a Bradley instructor, so that is good news. She also is anti-lamaze breathing...and since I hated the lamaze-type breathing we were instructed in (but never got to use) with Eva, I am much more into the relaxation/natural breathing concept. I guess that I'll just write more after my first prenatal visit with her, when we determine what I think I would like to try!

So, got to the doctor's office and had the ultrasound with the nurse practitioner...everything looks good. She kept raving about what a great picture of the heart she was getting (with Eva, I almost got sent to a fetal heart specialist for no reason...) and Charlie is measuring right on! Eva was very excited to see the screen (not so excited to be in a doctor's office!) and when the ultrasound was over, she kept saying "more baby!!! More baby!!!!"

The nurse practitioner kept TRYING to find out Charlie's gender...but I guess I'm having another modest kiddo! Feet were right in front of the genitals, and she couldn't see anything from a back view, so she said that if she had to guess, she would guess it is another girl...but as she didn't see ANYTHING, it would just be a guess!

I didn't even ask her to try to find out...I guess it must be standard, unless you state at the beginning "don't tell me!!!"

As for how my prenatal care is going to work from here, it will be every other visit. So, at 24 weeks, I go here, and am supposed to get my glucose tolerance test. If I pass the one hour screening (which I am doubting I will, but I guess it could happen!) I will go to Denver for 28 weeks, here for 30, there for 32, here for 34, and there for 36. Since my doc down here thinks that I should be living in Denver starting at 36 weeks, he probably will not want to see me down here past 36, so all subsequent appointments would be in Denver...

Of course, if I flunk the one hour test, I am wanted up in Denver ASAP for the 3 hour screening. And if I fail the 3 hour, I'll have to go up to meet with a diabetic counselor! So, I am HOPING that in that case, I'll be able to do several appointments down here before 36 weeks...but who knows how this is going to work!!!

Next appointment in Denver is set at 28 weeks with the other doctor in the practice, so that I get a chance to meet him sometime before I go into labor!!!

So, there was my fun appointment...as one of my math teachers always liked to say "clear as mud, isn't it?"

To find out, or not to find out...

That is the question I am really struggling with.

Now, with Eva...we didn't want to know the gender....and she didn't want us to know either, so it worked out really well.

However, there is a part of me that needs to be prepared if this next one is a male child...I mean, having to deal with little boy parts in a diaper is going to be a shock to my system after almost 2 years of little girl parts in diapers...

It's not so much the "I want to get appropriate clothes" argument...I have to many psycho relatives chomping at the bit to buy baby clothes to care...

It's not the "I will feel a closer bond to the child if I find out the sex" argument...as I really don't care overall...

It's not even the "how will I decorate the nursery if I don't know whether to paint it pink or blue" argument, as Charlie will live in our room for a long time, and then move in with Eva for a long time in her already gender neutral (red) room...

And it's not the argument we could make about "we need to start planning for a move to a bigger house in about 5 years if it is a boy child, since we live in a two bedroom house"...I just can't handle planning that far in advance (and we've never lived anywhere for more than 3 years in our 7 years of married life anyway, so I won't assume we will still be here in 5 years!)

It's really all about the diapers...

How sad is that???

Hiring a doula...

As I have mentioned before, I am going to have to deliver Charlie up in Denver. That's about 3 1/2 hours by car. My doc down here is all for me living up with my mom and dad starting at 36 weeks. My doc up there thinks I should be fine at home until I go into labor. I am thinking about taking the middle ground, and moving up there at about 38 weeks (assuming no labor before then!)

Now, I will just put this bluntly...I do NOT want to go live with my parents...there is a reason I got married and moved out...we do not live well together. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents...it's just that they are so much easier to love when they are at least 3 1/2 hours away!

My mom, who is very thoughtful in a scary kind of way, made a comment when they recently visited. She said that since my hubby will be down here at work most likely when I go into labor, that she would be there for me at the hospital. She said she'd even take the day off work. Now, I know that this is going to sound ungrateful...but I really hope she doesn't! My mom is a very good teacher...but a very annoying nurse (she likes to hover). At the hospital, there will be professional nurses, who will have more important things to do than harass me constantly. I pretty much like to be left alone. I don't feel a great need to "bond" with everyone I meet. (My mom will strike up a conversation in the grocery store line with a complete stranger...Eva does it too...but I just am NOT that social!) That's probably one of the reasons I've never found a female doctor that I liked...because so many women like women doctors who can relate to them. I relate better to male doctors. Let me know if there is something I need to know, but otherwise, just do your thing and get out!

So, perhaps I am not the ideal candidate for hiring a doula. After all, they are supposed to help make the mom comfortable. I'm hoping that I can find a doula willing to do this with a minimum of conversation.

So, there is no doubt that after my experience with Eva, I am normal in terms of being terrified of labor. In many ways, it would be a lot easier if I knew my hubby would be present when I thought I was going into labor...it would at least avoid embarrassing trips to the hospital by myself (or worse, with my mom!) So, hopefully by having a doula to call, I'll be able to avoid those situations.

So, I just ordered a used book off of Amazon about Doulas (preggo brain has already made me forget the title!), and on Tuesday (the day of my 20 week ultrasound...more on that later!) I am going to meet with one doula who seemed the best via e-mail and her website (doesn't have tons of experience, but has had at least one VBAC and one plus sized client) to see if I want to hire her. I really want to want to hire her (if that makes any sense) because the whole "searching for a doula" thing is getting old really fast!

The good news about doulas in Colorado, though, is I was afraid they'd all be earth goddess hippies from the People's Republic of Boulder...but EVERY single one I contacted had a Christian (to some extent...there was one Mormon, which I would not technically consider Christian) background. Of course, the only Catholic said she had no religious philosophy and worked with all kinds of mothers (pagan, lesbian, etc.) but that she was a practicing Catholic...I didn't get a very good vibe from her anyway...but I really would prefer a protestant to a cafeteria Catholic...

Heaven...

Okay, I am enjoying a moment of heaven...

I am having lunch, and for lunch today I am having my college breakfast (best meal of the day for me then...)

Nothing, and I repeat, nothing is better than a toasted onion bagel smothered in cream cheese accompanied by a diet coke...

Okay, in college it was generally an untoasted plain bagel (hard to find a toaster or onion bagel on campus) and a regular coke (had to have caffeine and sugar before those 8 am accounting classes!) And I guess I have to fess up that I now use the low-fat cream cheese with the unpronounceable and unspellible name...

But still...it's heaven!!!

From my last doctor's appointment...

Last Thursday I had my first prenatal appointment with my doctor in our town. The first two had been up in Denver at an OBs office, since I am going to have to go to Denver for my delivery (as I was kicked out of the hospital here after having Eva...) and I just thought this was the funniest conversation. First a little background, I was trying to explain as well as I can how the prenatal care will be split, but as of now, all I know is that I am supposed to go back up to Denver next month for my 20 week ultrasound. After that, as much detail as I have received is "we'll want you back in late pregnancy." My doc down here guessed that they would want to start seeing me again at 35 weeks. I mentioned that one of the reasons I chose the hospital I would be delivering at is that it is about 20 mins away from my parent's house. Here's the conversation:

DOCTOR: So, you'll be living up there at the end

ME: Well, the OB said that I didn't need to, and even if my water broke here, he thought I'd make it to the hospital in plenty of time.

(LONG PAUSE)

DOCTOR: Does he know how FAR away we are????

ME: Well, I told him that it is a 3 1/2 hour drive, and he didn't seem concerned

(ANOTHER LONG PAUSE)

DOCTOR: I would suggest that you move up with your parents no later than 36 weeks!

It was just too funny of a conversation...Can you tell that this doctor does NOT want to have to deliver me again!?! Although, as much as I don't want to go live with my parents (as my mother will drive me insane, and I will have to leave Eva with my mother-in-law so that hubby can get to work everyday) I think that my local doctor has a better grasp of this than my OB. Particularly since in November, there is always the possibility that a bad snowstorm could make it impossible to leave town at all... Though I have to admit that I won't move up with my parents until AT LEAST 37 weeks...and since Eva decided to come at 37 and 4, I would hope I wouldn't have to wait too much longer for Charlie (though I am quite aware that a c-section being moved up for PROM could be quite different from a VBAC since I never experienced a contraction with Eva...)

Sometimes you gotta stop and smell the flowers...

I have had a challenging few weeks...but I'll come back and blog on that later...

Today, nap time was the problem. Eva was rubbing her eyes, and clearly tired, so I (happily) put her down for a nap. Well, then my cell phone rang...it was my mom. While standing next to the back door talking to her (it's the only place inside I can get service, and it was raining, so I wasn't going to go outside to talk...) Eva started crying. I wanted to get a load of laundry in the washer, unload the dishwasher and catch a shower...I went and got her out of her crib and started to rock her. She wanted down to rock in her own rocking chair, so I let her down...the house phone rang (which, for some reason, Eva seems to think she needs to point out to me!) and it was my hubby. So, I let Eva just play for a bit while I talked to him. (A side note: she can now open the front door, so we now have to keep it locked!) When I got off the phone we tried the crib again. She was sad, and I had to go back and tell her to lie down again, but I was determined...I got a load started in the washing machine and hopped in the shower. She was STILL crying when I got out of the shower. So, after I got dressed, I went in, gave her a spanking and then rocked her until she stopped crying. I put her back down in her crib...

I started to unload the dishwasher...she was crying again. I went back in, told her to lie down and that if I had to come in again, she'd get another spanking and I wouldn't come in again until her dad got home...

However, she was crying again, and I had a change of heart...it has been storming a little bit this afternoon, and even though she doesn't normally seem scared by storms, I thought that maybe she was. I got her out of her crib, and laid down with her in my bed. She just clung to me, and fell asleep...

Sometimes I need to remember that Eva is what is important, and if I don't accomplish anything in my day other than giving her the love she needs, I have still accomplished a lot.

After a while, my arms started to fall asleep, and a fly started to harass me, so I slipped out from underneath my sweet little baby girl, and came out here to write about it (and fold a little laundry!) So, she is still sweetly sleeping in my bed, and I keep going back to check on her every few minutes so that she won't be scared when she wakes up!

Well, this answers my hubby's favorite question...

Your Linguistic Profile::

70% General American English

15% Yankee

10% Upper Midwestern

0% Dixie

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

I'm guessing it's the fact that I scored zero on "Dixie" and "Midwestern" that makes my hubby scratch his head...

Go try it at:

http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofamericanenglishdoyouspeakquiz/

Happy June!!!

Well, June has arrived, and with it, so has an increasing amount of busy-ness! I got all of my Big Yellow Box stuff the other day, and have been working on getting some crafts done. I invited a bunch of people over next week for a launch party (basically, I get to do a party for myself!) and once more it is a pretty random selection of church members, family members, and postal workers! So, hopefully that goes well. We are also getting close to our last Mass with our current priest! So, throw in some choir rehearsals...then the Roman Catholic Homeschooler's Conference in Denver...church fundraising garage sales...bible study...swim lessons for Eva...selling the house...and FINALLY getting to use my gift certificate from Mother's Day for a haircut, manicure and pedicure (I haven't had a professional haircut since I was preggo with Eva, and I've never had a manicure or a pedicure before!) I'm going to be a busy little beaver during the month of June...but I guess the more I have to do, the faster the month will go, and the sooner we will hit November and get to see Charlie! (Although, I have to admit, I am not looking forward to the birth process AT ALL!!!)

I'm about to post an explanation of my language skills. Found a pretty cool little quiz! Basically, this is the deal...I don't speak the same language as my husband and his family (we both CLAIM that it is English we speak...) but I can't blame it on my family, because I don't speak like them either. For instance, no one can figure out why I have always said "Soda" instead of "Pop" (the preferred word for both my family and my hubby's family!) I also pronounce Pillow "pellow" and don't even get my hubby started on my pronunciation of "crayon" (he mocks it so much that I am getting a complex about whether people will be able to understand what I am saying when forced to use the word "crayon" at my home parties...of course, my MIL calls them "colors", so I guess I'm a step up from that!) Beyond that, there is the mocking of my colloquial phrases (that did come from my family) such as "go pound sand in a rat hole" (when you are mad at someone) and "people in Hell want ice water." His family on the other hand, has such phrases as "Make hay while the sun shines" and an immensely obscene one about a monkey and a football...It just amazes me how much language can be different between people. I say "creek", hubby believes it is a "crick" if it is small (if it is empty, as most, ahem, "creeks" are around here, I call it nothing!). My MIL upon occasion will say "warsh" and "Warshington" though she tries really hard not to...and she has a SIL who says both "warsh" and "rinch" (that's rinse to you and me), so whenever MIL slips and says she needs to "warsh" something, I ask her if she's going to "rinch" it too!

Okay, better go work on my pronunciation of the word "crayon" so that I don't traumatize myself at my home parties...(and speaking of traumatize, I always have a compulsion to spell things the British way...with s instead of z, and adding u to words like behavior)

Money, money, money, money...Money!

Okay, I have to admit that I have been stressing out about finances recently. It is in my nature, to be perfectly honest...you don't get a degree in Accounting, and then neglect to budget and balance your checkbook, after all! (In fact, I tend to balance other people's checkbooks as well...I tried to be my MILs financial helper...but let me just tell you, she is a lost cause!) Something about owning two houses and having one income just stresses me out.

Hubby was trying to comfort me last night with the words "God won't give us anything we can't handle." Which is a great sentiment, I must admit...but unfortunately, I'm pretty sure we could handle repossession and bankruptcy! (I just really, really, really, REALLY don't want to have to handle those!) That sentiment, in my case should probably be reserved for the days that I am freaking out about medical issues (such as days I'm terrified about the concept of having this baby, as my delivery with Eva went so very badly!) rather than financial issues, because I am pretty sure I could handle almost anything financial thrown at us!

So, one of the things that has been stressing me out is that when we got our bridge loan it was based upon both hubby's income and the income from our part time job at the theatre. Unforunately, we got fewer and fewer hours (as other employees wanted more hours and were more easily available) and as gas prices went up, it made less and less sense to drive the 40 miles each way for a part time job. So, as of Tuesday, we are done at the theatre. Mostly, it's a really good thing for us financially. The problem is that mortgages are based upon debt to income ratios...and we don't have much debt (a few student loans, and of course, our mortgage on our old house!) but we also don't have much income! (Though it is a lot more income than we used to have!)

So, I've been thinking about ways to make a little extra money...I thought about working evenings at the grocery store, but as hubby's schedule is so flexible (I mean, we have to be flexible about it...not that the job itself is flexible!) it would be difficult to work out my schedule. In our old town, I did direct sales of home decor stuff...but the company went in a direction I didn't like, and I didn't feel like starting up the business again after our move. So, I have been thinking about other direct sales companies. So many of them have a lot of consultants in our area. (I don't know if it is all rural areas, but I never even heard of home parties until I met my hubby! It just wasn't something I was exposed to in my upbringing in suburbia!) Obviously, when doing direct sales, it is important to like the product, so that was my main concern! Also, commission and expenses are important things to know about as well. Finally, I wanted to do something that I could more easily find a market for (for instance, I looked into a crystal company, but as I really couldn't afford the stuff, I didn't figure that I would know too many people who could!)

So, on Monday, I decided to sign up with the Big Yellow Box, which is a direct sales company from Crayola. They've only been around two years, and I haven't ever seen a consultant around here. Also, since it is crafty stuff that is appropriate for families with kids as young as 3 and has cool stuff that would appeal to adults without children as well. So, I have my work cut out for me in booking parties and finding hostesses, and learning about the products! I am anxiously awaiting my kit so I can get started on some of my samples...and read through/watch the training materials! It'll be pretty cool being involved in something so new! The last company I was a rep for had been around over 30 years, so they had all their systems figured out to a T...BYB has been very nice, but I've already caused great confusion between my upline, the main office and myself (I'm just not smart enough for the contract!) and I think that there will be some unique challenges working with something so new. But I am excited, as EVERYONE knows the Crayola name, and the items should be very new to people out here...plus the fact that we don't have any craft stores anywhere near here...hopefully that will help my business!

We have a yard...and my hubby is insane!

Well, the sod is in...the chain link fence is up...and we are all enjoying being able to throw the dog outside in the morning rather than taking him for a walk! It took from Friday to Friday to get the yard done. Friday the 12th, hubby's cousin brought down their rototiller. Friday and Saturday were about rototilling (around his work schedule of course!) and raking out the clumps. Sunday night was more raking. Monday was prep work for the sod while FIL and MIL picked it up. Tuesday I had a doctor's appointment in Denver, so MIL, Eva and I left for that and all the boys (hubby, BIL, and FIL) along with our dog and FILs dog (our dog's sister) spent the day down here putting in the sod. Apparently, they got done putting in the sod by the time I got out of my HOUR AND A HALF doctor's appointment! (I still have a bruise from the blood draw a week later!)

So, FIL and BIL decided to go start tearing down the chainlink fence at "the old trailerhouse" (one of the farm's properties that hasn't been lived in except by mice for about 3 years) so that we could reuse it here. Wednesday morning, BIL came down with fence parts. DH went and bought poles and quickcrete (as the old poles were very well cemented in up there!) and the boys went to work...problem with this plan? Hubby was (as usual) working a split shift...and went back to work about the time Eva went down for a nap...so, I got to help put in all the poles! My BIL is a slavedriver...As we were finishing up a pole I said "I need a glass of water, would you like one?" and his response was "One more pole, then you can have a break...I'm not a slavedriver or anything!" (Weird kid!) Thursday BIL returned to put up the top bars. Again, hubby was working split shift and went back when Eva went to sleep...so I got to help with that one too! When hubby got home from work, they got about half of the chain link up, and then MIL and FIL came down and we went out to the "new steakhouse" (as the name it was going to have became something else, and now everyone just calls it the new steakhouse or the steakhouse!) which was fun, but apparently three cooks and one manager all took the day off figuring that a Thursday wouldn't be too bad...they were wrong!

Finally, BIL came down after hubby got off work on Friday, and they got the rest of the chain link up! So we have a yard! Saturday hubby had to work the long shift, so when he got home, we did a little housework but mostly just relaxed. So, I was looking forward to a nice relaxing Sunday starting with church at our parish at 10:30.

I took my shower a little earlier than usual (because we usually wait until the last minute and the second showerer gets cold water...I usually shower second!) and then hubby jumped in the shower early. He got out, threw the dog out in the yard and announced (at about 9 am) "we're going to Denver!" So, after asking him about a dozen times if he was serious (he was) I changed out of my dress and dress shoes and into some pants (I'm not driving 3+ hours in a dress and dress shoes!) and figured out what church in the area we were heading had an evening Life Teen mass. So, we went shopping first (I know, we've gone back and forth on the Sunday shopping thing, but as neither of us actually enjoys shopping, and since hubby only has Sundays off...well, sometimes shopping happens on Sunday!) and got some maternity clothes for me! (YEAH!!! I only had one pair of maternity pants, and the whole holding together my regular jeans with a hair tie thing will only last a month or so longer...and requires longer maternity style shirts!) I got a pair of pants (kinda khaki) two skirts (one denim, one black) two t-shirts (purple and blue) and a long sleeved blouse (kinda hippy style, in brown). I also got a pair of crocs, since with Eva by month 6 or 7, I exclusively wore flip-flops...and I was thinking that flip-flops in November might be a little cold!

We also made a trip to Sam's club for misc. stuff (including a bunch of supplies for my MIL to make a wedding cake for this weekend!) and I found the most awesome patio furniture there...the downside...it was $350 (so will never be in our price range) but it was a super comfy double chaise lounger...just what I need out on the porch to supervise the girl and the pug when they are playing!

So, we went to the Life Teen mass at a pretty liberal catholic church (they call themselves a "Catholic community"...) which was fun, and Eva enjoyed a lot...but I couldn't handle it regularly...and there were a couple of things that just seemed like liturgical abuses there (like doing some weird song version of the creed to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it"...) But they had some first communicants, and they were pretty cute. I have to admit, I have come a long way since becoming Catholic...the first time I went to a mass with guitar music I literally walked out (I couldn't take it) and when hubby and I went to a marriage conference when we were first married, they started off by singing some song with hand gestures (I don't remember the song, but I do remember that one of hubby's cousins and her husband were there, and her husband stood there with his arms crossed and scowling, just like I was!) At the Life Teen mass, they started off with the song "His Banner Over Me Is Love" with hand gestures...which I did (and which I already knew from the music portion of religious education when I was CRE at our old parish!)

So, after Mass, we went out for supper, then headed home. Got back home at about 11 pm...had a horrible thunderstorm all night long that kept me awake until 4 am. Didn't get much of a nap yesterday with toddler monster going full speed...had to work at the movie theatre last night (and have to work again tonight...but it will be the last night for us! YEAH!!!) So, I am just now getting a chance to breathe! WHEW!!!!

My Political Profile

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 70% Conservative, 30% Liberal

Social Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

Ethics: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

Apparently, I am getting WAY more conservative as I get older...

Try it yourself at:

http://www.blogthings.com/howliberalorconservativeareyouquiz/

Pants update and general craziness!

We are in the middle of a project right now...(I wrote a really long post about it, but managed to lose it by being an idiot!) Basically, what it boils down to is that we have no landscaping at our new house (okay, hubby did build a walkway with paving stones to our side door so that we wouldn't have to walk through the sandburs!) and hopefully, by tomorrow evening, we will!

We bought 1000 sq ft of sod off of the PBS auction, and had to ask FIL to pick it up for us in a horse trailer. Well, FIL thought while he was getting it, they would just go ahead and buy us more sod to make a better yard. So, we (by we, I mean mostly hubby as I haven't been allowed to touch the rototiller and get tired pretty easily with raking and hauling) have been prepping our lawn for the sod...in between other commitments. Hubby's cousin dropped off the rototiller on Friday morning, so Friday evening was breaking up the weeds and soil. Saturday was raking out clumps, rocks, roots, and approximately 60 bricks (???) then going up to visit the in-laws to help with graduation cake decorating while hubby drove into our old town to work at the movie theatre (this is our last month, and we have two more nights to work before we are done!!!) Then, we spent the night up there, as hubby didn't get done at the theatre until midnight, so we had to go to 8 am Mass (rather than the nice and easy to get to 10:30 Mass in our new town) went out for breakfast to celebrate Mother's day, loaded up some of our old furniture out of the house we STILL haven't sold for my BILs new place at college, had a couple of hours off, then went to the graduation of...my MILs stepmother's daughter...

Went to her reception afterwards, where for some UNKNOWN reason they had a bubble machine in an area with a gym floor (that was soon covered in soap) they covered some of the slick spots with a towel, but refused to turn the machine off. We left when Eva slipped in the solution, conked her head really hard...let's just say NONE of us were happy by the time we were leaving. On the plus side for the weekend, my bloom'n belly band arrived before we left, so I was able to wear my jeans (with a hair tie to keep the button shut) all weekend long. I was hoping I'd be more impressed by this contraption, but I guess I'll give it a little more time before I decide, as the tag says they are oversized because they will shrink about 2% in the wash...

So, hubby wanted to get straight to work when we got home from the graduation party, but I desperately needed a nap (and felt like throwing up) and Eva was not in the mood for napping. So they played and watched some TV while I slept. I woke up at 8:30 as hubby was getting Eva ready for bed. (Eva refused to go to bed until she brushed her teeth, and hubby couldn't find her toothbrush.) So, after Eva went to sleep, hubby went out and worked on the yard for 1 1/2 hours in the dark. Today he worked a little bit on it during his lunch hour...and will probably spend most of the evening finishing up.

FIL and MIL delivered furniture to BILs new place this morning, and should have picked up our sod a couple of hours ago...so FIL and BIL will (I think!) come down tomorrow to help lay sod while MIL takes me and Eva up to Denver for a doctor's appointment...and we will hopefully meet up with my mother for lunch before hand! I think us women will be very glad to NOT be around for the 3 anal "I know what I'm doing so do it MY way!" men attempt to work together on this project!

Later, I'll try to describe the almost indescribable state of our yard and what the plans are to make a nice yard for Eva and our dumb dog...let's just say, we can't afford much so we are going to have to spend some time scavenging...

On a good note, my mother is talking about buying us some trees or shrubs for my birthday this summer...though I don't know that August is the ideal time to be planting trees or shrubs!!

Baby names...

I don't know whether other people have this problem, but naming a baby is hard work!!! I remember when I was young I had a set of names, and those were the names I was going to use when I had kids (shockingly enough, when I did have my daughter, she didn't get my #1 girls name "Fiona Keely"!) I guess this is exacerbated by the fact that I am one of those weirdos who don't want to know the gender of the baby until birth. (Well, most days I don't want to know...I do have my moments of weakness!) As we are fairly traditional, and don't like trendy names (like, for instance "Addison" which was the name of two different babies announced in the same week in hubby's hometown paper...) we tend towards family, and of course, Saint's names. Naming our daughter caused a sort of conundrum. Very early on in the pregnancy, we decided that if we had a girl (and I was fairly convinced we were having a boy!) we would name her after hubby's grandma who passed away around the time we found out we were expecting (in fact, hubby announced the good news to the family the evening of the funeral...) So, our girl's name was Eva. Now, middle name is slightly more complicated. At first, we thought something boring and traditional like "Marie" would be a good option.

Around the same time, I decided that if it were a boy, we would name him after St. Gerard Majella. We played around with that name, and decided on Gerard Michael (Michael being a family name on both sides...) We had done a novena asking for St. Gerard's intercession to have a child, so it seemed fitting. Naturally, as my desire to name the baby after St. Gerard increased, Eva's middle name became Majella.

Now, you can't just name your first child Eva Majella, and then name the next one Peggy Sue (or any number of non-discript names!) So, we've been banging our heads against the wall trying to figure out names that are traditional enough, and Catholic enough to fit into our naming scheme. A couple of weeks ago, my grandmother passed away. So, I thought that it might be fitting if we have another girl to name her Charlotte, after my grandma. Hubby thought on this, and was having trouble envisioning himself calling a little baby girl Charlotte. You see, our families have different trains of thoughts on names. His family believes the more nicknames the better. My family named us short names so that we wouldn't need nicknames (so I've spent a great deal of my life explaining that my name is NOT short for anything!) So, anyway, hubby decided that Charlotte was fine if I was okay with him calling her Charlie. I decided I could handle that. Further, I thought that maybe we should name the baby Charles if it turns out to be a boy. Thus, we are waiting for Charlie either way. (Hubby has cousins who did something very similar, last time they were expecting, the baby was going to be Frances or Francis...she is Frances)

Now, on to the middle name saga...and here is where the slightly creepy stuff starts! First, we chose a middle name to go with Charles, and took the easy way out. So, if we have a boy he will be Charles Borromeo (after St. Charles Borromeo...yes, we are that creative!!!) Of course, I am having to go through training to be able to pronounce Borromeo (I have some sort of mental block...) so that I'll be able to yell it if need be...

So, picking a middle name that honored a Saint and didn't sound dumb with the name Charlotte was a little more difficult. We tried many different Saint's names, and none of them seemed to work! Finally, I was surfing some Saint's sites, and ran across St. Angela Merici (whom I have read about before, but isn't one of the first Saints to pop into my mind...) So, I refreshed my memory about her, and like the way that Charlotte Merici sounded, so I brought the name idea to hubby. So, we grabbed our trusty and not-so-trusty Saints books (the one that is not-so-trusty is called All Saints and has a bunch of people who are not cannonized Saints in it...) to look and see if they had St. Angela Merici and/or St. Charles Borromeo. Sadly, neither are listed in the "Loyola Kids Book of Saints", but St. Angela was in All Saints, and both were in our "One Year Book of Saints." So we read about St. Angela in All Saints...foundress of the Ursalines, which were not a religious community in the sense of nuns until after her death. Then we read about her in the One Year book, and same basic information until the end when it said that after her death, St. Charles Borromeo organized the Ursalines into a religious order and got permission from the pope.

Basically, my thought is this...if your boy's Saint's name shows up in the blurb about a proposed girl's Saint's name, you have found your Saint's name! Just too much of a coincidence for me!

So, Charlie will now be either Charles Borromeo, or Charlotte Merici!

Pants...

Okay, so I am what I like to call "plus sized" and my medical records like to call "morbidly obese" (I like my way of looking at it better!) Add to this pregnancy, and I have really, really, REALLY been stressing about pants!

So, I guess that skinny and medium-sized women have "fat pants" and "skinny pants"...I've heard the terms all over the place, and it seems as though that is standard. I have two sized pants, too! "Regular pants" and "maternity pants" (though at the moment I only have one pair of maternity pants...) You see, with us fat women, it generally is a fact that our pants are tight...and then if we lose a bunch of weight, our pants become loose! When we become pregnant (at least in my case) our pants become sweat pants, since we can no longer pry ourselves into any other type of pants.

Honestly, I can lose 50 lbs (well, I've only done it once, and technically, I only lost 48.5 lbs) and STILL WEAR THE SAME PANTS!!! Of course, said pants currently do not fit, and so my current wardrobe is either sweatpants with a t-shirt, or dresses or skirts (I look poochy, but at least I can keep them on!) That being said, I was so excited to hear about something called a Bella Band.

Nope, I didn't go ahead and get a Bella Band...but let me explain the theory. It is a tubular piece of cloth that you wear around your unzipped regular pants (or theoretically, pants that are too big for you...not that I'll ever have that problem!) Sounds like a great plan, but then there's the plus-sized thing...but, hallelujah!!! They carry a size they call 3, which is for sizes 16+ (Let's just say I'm in the + category on that one!) So, I get all excited and try to find a place to buy one. Several sites only carry sizes 1 and 2 (for skinny minis!) and then I finally find one that carries the size 3. I spend 15 minutes deciding on what color I want...I mean, these things are like $25, so this was a big decision!!! I finally decide on stone...then change my mind to white. Okay, white it is! Checkout time! Shipping amount...remember this is a tube of FABRIC that goes around the waist...$10!!!!

So, no Bella Band. Still, I spend time looking around for similar products. Find one that looks promising called Belly Brites, which are reversible and have two colors...unfortunately, they are made in Australia! (So, let's not go into the shipping for that either!) I gave up hope...decided that I'd be wearing sweatpants until I fit into my one pair of maternity pants...then today, I found out about ANOTHER one called bloom'n belly band from an ebay store, these were only $16, come in actual sizes, have more fabric choices and ship USPS for $1.95! So, hopefully it will be made and sent to me soon, as I am VERY excited at the prospect of wearing pants that don't have the word "sweat" (something I don't like to do anyway!) in front of them!

testing...testing...1,2,3!!!

Okay, so here is my very first attempt with anything as high tech as a blog...

I guess I have to face the facts that I am woefully behind the times...as I just finally got into the whole MP3 thing this year.

And I used to be so high tech that I built my own computers...sigh!