Havent been online for a few days. Im just so exhausted lately.
Yesterday we we gone for THIRTEEEN HOURS - nine hours of babysitting, three hours of the kids' VBS program. I literally fell into bed when we got home at 9:45pm.
I am ready to scream at the next person who asks me how Im doing. Plus Ive been extra-mean to Mike lately... I feel bad, it's really not his fault. I shouldn't be so moody, but I am.
Hannah's been regressing with potty training even more this week. Yesterday she had SIX accidents, and I ran out of clothes for her in the middle of VBS - so I just made her wear wet clothes until we got home. What else could I do?!? I havent been carrying diapers around with me since January. This is absolutely ridiculous. WHAT is her problem?!? It makes me so frustrated!
Lately I just feel like complaining about EVERYTHING! What gives?!
Last night I kept having scary dreams that my mother was dying. That didnt help.
Ok, back to spending time with Hannah and finishing my chores for the day, so we can go babysit for another six hours. I am so tired of this.
Thank the Lord for our two-week VACATION!
We're leaving on Thursday night, as soon as I can get away for my babysitting family!!!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Post # 50!
Each morning, I have next to no appetite. But late every night, I eat like a pig. And afterwards, I can feel my stomach expanding! It's so bizzare. Kind of gross, actually. And itchy too.
This morning I was in the nursery at church, so I didnt get any Biblical instruction. I missed that. At least the kids were well=behaved - and I didnt even have to change any diapers!
Mike spent the afternoon cleaning up outside and mowing the front yard. Then he set to work, trying to fix our broken attic door. After much sweating, hammering, muttering, yelling, banging, and vaccuming the aftermath, it is now fixed. We no longer have a gaping hole in the ceiling, and our electric bills will go down! YAY!
Tonight was my first night volunteering at a new VBS program. I'm already the preschool coordinatorfor my own church's VBS program next month, but someone convinced me that it would be a good idea to help out at their church as well. Sometimes I wonder why I signed myself up for this. It very chaotic and not so fun: I didnt know where anything was! I couldnt even tell the kids where the bathrooms were, or how to get to each station! No one seemed to be in charge. It was quite confusing. Im hoping tomorrow will be better though, now that I am slightly more familiar with the whole thing.
I know that I shouldn't compare it to the super-organized, highly professional VBS program that I grew up with. see here But in my head, I still am.
On the positive side, Hannah did an excellent job! She sang along to songs she'd never heard before, participated in every game, followed directions wonderfully, stayed with her group, and didn't whine at all. Not even when another kid was taking up all my attention.
If only every child could always be so compliant.
VACATION PLANS:
On Thursday night, we're heading out for a ten-day vacation! We'll spend the first night with my parents. Mike plans to swim in their pool all day, while I help my sister buy wedding attire and visit her new aparment in Baltimore. Saturday we'll drive to PA and spend the weekend with my in-laws. Monday-Wednesday will be spent at a B-n-B, just-the-two-of-us! :) Next Thursday, we'll drive back to Maryland, for a family reunion/wedding. And we'll come home July 7 or 8th.
Then, my little sis is getting married on July 5th. We dont talk very often, but since I've moved to NC, we've actually become closer. Growing up, we shared a room and were constantly fighting, but I think the distance raises our comfort levels somehow. Plus we're both a little more mature than we used to be. Anyway, Im excited for her! She's always said she'd never get married... and now she is! HAH!
This morning I was in the nursery at church, so I didnt get any Biblical instruction. I missed that. At least the kids were well=behaved - and I didnt even have to change any diapers!
Mike spent the afternoon cleaning up outside and mowing the front yard. Then he set to work, trying to fix our broken attic door. After much sweating, hammering, muttering, yelling, banging, and vaccuming the aftermath, it is now fixed. We no longer have a gaping hole in the ceiling, and our electric bills will go down! YAY!
Tonight was my first night volunteering at a new VBS program. I'm already the preschool coordinatorfor my own church's VBS program next month, but someone convinced me that it would be a good idea to help out at their church as well. Sometimes I wonder why I signed myself up for this. It very chaotic and not so fun: I didnt know where anything was! I couldnt even tell the kids where the bathrooms were, or how to get to each station! No one seemed to be in charge. It was quite confusing. Im hoping tomorrow will be better though, now that I am slightly more familiar with the whole thing.
I know that I shouldn't compare it to the super-organized, highly professional VBS program that I grew up with. see here But in my head, I still am.
On the positive side, Hannah did an excellent job! She sang along to songs she'd never heard before, participated in every game, followed directions wonderfully, stayed with her group, and didn't whine at all. Not even when another kid was taking up all my attention.
If only every child could always be so compliant.
VACATION PLANS:
On Thursday night, we're heading out for a ten-day vacation! We'll spend the first night with my parents. Mike plans to swim in their pool all day, while I help my sister buy wedding attire and visit her new aparment in Baltimore. Saturday we'll drive to PA and spend the weekend with my in-laws. Monday-Wednesday will be spent at a B-n-B, just-the-two-of-us! :) Next Thursday, we'll drive back to Maryland, for a family reunion/wedding. And we'll come home July 7 or 8th.
Then, my little sis is getting married on July 5th. We dont talk very often, but since I've moved to NC, we've actually become closer. Growing up, we shared a room and were constantly fighting, but I think the distance raises our comfort levels somehow. Plus we're both a little more mature than we used to be. Anyway, Im excited for her! She's always said she'd never get married... and now she is! HAH!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Iron-on shirt.
Im 13 weeks pregnant! Did I already say that?
Is that usually considered the 2nd trimester, or not quite yet?
I dont remember exactly how the days are broken down.
I read the other day that my baby is about 2.5-3 inches long, and weighs about half an ounce. That seems SO TINY! Hannah has been asking often if she can see the baby in my tummy. I keep saying "not yet, the baby has to grow more."
This morning, the five year old that I babysit walked up to me with a baby doll and asked if it was the same size as a newborn. Well, almost! It was a good guess.
We babysat from 9-5 today, and the kids really wore me out. The girls didnt want to stop running, all afternoon!
I made this adorable shirt for Hannah last night. Here is the front:
And this is the back:
I hope it's not too big for her. We're gonna take it on vacation with us, and I can't wait for her to wear it and tell everyone all about it!!!
Tonight is Mike's last night shift for the month, then he has the weekend off! YAY!
Then after next week, he has TWO WEEKS off! That's even better! ;)
Im excited about tomorrow night: two interrupted hours of SCRAPBOOKING! Maybe I'll finally be able to get through Christmas 2007, and move on to 2008!
Have a good weekend.
Nicole
Is that usually considered the 2nd trimester, or not quite yet?
I dont remember exactly how the days are broken down.
I read the other day that my baby is about 2.5-3 inches long, and weighs about half an ounce. That seems SO TINY! Hannah has been asking often if she can see the baby in my tummy. I keep saying "not yet, the baby has to grow more."
This morning, the five year old that I babysit walked up to me with a baby doll and asked if it was the same size as a newborn. Well, almost! It was a good guess.
We babysat from 9-5 today, and the kids really wore me out. The girls didnt want to stop running, all afternoon!
I made this adorable shirt for Hannah last night. Here is the front:
And this is the back:
I hope it's not too big for her. We're gonna take it on vacation with us, and I can't wait for her to wear it and tell everyone all about it!!!
Tonight is Mike's last night shift for the month, then he has the weekend off! YAY!
Then after next week, he has TWO WEEKS off! That's even better! ;)
Im excited about tomorrow night: two interrupted hours of SCRAPBOOKING! Maybe I'll finally be able to get through Christmas 2007, and move on to 2008!
Have a good weekend.
Nicole
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Doctor's Appointment / Hannah's reaction. LONG Update!
My doctor's appointment this morning went SO WELL! I met with the head midwife today (I don't remember what her official title is, but she has 5 other midwives in this practice with her). She went over my history and my recent lab results and all that fun stuff. Everything's normal. I've gained three pounds in the past two months, which is just fine. My blood pressure is still great, so no worries about having pre-eclampsia yet.
We heard mine and the baby's heartbeat with the Doppler. I'm not sure exactly how fast it was, I didn't get a number, but it sounded good and strong.
Then she did a quick ultrasound (because of my recurrent miscarriages, they'll do one at every visit, and take pictures and measurement, just to be sure - and I'm not complaining!). My baby doesn't look like a little blob anymore, it actually resembles a normal human fetus! The baby was swimming around and moving soooo much! It was truly amazing. I saw the brain, the heart beating, the face in profile, and a straight, healthy spine. And those arms and legs just kept moving around like crazy! It felt like such a miracle. I was so happy to see a nice healthy baby, that at first I was speechless. Then I just kept saying "Oh my gosh, that's so neat... Look at that! Oh my gosh!"
Mike stayed home with Hannah this time. I just wanted to be sure that everything was still going well before I introduced her to all this complicated medical stuff. But I think from now on, I'll let them both come along with me to appointments. I want them to be involved with this pregnancy, too!
I also scheduled a 3d ultrasound at the hospital for late next month, around week 18 or 19. There has been some discrepancy about what my official due date should be. I KNOW when my last period was, so I just keep saying that it will be Christmastime. If they change it by a couple days, it won't matter much. It will still be Christmastime!
Driving home, I just kept praying nad saying to myself "Thank you God, Thank you God!" I think I've been holding out, half-expecting to hear bad news. But it's kind of hard not to prepare yourself for the worst, when there's been so many disappointments in the past.
So, I think I'm really letting myself get excited now. I'm totally looking forward to announcing this to everyone, when we go on our two-week vacation at the end of the month. We are leaving for PA on June 27, spending the week with Mike's family, including two days & nights BY OURSELVES at a B&B, then July 3-8th, we'll be at my sister's wedding/family reunion.
So after my appointment today, I came home and asked Hannah "Do you know that Mommy has a new tiny baby in her tummy?"
I think she had heard me talking about it before, to Mike, or on the phone, because at first she just nodded, like this was old news.
Then she asked some really good questions like "How big is it?" and "Can I see it?", but I think the best one of all was "Did the baby get a check-up at the doctor's today too?" She took it sooo well! I wish I'd thought to have the videocamera out, because it was so precious!
And for the rest of the afternoon, she kept thinking of more sweet things to say! Then she started "explaining" this new situation to her father, and here is her version: "Daddy, Mommy has a tiny baby in her tummy. But we have to wait a long time to see it, so that it can grow bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger... Then when the baby comes out of her tummy, we can hug it and kiss it and rock it, like this... And I will share my baby bed and my baby clothes with the new baby... And Mommy, can the new baby use my old swing, and my little baby shoes that are in the attic?" It was just the cutest thing!!!
I know she's gonna be great.
She also told us that she really wants it to be girl baby. I asked "What if it's a boy baby?" and she was adamant: "No, I want a GIRL baby!"
She just laughed when I told her that the baby would be a surprise. We'll see!
I did try to videotape her a little bit, but she quit talking when she saw the camera. Darn! Maybe another day.
BYE-BYE! Goodnight.
Thanks for reading all of that.
And thank you especially for your prayers.
We heard mine and the baby's heartbeat with the Doppler. I'm not sure exactly how fast it was, I didn't get a number, but it sounded good and strong.
Then she did a quick ultrasound (because of my recurrent miscarriages, they'll do one at every visit, and take pictures and measurement, just to be sure - and I'm not complaining!). My baby doesn't look like a little blob anymore, it actually resembles a normal human fetus! The baby was swimming around and moving soooo much! It was truly amazing. I saw the brain, the heart beating, the face in profile, and a straight, healthy spine. And those arms and legs just kept moving around like crazy! It felt like such a miracle. I was so happy to see a nice healthy baby, that at first I was speechless. Then I just kept saying "Oh my gosh, that's so neat... Look at that! Oh my gosh!"
Mike stayed home with Hannah this time. I just wanted to be sure that everything was still going well before I introduced her to all this complicated medical stuff. But I think from now on, I'll let them both come along with me to appointments. I want them to be involved with this pregnancy, too!
I also scheduled a 3d ultrasound at the hospital for late next month, around week 18 or 19. There has been some discrepancy about what my official due date should be. I KNOW when my last period was, so I just keep saying that it will be Christmastime. If they change it by a couple days, it won't matter much. It will still be Christmastime!
Driving home, I just kept praying nad saying to myself "Thank you God, Thank you God!" I think I've been holding out, half-expecting to hear bad news. But it's kind of hard not to prepare yourself for the worst, when there's been so many disappointments in the past.
So, I think I'm really letting myself get excited now. I'm totally looking forward to announcing this to everyone, when we go on our two-week vacation at the end of the month. We are leaving for PA on June 27, spending the week with Mike's family, including two days & nights BY OURSELVES at a B&B, then July 3-8th, we'll be at my sister's wedding/family reunion.
So after my appointment today, I came home and asked Hannah "Do you know that Mommy has a new tiny baby in her tummy?"
I think she had heard me talking about it before, to Mike, or on the phone, because at first she just nodded, like this was old news.
Then she asked some really good questions like "How big is it?" and "Can I see it?", but I think the best one of all was "Did the baby get a check-up at the doctor's today too?" She took it sooo well! I wish I'd thought to have the videocamera out, because it was so precious!
And for the rest of the afternoon, she kept thinking of more sweet things to say! Then she started "explaining" this new situation to her father, and here is her version: "Daddy, Mommy has a tiny baby in her tummy. But we have to wait a long time to see it, so that it can grow bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger... Then when the baby comes out of her tummy, we can hug it and kiss it and rock it, like this... And I will share my baby bed and my baby clothes with the new baby... And Mommy, can the new baby use my old swing, and my little baby shoes that are in the attic?" It was just the cutest thing!!!
I know she's gonna be great.
She also told us that she really wants it to be girl baby. I asked "What if it's a boy baby?" and she was adamant: "No, I want a GIRL baby!"
She just laughed when I told her that the baby would be a surprise. We'll see!
I did try to videotape her a little bit, but she quit talking when she saw the camera. Darn! Maybe another day.
BYE-BYE! Goodnight.
Thanks for reading all of that.
And thank you especially for your prayers.
Friday, June 13, 2008
12 weeks. Updates. Pictures.
Sorry it's been a whole week since Ive posted. The last few times I've logged on to Blogger, I kept getting error messages. Frustrating!
As of Wednesday, I am twelve weeks pregnant!
Here are some tummy pictures:
Can you tell that I had to snap the pictures myself? That's why they are a little blurry and out of focus. That's ok, you get the idea.
I want to find a shirt that says "Im not fat... Im just pregnant." I have now officially graduated from button-fly jeans and patns, to elastic-waist and drawstring pants. My largest pair of jean shorts doesnt quite button anymore. Oh well!But Im not big enough for maternity clothes, not quite yet (even though I can't wait to wear them!).
Today, we spent the morning playing with some MOPS friends, and did a little shopping. I've had a very hard time finding size 7 1/2 sandals for Hannah. We finally got some for $15 at Rack Room Shoes. (We'd been through so many stores, and by that time, we just wanted to be done!) She already has two different pairs of purple Cros, but one pair is too small, and the other pair is just a little too big, so they fall off her feet. She's growing out of all her clothes and shoes so fast lately!!!
Last week I got 3t-4t summer clothes out of the attic for her, and all the 3t dresses are too short! They barely cover her behind! What happened to my tiny little girl?! She's getting really tall.
Sad News: I found out today that a friend recently had her second miscarriage. I've been praying for her for months, since she started TTCing last year. It's nice to know that God has given her peace about the loss, but Im just so sad for her right now! I think it helped her, just to talk with someone who understands.
We also met a new friend, who recently had her last baby and is trying to get rid of her maternity clothes. Win-win! Her daughter was born exactly the same day as Hannah! I invited them to MOPS, and we exchanged phone numbers. I hope we can stay in touch.
Tomorrow we are going to a church picnic, which will be lots of fun.
Then Sunday is FATHER'S DAY!
Have a great weekend :)
As of Wednesday, I am twelve weeks pregnant!
Here are some tummy pictures:
Can you tell that I had to snap the pictures myself? That's why they are a little blurry and out of focus. That's ok, you get the idea.
I want to find a shirt that says "Im not fat... Im just pregnant." I have now officially graduated from button-fly jeans and patns, to elastic-waist and drawstring pants. My largest pair of jean shorts doesnt quite button anymore. Oh well!But Im not big enough for maternity clothes, not quite yet (even though I can't wait to wear them!).
Today, we spent the morning playing with some MOPS friends, and did a little shopping. I've had a very hard time finding size 7 1/2 sandals for Hannah. We finally got some for $15 at Rack Room Shoes. (We'd been through so many stores, and by that time, we just wanted to be done!) She already has two different pairs of purple Cros, but one pair is too small, and the other pair is just a little too big, so they fall off her feet. She's growing out of all her clothes and shoes so fast lately!!!
Last week I got 3t-4t summer clothes out of the attic for her, and all the 3t dresses are too short! They barely cover her behind! What happened to my tiny little girl?! She's getting really tall. Sad News: I found out today that a friend recently had her second miscarriage. I've been praying for her for months, since she started TTCing last year. It's nice to know that God has given her peace about the loss, but Im just so sad for her right now! I think it helped her, just to talk with someone who understands.
We also met a new friend, who recently had her last baby and is trying to get rid of her maternity clothes. Win-win! Her daughter was born exactly the same day as Hannah! I invited them to MOPS, and we exchanged phone numbers. I hope we can stay in touch.
Tomorrow we are going to a church picnic, which will be lots of fun.
Then Sunday is FATHER'S DAY!
Have a great weekend :)
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Sleep is amazing.
Last night at 8:45pm, we all fell asleep while reading bedtime stories to Hannah.
I just slept for TWELVE HOURS, and she is still in bed!!!
Now I have to go babysit for eight hours again. I hope the kids are good.
Have a happy day!
I just slept for TWELVE HOURS, and she is still in bed!!!
Now I have to go babysit for eight hours again. I hope the kids are good.
Have a happy day!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
I made acquaintance with a fellow mom who works for our local paper, and she wrote a nice little MOPS article for me! You can read it at http://www.trianglemom2mom.com/content/mothers-preschoolers
TODAY: We went to the library and played with our new friends (the pastor's family) this morning, and ate lunch with them too. It's really nice to have another mom to talk to. I need more local friends! I love all of my friends, of course, it's just not the same when they live so far away.
Then we spent 3.5 hours babysitting, in which time Hannah had TWO accidents. Why does she ignore the potty urge when she is too busy playing? It drives me CRAZY! I really thought she was past this by now.
But, while we were babysitting, Mike did an amazing job of cleaning up around the house. The kitchen looks spotless! I wish he'd do that more often! Still, I'm very grateful for everything he did today. Washing dishes is about the last thing on my mind right now.
Now I am getting an hour and a half TO MYSELF! Mike took Hannah out for a few hours. He's getting cabin fever. He always dos this during his week off. I've been feeling sick to my stomach today, so I didnt stop them from going without me! :)
I am really relishing this time just sitting on the couch and doing nothing. Ahhhh...
TODAY: We went to the library and played with our new friends (the pastor's family) this morning, and ate lunch with them too. It's really nice to have another mom to talk to. I need more local friends! I love all of my friends, of course, it's just not the same when they live so far away.
Then we spent 3.5 hours babysitting, in which time Hannah had TWO accidents. Why does she ignore the potty urge when she is too busy playing? It drives me CRAZY! I really thought she was past this by now.
But, while we were babysitting, Mike did an amazing job of cleaning up around the house. The kitchen looks spotless! I wish he'd do that more often! Still, I'm very grateful for everything he did today. Washing dishes is about the last thing on my mind right now.
Now I am getting an hour and a half TO MYSELF! Mike took Hannah out for a few hours. He's getting cabin fever. He always dos this during his week off. I've been feeling sick to my stomach today, so I didnt stop them from going without me! :)
I am really relishing this time just sitting on the couch and doing nothing. Ahhhh...
Monday, June 2, 2008
A Big Hole.
Mike's project for this month is to build a new deck. Now is his week off.
Yesterday he took off the top layer of boards, and today he removed tfinished dismantling the whole deck.
He discovered that the deck had not been properly anchored to the back of the house. The boards touching the house and the foundation have rotted away the trim on the outside of our home! Futhermore, there is a one foot by three foot section on the outside of our house that is COMPLETELY GONE! Totally rotted away, all the way down to the insulation. Gross.
If he hadn't removed the deck, we wouldnt even have known! We don't know how long it's been like this!
I have no idea how this can be fixed. He was originally very, very worried. But after some thought, Mike thinks he can fix it in no time. We'll see about that!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In other news: On Saturday we had a hailstorm here. That was pretty cool. I hadn't seen one in a long time. Hannah never had seen a hail storm before, either. She asked "Why is there stuff falling out of the sky, Mommy?" haha. The stones were about as big
Last night, while we were at Hannah's ballet recital, there were 60-65 mph winds in our town. We stayed inside the rest of the night! Some small tree branches fell, but nothing was damaged.
MIL left this morning. It was great having her here, but I always feel relieved to have the house back to myself. She is a wonderful Grandma, but she is a little too cleaning-obsessed. Do you REALLY need to vaccum every single day, scrub the kitchen floor daily, or wash each dish after every meal? Especially when you're in someone's else's house? I think not.
Two more weeks. I can make it two more weeks until my next appointment. Right?
I know I can, I know I can, I know I can....
Yesterday he took off the top layer of boards, and today he removed tfinished dismantling the whole deck.
He discovered that the deck had not been properly anchored to the back of the house. The boards touching the house and the foundation have rotted away the trim on the outside of our home! Futhermore, there is a one foot by three foot section on the outside of our house that is COMPLETELY GONE! Totally rotted away, all the way down to the insulation. Gross.
If he hadn't removed the deck, we wouldnt even have known! We don't know how long it's been like this!
I have no idea how this can be fixed. He was originally very, very worried. But after some thought, Mike thinks he can fix it in no time. We'll see about that!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In other news: On Saturday we had a hailstorm here. That was pretty cool. I hadn't seen one in a long time. Hannah never had seen a hail storm before, either. She asked "Why is there stuff falling out of the sky, Mommy?" haha. The stones were about as big
Last night, while we were at Hannah's ballet recital, there were 60-65 mph winds in our town. We stayed inside the rest of the night! Some small tree branches fell, but nothing was damaged.
MIL left this morning. It was great having her here, but I always feel relieved to have the house back to myself. She is a wonderful Grandma, but she is a little too cleaning-obsessed. Do you REALLY need to vaccum every single day, scrub the kitchen floor daily, or wash each dish after every meal? Especially when you're in someone's else's house? I think not.
Two more weeks. I can make it two more weeks until my next appointment. Right?
I know I can, I know I can, I know I can....
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