Tuesday, July 26, 2005

I finally got in....

the pool! The heat won out today and I couldn't take it anymore. I finally stole a pair of Michelle's shorts and a tank top and went in. Getting in was NO problem...getting out... Weeeell, let's just say the kids got a giggle out of it. I could have probably gotten a job at Seaworld with my whale on the deck impersonation. We don't have a ladder going into the water from our deck (been asking Tom to get it built for quite a few days now). To get out requires you have to jump out of the water and hoist yourself onto the deck. No problem any other time but now....NO WAY! LOL I jumped up and got my belly onto the deck but couldn't put my weight forward so I could swing my legs up. It hurt my belly to rest on it. So I was stuck holding myself above the water, belly gently resting on the deck while I had to ask Liz to swing my legs up out of the water for me. She did it without too much laughing, although there were a few times I thought she was going under in a fit of giggles.

Being in the water felt GREAT! I was floating on my back, looking up at the blue blue sky thinking....this would be a great place to spend my at home time in labor. IF I could go into labor on my own. And IF I could labor AT home instead of the hospital. *heavy sigh* I probably shouldn't dwell on it too much or it'll get downright depressing.

I'd have to make sure that NO kids were allowed in with me. It seems that the whole time I was in the pool the kids thought it was time to talk my ear off. All I wanted to do was zone out, float around and relax in there. What I got was a blow by blow account of the movies that Jake or Carrie watched while away from home. Amongst a zillion....watch me Momma! Watch what I can do! No it's my turn to show mommy something! I was talking to her first. When will it be my turn?

I had to be rude and cut the blow by blows short. Asked them not to ruin the movies for me. I also had to remind them a few times that I was in the pool for ME and to relax. They let me be when I asked....for a few seconds at least

I'm wondering if the intense heat tomorrow will be enough for me to endure another day of ridicule from the masses. I guess I can always lock myself into my air conditioned bedroom. ;o)

Monday, July 25, 2005

OB visit and the rest of the weekend

She's TURNED!!! Today's sono showed that the baby is now head down. As my OB said..we're now in "Good to go" position. :o) I took Luke and Jake with me today and I'll say it was VERY interesting. Jake's mouth didn't stop for a second, he got pretty silly too. At least the dr seemed amused. Interestingly enough the dr put the baby's weight at the same weight it was 2wks ago. Like they say, it's just an estimate...but according to him...we're right on track.

My basic stuff was all good (I forgot to leave a urine sample after my sono though). I am back down to 210lbs and my blood pressure was 120/65. I told the dr I wasn't getting those numbers at home, he didn't seem too concerned. We talked about the peri's suggestions, he wasn't too impressed...just like I thought. His opinion...

* Not dropping the HCTZ...baby is peeing just fine and it's doing me a world of good.

* We ARE monitoring more closely with BPP being done. Not necessary to make it twice a week at this point in the game.

So it's proceed as usual. He didn't comment too much on my numbers but I know he likes them. So I'm still at 20units of insulin AM and PM. I'm still waiting for resistance to hit big time and it's not happening. I'll take it as a good thing though. Next appt is next Monday and there'll be another peek at the baby. Michelle, Val and Liz want to go in again because they missed out on peeking at the baby last visit.

The peds office called while I was gone. Val's urine sample must have grown something. They want her to continue taking her meds and come back into the office in a month to have another sample tested. She seems to be feeling better but still complains on and off that her back hurts. Guess it's a good thing she has an appt on the 8th with the urologist.

This weekend was quiet and cooler, although I was still hot! Saturday we got a bunch of laundry done but not all of it. We had the girl's friends in and out all day. Carrie went to R's house for the night. Sunday we went to church and Jake went to the O's house for the day. Shortly after I got home Tom's older brother called to ask if we wanted to go out to dinner and visit their mom....we scrounged up some money and went. BIL had a coupon...buy a dinner get one for $1.99 so we both ate well for under $19 including tip...not too shabby. MIL wasn't looking so hot. She's pretty week and her arm looks nasty. She went into the hospital on Wed night so that they could perform surgery on her on Thurs. Her fistula (huge vein that they give her dialysis through) had stopped functioning and they had to make her a new one. Her dr has squashed her hopes of having her cataracts done. He said it's too much on her system. She was SO looking forward to getting it done because she can hardly see anything. Dr asked her...would you rather see or be dead? YIKES!

Tonight and tomorrow I'm hoping to finish up a bunch of laundry and start washing FABRIC! After a high of 95+ tomorrow it's suppose to cool down to the mid 70's to low 80s for the highs, through the weekend...aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh! What better time to get some sewing done. I'd love to make the girls some clothes for school.

Luke and I (plus a few stragglers here and there) are still reading Harry Potter. We're over half done with the book and he's been bugging me to read it to him whenever he can. It's hard for him to pull himself away so he can go in the pool.

Time to start dinner.

Sunday, July 24, 2005

Carrie's story

I think I can finally start to put together the story of Carrie's journey toward a bone marrow transplant in 1997. I've tried to write this before but thought it was getting too technical and lengthy. Now I'll just link to terms and such instead of explaining them. I'd also like to say that hindsight is 20/20 so I'll quickly start in Sept of '96.

In Sept of '96 (she had just turned 2yo) we had a WIC appt in the beginning of the month. Carrie was required to get her iron and lead level tested for the year. When they drew a drop of blood from her finger and stuck it in the machine it came out that her iron was low. Her cousin had been tested just before her and also tested low. The nurse said that had happened a lot that day so we said it was probably the machine.

Jumping ahead to Thanksgiving of '96. Carrie had had typical fall colds and such. She also developed a HUGE lymph node/gland under one of her ears. It kept getting bigger and was hard. When I finally took her into the drs it was about the size of a walnut...it was abcessed. She was sent to a peds surgeon to have it lanced and drained. She had bloodwork before her surgery and nothing off was reported to us. For most of the winter she was a typical kid with typical winter illnesses.

In Feb of '97 we ALL got the flu. Carrie never seemed to recover fully after that. She would get better when on antibiotics but as soon as she was off she would get sick again (or so it seemed). She was fighting recurring ear infections, colds, fevers, her legs hurt. She was taking a lot of naps when she didn't before.

In March we were headed back to WIC. Because she had tested low at her last recertification, it was required she have her levels retested. This time her iron level was at a 9 when their allowable lowest was an 11. (none of my kids had ever tested under before) I told the dr at her next appointment for an ear infection a few days later. He put her on iron drops for a month. I never got her back in to get her ears rechecked until she was complaining of stomach pain on May 6th. I thought she had appendicitis. What she really had was pneumonia. I reminded the dr about the low iron level and the iron drops. He decided to draw her blood to see how the drops were working.

I got a phone call the next day from the peds office. I needed to take Carrie up to the University Hospital's pediatric oncology clinic. I froze where I stood when they said she was going to be seeing a Dr. Sw. I KNEW Dr Sw! He was the dr that took care of my niece who was diagnosed with leukemia (ALL) when she was 8! My heart sank into my stomach...what I'd been thinking in the back of my mind was really true.

We went up there. She was admitted with a red blood count of 6 (normal is 11+), double pneumonia, sinus infections in all her sinuses and 5th disease. We were told she had a rare bone marrow disease, Myelodysplastic Syndrome/Myelodysplasia (MDS), that is rarely seen in pediatric patients. (her dr said he'd be "lucky" if he saw it 3 times in his career...most reports claim there are less then 100 pediatric cases a year). It often and in Carrie's case was quickly proceeding to chemo resistant AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia) He told us that her only option was a bone marrow transplant. Tom, the kids and I all had our blood tested to see if we were a match to her.

She stayed in the hospital for a few days and the night we were released we found out that our oldest, Drew (13yo at the time) and the baby Jake (8mo) were perfect matches!!!! The chance of finding a match was 25%, that we had TWO matches was a miracle! It was decided that Drew would be her donor and we made arrangements for Carrie and I to go 350miles from home to the Dana Farber Clinic and Boston's Children's Hospital's Bone marrow transplant floor.

Within a week all her blood counts were at
VERY bad levels

Red at 6 (normal is 11+)
Platlets at 9,000 (normal is 150, 000 - 400, 000)
White was 32,000 (normal is 4,000-17,000)

My parents took the school aged kids, SIL...D, took Luke who was 4 (so he wouldn't have to be home alone and my mom could have some down time) until after school got out. My other SIL...C, took Jake for most of the summer (he stayed with the rest of the kids for some weekends). We arrived in Boston and were admitted for the transplant on May 27th. The actually tranplant didn't start until almost 2wks later because they decided she was too sick to start so they gave her a mini chemo treatment and mega doses of antibiotics. (her White count had doubled to 64,000 and the percentage of immature/cancerous cells had increased)

When we got to Boston we were told that she probably would have only survived
a little while longer without being diagnosed and being treated. They said if we opted to NOT go through with the transplant...we could "take her home and enjoy her for a few weeks". Some of her nurses named her the Golden Child because according to statistics she shouldn't have made it TO transplant much less get through it so well!!! And fly through it she did. There were a few scary times (another post/book in itself) but relatively she flew through the transplant process.

We were in Boston for 15wks. They wanted us to stay longer but took pity on us and let us go home in time for Carrie's 3rd birthday. (they were also confident in her medical care at the university clinic). She now has TWO birthdays....Sept 7th, the day she was born and June 20th, the day she was RE-born, thanks to Drew.

Carrie has done well since her transplant. She was on immune suppressing drugs for a year which meant she was on restrictions to the public for that amount of time too. She's had to have all her immunizations redone (some had to be re-redone as they didn't provide immunity after getting them post transplant). She is and will be dealing with long term problems (like cataracts) and risks (like secondary cancer) but on the radar they are small blips. She has a check-up every 6mos. She will never be considered cured but the further away from transplant we go, the less likely she'll relapse. (and she's over 8yrs out of transplant now!)

The timing and how things came about still amazes me! (we always seemed to be one step ahead of it) I had the WIC director crying (I was crying too) when I was telling her Carrie's story and how I give WIC credit for saving her life. If it wasn't for them we would have NEVER looked at her blood and seen she was sick until it was probably too late.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To show how easily this could have been different....

We became friends with another family. Who's 2.5 yo (birthday was two months
after Carrie's) had the same disease, the mother was pg with baby #8 (I had 8
at the time), and they also had 2 perfect marrow matches for him. He was not as sick as Carrie when the transplant started but ended up having a tough time growing his sister's marrow. He ended up relapsing within 6mos and passed away in Feb of '99. I think of them often as I watch Carrie growing up.

Friday, July 22, 2005

Late Update...

Val has a kidney infection and is on an antibiotic. At least that's what Tom THINKS the dr said. She seems to be feeling a lot better already. I guess the tylenol PM (with benedryl) knocked her for a loop most of the day. She was reluctant to take them last night. I assured her the effects would be gone by the time she woke up in the morning, and it seems to have.

I didn't do too good about making sure I was covered foodwise while out yesterday. I had my cleaning at the beginning of the appt and sat the rest of the time. We were in the office almost 3hrs and by the time Liz (last of the kids to be worked on) was called in I could feel my sugar was low. I tested and found myself at a 41. I ate 3 glucose tablets and got up to a 78.

As soon as Liz was done we headed to McDonald's for something to eat. I decided since I was so low to start with that french fries would be ok instead of a salad to go with my fish sandwich. I miss french fries! I ate too many and knew it. We stopped by my parent's house and while there I tested....got a 170 again! GRRRRR! I tested an hour later (so 2hrs after eating) and was a 95 so that was better. After dinner I was good at an 80 (1.5hrs after eating). Caloriewise I only hit 1,863. I fell quite a bit short on my protein.

My bloodpressure is slowly starting to increase. Lately it's consistantly been around the 136/82 range. I'm really hoping my OB will NOT agree with the peri on the HCTZ being dropped. It was the main thing that kept my pressure under control when I wasn't pg.

Today looks to be cooler with tomorrow even cooler yet! :o) I'm hoping to put a dent into the laundry and laundryroom. Maybe if I get some semblence of order in there Tom can find some space to work on my dryer and fix it! The clotheslines is working ok as long as I have someone around here to help me. I can't carry the heavy baskets up the stairs (which is VERY aggravating...never had this happen before). We tend to get more and more behind though because of the limited clotheline space.

I may just ditch working altogether though. I started reading the newest Harry Potter book to Luke on Wed and we're both itching to get back into it. I said we had to do some work first but it's not happening any too fast and reading time is awasting'!

Thursday, July 21, 2005

First day back on track

I did good with my meds and tracking. I did so so with my eating. I went over my calories by about 300. I didn't eat too much, just not the right stuff (fatty alfredo, bologna, salad dressing type of thing).

My numbers were...

Fasting....70
Breakfast....116
lunch........64
dinner.......115

So except for the low during lunch, the rest are fine. Today however...UGH!

I woke up to a 79 which was fine. What I did wrong was decide to have CEREAL for breakfast! I KNOW I don't do cereal (milk is most likely the culprit though) well. My after breakfast number is now at 179! Guess I won't be doing that again. And I guess I don't have to worry about my insulin needs going down anymore. Figures when I finally say something it proves me wrong.

Tuesday night Valerie started to complain that her back on the right side hurts. She was up all night last night in pain and now says both sides hurt. I finally got her to get to sleep around 6am with some tylenol PM. She's still groggy from the benedryl in it. I've called the peds office and she has a 2:40 appt. Tom is coming home 2hrs early to bring her there. I hope it's not another kidney stone or a kidney infection.

Yesterday was cooler but I was still HOT! This morning the kids were complaining it was cold in here...I thought it felt GREAT! I'm looking forward to Saturday where the high for the day is suppose to only be 78.

In half an hour we're off to the dentist office for the afternoon. Luckily I only have to get a cleaning. Liz, Carrie and Olivia are getting work done. I have to figure out how I'm going to make sure I eat right while out today and get ready to go. Will update later this evening if I can.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Perinatal Center Visit

It went pretty much how I thought it would...long and nothing new. I was to see the nutritionist at 12:45 and then the dr after that. The instructions stated to arrive 15mins early so I could register and square away the insurance stuff, which I did. I sat and sat and sat. Nurses came back from lunch and I thought...oh good, here we go, they're going to start calling us in (I was the 3rd person that arrived). They did but they bypassed me. Finally a woman walked in the office and asked for me. The nutritionists....her office was on the next floor up and NO ONE had told her I was there!! It was 1:25. I was brought into the back and had my vitals taken. I gained 2.5lbs (up to 216.8lbs) and my blood pressure was 136/79. We went up to her office and just skimmed over everything since I had already met with a nutritionist at the beginning of the pregnancy. The appt lasted about 10mins tops. I was then brought back to the peri office.

I didn't wait long before they called me back and brought me to a room. A nurse came in almost immediately to take my history and make a copy of my glucose log. (which did NOT have this weeks few numbers in it) When she was done she said the dr would be in shortly. I waited and waited and waited...finally about 2:30 the dr with a few students came in. He gave me the rundown about what he's suggesting to my OB. Things he mentioned...

* If I continue to have great control I COULD be allowed to go to 39 or 40wks.
* My HCTZ (water pill/diuretic) should probably be discontinued as it also acts as a diuretic on the baby.
* If size or placenta function start to be in question before 38wks an amniocentisis is recommended to check for lung maturity. After 38wks it's not "needed".


I then asked him why my insulin needs would decrease now instead of increase. He suggested that we could have upped my dosage too much. I let him know I was fine for quite a while over what I'm currently on before we lowered it. I also let him know that my needs seem to be decreasing again. I also admitted that I haven't been eating correctly or taking my readings regularly. The only other thing that could potentially be the problem is placental dysfunction/deterioration. So he tune changed to....

* Be watched CLOSELY, to the point of being checked twice a week.
* NST and BBP done at each visit
* Consider an amnio at 36wks to check for lung maturity with the thought of inducing if it shows the lungs to be mature.

Because I wasn't going to be seen by my OB until Monday he asked if I minded getting a quick u/s to check amniotic fluid and get hooked up to the monitor for a NST. I agreed and into another room we went. The u/s shows the baby is still transverse and still has her head near my right hip. She's still very clearly a she. Amniotic fluid looked good, as did the heart. I was hooked up to the NST monitor for about 10mins. The baby was going crazy (dr admitted he could see she was moving tons while we were talking) and she reacted exactly as they'd wanted. I was then sent on my way. Appointment ended at 3:15.

Now to see what my OB has to say about the peri's suggestions and thoughts. Me, I'm bound and determined to get my nose back to the grindstone. This means to remember my insulin and meds, eat correctly and when I'm suppose to, and to track it all so I can be sure I am. I do have a minor problem at the moment....I've misplaced my glucose meter AGAIN! So I'll have to find that tonight. Guess I need to offer the kids a reward again.

Just thought I'd add...Michelle found my glucose meter at 9:50pm. It was in the livingroom corner, in the sock tote.

Monday, July 18, 2005

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAN!!

Ok....I'm 2 days late, sorry! Eileen's 7th birthday was Saturday and unfortunately got a bit overlooked because of the party. But not entirely, after all she had a LOT of people at her party too! ;o)

Michelle asked me NOT to have anything written on her graduation cake because she wanted it to be Eileen's cake too. We all sang Eileen happy birthday and quite a few people at the party ended up forking over some dough to her that normally wouldn't have. (a few people brought her gifts also) Michelle and her friends were great to Eileen and made sure she knew that THEY knew it was her special day too. One of Michelle's friends who is a BIG kid hoisted her up onto his shoulders so she could be the tallest person at the party. I don't know how he could keep her up there so long and still have a working back, but he did. She was tickled.

Now onto Eileen's birth story.
Her stats...

Eileen Jane
July 16, 1998
3:45pm
8lbs 7oz

Since coming up with the idea of writing out birth stories on their birthdays this year I've been a bit bugged by the thought of writing Eileen's birth story. As hard as I've tried since March to think of it, I don't recall a lot of details of her pregnancy and birth. I guess that could be construed as a good thing and that things were perfectly boring and normal.

At my first prenatal appointment we talked about Jake's birth (story coming in a few weeks) and how it wasn't a great experience. How we'd do things differently and what to avoid so it wouldn't happen again. Since I had Gestational diabetes with the last 2 pregnanccies, I was following the diet and treated as though I had GD from the beginning. We never did do any of the glucose tolerance testing...lucky me! My blood pressure wasn't too much a problem until the last few weeks. I did keep track of it at home and restricted myself when it seemed to be climbing. I also made sure I laid on my left side a few times a day.

The induction was scheduled for my due date. We arrived a while after they said to because I knew I'd have to wait through shift change and report before they'd even talk to me. They finally hooked me up around 9am and the pitocin was slowly started. I spent a lot of time in the rocking chair and walking around the room. Around 2 they came in to break my water and it did the trick. I went from 2cm to 4 in about an hour. At 3:15 I asked for some pain medication. We had talked about staying away from the Demerol and going with Stadol instead. I was nervous about having it since the demerol messed up my labor with Jake. I got the shot and started feeling woozy, like a really strong drink had just hit me all at once. Almost as soon as I felt it starting to hit I also started feeling pressure. They broke everything down and got ready in record time. I then started pushing and she was born in 2 pushes. Tom cut the cord.

He brought her over to me to see and I didn't trust myself to hold her because of how groggy I felt. I heard a nurse in the background agree that I looked a bit drunk still. Tom helped me give her a snuggle, a kiss and examine her to be sure everything was as it should be. Then I merrily went off into a post delivery snooze being wrapped in my nice warm heated blankets to ward off the shakes.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

The party's OOOOOVER

It went well! I didn't get EVERYTHING done that I wanted (don't think that will EVER happen) but the house looked nice enough. Drew, Michelle and Val really helped out a lot these last few days. Not as many people showed up but that's ok, it was a really decent size crowd. I have a good bit of leftovers and learned a few things for next time that will make things easier and better. I got a lot of compliments on the spread. :o)

We had....

BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches
Hot meatball subs
Italian Sausage
Green peppers and onions
Salt Potatoes with real butter
Baked Beans
Salads
Fruit
Pasta
Tossed chef
Macaroni
Potato
Coleslaw
Snacks

I bought a full sheet cake from BJ's Wholesale Club which was very good.

What we didn't cook...

2 pork loin roasts (20lbs worth)
6pkgs hot dogs
80 hamburgers
1/2 the meatballs still in the freezer
2 lg pkgs of sweet and hot italian sausage in the fridge I forgot about

One of the things I learned is in this heat you HAVE to ice down the fruit and pasta salad. And I should have put them out in smaller batches. I love fruit and pasta salad because of the lack of safty concerns. The pasta salad did ok but I could have had leftovers of that if I had managed it differently. I ended up dumping a ton of it because all of it was out all day. The fruit salad is what really surprised me. By the time I got a bowl of it about 4ish the salad was starting to turn sour. Granted the container was almost empty but there were quite a few bowls left in there still. Also if I had had this yucky bowl of salad...so did other people. I threw away my bowl and broke out the second huge container of it. By the time we brought THAT one in at night it was starting to turn. That container wasn't so empty though. I would have LOVED a bowl of fruit for breakfast this morning *sniff sniff*

I didn't tend to things like I normally would since I was tired, it was extremely hot and just because I'm pg and it's hard to move! LOL While the salads were safe they weren't kept as iced as I would have normally kept them. So most of the salads that were out were dumped at the end of the evening. Luckily I did put those out in small batches so we have leftovers of those...not tons though...just enough.

I think next time I won't bother with the 18qt roasters, crockpots, electric warming trays. It's just too hard to maintain a reliable outdoor electrical supply. We had so many things to plug in that we kept tripping the power strip and the circuit breaker. The things in the chaffing dishes with sterno kept the food HOT with minimal effort. All we had to do was change the sterno cans ever 2hrs. So I'll be using the chaffing and sterno method more often.

The pool wasn't totally clear but everyone went swimming anyways. It was so hot that they even went in with jeans on! LOL I was tempted to jump in with my skirt on but the thought of hoisting myself up out of the pool....or better yet having to have someone else boost me out stopped that thought. (We never got the inside pool ladder thrown together) I still haven't found a pair of shorts to wear, although I also haven't tried to look for them very hard.

The end of this week has been a huge hot blur but I'm glad everything was done. I keep thinking...I'm THAT much closer to getting my nesting done for this baby :o) It's nice to start looking at the house and think of something besides doing the basics. I still have a lot of things to get done around here before the end of the summer though. I may even get some sewing started but not this week or so...have tons of dentist and doctor appts.

We did a bunch of work Thursday morning and headed out to grocery shop around 5pm. I was worried that it would take me ALL night long. It lasted about as long as a regular whole shopping trip takes..5hrs. Trying to find a place for everything was a chore though.

Friday was Tom and Drew's turn to run a bunch of errands and I sent them with a list of things I forgot. Unfortunately they forgot a few key ingredient for dishes and I had to send Drew back out for them. It delayed me a little while but that was ok because it was when the house was the hottest. I stayed out and visited with Tom and watched the kids go swimming (my 3 neices were here also). Due to the delay though I was up WAAAY longer then I wanted to be. I finally made myself go to bed around 4:30am. I was back up on Saturday around 8 or so and right back at it. I finally took my shower while my sister cleaned out the huge coffee pot around 1:45. Luckily only a few people were here for me to be rude toward.

Amazingly I felt decent during the party! I even played a 20min round of DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) on the Playstation2 around midnight. I drove a group of boys home around 2am and then sat with the girls before they headed to the 24hr drivein at McDonald's around 3. Tom and I finally went to bed around 4.

I've been dragging all day today and my feet are the biggest they've been. Luckily not too much needed to be done. I did drive the girls to the mall so Michelle could spend some of her graduation presents. She was/is in desperate need of some new clothes. We pretty much just hung out and ate leftovers all day.

That brings me to my pregnancy and insulin needs. I have NO idea what is going on!!! In all the commotion of the last few days I haven't taken any insulin or done my meds (which doesn't help my swelling any). I ate cake, candy, whatever I wanted and tested my glucose well within an hour after eating most of it...it was 97!!! Same thing today. (sssshhhh...I had my first soda today since Christmas) I even woke up to a fasting of 83 this morning. I'd be really worried if this baby wasn't moving around so much but she's pretty active. I'm really not too sure what I'm doing or going to do. I need to take a few kids to the dentist in the afternoon. If I do my insulin and need to start fighting lows all day that might be difficult. Not to mention driving could be dangerous in that situation. UGH!!! This is driving me crazy! My peri appt is Tues but I want to cancel again, although I'll probably be a good girl and go anyways. I wish I could just call the OB, have them take a look at me, tell me what's up and be on my way! Of course I don't have many numbers to prove what I'm talking about either. I guess I'll just have to call and talk to the OB in the AM.

Well I'm extremely hot, tired and my blood pressure is a bit up. So heading off to bed in my air conditioned room now. I don't know what I would have done this pregnancy and summer without my new A/C! Thank you Grandpa!

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Quick OB appt this morning

Michelle, Val and Liz went with me this morning. Unfortunately it was a quick and boring visit without a peek at the baby. I lost a pound so am at 213. My blood pressure was 116/78. I have NO idea why it's always so low at their office! LOL I haven't been keeping track of it at home this week. For the last few weeks though it's been consistantly higher then that. He said my sugar numbers were good and kept my insulin doseage the same. I really have NO clue why my insulin needs aren't increasing like they should be. I guess I'll just have to live with it lol. I asked Dr B when he starts to get concerned about a transverse baby. He said about 36wks. After that the baby has a 50/50 chance of turning (sounds like a pat OB answer if you ask me ;o))

After the appt we stopped by Little Ceasars for a $5 pepperoni pizza. YUM! We haven't had pizza in quite awhile and it was good! We then stopped by the dollar store to pick up a few things. We were home by 12:30. :o)

I tried to get a few things done around here this afternoon but it was HOT! I would work for a little bit then go lay in my room and then do it again. The kitchen and bathroom aren't done but we plan on getting it finished tomorrow morning. Just hope the heat cooperates long enough.

In the evening I made a deal with the kids, if they weeded the eggplant garden and the back center flower garden, I'd give them money to spend at the snack bar during the church's summer conference (first weekend of Aug.) We demolished the weeds in no time flat. Well we still have a small area in the flower garden to deal with. It was getting too dark to see and the mosquitos were feasting on us. So that's another thing for tomorrow morning. While weeding we were talking about how easy the work was with all of us working together. I told them that's why large families used to be popular WAY back when....so there was plenty of help around the house/farm. I think they were glad they were born in the era that they were.

I will be able to run the pool filter in the morning!!!!! :oD The water is into the skimmer and the filter is filled! It's not quite high enough to not suck in air though. Tomorrow morning it should be where I need it to be. So I'll be vacuuming the pool in the morning too. Hopefully we can all be swimming in the afternoon! I have to find some shorts to wear before I can go in though. Wearing a skirt in the pool isn't such a good idea. ;o)

Boy! It better be a loooooong morning if I'm going to get everything done! I'm suppose to do the grocery shopping for the party tomorrow evening. So I think it might be a long day, no matter how long the morning is.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Melting but moving along

The heatwave continues and it's HOT here! (current feels like temp is 101 and the sweat is dripping off of me) It makes it hard for us and especially me to work but we seem to be moving forward with party prep plans. If things go according to my plans we should be completely done with house prep tomorrow. I may push it back so that we work on Thurs, it depends on the heat and how we can tolerate it.

The pool is ALMOST filled!! WOOHOOO! The water is up to the skimmer face plate so only an inch or two more is needed. Unfortunately the house well also needs water right now so the pool is on hold until tomorrow morning. Hopefully tomorrow night we can start the pump and vacuuming. Tom has been shocking it so the water looks clear. It's just the bottom that's a mess.

Yesterday was Tom's birthday. The girls made him a cake and we roasted ribs for his birthday dinner. We didn't do much else celebrating wise. I feel sorry for him, he always seems to get shortchanged when it comes to his birthday. I'm going to have to plan on throwing him a huge party for his 50th birthday (only 3 more years)

Michelle and Liz helped finish the painting. We dediced to rag paint the large bathroom. It took a lot longer then if I'd just painted it with a pad. I was wide awake at 3AM yesterday morning. I tried to force myself back to sleep but it wasn't working. I got up and painted the smaller bathroom. It's so small it only took about 1.5hrs to do 2 coats. I ran out of paint (we only bought a quart of mistinted peach) before I could finish the 2nd coat over the tub surround. Hopefully the shower curtain and valance will hide that for the day. LOL

Tom has the yard and gardens looking NICE! I don't know how he can work out in this heat, I guess he's used to it. He's been doing it almost every weekday for over 23yrs.

I've made lists upon lists for this weekend. I can never keep them around long enough to do any good (although the chore lists everyday help a LOT). I think I finally have the menu and grocery list figured and written out. Now to just keep it until Thursday and Friday when I can go shopping.

Tomorrow is my next OB appt. I'm not sure if I'll be doing another BPP or not. Michelle, Val and Liz are going with me. They're hoping they can get a peek at the baby. I haven't been keeping great track of my glucose numbers this week. I'm almost to the point of wanting to "forget" my glucose log book at home this week. lol

The kitchen counters are calling me. Time to go.

Sunday, July 10, 2005

They ROCKED!

[the shift] Website in the making

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Guitar (l to r)...Mike, Brian, Drew
Drums...Matt
Keyboard...Laura (hidden behind Mike)

We had a fun night Friday night. Drew and his band played well and sounded GREAT! What a difference from the last time I heard them a year or so ago. They've been practicing a LOT and it shows. They played from 9 until 12:30, 3 sets and a ton of songs. The 3rd set was face melting rockin' like they promised. They've been asked to return to the Marina for at least one more time, possibly 2. The owner of another bar was there to scope them out and I hope something comes of it. They were asked for a demo or two from people with connections. It was a great experience for them and they are super excited at what may be in the future. Here's a closeup of Drew during the last set.

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Tom and I ended up sitting with Tom's brother B and his wife M (laura's parents). We didn't get a chance to talk much since the kids were rocking so loud but we still had fun. Tom and I ordered the appetizer sampler which would've been enough for us had we known (good to know for next time though). We also each had a haddock sandwich with TONS of homemade chips...yum! Now we know a neat place to go to have a snack and some beverages that's nearby when we want to do something together. We got home close to 1AM and fell into bed. Drew got home about 3.

Saturday was a BUSY day. Michelle and I finished making up the meatballs for the subs. I think we have enough for 110 to 120 sandwiches. Drew and I started painting. I did the majority of it although Drew still has things he'll be painting. I got the hallway, livingroom and majority of the kitchen done. I cheated and didn't paint the ceiling first in the kitchen though. So that still needs to be done. I was SORE by the time I went to bed!!!

This morning (after I'm done with this actually) Tom and I are headed out to Lowe's to pick up some things we need to finish projects around here. One of them being the pool ladder! It's getting up there although I wish it was DONE. Hopefully the filter can be turned on midweek so we can get it sparkling clean in time for the party. My todo list is HUGE for today! My ride is waiting for me....update later.

Friday, July 08, 2005

Friday night excitement

Tonight's the night. It's the night that Drew and his band play at their first paying gig. It's at a restaurant in the local marina. Drew was really excited when he realized that the restaurant even advertised that they'd be playing. Granted it was in the local shopper, but it's still exciting. I'm so nervous for them! An owner from another place they've given a demo to is planning on being there to see whether they are good enough for his place or not. I guess there may even be the newspaper reporter who does the local music scene section there. Tom and I are planning on going over to see them. We may even splurge and have something to eat. I told Tom we could consider it the anniversary celebration we never had. :o)

I did an UH OH this morning. At least I think I did. I THINK I forgot my insulin dose this morning but can't be sure. So to be on the safe side I have to act like I did take it. My sugars still running on the low side so I can't be sure if I did or didn't by my numbers. Oh well, at least they aren't going sky high on me. It just bugs me that I could do something like that. I took my meds this AM, had some peanut butter toast and took a shower. After my shower I decided to lay back down and fell asleep. I can't remember if I took it before I ate when I took my meds. Or I'd planned on doing it after my shower but never got to it.

I made up a huge list of small jobs that needed to be done around here and posted them on the wall. All the kids got to look at the list, pick a job then cross it off and put their inital next to it. I told them I'd think of prizes but haven't figured it out yet. They did a great job and the house is looking nice. Now if they can just keep it like this!

Michelle and I made up half the burger I have for meatballs. We made the meatballs a bit bigger then I was planning on. I figured because I used 75% burger they'd shrink and they didn't as much as I thought they would. We have enough meatballs for about 60 sandwiches (figuring 3 meatballs per sub) We didn't finish the job because I ran out of breadcrumbs and parm cheese and didn't feel like improvising. Tom bought it on the way home from work so we'll finish them up tomorrow morning. What we did make is now flash freezing on cookie sheets in the newly defrosted upright freezer in the basement! :o)

Pat and I redid the outlet of the pool. Not sure if that's the proper name, it's the hole where water comes back into the pool from the pump after it's filtered. Drew and Pat had inserted it through the new liner but it wouldn't let them screw it tightly to the pool wall. I finally bothered to ask if they CUT the liner before inserting it or just punctured it through. Seems they punctured it, so there was tons of liner on the threads of it. We took it off again, I cut the liner and it went back on nice and tight like it should. I was getting nervous because the water is about 3 inches from the bottom of this hole. Now I can relax! I still have to pull apart and check the filter. I'm not sure what condition it was put away in, since I didn't put it away. I'm hoping to do it tomorrow. I know we'll have to divert the well from the pool to the house well soon and it's killing me. But we have to have water to live. I'm hoping we'll be able to run the filter by Monday though! Depends on how needy the house is.

Tom is home from work and is now off until the 18th! I think I'm more excited for him then he is for himself. LOL Guess the huge honey-do list doesn't make it any too exciting. Hopefully Drew can start and get quite a bit of the painting done tomorrow.

This morning was different pregnancywise. I woke up at 5AM and couldn't get back to sleep. I did a bunch of things around here and jumped in the shower before anyone woke up...about 7:30. As I was getting into the shower I noticed my back was getting tight and it was going into my belly. By the time I finished my shower I was feeling nauseated and my belly hurt all along my diaphram. My sugar and blood pressure were GREAT so I went to rest in bed for a while. After about 20mins I fell asleep and slept about an hour. I felt better after I woke up but I've noticed a bunch of bh here and there, moreso then other days. Seems a bit early, especially for me, but guess I'm into that lovely grand multi-para time of easily egged on BH's with occassional real ones popping in here or there.

I'll update on how our "date" and Drew's gig went when I get home.

Thursday, July 07, 2005

Ahhhhhhhh!

I'm SO glad I canceled Carrie's appt for tomorrow. It's nice when I realize I don't have to go anywhere anytime too soon. We're working around here. Not sure if it's enough or anything toward getting ready for the party but oh well. At least stuff's getting done.

I'm working without a dryer still. It's a good thing we have an outside clothesline. The plus side is my propane bill is small this month! :o) I haven't even asked Tom to look at it since he's been so busy outside. Plus digging out the old clothes has left a pile in front of the dryer. So I have to get down in the basement to do that...tonight hopefully.

I also have to make meatballs tonight. Although I suppose tomorrow would be ok too. We're in the middle of defrosting the upright freezer in the basement. It doesn't close very tightly which makes us tend to lose shelves as the frost takes over more and more. (hey it was junkpicked...you get what you pay for lol) I think we were down to 2 shelves out of 5 or 6. Tom is suppose to rig up a latch so it shuts tighter.

I realized this morning...I still haven't sent out invites to certain sides of our families!!! YIKES! I got sidetracked into thinking it was done when I passed them out at my uncle's on Sunday. I never sent anything to either of Tom's side and I forgot about my mom's side. Guess I need to do that now and maybe even make some calls to let them know before it's too late. I'm such a procrastinator!

The pool filling has been on hold for a day while we run the pump to the house well. I'm hoping to turn it back to the pool this evening. The water is JUST to the tips of the top pattern of the liner. It's still a bit from the skimmer though. I've been tempted to go out and measure it exactly. I'm afraid I'll get too discouraged if I do though. I look at the pool and hear ticktocking in my head. Time's a wastin'! I MAY resort to drastic measures and PAY for water to be delivered if this takes too much longer!

One more day until Tom is on vacation. I'm not sure why I'm getting so excited for him. I may be singing a different tune as the party gets closer. We both tend to get shouty when things get tight. Even if I do work best under pressure.

Drew started working with his friend M. He's painting a house for an hourly rate. I'm not sure how long it'll last but it's better then nothing. He still has to paint here too though. I've made a deal that if he paints the main part of the interior then I'll pay for his car insurance this month. I think it's a win win situation.

Pat is gone starting Friday! He's going up north with his girfriend J's family for the week. Seems he has his own life now. It's at a point where we're not high on the priority list. I know that does and will change over time, I've seen it in my own life. Just can seem weird when it's happening. He will be here for the party so that's good.

Well Tom's home from work so I should look like I'm ATTEMPTING to make some progress around here.

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Oh my aching sciatica!!!

My buttocks and hips do NOT like laying on a u/s table! When it was time for me to get up off the table after my u/s today they were SCREAMING! I'm not looking forward to that part of this pregnancy. So what did the 31wk u/s show?

* The baby is still a girl
* She weighs about 4.75lbs now (2200grams)...big but not TOO big
* All body parts and organs accounted for and looking fine
* Amniotic fluid levels are AOK
* She's lying transverse!

PLEASE people, let me know it's no big deal that she's sideways this far along. I know with Luke he turned out of the breech position at 39wks. Thing is...I don't have a ton of amniotic fluid like I did with him (had polyhydraminos) so Luke had tons of room to turn. I am NOT going to make it that far into this pregnancy, since I'll be induced at or before 38wks. Why does it seem more impossible to me for her to turn 90 degrees (I don't care WHICH way the turn is at this time...just as long as she does) then it did for Luke to turn 180 degrees?

The regular appt stuff was good. I gained back 3 more pounds so I'm back to my first appt weight of 214. Not really what I wanted to see or hear but I can't complain. My blood pressure finally registered at a half way decent pressure for them. 126/76...that's the low end of what I've been getting at home. He didn't mention anything about it so I'll take that as it's fine. Even if it's higher then I've been reading at their office.

We talked about my insulin and he was surprised I was down to 20units on my own. He attributed the lower needs to the fact that I must be eating better then earlier weeks. Ummmm....no! (and I told him that too) I've been eating lousy actually. Mostly to avoid coming near a low. I'm still staying under the 140 at 1hr after meals level though. I think the fact that I gained so much in the last week would prove that I'm not eating smartly. I AM going to do better this week....I mean it!

He mentioned the peri center visit and acted as though it was a slight waste of time. He said they'll say...tons of biophysical profiles (BPP). Basically what he was planning on doing. I asked him what his schedule is for pg diabetics in the last trimester. He said we've already started the BPPs and they'd be done almost every week now. The non-stress tests(NST) won't start until the 36th week. This surprised me because I've always started them about now. He explained that he's found a lot of false nonreactive NSTs when done before 36wks, mostly due to fetal immaturity. I've had that happen and could see that. It's a lot easier to get a good strip in the later weeks then the earlier ones. I'm heading back into his office in a week.

I'm feeling a bit more relaxed about the grad party now. I got on the phone this morning and cancelled ALL my appts from now until the 18th. I don't have to go into the big city on Fri, Mon, next Wed or Fri! :oD The only appt I have is my OB appt next Wed. I realized after I rescheduled Carrie's appt this Friday that I have to REMAKE it again. lol I rescheduled it for the middle of our church's summer conference. At least it's not imperative that it be done anytime soon...just that it gets done. The peri center just called me back to reschedule my appt. It seems I'll be paying for my cancelations during the week of the 18th since I have appointments every day but Friday that week! LOL Oh well, maybe I can reschedule one of the other appts for Friday to fill it up. ;o)

Yesterday was a good day work wise. I just wish it didn't look undone so quickly! I even got out and weeded 2 flower beds last night. I finally made the kids their raspberry cobbler this morning before I left. They've only been waiting Monday night for it. LOL Tonight I have to make up and freeze a bunch of meatballs from the burger I bought at Walmart today.

The pool is coming along SLOOOOOOWLY! The water level is about 6 inches below the skimmer now. We'll have to divert the supply well to the house well tonight but at least it's getting SOME water. I'm hoping we can start running the filter by the start of next week. The water was a swampy green until Tom threw in some diluted shock treatment last night. Now it's a sickly gray. It's a repeat of the pool saga of 2004. *heavy sigh*

Tom took today off. He got bit under his eye by something the other day and it was almost swollen shut this morning. He has to work Thurs and Fri and then is off until the 18th! :o) I can't say it's much of a vacation since he'll be working toward getting ready for the party mostly. It'll still be good to have him home.

Well time to get something done around here.

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Weekend Antics

It's been busy and to top it off the stomach bug hit a few more of us, me included. I HAD to go to the 4th of July/Halloween party that a guy at Tom's shop threw on Saturday. I tried to keep to myself (easy to do when you know hardly anyone). Why I had to go was because Tom was on call and had to take his work truck. If he was called into work there'd be no adults with the kids, not a good situation. I don't think J and K would relish the idea of watching so many kids they hardly knew during their huge shindig.

The party was unbelieveable! K went all out for the kids, they came home LOADED with presents and treats! I don't know what she would have done if we hadn't gone since our kids were the majority of all the kids (except older teens...there were a decent size group of those there). Everytime they turned around the kids were opening something (yes, she wrapped them all!) They even went trick or treatin'. She had adults stationed at popups, sheds, screenhouses, etc. The kids had to run around the yard and visit all the places for treats. It was neat. We didn't stay for the fireworks though :o(. The mosquitos were REALLY bad out, Michelle had been in the van resting for a while (she didn't feel so hot either...was finishing it up), and we found out AFTER we got there that Val's friend, J had to be home by 9pm!

It was a good thing we left because on the way home I really did feel lousy. I think a bit of it had to do with not eating so great and my sugar being on the verge of being too low all day. I do have to admit it was pregnancy stuff...backache, BH contrax, etc. We got home about 9:15...I walked in the front door, unzipped my skirt on the way to my bedroom, kicked it off once I got in there and fell into bed for a rest. I ended up staying there all night. This means I never did my nighttime meds/insulin...oops. Although with my sugar being so low all day it might have been a good thing to avoid. At least I didn't wake up with my sugar skyhigh.

Saturday was a slooooow day since I was still feeling sluggish and a bit achey. I would do something and then go lay down for a few minutes. I finally managed to get us out the door to go to my uncle's cookout around 3:30 or 4. I had already told everyone we wouldn't be there until later as I didn't think I could do all day AND night. We DID want to stay for the fireworks this time. He lives on the lake and EVERYONE along the lake has HUGE bonfires and tries to outdo each other's fireworks. I'm not sure when it happened but I felt really good all night!

A lot of my relatives didn't know that I was expecting. The last time I'd seen them was Christmas, just before I found out I was pg. SURPRISE! LOL I heard ONE bad comment and it wasn't even to my face so to speak. As I was walking up toward the house to use the bathroom one of my cousins (who is #3 of 7 kids btw and as a kid I used to hang out/spend the night with the most) scoffed under her breath and laughed...Oh shit! I ignored her.

Something happened to cause a rift between us. Although I'm not sure what it was I think I have a good idea what it is....SHE'S JEALOUS!!! I think she has/had a crush on Tom, at least when I first started going out with him. She'd always make comments about how he looked and such. After we became engaged she stopped talking to me without being made to. (and I so do love to force her to talk to me lol) When I was VERY pg with Michelle....#3! She told me....Tell Tom to put a cork in it! and walked away. I can only feel sorry for her. She's divorced with a 12yo girl the same age as Luke (they were always buddies at family things...but I think age made that a no go this year lol)

My dad's youngest sister (who tends to be sarcastic...gee think it's a family trait? lol) looked at me and said...KIM!! WHAT are you doing!?!?! I looked at her, threw my hands out to the side, shrugged my shoulders with a dumbfounded look on my face and said...I DON'T KNOW!!!! She asked whether I was going back to school or not now. I told her it was on hold. We then had a nice conversation about how things can take an unexpected turn and it be for the better.

Where my uncle is the bay is very shallow for a looong time. So there's not tons of swimming, mostly wading and sitting in the water. My sister and I had a nice time sitting on the dock and talking while the kids were out. There was tons of food and I think I did ok, although I cheated, but not too bad. The fireworks were great and we went home....without Jake's sneaks, right after they were done. Yep, Jake lost his sneakers at my uncle's house. I had everything in one place so it would be easy to find in the dark. Everything it seems but Jake's sneaks. We searched the yard with a flashlight before left and still didn't find them. I haven't called my uncle to see if he found them. I'll just buy him a cheap substitute for the summer since it'll cost us that much in gas money to go pick them up (lives about 60miles away).

Sunday I wasn't feeling so hot again. I'm not sure why. I felt great when I woke up but as the day wore on my stomach started getting upset again. We spent most of it sitting around and watching each other play video games. What a bunch of bums! I told them to all get their playing in then because there would be no playing on Tuesday...it's a work day!

And on that note I need to get off here. It's just past the 10am deadline I gave everyone last night. I told them they had until 10 to get up, eat and get ready to work. I think there's a few stragglers down the hall still (older kids...surprise!)

I've had a few requests to explain about Carrie's medical situation. I love sharing her story and will as soon as I get a few extra minutes. I'm not sure when it'll be though because I'm swamped the next two weeks with dr, dentist appts and grad party prep. 10 days until the party! I think I'm starting to stress out a little about it. But not too bad. I work best under pressure anyways...so it's a good thing. LOL

Friday, July 01, 2005

Home for the evening....

Carrie's clinic appointment went well. Her NP was glad to see her come down a little on the weight percentile chart. She also came down on the growth chart though. We're hoping it's a prepubscent slowdown in growth and not a trend. She's coming into the main timeframe where being short on growth hormones would affect her. I asked a lot of questions about puberty. When she's 12 they'll be testing her hormone levels so it's a tad early right now. Her NP seems to think there's a possiblity of everything being fine. (even having healthy eggs!?) Boston on the other hand has always made it seem that there is NO chance of her hitting puberty without hormone therapy. Healthy eggs would be unheard of. Her next appt with them is 6mos and for the first time we may be skipping the bloodwork portion of the visit! She said unless something funky shows up with this appt's bloodwork or during the next physical we won't do it.

Everyone was shocked that I was pg again. K, one of the longtime nurses there kinda put me on edge with her reaction. Those pg hormones were trying to switch into crybaby mode pretty quickly. She was all laughing and you've got to be kidding me type of thing. Like I was a clueless dolt. She did come up and ask how I was doing and talk with me about the pg a bit more. So it might have just been MY perception of it. Carrie's NP didn't say anything until after I answered her...any big changes in the house lately? With...we're going to have a new baby in the house in 8 more weeks. She said she THOUGHT I was walking like I was pg but she wasn't sure if I was. She was afraid of saying something and being wrong so kept quiet. LOL I know I was a bit overweight but not THAT bad! I tried to think of it as I look better now then I did last time I saw her so she was confused. ;o) At least she was excited for us. If nothing else I gave them something to talk about for the day.

We left the dr's and went to visit my parents. My dad seems to be doing well. He's free of oxygen and is out in his garden a lot more (no major work from him though..he's being a good boy). We talked a bit about his diabetes since he just had another appointment with the nutritionist. He's still pretty clueless about things, and it's not so pressing for him that he understand it. It's frustrating at times to talk to him.

We then ran to the dollar store where I bought some accessories for our costumes for Sat's party. It's been decided....

Olivia....a princess dressed in all purple, complete with purple jewlery and a tiny tiara.
Eileen....a beach girl with her tshirt bathing suit, a swim ring around her waist, snorkle, mask and flipper set.
Jacob.....Western Sheriff complete with lone ranger mask, badge, gun, bullets (can't be shot out of gun though) and spurs
Carrie....a cheerleader with pleated jean skirt, pompoms, megaphone and hair ribbons.
Luke......FBI/present day sheriff with sunglasses, badge, gun, handcuffs
Me........a bug...HUGE sunglasses for eyes, headband with puff antenaes, wings and a bug net.

Left to decide before noon on Saturday....Liz, Val, Michelle, Pat, Drew and Tom. I'm not sure if Pat and Drew are going though.

Last stop was the grocery store for a quick run through. I bought 20-25lbs of chicken thighs to make up BBQ pulled chicken for the grad party. If I change my mind before the 16th, we'll put it to use eventually. I kicked myself when leaving the store though...I forgot to get some important rainchecks. I didn't feel I could go back in and wait for them though because I had a 35+min ride with popsicles and ice cream getting soft.

Somehow the well was run dry overnight. I checked it last evening and it was at a fairly high level. Before I left for the dr's it was sputtering and spurting. I'm thinking someone might have forgotten to check the toilet that likes to run before they went to bed. I had to have Michelle turn off the well in the basement that's used to pump water through the house. So they had to function without running water for the day. Luckily they had bottled drinking water to use. It's so irritating to think that you've got the system down. I was sure we could keep the house supplied AND feed the pool (it's about a third filled). Guess not! Grrrrr!

When I called to check on things this afternoon, Val assured me that Eileen and Olivia had arrived home safely from berry hunting. She then told me they brought home a bucket of smooshed berries that they aren't sharing. When I asked where the berries were, Val turned to Eileen and asked her..."where is the bucket of berries". Eileen's response...."You're NOT getting any!!!" End of story. LOL I still haven't seen them myself. I'm hoping they are history and not fermenting up in their bed or some other interesting place. So much for kids from TOK families learning/knowing how to share. ;o)

They're getting so big!!!

Eileen and Olivia went berry picking (or hunting as they call it) this morning. Their ride was coming between 9 and 9:30, they woke me up at 8 to ask how long they had. LOL In the next 45 mins they managed to get their own clothes, make, eat and pickup breakfast (Olivia had a ham, mayo and lettuce sandwich LOL), brush their teeth and hair and be on the front steps waiting at 8:45. How do I know all this if I was still in bed? Because they came in every few mintues to update me on their progress! LOL I think it would have been easier to just get up with them. I was being lazy though since I didn't get to bed until after 4am this morning. I was being held hostage by the Final Fantasy X game on the Playstation! I SO didn't want to quit by my body was shutting down and I knew I had to be alert for Carrie's clinic appt (and city driving) this afternoon.

Yesterday was a GOOD day here in terms of workload. I weeded the front flower garden and about 4 rows of watermelon and cantelope in the back field. Michelle, Liz and I started hauling rotting bags of clothes out of the basement. I was amazed what I had stored down there. Size 5 boys clothes from Drew! Flannel shirts, sweater vests, etc. Jake hasn't been a size 5 in forever and even when he was a 5 all he wore was jeans and t-shirts. All the kids did some extra work around here and it's not looking too bad right now, although it's obvious chores need to be done today.

As I mentioned above...today is Carrie's clinic appointment. I have SO much to do it's tempting to cancel the appt. I won't though since I canceled her appt in October. This is the first time she's been seen since April '04, she's suppose to be seen every 6mos. She was suppose to have an EKG and a stress test done today but they rescheduled until NEXT Friday. THAT I might cancel unless the clinic thinks she needs it NOW. I have at least 3 appts every week this month...it's insane! When am I suppose to get anything done for the party?

The OB's office called yesterday. My consult with the pericenter is for 9:45 on the 11th. YIPPEE!! I get to drive through major rush hour traffic on a Monday! Aren't I lucky. LOL I guess it'll be an all day thing since I have 3 different appts there, including a nutritional consult (little late in the game don't you think?)

OK...time to gulp down the rest of my coffee, jump in the shower and get out the door. I'm hoping to have time to update this evening on how things went today.