Back in the saddle again

Thank you for all the notes of concern about my absence. Things are as well as could be expected here. I'm doing fine pgwise. Had a dr appt today and we heard the heartbeat for the first time YEAH!!!!! Little bugger was a bit elusive at first but my OB managed to hunt it down. We didn't take the time to count beats (it was moving around a lot and was on the verge of losing it almost as soon as we found it) but it was LOUD and clear! I've lost a few pounds and my sugar and blood pressure are doing ok. The dr has been nice enough to allow me to wait 2wks between visits this pg which is nice.

Michelle started classes again on Monday and I've put on my chauffeur hat again. In some aspects this semester's schedule is easier since I have time to go home between pickup and dropoff on Tues/Thurs and only a few hour stay on Mon/Wed (no classes on Fri...woohoo!) BUT (there's always a but isn't there) on Tues/Thurs she has to be to classes by 9:30 which is really hard to do. Especially if the weather delays the buses for the school kids. So far we seem to be managing though.

While we haven't been REALLY sick. We have had some viruses go through the house since Christmas (which was VERY nice BTW!) Right now we're finishing up (I hope!) sharing a Strep A bug. Up on deck is the flu. Val has been sick since Monday with a fever of 104degrees, aches, exhaustion and a cough. So I'm expecting at least some of the others to have a turn at it also. Guess we'll see if Danielle's flu shot (the only one in the house to get it) makes a difference. I HOPE SO!

As I said, Christmas was nice. Everyone got what they wanted and wanted what they got. I managed to stay within the boundaries I set for myself moneywise. There were times when missing my MIL or grandmother came to the forefront. Overall I think everyone pulled through relatively easy.

Unfortunately Tom and his siblings had to go through another loss a week after the new year started. His dad had a major stroke which the dr's couldn't do anything about (even though he got immediate treatment). He passed away on the 7th. :o( No one expected him to pass like that. It was always assumed the cancer would eventually win. Everyone is not pulling through this relatively easy or well. Tom is really having a rough time. On Friday he'll be having a sleepover at his brother's house. :o) I hope it helps them both.

Between FIL's death and the illnesses it feels like there has been a LOT of school missed. I can't remember the last time EVERYONE went to school. I know Eileen has fallen behind but she'll have no problem catching up (whoda thunk that'd be said about her! :o)) Liz went in today to make up work even though she had half the day off.

We have visitors and they aren't the welcome kind. We seem to be the mice motel around here. I hear them in my room, behind the fiberglass tub and refrigerator, under the furniture and sinks. One night they were having a field day in the livingroom and kitchen. They were using my shoe shelves as a playground. They'd climb it, run across a certain shelf, jump off and do a flip, landing on the floor so that they could scurry back to the shoe shelf and start all over again. I bought a LOT of traps and set them up one or two nights ago. We've caught 3 so far. About 5mins ago I heard a snap from under the kitchen sink so I'm going to assume our 4th one has been taken care of. Only a zillion more to go!

Oh, I stepped down from the Largerfamilies blog this week. I've had "writer's block" across the board and didn't feel I was or could continue to hold up my end of the deal there. The guilt even kept me from here at times. Writing on topic and on schedule was kind of hard for me but it was good to do. I learned a lot doing it. Wishing the ladies over there all the best in the future.

It looks like I'll be moving to the new blogger. I've been avoiding it like the plague but they've put me on notice that I HAVE to! So it looks like I'll be attempting that move this weekend. I'm still considering getting my own personal corner of the web, but not at the moment. Need to get back into the swing of things here first.

I have some pics that the girls have taken that I'd like to share. (the 3 oldest got dig cams for Christmas) I'll try to get those up this weekend too. Hmmm I think I might be overplanning for the weekend since I also plan to get this place back in shape! Guess we'll see what I have to report on Monday. How many of you are putting your money in the NAST (not a stinking thing!) category? There's where mine is going! ;o)

It's good to be back. Now that I've been sitting here doing it, I've missed it. It feels good. Hopefully now I can stop the noise in my head as I was constantly composing my next blog post mentally. Although I still have stuff running through my head...it'll just have to wait for another time. Wonder if it'll ever stop!